St. Hans-Fest i Drøbak og Ås

On June 21st, Elin and I flew to Oslo to visit her parents in Ås. Its probably one of the largest cities in Norway with a whopping population of somewhere around 14,000 depending on whether school is in session or not. But going back to eastern Norway after being in Bergen for such a long time was really strange. The mountains surrounding Bergen just make you feel trapped inside, while the open space and rolling farm hills in the east put one more at ease. As for the the flight, it took only one hour and then Elins sister and dad picked us up from the airport to drive about another hour to Ås. The weather the entire week was really nice with the exception of one day, but that was huge improvement in comparison to the weather and non-stop rain we had in Bergen. Elin and I went to the mall a couple times in Ski, but the trip to Oslo on Thursday was better :) Elin and I met her two sisters, along with Silje's significant other downtown. We toured the city a little bit, had coffee at Elin's favorite place, and then went to a Thai food restaurant around 16:00. The restaurant had a really cool set up, but the food tasted a bit bland for my taste. I think that Elin and I make a much better curry than what we were served, but I don't think that anything has come close to what I've had in the States where they're allowed to put in spices. Later on that evening we went to Drobak for St. Hans-fest to watch the bonfire take place with Elin's family.

We had the actually St. Hans-fest celebration though with Elin's dad's side of the family that Saturday. A nice big crowd who was not able to compete against me when it came to Foosball. Haha. Out manned! The food and everything was great though. The weather was really nice that day and everybody was in a good mood. And later on that evening Elin and I escaped the family festivities to head over to Anja's house to say hi before leaving that Monday. We ended up hanging out for about 4 hours or so talking, mostly about how bad drivers (women drivers) can be :)... youtube is our PROOF! haha.

Dinner at Thai Restaurant with Elin's sisters

Elin!

In Drobak

Bonfire

Elin's dad, Per, leading the Choir :)

Elin and Rakel

Everyone in awe of how good I am at Foosball

Sassy Silje

Random cousins playing a little badmitten

The forest of death... "This is no forest, it's a tomb."

Recovering patient after his traumatic experience in the forest.

The next day was Elin's morfar's birthday, so we had another meet and greet, a bit shorter than the day before, and had a grill-fest. We walked back to the house around 18:00 that evening just to wind down a bit before packing up and leaving the following day. The trip to see Elin's parents was very nice and nothing crazy happened. At least not to my knowledge :)

Mid-June

             The weather here in Bergen has been getting slightly better here and there, but still too wet for my taste. Next week Elin and I are leaving for her parent's place for Santhansfest! I'm looking forward to celebrating it again after almost 15 years I think. I'll try not to have my eyebrows burned off around the bonfire, but I can't make any promises! I just hope that the weather will be nice in Ås, but we won't know until a day or two before. The weather forecasts here are the worse. They have a nice little key that lists the days as rather certain, somewhat uncertain, and uncertain. Even the rather certain on the same predicted day is usually not even completely accurate. But I must say that the weather in Bergen is always uncertain. The worse thing though is that in northern Norway they've been having 70 degree weather with actually have beaches too! Meanwhile, here in southern Norway where it should be nicer, is actually worse. Ugh, I'm hoping for better weather in Hamburg... haha. Wishful thinking :)

               Elin and I just got back from Brodvin... Bread wine. We met a few of her friends downtown over by the campus area for dinner. I went with the teriyaki with chicken... It was actually pretty good along with a decent size portion :) After that we went to get some coffee, I a cappuccino, at the cafe down the street from where we ate. It was good, but like all things here in Norway, expensive. Cost around 8 dollars, but I try not to look at that too much anymore and just take for what it is.... After coffee, Elin and I walked back home around the "big lung" in the nice SUNNY weather! Its about 65 right now! Much nicer than yesterday when we went for a walk up by Ulriken and around the hospital. The weather then was a bit windy, misty, and drizzled off and on, but it was still nice to get outside of the apartment for a little stroll.  Now I'm just planning my trip down to Germany and everyone/everywhere I plan to see/go... A little complicated right now, but I'm sure everything will fall into place once the time comes :)

Sunset

Cappuccino at Godtbrod

My homemade oatmeal cookies :) Better than Shantell's!!!!

"American Night" (sloppy joes with a Bud)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Dinner the other night :) The laks had some kremost(cream cheese) inside!

Sun in Bergen???

Worse Fish and Macaroni frozen dinner ever

           So its true. Despite many claims to the Bergen sun, I actually had a chance to enjoy it this past weekend! Elin and I went down to the harbor for a nice little walk and hung by the cafes. It was only about 65 outside, but with the past weather we've been getting, it felt more like 80. Other than those nice long walks around the big lung, Germany had two games. One against Austria on Friday, or as I call it 'little Deutschland', and then another against Azerbaijan today. Both which they won, which was to be expected, but they didn't play up to their standards. I made dinner yesterday, just your average pasta with meat sauce. And today I made a chocolate-chip cookie cake with ice cream on top! When I get bored now, I don't just resort to FIFA, but also baking. I try to also do some push-ups here and there to stay looking good and running around big lung to stay in shape. But I'm also still planning out a few more possible trips for early September with Doyle, so we'll see how that goes. He wants to go to Ireland, but I would prefer England, because there is absolutely nothing to do in Ireland unless you want to pay a lot for a little. 

View of Ulrika at halftime between Germany and Austria

View outside the living room at 1:31 am!!!

Elin and I decided to make a spice pizza with chili, chili spice, red peppers, and jalopenos. Along with taco seasoned beef!

Chocolate-chip Cookie Cake!!! a la Mode

End of May Wrap-Up

So June has arrived and I am still enjoying my life here in Bergen as the stay at home boyfriend! So what have I been up to as of lately? Well Elin and I went to go see the Hangover 2 on Friday evening which was amazing. However, beforehand we went on a long walk around the city center out towards the water, because even though it may have been 10 pm, it felt more like 7 pm. We then headed off to Peppes Pizza just before the movie to get some dessert. I had the American apple pie which was actually half decent, while Elin went with the three scoop neopolitan. On the movie, I thought that it was essentially like the first one, only in "Thighland." I still liked it, but I also realized how many jokes the audience did not fully understand, because some of the references, such as to Long John Silvers, did not make any sense to them... if only they knew, haha. So I was one of the only ones laughing from time to time. Something I did not mind doing!!! After the movie Elin and I walked back to the apartment which is about 30 minutes away. One of the first nights we were actually able to do so, weather permitting, because I did not feel like paying 11 dollars for a 6 minute packed bus ride back home. Yes, the price does go up from $5 to $11 dollar at night.

On the last day of May, Elin and I were able to BBQ on one of the nicest days thus far! I was actually able to wear shorts and a t-shirt without looking like an idiot, even though everyone else was wearing their heavy coats and snow shoes. I remember how it was in München when it was like 75 degrees and people were still wearing their winter gear. I have had enough of the "spring" weather, and now I am looking forward to summer! We ate some hot-dogs that we cooked out on the community balcony grill. It is not a makeshift grill either. Its something I would not mind getting once I get a house and everything. So props on the landlord for getting something useful! Below is a picture of what our summer nights in Bergen look like when it is pass 10:30 pm! Once 11:15 hits, its pretty much dark, but then the sky gets lighter again around 2:10 am!

The hospital that Elin works at... 10:30pm

Out towards the sea!

Elin is freezing in this picture :)

Overlooking some of the city... Big Lung Lake!

To the left of the mountainous City

Overall, things here in Bergen have been going very well! Just trying to brush up on my German grammar before heading back down to Germany in about four weeks and relaxing. And no, I have not been to any euro raves yet... yet.