1 month in South Africa

I have realized that time flies like crazy and I have already been in South Africa for more than 1 month without any particular update on my life (sorry), so here it comes…

I live in Pretoria close to Union Buildings and President Jacob Zuma though I haven’t seen him yet. However, this is just to let you know, that I am not living in a (very) dodgy area. I stay in a house known as “The Danish House” where we are three interns from the Danish embassy, 2 from the Swedish embassy, 1 from the German embassy and 1 from the German development bank; 2 girls, 5 guys. I think we all highly appreciate Emma, our cleaning lady, who comes twice a week. We have a nice view over Pretoria from our big terrace, and a small swimming pool. The Danish House is widely known for its parties, so we definitely have something to live up to the next 5-6 months ;).

Family Dinner ❤

We have spend the first month bonding and getting to know each other. People have moved out, and new comers have moved in. Everyone are so nice, and I am sure it is going to be great fun to live with these people! Tuesday (Wednesday in the future) is the highlight of the week. Every Tuesday we have “family dinner” where we team up 2 and 2 and take turns to cook dinner for the whole house.

Just to get the worst safari-abstinence out of my system, I spend the first weekend here in Pilanesberg National Park, 1,5-2 hours drive from Pretoria, with  3 of my flat mates – great safari-bonding-experience in beautiful surroundings.

Photo by Ben Probst @ Pilanesberg National Park

Photo by Ben Probst @ Pilanesberg National Park

There is an awesome ‘internship’ society in Pretoria with both a Danish House, a German house, and a French House, as all the embassies are located fairly close to each other. We try to mingle and party as much as possible to get to know our ways around Pretoria. Checking out the night life is of course part of that.

We have also checked out the Neighborgoods Market in Johannesburg, and I have overcome my fear of the city – it is not at all as bad as they say. Neighborgoods Market was amazing; lots of delicious food and great vibes just like Neighborgoods Market in Cape Town.

Small happy things happen all the time, so let me share a few stories. First of all it does happen that two equally intelligent people both forget their keys and neither of the other 5 are home (end of story)… Protesters in South Africa can be aggressive – but they can also be happy and peaceful. We experienced the last one the other day outside the embassy. Let me just say that we, Denmark, have not done anything wrong – the embassy is just located next to the Communications Department and they were protesting against postal services in South Africa (which I fully understand). They were a crowd of around 40 people dancing, singing and clapping, and despite security lesson no 1: “stay away from demonstrations” we went out and danced a bit with them from a distance ;).

It is not all just working and serious embassy stuff though we will have at least 3 ministers visiting. We have already made plans to travel to Mozambique, Kruger Park, Kgalagadi and Cape Town, and dreaming of celebrating Christmas on a warm beach somewhere. Everyone are super sweet and I am enjoying it so much here.

Kongelig Dansk Ambassade

Pestana Kruger Lodge in Malelane

My cousin, Carina, and I finally made it to South Africa, slept over at Shoestring Airport Lodge in Johannesburg, easily got our Avis rental car (Ford Figo) at the airport and hit the road towards our first real stop: Malelane, Mpumalanga.

Here we stayed at Pestana Kruger Lodge with an old friend of mine from Denmark who works there as a Tour Coordinator.  Pestana is located along the Crocodile River, and the entrance gate to Kruger National Park is only 2 minutes drive away. Very convenient for safaris! From the restaurant deck there is a stunning view to the river and the park. Usually you’ll find lots of both hippos and crocs while enjoying your meal as well as tons of beautiful birds.  On a lucky day you might even see herds of elephants coming down for a drink or other larger animals such as the many different antelopes or giraffes. Pestana Kruger Lodge is indeed a very beautiful and great place, especially for good safari experiences!

(For more info about staying at Pestana: http://www.afrika-safari.dk , http://www.pestana.com). 

And so it begins again…

It has been rather quiet on the blog for quite some time now and the tingling in my fingers have finally returned along with my forthcoming trip to South Africa! It is probably no big surprise for anyone who knows me that 2014’s first trip will be to this gorgeous country at the tip of the African continent.

This time, unfortunately, I will only be gone for 2 weeks. Just enough time to feel the African vibes, feel the blood rush through my veins to the beat of the African drums and hear the thrilling sound of a lions roar.

And so it begins again… The packing!

London BABY

After an intense week of exams at Aalborg University I went to London with a good friend from high school. We left only for a long weekend, but even during such short time I am craving to move to London. The vibe of that city is impossible to describe. When I’m there I have this buzzing feeling and tingling in my fingers. I just can’t get enough. No matter how many times I have visited London I am still surprised by its effects. The beauty of the parks, the architecture and their English accent.

Since my friend had never been to London before we took some time to be just crazy tourists. In London it is easy, quick, and relatively cheap to take the underground, however I would recommend anyone to just walk. The city is huge, but the most important tourist destinations are within reach of each other, but London is so much more than that. It is the old buildings, the beautiful roman and greek architecture that defines the city.  A city where old meets new, where traditions meet technology and modernity, and where your heart beats faster. All that you only get a sense of from walking.

