Ásta Sigga

Barbados

2012-01-11T16:31:00.002Z

Yes... we are off to Barbados. We are going to meet our friends there...

A little bit of everything...

2011-11-24T13:48:00.010Z

Malaysia is definitely different from what I had expected... Mixing Malays, Chinese and Indian in one country, makes up an extraordinary blend of different food, people, languages and religion! You walk the streets and you see women wearing bajung kurung, zari, jeans, burka or even hot pants! Seeing a Buddhists temple, Hindu temple, a mosque and a church all in the same street, is something you won't find elsewhere.

I have been visiting a few mosques lately, making me dress up in appropriate attire. These places are beautiful and so peaceful. I also like the Azan, the calling from the mosques, five times a day, for the prayers... it is in a way a nice reminder of maybe it is good to stop for a while and think: what the heck am I up to?

I went to Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur this week. I had a tradeshow I wanted to visit but then I also just wanted to be a tourist. I was lucky to get a ride with Akmal and his family, and then I met up with my dear friend Raihana. The guys from ICC UTM then joined me for a night out yesterday, so I have not been lonely.

I also stayed at hostel, which reminded by so much of my travels with Christophe a few years ago.

My project is going quite well... and I am trying to finish it before I head home in December. I must admit that I am really looking forward to it.

Singapore

2011-11-15T00:42:00.008Z

It is a bit like going from a ghetto-playground to Disneyland... going from JB to Singapore. It takes only 30 min on a good day with no traffic and the entry ticket is just your passport. I went there with some people from the Dyson factory and enjoyed a day of shopping and a night out by the Singapore river, ending the night on the roof top of 1-Altidue bar at the 71st floor, overlooking Singapore... it was an amazing sight.

Otherwise I have just been enjoying JB... and working on my project.

Tanjung Piai*

2011-11-03T00:15:00.014Z

* The Southern Most Tip of Mainland Asia

People might think that I am on a holiday.... but when you get invited to exciting places, it is difficult to say no.

So when they offered me to go to Tanjung Piai I said of course yes thank you! It was about 90 min drive from Johor Bahru and I was accompanied by some Japanese university people from Tokyo and Kyoto. We spent the day walking around the extremely humid mangrove swamps,

were monkeys, lizards, craps, snakes... all kinds of creatures showed there faces. One of the monkeys even jumped onto our guide as he wanted to have is bottle of 100PLUS drink... I quickly moved away.

We had breakfast and lunch at this Homestay place nearby. It is a family that welcomes people to stay and live with them, eat with them, and even help them out with their usual work. The man of the house was a funny old man with a couple of teeth, who had seen many guests in his life... and I think he spotted quickly that I wasn't feeling too well, as my stomach was teasing me. He jumped out into his backyard, hooked a few coconuts down and cut them open. He told me that coconut water would clean everything out from your body. Even people taking medicine should be aware that they would stop working if you drank it! Me, taking no medicine, drank up - and believe it or not, I have felt perfectly fine ever since!

We had some schoolkids coming over to show us dance and how to play the drum... then we headed off to a place called Nusajaya, Kota Iskandar - which is the NEW Johor Bahru, future city... quite impressive but empty of people.

Well I better get on with my project...

Take care, A

Melaka

2011-10-30T02:42:00.011Z

The week went fast, as we had a Deepavali holiday on Wednesday, which is one of the most important festivals of the Hindus. With fireworks and wonderful Bollywood style entertainment in the TV I took an easy day in JB.

Yesterday I went for a big touristic day in the famous town of Melaka. I got a ride with a friend from the university and had a private guide the whole day: Raihana, who I know since workshop in Kuala Lumpur. We tried almost all the tourist attractions there are to be found in the city... everything from visiting mosques and museums to having a foot reflexology and tasting local food. It was a hot day and instead of walking all over the city, we had us a highly decorated trishaw who drove us around... Melaka is a great place for tourists, compared to JB.

The night market in Chinatown opened in the afternoon and we took a boat trip with all the other Malaysian tourists. It was a great day which ended at a local seefood place where Raihana and Redza (friend from JB who drove me) had a ridiculous good meal.

Things are going well. I am halfway through my stay here. I have started to write a report and receiving guidance from my professor at DTU. I hope to finish before I head home for Christmas...

Baju Kurung

2011-10-20T08:35:00.007+01:00

On Tuesdays, people at the office are supposed to wear their uniform: a blue shirt and dark trousers or a skirt...

On Thursdays, people wear their traditional attire, and that means: Baju Kurung for women.

I met up in one today, and people couldn´t believe their eyes! A white woman in a baju kurung... that they had never seen. We had some photo-shoots... many of them... and then deep-fried bananas and coconut milk for lunch... what a diet I am on!

Tourist in JB area

2011-10-18T03:06:00.005+01:00

Lately I have been having an interesting time with the locals; going out for dinners, tasting their traditional food (which they eat with their right hand), and drinking sweet coconut milk drinks with some kind of jelly. Food here tends to be spicy, tasty and either deepfried or swimming in oil. Drinks are sugary, no matter whether it is a cup of coffee or a glas of milk. And yes, they are having health problems...

Fra 2011 Malaysia

I went for live music on Friday and attended a traditional dancing show 'Zapin' on Saturday. One of my friends Raihana, took me sightseeing in JB (Johor Bahru), but there are very few tourist attractions here and the once that we found were closed. We manged to make one museum open for us, but they had not had visitors for weeks...

Fra 2011 Malaysia

Yesterday I went to Singapore (approx. 30km), by the local way: You take a taxi from your home, to the bus station. Then you take the bus to the Malay customs, where they check your passport, ask how old you are and how you pronounce your name. Then you walk to another bus again, drive over the bridge to Singapore and get off again. You get to their customs, fill out the arrival form and they scan your bag and ask you the same questions as the Malays customs. Then you get to another bus, and drive further into the city, where you hop off and get a metro (MRT). I had to continue with a taxi to get to my destination which was the The National University of Singapore, where I had a meeting with Mr. Jørgen Ørstrøm Møller. This took approx. 2 hours :) The way back was even worse, as I returned during peak hours around 5 pm... making the traveling lasting for 3 hours, with quite a hassle at the border... Next time, I think I will walk...

Fra 2011 Malaysia

In Singapore I met with a classmate from DTU: Riccardo, and we went for Dali exhibition in the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands. Pretty impressive how fast they are building in Singapore. 4 years ago when Christophe and I were there, none of this was there...

Blending in

2011-10-12T09:19:00.005+01:00

Things are going well. I am meeting alot of interesting people, both from the academic environment as well as the industry. People are very friendly and amazingly open. I have started to understand better the Malay culture and norms, their habits... and especially their eating habits! Malay people are social people with a good sense of humor... at least the once I have met. I am also getting used to the hot and humid climate.

I plan to get one of these traditional dresses: 'baju kurung' soon, in order to fit in, but the dress code here is pretty strict. It is difficult not to stand out, so people are quite curious, saying hello and asking me where I am from... Iceland doesn't seem to be well known as many tend to understand it as Ireland or simply just island.

Tonight I am going out with people from the university. They have dinner late... around 20.30 and then they go for night market or karaeoki (what else!). The atmosphere is friendly and almost 'sophisticated' as alcohol is never consumed.

That's it for now...

Blue Rice for Lunch anyone?

2011-10-11T09:06:00.002+01:00

The weekend at Sibu Island

2011-10-10T14:30:00.010+01:00

http://www.siburesort.com/

Malaysia

2011-10-07T07:43:00.006+01:00

Fra 2011 Malaysia

Yes, it has been a while since I posted a blog... actually more than 2 years. But as I am away from 'home' now for 3 months, and people wish to have some news... I hereby start again...

I have been in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, for 3 weeks now. I am working on a research project for The Technical University of Denmark, focusing on spin-offs and new ventures through university research. I will be staying here for 3 months.

I live in a nice apartment not far away from JB's (Johor Bahru) center and I have met some fun people to hang out with. I spend every other week at the university UTM and the other weeks at Iskandar Malaysia, a growth corridor in southern Malaysia, just opposite Singapore.

I have already had the chance of going to Kuala Lumpur. I was there for a workshop with the university and a team from Silicon Valley. I got to see the city, the famous Patronas towers and enjoy the great hospitality of Malaysian people. People have found out that I like to taste different food and even very spicy food as well, so I am being stuffed every day with different delicatesses. I try to take pictures of all this crazy food.

I am off to Sibu island...

Have a nice weekend
A

Bicycling in Paris

2009-07-18T16:43:00.004+01:00

I like Vélib'

Midori got married...

2009-06-21T09:29:00.002+01:00

This is Midori and Patrick, they just got married. I met Midori in Aix-en-Provence 6 years ago. We studied French together. Isn't she amazing ? I just had to share this with you...

Il fait beau!

2009-06-02T08:15:00.001+01:00

Gleðilegt sumar!

2009-04-23T12:17:00.003+01:00

hæbb...

2009-04-19T22:25:00.004+01:00

Bætti myndum inn í albúm - fyrir forvitna.
Knús frá Pierre Bérard

Marrakesh

2009-03-31T02:44:00.002+01:00

Að vera hér í Marrakesh fær mig til þess að langa að leggjast í ferðalög aftur..

