Västra Hamnen, Malmö 2011

I never showed you the pictures I took in Cornellà de Llobregat the night of San Juan the 23rd of June. There is a Catalan tradition called Correfocs, where people dressed as devils and dragons spray fireworks at people and play drums while the spectators, children and adults soaked in water, run away and dance around in the fire. It was an amazing show to watch, and relating that to yesterday’s observations about water and joy, fire has completely different effect on people.

Personally, fire gives me a quite specific feeling, it evokes great respect, admiration and curiosity, while I subconsciously note an instinctive fear that in turn sparks adrenaline and a completely different euphoria than that brought by water. We are addicted to fear, we want to feel the rush of adrenaline, we want to watch scary movies and go skydiving. It’s a different kind of euphoria that we strive for and miss. Considering our ancestors that had to go hunting and protect themselves from dangerous animals and dangerous people, fear is an instinct that we once learned to live with. Today our lives are organised and easy, and food is comfortably found in the nearest supermarket. We are bored. So we hit the streets, have a guy put his medieval dragon-outfit on, and run for our lives.

..Goodnight :)

Water has a very strong positive effect on me.. I always get in some kind of euphoric mood when there’s a big fountain or, even better, a waterfall! So yeah, I turned into a happy kid and dragged my dad into the fountains.. that’s why he’s so happy with his t-shirt being wet on the first picture. We had good fun. :)

Areszt śledczy, Toruń 2011

Man held custody in the Areszt śledczy building in Toruń. I have often seen people standing outside of the building, groups of friends or girlfriends, communicating with the prisoners either by sign-language or simply by shouting using strange slang that other people don’t really understand. This man was watching me take his photo. He saw me. He stayed in the window. He didn’t seem to mind at all.

…going by train.

Today I’ve been with my cousin in Spatif where I spent many nights with the people from the diplomacy course we did here in 2007. Great memories with great people.. and Spatif lives on!

Trójmiasto is great at this time of the year. I should come back to Sopot when I have more time to really go out and dance.

Vetusta Morla – Maldita Dulzura
Mapas (2011)

hablemos de ruina y espina
hablemos de polvo y herida
de mi miedo a las alturas
lo que quieras pero hablemos

de todo menos del tiempo
que se escurre entre los dedos

hablemos para no oírnos
bebamos para no vernos
hablando pasan los días
que nos quedan para irnos
yo al bucle de tu olvido
tu al redil de mis instintos

maldita dulzura la tuya
maldita dulzura la tuya
maldita dulzura la tuya

me hablas de ruina y espina
te clavas el polvo en la herida
me culpas de las alturas
que ves desde tus zapatos

no quieres hablar del tiempo
aunque este de nuestro lado
y hablas para no oírme
y bebes para no verme
yo callo y rio y bebo
no doy tregua ni consuelo
y no es por maldad lo juro
es que me divierte el juego

maldita dulzura la mía
maldita dulzura la mía
maldita dulzura la mía

maldita dulzura la nuestra

I haven’t completely unpacked all my things since I came back from Barcelona. I’ve been running around, meeting friends, hanging out, having coffee, lunches, dinners and running tons of errands. It’s been great but today my body said no, gave me a bad headache and forced me to stay at home all day.

It’s okay. Tomorrow I’m boarding a flight again anyway.

Memories from the Catalonia Model United Nations in Barcelona.

Some photos from the cosy get-together at Richies place on my return to Malmö.

It’s nice to be back! <3

Was a great evening together with my favourite people. Thank you Richie, you’re the best!

There are tons of pictures in my EOS that I will upload later, these ones were taken with Richie’s HTC Sensation which I was holding on to the whole evening.. I really need a new smartphone!

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Barcelona – my beloved. Thank you, you’re amazing!

Our relationhip lasted 6 full months and I’ve been enjoying every single day of it. The little streets of el Borne & el Gótico never stopped to both confuse and amaze me, the up-close insight into the protests of #Spanishrevolution, the never-ending dancing at carnivals and parties, all the great food cooked by my roomie Daneff, my darlings visiting me from around the world, the live show provided 24/7 by the neighbours, the fun I had when working at the Euroleague Basketball finals with the UNICEF, the hours spent relaxing in the sun in the Ciutadella park and at the different beaches in and around Barcelona, watching football, winning football, my work with the United Nations Association of Spain and most importantly – the boost in vocabulary I got from living in Barcelona, talking to people every day and from my Spanish classes, are priceless experiences that I always will carry with me.

And the people I’ve met - This post is about all of you. Thank you for all our shared moments – I’ve had a great time and many of us will surely meet again!

There is no other way to describe my time in Barcelona than great, I am in love with the city and thankful for the time I got to spend there. Somehow I was lucky to be living next door from one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, two minutes away from my daily classes, five from the UN Association, seven from Plaza Cataluña and 15 from the beach. By foot. In a beautiful apartment with really nice roomies and high ceilings.

Barcelona – Moltes gràcies!! And remember – this is not goodbye, this is hasta luego. I LOVE YOU!

I’m so positively surprised by my Norwegian flight from Barcelona to Copenhagen that I need to dedicate a blogpost to this.. free wifi onboard - finally! :D

This is really a great deal. Best price, friendly cabin crew.. and internet in the skies!

Thank you, Norwegian!