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these months haven't been the most fun, although i have learned a lot from writing for a real magazine and working with real journalists and deadlines. right now, i am looking forward to have my own deadlines again, work on my master thesis and finish it (!) and stay somewhere longer than just a couple of months or a year, get a job, move into a cute house and FINALLY BE CREATIVE AGAIN. i miss drawing, writing letters, discussing fun projects over coffee and taking pictures, obviously.

so hopefully, until soon.

internship days

Haarlem. working 9 to 5 really isn't my cup of tea, that's what i learned over the past six weeks. i still have ten weeks left at my internship, which is no pain in the ass, but i guess i will be happy, too. i miss to be able and walk around town during weekdays, i miss daylight, i miss being creative (next to writing) and i miss my friends, but luckily Haarlem is a pretty city, so whenever i have the time i try to explore. the park i always cross on my way to work is turning autumn-pretty.

a weekend in Rotterdam

Rotterdam, one of these cities i have been to, but not know a thing about at all. that's why i decided to go there for a weekend, all by myself, to start practicing for my upcoming trip to South Korea(!). i soon discovered Rotterdam is much nicer than i remembered - or have experienced before. this is what i enjoyed the most:

- staying at the lovely Ani & Haakien hostel
- visiting het Oude Noorden (the old north), where you find lots of nice shops like Elle Aime and &design
- and where you can have a super delicious lunch at Lof der Zoetheid (although i would've loved to try their cakes as well)
- visiting Groos, the prettiest shop ever maybe. the best thing? every single product is made in Rotterdam
- finally seeing Hotel New York, where the boat to America leaves and many families (like my grandmother's) emigrated
- spending the sunday afternoon at the lovely Swan Market.

hello from Haarlem!

Haarlem. i moved to this city at the end of august, started an internship at Columbus Magazine (a Dutch travel magazine) and i turned 24 at a lovely festival called Into the great wide open. i didn't bring my camera, but Anne took pretty pictures.

tourist in "my own country"

after i came home from Norway a bit over a month ago (already!), i spent way too much time on my upcoming (super shitty) exam. that's why i decided i could take a day of and visit Antwerp, together with my favorite map.

slowly saying goodbye

Oslo. after one hour on a boat, two hours in a taxi and ten+ on a train, we luckily had a whole day in Oslo before taking a plane home. a whole day to say goodbye to Norway, say goodbye to Oslo and say goodbye to some more lovely people. Ingeborg took us to lovely Ullevål Hageby, where we looked at pretty houses and stroked cute cats.

wind, whale burgers and being way up north

Træna. last week i finally made it to the north of Norway, where the sun doesn't set. Berit and i volunteered at Trænafestivalen, a lovely little festival on an island which lays at least three hours from the coast. on the way there i already talked to so many people i didn't know, we shared beers and ciders and the sea was rough and the weather rainy. and that's basically what the whole festival looked like: the weather was crappy, the beers and ciders (and wine) were shared and i talked to lots of nice people - and the nature was STUNNING. i thought i'd seen quite a bit of Norway already, but the north beats everything.

when it comes to music, i mostly enjoyed Highasakite, Bendik, Lamark and Ulige Numre (and i'm sure i would have loved Kråkesølv, but i had to miss their concert three times, which obviously sucked big time).

two days in Trondheim

Trondheim. the city i lived for 6 months as an exchange student, the city i fell so extremely much in love with and the city i basically miss every day i'm not there. i now know it's not my city, but it does feel good to be back. as usual, we did things i always did while living here and things i never got to do. some recommendations:

- spend as much time as you can at Bakklandet (and as many evenings and sunday afternoons as possible at Antikvariatet)
- eat pikekyss at Mormors Stue or go there on a sunday and enjoy their unlimited cake buffet (!)
- visit the Egon pizzeria in the tv tower (!) and enjoy their buffet while turning around and having the best view over the city
- and if you feel like going for a walk: walk to Svartlamoen and be surprised there's something like this in this city.

summer-Oslove

Oslo. there is no place i like as much in summer as Oslo (and the rest of Norway, when it's not too rainy or windy). as usual, we barbecued in the park and played (awesome) stupid games and drank Danish granatæble-lakrids vodka (which is the best alcohol i know) until we really had to catch the subway home. but there's more nice things to do in summer-Oslo:

- take a (free) boat to one of the islands in the fjord
- visit the botanical garden
- eat breakfast at Liebling (which also is a very good idea when the weather isn't this nice).

hello Norway!