Til hamingju sæti frændi!

2009-03-13T12:53:00.001Z

Til hamingju með daginn sæti Freyr minn!

What a timing ?

2009-03-05T23:03:00.000Z

Ég kemst ekki yfir þessa mynd!

Frans

2009-02-22T21:16:00.004Z

Þetta er félaginn - forseti Frakklands - Svaðalegur gaur. Takið eftir meikinu á drengnum!

Annars engar stórfréttir héðan. Er mest í því að vinna, fara á gönguskíði og beygja franskar sagnir :) Christophe er kominn á fullt í skólanum. Próf og verkefni eins og gerist og gengur í háskóla. Ég búin að vera í 6 mánuði hjá Gibaud. Flytjum í nýja íbúð í vikunni - eina alveg niður í miðbæ - verður kósý. Ítalíuför, heimsókn til Normandí, Marokkó og fleira á dagskrá næstu vikur....

VOna að þið hafið sem best,

Bestu kveðjur,

ÁSF

It could be worse

2009-02-08T14:37:00.001Z

Outsj... that hurts...

Þvílík helgi!

2009-02-03T23:08:00.006Z

Heimferð til ástkærrar fósturjarðar, hygge með systuling, afmælisdagur sjálfrar míns, afmælisdagur mömmsulínu, vinkonuhittingur, shopping á útsölum, stigasleðaferð með frændum, lambalæri og sykraðar kartöflur í Brekkuselinu, Trivial, 111-hringurinn, te og Morgunblaðið, vinna, ýsa í raspi, ... punkturinn yfir i-ið: litlasti frændi í heiminn kom í gær 2. febrúar kl.19:24, 18 merkur og með eindæmum myndarlegur. Þvílík helgi hér heima. Ef Christophe biði mín ekki í Frakklandi myndi ég missa af vélinni á morgun.... (eins og ég gerði síðast til sælla minninga).

Alpe d'Huez

2009-01-18T20:42:00.002Z

Ekki leiðinlegt að geta skroppið upp í Alpana á aðeins 2 tímum....

Freistuðumst til að gista í kósý litlu fjallahóteli í Alpe d'Huez og nutum þess að vera í helgarfríi... sem fyrir mér var eins og vikufrí! Þvílíkt sem maður hefur gott af því að komast út og viðra sig.

Annars allt gott að frétta. Christophe kominn til France og byrjar í skólanum í febrúar. Ég komin á fullt aftur í vinnunni. Bestu kveðjur, ÁS

C'est l'Islande....

2009-01-14T21:15:00.001Z

Happy New Year!

2009-01-04T09:19:00.004Z

Merry Christmas everyone and happy new year!

How was your holiday? I had some really nice days back home in Iceland. Time went too fast though as always. I went to Copenhagen for new years eve and today I am going back to France. Christophe is moving over to St. Etienne in one week time :) So the plan is to stay there for a bit longer while...

Take care,

love

Heimferð eftir 9 daga!!!

2008-12-14T21:26:00.005Z

Ég get ekki beðið eftir að komast heim um jólin....!!! Nú eru 9 dagar í heimferð og ég er eins og smákrakki að bíða eftir jólapökkunum. Úff hvað verður gott að komast heim í Brekkuselið, borða smákökurnar hennar mömmu, knúsa bollukinnar og láta dekra við sig :)

Helgin var fín... tók vel á því á föstudaginn: Fête des Vikings var haldin með miklum glaumi og gleði. Tók upp á að hafa ekta danskan julefrokost fyrir franskmennina... þeir þoldu þetta fram til fjögur, en þá var liðið orðið valt á velli. Gaman að sjokkera útlendinga með skandínavískum tradísjónum.

Knús, Ásta

Tracy and the lights

2008-12-07T16:55:00.003Z

Can't believe this weekend is almost over... Frida, Joi and their boys came over from Aix-en-Provence. We went to Tracy Chapman solo concert in Lyon on Friday which was as expected absolutely great. She is such an artist: all alone on the stage with her guitar and this incredible voice of hers. Very personal concert where she explained all her songs.

Yesterday we spent in Lyon sightseeing and admiring the light shows that were going on all around the city. Fête des lumières is held every year in Lyon where they light up the city with candle lights and some houses with beautiful colored lights. The city was crowded, people everywhere! A night where you just have to go with the flow.
Today we spent in St. Étienne... went for a run and then had breakfast for two hours :) I love to do that! Went to Musé de la Mine and learned about the horrifying work they had to do here in the carbon factories/mines. I feel lucky not having to do such a work.
First weekend of December... Christmas soon. I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends in Iceland. I miss them so much.
Take care everyone,
love from St. Etienne,
Asta

Copenhague

2008-11-30T22:11:00.001Z

Had a loooooooooooooooooooovely weekend in Copenhagen!
Átti yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyndislega helgi í Kaupmannahöfn.

Ca y est, il neige à St. Etienne...

2008-11-22T14:44:00.002Z

Fyrstu snjókornin falla... Ótrúlega stór þ.a. kristallamyndunin sést greinilega. Verulega fallegt. Síðast þegar ég sá snjó var ég föst upp á fjalli í Mongólíu... betra að vera hér inni í hitanum.

ARTÍFARTÍ

2008-11-18T23:55:00.004Z

"Allt að gerast" í St. Étienne þessa dagana... HÖNNUNARÝNINGIN BIENNIALE 10 ER ÁRA. Ferlega gaman að fara á svona sýningar og hrista aðeins upp í einblínunginni... fyndið að sjá furðuverk í bland við háalvarlegar vörur á við gervifætur Össurar og bakspelkur Gibaud. Það er einnig frábært að sjá að hönnuðir í dag pæla mikið í sustainable design og endurvinnslu á efnum. Kunningi minn úr vinnunni er að draga mig í eitthvert listamannapartý í kvöld... verð að finna mér eitthvað "týpulegt" til að vera í...

kveðja úr fransbrauðslandinu

On my way to the airport...

2008-11-13T19:57:00.000Z

... to pick up my Christophe :)

Only the lonely...

2008-11-04T21:24:00.004Z

There has been too much going on lately - especially back home in Iceland. I don't know what to say about the situation there... other than it is very sad. Sometimes I think it is just a bad dream - but then my mom calls me and I realise that it is reality.
I'm in St. Étienne, working, working and working :) During the weekends I get some time to relax and enjoy the fact that I am in France. I went visiting friends in Aix-en-Provence last weekend. It was fun to be there, thinking back to the year 2003 when I was there studying... hmmm... yes, let's call it studying.
Anyone in France at the moment?
Bisou, A

Week-end à St. Étienne

2008-10-24T23:36:00.002+01:00

Miss them...

2008-10-05T20:59:00.003+01:00

Just found this picture from last summer... Even though mom and dad have been on a visit the whole weekend... I do miss the rest of my family.
This weekend we visited St. Étienne, Lyon, St. Victor, tasted some blue cheese at the Fourme Festival in Montbrison, went to markets, had some marvelous meals and tasted good wine. A very relaxing and nice weekend... expect for the news of the króna falling... oh my god!

Tók mig til...

2008-09-28T20:30:00.002+01:00

...og straujaði allan fataskápinn!
Djöf... verður gaman að dressa sig upp í vikunni.

Londong

2008-09-28T00:02:00.001+01:00

good to be together...

100% London

2008-09-18T22:14:00.004+01:00

3 days in London... is too short!

Christophe and I met up in Terminal 5 at Heathrow Friday evening. We went straight to the nearest local pub and had a pint! We stayed with Þórunn and Kiddi who were so generous to give us a bed (takk sætapar!). We had a great time and the weather was amazing. We visited the 100% design show were Þórunn was showing her works - really really cool!!! She is going very famous very soon... Then we met up with my sister (who is pregnant!) and her husband, we also met a few from my old school: MR, and Atle, our Norwegian friend came and joined us. We hanged out in Soho, City, Hyde Park, Covent Garden, and just enjoyed being together. London certainly is a charming city with endless possibilities to spoil yourself. Miss it - miss C - miss the weekend...

Celebration!

2008-09-17T19:27:00.006+01:00

Yes it is Christophe's birthday today!!! Til hamingju sæti!!!

And we are going to celebrate it in LONDON! Jibbý!

VF = Version Francaise

2008-09-14T14:56:00.003+01:00

I always find it strange to see dubbed movies. It just doesn't look right. Luckily the songs were in English this time... Not the best movie that I have seen but Meryl Streep was great and I walked out with a smile on my face.

Quiet weekend with a walk in town and some nice dinners. As it is getting colder I HAD to buy the beautiful grey sweater I saw at Printemps in Lyon and some shoes as well :) I do like the stores here...

What did I do last weekend?

2008-09-11T12:04:00.006+01:00

Eat and drink! Christophe came for the weekend and we went shopping in Lyon, walking at St. Victor and enjoyed the late summer weather (25°C). It was a wonderful weekend. Christophe totally fell for St. Étienne and the area here so now it is just matter of time when he will move over...
Other than that: work - and it is tough!
Bisoux d'Asta

Voilà!

2008-08-30T21:43:00.002+01:00

I have no idea of what to write here... I don‘t know where to start or where to end.
New job in another country, different language, new colleagues...
Great weather, amazing food, good wines...
Tired, very tired but happy...
Things are going better than I had expected.
I am adapting to the culture pretty quickly: Already I drive a Renau and take two hours for lunch.
Bises, Asta

Where do you find these mailboxes?

