Copenhagen & Lund

Went to Copenhagen over the weekend for 2 days, which KX joined us, then stopped by Lund on Saturday night and then coming back to Gothenburg on Monday evening.

Copenhagen is like Stockholm, both being capitals. Very lively, very populated, unlike Gothenburg haha. Weather was much better there too, the sun was out, the only thing was the prices! My goodness. If you think Sweden is expensive, Denmark is up another level. A decent dinner cost us SGD30.00 plus. The apple juice in the restaurant cost SGD8.00, and mineral water at another restaurant cost around SGD 6.00.

Sugared almonds. Is it available in Singapore?

The sugared almonds were sold in those "kao lak" kind of stalls. Singapore should have them too! Instead of kao lak stalls :S

Concert at Tivoli on Friday nights. Tivoli is an amusement park in Copenhagen. I can't imagine that people will go to Escape theme park if there were concerts there every weekend. As I was there I was thinking, so safe! Like, everyone was crowding around for the concert, beer in their hands, yet it was so safe as well. I have nothing to say about Scandinavia. The security is great.

I really liked the hostel we stayed in. It was clean, good location (near the central station/city), and cozy as well. Not dingy at all. Good for a first stay in hostel during this exchange.

I love the flea markets there. We went to two on Saturday morning. Bought a mini furniture set for my sister that I think she'll like (and she does), and now I use it to decorate my desk HAHA. I mean, why not right. The thing about their flea markets is that it's really a flea market, like, the things they sell are antiques! Real vintage stuff, and I love this kind of stuff. In Singapore it's the young ladies selling second hand clothes or mass-produced clothes from City Plaza, but over here, it's the octogenarians who are selling things they probably owned before. We should probably keep the things we own now and sell them when we're old one day. They even sell postcards they received in the past! And the postcards are nice.

The elderly in Western societies are really different from our grandparents. They are so active! Setting up stalls in flea markets and selling stuff.

Anyway, now I understand why Yokey seldom blogged after each traveling escapade, because it is so hard! To write down and describe every single thing you did, went to, ate and so on.

Anyway, I felt that 2 days in Copenhagen was enough. It's like any other city I felt. It's nice, but it's the same. After this we went to Lund 'cos it's just 2 hours away, and we stayed at Pam and Lionel's place. We were surprised to see that they had mattresses for us! I was prepared to sleep on the floor.

In Lund it was back to the slow life compared to the bustling city of Copenhagen. And I mean realllly slow, 'cos during the weekend most shops are closed, and buses come like once an hour. It was like a ghost town. But still, it has its charm. (But I still prefer Gothenburg haha).

Streets in Lund; mostly made up of this kind of building

Having our fika (sheltering from the drizzle) at the cafe inside the Botanical Gardens

G, JS and L cooked dinner for us, this is popcorn chicken!

Corn soup with pork ribs; I couldn't believe they cooked this!

Dinner was absolutely yummy. G and JS's fridge was sooo well-stocked my goodness. It's fuller than the fridge at home in Singapore haha. I suppose I could try making popcorn chicken on my own, but it doesn't really make much sense to go through so much trouble to cook for one person, you know? Most of the time I can whip up a decent dinner in 20 minutes :)

Their place was huge. It was apartment-style, so there was a living room with kitchnette and bathroom, and 2 bedrooms. It's great. When they come over they'll just have to squeeze in my small humble room.

Before dinner we went to Lund Cathedral for the international service, and there was this really nice hymn "God of the Sparrow". Go Youtube it.

I think the most notable thing that happened this trip is the meeting of this old man and old lady after the service. After the service refreshments were served, so we just stood around and talked to the people there. I noticed this old man alone so asked my friend if she wanted to talk to him, so we approached him.

The thing about these elderly is that before you talk to them you never knew what kind of stories they have to share with you. The old man told us that he came to Sweden in the 60s, and he went to Singapore before, by hitchhiking, from England. You see the wrinkles on their faces, the all-white hair, and they tell you this kind of stories, they've been through the world war, they've been through so much, I myself can't even imagine going through all that.

