Welcome to Edinbrraaaah

I actually thought I would never make it to the airport in time as we were stuck in traffic for over an hour. I was getting slightly nervous but I made it to check in very last minute. I said goodbye to my Mom and Grandpa and then I was off to my new adventure: Scotland.

I met my friend Sophie at London Heathrow. We were on the same flight to Edinburgh and she is also one of my flatmates. Once we arrived in Edinburgh’s city center we decided to get a taxi to our new place and were greeted by our Italian flatmate who offered to carry our luggage all the way up to the top floor. What a gent 😉

this is our new place from outside 🙂

wine and our fave TV show “I am a celeb – get me out of here”

As I am a theatre addict I was obliged to go out check out one of my new fave theatres in Edinburgh on our first day in the city. I already ordered tickets to go see a show there last year. My fave show of all times is touring the UK and will stop in Edinburgh in March. It is all about fun songs, awesomeness and bling bling…of course I had to get tickets in advance 😉

Left: posing with my fave musical actor(who will be singing and dancing in heels and garter belts in Edinburgh soon!) Right: posing with my fave musical Priscilla. 

Edinburgh Old Town in the back

We noticed quite early that Scottish people have a slight tendency to pronounce their words a bit..let’s call it “different”. So communicating with real Scotsman is always a pleasure haha!

view from the Scott Monument

view from Scott Monument

Sophie and me with our first Scottish friend 😉

Talking about friends…I will be studying with 6 of my other crazy friends from Germany in Edinburgh. We are all doing a double degree at the Edinburgh Napier University.

free donuts for all of us 🙂

more Edinburgh

Sophie and me in the theatre

We went to see our first theatre show last night. It was called New Jersey Nights and was all about the music of the Four Seasons which I absolutely love! It was a great show and we laughed so much! We were all dancing, singing and clapping in the end!

the boys singing “who loves you”

Our friend Kathi arrived last night so we met up today and went up Calton Hill. We had a beautiful view!

up on Calton Hill

I can’t wait to explore more of the city! Uni starts tomorrow and once we get our schedule I can start planning trips. So excited! 🙂

Best of 2o12

I admit. I have not been very good at keeping up with my blog last year. One of my resolutions for 2013 is to blog a bit more often. I am sure I will have enough to tell 😉

The previous year has probably been one of the most challenging years so far so I will start my 2013 blog by listing my favorite things of 2012. So here it goes:

March…Having a great time at the English Theatre in Frankfurt watching “The Who’s Tommy” and enjoying some sparkly “refreshments” 😉

 

My colorful birthday party. I do remember lots of booze and even more laughter. Great times!

 

Having a fun night out with the girls. We went to an after-work party in Frankfurt and partied among important business people cuz that’s how we roll 😉

My favorite Dutchie Fleur came to visit in May and we enjoyed some hangovers, lotsa laughter and the first sunbeams 🙂

 

Another reunion! I went to Munich. For the first time in my life. Yes, I am that kinda German 😉 I visited my friend Marian and she convinced me that Munich is an awesome place. And now, I am even willing to go back there.

 

 

My two lovely Finns Isa and Kata came to visit me in May as well. I haven’t seen the girls since I moved back to Germany last August so it felt really good to see them again as I have missed my Finnish entourage 😉

I love my house mates in Gießen! We decided to stop traffic and do our own version of Abbey Road. Fun moments.

 

We had quite  big house party in June. About 100 people and the police came to party with us. The police must have liked it as they came back after a while 😉

 

My inner teenager was so happy in June! I flew to Dublin to see Westlife in concert. It was their farewell tour and I met a few friends and we all went to see it together. It was in Croke Park, the big stadium in Dublin and it was packed!

We sang, danced, laughed and cried. Awesome concert. Awesome time. Farewell, Westlife ♥

 

Made a quick trip to Hamburg in July to reunite with these two lovely ladies! ♥

 

Oh summer how I loved you and how I loved the bbq/wig parties on our roof terrace with my house mates.

Another summer night. Another roof terrace. Another bbq party.

 

Even though I do not really follow soccer, it was great to experience the atmosphere in the stadium. As I was working there I could catch everything for free. I liked. But I am still not a big soccer fan 😉

I loved the wine and musical evenings with my friend Kathi. We made ourselves comfy on my bed, drank wine and watched musicals…until we fell asleep.

 

In October I got to see my little Prince again. I love my nephew. A lot.

