This morning we left from Hammerfest back to Belgian.
I was a little bit sad because we had to return back to Belgian and I really enjoyed this trip. I found it interesting to visit all these countries, cities and villages. I love to learn new cultures and see how other people life.
The most touching moment was in Niger. In the city Agadez we saw some little children dancing on the street. I found it very cute to see because those children dont have much luxury but they look so happy. When I showed this video to my family and friends they all found it very beautiful to see.
The city Berlin and in Norway were very beautiful cities and interesting but I would never go back. I have learned something about the politics, about the history but it doesnt approach me to go back. In Berlin and Norway we have visited especially museums and important places and I like visiting buildings and learning something about the history of a country but in those countries it was too much culture.
My favorite city was Paris. When I was young I went to the city with my parents and also with school and the city distracted me every time. It is also a city where I could live because you have many shops, restaurants, pubs, cultural etcetera. An advantage is that the city isnt far from Belgium. I also love the language and the typical music from Paris. Some things are not modern but more antique but I dont mind because you have everything available in this beautiful city.
In total we have visited eleven countries. From every country I will make individually a photograph album. We took many pictures and I will use them all.
It is strange to be back home and dont see Julie, Sarah and Anouk every day. We become very good friends. We knew each other before we made this trip but when you see each other every day you become better friends. I have also seen some negative sides about my friends but that is normal. I have also my negative points and the beautiful part about this is that we appreciate it from each other. We become closer friends.
I think in the future we will definitely go back together on holiday and I already look forward to it. I hope you have enjoyed our blog because I certainly have written it with lots of love. If we go on holiday again I will definitely write a blog.
Hammerfest is the second city we have visited in Norway. There are 9493 inhabitants.
Because of the position within the North pole circle, the sun do not undergo between 16 Mai and 26 July. In the winter the sun doesnt come above the horizon between 21 November and 21 January.
We had bought some books about this city. In the past Hammerfest was an important fish port. In 1890 the city was half devastated by a fire which started in a bakery. After the fire, Hammerfest received many contributions and humanitarian aid from over the whole world. The largest donor was from Helmet II namely the emperor of Germany. He had visited the city for several times and felt himself attached to the city.
In Hammerfest they organize many activities for the tourist. We did the Hiking Tour- Kjøttvikvarden. We went by boat from Hammerfest to Akkarfjord on the island Sørøya. When we arrived at this island we walked a long and easy path to Kjøttvikvarden. This building is over 12 meters high and built around 1850. They had build this to provide a landmark for fishermen. The walking time was 4 hours. When we arrived back in Hammerfest, we were very tired and went back to our hotel to take a shower. In the evening we went out to dinner and went early to bed.
This morning we participated with a city tour. With this tour we have seen the most interesting and popular sights in Hammersfest. While the tour, they gave us information about the history of Hammerfest. The highlights of this city tour were the Meridian Column and the mountain Salen. At the mountain Salen you have the best view in Hammerfest and I found it very impressing.
In the afternoon we did a roundtrip by boat. The roundtrip, with a catamaran boat, is from the centre of Hammerfest to the small fishing villages on the island of Sørøya.Yesterday we already visited this village. They organize this trip because the coast of Finn mark is one of the most beautiful in the world and we can only aim this.
I think it is a good initiative from Hammerfest to organize all these activities. It is not a very known city and with these activities you visit all the important things of the city.
In Hammerfest you have an airport. It Is the third national airport of Norway. The owner is Avinor. Tomorrow in the morning we are leaving back to Belgium.
Unfortunately, this is my last post because our trip is already over. The weeks have flown by but I think we all were glad that we could go home because we have missed our families.
It was an amazing trip that I'll never forget. We have seen many beautiful places and we had lots of fun! Every country that we've visited, had much to offer. I can still remember the day we left, the 14th of February. We were all nervous and curious about what we could expect.
The first country we've visited was Nigeria. It was a really long flight because there was no direct flight from Belgium to Nigeria. In that country we were confronted with the poverty which the inhabitants have to face. By seeing these situations, I realized that we can not complain about how we live.
