Pomladni Pariz - Paris in Spring

Ne morem verjeti, da je že sredina februarja. Januarja je bilo konec kot bi mignil, še posebej zaradi vseh zadev, ki so se dogajale, odkar sem se vrnila v Pariz prvega januarja. Selitev iz enega stanovanja v drugega (pravzaprav sem potrebovala par tednov, da sem vse svoje stvari od vseh prijateljev, ki so jih shranili zame, prenesla v novo stanovanje), novo pripravništvo, Charlie Hebdo in ves pariški kaos, pomešan z žalostjo, strahom in jezo. Božičnih lučk ni več (hvalabogu, letos jih kar niso in niso sneli!). Malo je snežilo v Parizu, ravno toliko, da so vsi pretiravali z navdušenjem.

Prejšnji vikend je bil čudovit. Prava zima – mrzlo, a sončno. Okej, priznam, da bi moral biti sneg po vseh pravilih v tej zimski enačbi, ampak meni je čisto fino brez. V mislih sem že pri pomladi. Tulipani pripomorejo k temu, dnevi se daljšajo, in ko se vračam domov iz službe, ni več tako temno.

Ko sem zadnjič kolesarila, sem imela flashback mrzle, ampak čudovite pomladi v Kopenhagnu. Kolesarjenje po Østerbrogade, postanek na Gunnar Nu Hansens Plads za latte in tortico na sončku s sončnimi očali in odpetim plaščem, potem pa navdušeno opazovanje cvetličarn s čebulicami na poti, ki vabijo, da jih kupiš in preoblečeš svoje stanovanje v pomladno vzdušje!

V tem trenutku sem se zavedla, da očitno vsako leto enkrat februarja začnem sanjati o pomladi in vsem, kar paše zraven. Lani so me čebulice in sončno vreme spomnili na Kopenhagen pred enim letom, ko sem tudi sama dobila svojo čebulico, in zdi se, da mi je bilo to tako zelo všeč, da zdaj o tem sanjam vsako naslednje leto. Letos sem imela samo tulipane, ampak bom kmalu pogledala za kakšno čebulico, ki jo bom opazovala rasti.

Doma, v Sloveniji, pa se pomlad očitno zdi še kar daleč stran. Na Facebooku in Instagramu mojih prijateljev je nešteto snežnih in zimskih fotk. Zdi se mi precej čudno, če si poskušam predstavljati takšno vzdušje tu v Parizu. No, v vsakem primeru bom morala počakati še kakšna dva meseca, preden Ben and Jerry’s Cone Day pride v Pariz in odpre sezono sladoleda. Ampak veste kaj? Kdo pravi, da je ne morem odpreti sama? Pomlad, pridi kmalu! :)

I can’t believe it’s mid-February already. January has gone by in a flash. This was even more so given everything that has happened since I got back in Paris on the first of January. Moving from one apartment to another one (it took me several weeks actually to get all my belongings from all of my friends who had stored them for me), starting a new internship, Charlie Hebdo and Parisian chaos mixed with sadness, fear and anger. The Christmas lights are all gone by now (thanks god, they kept them forever this year!). It snowed a tiny little bit in Paris, just so everyone got overwhelmed.

The past weekend has been marvellous. The real winter – cold but sunny. Ok, I admit that snow should be in that equation too, but I am pretty happy without it. In my mind I am actually in the spring season already. Tulips contribute very much to that, days are getting longer and it’s not that dark anymore when I come back home from work.

When I was cycling the other day, I had a flashback of cold but beautiful spring in Copenhagen. Cycling down the Østerbrogade, stopping at Gunnar Nu Hansens Plads for latte and cake while sitting on the sun with sunglasses and open jacket, and then passing several flower shops with flower bulbs, inviting to buy them and bring the springish atmosphere in your apartment.

I’ve realised just now that apparently every year at some point in February I start dreaming about spring and all that comes with it. Last year the sunny weather and flower bulbs reminded me of Copenhagen a year before, when I got one for the first time, and it seems like I liked it so much that I dream of it every year since then. This year I’ve only had tulips but I will soon have a look for yet another flower bulb, which I will then watch grow.

Back home, on the other hand, spring apparently still seems far away. Facebook and Instagram feeds of my friends are flooded with snowy photos. It seems so strange to put myself in the wintery mood again, even though those photos are usually super beautiful. Well, I guess I will still need to wait for about two months before the Ben and Jerry’s Cone Day comes in town again and opens the ice cream season. But you know what – who says I can’t open it myself? Spring, come quickly!:)

Hello Copenhagen!