 

Another highlight in 2012 was my trip to Portugal. My friend Isa was on exchange in Lisbon and we decided on a little reunion over there. Best of all: My friend Henna (who I have not seen for over a year) flew in from England and we all spent a lovely, crazy and fantastic extended weekend in this beautiful city. I seriously cannot wait for the next reunion!

 

My friend Jess, who I don’t get to see very often, came to visit me in November. Besides shopping, sightseeing, eating out and seeing the Musical “Sweet Charity”, we were in tears laughing…as always. 🙂

 

 

Another trip to Hamburg in Decemeber where I tried to see as many friends as possible. Simone is always one of my fave person to meet there! We were known as “Team Awesome” back in Helsinki…and are probably remembered as “Team Retard” in Hamburg 😉

The main reason for my Hamburg trip was a big themed birthday party. The theme: Musicals! What else did you expect? 😉 I decided to dress up as Charleston girl from the musical “Chicago” pretty last minute and had a great time…according to the pictures. Haha!

Playing Laser Tag with my house mates was another highlight! To regain our energy we had some hot wine at the Christmas market in Frankfurt afterwards.It was the last fun night out before I moved and I really enjoyed it.

Last reunion with my crazy work colleagues who surprised me that night!

I will never forget the day I could submit one of my worst nightmares ever….116 pages of sweat, tears and pain.

Christmas with the family…and a very happy nephew 😉

In late December, I got to spend a fun day out with my sister. Haven’t done this for years as both of us are usually very busy. We went to Rostock for some shoppping and then we had “Dinner in the Dark” where you are served food in the dark. You do not know what the blind waitors are serving you….you just need to use your remaining senses. It was such a weird but also great experience. Best of all: I did not spill any food…onto my clothes at least 😉

Cannot wait to see what 2013 brings along! I am hoping for a lot of laughter, fun times and glitter! 😉

 

About too much work, thesis writing and how Barney Stinson took my blood

Wowzers! These last few months have been super busy: work, study, work, study, presentations, work, study, sleep,work,work,work,study.

Few pictures that capture this month and a short story aboout a nice encounter with somebody awesome…

another fair in Frankfurt…kaching! 😉

The company I was working for at the fair this month was pretty cool. They even invited us for a fancy dinner and a nice party afterwards. Next day at work was no fun but who cares. You only live once 😉

sipping champagne in the VIP lounge

“Skinny Jeans” performing

Once the fair was over, I switched clothes and started mixing smoothies again 😉

working at the smoothie bar

Another job: being a test passenger for the new terminal at Frankfurt airport.

working at the airport

When I’m not working I spend my time in the library trying to write my thesis…86 days to go!!

master thesis

Back from the library: getting ready for a birthday party.

hipster bags

One of our friends had a birthday. She is a little hipster with lotsa hipster friends. We decided to “dress up” a little to fit in and took 10 minutes of our precious time to design some nice hipster bags 😉

♥ friends ♥

hangover cure!!!!

We found this new drink that promises to erase your hangover. I really have to say it worked!!!

obligatory pizza in bed on the “day after”

Just came back from the doctor’s as I had to get my blood checked. I’m not a big fan of needles but guess who took samples of my blood today? BARNEY STINSON!!! Ok, not the real one but his brunette doppelgänger. I seriously had trouble “concentrating” and I had to smile the entire time even though there was a needle in my arm! I almost high-fived him when I said goodbye. Awkward!! Can’t wait to go on a second “date” with him 😉

thesis writing at home

Now I changed into my pjs to make thesis writing a bit more “comfortable” before I have to go to work in a few hours. Working at the soccer stadium today as there is some big game and they need somebody to spread some awesomeness throughout the arena.True story!

And 5 months later…

…I have my life back. At least for a few weeks.

I admit it.I might have worked a bit too much during the last few months considering the fact that my studies should be my first priority. Oh well, I guess money does rule the world. But besides working and studying I’ve managed to have a little fun as well.

USA motto party

yo momma motto party

We’ve also gone on a few trips. We went to check out Kassel, the hometown of one of my friends, during Christmas time. We had so much fun even though it was freezing cold and very slippery especially on the mountain. But there is nothing hot wine can’t fix 😉

Hercules monument in Kassel

view down from Hercules

Christmas market in Kassel

I also became an aunt. My nephew and little prince Matti was born 10 days before Christmas. I was so happy when I finally could drive up north to see my family and Matti for Christmas.

the little prince

I could have cuddled this smelly angel forever but duty called and I had to leave and go back to Gießen shortly after the new year had started. In January I started a second job. Not the smartest idea considering the fact that the exams and final presentations were coming closer. But hey, money!

