A weekend of FUN!

‘Listen as your day unfolds

Challenge what the future holds

Try and keep your head up to the sky

Lovers, they may cause you tears

Go ahead release your fears

Stand up and be counted.’

-       Des’Ree

Yes friends, I have been once again listening to the classics and have been inspired.

Anyway, I thought I would write a brief post updating you all on this weeks events.

But first and foremost, six things I have learnt since my last post:

1. Swede’s love to wear matching tracksuits

2. Swede’s also love rocking the double denim, even triple!

3. Swede’s love to wear runners, with any outfit! (So inappropriate)

4. I get way too emotionally invested in television programs

5. I never want to work as a registered nurse in Orthopedic Post-Operative

6. Never allow Emily Mackie to do a handstand in your room

So apart from this I guess I better update you on what has happened this past week. Well to begin I finished my placement in Orthopedic Post-Operative, and boy am I glad about that! Although the staff were fantastic and I had the opportunity to watch some gory operations (even assist) it’s not for me. One thing I should definitely mention in relation to this placement was one of my mentors, who is just as crazy as I am! Each shift she would ensure that I called her a different name it went from Celine Dion to Shakira, Jenny from the Block, Dolly Parton and my favorite where we referred to each other as Quasimodo and Esmerelda. 

Anyway with the long week of placement over it was Friday night and Lindsay and I decided to celebrate by treating ourselves to the world’s biggest platter for two and some trashy TV. We decided to complete the new television series we had begun to watch only that Wednesday, The Carrie Diaries. After three episodes, doors were slammed, voices were raised, and we were both on the verge of tears. At this stage we had both realised that we were far too emotionally invested.

Saturday:

Today Project not Get Fat was vamped up. After a lazy morning, breakfast in bed and a well overdue Skype date with mum Lindsay and I were off to explore Bulltoftaparken. Little did we know once we had arrived at the recreational area that there was a tournament of Golf-Frisbee in action. Lindsay and I whilst trekking through the area occasionally stopped to watch/laugh at those participating in this intense sport. With no idea how to play or the aim we were quickly judged when we insisted on cheering after a competitors throw.

 

Saturday night was spent again devouring a delicious platter and watching a trashy rom-com, possibly the worst one I have ever seen (the movie, LOL, starring Miley Cyrus). After this we insisted on dancing in my bedroom and having hand stand competitions. Probably not our smartest of ideas, as one would expect it ended with minor injuries and valuables being knocked over (thanks Em, keep trying).

Sunday:

Today, Lindsay and I decided to yet again set off on an adventure that would not only challenge our mental capability but our physical. With Project not Get Fat in mind we set off on a 30km bike ride. With the elements not being very supportive at all (Windy Malmo), this ride was more difficult than expected. After 14km we arrived at our first destination, Jakriborg. We get our tourist shots a bite to eat and are back on the road for another 6km to our next destination, Lomma. A brief visit to the jetty/beach and again we are back on our way. We were definitely on a mission with our next destination home, only another 10km to go.

We make it home; wind blown and barely able to walk. I’m just excited to see how I feel in the morning! I would definitely consider this ride to be a lifetime achievement!

Anyways, that is all for now, I best go and get ready for my next placement starting in the morning!

As always,

From Sweden with Love,

Holly

xxxxxx

Hungarian Adventures.

Szia, hello in Hungarian.

Ok so I’m setting the picture, you can see Liam Neeson, a foreign country and a taxi. How does this scenario end?

Well let me start by giving you one clue, TAKEN.

Yes, that is correct our first experience in Budapest was one where we all thought we were being taken, apart from Lindsay of course because she is far better than that.

This taxi trip resulted in sensible sally (Lindsay) in the middle busy keeping Emily, the panicked anxious one, at calm whilst I was determined to continue to stir her up.

Ladies and gentlemen you could say that it seemed to be that the panic was contagious. But you may start by asking why on earth would we think we were being taken?

