Siem Reap

Most of the places were to some degree crowded

Our first stop in Cambodia was Siem Reap. From Norway it is a pleasant flight via Bangkok in Thailand. Even though we knew nothing about Cambodia before we decided to go there, it did not take long until we understood Siem Reap is a must for tourist. In the beginning I thought Ankor Wat was one wat and I could not understand why we would need several days to visit it. But it turns out that every king from  year AD 802 to 1432 built his own wat to keep his people safe and inside the wat there was always a temple. These are the buildings that remain today. Houses in stone were only for the Gods, so houses for the people are long gone as they were built using wood.

We ended up spending two days looking at different temples, each had their own style and charm. We had a tuk tuk driver taking us from temple to temple and it worked out really nice. He always gave us cold water when we were done with a temple, a much aprecciated service in the heat with conservative clothes:)We could have spent both longer and shorter looking at the wats with their nice carvings, sculptures and histories, but for us they started to melt into each other after a while.

 

 

 

My "guide". We came a long way just using our Lonely Planet book



Some temples were almost overtaken by nature and it was special to see how the trees had grown into one with the buildings. But be careful though. A lot of loose stones around.

A nice variations was the 2 km walk up to the carvings at Kbal Spean. Less people and nice nature is my cup of tea. I found it very special that they had made carvings in the water and I could not really make any sense of it.

Banteay Srei, my favourite with all its details! It isn't alway about size...

Coconut from our driver:) Plenty of hydration!

Being a tourist in Siem Reap was very easy for us. It started with my mum asking me to read an article in the newspaper about Cambodia. It turned out the article was about a Norwegian couple running a guesthouse in Siem Reap. There are pro and cons going to a guesthouse not run be locals, I thought. But I read the article and then I visited their webpage to find out more. When I realized they were dedicated both to the environment, taking initiatives to decrease our negative impact on nature, and also working for responsible tourism, I had no doubt. We were staying at Babel Guesthouse. It was really inspiring to see how they try to make an impact. Like the refillable bottle campaign: Refill, not landfill. Instead of buing a new one, you refill the one you have. Think big, act small:)






It ended up being a good choice. We got all the help and tips we needed from both the staff, the managers and even the manager's family. We could ask about anything. From the regular things like: Where to go, what to do, how to get from a to b to all the small and big things at least I wonder about in a new country. Why do they do that? What is that? How does thing work? What is that loud noise I've been hearing all day? The food was really nice there too, so we had everything we needed after a long day. In the city centre it got very touristic and rather busy, so for a good place to eat: ask at your hotel for a recommendation.

Pub Street in day light

Other places we went to was the market, pub street and Phare. The market and the night market was okay, but very pushy compared to the markets we visited later in Cambodia. First we visited pub street during the day, and we thought we wanted to go back in the evening. And so we did, but we only ended up feeling old and boring. It was extremly noisy, it was almost like the pubs were competing about having the loudest music. It was difficult speaking to each other out on the street, so it must be impossible inside the pubs. We did not even attempt to go inside. But if you want to party, it seemed like the perfect place to be.






What I would really recommend doing is going to see Phare, the Cambodian Circus. A fantastic performance! It is not a circus with animals, but a history told with music, dancing, paiting and mainly acrobatics. More like cirque du soleil. With almost no use of props they told a touching history about the time of Kmer Rouge. The acrobatics they do, are incedibly impressive! The circus it selfe was an initiative to give young people a way of living after the fall of Kmer Rouge. With its school in Battambang they still provide an alternative for street children. Not only great entertainment, but a great cause as well.

Medium loaded with the usual madrasses

Cambodia

Back in Norway after our 2 week long vacation in Cambodia. Why do you want to go there? Pople in Norway asked, and in Cambodia we were met with the same question: Why have you come here? Well, we chose to visit Cambodia because it was a country we did not know to much about, actually hardly anything, and because we thougt it would be a very different country from our own. We were not disappointed! I have learned so much about the country.
The history of the country is horrifying, but even though the sadness is close in time, people seem happy and smile. For us Norwegians they appear very fiendly and talkative. Asking questions about whatever we were curious about was easy and we got insight into everyday life I had not hoped to get beforehand.



OMG! The traffic... I don't know where to begin to describe it, I think one just have to experience it. In the beginning I did not understand much, but I think this must be some of the main rules they are thought at there driving schools:

• Do not stop unless you absolutely have to
• Take all possible short cuts
• You must never give way
• Use the shoulder of the road at every opportunity

I can't say I got used to the traffic, and I would certainly not drive myself (for my crossing the road in Phnom Penh was challenging enough), but I was not scared to death the whole time at the end.


What I notice first in a new country is the contrasts comparing with Norway. One of them was the extreme amount of littering everywhere. Luckily it seems as there is a cultural change starting, but this young country do not seem to have the systems to handle all the garbage yet. I hope they do get it so the litter doesn't ruin the beatiful country.


