must visit: Amelienborg Palace

this is it folks. one of the main attraction if you're visiting Copenhagen. the changing guard of Amelienborg Palace. i love how they're really dedicated for being a palace guard. and fashion wise, i love their fur hat ;) there's a museum in one of the building. you could see a quarter of inside of the palace but it'll cost you. and since i didn't have the money (again), i have to be satisfied just to see the changing of the guard which is at 12 pm sharp. so don't miss this one!

and of course,

where else in the world 

you could pose with a cute guard? ;)

jalan di copenhagen

yaa.. namanya juga mahasiswa. kalo mau kemana2 pasti mikirnya "aduh, duit gw tinggal berapa ya?" (yes, and it is include when you're in Europe). awalnya sih gw sama Gaby pengen naik sepeda keliling Copenhagen karena mupeng sama orang2 disana yang kebanyakan emang naik sepeda. pas ditanya harga sewa berapa, mereka bilang 100 kroner. fine lah ya. kita masih punya duit. tapi pas dia bilang harus bayar 500 kroner buat deposit, kita cuman bisa senyum miris. jadilah akhirnya kita jalan kaki dengan cuaca Copenhagen yang anginnya kencang luar biasa. our stop including the famous Christiania and Amelienborg Palace. sebenernya sih rada jauh jarak tempuh kita pas disana, tapi rasa pegel kaki dikalahin sama rasa dingin angin. maklum, Copenhagen negaranya deket sama laut. 

bangunan2nya sangat breathtaking karena peninggalan jaman dulu yang masih kerawat banget. tapi di beberapa district ada bangunan yang modern banget. culture mixnya itu pas banget dan ga keliatan norak. and i love Copenhagen street style! gw pernah nemuin ibu sama anak pake stocking pink, flare skirt, sweater abu2 matching lengkap sama bando bunga2 dan jalan gandengan tangan looking so happy like they just came out from a 90's movie :)

my third company

so i thought i'm going to take a book with me. but Riant, as usual, always got a few surprises on his sleeves. so he got me this book. The Hungry Ocean. inspiring book about a woman who runs a fishing boat (which i really love about women being independent and being on top of her game).

a little bit tips for me: it's always good to bring a book or two with you on your journey. wherever in the world you might go. especially if there's cute notes inside ;)

a little intermezzo

jauh2 di bandara Oslo, tapi mental tetep Indonesia. ngempeeeeerrr....

must visit: Junibacken

outside, my nose and the tip of my fingers are frozen. but here, my heart melts and i have butterfly in my stomach. such an amazing feeling. seeing all those chubby and red cheeks kids makes me feel like i'm in heaven. well unless heaven cost you 125 SEK ;p

this place makes me wanna be a kid again. not thinking about anything else besides fun. sometimes i feel like growing up makes you happiness fade day by day. i know it sounded terrible, maybe because i'm not in such a good mood while writing this. if anything is possible in this world (and of course there must be a time machine involve), i really really wanna be a child again. just for one day. one amazing day. won't you?

terribly miss your childhood? you come to the right place. Junibacken will heal it.

skipping time

Skype chill out! too bad it was only the four of us. but Skype-ing from Vietnam, Guyana and Russia to Indonesia still felt awesome! love you guys :D

in love with Stockholm

Stockholm stole my heart in an instant. from my research on the internet, it thought it will be a boring trip. but i know i was wrong the moment i stepped on the train to this city. the train from Storlien to Sunsvaald is beyond scary! there's nobody there except me and Gaby and this local girl. and we didn't go for about 30 minutes. so for that 30 minutes i had a bad feeling that we were in a thriller movie, and some minutes now a guy with an axe on his arm will come straight to us. and indeed he came (but not with an axe though). he was such a nightmare! he wasn't friendly at all to us (an asian tourist), but he super duper friendly when it comes to locals. so i think he was a bit racist sorry to say. he kept bothering us to get off in Sunsvaald because we didn't have a reservation for any of the seat. but we DO have a ticket! duh! 

anyhow.. when we arrive in Stockholm, it's not that hard at all to find our way in Gamla Stan streets. because the name of the streets are marked in all of their building. so it was really helpful. i love love the pavements and all the little alleys. it makes you feel like you're in a 70's european movie. 

we stayed a night in Old Town Hostel. so a little bit of review for this hostel. i like the architecture, white cave and a bit like a fortress. the kitchen is big and there's every equipment you need to cook. the bathroom a little scary, there's no heater in your room so it will get cold (especially in winter). but this is Gaby and my favorite part about this hotel. the blanket is so warm i felt like there's a heater inside of it! haha! oh i almost forgot! you have to rent the bed linens for 50 SEK. and the place is near from many gift shops. just take a map from where you are staying, and explore Stockholm!

take me back to Stockholm please!

secondhand love

 i admit.. i fell in love with this secondhand store. me and Gaby found it on our way to Bodo centrum. there was all kind of CDs and DVDs ranging from indie to pop, from oldies to modern. if i have some money, i'm definitely buy the horror movies collection. and there's also books (too bad it's in Norwegian), vintage furnitures, and i even found a vintage candy machine!