Well you see it all started when we took the first offer of ‘Hello, airport-city transfers, fixed price’. After bartering our price down to 6000 HUF  (equivalent to $25 AUD, which we found out later to be quite the rip-off) we were off to find the cab only to realise that there were none of the generic cab features, e.g. taxi light, writing or just general advertising. With only 10 minutes into the trip we all look at each other, with the same thought in mind, remembering earlier on how we had all laughed at the prospect of being taken by the ‘taxi cowboys’, as clearly advertised throughout the airport.

25 minutes later and having no idea where we are I start to receive multiple seedy looks from the driver in the review mirror. At this point I was certain that we were in the middle of shooting Taken 3, starring Lindsay ‘sensible’ Coward, Genna ‘carefree’ Bradley, Holly ‘shit stirrer/fear mongerer’ Johnstone and Emily ‘panic’ Mackie.

Another 10 minutes had passed and I had noticed that there was absolutely no sign of a fair calculator, this further fuelled my theory that we were being taken.

Emily ‘Panic” Mackie was having heart palpitations whilst anxiously rubbing her chest and getting ready to dial the equivalent of 000 (which we didn’t know), and was frantically searching for the nearest free WIFI or phone reception. Whilst Lindsay ‘sensible’ Coward continued to reassure her, that we weren’t being taken and not to worry about not telling her parents we were going to Budapest for the weekend.

The peanut alarm had well and truly been set off.

False alarm! We arrived safely but very late to Emily ‘Panic’ Mackie’s hair appointment, with tears in her eyes. After an eventful beginning to our trip we leave Em at her hair appointment in search of our hostel, The Groove. Whilst walking through the streets we all took in our first ‘DIRTY’ impression of Budapest. Literally dirty, as rubbish collection day was the following morning and the streets were filled with people’s dirty trash and beggars on the side of the road trying to sell old smelly boots. 

After working up a sweat (15 degrees = no coat = heaven), it was time to go and collect Em from the hairdresser and get the world’s fastest wax, holy mama! We shopped a while, ate food and retired to the coolest hostel for the worst nights sleep. Yes, that is correct my bed of course was above a snoring old man. Little did I know that battle of trying to stay asleep had begun, clearly he won.

The next morning we got up early and were headed for a ‘hop-on-hop-off’ bus tour! This bus tour would drive us past Parliament, Vigado Ter, Pier 8, Market Hall, National Museum, Erzsebet Ter, Castle District, and last but not least the famous Hungarian baths, Gellert. This tour resulted in buying the most baben’ pair of swimwear (as opposed to rentals), being yelled at by the shop assistant for cutting off the stunning diamantes, sweat patches from all of our walking in the 16 degree heat, experiencing my first ever steam room and the worlds weirdest massage at the baths.

We grab a bite to eat on the way home at an Italian restaurant where the waiters thought it was my birthday and brought you whole chickens for dinner. After this we continued on a search for ice cream, but whilst waiting thought that it would be a great idea to go and enquire about the cost for 4 of us on a taxi bike, that was ideally made for 2.

4000 HUF, and he had a deal. Determined as ever, this young man was convinced that he could push all 4 of us the 10kms back to our hostel, and how wrong he was. Whilst peddling over 250kgs, we weaved in and out of traffic, got beeped at several times, clothing was removed, breathing rates increased and not a dry eye in the house.

We finally arrive back at the hostel and are soon out the door again on a Budapest pub-crawl, starting 2 doors down from the hostel where we met the most beautiful pooch!

Four pubs later and we find ourselves to be ordering more drinks: for Lindsay a Mojito, Emily a long island ice tea, Genna, a blue arrow and myself a red-bull Vodka. Now for those of you that have never tried or even heard of a blue arrow before I strongly suggest that you stay well and truly away, this concoction is potent, and will probably be the worst thing to ever hit your taste buds. However, Genna ‘honey-badger’ Bradley was a champion and finished it in fine form.

