England - "Almost the Home Stretch"

            The next morning was kind of a blur.  I had spent the entire evening repacking my belongings,  tidying up and making my final plans for Manchester.  I slept the entire car ride to catch up on sleep a bit.  The nice neighbors dropped me next to a train station and I was off to Piccadilly (the town center).

It was much colder than Northamptonshire.
To say it was freezing wasn't exaggerating.

I killed some time and stayed warm at a local coffee shop while I waited for my new host to get off work.

      He was really kind and full of great ideas.  That night we went to curry mile for some indian food and the University of Manchester for a beer and cider tasting. Have you ever had scrumpy?  ... Cider without the carbonation?  I hadn't. The bit I got tasted like sour sunscreen.  I'm sure it was just that brand....?   :/

      That night was a lot of fun!  Although, I feel like I climbed back into my shell that day.  The outgoing me all the sudden became the shy/quiet me.  I'm really not sure why.  Maybe I was complacent about going home.  Thinking about the week and a half to come and my flight back home.  The flight that as soon as I booked; I felt slightly trapped.  Trapped because I felt like I would get stuck back home.  I felt that one responsibility would turn into five and five would turn into twenty-five until the black hole sucked me in.

      I had to tell myself to stop being foolish and just be happy for the wonderful experiences that so gratefully came my way.

      I was happy.  I was slightly shy.  I was cold but optimistic about it.

In the morning I woke up to "pancakes". (He is German.)  Some sweet, some salty.
They were wonderful!

This is the view from the couch I was sleeping on.

       The sun finally came out.  I was overjoyed! ... even though everything was frozen outside.  The weather seemed so ironic and serene to me.  There was a quietness that came with the brisk air.  For most of the world this is probably normal experience.  
        
       Remember, I'm spoiled from sunny Los Angeles, California.  We're lucky if we get gloom on Christmas day!  I enjoyed bundling up in my scarf and hat from Norway..

...and my new WARM genuine leather and fur gloves that I scored for 8 quid, roughly 12 USD.
(Yes, those are the actual keys to the apartment!)

      The week was one awesome event after the other! We went to a CS barhop meet that included dancing and a lot of really friendly people.  I even made a friend who I later had coffee with in town.             

       Each day was a new adventure!  It was nice to get out. Especially after waiting inside for the rain and flooding to pass for a week in Northamptonshire.

       It was nice not to feel too much like a burden for a change.  I had a weekly bus pass and I felt pretty self sufficient.  

It had been a while since I had seen trash religiously on public transport.
I guess it made me feel at home... in a bad way.

        Finally, it was the day I was waiting for.  It was the reason or excuse I needed to end up in Manchester!  Yeasayer was playing at the university and tickets were unbelievably inexpensive!  I invited some CSers to join in the online forum but no one took up the offer.  

         I was going alone and I was determined to have a great time.  I got there early so I decided to have an irish coffee. At the coffee shop I met someone who was up for buying a ticket and going to the show with me. 

     The show was nothing short of amazing. They were playing a pretty small stage.  On top of that there were only about five people in the room when I showed up.  Was this real?  How could I be so fortunate?  I went into a little bit of shock.  Then, I just smiled and said to myself, "Yeah, this is my life right now and it's awesome."  The whole show I had a giant smile like a little kid who was about to meet big bird.

      The venue eventually got kind of crowded but I already had my spot saved.

      Here's a clip:  (Excuse the shaking etc.  I was paying attention to the band not the camera.  After all, I didn't go to the show for the camera.  :p)





       As I was leaving the venue I couldn't help but re-notice the vinyl albums they had for sale.  They were more than I wanted to spend and.... would it if in my backpack without getting crushed?  Would I have to ship it home?  Well, those are the thoughts I had before the show.

       The only thought I had when exiting the show was more like, "I'm going to get an album signed by the band... right now.  It's going to happen." (Those of you who know me in person know I'm usually very laid back, "go-with-the-flow"ish and low maintenance.) This was about conquering fear and proving to myself I can do anything.  Plus, the night was already going so well it was bound to happen.  

       I went next door to the ATM paid a fee for pulling out cash and bought the album.  I marched back up the stairs where the band should have been just to be stopped in my tracks by security.  I wasn't going to be pushy and I wasn't.  I wasn't going to give up either.  I went back down to the merch table and talked to the guy who sold me the album.  He told me that Yeasayer was definitely up there and they would probably be pretty likely to sign my album. I went back up to security just to be told that they had left the building. I don't want to call them liars.......buuuuut............ they were still in the building.

       I accepted and respected what they said even though it wasn't true; and moved on to the next solution. If they *had* left the building they would be in the tour bus right? But which tour bus was theirs?  I felt like a hopeless Britney Spears fan.  Oh well, this wasn't Britney Spears and it wasn't really about being a fanatic either.

