kajsa goes travelling the world

Decided to have a weekend getaway. A romantic holiday ahead of us and what could be a better place than good 'ol Melbourne where those first official dates took place nearly 11 months ago.

We left Adelaide with a busy schedule in a car packed with stuff. No sleep allowed for the next few days. So many things to do!

lunch stop
Day 1:
We stopped in a city called Ballarat where Jason lived in his early childhood. We were greeted by former war heroes along the main avenue which seemed a bit drastic. But as soon as we reached the lake an idyllic town bloomed up from behind the big old 'Harry Potter alike castle'. It was like a picture from an old story-book. Our main destination though was the 'snickers' factory which we never found due to some navigation difficulties. I was in charge of the phone GPS and having years of experience in orienteering we still managed to get lost. Though we did get back on track somehow and and the navigation was taken over by the captain himself.
So an hour later we arrived at Andy's place and then drove up to meet Amanda and Sam where we were forced to skull down some of their tequila. Ben and Shelley also happened to be in town so it was dinner in the European restaurant and drinks at your choice of pub if you won the rock-paper-scissors competition;-)

me and Amanda

Andy and Jase

Day 2:
Eureka tower was one thing on our 'things to do list'. Finally arrived I dont know what part was more annoying; The fact that I am a former resident of this sky high tower and now have to spend 16$ to get up to the observation deck that was under construction while living here. Or the fact that I'm not living here anymore!?!


24 carat glass covered windows. On the 88th floor!!

After losing Andy who was in charge of the driving and phones were being left home we headed off on our own. I was gonna show Jason the one part of the whole place where you cross a bit of Nimbin with Byron Bay in an outstanding part of Melbourne: St. Kilda. clothing stores, retro, funk and modern style pubs with an amazing range of restaurants and not to mention, this is where they have cakes. Now thank someone I dont live here!!!
"Lentil as anything"; An organic vegan restaurant with the spiritual message karma. But also... Now sharpen your ears everybody: Pay as you want!!! Meaning you pay as much as you think the food is worth. Now how 'bout that?
Jason sighing in the background. He is convincing me that anything without meat is strictly not a proper meal keeping a man satisfied! I still insisted on walking by the place trying really hard to work on that 'puppy eye look'. For some reason it worked and we ended up ordering the vegetarian hot pot and the Indian curry. And who would have thought: the food was bloody excellent and having said that; feeling the goodness of karma after that wonderful taste experience (no meat), the meal was worth a fortune! ;-)

We met up Andy in South Melbourne Markets where we had difficulties walking around cause we literally rolled around like balls. (forgot to mention there was cake involved too) So we went to Smith Street to work off that enormous amount of kilojoules that would have been a normal daily dose for Elvis.
Then after all the factory outlet shopping we drove home, drove to Frankston: engagement party!

karaoke!!!

miss Finland and Sweden dancing around the 'heat pole' (we were extremely cold)

Sunday morning we woke up... Oh man. We got one redbull - fight!! Didnt take long and we were already gone and packed and clean and fresh and Great Ocean Road it is!!! :-D

On my right I see Quiksilver, Roxy, Billabong, Element and all signs of shops I absolutely adore!! Torquay it was and that was our stop where Jason found a pair of new cool shoes and where I found lots of 'could have been new cool stuff'. Try shopping with a guy! :-( hmpf.
Then it was time for the beach. Killer waves! totally awesome dude
(pictures will come later)

Australians arent finicky when it comes to the making of meatpies. Check out the size of that thing!

And the 12 apostles. Well, 7 actually. They seem to fall down every second year. They were originally named the 'Sow and Piglets'. Located near Loch Ard Gorge, the Sow was Muttonbird Island, with the piglets being the smaller surrounding rocks.
They were formed by erosion of the original coastline. The constant action of the sea on the limestone slowly wore down the rocky cliff, gradually leaving individual rocks. The cliff is still being eroded at a rate of about 2cm each year, and in the future is likely to form more 'Apostles' from the other rocky headlands that line the Victorian coastline.
<< ps. Didnt really write that




cold and windy

Racing speed heading towards Worrnambool where Jason had a surprise for me. Well, i knew we were gonna spend the night there so guessed it must have been the accommodation choice of his that was the amazing part. Which it certainly was! We stopped outside a grey little cute house and that's it. A whole house to share for the night!!! So after seeing the sunset and playing in the park (we are a weird couple). We ordered a pizza and got a bottle of red and sat in that 'vogue magazine design living room' and enjoyed watching kath and Kim. Then it was time for a spa with bubbles, red wine and strawberry cheesecake. A delightful evening in Worrnambool :-)

Check out time 11 am and we are on the road again and stopped in Port Fairy for brunch. I loved this place, not only was it next to the sea but this was like sitting in "cafe de fyra vindarnas hus" on a windy late summer morning... Mys!!! And how good was the food?!!


you're beautiful
A long drive before stopping again in a town I cant remember the name of but it had a blue lake. It was a unique attraction because the lake has formed in the vent of a recent volcano. And the limestone in it make it look blue certain times of the year. Unfortunately it wasn't high beam blue when we went (sorry Jase)

Heading towards the light in the tunnel

Another attraction ahead of us. Probably the one I've most looked forward to: The BIG RED LOBSTAH!