2008-08-24T15:48:00.010+01:00

In France yes.

I arrived Paris yesterday noon. Took the TGV (fast train) to Lyon where I spent the entire day in wonderful weather. Lyon seems to be a lively big city with loads of things to do. I guess I'll spend some weekends there in the future ...

I came to St. Étienne late in the evening, packed out my things and fell asleep with the toothbrush in my mouth (almost). I was pretty tired. Then the day started really badly: I watched the handball finals and cried my eyes out - so sorry for my Icelandic handball team. They deserved to win! In my sorrows, I went to the grocery store, bought a few things and then walked for two hours around the city to orient myself. This seems like a nice town.

Tomorrow is the big day: My first day at Gibaud. Wish me good luck. Until then, I'm just going to chill out here at the balcony (24°C +sun). Love Asta

ps. How was Menningarnótt in Reykjavík?

So what's the plan?

2008-08-10T18:49:00.003+01:00

Plan for tonight: Dinner and relaxation at my parent's house

Plan for next weekend: Birthday party in Copenhagen
Plan for next semester: Work at Gibaud in St. Étienne, France

Plan for 2010: Backpack South America

Yes, there is always a plan...

Shouldn't I just become a country girl op North?

2008-08-08T01:24:00.005+01:00

This is Dropi (the horse) and me at Gauksstadir (Icelandic farm op north). Christophe and I spent last weekend out in the country in Iceland. It was good to get out of Reykjavík for a while.

In need of a good camera...

2008-07-27T21:26:00.003+01:00

At Rauðhólar. Pictures taken with my 2.0 mega pixles Sony Ericson mobile phone...

Mugabúg

2008-07-26T12:03:00.004+01:00

Stemning að fara á Mugison á Nasa í gær. Kröftugir rokkarar í countryfötum með bros á vör og einstaka útgeislun. Trommararnir stálu þó senuninni algjörlega - voru tveir saman með þvílíka takta.

Heat wave?

2008-07-25T00:11:00.003+01:00

Já það er víst bara þrususpá fyrir laugardag. Á maður ekki að drösla sér upp á eitthvert fjallið? Hvert er sniðugt að fara í dagsferð í nágrenni Reykjavíkur?

Glymur

2008-07-20T21:48:00.005+01:00

Eftir að hafa verið í glæsigrilli og vitleysisgangi hjá Sigrúnu frænku á föstudeginum og svo farið á skemmtistaðatjékk ásamt Kötulingi fram til morguns var heilsan að vonum góð árla laugardagsmorguns. Bjallaði í garpana mína tvo og eftir einn grænan frostpinna og espresso í þjónustumiðstöð Mosfellsbæjar voru mínar tilbúnar í göngu! Veðrið var yndislegt og útsýnið eftir því. Vá hvað það er gaman að skoða Ísland!

Annars er allt gott að frétta... Heima er auðvitað best, en ég stoppa víst einungis fram til enda ágústmánaðar. Þá flyt ég til St. Etienne i France. Fer að vinna þar fyrir Össur í óákveðinn tíma.

A bientôt, A

Heima (at home)

2008-07-06T20:45:00.004+01:00

I'm staying at Hótel Mamma, i.e. my parent's place. Not bad being totally spoiled by them. The picture is from our summerhouse where I spent the weekend. Summer is definitely the best time of the year to be in Iceland.
The work at Össur has started. Pretty excited about my new job. Good to come back to such a great group of people.

Best regards from home
Asta pasta
(er með gamla gsm nr. 6960230)

Dear Denmark

2008-06-24T23:29:00.005+01:00

I am leaving you. I've been having in affair with your former colony: Iceland.
I've already packed and I'm taking the flight on 1. July.

Regards,
Asta

(Ossur caught me again. I'm going to Iceland for work.)

Home sweet home

2008-06-06T09:18:00.003+01:00

After spending some quality time in Moscow and St. Petersburg we got home yesterday (5th June). It was strange to get back to our apartment which I haven't been to for almost a year! I realised how much I've missed it.
I am tired but very happy. The trip has been amazing and we have been so lucky - nothing serious has happened. We are already talking about our next trip...
The weather here in DK is excellent - 25 degrees and sunny! I'm going to chill out on our balcony today and read some news, call my friends and enjoy the day. Hope you all are well. Look forward to see you, kisses, Asta.

Earthquakes!!!

2008-05-29T21:02:00.005+01:00

I hope you are all alright in Iceland... just heard about the earthquake!? Is mother earth trying to tell us something this year?

Anyways, I am sorry I haven't been able to answer any emails or messages. We've just come to Moscow and as we only have one week left of this trip, I am going to enjoy it without spending too much time on the Internet :)

But just to give you an update:
The last three weeks have been great. We spent 10 days in Mongolia – went camel riding in the dessert, camping in snow, stayed with nomad families in gers, had fresh yak cheese, salty tea, etc. Then continued with the Trans-Mongolian train into Russia. We stopped in Irkutsk and went to Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal for 3 nights. Beautiful but cold. As we were running out of time, we bought a flight ticket to Moscow and have just arrived at our hostel – The Comrade. We'll spend 3 nights here, clubbing with some good friends (Putin, Medvedev among others) and then we'll take the night train to St. Petersburg and stay there for another 3 nights. We will be back in Copenhagen on 5th of June.
Take care everyone!
Kisses from Moscow

ps. New albums: Mongolia and Russia

Níhaó! (hello!)

2008-05-12T09:32:00.002+01:00

We have now spent a week here in Beijing. We’ve gone from being very cultural; walking the Great Wall, visiting The Forbidden City and so on, to going bananas at the Silk Street market and shopping fake bags and watches! So now it is time to move on. Tomorrow morning at 7:45 we will take the Trans-Mongolian train for 30 hours to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia. We plan to spend some time in Mongolia. I’ll definitely blog from there if I can – otherwise we’ll be back home in DK on 5th June.

I’ve uploaded some new pictures from Bejing, Great Wall, Peking Duck, etc. Until next time, take care, love Asta

Ps. We felt the earthquake! I thought it was just all the construction work that is going on here in Beijing, but as it lasted for quite a while we realised that it was something more serious.
Somehow I can not see my own blog, and I can not read the comments... but I will have a look if I can in Mongolia. xxx A

Beijing

2008-05-07T12:34:00.004+01:00

We've reached Beijing now. I am glad we didn't start exploring China from here as I would have given up on beforehand. Beijing is so enormous. There are people everywhere, and behind each huge shopping mall there is an even bigger one with much more people. Coming from a little island in the north, I can't really handle this amount of people. But the Chinese are still friendly and nice, and the Olympic spirit is in the air... hmm... at least in Beijing.

We've gotten our Mongolian Visa - after some struggle. Why is it so difficult to get visas? I had to go through the backdoor of the Mongolian embassy in Beijing, lie about me having lost all my papers and give my biggest blond-smile ever, just to get the form for applying for a visa! After we finally got everything paid (really expensive) at the Bank of China, we went to get our passports - and found out that they had written that we were from Spain - both of us! And Christophes date of birth was incorrect! I mean come on! What they did was scrapping out the typed text and write in hand over it: ISLANDE! So if I'll get arrested in Mongolia for having a fake visa - you know who to blame!

We are going with the train to Ulaanbaatar on the 13th of May. We are going to stay some days in the Gobi dessert and then head to Lake Baikal. From there we'll continue with the train through Russia, with some stops and end up in St. Petersburg.

I added a few more photos. Hope you all are well. Hugs and kisses from Beijing.

Pingyao

2008-05-02T16:58:00.004+01:00

We've had a tough schedule lately (never let me be a guide for a trip!), so we decided to chill out a bit here in Pingyao, a cosy little town SV of Beijing. After spending some time in Xi'an, seeing the Terracotta Warriors and some tombs, we headed for Hua Shuan, the sacret mountain of Taoists. Went up some thousand steps, carved into the mountain. The highest peak (south peak) is 2160m, so it was quite a daytour. Exhausted we took the hard seat train to Louyang and stayed for one night. Went to see the famous Longmen Caves. It was a hot day with approx. 100.000 buddha images carved into limestonehills. After a funny and complicated discussion with a Chinese couple we met on the bus, we took the hard sleeper train to Pingyao, were we are going to spend the next two nights. As in many places in the world, the Chinese people have a holiday now and therefore every single town is crowded by Chinese people, traveling in their own country. It is teaching us to be even more patient than before... waiting, not understanding, and waiting, is becoming one of my virtuous.

Beijing is the next destination, if we can get a ticket for the train (Chinese holiday = impossible!)

Otherwise, we will just stay here, read, chill out and get some chinese massage.

Added some photos to the album. Best regards, miss you, love Asta

Big

2008-04-27T17:23:00.005+01:00

China is big. It is very big. So everytime you decide to move from one place to another, you know you have a long trip ahead of you. Yesterday we were in a train for more than 20 hours!

We are in Xi'an now, after spending three days in Shanghai. Before that we had amazing days in Dali and Lijang. The highlight was probably a two day treck - The Tiger Leaping Gorge - which was fantastic! The summer has arrived here in China, so it is getting hotter and hotter... which is nice, as we are heading further north to Beijing and then to Mongolia.
I added a few more photos in the album.

