Time has a habit of speeding along like a freight train that never slows down and suddenly you find yourself back home starting with your Bachelorthesis. A little while ago, in I made applied for an Erasmus semester abroad in Sweden, Växjö. I wanted to get to know a new learning environment and getting to know different cultures and people. Moreover, I wanted to grow personally by overcoming my little shyness. Truthfully, I was so happy when I got the news that I'm accepted at LNU. Then, my journey started in August 2015 and I created this blog. Since then you could follow me by reading my blog articles. although I had a very full schedule I tried to update it regularly. As you may noticed, I've spent a very good time in Sweden, learned a lot, found friends, made new experiences, learned a new language and I have never ever regreted my decision! I had the luck to have loveable people around me from the very beginning. <3 At this point I would like to give a virtual hug and say 'thank you' to everyone who made my Erasmus time unforgetable. But it is not a goodbye, it is a see you soon. Below you can see some pictures of my 'Goodbye Party'.

Hej då, Vi ses! <3 :)

Den 28 februari åkte jag till Köpenhamn. Det tar ungefär 2,5 timmar att ta sig från Växjö till Köpenhamn med tåg. Vid middagstid anlände jag till hotellet nära Københavns Hovedbanegård. Sedan tittade jag på staden. Jag sprang från Tivoli på Strøgetn till Nyhavn. På vägen såg jag många stora byggnader och butiker. Jag måste säga att jag var mycket imponerad av arkitekturen och läge nära havet. På kvällen jag bara står på bryggan och titta på havet för en stund. Avslutningsvis skulle jag vilja säga det jag är glad över att jag kunde samla några intryck av denna pulserande stad. :)

Last Thursday, I went for a day trip to Copenhagen. I started in the morning and arrived in the noon at the hotel close to Copenhagen Central Station. Then, I visited the city by feet. I went from the Tivoli thorugh Strøgetn to Nyhavn. I saw many impressive buildings and a lot of shops on my way. In the evening, I just enjoyed standing on the landing stage and watching the sea for a while. All in all, I was very impressed by the architecture and the location near the sea. All in all, I am very happy for the opportunity to gather some impressions of this vibrant city. :)

We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls. - Anais Nin

At the nearly end of my term here in Sweden I've decided to travel around, because I've finished my studies here on 17. January. On Monday and Tuesday I was with my lovely friends Christine and Anais in Gothenburg. We stayed in Linné Hostel for 20€ the night, it was a nice room and I can recommend it. We were lucky with the weather, sunshine on the first day and a lot of new snow on the second day. It was really like in a Winterwonderland. We've walked around the harbor, climbed up to Skansen Kronan, walked through Slottsskogen park, visited the cathedrals, saw some inspiring street style and shopped in Nordstan. And ate kanelbulle and morotskaka, of course. :) It was really nice. On the trip home our train had some troubles because of the snow. Therefore, we had to take a different routing by bus and then by train. Fortunately it was no real problem. By the way the train only cost only about 35€ both ways (Distance Växjö - Gothenburg).

On Wednesday I had a free day and on Thursday I did a day-trip with lovely friend Lene to Lund. There also was a lot nice sights to see like the university buildings. Over a hundred university buildings scatter around town. Some of them are pretty old like Kungshuset, which was completed 1584. Since 1666 it is one of the oldest universities in Sweden. It has got 42,000 students and 7,680 employees based at the campuses in Lund, Malmö and Helsingborg. Moreover, Lund University is highly ranked in many international comparisons of higher education and has been consistently placed in the world's top 100 universities in recent year. Very impressive. The library even had an old "Alfabetisk katalog" from 1958. At that time, the students had no pcs to look the books up. ;) Therefore, every book was listed in this katalog. The cards where handwritten or typewritten, as you can see below. Next week, I have to say goodbye to my friends here. How lucky am i to have someone that makes saying goodbye so hard! On Tuesday 28.01 I will travel to Copenhagen and the next day I will fly back home from Copenhagen Airport to Stuttgart. I'm looking foreward to see my family and friends from back home and start in February with my Bachelorthesis. However - awww, I'm so sure that I will miss Växjö (the student life here, my friends, the nature, the queues (just kidding :P) Sweden <3). Therefore, I'm already planning to visit my friends here in summer. So yeah it is not a goodbye it is a see you soon. Vi ses! :) <3

Så snyggt!