Continuing on we stop for ice cream and get creative re-inventing our alter egos and their backing stories. We mosey on down the road and come across possibly the coolest pub; it was built into an old warehouse/old apartments and had little nooks all over the place (even a pizza slice canteen inside). We soon become well acquainted with ‘Oshy’ the bartender, and her soon to be husband, ‘Freddy’, this ensured that we were well looked after and shown the true Hungarian party life.

After a crazy night of dancing and making cheer routines for our new favourite bar tender it was time to make the venture home at 6:30am, oops! We stop at the local supermarket to of course purchase a traveller and are well on our way, waking the locals with a cheerful morning song. We arrive back at the hostel and multiples of you back home I’m sure received a phone call and/or Skype request (Nicole).  Time was ticking and our bellies were rumbling, again. So we quickly gather our belongings, dress appropriately (socks and havianas) and make our way to McDonalds only to find that it shut! Yes, that is correct McDonalds in Budapest doesn’t open until 9AM of a Sunday, how rude! So instead we sit outside waiting for our taxi transfer (a less adventurous trip than the initial one and cheaper!) to the airport to get KFC for breakfast, delicious.

We arrived home safe and sound, slept and reminisced about what a hilarious/fantastic trip to Budapest.

Anyways that is yet again all for now,

So once again I bid you farewell,

From Sweden with Love

Holly

xxxxxxx

I’ll leave you on an end-note, which topped off our trip:

‘I may not have much money, but I have a very specific set of skills and a bad arse possie of elbow fighters. Also, never drink a blue arrow, even if you are honey badgers like we are.’

     

Part 3: Adventures

 “Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life.” 

– Michael Palin

Welcome back,

Part 3, and where to begin. Well I will start by informing you all about all of my exciting travel plans for May, June & July! 

It all starts in May when myself, Lindsay, Emily, Genna and Sarrah have 2 weeks off placement & school! We begin in Amsterdam and make our way through Prague, Vienna, Salzburg (for the Sound of Music tour), Munich and Berlin. 

Then jumping forward to the 1st of June, I set off for London with Emily. After 8 days I am headed for Ireland (girls back home, you all know what this means) to join a PaddyWagon Tour.  Once this tour is over I fly to Rome to meet up with Lindsay and Emily to start our very first 13 day contiki tour.  Beginning in Rome, our 2 week adventure takes us to all the hotspots along the Mediterranean coast. We will Flamenco dance in Barcelona, rub shoulders with the rich & famous on the French Riviera, enjoy the delights of Tuscany, walk in the footsteps of Roman Emperors & soak up the Spanish flavour of Madrid.

But wait, there's more! After our contiki tour we spend an extra night in Madrid and then make our way to Marmaris, Turkey to set off on an 8 day adventure sailing the Mediterranean. Before heading to Istanbul for our last few nights in a Hotel before saying our goodbyes and heading back home to Australia.

Anyways, enough of my travel plans and back to catching you all up on my adventures abroad. 

A few photos of various adventures:

Again, Project not Get Fat is back in full swing, with stair runs, outdoor runs, and room exercises. We have started the 30 day squat challenge and my word, it isn't easy! Apart from Project not Get Fat, college/school life is pretty much the same. Parties most weekends,  placement all of the time and the most amusing conversations held over dinner table. I am also happy to inform you that I have successfully mastered the art of grocery shopping in a foreign country as I no longer purchase hand towel instead of toilet paper, yoghurt instead of milk or sweet biscuits instead of dry crackers.

Apart from this Lindsay, Emily and myself recently made the trip north to Stockholm, and what a fantastic weekend it was! We caught the train and were lucky enough to have one of our seats taken by a passive aggressive mother and her child, and be surrounded by loud, noisy children. This made for quite an interesting trip and to be honest, we couldn't wait to get off! After finding our hostel, in the 'Old Town Stockholm', got an upgrade from the basement (21 bedded mixed-dorm), to the 3rd floor, harbour-views, (7 bedded female-dorm) it was time for dinner, at an IRISH pub of course, our fave!

