FletteMette's VirtualTourist Home Page

A little about me...:

I'm currently studying in snowy Tromsø, in the county of Troms in the far north of Norway - but home is Bergen.

Besides being a student I work at a nursing home, mainly with Alzheimer patients - and I also do a bit of translating and proofreading.

I try to update my VT pages as often as possible - even though I must admit I haven't built that many pages lately! I have a blog, where I write about vegetarian food and such - recipes, restaurant reviews etc. Feel free to take a look - and to leave a comment, of course! ;o) Veggie blog Almost all posts are in both Norwegian and English - you'll find the English version of a post below the Norwegian one.

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Somewhat planned trips:

* Wedding in Normandie, France, July 2008 + a visit to Belgium and probably Luxembourg.
* Wedding in Toronto, Canada, August 2008 - 2 weeks in Canada
* ...and I will of course be in Riga too this summer... :o)

Most recent trips:

April / May 2008:Long weekend in Oslo
February / March 2008:A month in Riga
December / January 2007/8:New Year's Eve in Riga
December 2007:A week in Berlin and Vienna
August 2007: Road trip Bergen - Lillehammer - Oslo - Stockholm - Uppsala - Karlstad - Eidfjord - Bergen
June 2007: 5 days in Tallinn + Helsinki
June 2007: A week in the Maldives
June 2007: 3 days in London
January 2007: 5 days in London
January 2007: Three days in Warszawa
December 2006: Three days in Berlin
December 2006: Two weeks in Riga
October 2006: Long weekend in Istanbul.
September - October 2006: Two weeks in Riga, with day trips to Liepaja, Cesis, Jurmala... And a couple of days in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, stopping in the border town of Valka / Valga on the way north.
June - July 2006:Three weeks in Riga. Day trips to the Latvian towns of Cesis, Kolka, Ventspils, Kuldiga, Jurmala (lots of times - again), Saulkrasti, Sigulda (again), and also to Siauliai and Hill of Crosses in Lithuania.... A revisit to Tallinn, by car from Riga - with stops in the Estonian towns of Pärnu and Viljandi on the way.
April 2006: another couple of days in Riga, Latvia
March - April 2006: 9 days in Sharm el Sheikh
March 2006: 2 1/2 weeks in Riga, also visiting Sigulda and the lovely seaside town of Jurmala
December 2005: 1 1/2 weeks in Riga
August 2005: Fjord Country for a couple of days - a spectacular part of Norway...!
August 2005: Wedding in Piteå, Northern Sweden. We made the trip into a little expedition instead of going by plane: Bus Tromsø - Narvik, and train from there. Return Piteå - Bergen by car, via the old mining town of Røros.

June - July 2005: 2 1/2 weeks in Tallinn, with day trips to Helsinki (by helicopter / boat, my very first helicopter ride, it was great!!!:o), to Tartu and to the Estonian seaside town of Pärnu.
March - April 2005: 3 1/2 weeks in Bali / Lombok - and then yet another week in Tallinn
March 2005: A few weeks in Tallinn
November 2004: 1 month in Tallinn
October 2004: London, Budapest
August 2004: Amsterdam, London
June 2004: Two weeks in the Baltics (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia)
May - August 2003: Los Angeles, Cook Islands, Fiji, Auckland, Sydney, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand

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Which of my pages are my own favourites?

I think my Norway page has become quite ok now, and I'm adding bits and pieces to it fairly often. My Bergen, Riga, Maldives and Sharm pages are others I'm quite happy with at the moment. (The Riga and Bergen ones will probably keep growing for a while yet..)