Love from Chinaland - A

Bra-fitting in Shanghai

2008-04-24T16:58:00.007+01:00

I just have to tell you about my experience in Shanghai yesterday. I got into this Triumph store (underwear) and before I knew, a Chinese assistant (female) had measured my chest and squeezed my boobs! Quite surprised and almost laughing, as Christophe made big eyes over all of this, I got dragged into a fitting room with the assistant. In the fitting room I found myself undressed with three other women (customers) and their assistants. Standing there half naked I couldn't help but feeling awkward about the whole situation as my personal assistant kept touching me and making me trying on bras. The more the bra pushed my breasts towards my face, the more she smiled and said: "Very sexy, look look, very sexy".
Just to get out of there, I ended up buying the craziest push-up bra I've ever tried! So now everyone, it is a bra and not a cheap implant from China...

China is amazing. I don't know how to describe it. Filthy and charming at the same time.
Since last time I wrote, we have been in Ping'An; exploring the famous rice paddies, in Yuangshuo; for bicycling and mud bathing in The Water Cave, in Dali for some souvenir shopping and haircut! in Lijang for the Tiger Leaping Gorge and now we are in crazy Shanghai.
Still going strong and enjoying travelling... Best regards, and to all my Icelandic friends: GLEÐILEGT SUMAR!

Closed by the Chinese Government...

2008-04-16T13:28:00.003+01:00

Yes, I'm having difficulties with blogging from here... But we have arrived in China. We spent some time in Hong Kong, which is the coolest city I have ever been to, then Macau, Yongshuo, Ping'An, Guilin, Kunming and now on our way to Dali, Lijang and then Shanghai...
China is different... ohhh yes, and very very interesting.
Tell you better later, love A

ps. The girls here are crazy about Christophe... and insist having a picture taken with him :) he he

2008-04-03T09:53:00.009+01:00

I’ve thought about it. And I know that you have thought the same. This blogging of mine is pretty much all about being ego-centric and letting you all know about it! As I seem to like it, and some of you seem to check up on my blog… I’ll just continue until someone pulls the plug out.

Only 2 days left in New Zealand. But in only two days you can manage to experience some interesting things…

Yesterday:

Emerald Lakes - Tongariro Crossing – The best walk ever in New Zealand

Today:

Jumping from a plane – 15.000ft… and survive!

Travelling

2008-03-28T07:53:00.004Z

Every day something new; new place, new mountain, new people, new bed, new toilet, new dish, new glass… We’ve had some good days cruising up the West Coast of New Zealand. There are endless mountains here, glaciers, rainforests, beaches, etc. all in one place.
We’ve just come back from a three day kayaking trip in the national park of Abel Tasman. We hired a kayak, just the two of us, a tent, some cooking gear and just headed off to sea. We kayaked along the coast, around some islands, playing with puppy seals and birds. Absolutely a must-do here in NZ. We are now on our way to the capital: Wellington, on the north island, where we will spend some time exploring the good pubs, cafés and wineries they have here. I´ve uploaded a few more pictures from the trip, if you want to check it out - pictures from the kayaktour will come tomorrow...
Bisoux, Love and peace, Asta

Exhausted!

2008-03-13T21:23:00.002Z

With mud op to my knees, a heavy bag on my back and blisters on every toe, I still came smiling back to Tuatapere, where Christophe and I had started the Hump Ridge Track, three days before. We chose this new track (2001) to test our tramping skills. The track is rated as a medium-hard tramp track and it is in the cold part of the country – on the south island. We made some really good times on the track – so now we are confident for the next to come: The Kepler Track, The Humpher Track, or some other. We started of early on 11th March in heavy rain. In 2 min we were all wet and muddy. It pored down for 2 hours and then finally the sun came out. Coming up to the top the cold wind embraced us and almost blew us off the ridge. Sometimes I could hear myself thinking back to my good old shire: Brekkusel, just like Frodo in the Lord of the Rings. The views of this track surely make one feel like they are on one of the sets of Peter Jackson. Absolutely astonishing landscape!
We had two nights in huts along the track – no shower, no heating, just hot coffee and noodle soup! We wrapped ourselves into warm clothes and blankets, played chess and read in our books until we passed out of tiredness. Three days later, lying in my warm hostel bed, I believe that this has been one of the best experiences in my life – so now, we’re already planning the next track.

Just to give you the basics…(yes, you may yawn, if you are still reading). Our trip started in Christchurch, where we were supposed to take a bus (Kiwi Experience) around the islands. We had heard some stories about people being absolutely pissed on these tours, and as we are getting old and boring, we decided that that was not something for us. Instead we hired a car (Ford Fiesta), which actually proofed to be a cheaper option than the bus! So now we are cruising along the country in our own vehicle, with our own time schedule and freedom to do whatever we want! We stay in hostels and home stays, so we meet a lot of travellers. We’ve had a great time on our way from Christchurch – been to Lake Tekapo, Mt. Cook, Twizel, Alexandria, Dunedin, Otago Peninsula, Invercargill, Tuatapere and now Te Anau.

New Zealand did come as a surprise to me. I had heard that this was a beautiful country and that the Kiwis were friendly, but my god, after only a week here, I could come and live here! The nature here is indescribable and we have been so lucky to meet some genuine Kiwis who have let us stay in their homes, literally in their living rooms and learned how relaxed, friendly and helpful they are!
Other than that, they have the best beer (Speight’s Dark Ale) and THE BEST DARK CHOKOLATE (Whittaker’s) there is.

Take care everyone. Best regards, from Heidi in the New Alps.

Ps. Just as I was praising NZ for having no mosquitoes, those damn SANDFLIES came and bit us everywhere. Aaaaarrrrg…

Wet wet wet

2008-03-04T08:19:00.002Z

Time flies when you are having fun... Today is our last day in Australia! We’ve had an amazing time here, even though the weather hasn’t always been with us. As we speak, I am sitting in room 257 at our hostel: The Bohemian Central, Cairns. We gave our campervan back yesterday and I thought I was going to miss it, but when I came into the spacious hostel room, with dry towels, a TV, a fridge, big windows, clean toilet, etc… I thought back to the camping spots we’ve stayed at the last weeks: hot nights with no A/C, flooded grass (up to 20 cm), wet towels, cold water washing machines, etc. And I didn’t miss it at all!

The last 5 days we have been on a PADI – learn to dive – course, and now, we are certified open water divers! It started with a two day intense course here in Cairns, where we had to read, study at home, take tests, swim in a pool, take some more tests! It was tough having to use your brain again. I’ve obviously been on a vacation for too long! Finally we headed out to the Great Barrier Reef where we stayed for 3 days on a boat. It was a great experience, with 9 dives at the amazing coral reefs. We had great fun with approx. 30 other people, beginners and advanced divers. We passed our exams and were allowed to dive on our own. We came across a few turtles, I got a short ride with one of them, some sharks came to see us as well (white tip sharks), huge clams closed their “mouth” as we put our fins into them, Nemo (clownfish) was very curious about our camera, a big Wally followed us for a whole dive, some stingrays were around, etc. It was truly amazing. Next time I’ll go diving, I will definitely have my own camera to get more pictures (we only hired one for one dive…). The underworld is definitely a whole another world – my adventure as a diver have only just began! We stayed on a very nice boat, were we had our own cabin. The food on board was excellent and the crew was great. We enjoyed every bit of the trip, as we were so lucky not to get seasick. But we had some bumpy rides as a storm came over and those who got seasick, got very very sick!

Back to Cairns, we are now having a relaxing day. Our bodies need to recover from the many dives we’ve done (min 18 hours) as there is so much nitrogen in our blood. Tomorrow morning 5.45 am we have a flight back to Sydney, then from Sydney to Auckland in New Zealand, and from there to Christchurch, where we will start our NZ-trip! Our plan is to trek as much as we can in the dramatic landscape of NZ. The plan is to do some 4-5 day trips, were we sleep in huts, with no electricity, cross rivers with no bridges, etc. We are really excited and ready to get extreme…. Who said skydiving?

Write back when we are among the Kiwis (New Zealanders). Ciao, Asta

More photos...

2008-02-25T12:19:00.002Z

How cool is that? Right now, I am sitting in our campervan, plugged to electricity and INTERNET!!! WiFi while you are camping, now that I call futuristic! I love this campervan so much, that I am seriously thinking of moving into one, wherever I end up after this trip…

It is hot in Australia these days. And then I mean really hot! 35-37°C and the humidity is only getting higher the further north we go… The mosquitoes are getting more and more aggressive and I’ve lost count of how many we’ve gotten. Still, we are enjoying this trip sooooo much! We just came back from a 3 day tour at Fraser Island. It is the biggest sand-island in the world. We hired a 4WD with 7 others and went for a survival tour in the jungle. We camped in some old army tents, made BBQ and fire, drank some “goon” (sheap wine in carton containers), swam in the rivers and lakes, rolled in the sand dunes and got suuuuuuuuuuunburned! I think soon, I’ve had enough of the sun :)

Before the Fraser Island tour, we had a nice time in Brisbane with our friend Rasmus from DTU in DK (who also joined us for the F Island tour). He’s studying in Brisbane and invited us over. Christophe went kite surfing, while I went to art galleries, had some REAL coffee down town, bought a magazine and acted like a real city girl! Ahhhh… it was nice to have a moment on your own ;)

Every day is challenge on its own, but the hardest thing we have done so far was the 6 hour non-stop mountain bike tour we took in a national park near Noosa. It was absolutely crazy! We went up up a big mountain (sometimes 10% steep), had a 360° look over the area and then headed off road, down hill, hardcore biking all the way home. I was absolutely exhausted! We treated ourselves with a good kangaroo steak and some red wine that night…

Plan for the next days: Heading up to Cairns with few stops on the way to take a 5 days PADI licence course on a boat out on the Great Barrier Reef. Now that’s going to be interesting. We will invade New Zealand on the 5th of March, so 1,2,3… only a week left in Aussie!!!