The old lady, she used to be an athlete, a diving athlete, one time during a competition when she was about to jump off the platform someone called her name and she got distracted and she landed to the left on her shoulder blade and head at the side of the pool. It could be the most terrible time of her life because it involved so much pain, and later it turned into cancer, but thankfully she's all right now, and she told us that it wasn't the most terrible time, because she had a special friend, a transvestite, who stayed with her throughout and brought laughter to her life. That was how she got through. She's a devout Christian, and she said, she couldn't tell her friend that he/she was going to Hell, because he/she was such a good person, all she can say is, "God judges, not me". At that point I was so touched, tears welled.

God brings people together. That is what I have been thinking since going to the Christian services so far on this exchange. I haven't been to Catholic mass, but the last two Christian services I went to, had been meaningful for me. I meet people, people with stories to share, and I love this experience; this is partly what exchange is all about.

We could tell that the old lady felt a special connection to us, because last winter there were 3 girls from Singapore on exchange in Lund as well, and they got along really well. One weekend they would have dinner at her place, and the next they would cook Chinese food for her. She's going to Singapore in December this year, and invited us over to her place for dinner actually, but we were leaving the next day, so we couldn't. She said, it would be great if we can come by another time, and this time, we're going to stay in her flat. It would be hard to fit Lund into our schedules again, but it would definitely be great to dine with her I'm sure. We also told her to contact us in Singapore since she's going to be there until January.

KX comes to visit

Where do I start from? I've fallen behind, and things snowball very quickly. I shall start from the most recent.

KX came to visit last weekend and I bunked her in. Brought her around Gothenburg, after which during the weekend we went to Copenhagen together.

We went to Haga (yeah, again haha) for lunch and fika (afternoon tea/coffee break), and I think this cafe, Cafe Husaren, has got to be my favourite hangout here in Gothenburg.

Note the interior of the cafe

Large selection of pastries, cookies, cakes and pies

There are many of these kind of cafes in Haga, the old town of Gothenburg. Swedes like to have their fika, that's why. And I like it too! In between 2-3 hours of lesson, there is also a 20minute fika.

Yuki from Japan joined us for lunch too

It was buffet lunch for SGD 14.00 and the chicken drumstick was really good. Probably also because we seldom eat meat like this when we cook ourselves. All of them had 3 drumsticks; I had two only, and I thought I could eat a lot for a girl! You should see the rest. They're like, smaller-sized than I am but they sure can eat a lot.

Went shopping with KX 'cos she wanted to get a windbreaker to complement with her down jacket so that she is well-equipped to go to Kiruna in December. And I thought, yeah I should probably prepare myself too. Going to Kiruna is like preparing for battle!

Ended up getting the exact same windbreaker/ski jacket as KX haha! It's not a down (which is thicker), but I need a windbreaker anyway, so I decided to buy it, and this was on sale.

Being in Sweden really makes one complacent about the security, because here, at least in Gothenburg, I can just leave my bag lying around while I try on the clothes. I'm sure in Eastern Europe or other cities, it is definitely not as safe.

KX decided to cook aglio olio for us for dinner! Haha I decided to use her recipe from then on, and now I can cook a mean aglio olio as well!


It's good to stay alone, but once a while it feels nice to have company as while. Cooking together and watching HK dramas together HAHA.

hemkÖp, netto, ica, coop

I pay a freaking 35% tax every time I buy groceries. No wonder I'm getting poorer and poorer :(

And I forgot to request for global tax refund every time I go shopping! AHHH.



Sigh.


Anyway, it felt good to be back home last night. Back in Gothenburg, I mean. Travelling is always tiring, and familiarity is good.

first day of school and the hunt for the elusive textbook

School was all right initially, until I had to scramble over the city to get the new textbook.

