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April 6th, 2006
11:55 am - when OMFG crazy ensues... Milano/Venizia, Italy day 1
against all odds, after going by bus, plane, train(s), car and boat yesterday, anette and i have finally ended up in Venezia. how we got here?
i'll tell you how.
initial plan was to go to Milano and honestly, please believe, we actually planned to stay there. well, that didn't happen! on our way, at some point or another, anette got the bright idea of going to Firenze and this was brilliant- i haven't ever seen Firenze and anette wanted to go back badly, so we decided to take the night train to Firenze after hanging out and eating dinner in Milano. trouble was that there was actually no night train to Firenze and we miscalculated badly, thinking it'd take 5-6 hours, while in reality, it's only 2 hours away!
so, after some quick thinking and resolving, we finally decided that we should go to Verona instead, because Milano was absolutely positively stuffed and there wasn't one bed available anywhere. we couldn't understand why, thinking it was maybe because it's easter vacation, but a fact is a fact- we had nowwhere to stay in Milano. the thought of going to Firenze anyway and try to find a bed struck us, but the train ticket was almost 20euro more than to Verona. So- to Verona we went!
well, actually, i'm lying. we went for dinner first, a very good pizza in a nice restaurant right by the train station (which was probably more expencive than we could have found further in, but we were starting to get exhausted). we had a hilarious, great time, many good pictures and funny observations of the world. outside, it was raining, but it didn't matter for shit!
eventually, we did end up on the Verona train, which felt amazing- tired feet, tired eyes, tired brains could finally relax. or COULD they?...
about an hour in, the train goes black. at least our carriage. it's still driving on, but we're obviously a bit confused. and, since no normal italians speak english and our italian is very limited, it took a good while before we finally understood that there was some technical trouble. the train stopped and the train dude announced that we were going to be retarded (sorry, i just have to, it's a hilarious language mix-up =D) about 50 minutes! ok, we can deal with 50 minutes in the dark, we thought. we moved to another carriage where there was light and smoked for a bit, chatted and after 50 minutes, again, they announce that we were going to be retarded for another 50 minutes or so! well bugger and hell.
at the same time, our friend jostein informs us that his good friend Mikele actually lives in Venezia now and he gave us his number as well. so, our plans change very quickly, i call Mikele, who was a surprisingly nice fella, he was almost divinely nice, there are no words for how good he was with us last night really. i called him and he was incredibly positive to us coming. this was a relief, because we didn't really actually have a place to stay in Verona either.. =P
then, they announce for the 3rd time that the train is going to be retarded until further notice, but the people going to Briecche (or however that is spelled) could go and change trains. some nice people told us we could change in Briecche or Verona to go to Venezia, so we should change trains. which we did, but it was stuffed! this resulted in anette and me having to sit in very separate places.
i sit down and start reading japanese history (i know i'm on vacation, but hell, i have ten million exams right after i get back, so i can't really not read =P) and this business man next to me keeps looking at my book frequently, very interested. finally, he started talking to me- about Japan! he told me that he was a traveling businessman, distributing design furniture and that he'd been to most countries of the world and that he loved Japan the most and it was very interesting talking to him about Japan actually, he told me interesting things- about where i could find good architecture sights and art spots and what kind of culture crashes i could expect (especially as a young woman). then, i started asking him about his job and he told me this and that and that among other things, he was having a very large exhibition with his furniture in Milano right now! evidently, he was in charge of it or something. he said that this exhibition was the reason all the Milano accomodations were booked this week! obviously, we also talked about the train's lateness and he said that there had been a strike all day! which was why the trains were THAT late, but in addition, the trains had technical failure as well.
so, all in all- yesterday was perhaps the worst day in the world to pick to go to Milano =D=D=D i said goodbye to this furniture business person, very nice guy, and moved to anette after we got to Briecche. anette on the other hand had met this lovely girl from London that lived in Verona with her husband and was going to Verona by this train! the girl had told anette the same reasons for the train's lateness and the whole situation just became absurd =D we had a very good chat with this girl, she gave us her number and we might meet her on friday (tomorrow?). but- she told us that the very same train would go to Venezia, so we needn't change trains anywhere- and we could get off cheaper as well (paying only 7euro from Milano to Venezia is actually a damn bargain!).
