The lease on our original temporary apartment was up at the end of
September and we couldn't move into our own place until October 7th, so
we had a one week gap that we needed a place to stay. Thankfully
Daniel's company was able to put us up for a week at the company
apartment. The two apartments are only about 700m apart, so moving was
really easy! We put all of our things into bags and suitcases and walked
over. It did take several trips but thankfully the weather was really
nice.
The company apartment is HUGE! I think that it is
approximately 3 times bigger than the first place that we stayed. Two
bedrooms, a large bathroom, a giant living room/dining room area and a
real kitchen.
We decided that we didn't really want to
unpack too much, since we were only staying there for a week. So we
lived for the week out of bags and suitcases. We didn't buy many
groceries and kept cooking pretty simple. I didn't even do laundry that
week! It definitely felt like we were in limbo but I am very thankful
that we were able to stay there.
The week was a pretty
normal week. The weather was absolutely beautiful for most of the week.
The average high temperature for the week was about 15 C (about 59 F) with
lows around 4 C (about 39 F). There was very little rain and beautiful
blue skies. The leaves are all changing as well. It is definitely fall
here.
In other news, Daniel and I both got our national
ID cards. We now have easy to carry around proof that we are allowed to
be in Norway for an extended period of time. I also got carded while
buying a single bottle of beer. You have to be 18 in Norway to buy beer.
When the cashier asked me for ID, I probably gave her a completely
confused look. I've been told that I look younger that I am, but 18?
Really?!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Apartment Hunting
Finding a permanent apartment here in Trondheim was quite an adventure.
We started looking for a place about six weeks before we needed to move. There are several sites here that people post ads to (www.finn.no and www.hybel.no), so we were checking those. As we saw an apartment we liked, we would send an email to the owner of the posting. About 75% of the time we didn't hear anything back. If we did hear back, it was usually telling us that the apartment had already been rented to someone else. Definitely a bit frustrating!
We had been told that it might help if we posted our own ad. That way potential landlords could see some information about us before they contacted us. So Daniel put together an ad for us and posted it to one of the sites. We had quite a few responses through that ad, however there wasn't anything that we were really interested in at first (an apartment on a main road in the middle of the University area, a house on the hill out of town a 15 minute drive in to town during the summer longer during the winter, a very expensive apartment, etc). So we kept looking. I was sending emails to people about apartments every day. Daniel was replying to emails we got from our ad every day as well. I was starting to get worried that we weren't going to find a place.
Then one day Daniel got a call at work from someone who saw our ad. She had an apartment very close to Daniel's work available and it was within our price range. We set up an appointment to go see the apartment that evening (Friday). On the same day, I got a reply to one of the emails I sent out about an apartment and set up an appointment to go see that apartment on Sunday.
So, we had two potential apartments. Of course there were pros and cons to both the apartments.
Apartment one was in a great location. Very near work for Daniel and a bus stop for me. Very near a shopping center with a post office and grocery stores. It had a wood stove for heating in the winter with wood provided by the landlords. It was a cute apartment, however there were a few things that I didn't like about the apartment. It had an old house smell that I didn't enjoy. I didn't like the fact that the bedroom was so small. I also didn't like the fact that the entry wasn't private, it was shared with the in-laws who had their laundry room and an office on the first floor.
Apartment two was brand new and fully furnished. I will admit that I had an idea of what type of place we were going to end up in here and this apartment was almost exactly what I had imagined. It was a great apartment but it was in a fairly inconvenient location. Daniel would have a more difficult time getting to work since he would have to go up and around a steep hill to get there. I would be riding the bus and the bus stop was not very close. Also, we were one of nine couples being considered for the apartment.
So we just had to wait. We knew we needed to let the landlady of the first apartment know if we were going to move in but we wanted to wait to see if we got the second apartment. I was very emotional during this period of time. Daniel was very supportive. I preferred apartment two but knew that we didn't have a good chance of getting the apartment. I was unsure about apartment number one (I couldn't decide if I didn't like apartment or if it just wasn't what I have originally imagined). Daniel called the landlady for apartment one and set up a time to go look at it again. That way I could have one more chance to see the apartment and we could wait to hear about apartment two.
Later that evening, we heard back from the landlord of apartment two. We didn't get the apartment. I was definitely disappointed. At least we still had apartment one. We were set to go back to look at it on Tuesday evening. I felt like we needed to take it no matter what, it had taken so long for us to find these two possibilities in the first place. Daniel kept telling me that I could say no, that he wanted to make sure that I would be happy wherever we ended up living.