Just a short comment in the end… I want to thank all of you who write those wonderful emails to me. It makes my day when I read them. I try to write back … as soon as I can. Take care all of you, best regards from Aussie! Asta

Surfing on the left side...

2008-02-15T10:26:00.002Z

No wonder this place is filled with surfers, young backpackers, old hippies, family people, etc. Byron Bay is truly heaven to stay in. We’ve had some good days with surfing lessons, partying, meeting new people and experiencing the life of surfers in Australia. Life is so easy here!
After being cultural in Sydney; seeing the opera Carmen, which was beautiful, we headed up the east coast, like all true Aussie backpackers do. We went for the Blue Mountains in heavy rain, checked out Newcastle, threw ourselves down some sand dunes near Port Stephens in Nelsons Bay, walked around Seal Rocks and enjoyed the beautiful beach we had for ourselves. Thereafter we stopped at a few places along the coast; Port Macquire, Coffs Harbour, Red Rock and then finally Byron Bay, were we are now. The weather hasn’t been perfect all the time, some heavy rain every now and then. But when the sun comes out, damn it is hot! So you guys freezing in northern Europe… I send you my regards!
The plan for the next days is to go to Surfers Paradise and then Brisbane, to meet our good friend Rasmus Nielsen, who is studying there.
I’ve uploaded a few new pics from the beach and the surf… I’m totally hooked on this man! It’s wicked, oh yeah man. Hang loose… he he… Asta wannabe a surfing chick.

Loves and kisses from Australia, Asta
Ps. We are getting better and better at driving on the left side… but man it is confusing! :)

Aussie

2008-02-06T08:57:00.000Z

It reminds me of the series ”Neighbours” when I hear this wonderful Australian accent here in Sydney J We arrived yesterday (5th February) in the afternoon. We were both pretty jetlagged and wanted most of all to go to sleep after 12h flight from Jo’burg and 2h flight from Cape Town to Jo´burg earlier that same day! But we were so curious to see Sydney that we jumped straight in to city and had a 2 hour walk! We were starving and ended up having a huge pizza and a coke… mmmm. Early to bed to be ready for a marathon tourist day.
Today we have walked through the centre, seen churches, the Botanic Garden, the Sidney Opera (picked up tickets for the opera Carmen tomorrow night!!!), walked the Sydney Harbour Bridge, went to Bondi beach, walked the coastline to Googee beach, and then back to our hotel. Chinatown and King Cross are the goal for tonight and tomorrow we will pick up hour “accommodation on wheels” – the car we will drive up the east coast for the next month. It will for sure be challenging to drive on the left side of the road…

Yes, this is me, jumping off a 216m high bridge... the world´s highest bungy!!!

2008-01-29T08:52:00.000Z

We are having the time of our lives here. We went river rafting, hiking in 2400m high Drakensberg Mountains, horse riding, swimming in the sea… This country is amazing! Heading to Cape Town in 2 days… where I will celebrate my 26th year old birthday!!! Ciao, bises, Asta la pasta!
ps. a few new pictures in the album.

Hi all!

2008-01-21T19:42:00.000Z

I’m on the Dolphin Coast now, enjoying the sun and the marvellous beach! We’ve been lucky with everything, been on some great game walks and seen loads of animals. The group we are travelling with is great, people from all over Europe. Tomorrow we head for the Drakensberg Mountains, going to hike and enjoy the view from 2700 m! Write more when I get to Cape Town. Best regards, Asta pasta

ps. new pictures on the right

Off for 18 days...

2008-01-14T13:43:00.000Z

I shouldn't have blamed the weather... I got so sunburned yesterday that I haven't really been outside today! Tomorrow the big tour from Johannesburg to Cape Town will start. We probably wont be able to access internet on the way - but I'll write as soon as I get to Cape Town. Take care, ciao.

Jo’burg

2008-01-12T15:54:00.001Z

I must say I am a bit disappointed in the nr. 2 world’s most dangerous city – it supposed to be summertime, but the first thing I had to do was to go to the next mall to buy a raincoat! Well, they say this is abnormal and hopefully it will get better, but man, I was hoping for getting some sun after the cold days in CPH. We’ve gone for a “safe” walk in the neighbourhood and been to some shops. The people here are nice, the food is good, and the hotel is awesome. We have a nice balcony, with a view over a tropical garden and there is a pool in the garden which unfortunately we haven’t tried out yet.

We are staying here for a few days before going on an 18 days safari tour. I’m really excited, especially as I have seen the vehicles and pictures of the places we are going to… mmm…looks very nice. Tonight we are going to the casino to see if we can earn some more money for the tour…

We drove through the town today – weren’t allowed to go out, except for going into the highest building in town to get a panorama-view of the city. It was cool. Then we visited some museums and went into Nelson’s Mandela old house.

Just to mention a few things from our 2 day stay in Copenhagen. We had a cosy time with Christophe’s family, gave Christmas gifts and enjoyed good food (as always!). We met with a few friends and finished all our unfinished business and then we headed off to Africa, once again at 7 am in the morning. We were delayed and had to run for the plain in Charles de Gaulle. When we got to the gate the stewardess looked very seriously at us and said: “You made it – you’ve been upgrated to Business Class”. Well, merci beaucoup! Now, Air France business class is not the worst you can imagine. I could very easily get used to it.

I’m off to the casino with Christophe…

2008-01-09T23:15:00.000Z

Dato: 10. January 2008
From Copenhagen to Paris CDG
Departure: 7:00 Arrival: 9:00
From Paris CDG to Johannesburg, S-Africa
Departure: 10:05 Arrival: 21:30

A few pictures

2008-01-08T15:37:00.000Z

Hi all! I am back safe and sound in Copenhagen... though I'm only here for 2 days. I've had some awesome days in Benin but also some bad days, with sickness and fever, but I am better now. I have a few pictures I want to share with you, but I am planning on making an album for those who are interested.

24th December - waiting for the St. Claus coming in his helecopter to Hotel Marina

Our Christmas tree this year

Happy New Year

We had a few smaller"accidents" with the car in the north of Benin...

We went for a visit at Maxims' familly - our driver and bodyguard

Looking for fish in Ganvié

The scary Vodoo dancers...

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2008-01-03T17:27:00.000Z

I am at the worst internet café uptil now... so just the basics:
Situation: good - sunburned and happy - no stomack problems and no malaria except Christelle, Christophe's sister. She has got it for the 3rd time but is being taken care of now.
Orientation: Parakou - in the north of Benin
Highlights: Some vodoo dancers took a crazy dans around us on the road and we had to pay them to stop - the whole town surrounded us and I must admit that I was getting a bit afraid.
Time left in Benin: 4 days

Take care all and once again happy new year!
h'asta la vista

Cadeaux cadeaux

2007-12-29T18:03:00.000Z

Dear all.

I’m doing very fine here in W-Africa. Christmas was a bit different this year, but they were merry nevertheless. Me, Christophe, his sister Christelle, his brothers: Frederik and Martin and their father Jean-Pierre, have enjoyed a relaxing time at Casa del Papa, a luxurious hotel by the beach. Like Christophe and I said, the standard can only go downwards from now on, as this was a very nice place :) But we’ve had a great time swimming in the crazy ocean, playing a few matches at the tennis court and enjoying good food.
We have mainly been exploring the towns close to Cotonou (the town we live in at Christelle’s house). We went to Ganvier on a small fishing boat. This village is out in the middle of a huge lake – they call it the Venice of Benin. It was amazing to see how they live their life in small bungalows built into the water with fish farms surrounding the town. The people are very poor here and they are curious. The children run half-naked and yell: “cadeaux cadeaux!” (presents, presents!) at us, hoping to get some sweets from us. It really helps to speak some French here, as they don’t speak other languages (besides the tribal ones).
We have been to Ouidah. We visited the local market and went to the voodoo Python temple, were I held some snakes. The guys in the family didn’t seem to like them, but as far as I could understood they are harmless.
Yesterday I was at one of the local bars here, dancing African salsa with Christophe and tasted the fruity local beer: Beninoise. It is strange to be the only white people at a bar, but the people here are nice and you feel welcome.
Christophe and I are planning a trip to the north. We will rent a car for 5 days with a driver and go exploring some of the more exotic sites of Benin. But first we will celebrate the Nouvel An with Christelle and her friends, as all the guys (Jean-Pierre, Frederik and Martin) are going back to Copenhagen tomorrow.
I will opload pictures when I get to a better internet, as it is NOT working here – the same with my telephone. But in a way it is quite relaxing, not having to worry about any electrical devices.
We are going to one of the richer men here in Benin for a dinner tonight (friend of J-P). I am interested in seeing how the people with money live here, as all others seem to live in half open bungalows out on the streets.
I’ll have to get back to you later. Hope you all are well. Best regards, Asta