we stayed on the train, said goodbye to the girl and spent the rest of the time being extremely over-tired and exhausted. after a couple of hours had gone by, we got a bit worried that we would miss Venezia, so in the end, i just went to the conductor and asked him when we'd be there. "This train doesn't go to Venezia!" he says. OH GREAT! i think. where the hell are we?? i think. how far away from Venezia? holy hell, that's just what we needed =D the conductor said that there were no more trains to Venezia tonight (the time was now around midnight), but we could get off the next stop and take a cab to Venezia if we were so inclined. for those who know Italian geography well, we were in Trevisio. this is about 30 kilometers away from the border of Venezia. how many euro by cab? why 55 euro it was!
finally arriving in Venezia, we get more confused about what boat to take and also, we started feeling guilty for this guy we've never met that was nice enough to give us room for the night (and tonight as well!) and it was already 1 am. we met a lovely american couple from San Fran that were going the same way and that had had about the same fate as us, only double or triple, because they'd been traveling over half of Europe and there are conventions and strikes all over the place, evidently. Lady Fortuna is on easter vacation, i bet.
finally, FINALLY arriving Rialto Bridge by ferry, we met up with our new friend, he was not upset in any way and anette appropriately asked him why we couldn't see his wings =) we walked for maybe 10 minutes, while being amazed at how insanely beautiful Venezia is, even at night, when you can't really see much. also, we walked by a bakery and it smelled of newbaked croissant heaven (2 am or so)! unfortunately, we woke up waaaay too late today to get proper breakfast at all (i wanted freshly baked croissant!! boohoo)
his house is sort of hidden in a small street inside a street, it is just absolutely typical for how i imagined Venezia to be and really, all of Venezia is! the only trouble is now really that it's raining and blowing like fuck, i already broke an umbrella and i'm wearing suede shoes--mmmm not so smart, but fux it, i'm getting new shoes today hopefully! if we can just get through this weather.
now, we're sort of hiding inside the internet-cafe more than anything, because it's such horrible weather, but we'll get out of here eventually and see more of Venezia, eat more good food, see San Marco and tons of other things. and tomorrow, we're possibly going to Verona. life is pretty good =)
Current Location: Venezia, Italy
Current Mood:  exhausted
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August 4th, 2005
11:49 am
been playing around with this journal again. =)
updated it with this year's travels, updated the info-page and will start using it again for sure!
i listed lofoten & tromsø as one of my destinations and even though i do live in norway, i still feel like this is a journey of a sort. i mean, i have experienced very interesting things and looked at these places from a whole new perspective.
lofoten is either hellaciously boring, or simply amazing. depending totally on what you like and want to do, that particular day.
i have been bored out of my wits most of the time, but at some points, i decided i wanted to climb a mountain, which i did. i was tremendously determined and reached the top, though i'm almost not capable, city girl that i am =P i had no breath left, but the view was stunning. the most amazing part is, it's been only bad to crappy weather, but my heart still really fluttered for everything i saw. i just remember how it has been when there's not one cloud in the sky and the sun is shining at midnight. only that is worth going to lofoten, even though it's insanely cold and did i mention boring?
other than that, we're still waiting for the opportunity to fish in the sea. we have been visiting many old friends, been to a few parties, gone out to the one place you can go, basically. worked out fine ;) strange seing people from grade school, whom you really haven't seen since grade school, now being perfectly normal young adults.
we took the Hurtigruta from Stamsund to Tromsø a few days ago, to visit a friend of ours and that particular journey was breathtaking. honestly. especially Trollfjorden, i never actually saw it before, having taken Hurtigruta a couple of times in the past, but this time, i actually went outside and was so stunned, i probably looked like a goddamn german or japanese tourist, clicking away at the astounding mountains and waterfalls. the most mindblowing part was, the boat itself went into the tiny little fjord and turned around in very little space, just so we could see the gorgeous nature. it's difficult to describe with words how it was, but hopefully, my pictures eventually will.
that whole trip really inspired me to feel better again, after being in a shitty mood and generally, a shitty place in life, so when we arrived Tromsø, i actually felt pretty good!
