Bergen Trip - So Long Ago

This was in November, last year, when we decided we want to explore Norway's fjords.

So we did one of the 'Norway in a nutshell' trips. Me and FA (aka Fabulous Ana) decided that was the right time to do it, since we were both in Denmark at that time. And since DK is reasonably close to Norway..

I remember we carefully organized the trip in every detail, and afterwards we sent an invitation to all the people/foreigner groups/students we could think of - more than 100. Moreover, we also specified that friends of friends are most welcome to join. Of course, by the end, people came up with various excuses (like too expensive/too cold/too boring/too Scandinavian). But we still found Faye that joined us :D So it turned out to be a girls' trip out in the wild Norway (ha-ha), with lots of eating, drinking, chatting, picture-taking, and laughing. 

And now, here comes the big mystery: the was one more guy who said we would join us and had already bought the plane ticket. At least this is what he replied to me by email. Indian, studying robotics at DTU. I remember nothing more about him, we never met. I kept sending him messages, about when and where to meet, until the last day. He never showed up at the airport. We spent like 20% of our chatting time making assumptions about what really happened to him. Until this day, I didn't find out whether it was just a bad joke (if yes, then why?) or something bad happened to him (I still hope it's my first guess).

The tour itself was made out of small parts, where we were supposed to travel either by bus, train or boat. The landscape there is beautiful. Still, my best memories consist in three other things:

• 1- the fish soup we had in one of the villages - something creamy with pieces of salmon - it was yummy... oh yeah, sine we're talking about fishy food (yum yum), the fish market in Bergen really got my interest..
• 2- all the troll stories I heard from a guide, quite intriguing. Now, I'm sure she only told us the same story that she keeps telling to tourists each day, but somehow the combination between her short stories, the wet and rocky landscape, the roofs with grass on top and the small ugly troll figurines I saw in shops managed to raise my interest. I became fascinated by Scandinavian mythology, traditions, old beliefs etc after this trip.
• 3- listening to Edvard Grieg's 'Morgenstimmung' -  Morning Mood - on one of the tour buses. Quite-spring inspiring..

Didn't take too many good pictures of the nature there, the light was not strong enough to make the green-‘autumnish’ colors look right.

That's why I think most of them look faded and boring. Anyway, played a long time ago with the pictures, - (see them HERE) now it's time to upload them, no matter how bad they look like..

And no, the are NOT PhotoShoped, they're GIMPed :)

Also I got FA's permission to upload some of her pictures, much better than mine - only because of the camera :p

PS: Indian robotics engineer (who in November 2009 studied at DTU in Denmark), if you ever read this, please contact me to tell me you're alive!!! - but not before you check out the trip PICS, to see what you missed :p

Old Pics

Left Lyngby exactly 2 weeks ago. Can't say I miss it, but I felt like sharing these pictures before winter goes away and they become 'outdated'.. Anyway, they are quite old, from the x-mas in 2008. I know for sure it looked absolutely identical in 2009 (I was there), and so it will be in 2010, and so on.. with or without me being there. I'm saying that by taking into consideration the way Danes are protecting nature and generally preserving the green spaces they have left..

 (click on the image for the whole album)

So I took the pics on a winter weekend, during one of my many walks around the Lyngby Lake. It actually became a regular habit in my last year there (with a few interruptions). And yes, I know some of the pictures look creepy, but I was never the only one there - as much as I wished :D .. It's full of bikers, people running, or boring families taking their hyper-energetic kids for a walk.. and serial killers like me :D Now, seriously, it's perfectly safe, as long as it doesn't get dark, and you're all alone and cold, in the area where there are no houses, and with no phone. In which case you can save yourself by being quiet and listening from which way the car noise is coming. Once back to civilized world (the highway), you can take a bus and then get home warm and safely.

Enjoy!

Goodbye 2009, Welcome 2010!

Speaking from my own point of view (that translates as "from my own bubble", not taking into consideration the economical situation, the wars etc..), it was a great year!

Somebody recently wished me to have "a better year" in 2010. Now I admit, it can be just a cliché, people say it without even thinking sometimes, still, it made me think. What am I missing? And what more can I ask for? Does it even matter?

Spent my whole 2009 in Denmark and travelling around, meeting so many people, still always having to say goodbye to someone, going out, parties, fun parks, different gatherings (my facebook pics are a proof of that), trying to fit in among the brilliant people at MDCC, struggling to keep some kind of diet, and wondering about my future. Looking back at these, indeed, it was a great year. I don’t know if the greatest of all, but one thing I know for sure: I enjoyed every moment. I admit, I had my bad times as well, but then again, “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger” – if I’m allowed to use another cliché.

So no, I don't want to have a greater year for myself, I want my 2010 to be just as great as my 2009, but still, somehow different: I need to make even happier and prouder all those people who stood by me so far. And for that I will need to change myself :D

Thank you all for everything!
and see you next year:)

(thanks Bogdan for the picture:))