perjuangan mencari aurora borealis

dari awal emang gw ga terlalu optimis sih bisa ngeliat tuh keajaiban alam. tapi gara2 disetanin banyak orang yang bilang "bulan ini lagi banyak lho auroranya" lah, terus "wah kemaren2 aja gw ngeliat sekali tuh. kemungkinan besar bisa ngeliat kalo cuacanya lagi cerah". kan jadi tambah semangat gw. udah nyampe Bodo, gw tambah semangat karena langitnya lagi cerah banget nget nget (sampe ga ada awan dan bintang) dan pas gw sama Gaby nanya ke penjaga hotel dia bilang lagi ada (dikuatkan dengan application di iPhonenya). gw sama Gaby abis makan malem sekitar jam 8an langsung cabut ke tempat yang rada tinggi dan gelap. harusnya sih kita ke gunung tapi karena udah malem dan kita kere, mau apa lagi. hanya bisa mengandalkan kaki dan doa -_-" sedih emang. akhirnya kita settle di deket bandara. karena lapangannya gelap banget dan ga banyak orang maupun mobil yang mondar mandir. masalahnyaaa... anginnya kenceng banget! sebenernya sih derajatnya menurut gw lebih dinginan pas pertama kali sampe Trondheim. tapi karena dibantu angin, jadilah gw sama Gaby menepi di sebuah toko biar ga kena anginnya. nunggu sekitar 45 menitan sambil kedinginan dan kehabisan omongan akhirnya kita nyerah. pulang jalan kaki lagi di cuaca yang sangat dingin dan tiba2 lupa jalan pulang. gw BT. malem itupun gw sampe ga bisa tidur ngarep bisa ngeliat aurora dari jendela hostel gw (karena hostelnya viewnya gunung dan laut).

akhirnya mata gw pasrah dan gw terlelap. besokannya Gaby punya ide cemerlang yang bikin harapan gw balik lagi: "eh ta. kan kereta kita malem tuh. terus kita ngelewatinnya padang salju yang bener2 ga ada lampu. siapa tau bisa ngeliat dari dalem kereta." iya juga sih gw mikir2. dan gw jadi semangat lagi buat menjalani hari di kota kecil itu. setelah nunggu berjam2 di stasiun, akhirnya gw naik kereta. dan gw berniat ga bakalan lelap tidur. pokoknya mau ngeliat keluar jendela terus sampe kepala gw sakit nengok ke samping. sejam berlalu - ga ada. dua jam berlalu - gw mulai ngantuk. akhirnya gw tidur (dan pastinya merem melek terus kayak anjing penjaga). pas gw melek kesekian kalinya gw baru sadar. ya pantesan gw ga bisa ngeliat apa2 diluar. lampu di dalem keretanya ga dimatiin! shit. emang nasib dan ga jodoh.

how to get to: Bodo

the view from my hostel

Bodo is in the northern part of Norway. from Trondheim, you could go there by train straight to Bodo. you don't have to stop at Fauske first (from my very own experience 'cause my ticket said i have to get off in Fauske). it will took about 8 hours to get there, and you don't have to worry if you're gonna miss the station. cause it will be the last station ;)

the train (NSB) was so comfy, i especially love the toilet. haha! there's a mini cafetaria in the train. and the food's price is reasonable i think, around 20-70 NOK. there's also wifi. but it's going to be unstable because well hello! you're in the middle of a snow desert. and i suggest you book your seat from your country. because if you book there, it's gonna cost you a lot. and if you don't book at all, well, here's hoping. 

recommended place to stay is Bodo Vandrerhjem Hostel. it's not near the train station, but it is in the train station! plus it's only 5 minute walk from the Sentrum. 325 NOK for one night you get wifi, heater, TV, and bed linens. there's also a coffee slash hot chocolate maker in front of the information desk and it only cost you 10 NOK. it was delicious! but too bad the staff is not that friendly.

if you're on a budget like i do (especially in Norway because everything is expensive there), try not to spend so much money on food. do like i did. buy a bread in a bakery. it usually cost 10 NOK, and then buy some meat in the grocery store. for pork you will get 10 pieces for 20 NOK and for lamb you'll get 4 pieces for 30 NOK. not bad right? and maybe if you're lucky like i did, you'll find 3 for 30 NOK breads package! if you want to eat something different for your next meal, try Big Bite. for 39 NOK you'll get "sandwich of the day" and a drink. great deal if i may say.

must visit in Trondheim

 so it was -7 degrees outside, and our workshop decided it was going to be fun to do a scavenger hunt. what?! well i had a great time i won't lie. my group was amazing and we work pretty well as a group. despite the cold, we went to some amazing place in Trondheim. one of it was the Gamle Bybro or the Old Town Bridge. it got beautiful view and we were there when the sun was almost setting so it was the perfect time to take pictures ;p this bridge is near Bakklandet neighborhood. so let's just say my freezing feet and nose are defeated by the awesomeness of Trondheim.

the second place would be Kristiansten Fortress. the view was really breathtaking! you could see all of Trondheim and the infamous Nidaros Cathedral (well, the tip of the building though). if you dare and if you're lucky, maybe you could go here to see sunrise or sunset. i was there when the sun is almost set, but not setting yet, so i got a very clear view of all the city, mountains, and the sea. it was amazing. you could go here from Bakklandet as well. it's not too far, i think it was about 1 km. so if you're the chosen one for ISFiT 2015, come to these places and share your own thoughts. how bout it?

The Cathedral

the must see in Trondheim, Norway is Nidaros Cathedral. it got a really ancient feel to it and may i say, even though it will come across a little bit weird, but the cemetery around this cathedral is beautiful and not scary at all. well maybe because i came here at day. at night? maybe another story ;p too bad i didn't have the chance to come inside. because we have to pay 50 NOK, and i didn't have that much money at that time. this cathedral is located not far from Studenter Samfundet (the red round building).