Kva ho Ragnhild driv på med

Here we are! Playing at Nasa :)

2008-02-12T22:03:00.001Z

Concert!

2008-01-31T11:06:00.000Z

Heyhey, hahaha, amazing we are asked to play at the opening of the winter festival here in Reykjavík. ooooo. This is on Thursday the 7th of Feb at around 10 pm. Practice practice practice. hihi.

http://www.vetrarhatid.is/desktopdefault.aspx

Her er bandet som eg spelar i for tida

2008-01-14T21:14:00.000Z

Her er eit link til den heimesida som bandet vårt har THE REEL THING
Det er kjempekjekt å spela saman, har hatt ein opptredelse som gjekk dritbra og so vert det ein annan ceilidh på den 26 Januar her i Reykjavík.

Jippi

Var eg morsommare før i tida?

2008-01-06T23:53:00.000Z

Eg tok meg ein titt på bloggen min frå 2004 og hjelpe meg som eg lo. Eg var jo jammen meg ganske festleg. Eller var det berre slik at eg faktisk hadde meire tid til å tenka og pønska på lure ting å skriva?

No for tida går eg absolutt ikkje rundt og pønsker ut noko lurt som eg skal skriva på bloggen min. Eg trur kanskje at før i tida berre bekymra eg meg øve kor den neste haike-bilen kom frå og kor eg kunne selga min neste hekle-hua. No til dags er det 1000 dumme ting som eg grublar på.

Hm, men det er dumt å grubla og lura på desse 1000 kompliserte tingene. Alt ein treng er jo ei fin grøn eng, eit par trer, eit par fjell, godt ver og eit telt. Og det hadde vore supert med nok mat til å laga til ein saftig piknik.

jadda jadda. trur eg bør byrja på å hekla ei hua. har ikkje gjort det på kjempelenge. Ei rau ei med øyre. det vert bra. viss eg legg garn og heklenål på bordet i kveld so byrjer eg kanskje i morgon tidleg viss eg e heldig. Jippi!!

Lurer på om eg skal kasta TV'et på dynga. Men diverre er det ikkje mitt so eg har ikkje lov.

helsing Ragnhild

Biletet er frå Island i fjæra der det er ein varm kilde som eg dypper beina i romjul 2007. Frost -5°C

Hei og Hopp!

2007-11-17T21:44:00.000Z

Jau kanskje skal eg berre byrja å skriva litt her inne, har jo liksom aldri tid lenger... Hm men det er no berre tull, mykje lettare å¨skriva her viss eg skriva på norsk. då kan eg vasa i veg om berre dill.

Jadda, bur no fortsatt på Island og no driv eg faktisk på å studere. Tenk på det, merkeleg at eg har/skal ofra 3 år av livet mitt på lesing og lesesaler. hm, men får sikkert ein superjobb etter dei 3 årene viss Island er det samme landet 3 år fram i tida.

Eg studerer nemleg Business Administrasjon som er ettertrakta her på denne is øya. Hihi, og so kan eg berre loffa litt om sommaren, eller kanskje jobba i 6 mnd med DRITBRA lønn og so loffa resten av året.

Men, loffinga mi vert litt annleis no som eg har ein liten plugg som heng på meg. Sonen min er eitt år no og går og greier. stilig, eg trur faktisk det er heilt ok å loffa med han, men det einaste er at viss eg skal opp eit fjell, so må eg bera han (12kg) og ryggsekken min i tillegg. trur det vert for heftig.. Må kanskje venta til han er som ein fjellgeit. det vert kanskje ei stund til, her på Island er folk ikkje so veldig glade i å gå tur..

Jau, so er det heile pakken her i gården med bleieskift, dagmamma, bil, studielån, forsikring, husleiga, og 1000 andre rekningar. Hm, hugser ein gong for nokon år sida då eg hadde berre ei rekning og det var heller ikkje noko ordentleg rekning. Det var kontant kortet på mobilen. hehe. tenk på det.

jau, elles so har graviditeten tukla med hormonane mine på ein eller annan måte. Iallefall er matlysten min heilt forandra slik at eg er ikkje lenger ei fyldig dame, eg er heilt ordinær no. merkelege greier. har ikkje lyst på snop og kaker heile tida slik som det var før i tida. kanskje det er ein medisinsk grunn ein eller annan plass.

Eg lengter mykje til ein plass å setta føttene mine i varm god sand og vera ute uten at det er kaldt. mmmmmmmmmmmm. eg trur eg liker varme land best... og so skikkeleg vinter i 1 mnd. det hadde vore topp. lurer på korleis eg skal få det til.

Eg skal lova at eg skal verta flinkare å skriva. klem frå StudentMamma Ragnhild

Hössi throwing an axe

2007-06-01T10:03:00.001+01:00

Ragnhild Throwing an axe

2007-06-01T10:02:00.001+01:00

Of course veeeeery difficult

In Öystese

2007-04-21T12:17:00.000+01:00

The stay in Öystese was wonderful, the weather was hot hot hot until Höskuldur brought the winter with him from Iceland. hahaha. We will be back in Norway in May flying directly from Scotland where we will attend a grand music festival on the Isle of Rum. yes yes yes!

This is a picture that Kåre took, mum's husband. He is an excellent photographer!

another 70's pic

2007-04-16T08:59:00.000+01:00

70's party!

2007-04-12T21:00:00.000+01:00

Oh my God it is AAAAGES since I have written something here. Looks like nothing happens that does not include little Ýmir. Anyway: we were invited to a 4 x 40year old party, if you see what I mean. 4 people turning 40. and the dress code was 70's clothes. hehe I did not have any trouble finding dresses!!

I got jolly drinking alcohol-free beer, hehe. And we were dancing, me feeling free not carrying a baby around. Looovely. Lots of people-hugging and rock hard breasts. some men commented on my breasts bursting with milk and offered to help me out... But I politely said no-thanks...

There were loads of people and veeeery loud disco music, a bit too loud for the people in the pregnancy/breastfeeding club...

I got home 00.30 to my relieved mother who claimed her back was sweaty from looking after a baby for the first time in 30 years. haha

This is Per Christian who later started wearing a golden wig.
Sissel and Endre
Ragnhild, Annbjörg and Ann Charlotte
Peter (one of the 40 years old)
Is this what the real 70's people wore underneath the dresses?

fat cat

2007-03-15T00:58:00.000Z

look at this unbelieavably fat cat, fattest cat in the world!!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIvp7oa5TsM

Knife

2007-03-14T11:59:00.000Z

Wow I just sharpened my knife so much that I don't have to hold the bread whilst slicing!. you see, hold the baby with one arm and push down on the bread with a veeeeeeery sharp knife. voila: Perfect!!

Höskuldur turning his head

2007-02-27T10:28:00.000Z

hehehe, click on the picture to get a bigger view.. look at him turning his head :D hahaha

Ford Escort, R.I.P.

2007-02-27T09:47:00.000Z

Oh well, the day after this picture, our car started BURNING as Hössi was driving it! He noticed loads of smoke and looked under the car..there was flames next to the fuel tank(!!!) Fortunately he was outside his boss's house and managed to get a fire extinguisher and put the fire out before the whole car exploded.

Good (and drunken) memories from Greenland

2007-02-13T22:04:00.000Z

Breastfeeding, the new slimming aid.

2007-02-10T18:04:00.000Z

Wow, perhaps I will just breastfeed Ýmir Jaki forever! It sure prevents me from gaining any weight. The kilos are just disappearing without me trying to eat very healthily. cool! Ýmir drinks about a litre of breastmilk every day so I suppose it not very strange..

Perhaps this is why some mothers breastfeed their children until they are 10 and 12 years old, haha.

The three tourist information workers and three boys!

2007-02-09T15:16:00.000Z

Hahaha, we got bitten by the pregnancy bug. ooops. I think there might be a virus in that office! Milena to the left is 6 days over-due in the picture, she might be giving birth to her boy as I am typing this, wooow. Soffía to the right gave birth three weeks ago to a beautiful boy!

Other news: Höskuldur is in the rotten-shark heaven. Well, not really a heaven if you ask me. Imagine your boyfriend coming home smelling of old fish and ammonia. yuck!

He bought 7 kg of rotten shark (real quality shark, he claims) which probably seemed like a good idea at the time. Because of the stink, I don't want him to eat or store the Shark at home so he gorges on it in the stables with his dad and other macho horse-men.

Uff. Yesterday I was in the bathroom when he came back from training his horses and I smelled the overpowering fishie smell just as he walked in the front door! Amazingly strong smell. He says it is good for you.... hm... I am far from convinced... :D

My coat has been stinking of shark after the þorrablót the other day just because I was in the same room whilst Höskuldur cut the shark into bitesize pieces... undescribable!

Norway

2007-02-06T19:01:00.000Z

I cannot wait to go to Norway, in my mind I see Norway lush and green and the sun is shining. and the fjord is bright blue and the fruit trees are blooming...

Hm, this romantic view of my home country does not always work, sometimes when my plane lands, it rains heavily or there is a wet fog over the whole country... or it is cold and nasty.

I think if I moved to Norway, I would have the same romantic view of Iceland as well. It seems that you only remember the positive things about a country, weird.

When I think back to our holiday in South America, I only remember nice things. I wonder why.

Anyway, it is going to be great going back to Norway, visiting everyone and showing them that -yes- Ragnhild has indeed become a mother. hahaha. I suppose it might be weird for some to picture this..

Nasty nasty computers

2007-01-31T23:32:00.000Z

The nasty computer decided to eat all my pictures from the Þorrablót and I feel like crying!! I had a wonderful video of Ýmir his first time in a proper bathtub, oh nononononono. This is the case with the digital world.... all the pictures in this computer can just be lost if the computer dies. bloody hell.

How awful.

anyway, we were swish as I said at the Þorrablót, Höskuldur was wearing a very fine black suit and I was wearing a very fine black dress. oooo-oooo-oooo nicety-nice. I felt like I was not a mother, no-one could guess I have a 10 week old son waiting for my milk. hihi cool.

oooops must dash, my breasts are needed elsewhere....

Þorrablót

2007-01-27T15:34:00.000Z

We are going to a þorrablót here in the north of Iceland tonight, and for the first time I am going to leave Ýmir Jaki for more than 2 hours, OH MY GOD!! Höskuldur's sister, Guðrún, is going to babysit. I am going to use the breastpump and hopefully I have enough milk for him.. (some new videos of Ýmir in on the picturepage by the way)

Höskuldur and I have been treating eachother and we've got swish clothes to wear tonight... pictures will follow :)

Þorrablot is a dinner/dance always in January/February and it is where Icelandic people eat very strange food:

Hákarl (putrfied shark)
Blóðmör (blood sausage/black pudding)
Súr Blóðmör, (Sour-preserved blood sausage [black pudding])
Hrútspungar(Sour-preserved ram's testicles)
Lundabaggi (lamb roll)
Súr Lundabaggi (Sour-preserved lamb roll)
Svinasulta (jellied ham)
Sviðasulta (jellied sheep's head)
Súr Sviðasulta (sour-preserved jellied sheep's head)
Harðfiskur (dried fish)
Hangikjöt (smoked lamb)
Súr Hvalur (sour-preserved whale blubber)

Apparently everything was preserved in the old days, because people did not have very much for the winter months.. so meat was preserved in whey or was left to rot to preserve it.

I quite like this food, my favourite is hangikjöt and the soured whale blubber, yum yum. and soured jellied sheeps head.

Christmas and New Year

2007-01-06T23:10:00.000Z

Christmas came unexpectedly soon, I was kind of not prepared at all, all my thoughts are going to the little baby, hihi. Anyway...

