my week #239

This week, this picture was taken a bit earlier than usual because I'm in Edinburgh for the weekend. My sister and I have gone to watch Scotland play Australia at the rugby and decided to make a weekend of it :)

It's been quite a busy and tiring week though with many emotional up and downs on the ward so I feel that going to Edinburgh will be a good and timely escape :)

How has your week been?

stockholm: my first time traveling solo

Earlier this year, I booked a last-minute trip to Stockholm and decided to go on my own. It was my first time traveling solo so I wanted to go somewhere safe but also somewhere that had been on my 'travel wishlist' for quite some time. Stockholm fulfilled both these requirements and I wasn't disappointed! I honestly wouldn't describe myself as overly street-smart but I seemed to manage okay on my own with no trouble at all :)

I decided to book a super early flight so that I would have half a day of exploring soon after landing and on that day, I decided to do as much of Normalm as possible (as my hotel was in that vicinity) and the next two pictures were from that afternoon.

Firstly: Sergels Torg (the first picture) - one of Stockholm's most famous squares. I ended up here after getting lost (don't ask, I'm just awful with map reading) and ventured down into an underground shopping centre which had various clothing and convenience stores in and also what seemed like a department store! After that, I kept walking without caring if I got lost (after all, that's the best way to explore a city if you have no sense of direction like me) and I ended up at Hötorget (the second picture) which had various market stalls selling fruits, vegetables and clothing and other tourist type things.

Day two was one where I ventured into Gamla Stan. I spent the morning exploring the Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet) and then walked through the cobbled streets of Gamla Stan looking for somewhere to feed my hungry belly at lunch. The buildings were absolutely beautiful and I also saw the changing of the guard that midday too. In the afternoon, I was torn between Sodermalm and Ostermalm and for some reason, I chose the latter. There, I went to the History Museum (which was free and actually really, really good!) and then went for 'fika' in the afternoon. Fika is a Swedish tradition where coffee, baked goods and good company are key ingredients. As I was travelling alone, I made do with tea and a nice cardamom and cinnamon bun (coffee makes me hyper and the crash is no fun!).

I spent the early evening shopping around Kungsgaten and it was here that I bought the perfect pair of skinny jeans from Acne. It was inevitable that I would end up returning with some Swedish fashion and these jeans are the perfect souvenir.

Day three was one which involved Kungsholmen and Vasastan. The morning was spent at the City Hall (Stadhuset) where I went on a tour. I really enjoyed the tour and it was the start of a good day. I walked all the way along this pathway by the lake and eventually turned right towards Vasastan. At Vasastan, I had the most amazing sandwich at cafe Vurma for lunch. They were super nice there as well because I was overwhelmed by the menu choices which meant I asked for a recommendation. They were totally spot on with it too :)

Day four - This was my last full day in Stockholm so I opted to go over to Djurdgarden. I spent the morning at the Nordiska Museet and found everything fascinating (but I do class myself as a total nerd...). I then trekked over to Skansen, an open-air museum, and had a tiring but very fun afternoon exploring everything. I probably only ended up doing about a third to a half of the open-air museum which means I'll just have to come back to Stockholm at some point in the future (completely fine by me!).

After Skansen, I decided to go to the Vasamuseet before closing time but I definitely didn't find this as interesting. It was a 'must see' in my guidebook and I kind of wish I'd ignored it!

Overall, I found Stockholm amazing. The pace of life seemed perfect for me, it felt really safe (and as I was holidaying alone, this was important) and it is just a beautiful city. I'm already thinking about when I can visit again and maybe I'll do Malmo, Gothenburg and Copenhagen at the same time too. It's also made me consider moving there for a year to work as a doctor there and I've already started learning Swedish to make that dream happen :)

my week #238

This week, I started my assistantship on a Medicine firm and it is a complete change to the surgical firm I was on previously. Here, the patients are usually in hospital for a lot longer and as I'm a geriatrics ward, everyone has numerous co-morbidities and discharges take a lot longer to go through. I'm getting to do a lot of practical things, such as blood taking, cannulas, etc, so in that respect, I'm learning a lot.

Next weekend, I'm in Edinburgh with my sister and I'm very excited about this :)

How has your week been?

book: the christmas mystery by jostein gaarder

The Christmas Mystery is a book that is a perfect alternative to an advent calendar because it has twenty-five chapters. This is exactly how I read the book and with each chapter being only three or four pages long, the daily read doesn't feel like a chore. It is definitely a book aimed more at children but that didn't stop me enjoying it.

The blurb intrigued me (from Amazon.co.uk):

"Fifty years ago a girl disappeared from her home in Norway. She ran after a lamb and found herself travelling right across Europe to Palestine, and back through 2000 years to meet the Holy Family in Bethlehem. There she met angels, shepherds, wise men and other biblical characters who joined her on her pilgrimage; and she heard of many of the things that happened in the world in the last 2000 years. 

 In present-day Norway, a boy acquires a strange old Advent calendar. Hidden in each of the windows is a tiny piece of paper. Little by little these pieces unfold the girl's story and as we learn what happened to her, another story is revealed - that of the strange old man who made the calendar."

The story is simple and not too hard to follow even if it does seem a bit far-fetched to begin with. I like that each chapter is short enough for one to be read each day but still long enough to tell enough of the story for you to want to know more. The story really is a mystery and I thought I had it figured out at day twelve but I was proved wrong when we got to about day twenty-two.

I would definitely recommend this book if you want something different and less calorific than a chocolate advent calendar ;)