I do not want to write a whole novel of London, since everyone who has been there more or less tell the same thing. I have never met anyone who did not like London! – And that alone should say anything you need to know. If you have never been to London before – GO! You will never regret it.

Pictures will come 🙂

Portugal

Since my bank account was drained during my Africa travels I have come to piece with the fact that my summer holidays anno 2013 are limited to 1. This year the flight does not go to South Africa for the first time in 4 years, but instead a place in Europe where I have actually never been before: Portugal!

The plan is to take a cheap Ryanair flight to Faro and from there go to Lagos with the very same girls I travelled Africa with. In Lagos we have rented a cheap holiday flat fairly close to the beach and with a swimming pool. This holiday is all about relaxation and a get-away from everyday lives! From my googled pictures I am already beyond excited. Portugal looks stunningly beautiful.

Netherlands on Queens Night and Day

So I haven’t been much of a writer since I came back to Denmark, despite my promise. I am truly sorry for that. Fact is that not much have actually happened. My thesis did not write it self, my exams did not do themselves either, and money did not magically tick into my account. All quite unfortunate.

However, I did manage to take a trip to the Netherlands for Queens Day with my all time favorite traveling chicks, and I must say the Netherlands are amazing. Amsterdam is stunning, and I am truly amazed by their free mind, also concerning prostitution and cannabis. I always though of Denmark as quite an open country, but we cannot at all live up to the Dutch’s free spirits.

Furthermore… The bicycles. They have completely taken over towns and cities. It is definitely not a country where cars have first priority, and therefore the bicycles decides the rules and not the cars. I would watch out anyway. But actually I feared more for hitting a bicycle while driving my car, than a car hitting me while sitting at the back of my friend’s bicycle. It is the opposite world!

This year was however different. It was the Queens day that turned into the Kings night. I have always found royalties mysterious and exciting, and been a great supporter as well here in Denmark. It was therefore a historical and memorable moment even for me to witness the Queen of the Netherlands handing over her responsibilities to her son on her birthday that is celebrated every year with a huge orange party in the whole country.

The afternoon and night before Queens day I was in Utrecht at my friends’ place, where right outside the flat everyone was lining up for a huge second hand market where people were selling out of their old stuff. Recycling, bicycling, open mindedness – the Netherlands is almost too good to be true.
At night there were free parties with DJ’s, lights, and beer on all the squares in the town, and we went to one of them and danced aaaall night long. We continued the dancing the next day in Eindhoven, where we celebrated Queens day at one of the many techno parties on the open squares. It was so much fun, and I believe every young person with a hidden or aware party spirit should experience Queens night and day which from now on probably will become Kings night and day in the Netherlands. What a party!

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Rethink Charity – The Pending Coffee

I stumbled across this picture after one of my facebook friends shared it on his wall today, and while I am currently busy criticizing foreign aid in my bachelor thesis I found this concept and idea very amusing and original. Sometimes it is just the small things in our everyday lives that can make a difference in someone else’s. Could the idea of “The Pending Coffee” be a new trend?

A day in Odense

A friend and I decided to go to Odense for a day-trip. We went by car with my old granny on the frontseat, she is nearly 85 and she was led the way to her home town, Odense.

After dropping her at her home, we went to the city centre. Walked along the ‘walking street’, went inside Albani Church, and had a coffee at Joe & the Juice. A couple of hours went by while we got lost in the city – really there’s nothing like getting lost in a city! We came by the famous fairytale writer H. C. Andersen’s childhood home, and played with ducks in one of the many beautiful parks in Odense.

“Den Gamle by” by night

I am not sure if this is a crime, but as I was walking from the business school towards town after a good party in Klubben, we passed by “Den Gamle By” – translated “The Old Town”, which is a place in Aarhus where a lot of very old buildings have been collected and is supposed to picture Aarhus or Denmark in general as it looked many, many years ago. It works as a museum during the day and especially during summertime, where I have heard that there is horse wagons and people dressed in very old clothes to really capture the essence of ‘oldish’ and ‘charming’. As we passed by I come to ask “Do you think the Old Town is open at night?”, and we decided to figure it out. Obviously the main entrance was closed, but a road led directly into the old town and with no fences and signs except for “VAGTHUNDE” (watchdogs) telling us entrance forbidden, we decided to go through the Old Town at night feeling a little rebel’ish. Arm in arm we walked across the cobblestones through the dark alleys with the skew houses. The moonlight lightened up the paths, and we talked about how extremely amazing in a very charming way it would be if Aarhus still looked that way, except we would have to walk home every weekend in this extreme darkness. For a moment I felt very far away from the city, the noise, and the people and took a moment to imagine the streets being filled with people from a different time…

If anyone dares, the Old Town by night is a secret of Aarhus, but I promise myself here and now that I will go there in summer during the day, cause even though I have been living in Aarhus since 2010 I have only been there once in wintertime where there are no horse wagons and no old ladies, which is a little boring.

 

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