On the 23rd we went to Hössi's granmother Gogo to eat rotten scate. wow. Strange meal. ammonia-fish with fat that you pour over it. All my clothes and ýmir's clothes smelled of ammonia-fish afterwards. hmmm.... Oh, well at least I tried...

Christmas eve was great, we were 14 people at Unnur's place (Hössi's aunt). An enourmous pile of Xmas presents under the tree, most of them for Ýmir Jaki, the lucky b++++++. hehe.

Jakob cooked the delicious cHRISTMAS dinner, melt-in-mouth-REINDEER. oh my GOOOOD what a perfect meal! Ýmir was calm and watched us eat, nice! For dessert we had the traditional rice-cream with an almond in it with a prize for the one finding the almond. excellent. I got many nice presents and Ýmir Jaki got a HUUUUGE pile.

The most memorable gift was a state of the art DARTH VADER mask that plays his breathing sound and says "you don't know the power of the dark force..." You can wear this mask, hahhahahah, wow, how funny. Jacob was delighted with his mask.

I got a pair of flashing nipple-lights. To wear under my clothes and they blink through the fabric, hihihi. For Ýmir when it's dark I suppose.

on the 26th of December we went to another aunt of Hössi's, Anna Björk, for traditional smoked lamb (hangikjöt). There were loads of guests there as well. 27th of December we went to the baptism of Hulda Liv and MOOOOORE cakes and food. burp. and then there was the brunch at Hössi's granny, Jakobina.

And wow, so busy. on the 30th we had Hangikjöt at our place with Sigga and Jakob and Danny from Britain.

Then came new years eve with an AMAAAAAAAZING meal at Sigga and Jakob's new flat. we were served the best meal of the year, orange duck. that is.. duck with orange and orange sauce and wooooow. I cannot begin to describe how good it tasted. oh my GOD. with mashed sweet potatoes.. and caramelized potatoes, jakob's super sauce and and and. Starter was giant prawns in crumbs with a spicy coriander dip. mmmmmmm

And 2 sticky dark rich chocolate cakes for dessert.

WOOOOOOWWWWW I have eated so much and still the cupboard is full of chocolates and biscuits in our flat. dear oh dear...

Pictures from New Year!!

2007-01-03T16:25:00.000Z

Amazing view over Reykjavík
Here are all of us dinner guests at Sigga and Jakob's place
Mystery guest:

us again

2006-12-24T16:36:00.000Z

Us

2006-12-24T16:15:00.000Z

A last, time for me.

2006-12-23T14:46:00.000Z

Oh dear, seems like I am letting down my main blog.. All the attention goes to the baby blog. hm. Perhaps I should write a few line on what it is like to be a mother.

Just imagine, an egg has been stored in my body for 30 (!!!) years and then suddenly it becomes an embryo with the help of generous Hössi, haha. It is quite unbelievable that the eggs are so old when they get fertilised. Weird that they manage to survive in my body through many drunken parties and flues and viruses.

So is Ymir Jaki in fact 30 years old as well, since he was made from a 30 year old egg? hm, philosophy.. philosophy...

I have just come back from a short shopping spree. I have not yet let Hössi feed Ymir Jaki with a bottle, so I make sure I am only away for max 2 hours. It is actually quite tiring to use a breast pump. And I never get as much out as I get when he feeds directly. Hm. But there will come a time when I want to go to the movies I suppose.

At the moment I don't mind at all coming back every 2 hours. Or taking him with me shopping.

A week ago I was shopping with the baby in a bookshop here in Reykjavík and he was getting very hungry. So I found myself a secluded corner and an office-chair and fed him right there. 5 minutes later another shopper came up to me and asked if I did this often. ?? ? well, I said that the baby was quite new and just needed to drink and in Norway people breastfeed all over the place.

This man looked at me with kind of pity and said "Well, I think the Icelandic people would at least find themselves a bathroom for breastfeeding" jesus crist. Some PEOPLE!!! What an arsehole. My baby breastfeeds in a shop, SO WHAT?

Well, I don't care what they think :)

I had a milk blockage going on in my breast a week ago and got a fever, 39.2°C. I felt terrible. But I managed to sort it out, massage and hot rice-bag on my breast whilst the baby was drinking. The fever passed in a few days. Other than that, my nipples sting and my breasts ache, my back is tired and I forget to eat. quite strange for me, because I am usually ALWAYS hungry.

Shitty Firefox

2006-12-15T16:32:00.000Z

I have not been able to blog for bloody aaaaaaages because of stupid Internet Server Firefox. It is a thing with Hössi´s Macintosh computer and Firefox problem. Well, I had to visit my good friend Åse to borrow her PC and Internet Explorer and then VOILA! I managed to publish! Look at the baby blog :D

Mumsy

2006-11-28T15:12:00.000Z

Oh how life has changed, we are at home looking after our little son. Going anywhere is a big thing.

So much has to be planned:
* feed the baby so he does not cry his head off in the car,
* make sure his nappy is clean before we leave,
* dress him properly,
* strap him into the car seat,
* probably lots of other things... that I cannot remember due to my breast-feeding fog in my brain.

And remember to bring all the things needed to change his nappy including extra clothes woooow...

Often, I just let Hössi do my errands because it is too much hassle to get the little one ready for the big outside... But tomorrow we are getting the Pram! Then I will take little along to the park and to the forest as often as I can. yessss.

This is a wonderful time, we are really happy.

We are having a naming-party for the closest family the 10th of December. no-one exept Höskuldur and I know his name until then. My mum and Betten will be here in Iceland that weekend so it is a good time for giving little a name. Oooo so secret. That's the way it is done in Iceland. The name is often secret until the babtism or name-party. I think that's good fun to keep everyone guessing.

Time to part ways

2006-11-24T15:03:00.001Z

it is time to separate mother and child, but only online. What I mean is that the baby gets his own blog and will leave mum alone on her page. But what on earth has mother to write about if it is not baby stuff?

I think the baby blog will contain more information only interesting for people who are in family or good friends. Poo and pee stories and stuff. hahaha. well, the link is on the right hand side ----> I have yet to update it ... ...

More pictures on the Photo page by the way!

Birth Story

2006-11-24T15:03:00.000Z

Birth Story

It started at 3.30 Tuesday morning, a day after my due date. I had just been to the toilet and went back to bed when I felt the water break. Quite a shock, you don't prepare for this moment at all. I started shaking, probably because I was so surprised/shocked that the TIME has come. We went back to bed waiting for the contractions to start.

After half an hour, weak contractions started and I timed them with my mobile, they were 9-10 minutes in between. And not very painful. Just like strong period pains.

We waited until 6 o'clock when the contractions were 6 minutes inbetween. We then drove to the hospital. I was quite annoyed at the speedbumps and red lights on the way there. Uff. At the hospital, a lovely nurse welcomed us and put me on a monitor to measure the contractions. They were not particularly strong and I had only 2 cm opening, so we were given the option of going home again to rest.

We went home and I tried to relax whilst in pain. Not very easy. At 10.30 the contractions were getting strong and only 3 minutes between them. We drove to the hospital again and I was put on the monitor. They checked me and I had only 3 cm opening, not very much. This time we were given the option of going home, but I did NOT want to drive with contractions again, so we were given a room in "hreiðrið" (the nest), a birth department of the hospital for women who want to give birth without pain relief.

This was like a hotel room, with a double bed, very comfortable, but not in my state. I was not very relaxed with these strong contractions. It was like I was in a trance, I could not talk or think straight. I was in bed writhing around, in much much pain. We waited for the staff getting a birth-room ready for us. I felt it took an enormous amount of time!!! I was looking forward to trying to relax in the big bathtub.

At 13.20 we were moved to the birth room where they put me on that BLOODY monitor again, and my hot bath stood waiting for me. I had to sit (veeeery uncomfortable) and they checked the heartbeat and contractions, which were veeeeery painful. I was moaning and making loud cave-woman sounds. ooooooaaaaaaooaaaa hahaha

Before my bath the nurse was just going to check my opening. She was very surprised when she realised I had 10cm opening. "You are about to give birth!" she said. But she felt that the baby's head did not face the right way. It was coming face up, tilted slightly on the side. And apparently it is harder to give birth to a baby this way, I am told.

I cannot remember very much, because I was in so much pain.. But suddenly loads of nurses and doctors rushed into the room. 3 doctors and 5 nurses were in the room. The baby's heartbeat was quite low and they needed to get it out as soon as possible.

They put me on a drip, oxytosen to make my contractions stronger, sprayed something up my nose, I was on my back (not the way I planned my birth at all!! and I was told to push with all my power. i felt like a doll not completely in control..

They had to use 2 different kinds of suctions bells, which failed to get the baby out apparently. There were two nurses holding my legs and a doctor in front of me. I saw that she was holding scissors in her hand. I managed to shout: use anesthetics, But her face was like a mask and she just cut me anyway. Twice. Uuusss not very nice. And in the end she used pliers to try to get the baby out. shiiit........ blood everywhere.

But I was very good at pushing, I was very determined to make sure I did all that I could to prevent my baby from getting sucked out by some shitty machine. The heartbeat was low. Of course the baby came out in the end, after 30 minutes of pushing. My cries were probably heard all over Reykjavík.
At 14.06 a blue-gray floppy baby was placed on my stomach. Hössi was behind me during the whole birth and he told me that it was a boy! Quite surprising! We were so sure it would be a girl, haha :o)

It did not cry very loudly because it did not have much energy left. They cut the umbilical cord right away and rushed the baby to another room, and we did not see it until 2 hours later. Meanwhile I gave birth to the after birth and was stitched up, this time they used anesthetics!

Two hours later they wheeled the baby into our room in a little bed. It was amazing to see it. I could not stop crying, it was so perfect and so small and it was ours. I could not believe it. I forgot all about the painful birth. Wow. I did not know it was possible to love a person so much, a person that you have only seen for a couple of minutes.

The doctors kept checking on the baby every 6 hours, just in case. There was some bleeding under the skin on the head because they had used the suction bell. But everything was fine with it and after 2 days we could go home. End of story! Phu!

more pictures

2006-11-19T12:12:00.000Z

Breastfeeding for the first time !!! wooooooooow, how weird and how unreal! and of course wonderful..

Have you ever tried feeding from something that's bigger than your own head?

Is this a smile, hihihi probably too early, but i like to believe...

There's nothing better in life...

2006-11-16T14:02:00.000Z

I gave birth to a beautiful boy. Life just became even more perfect.
At 14.06 the 14th of November. 52cm and 3500g

It was a quick but difficult birth, a birth story is coming later :)

It has started

2006-11-14T05:14:00.000Z

Yep, wish me luck.

Due date!

2006-11-13T19:26:00.000Z

hey hey, well, the baby did not want to come out and play today. Even though I went for an hour's power walk in the woods. With energetic Ipod-music in my ears and snow in the air. Icy wind chilling my bottom. hehe.

It has been ages since I have managed to walk so fast. Strange. I wonder why I managed this today. No contractions whilst I was walking even. I will have to go for another fast walk tomorrow. I just hope the storm won't blow loads of snow onto the paths.

But my friend says that the baby gives off a substance when its lungs have fully matured and it is THIS that triggers the birth. hmmm. who knows.

Sometimes I wonder if this is my last shower before the birth or the last time I cut my tonails trying to manouver around a 110cm big belly. hihi, it is quite tricky at times.

From Poland with love, hahahahah

2006-11-12T21:29:00.000Z

Hössi suddenly decided to go for a makover. hihihi, before and after pictures are always great fun!!

We have ordered the birth for tomorrow at 12, I am sure the baby will co-operate.

Food and relaxation

2006-11-06T12:57:00.000Z

We went north to Laugarbakki last weekend, a perfect weekend with lots of good food and relaxation. Playing darts, watching movies, going swimming and a little sightseeing. And Hössi´s mum cut my hair, I am really pleased with it :D We were joking about my imminent birth, hihi. But I did not need the hospital bag I packed for the weekend, we are back in Reykjavik now and my belly is still biiiig :D

Only a week left now. And by the way we have got ourselves a car!! Nice and red Ford Escort Station, picture coming soon!