On Monday evening, Daniel got an email about another apartment. It was a new listing and the landlord had just started sending out inquiries. Daniel called the landlord and set up a meeting to go see it that night. The location was great, about 1 km to work for Daniel and an easy 15 minute bus ride for me. The apartment was very nice but it was unfurnished. It also wasn't available until October 7th. The landlord was very nice and told us to go home and think about whether or not we wanted the apartment. He said that he wouldn't show the apartment to anyone else until he heard back from us on Tuesday. We didn't really need time to think about it. I loved the apartment, Daniel said he could see that right away. It was in a great location near work, a bus stop and grocery stores. So Daniel contacted the landlady for apartment one to tell her that we had found something else and we took apartment number three!
So after a long and emotional journey, we have an apartment! I am very thankful that Daniel was so supportive and understanding through the whole process and that we were able to find a place where we can both be happy.
We started looking for a place about six weeks before we needed to move. There are several sites here that people post ads to (www.finn.no and www.hybel.no), so we were checking those. As we saw an apartment we liked, we would send an email to the owner of the posting. About 75% of the time we didn't hear anything back. If we did hear back, it was usually telling us that the apartment had already been rented to someone else. Definitely a bit frustrating!
We had been told that it might help if we posted our own ad. That way potential landlords could see some information about us before they contacted us. So Daniel put together an ad for us and posted it to one of the sites. We had quite a few responses through that ad, however there wasn't anything that we were really interested in at first (an apartment on a main road in the middle of the University area, a house on the hill out of town a 15 minute drive in to town during the summer longer during the winter, a very expensive apartment, etc). So we kept looking. I was sending emails to people about apartments every day. Daniel was replying to emails we got from our ad every day as well. I was starting to get worried that we weren't going to find a place.
Then one day Daniel got a call at work from someone who saw our ad. She had an apartment very close to Daniel's work available and it was within our price range. We set up an appointment to go see the apartment that evening (Friday). On the same day, I got a reply to one of the emails I sent out about an apartment and set up an appointment to go see that apartment on Sunday.
So, we had two potential apartments. Of course there were pros and cons to both the apartments.
Apartment one was in a great location. Very near work for Daniel and a bus stop for me. Very near a shopping center with a post office and grocery stores. It had a wood stove for heating in the winter with wood provided by the landlords. It was a cute apartment, however there were a few things that I didn't like about the apartment. It had an old house smell that I didn't enjoy. I didn't like the fact that the bedroom was so small. I also didn't like the fact that the entry wasn't private, it was shared with the in-laws who had their laundry room and an office on the first floor.
Apartment two was brand new and fully furnished. I will admit that I had an idea of what type of place we were going to end up in here and this apartment was almost exactly what I had imagined. It was a great apartment but it was in a fairly inconvenient location. Daniel would have a more difficult time getting to work since he would have to go up and around a steep hill to get there. I would be riding the bus and the bus stop was not very close. Also, we were one of nine couples being considered for the apartment.
So we just had to wait. We knew we needed to let the landlady of the first apartment know if we were going to move in but we wanted to wait to see if we got the second apartment. I was very emotional during this period of time. Daniel was very supportive. I preferred apartment two but knew that we didn't have a good chance of getting the apartment. I was unsure about apartment number one (I couldn't decide if I didn't like apartment or if it just wasn't what I have originally imagined). Daniel called the landlady for apartment one and set up a time to go look at it again. That way I could have one more chance to see the apartment and we could wait to hear about apartment two.
Later that evening, we heard back from the landlord of apartment two. We didn't get the apartment. I was definitely disappointed. At least we still had apartment one. We were set to go back to look at it on Tuesday evening. I felt like we needed to take it no matter what, it had taken so long for us to find these two possibilities in the first place. Daniel kept telling me that I could say no, that he wanted to make sure that I would be happy wherever we ended up living.
On Monday evening, Daniel got an email about another apartment. It was a new listing and the landlord had just started sending out inquiries. Daniel called the landlord and set up a meeting to go see it that night. The location was great, about 1 km to work for Daniel and an easy 15 minute bus ride for me. The apartment was very nice but it was unfurnished. It also wasn't available until October 7th. The landlord was very nice and told us to go home and think about whether or not we wanted the apartment. He said that he wouldn't show the apartment to anyone else until he heard back from us on Tuesday. We didn't really need time to think about it. I loved the apartment, Daniel said he could see that right away. It was in a great location near work, a bus stop and grocery stores. So Daniel contacted the landlady for apartment one to tell her that we had found something else and we took apartment number three!
