Reflection: 5 Months in Stockholm

First of all, I just want to apologize that I haven't posted in the couple of days.... I too am aware of that.

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Okay, so today {25 November '13} is the official 5 months since living here in Stockholm. There have been (what seemed) a thousand highs and awesome experiences that I have encountered here... Now, I want to reflect on some of them. 

Best Travelling Highlight would be Gamla Stan and the Vasa Museum. Two of the most iconic Stockholm attractions, I suppose. Gamla Stan is very cool and vibrant because of its awesome architecture and the numerous attractions there. The Vasa Museum because it's just a wonderful piece of reconstructed art. 

Best EATS Experience would probably be Jensen's Beefhouse! I just love their steaks! They have lots of locations around Stockholm and (I think) around the Scandinavia area... By the way, I LOVE the sauce that comes with their Lunch Steak... I'm sure it doesn't just come with their Lunch Steak, but it's to die for. 

Another EATS Experience that I would love to blog about was our FIRST experience at a "posh-er" restaurant... Melanders in Dalagatan (Vasastaden)... I haven't blogged about it, but I hope I still have my experience in my memory. 

Highlights of Stockholm Living... There are lots of stuff that I love about Stockholm. One is that there are so many parks and stuff. It's just good to know that there's so much "wiggle-space" for recreation and stuff. Living in Stockholm is very good, but the prices may be a bit steep... I hope you read my blog post on me ranting about how Stockholm is expensive. 

I am most excited about... I am definitely excited about experiencing my first snowfall. It would be so cool to wake up one morning seeing snow just falling down from your room window. I would never experience this in a country with 30 degree Celsius temperature, so this will be one of my ultimate milestones.

Finally, I just want to say that these five months that just passed went by like a heartbeat. There have been so much awesome events that happened (and certainly so much great eats). I do say that I'm looking forward with everything ahead considering Stockholm, Sweden and everything! 

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Almost to 7,000 views, so thank you so much people!

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All The Things Below Will Be Linked Here: 

- Gamla Stan

- Vasa Museum

- Jensen's Beefhouse

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RANT | Why Is Stockholm So Expensive?

I decided to do another rant, because I think when you go to Stockholm, this is the most obvious thing you will notice (besides the beauty of Gamla Stan)... It's so expensive.

So why IS Stockholm so expensive? Of course you come here, you will admire the beauty of the surroundings and the old-style architecture, but you will pay hefty fees even if you want to go to McDonalds.

The cheapest thing you can buy at McDonalds is a plain ice cream in a cone, worth SEK 9 (about US$ 1.5). The ice cream isn't as big as my hand. Trust me.... I'm thirteen.

YOU CAN stay in Stockholm  cheaper though. Keyword "cheaper", not "70% lower". You need to put some effort into it, though.

I want to skip the accommodation part, because I don't have experience there, but I do know that it'll set you back, most likely if you're staying at either a well-known hotel or a hotel near the city center.

For the food part, you can buy cheaper breads and stuff in the local supermarkets. Scope the supermarket for a bargain of bacon, ham or other meats, and just cook them in your house (if you have a kitchen). If you don't have a kitchen, you still can buy some stuff at McDonalds for less than SEK 20. (One of my personal favorites, a Double Cheeseburger will set you back SEK 20).

That's some of my advice. How about you? What other stuff do you think are worth ranting about? 

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Read My First Rant Here:

The Ratchet Closing Times of Swedish Stores

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Äventyrsbanan

This event has happened before the starting of this blog. As always, pardon me if I couldn't remember every little insignificant little detail. After all, they're insignificant, so why should I even put them there?

NOTE: Every time the word "Aventyrsbana" or "Aventyrsbanan" is mentioned in this post, the first "A" has two dots on top {see title}.

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We had a class trip to this "adventure park" called Aventyrsbana which is somewhere in Sweden. We took the metro from Skanstull (our school's location) to Slussen, before a short bus ride to the location.

Once we arrived on the location, one thing was very clear: This kind of environment is heavily centered on nature. Once you enter, you will see one of their ropes courses a small picnic ground, their administration building and a conference room.

Ropes Course | Photo from aventyrsbana

On our first hours, we did team building activities first. One of my favorite activities were scrunching up into a tiny wooden box and keeping the whole team up (there was like 16 of us). There was also an activity where we needed to form a circle and pass balls to another person, adding more balls per rotation.

After a seemingly long lunch, we then did the high-ropes course. They let us chose between a 7-meter high or a 18-meter high ropes course. Both rope courses had a balance beam, a net bridge, a tightrope walk (which was optional), and a "spider web" sort of thing.

This was a very good experience, as I encountered heights (which I am terribly afraid of) in a minor level. I chose the 7 meter high course, lol. I recommend the team building activities, because they really let your mind work, and you facilitate common sense and logic.

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Hong Kong 2013!

In January 2013, me, my sister, stepdad and my aunties went to Hong Kong to explore its sights and experience new stuff.

So I've actually been to Hong Kong prior to this trip. We were budget-travelling then so we stayed at a rest house, but the trip was fun nonetheless.

In this trip, we had a little more money to spend so we booked hotels and stuff. In this trip, we arrived in the afternoon to Hong Kong and went to Disneyland's Hollywood Hotel. After our flight, we went to the hotel and crashed on our beds. After I crashed on the bed (literally) I went to use the restroom, coming back to find out that my two aunties were asleep.

The room was very spacious and was lovely decorated by "Mickey Mouse" themed stuff. It was very child friendly. 

So the next day, we went to Disneyland! The first thing we did was to ride the Disneyland Express train to Disneyland. The first ride in Disneyland we did was the train that tours you all around. We then explored the animation museum and see the making of famous movies such as (my personal favorite), Toy Story. 

On The Train That Tours You Around Disneyland

We then got on another ride like the Madagascar themed one that revolves and goes up and down from my Universal Studios blog post. After that we had lunch. 

So we then went on lots of rides after that which I couldn't remember. After the day at Disney, both of my aunties, my mom, my sister and I toured around Hong Kong more, most notably going around shops, sights and eats. Those were my favorite times in the trip. 

So after this, we took a taxi to L'Hotel South in Hong Kong. This was another hotel in another side of Hong Kong. The hotel had a fully stocked mini-bar, a buffet breakfast (but nothing can beat the buffet breakfast in the Hollywood Hotel) and a large room.

Our first day and last day in L'Hotel was filled with going to night markets, exploring the bustling city of Hong Kong, and almost going to Tsim Sha Tsui in the Avenue of Stars. 

By the way, here's a picture of me on the lobby of L'Hotel just after our breakfast buffet. 

That's it. Watch out tomorrow for my blog post when I was in Thailand! 

READ MORE: Eating Fish & Chips at Molly Malone's Stockholm

READ MORE: Danish Pastry At A Local Swedish Supermarket

SHOUTOUTS: Graham Truran | Leah L. Suarez | Joylene Love D. Suarez* 

* = Thank you Tita Joy for taking the pictures! 

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