In Norway most people live in the city, but in Cambodia most people live on the countryside. Some argue that the people living on the countryside are more happy and have more say in their own life than the people living in the city who is corrupted by money. For me, living on the countryside, I can related to that as people in for instance Oslo seem stressed to me.


Well, this was some of the main impressions I got. After visiting a country with so much bigger challenges than what we face at home it is difficult to find motivation for reading political papers. While we discuss whether or not to have wolves in Norway, they are working to take care of their wild tigers and this is a country with a lot less resources than us. And of course we expect them to do so. Sometimes I feel ashamed.

Visiting Frankfurt

Finally I got some time off from work and got a chance to travel to Frankfurt to visit friends:) -Cause when you travel, you get friends all over the world! Vanessa, whom I stayed at, I got to know while we were both studying in Sydney and that also goes for Alex who also lives in Frankfurt.

This was my first visit to the city, of course I have been on the airport before, but only to rush from one plane to an other. So it was a bit odd to look for the exit and don't stress anywhere. I did not have any problems at the airport, but I must say it is one of the slowest ones I have been to. It took forever to get my luggage! When I finally got it, it was time for sightseeing and lots of catching up=)

The first place we visited was the Main tower, the only skyscraper with a public viewing platform. Funny that at they want to do the weather forecast from this one. You have to pay to get up, but it is worth it to get an overview of the city. It really comes in handy for the rest of the sightseeing. If you have a student card you get a discount, I even got one with my Norwegian card.

The weather forecast, notice the many air planes in the sky 

Me and Vanessa on the top of Frankfurt

I visited Frankfurt just before the election so there were politicians and speeches everywhere. One day it was crowded with police before a demonstration. I couldn't understand why there were so many police present for an election campaign, but it turned out it was the right wing party having a demonstration and some of their opinions are a bit on edge I guess.

The demonstration coming closer

Even though Frankfurt is a very modern city being the financial centre of Germany and populated with several skyscrapers, there are a lot of history in the city. A lot of Frankfurt was destroyed during the second world war, but at the town hall square, Römerberg, some of the original buildings have been reconstructed so you can get an impression of how the city ones was like. This is also an historical place: This is where the book burning started in 1933.

The reconstruction

Everywhere I travel there are many religious buildings, and Frankfurt was no exception. Within a short walking distance I visited to very different churches. I am always amazed by the decorations and the architecture, nothing is ever the same. Dom St. Bartholomäus and Alte Nikolaikirche are worth a visit if you like visiting religious buildings.

Scary art in one of the curches

From Dom St. Bartholomäus

From Alte Nikolaikirche

In Frankfurt there are several bridges crossing the Main. One of them is Eisener Steg, a footbridge filled with padlocks. Couples come here to put there locks together and drop the key in the river. I guess it is for good luck. The effort people have put into it is very different, some have their names in-scripted while others doesn't have anything on them. There is also a trend to put a little lock onto the "couple locks" once the couple have had a baby.

On the bridge filled with padlocks

One of the days I visited Vanessa, she was invited to a birthday party, I was invited to come along. This was a totally new experience to me: Not having to bring any alcohol when I'm going to a party. I was so stressed minutes before we had to leave because I had not bought any alcohol, Vanessa of  course did not understand what I was stressing about. It was lovely being at a party like that, I think I can get used to it. I could also get used to their popular drink Hugo:)

A lovely cake:)

Just outside Frankfurt lies Mainz a beautiful city that was rather different from Frankfurt ,kind of more German-like, even though it was just a short train ride away. Much more quiet and calm. We just wandered the streets and relaxed. We also payed a visit to the Roman ruins of a theatre. The city was actually founded by Romans

Some of the Roman ruins

An Australian pub in Frankfurt?? Of course we have to visit:) Drinking the Aussie beer again the good memories came flooding.

It's all good:)

Frankfurt is famous for its fairs and luckily the IAA was on when I visited. Who knew I could spend a whole day checking out cars and the likes. Al though the best part must have been the expression the men from Mitsubishi got when I asked questions about their generator technology. There was a lot to see and to at the fair, and I would recommend more than one day if you're really interested!

Where to begin?

The Norwegian flag?

hmmm, what am I looking at?

Some of the big car producers even had shows that were really entertaining. The message from BMW was: The future is here, and it is electric. We have to take care of our environment. The message from Mercedes was more about the new smart cars, really cool demonstrations.

Is VW big in Germany?

VW put on a dance show and even some from Mercedes were inspired and joined:)

In Germany it is a lot cheaper to eat out than in Norway, and my friend said she hardly cooked at home during weekdays. But I convinced her to make a proper German dinner while I was there:) Sauerkrat and meat tastes as if it could have been made back in Norway actually. Thank you, Vanessa:)

Sauerkraut

I simply love markets:) They are filled with all sorts of delicacies with good quality and the atmosphere is lovely. There are always someone offering a sample and of course I want to taste, with the usual outcome that I buy some afterwards:p There are several markets in Frankfurt and Vanessa was so kind that she showed me one of them. It was not easy to spot if you did not know what you were looking for. My expectations were met.

