temporary change of my blog

www.nininz.blogspot.com

for current information over the next year

Cony

Stockholm, Sweden

Some time last year I decided to have a small vacation during my semester break in February/March. So I booked a flight from Lübeck to Stockholm, Stockholm was a spontaneous decision. First I always wanted to see it and second the flight was nearly for free. I then thought of an accomodation and thought, why not try to couch surf?

It turned out to be pretty hard to find a couch for a whole week besides the Sweds had vacation as well and didn't had much time to host. Additionally I think I am too challanging to choose the right one that match with my personal interests. Long story short, I ended up in a hostel for 'only' 270,- EUR for the week, damn it. 

So here's the travelogue.

Saturday 28th February

After a short lunch at the Wismar station, I'm sitting in the train heading to Lübeck airport. Finally the vacation will start! The One I was looking forward for so long, being on my own in another country even if it is just for a week.

The flight was fun, but the thing what got on my nerves most were the annoying flight attendants trying to sell everything they had on board (at least it seemed so to me). Anyway, flying over Sweden I had a beautiful view all over the country and its frozen lakes. There're dozens!!!

After an hour we  landed in Nyköping Skavsta Airport, about one and a half hours drive from Stockholm City. I hopped an the aircoach and observed the icy landscape laying before me (I was sitting in the first row).

At 7pm something I arrived in my hostel 'Zinkensdamm' and soon fell into sleep. I was kind of forced, the two other girls in the room were already asleep when I arrived so I did the same some time later.

Monday 2nd March

On Sunday I walked myself through huge parts of the city. Starting in Gamla Stan, the old city centre where it all started some hundred years ago. I've been to the main city centre of today and Skeppsholmen. That's a small island with different kind of museums where I took a tour through the architecture museum. 

This city is so beautiful and with all the snow laying on the rivers and lakes it seems quite romantic. You always expect the king on his horse turning around the next corner. Stockholm has all those old renaissance and baroque houses everywhere and this produces a special atmosphere. 

Okay back to Monday.

I started the day with taking the bus to the city library and walked my way to Vasastaden and Norrmalm (different districts in Stockholm, each on another island!). After a coffee at a cozy café in Gamla Stan and walking throught the narrowest street in the city (where Moby once shot a video), I took the ferry to Djurgarden. 

Next to the famous Tivoli is a huge park which includes lakes, café's, boats, small forests, houses, a school and embassies. The snow found its way to every corner so it was another amazing experience. The park seemed so empty, I rarely saw a person anywhere around. A bit scary being totally on your own in this massive park . . . but I made my way and finally arrived in civilization again.

I headed along the Östermalm alleys and had a look into a gothic church. Later I found out that this district is known for its high society inhabitants, which explains why I saw so many Porsche Cayenne parked along the alley. 

Back in Norrmalm I went into a shopping mall to get warm and did some window-shopping.

Tuesday 3rd March

Oh my God, I'm so out of shape! That's what I thought first when I got up this morning. Its my 3rd day and I'm totally exhausted from all this sightseeing in the winterclimate with hardly 2°C. 

Nevertheless I took a funny tour through the city hall which was completed in 1923 (not that old), but the architect did everything to let it look pretty old. They used special materials and colortechniques ($) to pretend this is an old building. Each brickstone is a copy of itself. They look all the same in size and shape. Crazy Sweds.

Afterwards I tried to get some cash at an ATM. After the second failure, the third try with a watching clerk behind my back did work out. I didn't change my tactic with this machine, maybe it was scared of the clerk and gave finally in and me my money.

With a fresh brewed coffee I went to a photography gallery with pictures from .... Doloren (a dutch artist), played some drums and guitares at the Music Museum and hopped into the History Museum. 

During all these visits of museums and galleries I was walking to each attraction, so writing this day down sounds not so much as it felt. 

I skipped the National Museum after I've been to the Museum of Modern Art and decided not to get another Stockholm Card (which I had this day) where all admissions are free within 24h, 48h or 72h. I wouldn't have saved that much money for the rest of the museums I wanted to see and it is too stressful.

Friday 6th March

All the days I always were lucky with the winterweather. In neither had rain or much snow when I was on tour nor cold winds, which made it quite nice to be outside most time of the day.  

Until Friday I visited some more museums such as the Vasamuseum (the ship, not the bread), teh National Museum, the Culture House and the Royal Appartments. I went to the look-out of Kaknästornet (TV station) and spent about 4 hours in the glorious Nordiska Museum (flickr pics). The metro took me to one of the biggest cemeteries around. Quite  as big as the park in Djurgarden with forests and clearings for the graves. People are running here and taking walks . . . weird, really. Its called Skokskyrkogarden.

One evening I went to an old vintage cinema where they played english movies. I saw 'Milk' and I found it really breathtaking. I never thought about the States and all their aversion against gays. I heard about it, sure but never thought about it carefully. I always thought they learned their lesson somehow, but I must have been too naive. Important movie, you should watch it.

My last day in Stockholm I, again, took a walk hrough the city. Peoplewatching at a café, and some wndow-shopping at designer stores and modern (like a maze) shopping malls. They have too much of them and I always were leaving it on the wrong exit finding myself in streets never been before. 

Besides the cold winter (my fault, could have come in summer) and expensive prices for food and admissions to the attratctions and cultural things Stockholm is a place where I'd like to come back. When its warmer of course. I met a lot of nice people, in the hostel and around the city. The lifestyle is one I really like, starting late in the morning and getting asleep late the evening. Perfect. 

So, this won't be my last visit to this beautiful city and its pulsating flow . . .

To see more have a look at the pics on flickr.

Cheers

2009 has started

Its the new year and it started pretty good.

My Christmas holidays were spent at my parents house and we had a lovely time. Good food & conversations. It was relaxing although I had to do some studies over the holidays.

The 30th of December Claudia and I went to Hamburg to watch 'Australia' in an english cinema. It was so good to be in an actual city again. Wismar is nice but still small. We walked over the sweet Christmas market at the Hamburger Alster and got some Starbucks Coffee before we watched the movie in the cozy cinema. 

New years was celebrated together with Claudia, Melli and Claudia's brother Alex as well as Sebastian (Campus open air, Wismar) and loads of friends of Alex' down in a party basement in Bargteheide. We had loads of food before the party and played some PS2 'BUZZ'. So funny. I think we were 8 people battleing against each other. Hilarious!!! During the party I had, again, a couple of drinks too much so the party ended for me at 2am or so. But it was so funny. We had a the annual firework at 0.00am and enjoyed it all together. 

On my birthday one day later, I went shopping with Melli in Hamburg 'AEZ', the bigggest mall around. We spent some money on clothes, of course, and had a real good time together. Later the day my family cooked a delicious dinner for me. My brother and his wife came by, Lu (Günni's youngest daughter) did the potatoes, my Mum and Günni cooked the chicken and veggies. It was nice to have them all around me. These moments are definitely too rare at the moment.

 

Eventually Kay, Melli and Claudia hopped in later this evening. They got me presents, except for Melli who told me she first has to assemble it (I had no idea what she was preparing). Kay got me a lonely planet for NZ and Claudia, with help from Kay and Ralf,  got me an  A3 drawing board (as a becoming architect I should own one). 

Back in Wismar, reality chrashed back into my life. . . . 

I had so much stuff to prepare and to work on, so in the end Claudia and I decided to skip the first semester compulsory exam. We made a deal with the professors which ended so that we also have to do a design projekt out of the compulsory task, which is alright for me 'cause I wanted to do that anyways. 

For the third semester a broschure has to be made and handed in. I got this finished and made the oral exam with a pretty good mark. So the third semester can be officially named as finished.

Normally the semester would have ended for the course at the end of January, but exam dates were moved to the first week of February as well as deadlines for handing in the broschures. So that criss-crossed Claudia's and my plans having a semester end celebration on Thusday the 29th. We did it anyway. 