Frankfurt

My other job is in Frankfurt so I have to use the trains to get there. And while doing that I also found out that the warning “mind the gap between platform and train” makes perfect sense and should be taken seriously. To my defense I have to say that it was very slippery (and I was in a hurry) so I slipped right into the gap with my entire right leg. I do not recommend that. It is scary and very hurtful. And time-consuming. And I am certainly not one of those people who have lotsa spare time to see doctors. Thankfully the train did not move until I was out of there but I smashed my leg and was not allowed to stress and use it so I could not work any of my jobs: bye bye money. And thanks to the pain: bye bye sleep.

I needed surgery but luckily my puppy eyes worked and I could convince the doctors to wait until after my exams. The pain faded a bit and I could attend the “it’s all over” party. Unfortunately I could not drink alcohol but I still had a good time.

celebrating the end of the exams

our knowledge on the floor 😉

Oh yeah, in between all of the above I also had to move apartments as my contract ended. But the painting and building the furniture had to wait until after the exams.

I finished everything just in time for my long-awaited surgery. I admit I was freaked out, scared and horrified and could not sleep for days. Doctors, needles and hospitals are not really my cup of tea. But the “chill pill” I had to take right before my surgery made the world pretty awesome and sparkly again and I was a bit more relaxed until they totally drugged me with the anesthesia.

time for surgery

First thing I did after I woke up again was to check if they took the right leg. They did but they bandadged the entire leg so the only thing I could see was a disgusting blood-filled tube coming out of my leg. And this is when I fell asleep again. Don’t remember the other stuff that happened that day. Except for the burning injection. Even though I have already been getting those for over a month now it still hurts and stings like a bitch.

Some of my friends came to visit me in hospital the next day. It felt so good to see someone I knew especially since my family could not be there. My friends got me a cute care package which made my eyes all teary. But after a few hours of happiness it was time for boredom, nurses and injections again.

I love my friends

Luckily, I only had to stay in hospital for a few days. Now I’m at home trying to relax and enjoying some time off-work. And next week I’m off to see my family and friends up north for a few days. Life is good…until it’s time for that stupid injection again.

Three Weddings (And No Funeral)

My summer 2011 was indeed very special. Besides enjoying the nice weather with great company, I was fortunate enough to attend three fairytale weddings in three countries and meet lotsa friends again I haven’t seen for a while.

1st: Alina & Mikko – 05 Aug 2011

Location: Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland

The day was just perfect for a wedding, which was held on Suomenlinna – one of Helsinki’s islands. The sun was shining and everybody was happy and excited. Oh, and there was a dresscode as well: Boys – Ocean’s Eleven; Girls – Sex and the City.

The priest was quite funny and even sang during the ceremony. Two of Alina’s friends sang Ronan Keating’s “When you say nothing at all” in church and I guess 80% of the female guests cried during the song. (I was one of them, of course). It was soo beautiful!

The party afterwards was fun! The venue had a medieval touch but it was still very romantic with all the candles, flowers and accessories. The wedding dance was very traditional but right before the newlyweds wanted to kiss, the bride was kidnapped. After a while the bride returned in her party dress and it was relieving to see that almost all of the girls,who did not wear flats, took of their shoes for the wild party dancing. So I had some barefoot friends 😉

just married

© Tuukka Ervasti Photography

 

party time!

© Tuukka Ervasti Photography

view from the ferry back to Helsinki city

2nd: Anastasia & Moritz – 27 Aug 2011

Location: from Maarssen to Amsterdam, Netherlands

Unlike in Finland, the weather in the Netherlands was horrible but I don’t think anybody cared that day. After we all met up at the Tulip Inn in Amsterdam we all were taken to Maarssen where our boat was parked. Yes, our boat. The entire wedding took place on a boat. Quite new experience for me. After the ceremony the boat took off going along the canal all the way to Amsterdam. This took a few hours and we surely knew how to use that time 😉 The wedding dance was very surprising.It started very traditional but then it changed to David Guetta & Rihanna’s “Who’s that chick” and the bride and groom showed off a hilarious choreography. And after that the party got even wilder!