Tromsø itself is a marvelously gorgeous town, reminding me very strongly of San Francisco in many ways. It's a seatown, it goes uphill, downtown is at the bottom, the architecture is actually almost the same, with little houses that are built upwards, not sideways, with every color imaginable. the bridges and the views are impossible to justify with just words and the forests make me faint. just the walk by Prestvannet, which i've done twice now, can make you suddenly realise you've been standing in one spot for hours, just looking at the water, the ducks, the forest, everything, and not noticing you have been doing so because it puts a veil before your eyes.
while i've been here, i've thought many times that i would truly like to live here. it's perfectly calm, yet a student town with a lot of shit happening downtown. it's perfect to raise kids and it's almost perfect for your well-being, apart from the fact that it's never dark in the summers and never light in the winters, which is very depressing at times. however, in the winters, Tromsø looks astounding. there's a reason they call this The Paris of the North. ;) however, i have my heart set on Oslo and i will continue living there until i grow sick of it. in any case, i will be spending quite a few years in other countries first, before i decide where to raise a family. who knows what will happen, eh?
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July 19th, 2005
July 7th, 2005
11:37 am
I'm alright, as is Kris, Jenny, Øystein, Anda, Hans and the rest. Came home safely before the shit started. We're only tired =)
Am very happy for all the calls and messages and comment about this, very thankful! Didn't honestly expect such concern =)
must add, very, very sorry about anyone affected by this incident. it's majorly surreal.
i really hope the people i met weren't there when it happened.
Going home now, to eat, drink, smoke and sleep. Shower with pressure was amazing. (damn you england)
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July 6th, 2005
11:36 am - Nine Inch Nails // London
absolutely goddamned exhausted.
NIN gig last night. (Brixton Academy)
here, i will just have to be honest and say: Hultsfred gig was much better, in a whole.
London gig was very different, a much more varied and backcatalogued setlist, the guys did, ofcourse, an amazing job, as they always do.
what's strange is, i experienced the Hultsfred gig was much more of a whole masterpiece sort of thing, where they didn't have many breaks between songs and they didn't fiddle with their instruments in between, whereas in London, they were more of what i'm used to see in other gigs usually- communication between bandmembers on stage, a riff here and there in between, etc. maybe i was totally biased, but it seemed to me there wasn't a lot of that at Hultsfred and NO, it's not a negative point. the point is more- - - it was more wholesome at Hultsfred. they just went through it like, say, a symphony orchestra would do and that impressed me to no end.
further on, it is very important that at Hultsfred, it was a) my first NIN gig ever and i was sick with excitement beforehand and pumped with adrenaline from Slayer b) i was in the very front c) the crowd was intense, everyone just went completely crazy and everybody knew lyrics, screaming them out as loud as possible and everybody took off through the, er, "roof" d) we bowed down, whereas at Brixton, i was too far back to get a crowd with me and people in general just pissed me off for not really taking off at all, COME ON PEOPLE, IT'S NIN FOR GODS SAKE, YOU CAME HERE FOR THEM! it wasn't even a festival, it was specifically a NIN concert and people just...stood there, nodding. it was totally Norwegian. so basically, it was in the beginning, pretty hard for me to concentrate on the gig itself, being disturbed by the mediocricy of the crowd, but after Something I Can Never have, i was sucked in and it didn't matter anymore.
it was a brilliant gig. naturally. trent reznor seemed to be content on stage, he thanked us a lot and said some things i couldn't understand. i really loved to hear more from The Downward Spiral and The Fragile. when they played The Day The World Went Away, i hit a total nostalgia wall, where i went back to the first time i ever heard NIN and how when i put on The Fragile in my walkman on the bus home and heard the first bass riff, i knew that no matter what comes next, i will be in love with it, i just knew, just from that bass riff on Somewhat Damaged, that i would consume every note with almost morbid pleasure.
and i did. and here i am, with 2 NIN gigs for the first time in my life now stuffed up on my trophy shelf (it's getting quite large, this is making me unusually happy). i'm dead exhausted, and i can't wait to get home.
but first- CAMDEN & OXFORD street& HMV =)
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July 5th, 2005
11:36 am - end of roskilde/24hr kastrup/arrival in london
just have to quickly get down a few things before the memories slightly fade, which i never like when good things happen, so i need to write them down always, could be a tiny tad hyperactive, whee!
basically:
i've sorted out what i needed to sort out, with certain people, about certain people. had the most marvelous night at some point, can't be fucked to remember which, i have no clue what day it is anymore, clearly. just really good talking and so much laughing and fun and cuddle, but in a completely different way.
went from roskilde REALLY early, sort of like 3 pm on sunday, just because i was so bloody monstrously SICK of festival-life and needed to get out and into civilization again. not that i dislike festival-life, it's just that at this point, it was so goddamn dusty and swelteringly HOT that i couldn't take it any longer, said my goodbyes and went to copenhagen, where i found out that i have NO MONEY, so off to airport i went and stayed at airport from 7pm sunday until freaking 11pm monday, man!
