Day 1- On a train leaving Kristiansand, here I sit restlessly wondering where the time went. Looking back on the pictures stored on my camera the trip seems unreal even though we just left this morning. Are we really here, halfway across the world traveling solo across countries we could only imagine a couple weeks ago? Never again will we be this young and will it be our first time overseas. We truly are on a trip of a lifetime. Unfortunately, that trip has flown by and I wonder what I will plan next.
It seems like all we do is say goodbye. Every time we find each other we’re forced to say goodbye to return to the real world. Every time is the same. My heart strings tighten. This time I thought they might burst. The only reason they didn’t today was because I knew I’d be back in December. After that who knows when the next time I see Malin will be. I’m afraid of this chapter of my life slipping away.
While in Kristiansand we, the girls, talked a lot about how old we are getting, almost 20. In 10 years we could be married, have kids of our own (not Jill), own a home, and have more than a minimum wage paying job. More than this trip is flying by. Life itself seems to be flying by.

Stockholm:
I promised Malin while we boarded the train that we would return for the wedding. Haha, but actually quite a scary thought. A lot can change in a couple years. Who knows if we’ll be able to afford to come back then, or have the time, or the physical ability? I really hope so.
Traveling inspires me to be open minded and excites a desire inside me to keep learning and appreciating the beauty that surrounds us, even if it is in my own back yard.
12 hour train trips are NOT FUN! The seats and the family across from us were smelly, children were being obnoxious, my iPod died, and there was a ferret or wolverine thing beneath the seat. 3 hours in I wanted off. I kept telling myself ‘only 3 x a trip to Minneapolis’ left. On the bright side, I read an entire book. We kissed the ground as soon as we got off of the train. The excitement was short lived though…
REASONS WE HATE STOCKHOLM:
1. After getting off the train at 10:30 pm, we were on the streets for 2 hours looking for our hotel. Either nobody had a clue what we were talking about or they pointed us in a million different directions. I ran probably 3 miles looking for the hotel. It also didn’t help that the hotel wasn’t correctly mapped on the internet. Finally, we found someone with a phone and they called the operator for us. Sweet right? NO.


2. The “hotel” was the sketchiest hotel I’ve ever stayed in. We rang a bell and the gate was unlocked. After fitting one person and suitcase in one of those tiny, close the gate yourself, elevators, we made it to the correct floor. An Indian man with a gash on his neck greeted us. The place was dead silent and creepy as hell. He showed us to our room. As soon as we shut the door we freaked out. The place was floor to ceiling outdated wallpaper. The curtains fell on Jill. There was a large, brown stain on the bed. The bathroom was in the hall. We thought we were the only ones there in this creepy man’s apartment/hotel. We outfitted the bed in some sheets I brought from home and reluctantly got in. No sleep that night. I constantly woke to strange noises and the feeling that bugs were crawling all over me. Don’t book the cheapest hotel in Stockholm, $60 USD dosen’t get you much. (Wasa Park Hotel)



3.It rained… the whole time. We were wearing flip flops and Jill fell down an entire flight of stairs. Welcome to Sweden. Luckily, she didn’t break her beer mug/ krunk cup!




4.Upon checking out of the “hotel” we were informed that because we had “2 extra guests” we needed to pay a fee of 720 SEK ($100). We didn’t have that cash and thought that charge was ridiculous. So, Jill went up and grabbed the remaining suitcases and we RAN for the train station. My heart was beating out of my chest. The woman from the hotel began to chase us! She caught us and demanded we pay. We responded with “It was dirty, there were bugs, and we’re not paying for shit”. After arguing with us for a good 5 minutes, flabbergasted, she ran back to the hotel saying she was going to call the police. At this point we are all having heart attacks. We ran into the train station and got on the first train to Oslo. During the train ride we couldn’t stop talking about it.

If you see three American girls, with excessive baggage, running and sweating bullets, stop them! They are fugitives escaping from Sweden!

Upon exiting the train a man stopped us and presented a badge. He began to question us about where we were going and what we were doing. I panicked. Oh no! They caught us. Luckily, it was just border control. They saw all of the bags and thought that we were possibly smuggling alcohol, cigarettes, and other goodies into Norway. Thank the LORD!

Now when we think of Stockholm we just laugh! And Laugh! And Laugh!

OSLO – The city I’ve been dreaming of
We’re finally here! It is just as amazing as I had hoped. It has all of the charm of Copenhagen, but with a modern twist. Tonight we went out for Pizza, visited the Opera, and strolled Karl Johan’s Gate where we did a little shopping. Now all I need is a good night’s sleep in a nice hotel and we’ll be ready to roll tomorrow.