getting ready in the hotel

just married on the boat

some footy entertainment

The fun table with our lucky balloons

lucky balloons up in the sky

party animals

the newlyweds

Thriller-riffic

3rd: Anja & Micha – 03 Sep 2011

Location: Waren & Klink, Germany

Here the sun was shining again. For a change, this wedding took place in my hometown in Germany. The ceremony was lotsa fun but also quite emotional. The priest was very cool and the gospel singer made everyone shiver and every girl cry. After the ceremony we all walked to Waren’s harbor to get on a boat which took us to Klink, a little village outside Waren. The party took place in Klink’s castle. At this wedding the wedding dance was also very special. It started off traditionally but then it switched to the Sugarhill Gang’s “Apache (Jump On It)” made famous by the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air over to MJ’s “Thriller” and many more. I laughed so so much!

Oh happy day ♫♪

on the way from Waren to Klink

love is in the air

some traditional German wedding game

almost like in old High School days

Klink’s castle

“Apache (Jump On It)”

some more games

I loved seeing my friends getting married and the countless blisters on me feet were totally worth it 😉

A route of flowers,pancakes,moustaches and other cheesy business.

Usually we only make trips to the Netherlands in the deepest winter so the roadtrip turns into an adventure. But this year we squeezed a summer roadtrip into our busy schedule. We were hoping for lotsa sunshine during the 9 hour trip but all we got was gray clouds and lotsa rain.

This year’s first stop was Heemskerk. A little town our navigation system did not know and therefore, it took us quite a while until we actually found the right way to that magic place where the sun was actually shining. My favorite Dutchie, Fleur, already welcomed us and we decided to go to the beach to enjoy the nice weather after dinner.

Fleur and my new furry buddy Max

we enjoyed the sunset and a few drinks

Jess, Fleur and Max(under the table) at the beach bar

The next day we were off to Zaanse Schans, a collection of windmills. It was a pretty fun and very Dutch day.

having a seat in a gigantic (and pretty wet) wooden shoe

showing off my new dancing shoes 😉

the girls in the wooden shoe souvenir shop

the windmills

We went into a “sawmill” where windpower is used in order to saw wood.Pretty cool but also pretty dusty.

Jess, Fleur and me on the “terrace” of the sawmill

in the Netherlands shoes are not only made for walking 😉

On the way back to Heemskerk we saw one of the coolest buildings ever. It is a hotel and if it would not be in the middle of nowhere, I would definitely spend a night or two in there.

coolest building ever!

The next day we drove to Amsterdam where I was off for a wedding (blog about this summer’s weddings will follow shortly) and Jess spent too much money during a successful shopping trip. We also visited our famous Aunt Mary in Den Haag. It was her last day in town and of course we did not wanna miss that 😉

Mary Poppins

One of our friends got us tickets for the show and we could enjoy Mary Poppins from amazing seats! It was kinda sad that it was the last show but the atmosphere in the theater was awesome! We had lotsa fun especially during scenes where lotsa (hot) sweeping was going on. (Sorry, that is an inside joke 😉 )

the view from our seats

the final curtain call

When we left the theater we noticed something quite weird: They changed the theater decorations during the show. They took down Mary Poppins and put up the posters for the new show so once you left the theater, the Mary Poppins feeling was taken away and replaced by a green witch who we actually did not plan on seeing before the winter.

Wicked is next

After the show we only had a quick reunion with Erwin and then we quickly checked out the beach and pier before it started raining again.

it was a bit windy though

The next day, we met some friends and we finally made something happen that I have planned on doing four Amsterdam trips ago: visiting the Anne Frank House. I loved Anne Frank’s diary and it was a weird feeling to finally be in the place where she and her family were hiding from the Nazis for such a long time. Kinda creepy feeling but still very fascinating. At the end we got to see the real Oscar the Anne Frank movie won in 1959. Actually, it belonged to Shelley Winters who won it for her role in the Anne Frank movie.

a very shiny and very real Academy Award.

The rest of the day was pretty relaxed. We enjoyed (too much) yummy food, went to the Kaaskelder and tasted (and bought) lotsa cheese, went to the flower market, played tourist, had more  food and once it stopped raining we could actually enjoy a few minutes of sunshine.

yum!

cheeeeeeeeeeeeese

posing at the I amsterdam sign

having one of the biggest (and yummiest) pancakes ever…the stomach ache afterwards was totally worth it!