Pozabila sem, kako stresno je lahko potovanje. Ko rečem potovanje, mislim na skakanje naokrog s težkimi kovčki, lovljenje avtobusov, vlakov, letal. Čekiranje prtljage, štetja kosov, ki jih lahko neseš na letalo, in podobne zadeve.

Še bolj pa sem pozabila, kako stresna je selitev. Kartonaste škatle, ki nikakor ne morejo spraviti vsega, milijon drobnarij, ki niso ključnega pomena, pa vendar imajo poseben pomen, stvari, ki bi jih lahko vrgli stran, ampak »še ni čas«.

Ko stresni selitvi prišteješ stresno potovanje, temu vsemu pa priključiš še francoske stavke (in dejstvo, da ti na kraj pameti ne pade, da bi preveril, če danes vlaki do letališča slučajno ne peljejo) in čisto preveč napolnjene vlake, kamor se je s težkimi kovčki težko stlačiti, obenem pa srce divje utripa ob pogledu na uro, potem je to recept za izjemno stresno situacijo.

V vseh teh letih sem se naučila odlično in brez stresa potovati, ko gre za vikend izlet ali kakršno koli kratko potovanje, kjer nas (hvalabogu) nizkocenovci omejijo s ptrljago. Naučila sem se spakirati pametno in potovati lahkotno. Poznam neštete trike nizkocenovcev in v zadnjem času sem skorajda vzljubila Ryanair.

V vseh teh letih pa se še nisem naučila potovati brez stresa, kadar gre za selitev. Ponavadi, ko se selim, se selim iz ene države v drugo in ne samo iz enega mesta v drugega ali enega konca mesta na drugega. Zato je to morda še toliko bolj stresno.

Za kratek čas se vračam v Slovenijo, ampak sem se na poti za par dni ustavila v Kopenhagnu, v mestu, kjer sem živela eno leto. Mojih par dni tu ne bo turističnih, ne bom skakala naokrog in se slikala z Malo morsko deklico. Živela bom, kot da ne bi nikoli odšla. In točno tak je bil moj občutek, ko sem po stresnem dnevu priletela na letališče v Kopenhagnu. Pričakala me je čudovita jesen, s svojimi lepimi barvami, soncem in pozitivno energijo.

Hello, Copenhagen! I've missed you.

I've forgotten how stressful travelling can be. By travelling I mean running around with heavy suitcases, catching busses, trains, planes. Checking the luggage, counting the pieces you can bring on board and similar things.

I’ve forgotten even more, however, how stressful moving can be. Endless boxes that simply cannot accommodate everything, million of small things that are not crucial but still have a special meaning for you, things, you could eventually throw away but “it’s not time yet”.

When you add stressful moving to stressful traveling, and add to that French demonstrations (and the fact that it really doesn’t cross one’s mind to check whether trains to the airport by any chance don’t work normally today), and then add on top of that packed trains where it is difficult to squeeze in with heavy suitcases, while at the same time your heart beats like crazy when you see what time it is, then you have a perfect recipe for an extremely stressful situation.

In all those years I’ve learnt very well how to travel without stress when it is a weekend trip or any short trip we are talking about, were (thanksgod!) low cost companies limit us with the luggage. I’ve learnt how to pack smartly and travel light. I know numerous tricks of low cost companies and recently I almost got to like Ryanair.

What I haven’t learnt in all those years, however, is how to move without stress. When I move, I usually move from one country to another and not only from one city to another or one part of the city to another one. Maybe this is why it’s even more stressful for me to move.

I am coming back to Slovenia for a while, but I have made a first stop in Copenhagen, the city where I’ve lived for a year. My few days here won’t be touristic. I won’t be running around taking photos with the Little Mermaid. I will live as if I have never left. And that was exactly the feeling I had when I arrived to the Copenhagen airport after a stressful day. I was welcomed by a beautiful autumn with its beautiful colours, sun and positive energy.

Hello Copenhagen, I’ve missed you.

Follow some of my Copenhagen moments on my my Instagram.

Oslo, part 1

Oslo sem si že nekaj časa želela obiskati, pa se je vedno izšlo tako, da sem na koncu potovala kam drugam. Enkrat nekam, kjer je bilo bolj toplo, spet drugič nekam, kjer je bilo ceneje – nekako sem vedno našla izgovor in odločitve nikoli nisem obžalovala, je pa Oslo vedno pri meni zbujalo neko posebno zanimanje, in to še toliko bolj v času, ko sem eno leto živela v Kopenhagnu.