First day of NO WORK!!

2006-11-01T16:15:00.000Z

hey hey, yesterday was my last day at work, grrrrreat! It feels strange that I am not going to go to work again for a whole year. Woooow! But I am sure there will be enough for me to do when this belly disappears.

So, I am trying not to stagnate at home. Apparently walking and being reasonable active might incourage the baby to be born. No way do I want to be pregnant 2 extra weeks after my due date. I went for a walk today, but I walk like a duck. extremely slow... Quite frustrating.

Everybody has a baby-blog these days. hm. I wonder. Should I start one too? Some baby blogs are totally over the top with "bling bling" cute things and flashing cuddely stuff everywhere. hmmmm. If I decide to start a baby blog, then I think I would write it in Norwegian.

Strange things are happening in the fruit and vegetable section in Icelandic supermarkets: I went shopping today and the price per kilo for Mango-fruits is half that of carrots. WHAT??? so of course I buy Mangoes and not carrots. and mangoes and turnips have the same kilo-price. weeeeird!

I really don´t understand. Exotic fruits and vegetables are cheaper than crappy carrots and turnips. hihihihi, what a messed up country.

Hmmm, am I turning into a sad housewife?? oh NOOO. discussing the price of fruit and vegetables. ti-hi.

New Dimensions

2006-10-27T17:10:00.000+01:00

Look, only 17 days left, oh maaaaan!

When will it stop growing?? hihihihi, naughty baby.

Bergen, the new destination for Icelandair!

2006-10-24T15:39:00.000+01:00

Yes, can you believe it?? Icelandair has confirmed that they are starting direct flights between Reykjavík and Bergen next year. And 3 weeks later Iceland Express also confirmed that they are flying to Bergen direct next summer (June, July and August). Hurray! Now I don´t need to hang around in that terrible airport in Oslo.

This makes me very very very happy :D :D

Woooow, and go to Hardanger and fill my backpack with fruit and berries and fly back again. hihi, how exciting!

Crazy bad energy from the Snæfells-glacier?

2006-10-23T11:50:00.000+01:00

So we went to this autumn special eating party in Snæfellsnes. It is called wild food buffet. Yum yum all kinds of strange dishes. duck, goose, whale, trout, monkfish, puffin, gillimot and so on. It was a great night, 60 people and an excellent blues band playing.

We stayed the night in the master bedroom with a direct view to the famous Snæfells glacier, who some believe radiates lots of positive energy.

The strange thing was that our night´s sleep was very disturbed. Both of us had bad dreams all night, strange weird dreams. I often woke up by Hössi throwing himself back and forth and talking in his sleep. And he woke up when I was doing the same thing. I have NEVER dreamt so much crazy shit. Like for example I dreamt that I skinned a horse alive and wrapped it up in whale skin so the whale skin would grow onto the horse and create a kind of half horse - half whale. Jeeesus.

We woke up exhausted, had breakfast and questioned the other guests about weird dreams. It seemed that none of the other guests had had the same experience as us. But then someone asked us where we had slept. When I answered "the corner room at the end", the response was "ooooooh!! why did you not say so?? it is the glacier of course. This is normal. It´s the power of the glacier"

Phaaaaa, i don´t believe in shit like that. A glacier?? But that should radiate POSITIVE energy not the weird nightmarish dreams we had. I believe it was caused by the food we had, or some gas in the room or something. So what do you think? which animal caused our nocturnal terror?

What do you think???

Anyway, whilst you are thinking, here´s a picture of a scary church out on Snæfellsnes:

Drama in the rubbish container

2006-10-17T11:55:00.000+01:00

I am a fan of recycling paper, so I went to the recycling place last weekend with a plastic box full of newspapers and stuff. I started throwing the papers into the container when I saw what I was throwing out...... was not really stuff we should be throwing away! I saw a map of Iceland sliding down the mountain of paper, bills, payslips, pregnancy documents. Shiiiiiit!!

I stood there for a while watching our documents disappearing down to the bottom of the paper mountain. Out of reach. Oh NOOO! Should I..... ????
I started looking around me checking whether anyone was looking. Hm, they must thing I am crazy if I climb into the container. ufffff. Well, I turned the plastic box upside down, stepped onto it and it kind of buckled under my weight. However, I managed to get a leg up on the edge and roll into the container. I was hoping no-one was looking and that no-one would notice that I am 9 months pregnant. (kind of embarrassing, you know, what IS this woman thinking??? She should be at home with her feet up, not rolling around in containers)

So I slid down the paper mountain and managed to retrieve our precious documents. Phu!! what a relief! I was very pleased with myself! Climbing out again was not too difficult. Fortunately I was wearing a wide skirt.

Hi-hi, what a day!

Balloon up my skirt?

2006-10-11T12:52:00.000+01:00

It kind of looks like a balloon, but this is no camera trick, this is actually the size of my belly, amazing!!! I bought this dress in the fleamarket last weekend, freaky dress, a little bit granny-like, but cool nevertheless. I was very surprised that my belly fitted in the dress, perhaps it used to belong to a granny with a beer gut.

So I´ve got a month left. I wonder if it is going to grow even bigger, hahaha. I will end up like a freak. The midwife told me that it seems to be an average baby, around 3600g at birth. we´ll see. Perhaps if I only eat pork pies for 4 weeks it will be a blob of a baby. But, that´s a silly plan.. hehe

I went camping last weekend in the woods. Just me and my kicking friend in my belly. He/she is like an oven in my stomac, I don´t get cold. I slept really well, like in a coma. How come I sleep so well in a tent? is it all the oxygen? or is it being wrapped up in a sleepingbag? It was a little bit heavy to bend down lots of times to put the tent pegs in the grown. Uff, that biiiig stomac. And difficult to put my walking shoes on. But other than that: perfect camping trip!

And my mum is coming to visit AGAIN! with her happy friend Betten. They are coming on a "see the baby" trip in the start of December. Excellent! I am so happy :D

Laufskálarétt

2006-10-02T15:54:00.000+01:00

Genius man Árni managed to sort out a rental car for us that needed to be driven to Akureyri (5 hours drive) so that we could come to the north! Great stuff! Free drive north. End of month adventures is no joke, because normally all the salary has been spent!

This was a great weekend, staying with Sunna and Árni in Akureyri, discovering a fantastic Polish/slovakian kind of shop with loads of unusual foods, yum yum! And not to mention Sunna´s out-of-this-world vegetable lasagne, whoooohooo!!

On the Saturday we drove west to Skagafjörður to check out the horse-gathering round ups. Basically there´s this huge valley where around 1000 happy horses run loose in the summertime. In the end of September the horses have to be collected and hurded down the valley to a biiiiig pen where the owners take the horses that they own.

It is quite a scene, with Icelandic horse people in their woollen jumpers and overalls. alcohol is everywhere. Chunky Icelandic men standing in circles with their arms around eachother, singing traditional songs very loudly. hahahah Funny!

I was not allowed into the ring, being very pregnant, haha. Höskuldur and his dad stood like a big wall in front of me when a new horse came into our pen. Really cool to see the men wrestling with the horses, some people falling amongst the excited horses and getting friendly slaps on their backs when they got to their feet again covered in horse-stuff, hhaha.

Everything went well, apart from a drunk man getting dragged by the horse after falling of and getting caught in one of the stirrups. And all the people from the different farms rode home chasing their horses on the way.

Afterwards we were invited for "Kaffi" at a friends place. Icelandic Kaffi normally means coffee + all sorts of other things. food, cakes, alcohol.

And the day after we were invited to eat traditional Icelandic meatsoup, yummy!! veeeery hearty and filling.

I have put loads more pictures into the Photo Album :D

......

2006-09-28T15:38:00.000+01:00

My mum, Höskuldur and I + unknown individual

More baby thoughts....

2006-09-27T15:25:00.000+01:00

So I am crocheting a little bit, making baby clothes of course, but my bag is definitely not full of pink or light blue yarn, OH NO. I am going to make my baby colourful! I made a stripy jacket, all kinds of colours. And I would really like to find some baby clothes from the seventies, orange, brown, green with strange cute patterns.

Just like I was wearing when I was little. Hahaha. So to all you parents out there, I suppose you have noticed that all the shops are full of pink and light blue clothes. Uffff, I keep searching for neutral clothes, I don´t want a stereotype baby, because of course this is going to be a special one :) I have found some cool clothes, green and orange and red. nice!

And perhaps I will buy myself a sewing machine! Yes I think so. I will make loads of stuff! That will be sewing machine nr 3. I have one in Scotland and one in Northern Norway and they are looked after by nice friendly people.

I dreamt that I poked a hole in my stomac (the skin was as thin as sausage skin) and there I say my baby´s head and it was looking at me and smiling, hihihi very beautiful. I smiled back but I could not close the hole, it was ripping and just getting bigger. but my baby did not mind, it was ready to come out and play. hahaha, funny dream.

So in a week I will be "Høg gravid" as they call it in Norway. I suppose I could translate it to "Extremely pregnant". haha. You obtain this title when you have 40 days left until birth. whooopeee!!

Sheeeep

2006-09-21T11:26:00.000+01:00

Couldn´t really think of a suitable heading for this post. ti-hi Well, the sun is shining and my curly mum is coming to visit with her bestest bestest friend tomorrow, hurray! Hopefully Iceland won´t turn it´s back on us and lash us with icy rain.

My sweet friend from Norway who lives here in Iceland gave birth yesterday and I went to visit her in the hospital. Wow, I have never visited anyone in the hospital before. It was so strange and calming to enter the darkened room where her husband was resting on the bed and where she was holding their 6 HOURS old son. Amazing stuff. My friend seemed so vunerable. The baby was already breastfeeding, clever dude. It became more real, this whole birth stuff. Oh my GOD, my belly is actually not going to stay forever... It is going to disappear in about 7 weeks. (unfortunately I have heard that the belly does not disappear immediately after birth, it takes a while before it shrinks back normal)

Hm, I got a kind of a wake-up-call...

I was amazed that she was able to walk quite quickly, you know, I don´t really know so much about life after birth (...um....hahaha that sounded strange).

Just had a great lunch in the seafoodcellar with my man and mother in law. Perfect :) namminamm

Hey, look at how green my fingers are; I managed to get an Avocado stone to grow! hehehehehe, and I have another one just starting sprouting in the other window. It looks kind of like an alien.

The Norway team

2006-09-14T15:34:00.000+01:00

Yesss, got a visit from my friends from Øystese in Hardanger. The adventurous team stayed for a week in Iceland and we managed to show them lots of nice things around the rugged island. Happy me for having such nice friends! They even went rafting in a crazy glacial river, apparently VERY entertaining!. I was not allowed to join in because of being 8 months pregnant. And look at my belly now, it is HUGE!
The scary thing is that the hungry baby is actually going to double in size from now until birth! It is only 1400g now and it is going to be around 3-4000g. Oh my GOD, how will I have enough space? I feel more and more like an over-stuffed sausage. It is getting difficult to turn around in bed already! hihihi. quite strange this pregnancy stuff, I started crying and had to concentrate on not crying loudly when we were watching 2 birthvideos at the parenting course. It was something I was unable to control. Nothing like watching a birth in american movies, babies are NOT pink when they are born, more grey-bluish colour. shiiiiiiit!! Only 60 days left now!

I put loads of swanky photos from the roadtrip in on the recent photopage.

Photos

2006-09-05T13:33:00.000+01:00

I created a new photoalbum, a was getting sick of the other one with Flickr, I think I will be better at updating this new photoalbum, yessss. Tonight is the first Parenting-course! wow, lots of information about birth and breastfeeding I am sure. I think it will be fun.