       After poking around trying to figure out if there was anyone in the buses I finally found a driver who told me which bus was Yeasayer's.   It was the black one.  I waited patiently while it started to sprinkle.  I didn't have anything to protect the album. Was this going to work?   I tested my patience just a little.  About 20 minutes later the same guy from the merch table came to the bus.  He said it would be a while until they came down.

         I'll stop boring you.... but just after that the guy finished packing his table into the bus, grabbed a permanent marker and took the album up to the band to be signed.

Victory was mine!
I guess I decided it looked better upside down when I got home.
I'll stick to my gut.  :p

    I was happy.  I was in a great mood.  I had an incredible night.

< --  Post concert goofy face.

 

     The following night was a Tuesday.  Which only meant one thing. We were going to a céilidh also at the university!  I know what you're thinking.  What in the world is a "céilidh"?!!   

   This is the scene I thought of:









    It was more like this:



     Really confusing and really a blast!  


     Although, wiki has this to say about it: 

     "Céilidhs facilitated courting and prospects of marriage for young people and, although discos and nightclubs have displaced céilidhs to a considerable extent, they are still an important and popular social outlet in rural parts of Ireland and Scotland, especially in the Gaelic-speaking regions. Céilidhs are sometimes held on a smaller scale in private or public houses, for example in remote rural hinterlands and during busy festivals. It is common for some clubs and institutions such as sports clubs, schools and universities and even employers to arrange céilidhs on a regular or at least annual basis. The formality of these can vary. Some mix modern pop music with a Scottish country dancing band and dress codes range from compulsory highland dress to informal. Knowledge and use of the basic dance steps is not always strictly necessary, and dances often alternate with songs, poetry recitals, story telling and other types of "party pieces"."


      The next day would be a day of packing and traveling.  I was sad to leave Manchester.  I also figured I had already done every awesome thing there is to do in town.  There can't be that much more to keep my expectations up as high!   

      I'll tell you about the home stretch of the trip soon.  It's another five rad days!  Stay tuned!

Borrrrnnn in the U. K? ...A?

I left off with my hitchhiking journey from Belgium to London, yeah?

        Yeah.  So I jumped off the last bus and there was my new host who I was going to meet in Oslo months before.  We never met there but we did stay in contact.  It was kind of strange because I felt like I knew him even though I never met him.  I was so stoked to see his face!  I imagined him as a fiery, funny, witty and creative kind.  I wasn't too far off...  I don't think.  It was now almost 5 am in the middle of no where and I was beyond exhausted.  I dropped my backpack and crashed out.  He was sweet enough to let me stay in his bed and he took the couch.

Pozole: a mexican soup made with pork,
ancho chilis, hominy topped with onion,
cilantro, lettuce and a side of tortillas.

  

       The next day we chowed down on the soup I had been   racing to England for.  The sweet gesture was beyond delicious and reminded me so much of home.

I also had my first cuppa!  :)

  
       A couple days later he and I went out with some of his friends for a Friday out in London. We ended up at  "Big Chill House" at Kings Cross.  It was a night of dancing, madness and great times over all!  Without elaborating too much here's some evidence:

The blood came out....

       That Sunday we went for carvery which is basically like our Thanksgiving in the states.... except some do it every Sunday.  :p

Meet Johnny, the carvery master and chef genius!

Let's see... there's mash, bangers, yorkshire pudding, peas, roast, turkey, ham, cauliflower, parsnips, carrots, roasted onion, horseradish sauce, gravy, unknown sauce #1... can you spy anything else? 

       Here are some other photos to help you guess what we were up to:

These were  a great idea but with no ice & enough tequila to kill a goat they were better to look at... I'll take the blame. 

Meet Willay..... The neighbor from the next farm....  Can some one please explain what he's doing?

    The next two weeks were a bit of a blur.  I was tired and confused about my next move.  Was I supposed to spend the next 6 months in the UK and work?  Thanksgiving was just around the corner and I was really beginning to miss home.  Living expenses were quite a lot there and it was colder than I was used to.  I didn't have a plan of where to go next or what to do.  I felt lost and empty.  I couldn't go back to the Schengan union (basically the rest of Europe) yet because my visa needed 90 days to renew.   I spent a lot of time in my room contemplating what to do, thus: 

My yarn projects....... 

       I left my first scarf in a car along with my sunglasses while I was hitchhiking.  Rule #1 of hitchhiking: Always make sure you have EVERY THING before you leave the car!

       So, after a few attempts on my first scarf ever I was finally ready to bust the whole thing out.  I think I finished it in three days.  I also finally made something out of my Norwegian 1 kronor coins.  I thought it was going to end up as a necklace but I was wrong.  I left one in Cologne on the bridge with the love locks and made the other four into the creation above.