After Nigeria we went to Niger which is also a poor country. We found it very nice to visite Zinder, Birni and Sabon Gari. The Sultan's palace was so beautiful and special, we all loved it. We also went to Agazed, the largest city in northern Niger.
Next we went to Algeria where we've visited Algiers and Constantine. The fourth country that we've been to, was Tunesia. I think that we will never forget the trip through the Saraha because it was really beautiful and funny. I think that Tunesia is the most beautiful country that we've visited during our trip.
After Tunesia we went to Italy where we've visited Sicily, Palermo, Rome and Milan. It was nice to see al the clothes of the famous designers in Milan. Unfortunately we could only afford watching the shopping windows because of the high prices.
After we had been to France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Norway our trip was over. I think we all enjoyed it very much and we would like to do this again! Girls, I want to thank you all for this amazing experience!
this morning we arrived in Belgium. When the plane landed, I couldn't hold myself anymore. I had to see my family and friends. It has been such a long time! My whole family waited for me to arrive at the gate. Delphine, sarah and anouk's family were there too.
Our first day started a bit sad. We saw a lot of poverty in Nigeria. People are living on the streets and don't have anything to eat or drink. We gave them some of our food and they were so happy. From that day, I think we all agreed that our country is very rich and that we have all the luxury we need. There were also some beautiful things to see, like Sicily. I really loved the port in Palermo. It is such a romantic place. Also the Colloseum and the Pantheon in Italy were very beautiful.
In my opinion, Milan and France were the most beautiful countries. I really enjoyed the culture and the shops. In Milan, the cathedral and the Parco Sempione were impressive. I've never been in Milan before, but I will definitely come back. France was very beautiful too. The vineyards, churches, and the famous products of Dijon were the highlights here. It was very relaxing to be in France.
The switch from France to Norway was not so nice. In France, the weather was very beautiful, compared to Norway, where it was freezing. Going to the zoo made it a little bit better. By seeing all the cute animals, I forgot how cold it was.
I have to say that it was an amazing trip. I've never thought that I would have so much fun and that I would see things I never thought that I would see. I made new friends in the countries and made a lot of picture. I hope next year, we can make another trip to other countries, but of course with the same people. We had a great time together and I'm going to miss them very much!
Thanks for the great trip Sarah, Delphine and Anouk !
It is the last time that I will greet you
because our journey is over. This trip was amazing. I have seen things I never
thought I would see.I am happy that
Julie, Delphine and Anouk came with me, I could not have wish for better
company. We came along very well.
The flight to our first country took very long so
I was happy when we arrived. Our adventure could begin. We arrived at Nigeria.
I will always remember the sweet little children in Abuja. In Niger I will
never forget the poverty there but also the beautiful mosque they have there,
despite the poverty. In the next country, Algeria, I really liked the
picturesque city. In Tunisia I was impressed by the large desert. I have never
seen that before. It was also really sad to see the misery in Tunis, the
capital of Tunisia.
After these countries in Africa, we moved
forward to Italy. But first we visited Sicily. The port was nice to visit. It
was impressing to see all the boats and the fish that they had with them. When
we finally arrived at Italy itself we went to visit Rome. I visited Rome once
on a trip when I was still in high school. That trip was so much fun and I
really had to think about it the whole time. I have seen the Colosseum, Forum
Romanum and Panteon before but it was still as beautiful as before. Milan was
also nice to visit. Then we went forward to France. I will remember the
vineyards in Dijon but of course Paris was the highlight. In my opinion, it is
the most beautiful city in the world. We went back to Belgium after France for
a while to visit Brussels. I was really excited to see my parents again. We
enjoyed the culture in our own land. In Germany we went to Keulen and Berlin. I
wanted to see Knut in the zoo in Berlin but unfortunately the little polar bear
died two months before our visit. After Germany we went to Denmark. The most
beautiful thing I have seen there was the royal theatre. The architecture of
these building was very impressive. Last but not least we went to Norway. The
amusement park and baseball game were so much fun.