So much to see and buy, if only we had this at home instead of supermarkets...!

Die Kleinmarkethalle

Goethe Uniserity Frankfurt is also filled with history. Here you find IG Farbenhaus that during the second world war was used by the Nazis for production of bad things and ironically after the war was used as headquarters for the Supreme Allied Command. The university had amazing buildings and sculptures and since the students were on holiday there were non to remind me of the struggle of being a student.

Sculptures doing heavy thinking

I love everything that can be helpful to save our planet from the climate crises, so when we found this bookshelf on the street I was happy. I hope we can get something similar in Norway. Here people can leave books they do not want any more and others can pick them up if they want one. Just like at hostels. There were several of these bookshelves spread around the city.

The old stock market(and the new one) is located in Frankfurt and since Frankfurt has this financial status it was worth to learn a bit more about it, in German of course:) Visiting the stock market is popular so you have to sign up for a tour in advance. Then you get an introduction to the stock market before you are allowed into a viewing platform where you can see the floor of the exchange. Educational.

The floor of the stock market

The floor of the viewing platform: green lights=rise, red lights=decline

The terms bull market and bear market describe upward and downward market trends

Just outside the city centre lies an old Jewish cemetery with graves back to year 1272. Around the cemetery is a huge wall with metal stones sticking out of it. Each stone has a Jewish name of someone who died during the second world war who came from Frankfurt.

And it goes on and on and on

A creepy cemetery, I wouldn't like to be here after dark

Vanessa showed me a party street where we did not get a chance to visit, and claimed it was chaos. I have to go back and check it out because I doubt it can be any worse than a normal pub area in Norway.

Party street

The food in Germany was easy to like. Even though I tried to eat typical German food, a lot of it was very similar to Norwegian food. The huge difference was the price and the size of the portions. I don't ever think I haven't been able to finish a plate in Norway, but in Germany that was more the rule than the exception.

The green sauce was lovely, a visit to a traditional Frankfurt restaurant

Soccer is obiously very big in Germany, and we saw several games on the TV while I was there. I think a visit to a match would be fun to do the next time I visit Germany because the emotions just sitting at home were heavy.

Vanessa is not very satisfied with her team...

Hiking in Sunndal: Flånebba, my favourite hike!!

Flånebba in Ålvundeie is definitely my favourite hike in Sunndal so far! The reasons are many. First of all it is not a very steep hike compared with many of the hikes in the area, both if you go straight to the summit from Rødset farm(where you normally park and signs point you in the right direction) or via Rødsetsætra( the Rødset pasture) the steep part is done in the beginning. And the last meters to the top is also a bit steep. 

Secondly the trip goes through a lovely landscape all the way, there are no parts through boring terrain=)

Thirdly there are many options on this hike, there are several paths to follow to the summit so that you can easily make it a round trip instead of walking the same way both up and down. If you are more people hiking together and have more than one car, the options increase. The most common hike though is from Rødset farm and straight to the summit and down the same path. This is an easy path to follow all the way. It is a bit steep in the beginning but when you are done with the first meters and turn around and look towards Ålvundeie you already have a beautiful view of the valley and you are done with the toughest part. Many stop at this point and hike down again after having lunch or coffee while enjoying the nature and the view. Then you just have to keep following the path and soon you will see the summit. The hike to the summit takes approximately 2-3 hours.

You soon get rewarded of the meters climbed, Ålvundeie

The view from the summit towards Sunndalen to the left and Øksendalen to the right

You can also choose to go via the Rødsetsætra. This is a beautiful pasture worth a visit in itself and of course there is a book there for you to sign your name in(although the writing instruments were in poor conditions last time I visited). From the pasture to the summit the path is sadly and surprisingly not much travelled so a map can come in handy if you're not familiar in the area.

Rødsetsætra

Marte enjoying the beautiful landscape in the lovely colours of autumn

Silje on her way to the summit

A bit windy at the summit

If you're not tired after hiking the summit of Flånebba the trip can easily be extended to an other summit near by: Smisetnebba. From Flånebba you can see the mountain ridge leading to the summit. There is a path that is mostly easy to follow, but you can never really loose your direction. From Smisetnebba you can walk the same way down or you can take the path that goes from the the summit down to Smiset farm. An other option is hiking down in to Sæssbøen, a hike that I have heard is nice, but have never had the chance to do myself. There are also other paths you can hike to get to Flånebba, but I haven't hiked them either.

Ingeborg infront of Smisetnebba

On top of Smisetnebba, food and mobile phones are obligatory:p

The path from Smisetnebba down to Smiset

The view towards Ålvundfjorden from Smisetnebba

Neslandet from Smisetnebba

A beautiful scenery the whole hike way:) 

A lovely hike I would recommend at the strongest for everyone who enjoys hiking in the mountain.