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01) I'm allergic to beer (But it's ok! Really! I'm fine!;o)
02) I'm a vegetarian
03) I love fruit - all kinds
04) ...and berries too...
05) ...and strawberry daiquiris...
06) ...and Bailey's...
07) ...and all things chocolatey!
08) I eat little, but often - if I don't get fed every couple of hours I tend to get grumpy (but give me some chocolate and I'll be fine;o)
09) I used to study biology
10) I love animals - anything from beetles to whales
11) ...but if I had to pick some favourites I'd have to say cats... and giraffes
12) No fan of any 8-legged creatures though - they're fascinating but scary
13) I like plants and flowers and trees too
14) ...and nature and natural phenomena in general
15) Living in Tromsø means I frequently see the northern lights - but it still amazes me every time
16) I collect tacky fridge magnets from places I visit
17) I like making stuff - knitting, crocheting, felting, sewing... (Look me up if you're on Ravelry! I'm MetteS there)
18) I haven't got a driver's licence
19) I don't like using public transportation
20) ...I walk a lot
21) Hiking and being outdoors makes me feel *great*
22) I'm a member of Tromsø Red Cross Search & Rescue
23) I enjoy cooking and baking - when someone's around to help me eat the products!
24) I love taking photos (Look at my Flickr page for more pics)
25) I can spend a considerable amount of time searching for the right manhole cover
26) I'm a medical student
27) Not having any upcoming trips makes me feel *very* sorry for myself
28) I never plan my travels in detail
29) I never plan anything in detail
30) Snorkelling is possibly my no.1 favourite thing. Will try scuba diving some day!!
31) Snorkelling with a turtle in the Maldives made me insanely happy
32) I loooove buying outdoor gear
33) I rarely watch tv
34) I love books
35) I like football (Gooooo Brann!!;o)
36) I love flying - but propeller planes make me somewhat nervous
37) I have been on one helicopter ride - and loved it
38) I speak Norwegian & English, a little German and French - and like all Norwegians I understand Swedish and Danish.
39) I'm quite useless with computers & other technical things
40) I *did* however manage to download Robbie Williams onto my mp3-player - she said proudly...;o)

41) I work in a nursing home - mainly with patients who've got Alzheimer's disease
42) I like my job
43) I *love* Thai food
44) London is my favourite big city - I lived there for a year and go back as often as I can
45) I love Ikea and H&M - thank you, Sweden
46) I can't sleep in a messy room
47) All my books are grouped and alphabetised
48) I don't smoke
49) I try to buy clothes in other colours - but usually end up with something black
50) I *hate* skiing. Passionately.
51) Cold weather and snow makes me want to go into hibernation
52) ...but the polar night gives me insomnia
53) I love long *hot* showers
54) The glass is half full (And that café / shop / museum we're looking for must be *just* around the next corner;o)
55) Candles, tea and woolen blankets are necessities to get through the winter
56) I am not religious (at all!)
57) If I go to hell, it'll be a karaoke bar;o)
58) I love getting postcards & real letters
59) Finding the very first wood anemones (Anemone nemorosa) of the year makes me smile for days
60) I tend to remember lots of useless taxonomic names
61) ...but I have a hard time recognising faces
62) Lily of the Valley is my favourite flower (mmm the scent...!)
63) I grew up on a smallish island and could never live far from the sea for very long
64) On last count I had over 30 cookbooks (My name is Mette and I am an addict;o)
65) I just *can't* walk on high heels
66) I'm a mosquito magnet
67) I want to go hot-air ballooning!!!
68) I have never dyed my hair
69) I have spent a night in a self-built snow cave
70) I can't remember not being able to read - I think I was around 4 when I learned it
71) One day I *will* try skydiving
72) I have a hard time making up my mind about little things
73) I hate typos (especially my own)
74) I'm 167 cm tall
75) My shoes are size 37 (UK size 4)
76) I don't like coffee
77) I think everybody ought to know that the food colouring E120 is made from crushed insects
78) Eww that's right (and that's why I'd never eat red candy;o)
79) I enjoy making all sorts of lists :o)
80) ...and I think you deserve a prize for reading all this;o)

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13-year old Sofie is, like her human, not too fond of Norwegian winters... Every winter Sofie spends her days sleeping & lazing in front of the fireplace, in her very own armchair, on the heated bathroom floor or in her human's lap - when it's chilly outside, she barely leaves the house - but when spring arrives she'll be catching mice in the garden again...:o)

Sofie had an operation in October 06 to remove a lump we discovered on her tummy. The operation went well, but it turned out the tumor was indeed cancerous... (Adenocarcinoma, of a kind that tends to metastasise relatively rapidly) The tumor returned - and Sofie passed away on May 15th 2007... Sov godt, pusen...

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VT-member PALS - Fred Siwak - suffers from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) - also known as Lou Gehrig's disease and MND (motor neuron disease). His progressive disease means he's unable to travel - but he has started a project to have his art photographed in every country of the world. In this pic you can see his puffins photographed in Tromsø, Norway. Visit PALS VT-homepage to read more about his project - maybe you can help him fulfill his dream?

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