By the way I dreamt I was breastfeeding a cat last night. It was not very good at it. My milk was spraying everywhere, into its eyes and uff. no not very good.

A story of an idyllic weekend

2006-09-04T15:11:00.000+01:00

The weather changed and it became really hot last weekend.

On sunday morning I woke up in my tent, having slept really well, my stomac satisfied with grilled burgers and blueberries from the bushes around my tent. How well I sleep when I am camping!

Fresh air and my body relaxes in a way I can never relax inside a house. I have not camped alone since the start of July and it was really getting to me. I seem to crave my tent. hihi strange. It was a plesant surprise to find the bushes blue with blueberries where I camped. I ate so much, for desert and for my breakfast.

When I woke up, the sun was still shining brightly and I knew this day should not be wasted. I packed my tent, got home and took my bicycle and cycled to the thermally heated beach here in Reykjavik.

I had to re-organise my backpack because Hössi´s bicycle has a rather hard seat which was damaging my sensitive bottom. After 3 failed attempts I managed to fasten it on the handlebars. The beach was not crowded at all and the temperature was perfect. I ate all my juicy oranges and apple and bananas and went for a swim in the sea. Watching all the kids playing. People staring at my swollen stomac, hahaha!

I am reading a good book at the moment, Acid house by Irvine welsh. I stayed on the beach for 4 hours before cycling back and went to sit in a pregnant friends garden enjoying the last of the sunday sunshine. Smiles smiles :)

Mmmmm, I have lots of energy for the week now. Hössi is coming back from a week´s guiding on Wednesday, the same day as my friends are turning up from Norway, hurray!

Releasing steam

2006-08-28T13:01:00.000+01:00

Sometimes I just don´t like my work. I suppose I cannot go into it in detail when everyone can read it, but uffff, Monday again and I really just want to sit in the sun somewhere just hearing the wind in the trees. Or be camping somewhere with the rain drumming on the tent.

Or be able to sit outside without having to wear a winter coat.

I wish I had a car, the bus system in Reykjavík is not great fun. Sitting with all these weirdos that make strange sniffing noises or smells. The Bus gets me to work and back, but for anything else, it is not very helpful. It would be nice if the local buses would also go up into the parks outside Reykjavik to allow people without cars to go walking.

Should I buy a car for 50,000ISK? How much would it break down? I once bought a car in Britain for 500 pounds and it was a real rip-off car dealer. There was so much wrong with the car, the engine was a mess. It died not long after I bought it. oh no, poor me.

I hope the winter will not come too soon, It might be quite difficult being 9 months pregnant and walk on slippery ice.

I was bored last week so I decided to cut my hair off. Apparently it does not look too bad. Do only crazy people cut their hair off? hm, only insane people in movies cut their hair off, I seem to remember...

I going to rent a huge ship that can drag Iceland down alongside Spain, nice. I am sure no-one would mind.

Gay pride in Reykjavik

2006-08-22T14:27:00.000+01:00

I managed to run away from work and watch the gay parade down Laugarvegur. wow what a sight. Where do all these gay people come from? I never see them during the rest of the year. hm. Perhaps they have a secret society somewhere underground.

touuuurists .....

2006-08-19T11:21:00.000+01:00

T: can I get tax free refund here?
R: yes you can. please fill in the form.
T: are you the Icelandic government?
R: ....????.... no.
T: oh.

R: so, when do you leave Iceland?
T: yes.
R: No, when do you LEAVE Iceland, when do you go home?
T: HAHA, yes yes. (smiling and nodding)
R: W-H-E-N D-O Y-O-U G-O H-O-M-E? AIRPORT. HOME.
T: a HAHAHAHAHA, OH. ... EEEEEEE.... yesterday??
R: tomorrow?
T: hahah, yes, tomorrow.

R: and I need to see a credit card, please
T: oh. long search. shows passport.
R: no, your C-R-E-D-I-T C-A-R-D. VIIIIISA please.
T: ahahaha. OK here.

R: And we only give the money back in foreign currency, what currency would you like?
T: Icelandic Dollars please.
R: No, we don´t give the refund back in Icelandic Krone. only foreign.

and so on. bla bla bla. strange and confused tourists come and claim their tax back. there has been blind people, deaf and dumb swedish people, people who stink so much I can smell it through the glass screen, people that talk and spray saliva on my glass screen. YUCK! People with very dirty fingernails, russian spys, a man from israel with his arm in a sling, drunk icelandic woman living in Greenland, an american with an impossibly small credit card - which worked(!!!), people from Norway telling me that I speak very good Norwegian.

Yesterday an American woman asked when my baby was due. I looked shocked and answered: No, I am not pregnant, I am just fat... Hahahahhahaha, you should have seen the look on her face. Her boyfriend laughed so much! Of course I told them the truth. ti-hii.

belly belly belly

2006-08-14T21:12:00.000+01:00

My belly has gotten so big that it gets a bit in the way at work, but I don´t mind. It is nice to have a place where all the bread crumbs end up, haha. Amazing how often I stain my tops with food now that my stomac is so biiiiig

My back is OK, I have just been taking it easy and it seems to work. No strenous housework and no long walks. Hey-hey. I like it. I start pregnancy swimming tomorrow together with a pregnant work colleague. yippeee.

And I believe my mum is coming for a visit in a month or so, great. Otherwise, life is just brilliant, I am a bit emotional because of all the hormones. (blame the hormones!!) Poor boyfriends who have to deal with their pregnant women, hahaha. Well, it is all a learning curve.

hehe, only 90 days left now. My stomac is sometimes hard as rock because of contractions. The womb is practising for the real deal 90 days in the future. strange stuff. I can look at my belly and see the baby kicking from the outside. My stomac dances from side to side. Entertaining to watch.

Health

2006-08-04T10:32:00.000+01:00

I have been doing so well until now, walking for an hour a day through a valley and loving being healthy and pregnant. Then two days ago I started getting pains in my stupid back and now I have trouble walking!!!! What on earth is the point of this? Did mother nature invent that pregnant women should not be walking around in the sun feeling happy?

Ufff, this sucks, I walk around so slowly that I look like an old lady who has shat her pants. I hope this is only temporary pains, but I think this might last until the birth. arrrgh SHIT!

Hm, I guess I have to start going to pregnancy-swimming classes to get some exercise. I don´t have a swimsuit, only a bikini and hopefully people won´t mind seeing my huge stomac out in the air :) ti-hi

My finnish friend Jonna has come for a visit and we are probably driving north today to spend the bank holiday weekend somewhere else than Reykjavík. Jonna and I used to slaughter together in the top village Vopnafjörður.

Here she is together with Sjonni, whwn they came to visit me at work

State

2006-07-30T00:37:00.000+01:00

My stomac sticks further out than my breasts, wow!

Just over three months left and I look nice and pregnant. cannot sleep on my stomac anymore, difficult to cross my arms on my chest, my trousers don´t fit and my nose is veeery sensitive.

Skiippagurra Festival Northern Norway

2006-07-09T14:27:00.000+01:00

So I went to the Skiippagurra festival this year as well, I just could not keep away. Wow, the good feeling when you meet your festival friends that always go there. You sit around the bonfire, talking about stuff, nothing particular, much happiness and laughter. It feels to good right to the bone of your soul. Nothing is better that this. It is something about being around a bonfire with good friends that can not be topped. For me anyway... I learnt this year that I should absolutely NOT put poison treated wood onto the fire. hihi, the man next to me took it out of the fire, threw it away and shouted "POISON!!"

And we were doing a lot of sitting inside the Lavvo (tent) with the fire going and making coffee on the fire whilst the guitar was being played, aaaaand relaaaaaax...

This is a video of people singing two different songs "yellow submarine" and "where have all the flowers gone", very good!

I had my own private little tent where I could be at peace and rest, the only company in my tent was my kicking little friend in my stomac. hihi. It was quite funny so see people I had not seen for ages and their surprise when "travel-Ragnhild" is suddenly pregnant. hahaha Like that would never happen? I grilled lots of yummy norwegian sausages and drank just as much delicious alcohol free beer as I would have drunk normal beer. Of course I took on some small jobs like being the driver over the border to Finland to shop for cheap alcohol and down to the local shop with non sober people wanting booze and food. The weather was great and the cars I drove flew over the hot asphalt. yiiiiiippiiiiiiiii!

I managed to stay up as late as I would have done if I had been drunk, quite strange. It must have been that alcohol free beer I think or was it all the bonfire-coffee? We saw most of the bands, but having such a tempting campfire, it was really difficult to tear oneself loose and wander down to the concert area.

So I wonder, will I be there next year as well? I have been there 4 years in a row now and next year I will have a little baby to care for. I think I might become a little worried with all the drunk teenagers that seem to have started taking over the festival. hm, we´ll see. there´s also another great festival in the middle of July called Riddu Riddu! And they have a family camping area :)

And whilst the swedish band "hoven Droven" was playing people had much fun kicking the hat out of the hand of a man standing and holding it up high :)This is at two o´clock in the morning and the midnight sun is shining brightly.

Going mad with the sewing machine

2006-06-26T17:26:00.000+01:00

Hahaha, I am actually just cutting holes and bits out of my clothes and sewing pieces of clothing together. Most of my products I would not dream of wearing, so it gives me an excuse to throw them away at last. yeeeeeeeeee!! It´s quite fun ruining clothes I buy at the second hand marked. hehehe.

And in just 3 days I am going to Norway ! Jippi Jippi.

What else? We went for the 20-week scan and saw the most beautiful baby in the world for the first time. It was posing for the picture! I can even feel the kicks on the outside of the stomac now. How wonderful! I really love being pregnant, I feel so alive. I never thought this would be so much fun, it gives life an extra boost. We have already got a baby-bed, changing-nappie-table, mattress, loads of very cute (thi-hi) baby clothes, some toys, and we are getting a pram from a woman that works with me. How great! Oh my god, I am turning into one of THEM! (you know what I mean..) And apparently my breast are going to grow even bigger. Shiiiiit!

Hey and I have recently discovered this uploading place, You Tube where you can upload videos, COOL! so, here are some videos from Greenland snowmobile-skiing adventure:

Video 1:
Video 2

commotion

2006-06-14T13:28:00.000+01:00

in my stomac, yes, the little one has started kicking and playing, but it is very well behaved and does not move around when I am sleeping. It is especially active around lunchtime. Quite good fun!

When I am lying on my back in the morning, my stomac is not flat anymore. I always thought that pregnant bellies would be round, but mine is kind of pointy (only when I lie on my back). in a week I am halfway through my pregnancy, wow.

I read this book late last night about giving birth and stuff, and of course I dreamt about it. Not a very nice dream, but it ended up with me saving my baby because it was just put to the side after the birth and nobody checked if it was breathing. Poor little thing and BAAAD hospital people! I gave it mouth to mouth and then it´s heart started beating and he (it was a boy in my dream) started breathing and screaming. I was so happy, very happy but then I was starting to wonder if he could have got brain damage and stuff. oh dear what a dream.

I was quite tired when I woke up. Perhaps I should drink nice herb tea before I go to bed so I don´t dream nasty things like this.

Anyway, I am going to Norway soon HURRAAAAAAYYYYYY! to the legendary Skiippagurra festival where all the nice people from Finnmark go. I cannot wait!!

Yes and i have lost weight, unbelievable. only 2 kg, but I always thought that I would become a huge tremendously overweight woman if I ever became pregnant. This has not happened yet. :)

Diving in Iceland (...!!...)

2006-06-07T11:06:00.000+01:00

Not exactly the first thing you would think of doing in Iceland, diving in 2°C water in a crack with Europe on one side and America on the other. The water is so clear, it is glacier water that has been sifted through stone and sand so the visibility is up to 150m (!!!). We went diving last weekend. An absolutely fantastic experience!