At first I thought I'll try out the bookstore in town to see if they carry the book, but no that branch doesn't sell course literature, so I have to go to another branch which is a few stops away, and when I located the store, I spotted the Psychology section and secretly hoped that there it is on the shelf, but to my utter disappointment it wasn't, so I decided to ask the person there, but no the person says that they don't carry that book so what I can do is to book it online and have it sent to me. All right I thought I would check it out using their computer and guess what! The textbook freaking costs a SGD91.00 including delivery charge! I reeled a bit and decided to walk out of the store and 从长计议 (consider from where I am and decide again).

No way am I going to pay $91 for a book I'm only going to use from tomorrow 8th Sept until 16th Oct which is the date of the final exam of this course! That's like, 1 month and 8 days!

So I decided to head to the library (mind you, by this time I was rather desperate 'cos I needed to finish 4 chapters of reading before seminar on Wednesday and walking here and there, the city is not very big but still it is when you walk here and there) and I hoped and hoped that all are not checked out yet.

The library from the first looks looked quite nice, bricks and all, the study room from a glimpse was filled with mugging students (don't know what they're mugging for when it's the first day of school only my goodness), looked rather medieval which I like, but I had no time to appreciate the beauty of it all, I shall go back another day to explore further, so I proceeded to the computer terminal and frantically searched for the "in english" button because everything is in freaking Swedish! Directions on the wall, floor plans on the wall, instructions on the wall behind the photocopying machine etc etc, they should consider their poor exchange students!

Okay so I managed to locate the book from the online catalogue, but it's not the latest edition that we were supposed to use, but I was desperate, and there was only one available copy, so I began my fanatic frantic search for it. Beside the computer terminal there were these shelves with books that had this label "kursbok" on them with slips of paper which I took them to be the authors, edition etc, and I thought, ok maybe this is where the course books are for loan, maybe only in-library reading only. So I began to look, but no it's not there. *Nervous sweat*.

I ventured to the next room where there were more computer terminals, don't know if they have the same functions, and then the photocopying machine where the instructions is in Swedish. The only time when there is English version is when they remind us of the copyright laws -.- How will we flout the copyright laws if we can't even operate the machine in the first place?! And even the instructions on the machine screen itself is probably going to be Swedish as well. 25kr for 20 copies, which is SGD5.00 for 20 double-sided copies. Slightly on the pricey side, but reasonable I guess.

Okay so I finally located the book in another section, thinking to myself what a genius I am. Then the next problem is, can the book be checked out or it's for reference only? I asked, and yes! I can borrow out. Phew, that means I don't have to camp in the library every day to do my readings. But but, next issue is, I have no library card! Because I need a personal pin number to apply for it, and I don't have it, so I haven't applied for it. And I was planning to buy my textbooks anyway, not knowing the prices are this ridiculous. And I didn't have my address with me so the nice man let me write down my name on a slip of paper and put it in between the book so that I could go back later and take it. Then he proceeded to show me how to apply online using the computer, then I told the person I don't have a pin number, but he says I must have a pin number in order to apply for it, so I thought, ok sigh I shall go back and try to find.

When I was outside of the library already I called my friend and asked how many books can a card borrow, if there's enough space on hers can I borrow hers, she said yes of course, so I went to the library and asked is there a limit to the number of books one card can borrow, they said no, which is good, then I asked, can I use my friend's card to borrow, they said no! Why no! Sigh. So I thought I would go back and have a look if I really have no pin number on the university letters, and get my address as well.

So I treaded my heavy footsteps back home, dropping by the supermarket on the way to get some groceries, stomach growling the whole way 'cos it was 3 plus 4pm already and I haven't had lunch. Took the tram back around 20 mins. Had lunch in my room, searched the emails for any pin number, looked at all the letters I have which isn't many, one admission letter only in fact, no pin number! I mean, library cards are considered a necessity right? Surely at some point of time we would need it? They should've issued one to us sooner! I just didn't know I would need the library card so soon.