Oslo in Kopenhagen sta se mi vedno zdela skandinavska brata. Norveška in Danska sta bili več stoletij del istega kraljestva, iz česar sledi, da je njun jezik zelo podoben (če berem norveščino, s pomočjo danščine kar dobro razumem kontekst), kultura prav tako, obe državi za plačilo uporabljata krone, krona pa je tudi simbol kraljevih družin, ki še danes obstajata v obeh državah. Seveda pa sta se državi kasneje razvijali ločeno in tudi danes je, na primer, Danska del Evropske unije, medtem ko Norveška več prednosti vidi v tem, da je sama svoj mojster.

Ko sem potovala v Oslo, sem bila torej nekako po svoje prepričana, da potujem v drugi Kopenhagen, ki je eno izmed mojih ljubših mest. Malo sem se uštela pri tem prepričanju. Oslo se od Kopenhagna precej razlikuje, kakor se tudi Norveška od Danske. Narava in površje sta precej drugačna pa tudi arhitektura mestoma res ni skupna, kar pomeni, da je bil moj prvi vtis precej čuden. Zdelo se mi je, da so edine skupne točke krone, bližina morja in simpatične kavarne. Še jezik se mi je zdel precej manj simpatičen od danščine, ko sem ga slišala na ulicah.

Oslo ni najboljše mesto za kolesarjenje. Medtem ko je Kopenhagen ravno mesto (kakor je tudi cela država) in torej zelo prijazno za kolesarjenje, je Oslo valovito mesto. Po hribu gor, po hribu dol, pa spet gor in potem dol. In to včasih na zelo kratki razdalji. Oslo ima poleg metroja še tramvaj, kar da mestu posebno podobo. Hiške na obrobju Osla so bolj podobne tistim, ki sem jih videla na švedskem podeželju in spominjajo na vilo Čira Čara od Pike Nogavičke kot pa kopenhagenskim. Mesto diha drugače.

I have wished to visit Oslo for a while now, but it always somehow turned out I travelled somewhere else. Once somewhere warmer, another time somewhere cheaper – somehow I always found a reason to go somewhere else and I’ve never regretted such decision. Oslo has, nevertheless, always attracted me, and this was even more so during my year in Copenhagen.

I’ve always seen Oslo and Copenhagen as Scandinavian brothers. Norway and Denmark used to be part of the same kingdom for several centuries, and hence their languages are similar (if I read Norwegian, I can actually pretty well understand the context with the help of my Danish skills), as is the culture, both countries use crowns as their currency and the crown is also a symbol of the two royal families that still exist in both countries. The countries have, of course, evolved separately later on and even today, for instance, Denmark is part of the EU whereas Norway prefers to be on its own.

When I traveling to Oslo, I was therefore somehow sure I was traveling to a second Copenhagen, which is one of my favourite cities. I was a bit wrong however. Oslo is quite different from Copenhagen, and so is Norway from Denmark. The nature and landscape are pretty different and so is architecture, which means that my first impressions were quite strange. The only common points seemed to be crowns, the presence of the sea and the nice cafés. Even the language seemed less nice than Danish.

Oslo is not the best city for cyclers neither. While Copenhagen is a flat city (and so is Denmark as such) and therefore nice for cycling, is Oslo a complete opposite. Up the hill, down the hill, and up again and then down. And this sometimes on a very short distance. Apart from the metro, Oslo also has a tramway, which gives the city even another atmosphere. The little houses in the suburbs of Oslo are more similar to those I saw on the Swedish countryside and remind me more of the villa of Pippi Longstocking than anything Copenhagen-like. The city breathes differently.

Po prvem stiku z vsemi temi čisto nepričakovanimi zadevami pa sem Oslu dala novo priložnost. Prisilila sem se, da sem mesto nehala primerjati s Kopenhagnom in ga doživljati kot novo mesto. Takrat sem začela uživati.

Vreme je bilo čudovito, dnevi so postajali čedalje daljši in zemljevida kmalu nisem več potrebovala. Hej, Oslo!

After this first experience, nevertheless, I gave Oslo a second chance. I forced myself to stop comparing it to Copenhagen and experience it as another city. That was the point when I started enjoying it.

The weather was beautiful, the days were getting longer and longer, and soon I didn’t need the map anymore. Hej, Oslo!