I really enjoyed the trip but I am also happy
to be back home again. I really missed everybody and everything here. I was delighted
to see my parents, my friends, family, cat, dog and especially my own cosy bed
again! I cant wait to show them all my pictures. They better have a lot of
time because I really made a lot of pictures. I wanted to capture every
memorable moment. I cant help it that there were a lot of those moments. It
will be weird not seeing Julie, Anouk and Delphine every day. I will miss them.
Yesterday we arrived at our final country,
Norway. We went to Kristiansand, the county capital of Vest-Adger County in
Southern Norway. It is really cold here compared to the other countries we have
visited. I have read that Norway is an unitary parliamentary democracy and
constitutional monarch. King Harald V is head of state with Jens Stoltenberg as
its prime minister. I really dont understand what people are saying here, they
have a weird language. Fortunately, they understand a little bit English.
After all the culture we have seen on our trip,
we decided to do something different here in Kristiansand. There is a famous
zoo and amusement park in this city. So far, we have not done much things as
these, so it was really nice to do. We want to make as much fun as possible on
the last days of our journey. After a really great day we went to the centre to
eat at a nice local restaurant. As Norway is the country of fish, we had a
whole fish buffet to eat from. It tasted really good. We felt a little bit sad
knowing that this would be one of our last meals together.
After the restaurant we went to a little pub. The
drinks were really expensive so we did not drink a lot. Some young people there
told us that its too bad we did not came in July to Kristiansand. Apparently
the biggest festival of Norway takes place then, named Quart. They were really looking forward to the
festival. Actually, I have never heard of it before, so I will not miss it that
much.
Today we are planning to go to a baseball game
of the Kristiansand Suns. Baseball is really popular and I have never seen a
game in real life. I hope it will be nice and that we will have fun. I cant
believe this trip is almost over.
This morning we arrived in a place where everything was still quit and peaceful. It was very early and you could see that the city was still sleeping. We finally arrived in Denmark, our second last country.
We decided to learn something about the history of Denmark, so we went to the historical place Jelling. There you can find the runic stones that are considered as the birth of the Danish kingdom. The stones are in memory of King Gorm's and his wife Thyra. It is selected by UNESCO as a world heritage site. It was very interesting to see how the stones are standing for the beginning of the country. The churches here in Denmark are very important for the Danish people. 85% of all Danes are member of the 'National Evangelical Lutheran church', the national church of Denmark.
Around noon we had enough of the history and wanted to visit someting modern. Before we arrived, I ask a friend who has already been here what we needed to see. He told us that Denmark is known for its architecture, fashion and graphic design, and that we really needed to visit some museum or theatre. We followed his advice and went to the capital of Denmark to see some architecture.
We all agreed to visit the royal theatre, located on the harbour front of Copenhagen. It was designed by Boje Lundgaard and Lene Trandberg, two Danish architects. We couldn't believe our eyes when we saw the building. It has a sidewalk floating on thin columns over the water and the whole building is made in glass. After taking many picture we decided to go in .
After hours of walking through the theatre, we went to a local restaurant to have dinner. We were still talking about the architecture and the greatness of the building. So we couldn't hold ourselves and went to the play 'Shakespeare'.
It's a pity that we have to leave tomorrow, because I really enjoyed it here. Hopefully, we will come back next year!
After visiting Keulen we arrived in Berlin. This is the capital city of Germany. It has a population of 3.4 million people and is Germanys largest city.
The first day we went visiting the Berlin wall. After the second war Berlin was for more than forty years a divided city. East and West Germany were separated. In 1990 Berlin became the capital of the Federal republic of Germany.
In East-Germany they were very severe, so many people tried to run away to West Germany. For to occur this, East-Berlin had decided to isolate West Berlin so they had build a wall known as the Berlin wall. The fall of the wall was in 1989.