So how now? I call a friend and asked how she got hers. She said she got it long ago 'cos she needed it to apply for courses way back. So I called another friend who's at another library (Humanisten library) and decided to borrow from her. Since I can't apply for one, I might as well have one on hand so that I can beg the person to let me borrow the book on my friend's card. So I went to meet the friend at the tram stop where the Humanisten library is, and by this time it was getting quite cold. And I was thankful 'cos my friend was actually leaving but was willing to wait for me to arrive to collect the card from her.

So after collecting the card I took the tram again to the other library, and the tram doesn't actually stop in front of the library, so I had to walk some distance. And it started raining! Thankfully I brought umbrella and a plastic bag to store the wet umbrella in. Brrr.

I went into the library and prayed that it wasn't the man and woman behind the counter, and yay it wasn't! It was a younger girl, so I told her I reserved a book in the afternoon, she asked if I received an email, I said no, she said if I reserve a book and if it's ready for collection I'll receive one, I was like, sigh. She asked for my library card, so I passed her my friend's. Then she tried to help me look for it.

Then I noticed that those books with the slips of paper in between are actually reserved books! Not slips of paper with authors/titles on them! Hahaha. She asked me to go to the shelf I searched the first time to see if I see my name there. Rahhh so those are reserved books! Not reference books. Ok at least now I know. Then I told her that I didn't really reserve a book online, but I wrote my name down on a piece of paper and told her that her colleague kept it for me. I tried to look over the counter and yes! I thought I saw a familiar book with a familiar piece of paper between the pages! So I told her, I think it's that book! She brought it over and I happily said, yes it's this book, then she said, "oh 'cos it's under different names" (my name and my friend's name on her library card), then I mumbled something like "err yeah I used different names" den I grabbed the book and flew to the check out counter before she could say anything else. I think I even forgot to say thanks, ooopsss.

The book gets overdue in 3 weeks, which means I only need to renew it once or twice before the course ends, which is good. On my way out I asked her again, can I renew the book online? She said yes you can and this time I remembered to say thanks and gave a weak smile and went on home, it was still raining outside but at least I have my book now. On the way to the tram stop which was not very near the rain was quite heavy but I noted that so far there were only showers here in Gothenburg, no lightning and thunderstorms, and along the way only a few people carried umbrellas. The rest just walked in the cold rain. Brrr. Are umbrellas not in fashion here?

Anyway I just recovered from my runnynose/flu/cough so I sure don't wanna catch a cold again. But then again 'cos it was so cold the nose inevitably got a bit runny too. But it was those kind of only-runny-cos-the-weather-is-cold kind of runny. I'm thankful that I've recovered from my runny nose and cough! If not it would've been terrible.

I can sleep well tonight. Sigh. I will do 4 chapters worth of reading all by tomorrow night. What seminar lor, more like discussion group/project meeting. The seminar group only consists of 5 people -.-'''.

It'll be like tutorials where you split into groups to discuss questions. If you read everything up until here, kudos! Haha, more exciting posts next time.

school starts tomorrow!

Omg.

pizza night and a mini dinner party

For those who worry that I do not eat well here (hardly anyone I think, judging by the photos I post here and on Facebook hahaha), here are more photos and cooking stories to share!

Last night we made our very own pizza at A's place which turned out to be absolutely yummilicious. A and R made the dough from scratch using yeast and flour, while when we arrived, we helped to chop up the ingredients and toppings like ham, bacon, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, cheese and more cheese.

How it looks like before it goes into the oven

The chefs

End-product 1

End-product 2

Looks goooood right haha. Tasted great as well. I hope we do this again! If not, I'll probably try out when I get back to Singapore :) Yes, I think I will organize a little dinner party and showcase all the recipes I have learnt here haha.

Tonight they came over to my place for dinner, something that I had been looking forward for some time already because a) it's good to have company for dinner and b) it's nice to cook in your own kitchenette and eat in your room.

S and R dividing the portions

Tom-yam soup! A huge pot bubbling with veggies, carrots, tang hoon, crab meat, chicken slices and mushrooms --- 4 of us girls actually managed to finish all!