The dry suits were extremely difficult to move around in, most of us were exhausted before we even got to the water! And the nasty hood tore loads of hair out when I was putting it on and taking it off. haha, but small sufferings like that was totally worth what we would experience under the water!

The water in Þingvallavatnið is 2 to 4°C. It feels like someone is holding ice against your face,YIKES!! but after a while you get used to it.

I was snorkeling watching all the divers from above, playing with all the big airbubbles coming up. hehehehe! wow!

Check out the place you can do this kafarinn and icelandexcursions as well.

Hurra kor kjekt da e å lengta te Noreg

2006-06-02T12:47:00.000+01:00

Då seg eg fø meg berre sol og atter sol. I hjernen min so regner det nemleg aldri i Noreg, hihi. Og so grönne björketrer og epler og pærer og moreller. for i hjernen min er det nemleg aldri ekkel slapse-vinter. Berre fint ver og tonnevis av snø om vinteren som daler sakte ner og alle fryder seg.

Mmm dempa lyd frå bilar som köyrer med kjettingar på snöen og so sklir eg avgårde på ein spark. Ingen har sjölvsagt strödd sand i vegen, å neidå. Perfekte Noreg. Jau og av og til vert det nettopp slik eg har beskreve, akkurat som i eventyr. Kanskje dei som bur i Noreg heile tida ikkje legg merke til desse tinga so godt som eg gjere?

Eg kjenner luktar som eg kjente då eg var lita, lukta når ein går i ein tett granskog, lukta når det regner for fyrste gong på lenge, stövet på vegen som vert blöytt av regnet og ein kan sjå regndropane som kjem og gjer brune flekkar i stövet. Av og til trur eg at eg kan lukta meitemarkane til og med. Og lukta nå ein går på ski i gamal anorakk som luktar spesielt, han har vore brukt lenge og det heng att ein god gamal eim i han. mmmm.

Eg trur trerna i Noreg luktar annleis enn trer i utlandet.

Og den beste lukta i gamal röykstove, blanda lukt av röyk, tjære og tre. Mmm, å so godt! Då får eg lyst på nepastappa og so römmegraut. oooh det har eg ikkje smakt på lenge.

Jaudå, snart kjeme eg for å oppleva Noreg att, det beste landet. Ein dag skal eg få meg eit fint tre-hus i Noreg med epletrer i hagen og so skal eg ha sukkererter og reddiker og ein fin plen viss eg ikkje gidd å sova inne. drauma drauma.

Tourists and more tourists and a bit of rasism.

2006-05-29T10:26:00.000+01:00

Have you ever tried explaining the details of Tax Free shopping to a Polish person who doesn´t speak english? or a Russian person, or Hungarian for that matter?? It can be quite complicated. What are these people doing in Iceland anyway? How do they get by if they don´t speak any enlish? Wow!

I smile a lot and use words I believe to be "international" but they are only international in my head. My french is kind of limited, but I can get by.....just. But explaining these Tax Free rules... UFF!! is quite hard. I learn A LOT by working here. My german is also up to the test.

The swedish and danish people are no problem, I just speak very conservative Norwegian and then they all understad and wonder at how easy it is to understand Norwegian people, hahahahha! Once I started speaking my own dialect to danish people after they told me how easy it was to understand me. Hahahaha! Their eyes widened and they just started laughing because it turned out they did not understand very much at all!

There was an Icelandic woman here the other day, she has been living in Norway for 18 years and speaks Norwegian with an icelandic accent. She had dark hair, brown eyes. I asked her where the norwegian people thought she was from. She answered: moldovia, bulgaria, russia, poland, turkey!. Wow and she had had rasist comments yelled after her!. unbelievable how your appearance confuses stupid rasist people!

My boyfriends mother (from Iceland as well)has also dark hair and brown eyes and when she lived in Sweden for some time, she had "din jævla svartskalle" yelled at her on the street. which translates as "you f***ing nigger"

Irritating know-it-alls.

2006-05-24T14:30:00.000+01:00

I got REALLY annoyed today.

I was sitting peacefully, reading the newspaper and eating my lunch in the lunchroom. I finished my lunch off by eating some cheesy puffy snack things (ostepop)yum yum :) Then this woman that works in the same building comes in and says: "oh, but Ragnhild, that cannot be very healthy for your baby!"

oOOooooooooooooo, Ggggggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrr

Yes, like cheesy puffs is going to harm my baby? Oh, I get so angry! what about sigarettes and alcohol? Does she have to worry about cheesy puffs? It´s none of her business whether I eat cheesy puffs or not. GGRRRRRRRRR

I am not going to let this irritate me all day, so by writing this here, hopefully I will get it out of my mind.

There´s a fat security guy under my table now, installing a emergency button in case someone wants to steal all the money.

OKidoki, I give in.

2006-05-15T15:18:00.000+01:00

I have realised, I simply cannot avoid writing about my pregnancy, so my blog will kind of change from a travel-blog into a baby-blog, oh my God! I never thought it would happen to me ! Yikes

Well, yesterday I went on a walk to the highest waterfall in Iceland called "Glymur". We went with a couple we know and they are expecting a baby too. It was funny, the men walking briskly up the hill whilst the pregnant girlfriends were struggeling behind, taking breaks when we were out of breath and clutching our stomacs. haha. And look, I have developed monster-breasts, they are f****** HUGE!

I had to have walking poles because my knee is still kind of loose, but I took it easy and I did not end up invalid. The waterfall is nice, but not that impressive, we have far taller and beauuuuuutiful waterfalls in Norway. (says a true fan of Norway!)The rule in Norway for the tallest waterfall is that it should fall straight down and not fall down on a ledge and then to another ledge and then down, like Glymur does here in Iceland. buuuu!

I have pictures from that trip and wonderful pictures from the Norwegian national day celebration here in Reykjavik on the 17th of May! yes!

bus shock & philosophy

2006-05-10T14:34:00.000+01:00

Can you believe it, I was in the bus in Reykjavik the other day and I was alone in the bus. After some time, the busdriver farted and a terrible smell spread through the bus. I could not believe it. What a cheeky f***!

I am in the bus to and from work every day. The other passengers are foreigners, people who lost their drivers license or crazy people who would not be allowed to drive. Nice... oh dear. I sit and gaze out the window and sometimes I forget to go out of the bus where I am supposed to. day dreaming.

I have been working in the Tourist information for 2 weeks now and I am still enjoying it very much. It´s so nice finding a job you are satisfied with immediately.

My stomac is bigger, but I am generally not getting any heavier, because I find it difficult to eat. I can only eat tiny portions. My brain always tells me to help myself to a BIIIIG portion, but after 1/3 of the food, my stomac tells me another story. strange stuff. The good news is that I have stopped throwing up! hurray!

I can feel a hard area in my stomac which I guess is the womb with a mini Ragnhild in it. Cool! sometimes I forget that I am pregnant and walk past a mirror and get a shock, how could I walk around with a stomac like that! Be ASHAMED! But then I realise, oh yeah that´s right; I have a little parasite inside. yeah that´s right. hehe, strange.

I LIKE.....

2006-05-06T18:29:00.000+01:00

I like my job,
I like my flat,
I like my man,
I like my expanding stomac,
I like people patting my expanding stomac,
I like the sun,
I like the spring,
I like my new clothes,
I like my happy green plants,
I like our comfortable bed,

On the other side......
I don´t like puking,
I don´t like smelly feet,
I don´t like being hungry,

Smiles and more smiles from me!

Clever Icelanders

2006-04-20T18:11:00.000+01:00

They decide that the start of summer is such an important event that it´s a day off for everyone! 21st of April, and the first day of "summer" here in Iceland. (4 celcius)

Cheerful Icelandic people wear short sleeved shirts, sandals and wish eachother "happy summer" on this day. BBQs are for sale in all the hardware and garden shops. "It´s time to chuck the meat on the grill" they exclaim. Brrrrrrrrr shiver shiver.

Hm, now that I have a flat with a small garden, I might even be tempted to do some BBQ´ing in the afternoon sun. lovely Icelandic lamb. Yummmm, the grisley slaughterhouse never managed to put me off my meat, hehe.

I am a little worried about the Icelandic Krona, how low will it sink? At least, if everything goes straight to hell, I can crawl back to my faithful and stabile country Norway and leave the icelandic people to it. Hm, is that me being bad? nonono, I am thinking straight, for what can I do about this inflation? nothing at all. But it is only 4 years ago since the Icelandic krona was as low as it is today, so no BIG worries I think. Hm..

Everything fits into place

2006-04-19T17:49:00.000+01:00

I finally got a job I really wanted here in Reykjavík, I am so happy! I am going to work in the main Tourist Office and talk all day with tourists about what they can discover here in beautiful Iceland. Yes! Hurray! I start on Monday and I can work there until I give birth. My new boss is looking forward to see me walking around with a huge belly. Nice :)

The wages are good too !

Smiles and more smiles from me!

Life has taken a new turn!

2006-04-09T11:47:00.000+01:00

Oh dear, how shall I tell you? Many of you know already, but I have decided to not go overboard and create a baby-blog, NO WAY!! So you guessed it yet? November is when I probably will give birth to a Norwegian / Icelandic super duper baby! Can you believe it? No?

But don´t you worry I WILL NOT fill my blog with pictures of my swollen stomac or little babythings. Hm, so what should I write on my blog then? I know my life will have changed into a world of nappies and breastfeeding. Hopefully a part of my brain will survive enough to keep this blog interesting?

Yes, that might be. It´s only some blahdiblah writing on the internet after all. So who cares :) We´ve found a lovely bright and roomy flat in Reykjavik, now the only thing I need is a job. ("dan kjeme nok rekande paa ei fjöl, hehe") I am optimistic that someone will hire me in spite of my pregnancy, yess, OK so long people..... Take care and don´t let the bugs bite you.

Iceland, lovely iceland

2006-04-06T10:25:00.000+01:00

So, I am back again, was met by storm force winds and -4. But somehow, I like it! hehe, I will HAVE to like it I guess :) Because I am going to be here for a loooong time. yepp! the secret is out! hohohoho

Lots of smiles from happy happy Ragnhild

Oooops change of plans again.....

2006-03-24T13:39:00.000Z

I am not going to Ireland nor working in Norway this summer, I have decided to move to beautiful Iceland in two weeks. hehe. Well, my life is never ever boring is it? I will just have to find a flat in Reykjavik and a job as well. If you know of anything, please tell me.

30 years old, at last. hehe

2006-03-20T12:57:00.000Z

The four chicks who all turn 30 this year. We were together in school in Øystese in Norway.

The view over Bergen from one of the seven mountains surrounding the city.

The old harbour in Bergen from around year 1500

Harry, Ingrid, Höskuldur and my brother Anders
My village Øystese

Inside my mum's house. I am being a good woman repairing someone's trousers. shiiit, I should watch out so I don't start to feel really comfortable inside kitchens....

My plans for this summer:

2006-03-10T10:40:00.000Z

Yes, I think I have decided the plan for this summer;

Start of April: go to the small village, Thomastown, in Ireland and help pulling pints of Guinness in the bar.

Middle of May: go back to Norway and start the reseptionist job in a lovely Stalheim Hotel on the west coast just north of where I am from.

End of August: I guess I willl have to go to Iceland to slaughter them sheep again.... hehehe, don't worry, I am looking forward to it of course!

This is the view from Stalheim Hotel in Norway, stunning place:

On the slopes in France

2006-03-07T18:22:00.000Z

This is a much better photo of Bourg St Maurice (the village I am staying in at the moment) which I took today from the skiing area.