but.
it was possibly another beautifully perfect choise of mine, as i managed to meet incredible people on the way. firstly, i met a norwegian guy, just by asking where i could find a place to smoke, we chatted a bit, then went separate ways, i slept after a bit of reading (SHOCK HORROR BRIDGET JONES IT WAS HORRIBLE DON'T GO THERE I MEAN IT WAS FUNNY BUT OH MY GOD CONTENT=SHIT), woke up, walked around bored, sat down somewhere and whaddayaknow, same norwegian guy comes up to me and we end up sitting and chatting about everything (i almost said shagging there, ha) and nothing for 2-3 hours, which was very pleasant. he finally left to check-in, i was left alone for a while.
finally, i check in to the monstrously LATE plane, sit down in the tax-free area to smoke, just looking out the window, someone asks: 'is seat available?' and BAM, i have a new friend from australia, we talk forever, we're both going to london, he lives here apparently, we sat together on the plane, had the most interesting chats about music, festivals (naturally- he'd also been to Roskilde), politics (which was delightful), drugs (another delightful agreement there), basically everything. shared his iPod on the plane and just had a good time. he told me incredibly interesting things about australia and the world. he was very much like me, just YEARNING to have a story to tell, to explore the world, to LIVE. and i felt so small and un-worldly compared to him, but in a respectful, good kind of way- sort of like padawans look up to masters, see.
well, in the passport queue, he obviously had to go through the 'all others' control, while i shamelessly could go to the EEU place. i still waited for him, and when he had come out, he had met 2 other aussies, who were going the same way as me. he hooked us up and BAM, i got 2 new friends again! they were VERY kind to me, asked around, found out where to put me, what bus, where to get off, i met another 2 really really nice girls, who were going to the exactly same spot as me. hung out with the aussies (brother and sister. brother was OMG cute, shite. want to see again. AAAAGH. have number. HAHA.), chatted a LOT, was incredibly interesting. finally said goodbye a couple of times. the really nice girls actually bought me a ticket for the bus, cause i only had bills and no coins, fucking awesome. they even waited for kris to arrive to the stop and pick me up before they went home.
finally met up with kris, babbled his head off to sleep, slept for like 5 hours, then jenny knocked on door, and here i am and i should get back to them and be social, oeystein just woke up =)
ALL IS FULL OF LOVE AS OF THIS MOMENT, LADS AND LASSES.
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July 2nd, 2005
11:35 am - Roskilde '05
only a few days left.
a few days.
i can do it.
i have been promising myself that i would see exactly what i needed to see at Hultsfred and as much as possible at Roskilde this year. and i've been keeping that promise rock hard. so far, and this is only 2 days, man, i've seen: Datarock, Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung, Timbuktu&Damn!, Velvet Revolver, Kent, Mastodon, Snoop Dogg, Audioslave, Black Sabbath, Craig Richards, Autechre, D-A-D & Mew. that makes it...12 bands in 2 days. (Datarock on tuesday, before the festival opened)
I will definitely write about every band later, when i come home, but i just have to say: i thought i would NEVER hear Killing in the Name and Black Hole Sun live in my life, EVER. and i did! it was the most brilliant acoustic version of Black Hole Sun, which melted me completely and put me into an involutary melancholy mood. And when they closed with Killing in the Name, i was suddenly thrown into a mosh pit and that was absolutely PERFECT.
and Mew.
Oh god, Mew.
My stomach still hurts from thinking about how GOOD it was.
I can't write about it right now, but it was simply amazing. it became epic without being pompous.
and today is an extremely busy day, i'll probably see about 7 bands or more. not entirely sure.
got to run now, hope everyone's having a brilliant summer!
(even if it's TOO GODDAMN HOT!)
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June 30th, 2005
11:29 am - Roskilde '05
Ok, so I wrote at a pretty bad time last time and came out really angry and discontent.
I'm not fully so. I mean, yes, there are problems and things to think about, things to take care of, but I've managed to adjust myself a bit to other people.