Another event for me in Australia :-) Jason decided to take me to see some real happenings - and believe me it certainly was! Called the Royal Adelaide Show - cows, pigs, sheep, hens, ducks, dogs (puppieees), emu babies, wombats, cats, "Dagwood dogs", camels, rides, fairy floss and you name it. My Finnish beloved ones; compare 'vuoden maatalousmessut'... erm, you see where Im getting. This is the real sheit. And as we had a relative friend working here we got even closer to all these cuddly creatures ;-)




Me at the show

couldnt stay away from the lager (you look good baby)

summer is really on its way (yuppie!)

oh we met up Corey and Helen as well.

So Dagwood dog = fried hot dog (Å död o pine)

step 1

step 2

step 3

dedicated to mom

se de lapp arbetet

och haer var det virkning

Cake judging - must be a hell of a job. these people don't even get to taste the cakes!! talk about inner beauty, pfft

caaaakes...

Didnt really know what to do with myself seeing all these cakes behind glass. that's torture!!

the reason because there are so many cows here is because all the horses, (ALL of them) are sick... might be the horse flue

saw the wood-chopping

don't even want to imagine the smell in here

wonder if the plants are thirstier than me? have that weird feeling someone is watching me.

piggy pop

pick-a-boo

jase and our friend. From now on there will be no more bacon! I love this pig!

or lean beef

end of the evening - the fireworks

Right. Tonite I had a dream about my best childhood friend Anne, who I haven’t seen for over a year.
I saw her on the beach with her family and some friends. She didnt see me. I yelled, she couldnt hear me. There was a fence, a high fence. I climbed over it and went to her. We hugged til we cried and then she took me to all the places she had been to. She showed me what she's been doing and who she's been with all this time. I know, pretty gay ;-)

So Anne means the world to me and she is someone who can do anything she wants - anything! And boy oh boy we have done soooo many stupid things - we are practically insane! she is someone who is full of surprises (when Forrest becomes a skipper for bubba gump and lieutenant Dan sits on the pier because of the promise he made - you know where Im getting right, Im lieutenant Dan)... well, that's exactly my girl. Now she is a successful journalist and who would have thought. If there would be more people like her in this world there would be less worries and more happiness and excitement! This story Im about to write down is a dedication to my best friend of how much I love her and why..

"Thanks to both of our artistic skills, each provided with a scholarship we managed to get to Åland (an island that belongs to Finland, located between Finland and Sweden. Sort of like Tasmania to Australia.. and not only did we have the whole trip paid for, but we also got to go during SCHOOLTIME!!! (fuck yeah)
We cruised with Viking line for about 8 hours. So on the ship by noon we had done karaoke, danced tango, proudly viewed our archipelago scenery and had drunk a few cosmopolitans (sex and the city was big things back then). We had just turned 18. How excited were we! And now we are going somewhere to paint.
After the tipsy ride supplied with drinks and chocolate when stepping off the terminal, we met up one of the teachers that was gonna take us to “Post tullhuset” about 30 mintues away from Mariehamn (Hobart). Could only think of one thing then.. Damn girl!! This place has roads man!...
//On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again,
And I can't wait to get on the road again...//
A brief half an hour later we stepped out off the car. The wind embraced our faces and our hair. I could smell the fresh saltwater. The beautiful spring day looks over a rough coastline with dark blue water that for some reason turned wild at our arrival. The cold breeze was upon us suddenly.
Gathered with all the other lucky scholarship students and the eager teachers, we got guided to the “café lugn och ro”. Directly translated; “ café piece of mind”. There we got introduced to our new friends and teachers but also our chefs that for some awkward reason seemed really; 'calm'. Sitting there looking around the tables at the different people that I think were happy to be here cause they were gonna paint, not to be off school.
There was the big Swedish girl, the shy girl with glasses, the hindu chick, the vegetarian one and somebody in the crowd definately liked coconut. There was one with colourful gear marked with the hemp mark and rasta hair who preferred everything to be organic, even her shoes. Aaand there were the two giggling blond girls with alcohol breath, sleepy eyes, empty minds and grumbling over being hungry (sigh)…