Pasta, tom-yam soup, and stir-fried beansprout veggies (one of my fav) with chicken and mushrooms --- a weird combination but it sure did get us full and satisfied

Rock melon and grapes for dessert --- the rock melon was tiny! Like, palm-sized tiny. More pictures in S's camera

Yesterday in the afternoon S and I visited another second hand store 'cos she wanted to get another mattress, in the end we didn't find a suitable one, but this second hand store is worth a mention! They have everything! Yes, mattresses, suitcases (those vintage ones they use in old-fashioned movies), cameras, vinyls, books, clothes, furniture! It's more extensive than the first one we visited the last time.

I finally found a beer/wine cap opener, for 1kr only! That's like, 20cents hahahah. Oh what do I use it for? For the sesame oil bottle la, not some beer bottle. Haven't used it yet though. I'm not good at this kind of stuff; I got the store owner to show me how to use it, but I haven't tried.

Ignore my brown-grass-look alike hair, weather is too dry here

This camera even comes with its very own camera case that fits it perfectly, protruding nose and all

I love their vintage camera collection here! And I think Yiling will like it too! I don't think the cameras are still working though.

Yesterday was by far one of the coldest days I think. The wind was super strong and plus it rained on us whole day ack and I was only wearing a T-shirt plus denim jacket. Today we planned to go to the Stora Delsjön lake for a picnic, but weather was no good in the morning so we called it off.

And I start school on Monday! (You must be thinking, finally?!) Another new environment to maneuver myself about. I hope all will be good!

Haga and 2nd-hand shop

Yeah so yesterday actually we planned to have lunch at Haga, but we couldn't find a satisfying cafe to settle down in in terms of price and food, so we decided to go back to Saluhallen, the food market, for cheap and good food. Though the last time I was at Haga, Sis and I were actually quite satisfied with the food at a particular cafe. This was what we had that time:

Caesar Salad, SGD12.00

They were really generous in the serving, and the chicken too, it was really really tender and comes in real big pieces, unlike the Coffee Bean ones which can be rather tough sometimes. I don't think it had eggs though, can't remember.

Lunch buffet of lasagne, salad, soup and coffee, SGD12.00

I enjoyed my lunch as well. The broccoli soup was good, had a spicy tinge to it.

So yesterday we had lunch at Saluhallen again. A and R had the panbiff, which was meatballs and potatoes. More like meat patties really.


S and I had grown a bit scared of beef balls now so we chose the herring instead. Good choice!

Okay I forgot what it's called in Swedish, but it's herring. It may seem like they're just piled on top of one another, but the presentation was actually quite nice. For the meatball dish as well. The herring cost SGD 10.00 and I think the meatballs cost SGD 11.00. The herring was really fresh and I really liked it. Not the onions or the bread below though. Would've been great if it were mashed potatoes. A and R helped to polish off the onions, tomatoes and bread though, which is good.

Following that we went back to Haga, and we went to eat the famous gigantic cinnamon bun. This one:

Sis and I couldn't finish it. But four of us could!



After that A brought us to this 2nd-hand store which sells everything from clothes to bags to shoes to accessories and scarves and we loved it! Serene and Bev will probably like the bargains here too haha.

I love their vintage collection. They restock every Thursday so S and I were saying that we'll probably come every Thursday hahaha. Later in the afternoon we're going to visit another 2nd hand shop actually hehe.

This is our damage:

4 of us spent more than SGD 200 I think? Not too sure. I spent SGD 48 on that pink scarf you see (S$10, real thick and real long), a yellow cropped pullover (S$13), and a vintage handbag (that brown thing) that I have always wanted to get.

Yesterday as I was waiting for the rest to arrive for a day out at Haga and visiting a second-hand shop, I thought.

It seemed like just another day out with my friends, waiting for them to arrive, I could be at Orchard MRT waiting, they would call to tell me they'll be late, I would be waiting watching the world go by. It's very much like that.