Below you see my favorite pics from the trips.

Pic Gothenburg harbor

Pic Gothenburg Street Art

Pic Gothenburg Street View

Pic Gothenburg Oscar Fredriks kyrka

Pic Gothenburg snowy street

Pic Gothenburg snowy Slottsskogen

Pic Gothenburg snowy cute little red house

Pic Gothenburg cute seal

Pic Gothenburg view of Skansen Kronan

Pic Lund university main building

Pic Lund Library

Pic Lund Library Alfabetisk katalog

Pic Lund Library Alfabetisk katalog zoom

Last but not least, selfie time :)

These days were quite dark, sunrise at 8:40 and sunset at 15:20, but sometimes the sun quickly showed up and I was able to catch a nice snapshot, while I was walking around the lake, as you can see below.

On some days I felt like wanna sleep the whole day with my shutters down - a winter sleep would be nice, too, like a little bear. :) Instead of sleeping I used the last days to hang out with my friends, calm down a little bit and say goodbye to some of my friends here. But it is not a goodbye, it is a "see you again"! Besides, I did a bit of Christmas stuff, like making Christmas cards and Christmas stars, baking Christmas cookies, drinking glögg and eating lussekatt, listening to Christmas songs, buying presents, celebrating Lucia on December 13. I was even a little bit proud of myself that I understand a little bit of the priests words and was able to sing along the songs (I have to mention that the audience was families with little childreen). The kids were dressed up like Lucia, Gingerbreads or Santas - really cute. For me it is time to go home for Christmas tomorrow. I will fly from Copenhagen to Stuttgart. Can't wait to see my family and friends. I will come back to Växjö in the beginning of January and stay till the end of January - I have to say that Växjö, Campus live, my Växjö friends, the nature around has grown dear to my heart. Last but not least, I wanna show you a nice Swedish christmas song called "Tänd ett ljus". I wish everyone a lovely Christmas time and the best possible start to the new year! <3

Hey lovelys,

first, I have to say sorry for not posting anything here the last time. Hence, I was quite stressed with my courses and worked my ass of. Besides,  I caught a cold during the first cold days...But I don't want to complain! All in all I'm really happy to be here and to be able to make various experiences. Moreover, I am really glad to have nice people around me and made friends here. This makes me feel comfortable. And I am fit and ready for my way up to the North, now! :) *snow snow snow* The destination is called Saariselkä in Lapland. It is a small ski resort, located 260 kilometres beyond the Arctic Circle. I'm looking forward to be with my friends, enjoy variety of winter fun, learn more about life and culture of the North and meet the Santa, reindeers, Huskies, go skiing and - if I will be lucky- have the possibility to see the Northern Lights! *-* So, tomorrow starts the great trip. I will tell you about my experiences there, when I am back in the first week of December. :)

Lots of love to everyone. <3

These days I'm quite busy with University stuff. Last sunday I finished my first assignment. The Internet Security course in the first period (until the end of October) is quite challenging for me, because it really focuses on Computer Science. We have to do four practical Assignments. They are about getting to understand and use basic security mechanisms. Luckily I'm able to do this together with a group of German students. So, we spend a lot of time in the library recently. Here, a lot of self-studies is recommended. Therefore, Google/Google Scholoar is my new best friend now and the library my new home. (Just joking ^^)

But it is really interesting and I have already learned something useful. For instance we investigate and test different security and privacy aspects on the Internet, like email security. Some more detailed information about this follows.For instance, I've learned how to generate a key with GPG and tried out encryption and digital signage of messages. I think there are many convincing reasons to use PGP/GPG. If you are interested in it you can read more on www.pgpi.org/doc/whypgp/en/. Hence, electronic mail is gradually replacing conventional paper mail and you should worry about your privacy. The following quote points this out:

“Privacy is implied. Privacy is not up for discussion. It’s a
question of freedom against control.” - Mikko Hypponen

I'm already looking forward to the next Assignment, because it is about understanding how hackers work and be acquainted with the tools they use. So, be beware! ;) Mostly we eat a Falafelrulle during the lunch break. I think Falafelrulle is my main food here! :D The library is very modern, large and well equipped. I guess that most of the interior is from IKEA. In addition, you often get something for free, for example, Redbull and chocolate bars. One funny experience: Once, I was the only brunette in the room. I think that this only could happen in Sweden. Just joking. ;) But I think it is true, that most of the Swedish people are blond, wether genuine or. dyed. ;)

• Faluröd (Die rote Farbe Schwedens)

• Mooses (Elche)

• Kanelbullar och FIKA (Zimtschnecken und FIKA)

Tjugo krona (20er Geldschein)

I think it's sooo cute, because of Nils Holgersson.