We ate so much that we decided to walk to our hotel and lose a few of those 17639284 calories we consumed that day. On the way we passed a few funny stores…this one below was my favorite. I love moustaches but only if you can take them off again at the end of the day. If you are not retarded or don’t work in porn, don’t even consider growing a moustache or I will make fun of you!

I totally dig the Sunday style!

The Carré theater. Looking forward to the day when I finally get to sit in there!

This trip was actually the Dutchest one of all of our trips to the Netherlands even though I did not get the chance to eat my beloved Bitterballen and Kaasstangels. But that’s gonna be on my menu this winter…together with a freshly baked stroopwafel. Oh I can already feel upcoming stomach ache… 🙂

Thank you Finland and try not to miss me too much!

After living in Finland for 4 years, I moved back to Germany last week.It was such a weird feeling and I actually shed one or two tears on the plane. I know I am such a crybaby. I have been pretty emotional during the last few weeks as well as I had to start  saying goodbye to my beloved friends. I had a great 4 years living in the land of snow and vodka and my friends made my last Finnish summer very special…and very Finnish 😉

me and Henna (who moved away from Helsinki) got a sweet farewell t-shirt from a friend

i ❤ my friends!

On my flight to Frankfurt I even met an old friend on the plane which was kinda funny but then the turbulences started and took all the fun away…at once. The flight back to Berlin was more fun (as much fun you can get when you’re scared of flying).  I did not expect so many people to greet me at the airport. And also my mom decorated the house with a big “welcome back” banner. Very cute! But soon it’s time to move again…(more details about that later!)

unpacking all my stuff from Finland.Moving countries is no fun, I’m telling you!

I left my heart in Oslo (and too much money)

Oslo, Norway.Home of gnomes and trolls.And probably one of the most amazing (and expensive) places I have ever been to and I am definitely going back there!(Just need to make sure I win the lottery before going there the next time or somebody else just needs to pay the trip).

The Royal Palace

view down Karl Johans gate from the Palace

“angry boy” at Vigeland Sculpture Park

a bit disturbing isn’t it?

Vigeland Sculpture Park

Vigeland Sculpture Park

Vigeland Sculpture Park “Monolith”

view from Vigeland Sculpture Park

Kata and Jule 🙂

Norwegian Folk Museum

there was an “original” Norwegian perfomance at the museum

funny dancing…

…and finger wagging

awesome weather and nature

and then I actually spotted a troll!! 😉

Oslo City Hall and venue of the yearly Nobel Peace Prize ceremony

sitting at the harbor enjoying some yummy ice cream

@  Aker Brygge

And now my favorite spot in Oslo:

Oslo Opera House ❤

they were filming a TV show

you could walk up to roof top of the Opera house…beautiful view!

on the roof top

fun times on the roof top

this was my face after I saw how much mo ney I’ve spent in Oslo …or maybe it’s just me imitating Edvard Munch’s “The Scream“…you choose 😉

Easter Moments

Here we go…again:

I kinda dragged some of my friends to that awesome sushi place I’ve been posting about in my last 2 blogs. It was actually perfect timing because our waitress seemed to be a bit hungover and gave us starters for free so we would not be so mad at her for bad service.She also forgot to charge us for our bottle of wine. Don’t care if it was rude or not…we just paid our bill without asking if she has forgotten about the wine. Tough luck 😉

We enjoyed some laughs (and cider) outside

went out for dinner & celebrated Jesse’s bday

view from the club

on the roof top of the club

shot time 🙂

I seriously don’t know why I am so red in this picture…I guess the shots made the devil in me come out for a wild swirl 😉

can you see the (dirty) snow in the background?

Can’t believe Easter is over already. Having 4 days off in a row has never felt so great. I’m back to saving the world again tomorrow. 😉

I ♥ weekends.

Especially if I get to spend it with great company, awesome sushi, delicious wine, lovely sunshine, a good movie, candy and some more wine.

We “attempted” to watch Woody Allen’s “You will meet a tall dark stranger” but somehow we ended up talking a teensy bit too much and might have lost track of the plot a bit…but that made the whole thing even better! We decided that we’re gonna do more of those chilled out movie nights as we are all getting older and those nights are actually pretty relaxing and it feels great  and relieving that you (for once) don’t wake up with the usual major “Finnish hangover” the next day 😉