Oslo. it took almost 17 months (!) (yes, that's a record) but FINALLY i am back in my favorite city. the weather is perfect, the people are lovely, my Norwegian is still working and for the first time i visited Vigelandsparken without taking photos of the sculptures. i did take a photo of our lovely map and a pretty ivy, though.

Brussels with a twist

Brussels. Debby is visiting me and although i didn't change my showing around-skills, things turned quite strange:

- we went for breakfast at lovely Yeti, where they obviously forgot what 'vegetarian' means
- we joined the New Europe Walking-tour and got shown around by a Dutch guy who has lived here shorter than me (...)
- we didn't just see Manneken Pis dressed up, but we saw him GETTING dressed up (!)
- and we ended up in the middle of the Global Smurfs Day celebration, which indeed is as crazy as it sounds. but fun.

holida-ay! ☀ ☀ ☀

Brussels. a couple of days ago i had my last exam and right after i picked up my friend Selma from to celebrate summer holiday being here! having Dutch visitors in Brussels also is a reason to explore a little more, so i found new favorite things:

- this Surinamese restaurant called Café Pom
- lots of cute, small streets in the Flemish area (around Rue de Flandre)
- a new frozen yogurt place (where you can add your own toppings!) called Chillbox
- the European area with the prettiest pond at Square Marie-Louise.

oh, hello summer!

a weekend in Groningen

Groningen. although it's been over a year since i moved from this city, i still know lots of people and do feel a bit at home when i'm back visiting. and every time, i try to mix visiting places i always enjoyed a lot and exploring new places. this time i:

- spent time in the university library (!)
- finally got to pay a visit to Søstrene Grene-store, which is the first one in the Netherlands
- walked around in the pretty Prinsentuin
- walked along the canals and looked at all the cute houses
- and discovered a new (fancy) coffee bar called Black & Bloom. they serve good cakes, too.

from Lisse with love

Lisse. i visited Haarlem for a job interview (!) and while taking the train up there i passed so many pretty tulip fields, i really wanted to go there myself. so we drove to Lisse and for the first time in my life, i was completely surrounded by tulips.

a Dutchie abroad

Brussels. yesterday, being a Dutchie abroad was a bit of a weird (and sad) thing. it wasn't only our national day, but also our queen abdicated and we now - for the first time in my, but also my parents', life - have a king. i watched the live ceremony online before i had to run to uni for my class and after it, my two other Dutch classmates and i threw a little "traditional Dutch games"-party, although we usually don't spekhap and spijkerpoep on Queensday. but hey, it was fun.

les serres royales de Laeken

Brussels. two weeks a year, the royal greenhouses of Laeken (which is where the Belgian king resides) open their doors for all visitors and although i wasn't too excited about going in line together with the other hundreds of visitors... it wasn't that bad. and if it would have been, it still was way too pretty to be annoyed. definitely a must go, if you ever can.

when in Porto

- have a fancy ice tea and cake at Moustache, the hippest coffee house in town
- eat pasteïs at O Nata Douro (so you get to try the "real Lisbon snack" without having to visit Lisbon! plus it's just too good)
- buy postcards (or soap or sardines in a very pretty package) at A Vida Portuguesa
- eat traditional Portuguese food at Casa de Santo António
- visit Livraria Lello, the prettiest bookstore i have been to
- look at the pretty train station, São Bento
- and go to Casal if you long for some "normal" food (burgers, pizza, extremely good desserts).

oh, these Portuguese houses ❤ (2)