After the elderly had spoken, we were still sitting there but weren’t really there. And one of the chefs started telling us about the history of this remote place…

The post customs house – (assuming what it would be called in English), was used during the 19th Century as an outpost, it was going to be a monumental entrance for the emperor. At this time the Scandinavians used the seaway to get to major cities like Helsingfors, Åbo, Stockholm, Viborg and St.P. And so did the post. Someone yells out; BOOORING!! The man continues:
As active as the postal service was at this time, the ruthless journeys the mail men had to go through no matter the weather, the mail needed to be signed, sealed, delivered! Hundreds of them ended their journey not even half way through.
He now started telling us about a man who was in love with this woman, and that you can hear him weeping at night. In the mansion!! Our ears pricked up!
Apparently it is haunting here at night. (Å död o pine!) A tragic love story had been lived inside the walls of the enormous mansion we all were gonna spend the two following nights in!
And now there is lying a grudge over this place. A force so strong it has lived on through a man’s soul as his greatest grief. An anxious energy for the loss of the love of his love – yikes…
After a delicious meal and an hour of intensive listening of ghost stories at “café piece of mind” we get back into the main house and start drawing, right oon! Its great fun! Everybody is waaaay weird and it is simply entertaining. (We are still drunk). We make ourselves drinks in our room and hide the bottles in the closet. (Like they’re not gonna find out :-P) Luckily we got the woofer with us and in no time we have Tina Turner yelling out our speakers and we are living the life of an idol. We are also lucky that one of our neighbor is an old lady who cant hear nothing. But then there’s “couple geek”, who has found the meaning of life at the wrong time at the wrong place: Books!! Well books my ass.. We are on holiday and even the ladies upstairs are rocking hard.
Second night we decided to knock on every door to see what the rest of the crew were up to. Enough of Tina Turner already :-S For some strange reason the rest of the girls didn't wanna hang out with us, except our old deaf lady who claimed she had heard the ghost the other night, hmmm… or the rasta (she liked everyone though), or the Swedish Hindu girl. But she again liked to hang around the big girl who certainly didn’t like us! Some sort of body image issue there I suppose. And certainly not "couple geek" either. We really tried to avoid Them. It was the ultimate "Private Benjamin" real-life occurrence. So instead we joined the ladies upstairs who introduced us to the fine, sophisticated wine society with the late night philosophic discussions and Tammy Wynette.
And did I tell you about the strange, passionate young man that was the son of our “Master”. That day we all were in our group room. And he started stripping!! “Wait til everybody hears about this” we laughed… For some reason everybody overheard us by the looks on their faces. Hope you are familiar with Marge’s two sisters; ‘cause that is exactly the only description of us two at that moment.
Then he splashed colour all over his chest, pink, and started running around the place jumping on massive screens that were placed all over the room. A bit bizarre, but boy oh boy I wish there would have been a warning sign; “please don’t try this at home”.. But there wasn’t. soo… after a few of them sophisticated glasses of wine and a duet of "stand by your man", we were in the same situation (without a crowd) and made some exclusive masterpieces still hanging on our walls back home, reminding us of that colourful night ;-)

When it was time to have a shower (which was in another building close to the main one), we decided to go together. (no dirty thoughts allowed here!! We were pink for Christ sake!) Simply because it was dark and late + we were both scared.
We stumbled over the cold gravel pitch and got into the cold dark building. The smell of attic hit our face and the showers were further in the endless long hallway, we were alone. By bringing up silly jokes and happy thoughts we managed to get into the showers not thinking about scary stuff. Well, at least we thought so. By the time we were washing our hair… a sound – somewhere in the hallway made us freeze. No talking what so ever, not even a second later both girls were running out the yard screaming with shampoo covered hair and… wait a second. Now that Im not quite certain, did we even have our towels?
Now after this so called incident – I don’t think there’s gonna be another shower while our stay in post och tullhuset. Arnie wouldn’t have a bath! Neither will we!
Stinky girls with weird looking hair not to mention the hang over on that Sunday morning when we had to do the packing and the cleaning. uff! Throw the bottles out the window, shuffle all the chips thats lying on the floor under the carpet and squeeze the gear in the backpacks - that's how you do it. YEAH! We are ready to hit the sea!
Goodbye so long you.. funny people..
Well settled in the bar on the boat we run into the Scottish troubadour - GIVER!! I also managed to bribe a male passenger to get me a bottle of absinthe (wasnt old enough to buy spirits, fair enough)... That was the first and last time I ever get myself one of 'em bottles! live and learn..
Oh yes, "couple geek" was on the cruise as well and to our surprise we got them to join us in a very baaad karaoke session. I think we changed their life :-) Cause they certainly changed ours.
No harm no done and poofing back home from Åbo harbour to our southern small town late at night had us ready with an excuse to come late to school the following day. As if ;-)"