Wow, so lucky with the weather today! My face is red now from the cold and the sun. I went all the way to the top where it was -23ºC and that's without the windchill added! whooooo, so cold, I felt my eyelids freeze up and my cheeks turning blue, uff. 3250 metres above sealevel, so I was completely out of breath just walking up a tiny hill! but what a view:
This the view down from the highest lift:
And you could see all the way to Mount Blanc(the highest mountain in the picture), and to the swiss and italian alps as well:
Us with the same mountain in the background
There were prime conditions for skiing, almost no wind, sunny and loads of new snow.
Off to get some beer, hehe.
I really, REALLY wanted to go skiing, but maybe next time :)

Themorra (scottish for tomorrow)

2006-03-06T16:56:00.000Z

This is where I am going tomorrow, they have real deals for cripples like myself (or non skiers), I can get a pedestrian ski-pass which allows me to go up all the way in the funicular railway and in the lifts up to 3200 metres, whohoo!
yes yessss.

I don't know if you can see the lifts on this map, but I am going all the way up on mountain to the left. Mmmm cannot wait. Perhaps I will bring some hot chocolate in a flask, but the Norwegian brown cheese on well buttered raisin (christmas) bread would have been perfect. They only eat white (or green) cheeses here unfortunately, buuuuuu!

Lots more photos after I return tomorrow

This area (Bourg St Maurice and Val D'Isere) became an emergency area last weekend after it snowed and rained heavily for 3 days non stop. Loads of people got stuck (500 had to sleep in the small train station here) and the danger of avalanches was great. The French army even stepped in! Loads of angry british people. Cancelled flights, I heard all about it through Ben, in whose flat we are staying. He works for a skiing company who gets brits over here to ski.

Other than that: I have been eating nasty over-ripe French cheese and it made my tummy sore, not to mention all the gas, ufffff. :( I think the mouldy green cheesy stuff messes with your body, urgh. But the Kronenbourg beer is good, although it comes in little 25cl girlie bottles. It lookes strange when big men are drinking these bottles, they disappear in their huge hands, just like the bacardi breezer bottles do. It's not a man's drink.

Oh yeah, this is the main (very touristy) street in Bourg St Maurice:

Bought a BRAND NEW HOUSE today:

2006-03-03T15:28:00.000Z

Here it is: My NEW home. Practical, comfortable, tastfully decorated, rainproof and stylish.

My old home has been with me for more than 10 years and was really struggling to survive. Look at it. I filled it up with household rubbish and threw it in the bin. Goodbye.

And some pictures from Ireland, lovely Ireland. This is a castle outside Thomastown, the best village in Ireland. I was offered a job in the old pub called Eddie Murphy (from long before the actor Eddie Murphy was known) So perhaps I will be going back there in a month or so to serve Guinness?

Kimono live in Thomastown: A very (VERY!)good night!

Dori, experiencing the effects of Schnapps.

Gylfi and Kjartan rocking in Thomastown

Alex and I tucking into gorgeous pork cooked by Eve (in the background) the smiling and friendly owner of Eddie Murphy pub in Thomastown

Driving from gig to gig on the Autobahn in central Europe, the stunning alps.

France

2006-02-28T20:07:00.000Z

Still listening to the excellent band Kimono, even though I have heard their songs shitloads of times. We are spreading the word here in France, hehe

I realised something strange in Italy: it is rude to take your shoes off when you walk into somebody's house! Pardon me? Then you happen to step in some shit and drag it into the house, then what??

In Norway it's rude NOT to take your shoes off. Everybody take their shoes off. In Italy they don't want to smell your sweaty feet or see the imprints of your feet on their floorboards, that's why you should keep your shoes on.

I was quite confused. Taking my shoes off inside the front door and seeing people looking at my stripy socks. Smelly? OH NO! not me (perhaps just a little)

Anyway, I am here in France now after Red Wine overdose in Italy. Gone back to 1664 Kronenburgh. mmmm I am coming back to Norway in 2 weeks, hipp hipp hurra. It's gonna bee good to taste some real COD and real brown cheese, not more of this pretentious mozzarella (although quite nice).

Got stopped on the train in France and sniffed thoroughly by a light brown sniffer dog and 3 smiling cops. good bye

Italia

2006-02-21T15:39:00.000Z

Have been really busy and drunk the last 2 weeks. Sorry for not managing to write.. In Ireland we met up with the our friends in the Icelandic band Kimono and we sort of became roadies, Hössi driving their van in Europe and me selling merchandise. hehe, my first time as a roadie.

Great fun but a little exhausting as well, driving all day and arriving at the venue late afternoon, all the food and alcohol is free, drink as much as you like. Beer, vodka, wine, you name it... Soundchecking and concert and then party until 2 or 3. Every day for 10 days. uuuurgh. But hey, what FUN! The band plays very well and it is a pleasure listening to them every concert. I am still listening to the CD in spite of hearing them every night.

We cruised through Ireland (on the wrong side of the road) Germany, Austria and Switzerland. hehe I would not mind doing it again sometime. I am now in Italy visiting my ex-icecream colleague from Bergamo, Massimo. We worked together 10 years ago in Chesterfield in England. And......the partying continues. They are stuffing salami and cheese into my mouth. I have never been so full. ush, I will come back to Norway like an elephant. :( I will put in cool pictures when I can steal the camera off Hössi.

Scotland

2006-02-08T15:39:00.000Z

Yes, at last nice and cold!!, sorry that I cannot show ya any photos of the rain and mist, but you can imagine it yourselves: the bleak, bare hills, grey weather and the damp chill seeping into your bones. Nice

It has been great here in the Highlands and Islands. (Then I did not write more until 3 days later) We are in Dublin now and I stole Hössi's camera so I can get some pictures on my blog.

The pictures below are from Isle of Rum, walking in the rain (definitely not singing)

And the shop/postoffice/pub in Isle of Rum that cater for the 30 inhabitants:

Wearing 3 jackets in the icy wind waiting for the train to the airport. usj. Very cold! There's a different cold in Scotland, I am sure of it! We almost missed the plane because we were busy shopping for stuffed olives. yum yum.
I am off to the Guinness brewery today, yippee. apparently if you drink too much, your shit will turn black. Can't wait to find out. And tonight, we are going to watch the Icelandic band Kimono do a gig here in Dublin at Crawdaddy's at 8 p.m. Sweet.

The robbing BASTARDS

2006-02-05T14:17:00.000Z

OK, two hours left, and I'm flying back to London after 3 months in Central America. No problems, no bad experiences and no fuss.

I was catching the metro in Mexico City to the airport. A very crowded metro, I should mention. On one stop, there were quite a few waiting as the orange train was pulling up, As the door opened, many people pushed with great force from behind me and I was shoved into the wagon without much control.

This only took about 3 seconds and.....well.... I immediately noticed that my digital camera was not in it's place. Jeesus, I couldn't do ANYthing. You know, it would be foolish to blame every suspicious looking guy standing close to me. Shit, and all my photos. God DAMN!

Well, my camera was pretty old and more like a brick compared to modern cameras, but it's still really shit beeing robbed. I have never been robbed before.

One lucky man in Mexico is walking around with my camera, the picture of me in the shower will definitely please him. I just hope it does not end up on the internet. oh dear oh dear. In the future I have to watch out what kind of pictures are stored on my camera.

I am on the Isle of Rum in Scotland now. Damp and grey and about 10 degrees.

Just ONE day left!!!!!!!!!

2006-01-29T16:15:00.000Z

oh no oh no, tomorrow I am flying back to London, urghh! This is the last picture from Mexico. The beach, the sweat and the cheap beer. mmmm, but I cannot wait for a decent pint of beer in the UK!

Wanna stay for $10??

2006-01-26T17:51:00.000Z

Take a look at this hostel in Guatemala on the border to Mexico. Amazing that they are allowed to call this a hostel. It´s a shame I did not manage to take a picture of the back of it, because the whole back wall was missing (!)

I finally found a slightly nicer hostel that was run by a dusty old man. He was in fact dusty! there was dust on his hat and on his shoulders, haha! Usj, did not sleep much because of the heat + noisy fan.

In Antigua I decided to try something exciting on the Menu: Beer prepared with tomato juice, salt, pepper, lemon, worcestershire sauce and chile sauce!

Very unusual! It looked like soup and tasted a like fizzy spicy beer-tomato soup. Strange. I did not finish it. But you know, nice to know I don´t want to try it again, hehe.

This is the view from the Scorpion hotel by Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. A volcanic crater lake.

This is the last I saw of Guatemala today as I was walking over the river bordering to Mexico. I had to walk 5 km in the heat. urghhh. This was after a bicycle taxi had driven me to the wrong border that had been closed for 4 months. He knew it well, and only did so to get money out of me. Same story every time. Get money from the gringos! (even though we are strictly speaking not gringos, gringos come from USA) I am in Mexico now waiting for a 13 hour ridiculously expensive bus :( only 5 days until the flight to London(!!)oh NO!

Black horror

2006-01-21T19:47:00.000Z

I was watching the ceiling one night as I was lying in bed and saw something move out of the corner of my eye.

Out of a crack in the ceiling came a big black scorpion (!!!) Shit!!! Yikes!!!! A quick flick through the book told me that there are some poisonous scorpions about in this area that can kill small children and animals. Hm, I went to have a word with the stoned out old hippie that owns this place. Saw through the body with a knife, cut the body in half, he said with an eager look upon his face. Don't smash it with a shoe, he told me, because the black stain is almost impossible to clean off the wall.

What a disgusting insect. yuck, with a long tail and stinger definitely full of poison.

Well, the scorpion is still alive, I am going to let it live and hopefully it won't crawl into my shoe. urghhh

Plan for the next month

2006-01-18T02:59:00.000Z

ooooooo the beer is taking over my brain here in Guatemala, but I`ll try to write my plan for the next month

30 January: fly from Mexico to Londond

31 January: fly to Scotland visit Isle of Rum and more

9th February: fly to Ireland and enjoy the beer music

17th February: fly to Italy, visit friends and then to France

14th March: fly to Norway

18th March: grand party in Bergen, I am celebrating my 30th (!!) birthday along with 3 good friends who are also turning 30! We have rented the pub "Verftet"

sometime in April: fly to Iceland and work a bit

then: game over I`m 30 and I will die

Yessssssssss

2006-01-16T00:01:00.000Z

I thought you might want to know what El Salvador looks like:

Grilling meat in the garden in the posh hostel.

I almost ate snake today, but then the man wanted a small fortune for the meal. I took a picture of the snake instead: There was also a small frog roasting on the Barbecue. haha quite funny, grilling frogs. But, you know, where have these frogs been jumping? I rather eat them in France. I once saw a grown up man from Costa Rica kick a poor big frog like a football. With his whole family watching.

Here´s a funny man on the bus:
We´re heading to Guatemala tomorrow, trying to avoid drunken nights like this one:

Coffee Plantation in El Salvador

2006-01-13T20:38:00.000Z

I am staying in the best Hostel ever! it´s run by a Coffee plantation owner who I think resents having a whole nice house to himself. He opened the hostel last March and it is really like having a posh house to yourself. There´s a beautiful tropical garden and a fully equipped kitchen that we can use. There are only 6 guests here. We are rather hungover today, the owner loves rum. This entry is not very amusing, my hangover took all my humour too....

Today the owner took us on a trip to see his coffee plantation. My hungover stomac did not like the drive, but I managed not to puke. Phew! I have actually never seen a coffee plant before. They have red berries/beans and are taller than me. Loads of plants and very difficult to walk through this coffee forest. We heard some distant music playing and soon found the coffee pickers. What a job, quite a few kids were picking too, apparently the school does not start until 27th of January. I do not think they had seen a digital camera before.

They spread the coffee out to dry in the sun after the beans go through a big machine to soak them and remove the first peel.

After knowing all the work behind each cup of coffee, I will surely savour every mouthfull I drink in the future.