So on Thursday morning we first helped our friend Sasha, she's from NZ, with the contract of her new flat and headed then to Hamburg. 

In Hamburg we checked in in the 'Hotel Hafen Hamburg' located at the 'Landungsbrücken'. The reason we choose a pretty expensive hotel was that Günni is working there and we were able to get a private hotel tour through both hotels (Empire Riverside Hotel by David Chipperfield) and we didn't wanted to get back home in the last train after the concert of David Garrett. 

So we arrived in the hotel and got to our room. At this point Günni came by the room and told us that the wine on the table as well as the water and fruit basket are for us! Nice!! 

He organized us the missing bath robe and got us a tour to the famous Tower bar. Our room were in the tower as well so we had a pretty nice view over the Alster.

Tower Bar second level

Up in the bar we were told that we are invited to some cocktails after the concert. So we only have to pop in and a table will be reserved for us . . . dream . . .!!!!

Back in the room, bath robes are hanging, warm, next to the bathroom, we got ready for the concert. Proseco was opened to get in party mood and we had so much distraction that we could easily relax from the studies!!! The whole weekend I wasn't thinking about Wismar and all the stuff that is waiting for me on my desk.

We arrived at the Color Line Arena around 7.30pm. On our seats, drinking some Coke we waited for the show to start. Wow, with a song from 'Pirates of the Carribean' David Garrett came into the arena from a side entrance. The concert was indescribable beautiful. Have you ever heard Thunderstruck by ACDC on a violin accompanied by a rock band and a symphony orchestra?? (video from HH concert)

After arriving back at the hotel, smiling all the way, we got ready for the tower bar. We opened the wine and had a glass. At 1:20am Dirk, the maitre d' welcomed us: Hello, you must be Conny Nitsche, how was the concert?

Me: (must have my mouth stay open in totally disbelief) Yes, yes that's me. The concert was great thank you.

Dirk: We served a table for you up in the 

second floor, is this alright for you? You do smoke don't you? (smoking is allowed upstairs)

Me: Yep, that's very kind of you, thanks very much!

We got to our table and had a stunning view over Hamburg! Cocktails were served and we had so much fun!!!

After the second cocktail, last order was given and we got down to thank the staff and headed down to our room.The wine was emptied and at 3:40am or so we fall into the bed.

At 9:30am Günni called and asked if we wanna have our breakfast served in the room???? Disbelief again in my mind, but no thank you we'll come down to eat. Can you imagine how we felt? In German you'd say 'gebauchpinselt' which means to fell flattered. And that was the constant feeling we had the last 24 hours. Günni told us that we're also invited for the 20,- eur expensive breakfast! Bam again. 

Down in the Piano Bar a woman came to us, Good morning are you Conny Nitsche? We are waiting for you, let me show you your table and can I get a cup of coffee for you? Feel free to take what you want from the buffet.

Me+Claudia: THANKS!!!

After breakfast our hotel tours started. First we had a look at the Hotel Hafen Hamburg which is a building ground mostly. Pretty interesting and I could see the two rooms I was designing a couple of month ago. They look great.

1 hour later we drove to the second Hotel. The Empire Riverside. It was finished last year and is a pretty modern one. We went to the upper floor where the 'twenty up' bar is located. In the mens room they can look over Hamburg during . . . 

We had a look into some rooms and got down into the lobby. There it happens that Claudia and I became teens again. 

Nobody else then David Garrett was sitting there before us in a couch giving some interviews. Yep, we got to him and asked for an autograph. What else would you do? The highlight of the last 24 hours!!

The tour continued. We've been on the roof top, seen the heart of a hotel (technical equipment) and everything else what is neccessary to run a hotel this size.

At about 3pm we hopped into the train back to Ahrensburg and Claudia brought me to my parents house were  I spent the weekend. 

See, I told you I would write when something interesting is happening. 

Hope you reached to the end, this is a long blog but you made it :)

Cheers

PS: Mellis gift for me was a self made dreamcatcher!!!!! Its beautiful and I was thrilled when I saw it. Thank you sweety!!