I've been doing a bunch of really random, fun things, like seing a whole bunch of movies (Big Fish, Eternal Sunshine and the Spotless Mind [apropos wanting to erase things?], Super Size Me, Kill Bill, House of Flying Daggers), I saw Datarock on tuesday, which was really good! I've been sitting and playing backgammon with random danish people, some swedish guy poked me and we ended up running after each other, poking each other in turns. I got to know a little group of danes while sitting on the swinging sofas(about the closest explanation I can come up with concerning what it is LOL). I've also spent a fair amount of time with Tommy & his friends, chilling out. I've been eating just about constantly and I went to Roskilde city yesterday, where I sat at a café, reading a book for quite a while. I never found my sister, which is concerning me a bit, but I'm sure I'll see her eventually. Maybe I'll go look for her camp today.
Laters, gotta run.
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June 28th, 2005
11:27 am - Roskilde '05
I said that it could be either really good or pretty bad. I've been saying that for a while.
And well, concidering that I've got about 3 companies to visit at all times and that I got to know another person within yet another camp, I'm socially safe and there's a whole lot of fun to be had.
First night? Pretty amazing. I arrived 3 hours late, because the busdriver was so stupid, he didn't bring a map even and we went through what felt like the whole of Denmark. I was almost crying with anticipation, because I had drunk 4 Red Bulls in a row and was aching for some alcohol and most of all, familiar faces.
Finally, we arrived and I ended up at Entrance East, where I met the Porsgrunn people. Emil was so bloody drunk and just long gone that he broke 2 chairs, threw my camera somewhere (I found it =P), tried to have normal conversations with all of us, but never worked and finally, he just left off somewhere. Turns out, he went to Copenhagen (WTF?) and spent the rest of the night at a hotel. I have no idea how that worked out. We went on search-missions about 5 or 6 times until the next day, when he finally showed up by himself.
Besides that, I didn't sleep a wink that night, I remember fairly little (but everything. strange.) and I would like to either erase some things or just TALK ABOUT THEM, but then again, we never talk, so.
The sunrise was absolutely incredible and our condition while putting up the tent and trying to be calm and reasonable was impeccable. To top everything, the sun was SO HOT and there was NO WIND, we didn't have any party tent to cover us, so we just sat there, roasting, drinking, smoking (baaaaad combination!) and I tried looking for my other friends, but the sun almost killed me.
Yesterday, I went to see 2 movies, both pretty damn good- Big Fish and House of the Flying Daggers.
I've been drunk or stoned on and off since I arrived the scene and I don't think I care what anybody says anymore, but that's just not what festivals are about. Goddamnit. What the hell will you all get out of the music if youre drunk/stoned out of your minds constantly?
So, starting off with a slightly negative attitude towards the rest of the week, I'm just hoping to find some other people that are just simply relaxing with a beer because it tastes good and that are pretty sane and in a good mood. Not to get so drunk you can't carry your feet and not to get so stoned, you'd rather just sit in your camp, saying nothing. Cause that's what I really loved about Hultsfred. I went with Maren and Kris, and Maren&I were on the same wavelength almost constantly, especially in the beginning. We made plans together and did everything together, we knew what we wanted to do and when Kris arrived, we had more flexibility and Kris is always on everybody's wavelength. Right now, I'm not on anybody's (and I know about 11-12 individuals here) and I have a feeling I'll be ending up just like last year, where I indeed had a very good time, but I went everywhere alone, occasionally bumping into people I knew (that's a miracle, I might add, "bumping into people" in this place).
And, well, personally, like something that doesn't have anything to do with the festival per se, I'm getting annoyed, slightly angry, but not quite. And I didn't think I would have, but I think it's that whole "not talking" thing that's finally getting to me, because there's a border anywhere. It was good as long as it lasted, but FUCK man, we need to just settle something. Don't phunk with my heart. oh yes, MY HEART.
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June 22nd, 2005
11:42 am - Hultsfred '05
been disgustingly happy the last pretty large number of days. many reasons or no reason at all. or perhaps just a few reasons, perhaps only one.
but, moving on.
HULTSFRED
(XXXX! = amazing, unforgettable gig)
( GÅTE! )
( Ane Brun )
( Slipknot )
( Marilyn Manson )
( TORI AMOS! )
( The Tears )
( SLAYER! )
( NINE INCH NAILS! )
Snoop Dogg was on stage after this, but Kris and I were so incredibly GODDAMN tired, exhausted and just INSANE that we couldn't stay- we went to the tent after they announced some technical issues right before Snoop, Maren came over and we chatted, then fell asleep 2 seconds into touching the pillow with our heads. I'll see Snoop at Roskilde ;) no worries.
( SYSTEM OF A DOWN! )
That will be all! Back to work, Edward.
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