The number of deadly victims at the Berlin wall is not exactly confessed. People say they are 125 identifiable victims and 81 cases which doubt existed. Visiting the Berlin wall was interesting but also emotional if you think about the people who died.
After eating something we went to Alexanderplatz. This is a square and a well-known venue on the east side of Berlin. Daily there are more than 300 000 people who come to this square. The square is named after Tsaar Alexander I. In the middle of Alexanderplatz there is a fountain.
While we were walking back to our hotel we saw a nice lounge bar that was nearby Alexanderplatz. We had decided to reserve a table for the evening.
Yesterday in the morning we went to Zoologischer Garten Berlin, which is one of the oldest zoos in Berlin. The zoo is located in the centre of Berlin. In Zoologischer Garten Berlin you have some famous animals and one of them is Knut. Polar bear Knut was born on 5 December 2006 and had developed into the darling of the public. He was repudiated by his mother. When Knut was born, the profit of the zoo expand. On 19 march 2011 he died. Also in the Belgian papers they wrote about this beautiful polar bear. I was sad because I looked forward to see this animal.
In the zoo you have different departments. You have a monkey house, an aquarium, a carnivore house etcetera. After visiting the zoo we went to the Fasanenstraße. This is a shopping street in Berlin where you have shops but also many restaurant and pubs. In this street you have different kind of shops from international top brands. Examples are Chanel, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Armani, Bulgari etcetera.
We went early to bed because we had visited many things in Berlin and we were very tired.
This morning we have slept late and made our suitcases. Now we are in restaurant Schwarzwaldstuben. The restaurant has a old-fashioned décor. The restaurant is known for his macaroni, Maultaschen (ravioli) and Flammekuche (kind of pizza).
Berlin is a beautiful city with a lot of history and where you have many things to visit. We found it an interesting trip. See you in Denmark!
Today we have arrived in Cologne which is Germanys fourth-largest city with more than ten million inhabitants. First of all we went to the citys famous Cologne Cathedral. This cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Cologne. The building is really impressive and detailed. The construction of this Roman Catholic church began in 1248 and took until 1880 to complete. Inside we saw the High Altar which is one of the Treasures of the cathedral.
Next to the Cathedral are some nice shopping streets. Of course we took benefice of that and we went shopping. After a few hours of shopping we took the tourist train for some sightseeing. For 5 euros the train drove us to the old city which was a little bit disappointing because there was not much to see.
Cologne has a large number of well known museums. The three most important ones are the Museum Ludwig, the Römisch-Germanisches Museum and the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum. We believed that those museums were a bit boring so we visited another museum, the Chocolate Museum, which was really funny.We could see the entire production of chocolate and we could also taste a few times.
The main economic sectors of Cologne are the grocery industry, the automobile industry, the chemical industry and the media. Also tourism is an important source of income and employment for Cologne. The fair of Cologne Koelnmesse is one of the major European locations for two years and annual fairs.
Although there is not much to see in Cologne, we had a great time!
After France we made a stop in Belgium. We went to visit Brussels because there
is a lot of culture there. When we arrived we were happy that the weather was
nice. We have been away for several months now, and there is still no
government here. When we meet people abroad and we tell them we are from
Belgium, some of them came up with this fact. Actually, it was a little bit
strange to talk Dutch to other people again. Our French was already
well-practiced.
Though we are from Belgium, some of us didn't see some Belgian curiosities yet.
We behaved like real tourists in our own country and visited the Atomium and
Mini-Europe that is situated behind the Atomium. We passed the Royal Palace and
the beautiful park near it.
Because I haven't seen my parents for a while they came to Brussels and
we had dinner together. It was nice talking to them and hearing some news from
home. Unfortunately, after dinner they had to turn back home. The trip ends in
a month so it wont take too long till I see them again.
The next
day we went to the Marollen to visit the well-known flea market. While we were
there, we also went to see the courthouse. Of course, we couldn't leave
Brussels without seeing Manneke Pis! We couldnt stay long in Brussels because
we had to move forward to Germany.