And on our way back we stopped in a cafe and each of us ordered a huge plate of nice greasy meat. mmmmmmmmmmm My hangover has almost disappeared now.

Sell sell sell

2006-01-10T22:03:00.000Z

I think one could write a whole book about travelling by bus in Central America. What a hectic, chaotic experience. Especially in the old US school buses that are the cheapest form of transport here, and I am normally travelling by these means.

They are normally uncomfortable and noisy, but dirt cheap if you don`t get ripped off by nasty busticket salesmen. This has happened me me twice here, paying for a ticket and noticing that the local person behind me (and all the other ones) pays half the price for the same journey. I complain, but then the ticketman blabs something very quickly in Spanish and shouts at the other people and refuses to give me any money back (and I see him laughing with his friends in the front of the bus and looking back at me). Same story every time. Just because I am a tourist.

At bus stations you can buy all kinds of food and dodgy meats prepared by women who try desperately to sell. There`s always chicken that`s been deep fried again and again. But not all is bad, they sell green mangoes with salt and chilisauce, deep fried plantain chips, water and fruit and vegetables. All of them pile into the buses and try to sell you the same thing a few times before giving up. Some women actually wait by the road for a bus to stop and they have huge baskets on their heads with food like tortilla and chicken and cabbage salad. The bus moves on and the women (usually in flowery dresses and frilly aprons) masterfully creates tortilla wraps to passengers whilst the bus wizzes along bumpy, bendy roads. Amazing

They often shout in very high pitched voices exactly what they are selling. Like for example: "Quesillada de quesoooooooooo" and the end word is sung out with a crescendo. weird. When they finish asking all the passengers, they leave the bus and wait for another one in the opposite direction. All day, every day. Little girls and men and boys also come in and sell things. Some sell towels, CD`s, sweets and some hold a speech or sing to get money.

The woman below was selling chicken and cabbage salad stuff I thing. She laughed when I took the picture and smiled up at me exposing her gold teeth, yikes!

It`s amazing what they manage to carry on the top of their heads! Some carry many bottles of coke, 7up and juice and all kinds of beverages. probably weighing around 10kg

The idea of not littering the countryside does not exist here. People throw everything out of the buses. Bottles, bags, paper, just about all rubbish. It does not matter where they are, In a bus station or on the road somewhere. Everything goes out the window. Not surprisingly, the bus stations are horrendously dirty. Litter everywhere and starving sick dogs walking around helping themselves to the leftovers, yuck. This is definitely worst in Honduras and Nicaragua. I have yet to see the state of Guatemala.

Then, there are the bus stations. And all the shouting men who try to push you into their bus. One bus station in Managua was the worst. We arrive in a taxi and before we even got out, there were 5 men trying to "help me" by getting my backpack out of the boot of the car. I tried to get my backpack from them and literally had to pry the men´s fingers away from it! When they heard we were going to a place called Rivas, all hell broke loose. Oh, YES, they had the best bus for us, much cheaper than the normal bus. Rivas, Rivas, the five men shouted and waived their arms so much that I could not hear myself think. I said I was going to check the normal bus, but OH NO, OH NO. That was not good. Veeeeeery expensive, the normal bus, they said. They formed a line to stop me from going to the normal express bus. What the hell? I got quite angry and pushed myself onto the line of men and with my tremendous Viking force, I broke through line with a couple of men flying, almost looking their balance. I heard a few spectators laughing and some locals were staring in shock, what kind of madwoman with a big green backpack would force herself through a line of desperate bus drivers?

Hm, and there`s more, much more. So different from back home!

The Hunter-Gatherer

2006-01-09T21:14:00.000Z

Me? A hunter gatherer? Well, that´s what this book told me. I found a book in my hotel in Costa Rica on new years eve. It was a blood group book. My blood group is O and that means that I supposedly stem from hunters in Africa. Hm, well, apparently a very long time ago my ancestors were running about killing animals in the darkest Africa, (hehehe, perhaps this is why I don´t mind slaughtering sheep).

This book went on to tell me that since I originate from these primitive beings, the best thing for me to eat is MEAT and FISH ! Yessssssssss. And it also told mew that I should NOT AT ALL eat wheat products(like bread), corn/mais products and potatoes (and quite a few other things like dairy products and stuff).

What´s left to eat then, I hear you say. Well, lots of nice foods especially all the lamb and beef and salmon and trout and cod and mmmmmmmmm

Well, I kind of took this book literally, so I stopped eating the items above and concentrated on meat and fish and lots of vegetables.

And would you believe it; I feel a hell of a lot better! Never bloated anymore and my mood is very good!! But, now I have become a real nightmare in restaurants. Demanding this and that and OH NO, God forbid, I cannot eat bread and those tortillas. hahaha and no French Fries please. hehehe And did I mention: no coffee or strong liquor! Well, I will try this for a month and see how things go.

Here´s a QUIZ

The question is: what kind of fruit is this? The winner gets a free beer when I am around. (P.S People I have been travelling with lately may not apply)

The lucky bag

2006-01-05T22:53:00.000Z

I have always been forgetful, that´s why I wear my camera strapped around my waist, otherwise it would have been lost forever. I have to wear my sunglasses on the top of my head if I am not using them. I have only realised this sunglasses-storage-trick lately and the last pair of sunglasses have lasted a whole MONTH!

But my hat is gone like all the hats I´ve ever owned.

Two days ago I left my mobile phone (that I use as an alarmclock)in a hotel. Oblivious of the fact I had forgotten it under the duvet, I caught the bus but realised halfway, emptying all my stuff out of my brown leather bag. I had to phone the hotel and catch a bus all the way back, nobody had cleaned the room, so I found my mobile!

Oh well. But with my bag it´s a different story; Behold, the lucky bag of expensive stuff:

I left it last year in a Argentinian city of 3 million people at 3 o´clock in the morning in a mafia taxi when I was drunk out of my skull. Miraculously I found it 5 km further away .. amazing.

I left it behind today as well. In a chicken restaurant (sorry cannot stop eating chicken even though mean to!) in Nicaragua. I am such a scatterbrain! How can I forget a bag that contains my ipod, my card reader, all chargers for my electrical stuff and guide book + + . Well I do this and I don´t think I can ever train myself to remember these kind of things in the future..

It took 2 whole hours for me to realise that my bag was missing. I had been handwashing my clothes in the hostel and realised I was missing my bag. I started shaking, like I tend to do when I loose something. Jeeessus. !!!!!!!!!! I asked for it in a few shops and and then went hopeful to the chicken cafe. The guard outside said something about Bolcita (meaning "bag") ....and they actually had my strange brown leather bag behind the counter! WOW I am the luckiest person alive. Nothing was missing either! I thanked them so much, lovely Nicaraguan people. I think I will go there tonight and order 10 portions of chicken.

Bought New Sunglasses

2006-01-05T22:48:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

2006-01-04T02:15:00.000Z

It was an unusual New Year for me because I spent it with a very friendly, kind of upper class dentist family in San Jose, Costa Rica. HA! I amost felt I was invited to the Mafia of San Jose. The man of the house, a 50 ish dentist was dancing salsa all night, his hips moving slowly and his arms held high above his head. Everybody loved him. He was a kind of character you immediately like. He insisted on slamming tequila and was dragging people up to dance, resistace was useless.

The house itself was in a area secured off. Guards had a boom across the road to prevent uninited guests. It's a long story why I happened to be there, but all you have to know is that it had to do with Iceland.

The manager of the second biggest coffee factory in Costa Rica was also invited to the party. He was lovely man, but was REALLY crap at sending up rockets. First he wandered out on the lawn in his pointy party hat, sigarette in his mouth and stuck the end of a rocket into the lawn. He stuck it too far down, so when the rocket was lit, it did not go into the air, it just exploded on the lawn to the horror of all the guests.

Second attempt: Well, so he realised his error and second rocket he leaned against a plastic chair and it went into a nearby tree and exploded, everybody screamed and then laughed nervously.

He then listened to what the other guests were suggesting him to do: use a bottle for the rockets. Yes what a good idea. He used a smirnoff ice bottle, sat it an the lawn, put a rocket in it and lit it. The bottle was of course too small for the rocket and subsequently fell over with the lit rocket which exploded on the ground....... to the horror of all the guests.

Hahahahaha!! they eventually agreed on that the plastic chair method was the safest (????) and the party continued.

The dentist woman of the house gave us 12 red grapes to eat after midnight. Apparently they represent each month of the previous year. We were told to stand on a chair and eat the grapes. they were delicious, but some icelanders cheated and almost finished the grapes before twelve o'clock. Booooooooo! Bad karma I betcha!

Everybody got pointy party hats, even the dogs!

What else? hm, well we are on our way to Guatemala and El Salvador now. Something strange happened today, after eating chicken (probably dodgy chicken) last night I got the runs today, heavy headache and then my body turned bright red! I felt very hot and got a fever. The red flush was on my arms, chest, stomac and back and in my face. I felt VERY warm. Very strange. After an hour it disappeared and this evening it all seems to be back to normal. It's ALWAYS that f***ing chicken. bad bad bad stuff, nasty little shit kickers. I shall never eat them again!

Yesterday we went into the rainforest on hanging bridges. very cool, oops bad wording here... Very.....um....spectacular? yep, that'll do. But I have never sweated so much, it's raaaaather humid it the big jungle. Did not se any tarantulas or nasty bugs apart from man-eating-ants. Well, we imagined that they would be able to eat humans, that made then more impressive. They were busy carrying leaves and there were so many of them walking that they had made a path.

Happy thoughts from Costa Rica

2005-12-28T15:57:00.000Z

Hey everybody and Meeeeeeeery Christmas! Wow, what a wonderful Christmas I´ve had here in Sweaty Cost Rica. I have never been on the beach wearing a bikini AND a Santa Claus pointy hat. haha I even went swimming with the hat on and was trown and rolled lots of times by massive waves.

Christmas Eve was spent with Gudrún´s Costa-Rica family and her original family from Iceland. A great mix of cultures! Both families prepared traditional meals and we shared all the food around the room. Surprisingly the Costa Ricans (also called Ticos) loved the smoky icelandic "Hangikjöt" and ate huge amounts of it! The Ticos had roasted 4-5 chickens and almost a whole pig! And they also made a spicy traditional pork and mais soup, really delicious. The Margaritas flowed freely along with local beer and red wine. The Tico family had invited their close family and friends and it was a very sociable happy evening.

We have been staying in a excellent hotel on a beach called Playas del Coco with private pool and roomy hammocks strapped between the palm trees in the calm garden.

This following chapter would perhaps only interest people who like GOOD food in expensive restaurants... Oooop, did I reveal my true self here. Well, I really like a posh dinner, I do!

Yesterday we went for a drive and found the best restaurant I have ever been in! This is something special, because I have been eating out rather a lot and I would not say this about just ANY place... This restaurant (called Mar y Sol) really was something special. A bit expensive, but the food and service.... oh my GOD! We started with fresh cocktails for all of us. Unnecessary to say, absolutely delicious! Piña Colada with fresh coconut cream, Gantalamera (like in the song) and Tai Mai. Then there was freshly caught juicy tuna , succulent crispy peking duck, tender pistachio encrusted lamb with rosemary sauce, huge slices of freshly caught lobster and fresh Mahi Mahi fish in garlic. All the meals were presented with uttermost care and skill and served with freshly baked bread, home made Humous and gratinated potatoes. The waiters were spot on, hovering but not annoyingly standing over the table. We drank 2 bottles of Beringer´s Pinot Noir 2004 and 2002 out of rather big and shiny wine glasses. A perfect wine for the occasion.