       I also started going on daily jogs again to get my blood pumping so I could have a good night's sleep instead of staying up with insomnia every night for no plausible reason.

I think this is part of Willay's farm.  I later found out he was literally the next farm over on the other side of the road. 

My hi vis ultra warm running jacket, thermals/running pants from my friend in Norway and snow reflectors from my "momma" in Sweden.  That should make sure I don't get run over at dusk in England's farm land!

It was just gorgeous at night!  - Day 3

       After a week or so of contemplating and Skyping my mom on Thanksgiving, only to find her crying. I booked my ticket home for a month later so I wouldn't miss Christmas with my mother.  December 12th would be the day.  I would also be able to go home, get my wisdom teeth pulled while I still had insurance, spend some time with my friends for my birthday, get my business going, renew my driver's license and reflect on my journey.  That was the thought anyway.

       A few days later I was supposed to move locations and stay with a CouchSurfer in London.  Instead I got invited to go to the country/island of Jersey just off the coast of France for the weekend.  Why wouldn't I go, right??!!  Yah, so we booked the flight and off we went!

Bye bye Southend Airport.......

Heeeelloooo Jersey!!

Steering wheel on the right, of course.

First stop the War Tunnels.

       The island of Jersey was occupied by the Germans from July 1940 to May 8th 1945.  The exhibit was definitely interesting.   It pointed out how strange life must have been on Jersey during this time.  Here a three second run down:

    -  Food shortages.

    -  New strange laws passed every day, each equally ridiculous.

    -  No confronting the Germans even though they were living on the island.

    -  Smuggling food from France with the chance of being caught.

-  Telephone calls were rationed to save electricity.

       After those 5 years of terror the UK finally got their island and their people back.

Johnny's 7 quid parking job kiss on the wall @ Stop #2

Willay, Johnny and..... ? 

........Vin Diesel!    I just loved him in XXX. 

It was just fabulous! Blue waters, not too cold and great company!

I believe this is looking toward France.

My best boy band pose at La Corbiere lighthouse

A fresh seafood joint that must've closed down 5 minutes before we got there.
They were nice enough to made a hot cuppa' to go though.  :)

We tried one more place for seafood.

...and found it!  We were really looking for prepared meals though.  Haha!!

         We combed the streets for 20 minutes trying to find the hotel room. Some thing about the sign "turn and yield" kept throwing us for a loop.  Eventually we dropped all of our stuff off.  I took a "disco nap" in the room since I only had 45 minutes of sleep the night before and we were off!!

        I think Jersey knew the "A team" was out that night! While walking into town there was some punk kid.  All I saw was the cop and his knuckles make contact with the cop. They just threw him into the back of their station wagon, let him settle down and read him his rights.  WELCOME TO JERSEY!!

        We continued down the block, got cash from the ATM and headed to our destination. Long story short it was another successful night on the town.  Everyone had a FANTASTIC time and no one got hurt.

      On the walk home we made friends with two nice Polish boys who worked at a pizza place. 

      The next thing I knew, Johnny and I were swimming like champs in the English Channel.  That was fun..... and that's how the night ended.  One dip in the channel to make the trip epic and we all went back to our rooms and passed out! 

      More to come soon!

Another 2,174 km! - PART THREE

After hiking around rainy Ålesund for a couple days and hanging out with the cool Czech guy it dawned on me that getting all the way up to Tromsø in time to be back in Stockholm by the 28th of September wasn't really realistic.  It was another 20 hours of straight driving north then many many hours back to Oslo and Tønsberg. To do this hitch hiking was going to take many days.  It was already quite cold where we were and the northern lights probably weren't going to be what I pictured during this time of year.  Plus, I really wanted to go dog sledding and it is still to early in the year for that as well.  In the morning I chatted with my travel companion and shared the bad news.  This now meant that we were going to turn back around, have less time to hang out and not finish the mission after all.  Ugh! I felt like an evil, evil being that morning. Luckily the news was taken quite well and we were off to hitchhike back towards Åndalsnes to catch a train back to Tønsberg in the morning.  It took us all day to get just a short distance out of town.  I think we caught four cars and we weren't even to Åndalsnes.  The good news is we had terrible places to wait for cars.

Here are a couple chronologically:

We had a competition to see who would get the car first.... neither of us did so we moved places. 

We weren't getting picked up by the gas station so we walked the open highway and picked up and dropped off just down the highway.... here.  I was pretty alright camping on that platform but we got a ride.... :/

The last spot was by a.... chicken ranch?  The sun was already going down. 

The last car wasn't just passing by Åndalsnes it was actually going all the way to Oslo.  So instead of getting to Åndalsnes and not having a place to sleep we rode with him all the way to Oslo and kept him awake.  Well.... okay.  I slept a bit in the end.  

We arrived in Oslo around 3 am and were supposed to crash at my buddy's friend's place.  The only problem is that his phone had died.  So.......... I guess we were off to find a place to charge his phone....?  In the US those are very easy to find.  Not so much in Oslo.

While studying the walls for outlets and being totally exhausted a sweet blonde girl who had just come from a concert offered us a place to sleep.  I mean... WHO DOES THAT?! Second time in a row!!! This time from a girl who was staying by herself that night.  We didn't chat much because we were so exhausted but I could just tell her personality by the decorations and belongings in her place and scent. She was someone TOTALLY worth getting to know.  She had a guestbook in the bathroom along with an organ, dainty lace curtains, an awesome CD collection.... just cool beyond belief.  I'm sad we didn't stay there for the weekend as she offered so I could become acquainted with her.  

This is a very terrible, dark picture of the place at 5 am.

In the morning we caught the remainder of our train to Tønsberg, relaxed, unpacked and slept like little babies. Going back "home" was slightly surreal but a nice feeling.  I mean, Tønsberg is now my third home. Kind of strange when you think of it.

The next day I slept in a bit and started repacking my things for Gothenburg.  The plan was to jump on a free (with voucher) ferry from Sandefjord to Strömstad then hitchhike from there to Gothenburg. After finally packing everything and enjoying one last coffee it was about 5 mins too late to get on the ferry.  It was poor planning on my part.  I should have looked up times the night before.....  This now meant I had to take a bus or train back to Oslo and from Oslo to Gothenburg.... and pay for it.  Sounds alright I guess..... except there was a 4 wait in Oslo for the next bus.  This also meant I wasn't going to arrive in Gothenburg until 3 am.  

I REALLY wanted to be able to meet up with my cousin and dance off all the built up emotions from the last month.  I was a bit down compared to when I left Sweden or the US.  It doesn't seem like that would be possible with so much beauty around, but it was true.  I think the weather and other vibes really influenced my state of mind. 

So 4 hours of waiting in my favorite bus terminal was in my future.  I decided to knit and do my best to be cool with the situation.  When I arrived in Gothenburg at 3 am I called my new host (who was expecting me) and got no answer.  It was then that I called my cousin.  GOOD NEWS! She as less than 5 minutes away from me!  So we met up, found someone to pawn Wally onto for a few hours and off to dance we were! The clubs often don't close until 5 or 6 am. The "A team" was back in action and our mission was  about to be accomplished!!!

We hung out until the early morning, grabbed Wally (the backpack) and waited for the next set of busses.  I'm sure I smelled horrendous but I was greeted "home" with big hugs and some scrumptious food of some sort... and OF COURSE the famous coffee! :) 

Ma-ma quickly scooped up all of my revolting clothes and washed them in a jiffy.  I'm not sure what she does but my laundry has never been as pristine as when she washes them.  Maybe she washes them with love? ... Like you "cook with love"?  I can't figure it out.  I took a much appreciated shower and finally slept.  We had a delish dinner the next night and I caught up with some peeps on the net then packed the next morning.

The note says "bread for Nicole" so I could make sandwiches and take them with me on my trip.  They saved my gluten free bread. Oh how I love them! They're so, so kind.

The plan was to hitchhike to Stockholm (even though I had a few days to get there) and meet up with another CSer who was on a trip to Germany.

It really should have been a brilliant spot!

By the time I got to my spot the sun was already going down.  I thought, I'm a girl this could work... but there were NO cars in this spot.  Bummer!  So, I hopped back on the bus and went to the closest stop with free wifi.  I didn't know what was going to happen this night but I knew it would work out.

It was then started looking for options on my phone.  I happened to find a group on CouchSurfing for Gothenburg Hitchhikers which had been created less than an hour before.  Maybe they were online?  If they're a hitchhiker maybe they'll understand the situation and let me come by...?  I got an almost immediate response... and BOOM I was in business!  I jumped on a train from central station about 20 minutes out of town and arrived at my new home.

My new host was pretty cool.

.... and so was my cozy room! :)

I think we watched a movie that night then passed out.  The next day my host ran out to do some errands and I was home doing ... something.  I guess it was something useless.  Haha! Oh well.  The following day we went up north so he could do paperwork for his new sailboat.  Déjà vu??? Yeah, kinda. 

I guess there is no pic of his boat.. but I did get some of the harbor.  Too bad this is only 1/8th of the boats there...

Baby starfish anyone?

..being bored towards the end, staring at fish and cloud reflections.. and me I guess...

After finishing the boat festivities we ate at this bar that has free food with purchase of one drink then met up with some friends.  It was a good day. :) 

The next day we went shopping.

.... and watched another cool movie.  In the morning it would be time for me to pack it up again and make a move on.

The plan was now to head to Germany via Copenhagen solo since my ride had to cancel last minute.  How?  I wasn't really sure!  Stay tuned! ;)