We spent most of the weekend with our 'pants off', just relaxing and taking it easy. We did the 'touristy' thing,  made new friends, applied face masks,  participated in floor activities, drank, partied, played cards,  ate our body weight in pasta and spent hours looking for somewhere that made bacon and eggs and pancakes! To top it all off the easter bunny found us all and I was informed that Genovia is not a real country, Princess Diaries fooled me! After a great weekend it was time to venture back to little old Malmo, but this time we had learnt and booked plane tickets! 

Anyways,  there isn't a great deal left for me to update you all on apart from the fact that I am still having the most amazing time over here, but miss you all back home!

Well i'm off to Budapest for the weekend, so keep a look out for my next post.

Love to you all!

From Sweden with Love

Hol xxxx

P.S

Send me an email, 

hollybjohnstone@gmail.com

Part 2: Paris

“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life.” 
― Thomas Jefferson

Hej!

As promised, I am posting Part 2 of my well overdue blog update, PARIS!

Now after eventually getting over gastro, it was time to go to Paris to meet mother and D2, YAY. I arrived safe and sound only to find out that I would have to sit and wait 1 hour for the next Roissy bus into the city at Charles de Gaulle airport, but it was sunny so it was okay. I was finally on my way and I could barely contain my excitement levels on the bus, all I can say is that I truly felt sorry for the lady who had to sit next to me. Finally arrived and now it was time to try and find my hotel, without GOOGLE maps, honestly, how hard could it be?

Well, that was my first mistake; it took me approximately 45 minutes of walking around the same 2 blocks to find my hotel, the ‘Prince Albert’, I’m positive that I had passed it at least 3 times before I actually found it. Check in complete and now to explore my room, drop my things and try and find mum & D2. Our first night in Paris was relatively quiet; we aimlessly wandered the streets, ate delicious food and settled in for the night.

The next morning we were ready bright and early, and on board the hop-on-hop-off bus tour ready for a day jam-packed of site seeing. On this tour we managed to visit Opera, Palais-Royal, the Louvre, Pont-Neuf, Notre Dame cathedral, Saint-Michel, Musee d’Orsay, Concorde, Champs-des-Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Trocadero, the Eiffel tower and Grevin, the wax museum. All in all a day to definitely remember!

The next day I would say goodbye to mum & D2, and yes there were tears, again! Once we had said our goodbyes I was off to explore further! I made my way to the bridge of ‘love’, walked through the most beautiful park, and tasted the best hot chocolate in the world at Angelina’s. Although being on my own it didn’t dull my experience at all. The streets in Paris have a certain ambience that fill it with life, the culture, the setting and the food, are all to die for! And although being on my own, I still had the most fantastic time!

Later that evening I treated myself to dinner and a boat cruise down the Seine river, and later an illuminations tour, to see Paris by night, it was breathtakingly beautiful! Upon arriving back to my hotel I packed my bag ready for my flight back to Malmo in the morning and checked my emails only to find that my flight for the morning had been CANCELLED due to a suspected snowstorm!

Hooray, another night in Paris! I wake up the next morning to Paris covered in snow! I head out for breakfast, a croissant and coffee of course and then to the shops to buy myself a new beanie, gloves and umbrella, this weather was crazy! For the rest of the day I had decided to explore Montmartre - the old village, the Sacre Coeur and my favorite, the Moulin Rouge (of course singing and dancing out the front).

After another fabulous day of exploring Paris I headed back to my hotel with a bottle of French wine and some dinner (and of course dessert!).

Bags packed and everything organized to fly out the following morning. I wake up, get the taxi to the airport only to find out that I would encounter delay upon delay upon delay, 8 hours later and I was finally home in Malmo.

One thing to remember when visiting Paris, forget about the healthy eating! It is simply not possible to experience the ‘real’ Paris without indulging in all of the tasty treats on offer. The minute you step off the Plane at Charles de Gaulle airport the sweet smell of pastry, macaroons and chocolate win over your taste buds!

Once again,

From Sweden with Love,

Holly xoxox