But no, it's not. I'm not at Orchard MRT waiting for my friends, I'm in Gothenburg, for goodness's sake! Sweden! Europe! Halfway round the world! I'm at a place where the sun shines on me but I'm not perspiring, where the cool wind lightly kisses my face. I'm in a place where the native ladies could wear Phua Chu Kang-style rubber boots and actually look good in them.

It's all too surreal. To be in Sweden and living independently for 5 months. It feels normal sometimes though, like sometimes I'll forget that I just arrived here less than two weeks ago because things have become familiar to me already.

And all of these, all of these, it is wonderful. Life is peaceful here. True, I don't go to the parties often, I don't get involved very much, but still, I enjoy the life here. I enjoy the serenity, because that is what I have partly come in search for. I like the having-to-do-nothing feel, just doing the mundane stuff, thinking about what to cook for my next meal, where to go next, meeting up with friends for a lunch or picnic, to discuss possible travel plans, finding out where the classes are and so forth.

You have to get out of your life you're so used to sometimes, if not you'll get too fixated on certain things. To get used to a whole new environment, maneuver the unfamiliar transport system and systems of getting things done, getting your groceries and cooking alone, to live alone in a foreign land. It's definitely an experience. I don't want to say things like "I'm starting to miss it already", because I want to live the moment. But yes, I will definitely miss it one day.

day out at the island

Remember when I said I don't know if I'll be joining the rest at the islands? Well in the end I did. It was really really windy again, and cold, because it started drizzling when we reached, then stopped, then when we were about to go back, it started raining again.


A got to know a few guys from Germany so we went together.



We're about to venture into some forest.


So we began our climb up the tors. Okay I don't know whether they are tors, but they remind me of them, so just as well.


The view was really pretty but couldn't capture with the camera.

Having our little picnic while A and the guys continued climbing to the top of the hill. My legs are aching by this time already haha. Not enough exercise :/

But this mountain trekking is definitely more strenuous than climbing Bukit Timah Hill (okay, duh). It's those kind that you have to swipe away the bushes, put your hands on the mossy green stuff on rocks and heave yourself up. Then when you get to the top you wonder how on earth you're going to go down :S

Hahaha but I was glad I went :) This island is called Donsö. Take a look at this photo here.

I've about settled in already. Yesterday was a really sunny day, like Singapore weather minus the cool wind. We went to Saluhallen for lunch, which is an indoor food market. It's something like the wet market in Singapore, only much much cleaner. They have vegetables/fruits stalls as well as butchers selling meat, spices and sauces, chocolates, cakes, and also eateries.


The eateries here have lunches that are cheaper than outside. Steffi and I had different kinds of fish. Her salmon cost 60kr (SGD 12) which is much cheaper than the ones I ate before here, and my fish (I think it was dory) cost 50kr. Kat had the beef patties one which was not bad as well.

The serving may seem small but it wasn't! The mashed potato was good. I think I'll probably be coming back here often for lunch. Good recommendation, Marc! :)

After that we proceeded to the Paddan boat tour which had discount for students. It's actually my 2nd time on that thing and I have a feeling I'll hafta go for a 3rd time when Lionel and co. are here. As I said, yesterday was a glorious sunny weather so it was a good day out on the boat.


After the tour we still had 2 hours to kill before the welcome thing by the city hall, so we went back to their dorm to have dinner, where Alissa and Reema had already start preparing.

The plate of stir-fried vegetables! The potatoes and misc. were still baking in the oven so we couldn't have it. Cooking in a group can be a bit messy but it's good to have company :) But Alissa really knows her recipes and Kat too! Kat cooked like, curry chicken for herself the night before 0_O.

When we arrived at the City Hall, we were surprised to find that food was served. I closed up and saw this fried-rice-lookalike thingie and was elated for a moment.

It turned out to be salad instead :( And it turned out that they only served two kinds of salads, and nothing else. All right, white wine and red wine as well.

The interior of the city hall was really nice though. It's like a castle, with all the chandeliers and paintings on the walls. And to think that the city council treated the city's exchange students to free food and free wine! Wow.