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T09:55:00.000Z

Hi everyone.
I wish you all a merry christmas, here from Cotonou, Benin. I arrived here just before midnight on the 23rd December. Yesterday I spent driving around the city and enjoying the sun by the pool. We had a blend of traditional Christmas food yesterday evening - African beer and olives as an aperatif, danish "risengrød" as a starter, American Turkey as main course, French Bush cake for dessert and thereafter we danced around our Christmas tree, which this year is a palm, decorated with traditional lights and bells from DK and Iceland. We sang in Icelandic, Danish and French and had great amount of presents. It was a really nice evening.
Today I'm watching kids from Benin, dressed up for Christmas, visiting the St. Claus, who by the way is black :) They are sooooooooooo cute. I can not uploade pictures now... but will try later today. We are going to visit the Venece of Benin, some houses out on a water. The temperature here is around 35 degrees Celcius and I am loving it! We have some really nice people around us who all speak french :) They are dressed in their traditional African clothing - so beautiful. I am getting one of those dresses next week :) I'll write soon, love from Benin, Asta

Afslappet juletid

2007-12-22T11:38:00.000Z

Så er jeg nået til København. Det hele startede selvfølgelig i går aftes med en ordenlig julefrokost hos Joakim på Rigshospitalskollegiet. Det var meget hyggeligt med klassisk julemad, snapps og det hele. Det er dejligt at være her igen. Jeg nyd at gå ned at Strøget i går og suge julestemningen til mig. I dag skal jeg til juletivoli og hygge sammen med Christophes familie og i morgen tager jeg flyvet til Benin. Det bliver en stor forandring at komme i 35 grader og høj sol!

1. dagur ad heiman...

2007-12-20T22:56:00.000Z

Tad er ømurlegt her... lyklabordid er a utlensku, vatnid er vont, folk talar ekki islensku... eg held eg taki bara fyrsta flug heim a morgun. Neiii.... thad er gaman ad koma a "heimaslodir" i Køben. Mamma Christophes, litla systir og pabbi komu og sottu mig ut a voll i kvøld. Algjør luxus. Her tok a moti mer uppa buid rum og huggulegheit, bara eins og hja mommu. I kvøldmat var nautasteik og gott raudvin... ætli eg fari nokkud lengra i tessari heimsreisu minni... :)

Christophe kominn til Benin. Hann var bara i lauginni i dag i sol og sumaryl... va hvad eg hlakka til ad slast i hopinn.

1. bok ferdarinnar: Flugdrekahlauparinn eftir Khaled Hosseini - halfnud nu thegar.

1. kaup ferdarinnar: Brennivinspeli og 6 litlar brennivinsfløskur... tetta a vist ad vera svo gott fyrir magann segir pabbi...

1. kumpani ferdarinnar: oskiljanlegur velhress polverji sem brosti sinu blidasta til min alla flugferdina...

Nu er bara ad soga i sig jolastemninguna i DK - julefrokost og jolaTIVOLI framundan. Bestu kvedjur, ASF

Packing

2007-12-19T01:47:00.000Z

I am bad at packing.
I always take some ridiculous things with me that I have no use for (self-tan cream, seven different pairs of high heeled shoes, hairdryer...). But this time it is going to be different. Packing for 6 months requires some thinking, but I can pack light, as the temperature will always be around 30°C. But I am not sure if I can live without my hairdryer... I mean what is a woman without a hairdo?

The plan until Christmas:
Reykjavík - Copenhagen 20th December
Copenhagen - Paris - Cotonou 23th December

Take care all of you, wish you a merry Christmas!

Best regards, Asta la vista!

Last day at work...

2007-12-17T08:17:00.000Z

It is 8:17 in the morning... and I am at work.... my laaaaaaaaaaaast day. It is crazy - I just started. Anyways... 3 days in Iceland, and then I am off to Copenhagen for 3 days and then to Benin, V-Africa on the 23rd December.

This is really happening..... OMG!

The picture is from Benin....

Our last day at Njálsgata...

2007-12-10T23:25:00.001Z

Yesterday was our last day at Njálsgata – the apartment we have been living in the last 3 months. This is probably one of the smallest apartments I have ever lived in but definitely one of the cutest. Almost all my friends have come for a visit and they all go out with a smile. There is something good about the atmosphere in it. We are going to miss it!

We are having a family Christmas party next Friday as Christophe is leaving on the 15th December. He needs to get some things done in DK before going on the big trip. I will take the flight to Copenhagen 20th December, but at that time, Christophe will be left for Benin with his two younger brothes. I will therefore have time to finish my business in DK, which is to go to Christmas TIVOLI, see my Danish doctor for Malaria drugs, buy some survival kit in SpiderSport for the trip, go partying with my friends from the university at a typical Danish “Julefrokost” and enjoy some quality time with Christophe’s Danish family. On the 23rd December I’ll fly to Paris and from there to Cotonou in Benin, where Christophe will hopefully be waiting for me.

Christmas Eve we will spend in a hut on the beach in 40°C – which is something I have never tried before. I am so excited for this trip – even tough it is difficult to leave the family just before Christmas. But Christophe and I are planning on coming back to Iceland for a few weeks next summer to spend time out in the country and experience Iceland during the summer time – which is very different from the ice-cold stormy weather we have now.

I have one week left at Össur. Just when I was getting to know the people at work and understand what my job was all about! Five months is too short time for a job… especially if you really like it. We’ll see… I might come back.

It feels so unreal that all of this is really happening. We always talked about this tour as something that could be fun to do in the future when we would have the money for it. And now, suddenly, we are going for it… not that all the money are there, but we’ll manage :) I will write every now and then on my blog about our trip. And we’ll try to upload some pictures. I’ll write when I know where and how you can find those pics.

Everyone, take great care in this crazy month of December.
Hope you enjoy the preparation for the holidays.
Remember to spend time with the ones you love – yes time and not just money.
Big hugs and kisses to all of you
Write to you soon
Asta basta!

Ísland

2007-11-21T08:07:00.000Z

I think I’ll just stop blogging and in stead start plogging… I haven’t either got the words to describe the sceneries we’ve been seeing here in Iceland the last days…

Road nr.1

Snæfellsnes

My parents summerhouse

Taking the ride on Langjökull (The Long Gletcher)

Happy in Iceland

Always a reason to party!

BAD

2007-11-11T21:36:00.000Z

BAD at blogging these days.
I’ll excuse myself by saying that I’ve been buttoning other buttons (I love this expression in Icelandic… indicates so much more than you think at first)

Party Friday in good old Brekkusel - my parents place. Tour with my sister and her family to Biskupstungur, where we saw the biggest green houses in Iceland (I think I remember right here). So amazing to walk into tropical environment from -3,5°C snowy scenery. It must be a nice job to grow flowers.... so romantic! We dined at Fjöruborðið – a restaurant by the sea where you get the biggest portion of lobster I’ve ever seen! With a nice glass of wine and good company we were ready to head off for a party at B5 – where Gigja was celebrating her 25th year old birthday and Master degree in acoustic engineering! Thank you very much. We got drunk – some got really drunk – I was in the first group – Christophe was in the second one ;)

Today I’ve just been chilling – me and Christophe had a nice brunch at home – went to Eymdundsson for a good espresso and bought a book – we then went to prepare for the Edda Festival at Hilton Hotel – we were helping my sister with the flowers. Now we are sitting at my sister’s house – watching out for cute little Doddi and exploring the so called internet. Amazing tool it is.

Hope you all have had a good weekend. Love, Asta.

Blogging on a Monday

2007-10-28T20:58:00.000Z

Hi you all.

Someone told me that it was best to check my blog on Mondays.... I actually agree on that – I normally give myself time to write on Sunday evenings, when I am at home in Brekkusel, having my black cup of coffee after a nice homemade meal a la mamma. Mmmm… it is so nice to be home.

So what have I been up do lately. Well, I took me a while to get over my sister’s wedding :) We celebrated it again a week later at their home, just a few people with nice dinner and good bottles of wine. I like having quiet evenings like that with my friends and family. I was quite exhausted though after a work trip to Sweden the week before. Always a bit tiring to travel in such a short time. I did get the chance though to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Kristinehamn in the mornings – when I went out for a run with my colleague.

The situation now, is that I am getting so involved in my work – that I can’t imagine leaving in December! You get so emotionally involved in your work that you think no one else can take over! They are trying to trick me into staying – but the trip around ½ the world with Christophe is too important to me. Live for life and not for work – that is my motto at the moment.

Christophe and I enjoy living town down Reykjavik. I haven’t shown him the movie 101 RVK yet – where they have a bathtub in the kitchen, just like we do :) But we like this way of living – and will definitely have a department here in the future. A lot of people are asking me where we will live in the future? I answer: “We choose to live where we are happy“. And that can be in many places – but Copenhagen is very dear to us, and I guess our future is there (now the Danes should be proud! :)

Well, Monday here we come…. Let this be our lucky week.

wedding in the wind

2007-10-16T22:14:00.000+01:00

Hi guys.

