Göteborgs Kulturkalas

The Gothenburg culture festival took place this weekend which meant loads of people all over town, a bunch of concerts and tempting food options.

Break dancing champions bringing it in at the end of their show

This girl had awesome hula skills and was bouncing off four pieces at a time. Given that my record is probably spinning a single one of those for ten seconds, I was very impressed.

12 more days in this lovely city and then I´m off to a Stockholm adventure for the next few months. 

I guess that means I better start packing.

xx

E

Photo recap

I'm without a laptop these days as I had to send it to a repair shop for a few days, but that's no excuse for no updates.
I tend to take a lot of pics that I never upload anywhere. Sometimes I even edit some with instagram but don't post them. That actually happens with most of my instagram pics.
So while going through my phone I found some summer pictures I thought I might share.

The first time I ever saw a hedgehog. I think it´s safe to say that I was more excited than him.

My Joanna.

There have been a few air balloons flying round my neighborhood this summer. I find them fascinating but unbelievably scary at the same time. I'd probably faint if I ever took a ride in one.

Slottsskogen's sunshine.

xx

E

Sweet Summer

The Swedish weather keeps rockin it this summer which means there have been a few trips to the beach.

It's hard to believe that the same place that was mostly cold, rainy and windy at the same time last year has now had almost an entire summer with +20°c weather.

Pale skinned me is even starting to get a tiny hint of a tan.

Lovely life!

x

E

The Wieliczka salt mine

While in Poland we visited the Wieliczka salt mine. 

In total the mine tunnels span around 300 kilometers and, according to our guide, it would take five months to cover all of them.. and yes, you'd most definitely get lost. It was amazing to walk through tunnel after tunnel knowing that you're only seeing a tiny proportion of this giant structure (less than 2% to be more precise). 

There weren't many good opportunities for photography down there since we were walking, rather quickly, in a tour through very dark tunnels. However, as amazing as it sounds, there is an entire cathedral located in the mine and I took a few photos as we passed through it.

Just as anywhere else in the mine, almost everything in the cathedral is made from salt: the walls, floors, ceilings and sculptures. Even the crystals of the chandeliers are nothing but salt. 

Pretty impressive stuff.

An awesome place to visit and most definitely worth the seemingly countless steps down. 

Plus on the way up you get sort of an adventure ride; you're squeezed into a tiny industrial elevator with eight other people, speeding up around 130 meters in almost complete darkness.

An awesome day!

xx

E

Krakow street art

I love beautiful street art. It brings life and color to otherwise boring plain walls.

Krakow had some beautiful pieces and I'm pretty sure we would have seen a lot more of it I we had spent more time outside of the city center.

I am in love with this one. Whoever made this, you've got some awesome talent!

I saw this bunny at couple of spots around the city and I'm pretty sure there's more of them. After all, bunnies reproduce quite quickly, right?

This one has some impressive details.  People with this kind of talent absolutely amaze me.

It's a wonderful different side of Krakow

xx

E

Back from Poland

We visited Auschwitz while in Poland as it is located very close to Krakow. 

The trip was emotionally draining with some areas particularly hard to visit. Having been mentally and physically exhausted after only a one day excursion, I find it impossible to even imagine how some prisoners survived years at the camp. 

However, I am glad that I went there. As uncomfortable it is to visit, the site is a pressing reminder of  the importance of never repeating the mistakes of the past, and of the importance of upholding a society based on equality, love and respect.

Before arriving I was sure I would take quite a lot of pictures but once you're there and see the devastating surroundings and read testimonies of the horrible treatment of camp prisoners, intense photography just doesn't seem right. Here are the few pictures I took.

(clicking on the photos will increase the resolution)

A part of the "Arbeit macht frei" sign at the Auschwitz I entrance.

These suitcases were among the property of camp prisoners plundered by the Nazis.  Each suitcase was carefully marked by the owner, who never got to retrieve the luggage.

Fences at Auschwitz I

Brick barracks at Auschwitz-Birkenau

Flowers at the end of the railway inside Auschwitz-Birkenau. The "Gate of Death" can be seen in the background.

A rose laying on one of the bunks inside a wooden barrack at Auschitwz-Birkenau.

Now, apart from this depressing visit, our trip to Poland was great. Krakow is such a beautiful and lively city with so many interesting things to do and see. 

I promise there will be some more uplifting posts from the trip in the next days.

xx

E

Heading for a swim

These fellas crossed my way a few days back. 

Clearly being very busy getting down to the water, they had no time to pose.

xx

E

a sunny fika

It seems like the Swedish weather is doing its best to make up for last year's near complete lack of summer.

Which means it's time for freckles, sunglasses and fikas filled with chilled drinks.

For those of you unfamiliar with fika:

Technically it's a coffee break but somehow it's so much more than that. It's a Swedish social institution.

Swedes love their fika and so do I. You can't really go wrong with a good break with friends, especially during days like this.

My lovely Joanna

There's no turning back for me after having discovered iced chai latte.

Enjoying the weather

Keep on shining sun!

xx

E

Dancer

I ran into another group of the culture summer job project at Brunnsparken and this time around I saw a performance by a band. One of the band members was a dancer so every now and then she'd dance while the rest of the band played. 

It was one of those awesome little moments where the surroundings are so lively that the photography becomes pretty much effortless.

As you can tell I'm a bit fascinated with black and white photography at the moment.

Ahh! Summer!

xx

E

A Gothenburg summer

Gothenburg is offering culture related jobs for young people this summer. I ran into one of their groups at Järntorget during a little walk around the city and snapped a few pictures. 

I love how the city becomes alive during the summer. There are people everywhere, even when the sun is hiding.

Lovely!

I hope I get to see more of these groups this summer.

xx

E

Reading days

Since wrapping up school work I've been reading, and that pretty much non-stop.

Books together with comfy pillows, tea and chocolate never fails

xx
E

Student life

It's a bit scary to realize that you are nearing the end of your student life. 

I was one of those kiddos who never took a break from school. Well, the only sort of breaks I took from school were taken so I could dive into the deep end of the pool and experience being a student in a different situation; experiencing other schools in other countries. 

So, pretty much since the age of six, being a student has been a large part of my identity. The exact definition of a student has nonetheless differed. These definitions include

the elementary student

the high school student

the foreign exchange student struggling to understand the native language

the university student

the foreign exchange student actually capable of participating in class

the grad school student

the foreign grad school student

the interning grad school student

Through these definitions I've experienced life as a student in five countries, met some wonderful people and learnt a whole lot.  It feels strange to know that this huge part of my life, with all its fascinating experiences, is about to turn into a thing of the past. Thankfully though, the Swedish system is a bit slow when it comes to graduation. The thesis has been submitted and defended, and the grade is on its way. It will however take a few weeks for the official diploma to be published. So, technically, I can extend that student feeling a little bit longer.  

Even though this whole transition is scary, it presents an opportunity to add something new to my identity, set myself some new goals, see new places and meet new interesting people. And that's why it's pretty exciting. 

Me outside the University main building after an informal commencement ceremony

Soon I'll not be a student anymore, I'll be something else and honestly, I still don't quite know what it'll be. The one thing I know is that I look forward to doing something new with all the challenges and experiences that it'll bring. 

However, until I'm officially graduated (and thus, no longer allowed to use the student title) I'm going to spend my time reading something else than schoolbooks (which wasn't really an option during the last weeks of thesis writing) and enjoying the surprisingly good weather that has hit Gothenburg recently. Apparently summer is here :)

xx

E