So after a long and emotional journey, we have an apartment! I am very thankful that Daniel was so supportive and understanding through the whole process and that we were able to find a place where we can both be happy.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Kitchen Adventures
Eating out in Norway is prohibitively expensive. We have eaten out some (mmm...kebab!) but I have been trying to cook at home as much as possible. I think I have been doing a pretty good job keeping things interesting, but it is definitely easy to get into a rut and start making the same things over and over again.
Some ingredients that I am used to working with can be difficult to find. There is a grocery store called Meny that carries quite a few British and American products. We have been able to find most of the things that we have looked for, but we definitely pay the price. Hershey's chocolate chips are 63 nok (about $11) per bag. A bottle of Frank's Buffalo Sauce (I think Daniel eats some every day) costs about 60 nok (about $10). It is also definitely a challenge reading labels. Everything is in Norwegian! Can you believe that!? :)
Working in a small kitchen has been quite a challenge. I thought that my kitchen in Oregon was small but our current kitchen is much smaller. We are also using the kitchen goods supplied with the current kitchen. As you might imagine, this is a bit limited. We have purchased a few kitchen items since we have gotten here, but for the most part we have been trying not to buy too many things until we get settled into our own place. This has definitely led to some interesting situations (have you ever mashed potatoes with a spatula?) and the realization that I was quite spoiled back in Oregon.
As we are getting ready to move into our own place (October 7th! Yay!) I am getting excited about a slightly bigger kitchen and a few small kitchen accessories.
Some ingredients that I am used to working with can be difficult to find. There is a grocery store called Meny that carries quite a few British and American products. We have been able to find most of the things that we have looked for, but we definitely pay the price. Hershey's chocolate chips are 63 nok (about $11) per bag. A bottle of Frank's Buffalo Sauce (I think Daniel eats some every day) costs about 60 nok (about $10). It is also definitely a challenge reading labels. Everything is in Norwegian! Can you believe that!? :)
Working in a small kitchen has been quite a challenge. I thought that my kitchen in Oregon was small but our current kitchen is much smaller. We are also using the kitchen goods supplied with the current kitchen. As you might imagine, this is a bit limited. We have purchased a few kitchen items since we have gotten here, but for the most part we have been trying not to buy too many things until we get settled into our own place. This has definitely led to some interesting situations (have you ever mashed potatoes with a spatula?) and the realization that I was quite spoiled back in Oregon.
As we are getting ready to move into our own place (October 7th! Yay!) I am getting excited about a slightly bigger kitchen and a few small kitchen accessories.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
It's my birthday!
It has been a good day!
I only had to work until 10 am today (I love Thursdays!). I finally got to go to the library to get my library card and they have a pretty good English book selection. I got a good amount of reading time in today which I have been missing. I got TWO cakes, one made of paper (thanks Mom and Dad!) and one made of chocolate (thanks Daniel!) and I had a wonderful dinner with a cute boy. Daniel had tuna carpaccio for a starter and reindeer for his main course. I had mussels for a starter and a wonderful duck dish for my main course.
And to top it all off, I got a lot of birthday wishes! Thank you everyone!
Now to end my day, I am going to go eat a piece of my chocolate trio mousse cake and drink a glass of wine. :) Not a bad way to start a year!
I only had to work until 10 am today (I love Thursdays!). I finally got to go to the library to get my library card and they have a pretty good English book selection. I got a good amount of reading time in today which I have been missing. I got TWO cakes, one made of paper (thanks Mom and Dad!) and one made of chocolate (thanks Daniel!) and I had a wonderful dinner with a cute boy. Daniel had tuna carpaccio for a starter and reindeer for his main course. I had mussels for a starter and a wonderful duck dish for my main course.
And to top it all off, I got a lot of birthday wishes! Thank you everyone!
 |
| French cake, made by real Norwegians. And it is delicious!! |
Now to end my day, I am going to go eat a piece of my chocolate trio mousse cake and drink a glass of wine. :) Not a bad way to start a year!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Everything is expensive in Norway. Miles told us that bicycles will inevitably go on sale to make space for the ski season so we've been shopping around and waiting. Yesterday we finally scored some transportation!
 |
| Becca's bike has a basket, a rack, fenders, and an internally-geared 7-speed rear hub. It's pretty much exactly what she was looking for. |
 |
| My bike satisfies my top three priorities: disk brakes, fenders, and the skinniest tires you can ride while retaining the ability to swap them out for studded tires in the winter. Unfortunately, it also has a bunch of superfluous gears and artwork that objectifies women (the model name is 'Assphalt'). |
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