It has been a while. I haven’t had a moment the last weeks to blog and the funny thing is that I have missed it! Even though I’m not writing any exiting stories, I just somehow feel good when I’ve written my blog.

Right now, I’m sitting in a train on my way from Stockholm to Kristinehamn in Sweden. I have to work here until Friday. It’s a beautiful ride, but so sad always to be travelling alone. My dearest Christophe, as most of you already know, has moved to Iceland! He is doing so well coping with the crazy socitety Reykjavík is and already speaking some Icelandic!

My sister and Einar Sveinn got married last Saturday. It was an amazing party! Me and Christophe got at Búðir, Snæfellsnes (a beautiful hotel at the country side – out in the lava with a gletcher behind it) on Friday, where the party was held. We helped with the preparation and got to enjoy one extra night at the “small” suite – with a bath tub in the middle of the room! The wedding day was a beautiful Icelandic day – sunny, windy and cold. My sister was undescribably beautiful and the cerimony in a tiny little church was lovely. Doddi, their son, really kept the smile on our faces, as he walked around the church, talked to his parents and didn’t get any of what was going on. They both said yes! And after that – the 4 course dinner started and ended with a dance until 5 o’clock in the morning.

With a big hangover but alot of happiness in my heart I enjoyed a brunch with my familly and all the other guests that stayed for the night. We went for a walk in the lava, down to the beach and that was refreshing! I must say – it was a pretty fantastic party! That’s the way to do it!

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrugl

2007-10-02T20:07:00.000+01:00

Já já... tíminn líður. Það er nú bara þannig. Ég þykist ætla halda blogginu áfram, en það situr eitthvað á hakanum. Ég fer því bara yfir helstu atburði síðustu daga.
Fyrri helgi: Óvissuferðarafmæli í Dreng í Kjósinni – margir gamlir kunningar og mikið stuð. Komið heim kl.5:00 og sofið í 2 tíma. Farið beint í gæsun, hjá systu á sunnudagmörgninum. Söngur, kampavín, croissant og ballettbúningur, heitur pottur og dúllerí, kokkur og lunch, spákona og símaat... ekki hægt að lýsa stemningunni. Náði fram á næsta dag, já já. Ég vaknaði alklædd við hlið systur minnar kl.5 á mánudagsmorgni og vissi ekki hvar í veröldinni ég var stödd. Dröslaði mér þó í vinnuna og kláraði mitt eins og venjulega.
Flutti inn á Njálsgötu – bara snilld að vera komin niður í bæ. Ég og Guðrún samferða í vinnuna... alveg eins og í gamla daga í MR. Æðislegt alveg. Náði smá geymslutiltekt með systu og brutum nokkra 40.000 kr glervasa... endaði í hláturskasti allt saman og vitleysisgangi. Christophe búinn að mála og gera allt fínt á Brannersvej í DK – Sif flutt inn. Sæti Stoph flytur svo til landsins á föstudaginn!!!! Spáði í Bolla nokkurn um miðja vikuna yfir huggulegum tapasréttum.Vinnudjamm á föstudegi – Vísindaspjall, út að borða, djamm og dans í bænum fram á morgun. Sundhöllin og þynnkukaffi með mömmu á laugardeginum. 25 ára afmælisboð hjá Salamöndrunni á laugardagskvöld og stórfréttir af 5. óléttunni í hópnum.... ja hérna, þvílík og önnur eins frjósemi. Upp kl. 5 á sunnudagsmorgun, Jónas bílstjóri mættur hress að vanda, út á völl, upp í vél, Stokkhólmur here I come. Beint til Uppsala, smá sjopping í H&M, vinna upp á hóteli, út að hlaupa, sofa, vakna í morgunmat. Beint á skrifstofu Össurar í Uppsala, fundur með frönskumælandi Kanadabúum, lunch, fundur með Guðjóni og Arne, framleiðsluskoðun, fundur, upp á hótel, skipta um föt, út í hjólaferð með hollensku strákunum og nígeríumanninum, einn reif buxurnar, heim að skipta, á Tatjiki restaurant við fljótið, hygge, út að spila billiard, ég vann 2, tapaði 3 :) Öl og hygge, heim á hótel, sofa, vakna, heim, og ahhhhhhhhhhhhh... slaka.

A 10 min drive from Reykjavík Centre...

2007-09-21T01:02:00.000+01:00

A country girl name Ásta lives....

Check out the snow in the mountains... we are talking mid-September...

No Plan?

2007-09-15T14:13:00.000+01:00

Dreadfully tired, I still keep on blogging. It has become an addiction.
This has been one of those tough weeks. TOEFL went fine I think, even though the test was delayed 2 hours and the test itself took 4 hours with 10 min break. Pretty boring. I had a big meeting yesterday at work, and that worked out alright as well. So yes, made it through the wilderness, somehow I made it through…. Didn’t know how lost I was until.. No, sorry, I’m just fooling around here. I am still in such a good mood after the party yesterday. Silla threwa 25 years old party yesterday at her parent’s house. It was just like good old days, drinking and dancing, and meeting with all the old friends from Breiðholt. It was great fun.

Then Unnur said to me this morning: “Asta, are you telling me that you don’t have a plan for today???” Yes, it is true. I haven’t got a plan for today, and I am loving it! I think my schedule is always a bit too crowded, so I am really enjoying it, to have no plan at all!

So what am I going to do today? I have no idea.

Busy busy

2007-09-11T22:44:00.000+01:00

Well, it's definitely nothing new for Asta... but I am quite busy at the moment. So I am neglecting my blog a bit. Hope you don't mind.

TOEFL tomorrow - hope it will go well. Someone told me that it takes up to FOUR HOURS! and I only have a 10 min break! God damn... that sounds horrible.

Went to BootCamp today in Egilshöll. That was awesome. I haven't been so exhausted since I climbed the wall in Thailand last summer...

Gate meeting on Friday. Big day for me at work... Meeting with all the important people at Össur. Pretty busy preparing for that.

Maja my dearest friend raised a daughter today!!! CONGRADULATIONS! Wonderful!

Went to the opening night of the Icelandic Dance Company last Sunday. It was great. Very modern, very funny, very mind-confusing :) Something I needed.

My customized goggles by COZ

2007-09-08T02:44:00.000+01:00

Christophe has made his own goggle-design. I am crazy about the form... I've already ordered two: one in Red and one in Gold, to suit my awesome ski-jacket :)

And I thought travelling was fun...

2007-09-04T20:49:00.000+01:00

I have to admit that my latest travelling hasn’t been the most enjoyable travels I’ve had in my life. Last week I spent almost two days at airports, and now I have been travelling from home to Eindhoven in Holland for 8 hours… Waiting at airports surrounded by hundreds of people and sitting in airplanes is not what I enjoy the most. I have to admit, I have begun to understand the people who wants VIP access to their flights. If I was travelling every week, I would want better service, that is for sure. But it is not all boring. I am working on a very exciting project, with some really good people that are very experienced in this business. And sometimes after work, we have time to relax and enjoy good company.

When I got home from London last week I went directly to Gauksstaðir, the farm in the north, where I love to be. I went horse riding in the mountains the whole weekend and gathered the sheep with the farmers. It was so much fun. The weather was great and I got to try some crazy horses. My whole body is pretty sore thought, after fighting with the sheep, when we were sorting out, to whom each sheep belonged to. Dragging them on their horns between stalls is not easy.

Monday after work I went visiting my family: mom and dad, my sister and my brother who just got home from Greece. He swore he had nothing to do with the fires… I gave Logi Sigurjón (the son of my brother) a birthday gift, as he became five years old last Sunday! He was pretty happy with the Spiderman Goggles and Spiderman towel. Everything that says Spiderman is pretty cool at the moment.

I’m staying here in Eindhoven until Thursday, and then I’m off for one night in Copenhagen!!! Yes, I’m going HOME! To my dearest Christophe. I guess I will be pretty exhausted to go to work Friday afternoon in Reykjavík, but I have got a flight to RVK Friday morning!

Hope you all are well! It would be nice to see a comment or two… i.e. if you have anything to comment on :) Love from Holland
Asta la pasta

Party smarty

2007-08-26T23:27:00.000+01:00

The weekend is already over... The partying started early Friday at work (4 pm). The R&D people went on a Science trip to Marel Group and ended up in a marvellous cocktail party. After playing drinking games with my new boss I headed off to my friends house, were the reunion of 6.Y (my old class from high school) was held. There we had a good dancing session until we went down town. I strolled through Reykjavík centre and managed to visit 4 or 5 clubs/bars. It was a tired little Asta who got home late in the morning and met her father having his breakfast!

Saturday I took it easy… hmmm wonder why… but managed to go for a walk with Silla and pull myself together. Saturday night was a cosy night at María’s place, were all the girls met for dinner and gossip session :)

Today I have been enjoying the beautiful weather. I went to my parents new house out in the country, were I did some work. I also picked some blueberries and made dessert for my sister and her family after dinner this evening. Silla and I went bicycling down town and met Ranka, Toby and Unnur with her lovely little Elsa Vala. We had a coffee outside at Kaffibrennslan, and got sunburned!!! Yes, there is still summer in Reykjavík, although it is getting colder.