Wow, here I am raving on about this meal, but it really made an impression on me. Finally I had a meal where I was completely satisfied. Jesus, reading this again, I never knew I cared so much for eating in style. hehe, there´s a posh bird living inside me I think. Shame I´m a poor backpacker eh?

Well, now it´s back to the french fries and hamburgers.... urgh..........

Merry Christmas - God Jul herlege folk der heima!

2005-12-22T21:36:00.000Z

Sorry, my Christmas entry is only in the most beautiful language: Norwegian!

Jaudå, gidd ikkje skriva på engelsk berre den her mailen, for eg vert so drita lei av det keisame språket der eg ikkje kan leika meg med orda. mykje kjekkare å skriva Nynorsk. mmmmmmmm so herleg, no treng eg ikkje å tenka meira, fingrane mine berre leiker seg öve tastaturet som ein haug med levande gulerötter. hihi

Julen kjeme snart og eg er no her nede i gokk. Det er löye å vera her når det er so varmt og ein lyt ha jule dekorasjoner og nissehue på. so varmt og svett. jau.

I morgon kjeme morra te Hössi og mannen hennar til Costa Rica og dei har farken med seg den nasjonale retten frå Island: Hangikjöt. tenk på det. fytti so godt. Med kvit saus og grönne erter og raudkål! mmmmmmmm Håper berre ikkje at amerikanarane var dumme og ville ha hangikjötet sjölv...

Eg var jo i Sör Amerika sist Jul også. Det er greitt nok å vera her nede, men no lengter eg til land som er litt annleis enn dette spanske opplegget. Det er jo alt likt her nede. spansktalande og so dei innfödte rasane og. Nei no lengtar eg te India. Eg trur verkjeleg eg kjeme te å lika da landet. Tjohoo. tenk på alle dei rare folka som går rundt i gatene og kanskje setter dei seg rett ned for å drita på fortauet. det har eg nemleg höyrt at dei gjere.

So er det jo desse heilage menna som nesten ikkje har på seg nokonting, kanskje berre ein skinnfell for å skjula tissemannen og so har dei kvitt pudder eller maling på heile kroppen. hihi. og so er da desse religiöse folka som lyt gå svært sakte for å unngå å drepa alle dei små, nesten usynlege innsekta som kryp rundt på bakken. Og all den gode maten då, eg pröver alltid å smaka den lokale maten. Maten her i Mellom Amerika er ikkje enormt kulinarisk, eller kanskje er eg altfor sossete.

Eg sjekka på nettet og da kosar berre 4400 NOK tur retur frå London te Delhi eller Mumbai. det er jo svinebilleg. eg trur eg stikk dit etter eg er ferdig her nede i slutten av Januar. Kanskje vert eg der te April.

hurra, kor eg gler meg. skal senda mykje ting heim, slik at eg berre kan ha ein 5 kg tung sekk, eg klarer meg fint med det veit eg! Kanskje nokon har lyst å vera med te India?

Jadda, so lyt eg no berre ynskja dykk alle ei gledeleg jul og godt nyttår. Kos dekan heima i stovo eller ute med pudder snöen og silkeföret! Hjartans Helsing Ragnhild

Isla Ometepe, Nicaragua

2005-12-21T01:27:00.000Z

.........

2005-12-18T22:55:00.000Z

My life is good and uncomplicated at the moment and since there´s no problems or mishaps, I don´t seem to be able to fill my blog with interesting stories.

I just chill on the beach and here´s a typical day for me:

Get up at 08 and carve a fresh pineapple for breakfast

Chill

Cover body in sunscreen, wrap body in serong and go 3 min. to sunny surf beach.

Swim when body gets too hot, return home before the sun burns at midday.

Eat delicious lunch in restaurant.

Chill

Perhaps shop a bit, go back to beach and resume the sun-swim thing.

Watch sunset with a cold beer in my hand or a cocktail

Return home, have refreshing shower & chill.

Eat scrumtious dinner out in restaurant.

Get drunk and visit lots of bars. Dance and enjoy life. yummmmm

Finally: go to sleep

Well, as you see, this is quite relaxing and I don´t see any point of changing this superb lifestyle at the moment. no worries and no problems :) Hm, perhaps something really bad will happen too me soon, since I´m having such a good time. Perhaps there´s an official limit to how long this easy lifestyle will last. Hope not. hehe

The quick way to get luscious lips:

2005-12-14T19:51:00.000Z

...is to go to sleep in a mosquito infested country (like Nicaragua for example) covering your face with insect repellent, but avoiding your lips. Just like I did last night.

I woke up in the middle of the night and noticed that my upper lip was rather swollen. When I got up this morning, I rather liked what I saw. My lips pouting back at me in the mirror. Wow I had never thought I would ever be pleased to be bitten by a mosquito!

I am sorry to say that the swelling decreased during the day and I am almost back to normal. I think next time I might go to bed with blood or sugar on my lips, so an insect would provide me with lovely lips again, hehe. :)

The tanning business

2005-12-10T00:09:00.000Z

People who knows me will know how I cover up all the time to avoid the sun leaving it´s mark on my pristine milky white body. You know, all the stuff about the ozone layer and skin cancer and stuff... Long sleeves, long skirts at all times.

Well, I started dressing like that here in Central America as well..... for the first week. People would look at my bright red, hot, sweaty face as I was talking to them. My leather waistcoat more or less acts as an oven in the hot sunshine. I HATE to admit it, but my leather waistcoat just does not work here. I have to permanently store it in the bottom of my backpack. Shiiiit!!! I even bought a short skirt and now I am wearing a sleeveless top (shock HORROR) and I am turning golden brown like the rest of them. oh dear oh dear oh dear oh no!...... What will happen next?

in Sunny Nicaragua

2005-12-08T22:09:00.000Z

Everything is fine here in Nicaragua, ended up arriving on a massive party day. Loads of beer was drunk and this country is definitely much more pleasant than Honduras. I like it! yep, :)

The ups and downs of backpacking Central America

2005-12-06T18:37:00.000Z

Oh dear, what happened to Hössi...

I never thought I would end up like this, but when I stay in a hostel/hotel over here, I am actually SURPRISED not to see a cockroach crawling around on the floor.

Also to find a toilet non-stinky is a real bonus. AND if there is a hot water tap in the shower, that just does not happen anymore. Only cold showers wherever we go! The only positive thing to say about that is that it´s quite refreshing....

Some places the bedding has not been cleaned from the previous guests. yuck. but our sleepingbags would suffocate us with sweat, so there´s no choice. The hotel we stayed in last night had big ants on the walls and small ants in the bathroom and some in the bed. nice... The fan was so noisy that we had to turn it off to be able to sleep. Outside looked like a town in Northern Ireland (LondonDerry) with massive iron grids in front of every shop and police + other dodgy people hanging around at night. The hotel locked it´s doors at 22.00 so no-one was allowed to go out or come in. Hm. During the night I woke up by someone throwing up very noisily... A case of bad chicken perhaps?

This morning, the whole city changed to a normal Central American town with fruit stalls by the roads, loads of people staring at us, food sellers and shoe polishers on every corner. What a change from last night (!!)

It´s not all bad, of course, I just tend to remember the weird shit I experience.... I am having a great time.

On the way here we caught a bus in the dark where the bus driver had to turn on the light inside the bus every time he was cheking his speedometer. (every 5 minutes). There was something wrong with the breaks so we stopped in the middle of nowhere, put rocks behind the wheels and 4 men crawled under the bus to fix the problem. Hössi bought a bottle of 7-up which the woman poured into a plastic bag and stuck a straw in.... she kept the empty bottle herself. (???)

We are on our way to Nicaragua now, crossing the border after this internet session... another country, I think this will be an interesting one...

The state of the roads in Honduras

2005-12-04T23:47:00.000Z

Buses and vehicles as far as the eye could see, huge clouds of dust or just loads of mud. Here´s one of the views out the window of a bus going to La Ceiba. The road had been closed for weeks because of a major flood.

We passed miles upon miles with coconut plantations. I actually thought people got coconuts from naturally growing palms on beaches and stuff. I had no idea that these palms have been planted in very straight lines in an area too huge for me to comprehend, quite amazing.

Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras, Caribbean

2005-12-04T18:37:00.000Z

Wheeeheyyy, look at this WHOOPER of a mosquito bite!

Hey hey, trying to get the PADI open water diving certificate, but after my 3rd dive I realised something was wrong because I was getting VERY dizzy for 5 hours after each dive. The nice doctor examined me and told me that my membrain (trommehinne)inside my left ear is damaged causing all the dizziness. Ach SHIT! just what I needed. Anyway, perhaps a specialist in Norway can help me, who knows.

I got the PADI diving written exam out of the way and I can finish the course withing a year, I have only 2 dives + some underwater skills to do and then I will be finished. Diving is great fun especially in "bathtub" waters like here in the caribbean. It´s so warm and calm. all the colourful fish and coral reefs. superb.

Hössi did PADI open water and advanced open water. I travelled around the island whilst waiting. here´s what the capital "Coxen Hole" looks like with shitloads of people just hanging in the streets...

I caught a few very crowded buses, me being the only white. People stare and stare. I sweat and sweat in the unbearable heat in the oven-bus. A guy managed to squeeze in the front of the bus carrying two big drums. Seemably a perfectly normal thing to carry along...The bus driver is in the background:

Travelled past a place where there are heaps of Iguanas crawling around in the road. I petted one on the back because someone told me they go to sleep when you pet them on the back. Sure enough the ugly Iguana fell asleep!:

For the first time in my life I saw a kolibri bird, my favourite bird as I child. aaah

and this is a perfect place to have lunch on Roatan if you ever go there. The place is called the Galley and they serve nice home made food and their cool fruit juices and ice tea are served in huge 1.5 liter glasses. lovely!

Travelling through Belize

2005-11-26T23:05:00.000Z

What a difference this country is compared to Mexico. We had heard so much about crime and corruption in the capital, that we decided to stop in a town called Orange Walk instead. Exiting the bus and walking into town was like entering an American Small Town. The people were different, around 60% blacks and then whites and around 20% Latino. The main language is English and then they have a strange language called Creole, which is a warped kind of English. Speaking a little bit like the Jamaican people.

The guesthouse we went for was unbeliavable. Like in a strange movie. The old black Mama came to the mosquito-netted door wearing a bathrobe, fluffy slippers and big curlers in her hair. Yes she had rooms available. Inside was her interesting family. Her White old Texas-husband walking very bent over and sloshing around in 5 sizes too big trainers. wearing a baceball cap and a vest, saying things like: oooo, back in the good ol' days... Their son was a young rapper kind of snoop doggy kind of kid, with a weird hairstyle: he had forced his rasta hair up into two very fluffy pony tails on the top of his head, looking like the ears of Mickey Mouse. He had also tied a bandana round his head. HaHa!! We went to a chinese restaurant and I ordered milk. I got a strange can of 6 months old milk from Holland! Not so nice.

The rooms were awful boxes without windows... at 05 in the morning the whole family got up and walzed around noisily, singing and laughing. the old guy knocked on our door at 06 shouting "Rise and shine folks!" grrrrr

we travelled down to the infamous Belize City just peeking outside the bus station in 5 minutes before continuing. In this little time we saw around 20 taxi drivers trying to grab us, a dead dog lying on the pavement, Lots of round women wanting to sell us chicken, a polluted stinky river and five beggers. Great.

We travelled on in a very bad bus (above) to a small Village called Placencia where the Americans really have got hold of the chaotic situation and made it almost into a colony. weird stuff. The village was extremely relaxing and nobody tried to sell us anything!

Splashed out on a fancy hotel and relaxed thoroughly on the beach:

And catching the speedboat to Honduras the next morning. The trip took 4-5 hours getting us back into a mad spanish speaking hectic country again...

Here's a picture dedicated to my good friends Rita and Ann Charlotte in öystese, they love Volkswagen beetles: