Goodbye Hungary

We got up at 5am to leave. Sophie’s mom packed me some pancakes with Nutella to bring with me and I even got Hungarian chocolate and Nutella! They’re so kind! I hugged them all goodbye and got in the car with my techers and five students.

We met the others at the airport 20 minutes before the luggage drop opened. Our teachers disappeared and had absolutely no information so I was left to tell the others when the drop would open. Me at age 12 would have been a better travel-guide than our teachers. Oh, well. This is where the story's ending guys. And it was wonderful. I've made some friends for life and I've promised to come back. All is well.






-Mari Clémentine

Last Farwell - Hungary

The farwell party took place at a club called Studio 74 not far from Arkad, so we decided to walk. It was a dance studio at the second floor of an old building, at the top of a narrow staircase. We gathered along the walls staring at each other. Everyone was there and everyone had brought food.
   Our dance teacher arrived to teach us Hungarian dances and we all stood, ran and danced in a huge circle. Then, after a lot of sweating, we thought our friends the Norwegian “slå på ring/hit the ring” and had a good laugh.

   After all of this, the mood kind of died. We knew it was our last minutes. For many of us, it was probably the last time we ever got to see each other. Two of the girls left and it was on. We all hugged each other, and lost count of how many had left and who. I hugged a Hungarian guy, but met him again at the bottom of the stairs with the girls. “One more!” we all screamed and hugged again.    
    Before leaving the building John pulled me to the side saying “I have to give you something.” So we went outside to the top of the staircase and he took of his bracelet. “I want you to have this.” And he put it on my arm. “A reminder that I will seriously come looking for you to get it back.” I was touched. So was the others.
    We stood outside hugging and smoking when Sophie's father came to pick us up. I didn’t cry. I know John nearly did. But that night I was thinking of leaving and I got rather sad. I didn’t want to go, I didn’t want to leave this beautiful summer country and all their weird tasting food. Nor the pancakes.

(Derp picture, we only filmed that night...)

-Mari Clémentine

Ice-Cream Fight and Wars - Hungary

After school we went out shopping for like 30 minutes before going treasure hunting, something none of the Norwegians really wanted to so we all started walking very slowly and talking about running away, but in the end we all made it to the meet-up point with some pissed Hungarians. Pissed because we didn’t want to go.

Eventually we went treasure hunting, but by then my body was craving chicken nuggets so much I had to get some, so I asked the other to wait, while Emma and I ran to McDonalds to buy nuggets (Which coasted only 3 euro!) and when we got out they were gone.
     We eventually found the other Norwegians laying in the street. The Hungarians had left them when they had said they wanted to wait for us. So we now had a cold front between the countries. Great. We didn’t care much though. We went sunbathing and as more and more people showed up we got tired and went to the ice-cream shop.

While walking back to Arkad for shopping two of my friends started a water fight that at the center and the best ice-cream shop in Pecs ended up with John throwing ice-cream at me and me throwing back. It was fun, but all the people at the café gave us horrible looks. Then I hit his hat and he got mad for a second or two before drenching me in water and hugging me. I love that guy.

All the Norwegian girls really wanted to go out and drink that evening, but the Hungarians didn’t want to. Story’s not ending here. We went anyways. Our poor Hungarians just had to follow. So we sat down and drank pina colada and sex on the beach, weirdly enough discussing religion when they said: “We have to leave in 20 minutes!!”  Oh well.. we had spaghetti for dinner. I love my life.

-Mari Clémentine

Meeting my new Family and old Friends

Exchange. The girl that had stayed here, let’s call her Sophie, and her father met me at the train station. I embraced the girl, shook hands with her father and we went the short way home in their rather cool car. Her mom and brother greeted me outside, in the backyard. Her mom kissing me on both cheeks (btw, she doesn’t speak English), her brother shaking my hand shyly. They showed me her room and the rest of the little house before getting me to dinner which tasted wonderful, but was a horrible experience because I have a phobia of eating in front of people. Oh well, the day would get better! 