Tomorrow: work. Tuesday: London. Friday: Gauksstaðir.

My View

2007-08-26T02:22:00.000+01:00

Sunset in Reykjavík, seen from my neighbourhood. Picture taken by Lasse

Akureyri

2007-08-24T00:56:00.000+01:00

Today, I had a nice day at work. Took the cute little aircraft to Akureyri and put up the stand for the exhibition: Sjónlist. Edda came with me, and she also put up a video show. It was pretty cool to be in the art museum, where the show is; meeting different kind of people: artists, technicians, and the Nikita people. Nikita is a very cool skater/snowboarding cloth design label. Heida (the designer) is also nominated for the price. The guys told me a lot of good stuff and they also told me that they had some “kites” for me, to go “kitesurfing” near Eyarbakki and Þorklákshöfn. I’ll wait for Christophe to come and help me out with that.

I had lunch at the famous Bautinn, and after the “work” finished, which I actually thought was just super cool and fun; putting together the stand, testing the lights, drilling some missing holes, and so on… I met with Frida (the one I went horse riding with the other weekend). We hanged out a bit, went visiting her 81 year old uncle; Frændi, and his wife: Helga. We also managed to plan the next horse riding: in one week! So when I get back from Leeds, I’ll go straight north, up to the mountains and hunt the sheep. Well, not hunt them, but get them out of the mountains.

Mom and dad were so nice to come and pick me up at the airport to night. We visited my brother on the way home and wished them a good trip to Rhodos! Ohhh I wish I was going sunbathing with them… but instead I’m going to the first “office party” at work and then to a party with my old high school class. Saturday is girls night home – the studioclub is having a gossip night :) Sunday, I might… yes I might take a break.

Have a nice weekend!

I miss...

2007-08-22T00:15:00.001+01:00

...us

Kúltúrhelgi

2007-08-20T00:03:00.000+01:00

Attending a British garden party in my sister garden in Iceland (7° C) last Friday, was an experience. It was her 40th year old birthday and all of her girlfriends and female family members were there. Splendorous champagne and refreshments were provided along with warm blankets, gaslights and candles. Me, my mom, and a couple of other women, managed to stay up until 3 o’clock in the morning, still sitting outside! I was glad to feel my feet again the morning after.

Saturday was the big cultural day/night in Reykjavík. People were running marathon in the morning and then drinking and dancing until late. I went to see some friends down town, watched the concerts at Miklatún and enjoyed an ice cold Thule beer. The atmosphere was amazing! On a night like this, you easily fall in love with the city.

Today I decided to start a new healthy life style: went bicycling and mountain climbing. I went up Esjan with Guðrún Inga and Anders. Anders just moved to Iceland from Denmark last week, so he is not used to mountains. He really liked the view, and so did I. The weather was perfect.
After a hot meal, a hot bath and nice cup of hot tea, I am getting quite tired. An exiting week a head of me at work; probably going to Akureyri to put up an exhibition stand for Össur at Sjónlist and preparing myself for becoming a serious project manager…

Á íslensku í lokinn: Takk elsku systa mín fyrir yndislegt gardenpartý á föstudaginn. Takk elsku Júlíus minn og Salka mín fyrir huggulega daga í Mávahlíðinni yfir helgina. Takk Guðrún mín fyrir yndislega helgi, bæði á menningarviðburðum sem og í fjallgöngunni. Og riiiiiiiiiisa knús til Olgu Sonju sætustu frænku minnar sem var að eignast lítinn krúttara bróður! Og auddað bara knús til allra ykkar henna sem ég rakst á og var með um helgina!

Alive

2007-08-15T23:31:00.001+01:00

I just want to write and tell everyone that I am still alive. I’m just living the Icelandic lifestyle which is basically: busy busy busy! Well, I have my moments in the morning where I can relax, when I’m bicycling to work. I go through Elliðaárdalur, which is a small valley with a river and a beautiful view over the mountains, surrounding Reykjavík. I really enjoy this ride, alone in the valley, before I go to work.

Work is awesome. These days I am preparing a stand for an exhibition in Akureyri: Sjónlist. The company was nominated for their Proprio ankle and me and Ari from work are doing all we can to make this look nice and cool, so we can win this prize! I’ll show you a picture when we’ve finished. I’m also working on a big job as a project manager. It sounds fancy, but I think it will be really challenging and exciting. I’m probably going to England and Holland in next month to work on this project…

It is getting colder here in Iceland. The sun is always shining, but the temperature is falling. Soon I will have to take on my beautiful Icelandic wool sweater my mother made for me. Hope it will warm a bit up for the weekend, as my sister is throwing a garden party on Friday and the Cultural Night in Reykjavík is on Saturday. It is obviously going to be a party weekend for me…

One last thing: bucketful of kisses to my dearest Christophe, who just started his own company: InSystem in Copenhagen. He and Rasmus Nielsen are now in full swing with their programming system. Guys, you are the best! Wish I could be there with you. Miss you Christophe!

Iceland IS crazy

2007-08-09T23:36:00.000+01:00

I don’t know where to start, and I don’t know how to say it, but I’ve had one hell of a week here in Iceland! What I have been up to:
Horse riding in the beautiful mountains of Skagafjörður.
Drinking milk straight from a cow.
Sailing around Drangey in the midnight sun.
River rafting in The Eastern Glacial River.
Eating three kinds of fish, lamb and goat meat, all in one day.
Sleeping on a leather couch.
Trying to act as a real engineer at work.
Bicycling around Reykjavík… as I don’t have a car.
Staying in my old room at Brekkusel.
But most of all enjoying this cool island of mine!

Like good old times...

2007-07-30T01:45:00.000+01:00

So funny to move back into your parents’ house. It’s like taking a time machine 10 years back and live it all over again. “Remember to turn the light off … and don’t forget to lock the door!” (with my mum’s lovely voice). I feel like I’m fifteen again and that I need permission from my dad, if I want to stay longer than 10:00 pm. at my friends house. Well, now I'm exaggerating, it isn’t that bad. To be honest, it is quite a luxury. I get a free car, free rent, free meals… and all the love there is from my family. All I am missing is my Christophe :( He’s still in Denmark, working his ass off. But he will join me in Iceland in October… so I’ll have to manage until then!

I’ve had some nice days here since Friday. I met some people from my new work, who seem really nice. I’ve been helping my parents with their new cottage their building out in the country. I’ve done some gardening work here at home. I’ve been out drinking coffee, spending quality time with my nephews and other members of the family. I’ve gone out running and enjoying the fresh Icelandic air. And most of all, I’ve managed to relax a bit! Normally when I get home to Reykjavík, I go all crazy in seeing EVERYONE in once, as I normally only have a few days. But now, I have five months! So there is plenty of time…

I'll write as soon as something exiting happens ;) love from the north, Asta

Last night in Copenhagen

2007-07-25T21:26:00.000+01:00

It is like the city can feel it. It is my last night in CPH and everything seems just bouncing with life and fun. Right at this moment, I don’t want to leave… I want to stay here with my Christophe and keep on with my Danish lifestyle. But that’s always like that when you are leaving a place you love, right? Of course I am looking forward to seeing friends and family in Iceland and starting a new job. It is all very exciting. It is just not the first time I wish to be in two places at the same time!

Me and Christophe went to the “Grønnegårds Teater” tonight and saw a ballet. It was awesome. The ballet dancers were from the Royal Ballet of Denmark and the scene was outside. We had picnic in the garden before the show and enjoyed a fresh rosé. It was lovely. It was the first time Christophe attempted a ballet show; it was a major experience for him :)

Going home tomorrow at 21:30. So next time I’ll blog, I will probably be in Iceland.
Love Asta

naked shoes?

2007-07-24T15:16:00.000+01:00

These people have Dopie shoes...

Summer in Denmark

2007-07-18T11:08:00.000+01:00

My dearest cousin Sigrún Helga came to visit me last Thursday. We were really lucky with the weather and had a wonderful weekend together. We went shopping in Copenhagen (CPH) and Malmø, took the canal boat trip in centre of CPH, took a jazzy night out at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, relaxed at home and made Crêpes à la Christophe, took a whole day in TIVOLI and tried all the best amusement instruments (Den Guldne Tårn is the best one!), we went to the beach and rented a bicycle boat, took a pick nick in the wood and enjoyed the company of one another. It was a true “frænku” weekend!

Now I’m just enjoying the last days in Denmark. It is really strange to think of it that in one week time I’m going “home” to Iceland and not coming back to DK until next summer. I am trying to see most of my friends before leaving, but I don’t really believe that I am going… difficult to explain. But I am of course looking forward to going home to Iceland, there is no question about that. Starting a new job, seeing all my best friends again, spending time with the family etc. I really need that now, after 4 years abroad.

My sister turned 40 years old yesterday! Til hamingju með afmælið elsku Ragnhildur mín! She looks like a 30 year old and is enjoying life more than ever. I look forward helping her with her new flower design company: Dans á rósum.

Well I’m off for now, going to finish restoring the chairs for the balcony before I go out kite-surfing with Christophe… I haven’t really tried it before, so I am a bit nervous. Our Russian friend Danila is coming too, so we can help each other. See you soon, love Asta