• Kräftskiva (Krebsfest)

• Träffar vännerna (Freunde treffen)

• att vara i naturen (in der Natur zu sein)

What is "Kräftskiva"?

Svenska: En kräftskiva, kräftkalas eller kräftfest, är en traditionell svensk fest i samband med kräftfiskesäsongen under sensommaren och hösten.

English: A crayfish party is a traditional summertime eating and drinking celebration in the Nordic countries. The tradition originated in Sweden, where a crayfish party is called a kräftskiva.

Deutsch: Kräftskiva (deutsch: Krebsfest) ist ein traditionelles schwedisches Fest, das in Zusammenhang mit der Krebsfangsaison im Spätsommer steht, wenn in vielen schwedischen Familien Krebs gegessen wird. Die Hauptspeise einer Kräftskiva besteht aus ganzen Flusskrebsen, die mit reichlich Dill in Salzwasser gekocht und kalt verzehrt werden.

Fun fact: You are recommended to create and wear a crayfish-party-hat.

During this evening there was be plenty of food, like crayfish, shrimps, pies and some shots of Swedish schnapps. We also played some games and sang some songs. (Swedish students love playing games and singig!) By clicking on the following link you can hear the drinking Song named "Lambo". www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hPQbxsWXjk

It was a really nice event and I liked the taste of the food. You can see on the attached pictures.

Last saturday we visited Kosta Boda glassworks and we also had the chance to get to see some moose at Grönåsen's Moose-Park. Hence, the region Småland, where I live right now, is famous for the making of glass. It was really nice to see the magic behind the making of glass. My favourite glass art was a flowing guitar on a chair, as you can see in the picture below.

At the moose park, I got the chance to get really close up to pat and take pictures with mooses. At least I saw three Mooses. =) and I think that they are really cute. Fun fact: The Moose I made a selfie with is called Gustav.

I spent an awesome weekend together with the VIS in the capital city of Sweden. The bus drive from Växjö to Stockholm took approximately 5,5 hours and was kind of exciting, because our bus was quite old and stuck on the road for about 20 min. :D Luckily the bus driver managed it to get us all secure to Stockholm. First some facts I find really interesting about the city:

• Stockholm is built on 14 islands connected by 57 bridges
• Greater Stockholm has a population of around two million
• On Stockholm’s shortest day the capital sees a mere six hours of sunlight, while on the longest day it’s light for nearly 21 hours
• Stockholm is the home of the Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and literature

I shared the room with 3 girls/friends, some of us had rooms on a boat. First I was a little bit jealos, but in fact, my room was nice, too. On the first night we went on a Erasmus Student Network (ESN) party, which was quite nice, but in my opinion they should have opened more floors, because it was really crowded inside. On the next day we went on a city tour with freetime after it. I think the old city center is just lovely with all those nice chuches, bridges and buildings, like Gamla Stan. By walking thorugh the city I thought it has something in common with Cologne. And of course, some people compare Stockholm to Hamburg. Hence, I have never visited Hamburg, I cannot say if is true or not. By the way, I really have to visit Hamburg some day. Besides of the nice architecure, Stockholm is, of course, a paradise for shopping lovers, like me. Just to list some stores: Monki, Bikbok, Gina tricot, Mango, Vero moda, Zara, Victoria's Secret and a lots of Heinnes & Mauritz, you will also find H&M's head office. On Saturday we visited the royal palace. It was so great to see all the nice interior, to get to know more about the royal history and to see a collection of Princess Lilian dresses. I really like this quote of her "I don't really have a motto, but if I did, it would be: Keep on smiling." She died on 7 March 2013. On August 2015, she would have celebrated her 100th birthday. We saw the room where prince Carl Philip and Sofia celebrated their wedding party. Isn't it cool that Avicii played on their wedding party at the royal place? On the last night in Stockholm we went for a Pub Crawl and afterwards we partied in one of the biggest clubs in Stockholm named Göta Källare.

All in all, it was really amazing and I'm looking forward to visit Stockholm again!