Sophie took me to the city center were we met with nearly all of the others and we were hugging and I told the story of how I got from Oslo to Pécs and then we all went out for drinks at this little place the Norwegians named “the grass place”. We toasted to the warm weather and new friends and laughed and laughed with the sunset as backdrop.


-Mari Clémentine

Train trouble in Hungary - TRAVELLING ALONE

I hurried back to the train station and found my train, still not changed to a dress. I found my place on the train that was cooking and after much back and forth I got changed to my maxi-dress, I pulled up my magazine and after a while I fell asleep. In Kurd we had to change to a bus as it was construction work on the railway and it was really confusing since no one spoke English and the busses weren’t marked, but magically I managed to get on the right one. Kurd, the small-town where we changed trains were lovely. So lovely I really want to – I need to go back there and write. People were all having these cute little gardens where they grew vegetables and trees with pink flowers and so on. I loved it.

When we arrived in Dono-something we had to get on the train again and also this time it was rather confusing as no one spoke English, but I made it again. The Hungarian scenery is amazing, it’s inspiring. The fields half covered in little lakes. The trees with pink flowers, the little huts the poorest of them lived in. The gardens. It was a whole new world and then suddenly, we arrived in Pécs.

ON TRAVELLING ALONE
Travelling alone in eastern (sorry, people, everything is east for me) Europe I didn't expect much English, neither did I expect much help. So what did I do? I researched. I found out online when the train left for Pécs, how much time I’d have, how to get from the airport to the train station, what I wanted to see in Budapest, if there was luggage storage at the railway station, what metro line to take, where to eat. I had it all figured out in my head and I’m so glad because if not I would have been so lost. If you’re not an experienced traveller I would not recommend it though, then your best choice would probably be to stay at the trainstation and wait for the next train J

-Mari Clémentine

It's alocohol free, is that okey? - Budapest in 2 hours

The plane ride went smooth as always. I tried to sleep but couldn’t, so I just closed my eyes while listening to music. It was colder than I expected in Budapest, so I didn’t change, but picked up a ticket for the airport’s shared-shuttletaxi service (which is great and easy to use) and fetched a free map of the city, marking of some places before picking up my suitcase. The taxi driver didn’t speak English and it was a bit confusing at first, but I used the few Hungarian words I knew and got in the car which took me and another fellow safely to Keleti railway station where I picked up a train ticket to Pécs before leaving my luggage. Not changing.

I took my camera and money and went by underground to the city centre. First thing showing up: Starbucks. Then I found St. Stephens Basilica, which was really impressive. I had promised my mom to eat so I soon went down the street to Hard Rock Café where I went inside (to hot outside – yay to sweater and jeans. No.) and ordered some French fries and a groupie grind. This was the defining moment for my Budapest experience. I ordered the GG and the waiter said: “It’s alcohol free, is that okey?” I should have yolo’ed and said no, but I didn’t. I then enjoyed my smoothie, went shopping at the New Yorker and went down to the riverside to see Danube and the castles. I had so little time, but Budapest seemed wonderful with all the green areas and buildings and stuff.

-Mari Clémentine

I'm on Twitter!

No, it's not a joke. So I suggest you go to my page and click follow!
---> HERE <--- 

(and listen to this absolutley awesome song while you read my stupid updates)

-Mari Clémentine

My Turkish/Hungarian Easter Egg

Hey guys!

What's up? I know you're out there reading this and I know it's rather boring because I'm not really out there myself these days. So what am I doing? Baking cupcakes in winterwonderland Norway and organizing my wardrobe back home :) BUT! I just wanted to tell you that I'M GOING TO HUNGARY  in 3 weeks! I don't know if I will get time to blog or what I will do there since it's actually exchange, but either way I'll write something for you! It also looks like I'm going to Istanbul this summer so check back later for more!