I believe there’s a number of soul-mates out there. Once you are lucky enough to meet one, you will always share a connection stronger than anything else. I’ve met a few during my short period of life, one of them is Anne. And this story described above is only one tiny piece of what we have experienced together. More to come Im sure. That’s why we should live today as a day to remember forever. Just as the trip to Åland in 2004.

I bet many of you out there have no idea how Im living or what Im actually doing these days. It's been a while since a proper update actually so cant blame ya. Now lets give it a go and I will try to keep this short and sweet.

When coming to Adelaide in early April I crashed in at Corey's and Jason's townhouse in the city. Me and the hospitality friendly boys got along great and there were late night cardgames, pubbing and lots (lots) of tv included. But as time flew we had to leave the awesome neighbourhood just a block away from the busy streets with shops, restaurants and cozy cafes and market places where I loved to hang out (buhuu).
So now it is all about commuting between Darlington and central Adelaide (Darlington is a suburb in Adelaide but also the name of a man who couldnt decide any other names when naming Australian streets, villages, harbours. You name it. Take Sydney as an example

OMG! This was taken outside our townhouse! And yes, that is a redback spider! Common throughout Australia. How close am I?!! They can even kill you. shit! Lets run, FAST!

New house - new location... Al and Claire are the new flatmates and the owners of the pretty house we are staying in. Al is out of work and thought it'd be good with the extra cash and we can stay short term, pay no bonds or contracts so it is beneficial for all of us + it's great fun to hang out with this lovely married couple. We've done lots of Ikea exploring by this stage so the Scandinavian is pleased.

yay, making tacos in our kitchen, well, Jase is ;-)

yummy

Jack Sparrow?

When it comes to work, I am no longer a slave. I got a new proper job. Yes, I am an office lady and proud of it ;-) It was lucky though, friend of a friend situation actually. So now Im doing computer work on Sir Donald Bradman Drive (can never say it right) people think it's a shame because I dont know a former Australian cricketer. So what about Mika Myllylä... or Valentin Kononen - THAT, you must know! hehe...
Now that I have a new job, it leaves me to that same confusing feeling I always get; what is it that i really want to do?? And that's when I dream away listening to John Lennon's lyrics; "working class hero" and my troubles fade away. Instead I find myself in the mornings re-living Dolly's written words and thats how my days look like here in Australia;
Tumble outta bed
And I stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
And yawn and stretch
And try to come to life
Jump in the shower
And the blood starts pumpin'
Out on the street
The traffic starts jumpin'
The folks like me on the job from 9 to 5...//

After all that rush of country tunes I better put an ending to this entry. (bet you know the rest of the song anyway, well, you who hang out with me ;-)

finally we are going after months of planning this ski trip. And Mt.Hotham it is. Ben, Shelley, Corey, Ryan, Jason and me head off on Saturday 21st on a bus up towards the slopes in Victoria. We are all very excited and all set to go with a big esky packed with food, beer and spirits. everyone has their suitcase packed with essential needs and we are all covered up in our ski jackets and mittens. yay! im gonna see snow again!

the snowboarding lesson

Shelley in the lightblue jacket... this is the summit. easy green run connected to the sun run which is a fun blue run.

looks like a good day for the boys here

we like this bit

again?

our great apartment. we are all a bit tired here.. first day i think this was taken.

until they started serving the drinks... dunno if its too much red bull or vodka in this one. cant really tell by the face :-P

and off we go

steady

oops, on my bum again

getting late

so off to the bar of course

get in there Jase

On with the boots

the pez dispenser

up we go

schweeps



lovely thoughts

someone really loves the snow

we're reaching the clouds here

this breakfast kept us going for a week

god bless bacon and eggs, toast and beans! yummi!

Hot!!




I got ya, Im keeping ya and I love ya

Shelley and Ben


the guys


couldnt choose which one, theyre both so good



a typical evening. table surrounded with full bellies of five and five empty beer jugs

ladylike drinking


boys just wanna have fun




the only picture with all of us in it, last nite so this is where it is getting a bit tipsy

they serve the best vodka at least







hehaay camera still going





looks like youre gonna spank something baby...


this is where it all ends. Had a great time here in the snow and we already miss it! so will see where to next. will just have to keep you updated.