Happy Easter!
-Mari Clémentine 

Crazy Wild: SISTER ACT - Paris

No blogging! I've had such a busy weekend, so I haven't had time to post the end of our trip, but I promise you I'll post tomorrow, ttyl! But thought I could put up the sister act vid:

-Mari Clémentine

Morning Mood - Paris

If you're tired of Paris, you're tired of life!

“To say that one is tired of Paris, is in fact to say that one is tired of life!"  – Savage Grace. It was actually originally said about London, I think, but who cares when it’s true! I know I sound like a dumb American richbitch, but I think I have fallen in love with the city, as so many others and saying goodbye to her for a year won’t be easy, but at least I’m going for winter break. So TOMORROW Paris will be mine again.

    And now a lot of people might ask: What do you do there? You must have seen everything, sweet Jeez it’s the 8^th time! Well, firstly, I haven’t seen everything, I’ve never been on top of the Eiffel Tower, I’ve never been to Versailles or Musee Carnavalet. So what do I do?
    I live.

\

    Every day in Paris is like the day after you’ve been magically cured for pneumonia, finally being able to breathe again. I often go out walking, writing in parks or taking photos. When I get really tired I go to Starbucks or other cafes to sit down for hot chocolate. Sometimes I eat crepes de nutella for lunch. I visit museums, churches, bridges and statues. This year I’ve promised myself to visit Pere Lachaise Cemetery which I’m really looking forward to.

     You see, my dear readers and friends, Paris is a dance. Sometimes slow, sometimes fast, but it’s always moving on. Touching, or not touching. Fancy old-fashioned or dirty and in-time. It will be whatever you want it to be and who can resist that?

-Mari Clémentine

    

I'm moving to Italy!

So about my big adventure of 13/14: Still in school and still young the world is full of possibilities and there are lots of things on my “100 things to do before I die” list and I’m not usually sharing to much of my personal life, but this 13/14 I see as one great trip. I’m going on exchange to Italy, my neighbors will be Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, haha… I haven’t gotten a host family, so I don’t know what city, hopefully somewhere near Rome. Or Tuscany. Or the sea...
   . I don’t know anything. I know about 20 Italian words and none of them will get me far on my own in a foreign country, with classes in a language that I don’t know. So it’s time to start an Italian course and a new blog. I will still tell you about the cities and the country here, but if you want to follow the life of an exchange student, visit: www.destinationit.blogspot.com (you can go just by clicking the link in the sidebar!) And check into my new life in beautiful Italy in September. I will launch the site properly later, just thought you all should know about it J

-Mari Clémentine

Favorite Destinations 2013: Paris (part II)

My favorite place in Paris is located on the top of Montmartre, yes, I you’ve been visiting this blog before, you already know, Sacre Coeur. I didn’t come there until 2010, and then I had already been to Paris 3 or 4 times. It’s this white “castle” raving over the dusty and grey part of the city. High over the rooftops, suddenly it pops up like a little part of heaven. There sure was a stairway to heaven, and we had to climb it. It was a long way up, but at last we reached the top and the view was stunning. It could rain, snow, be full storm, it wouldn’t matter, the view will always be beautiful. It’s the top of the city, but feels like the top of the world and the cozy streets of Monmartre behind it will always be enough for me while in town. I could stay there forever, and now we always stay in the area and we always visit Montmartre. 

-Mari Clémentine

Traveling XXLedition

"The forbidden city" - Beijing, 2011

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
I haven’t been travelling much lately (okey, so I did go to London,  and I'm going back to Paris in February, anyways..) but these days a great journey is about to commence and it has stood a little in the way of, well, travelling in the way I know it. I don’t want to jinx anything so I choose not to tell you, my dear readers about it, but I can say so much: it involves Italy or France.
   So for the next weeks I thought I could tell you a little about my favorite destinations in Europe: Rome and Paris. Maybe my awesome Asia-trip to China, Vietnam and Hong Kong will be mentioned. I just don't know... There's so much to tell you about my "great journey" and I can't tell you about it just yet!! Stay tuned for more :)

-Mari Clémentine