About half an hour by train from Budapest there is a small town called Vác where you can experience a relaxing atmosphere with the local Hungarians. Every summer in the last week of July they also have festivals in the town, which attracts visitors from near and far. The locals like spending the summer nights in the pubs and you can easily hang out in the main square situated not too far from the train station, or perhaps have a beer while enjoying the view of the Danube river.

The Giraffe Hop on Hop off Bus

This week I have been visiting my brother and the rest of my extended family in Budapest, Hungary.
Last time I visited the country was back in 2007, so many years have already past since I last sat my foot in this magnificent place. Although I spent almost a month with my family here last time I still hadn't had the chance to see a lot of the Hungarian capital. With only a few days available for sightseeing my brother recommended me getting a ticket with one of the tourist buses here, and we ended up going for the Giraffe Hop on Hop off tour.

The view from our Giraffe tour bus.

A lady in a traditional Hungarian attire.

The company offered a 2-day bus ticket for 5000 forint, or 4500 for students. I asked if it was possible to have a one-day break between the two days, but apparently that was not possible. Instead, the guy who sold us the ticket gave us one day extra for free. A big plus for the good service! :)

St Stephan's Basilica

The ticket with Giraffe offers you 3 different lines which enables you to reach all the main tourist spots in the city. The red line and the yellow line are buses and the blue line is a river cruise on the Danube river. Since the tickets give you unlimited access to these services during the two-day span of the ticket you have the chance to get off the bus at the distinguished bus stops and walk around freely to take a look at whatever you might be interested in on the way.

Enjoying the view of Budapest.

All the main tourist attractions are easily accessible from the bus, and with my brother along as my own personal guide I felt that I really got to see a lot of what Budapest has to offer. Among the places we passed by were the St Stephan's Basilica (a Roman Catholic basilica named after the first king of Hungary), the Heroes's Square, Buda Castle and the House of Parliament.

The gate to Vajdahunyad Castle

Vajdahunyad Castle seen from the entrance gate

The ceiling inside the Museum of Agriculture

The Hungarian Parliament seen from the Buda Castle

The Fisherman's Bastion

Shoes by the Danube river left as a memorial for the jews killed during WW2

My brother did a great job guiding me around in Budapest

Details from a building we passed by

Orchids and the ceiling of the luxurious Alexandra Bookstore Café

Wherever you go in Budapest there is something beautiful to see, both in terms of old architecture and art. Compared to Tokyo and Seoul it felt like being in a small village, and I really appreciated seeing something different than the usual box-like skyscrapers. I'm sure I will go back to Budapest again in the future, if I get the chance.

Other posts:
Sightseeing in Hungary: Vác

The Nishiitoya situated right by the river, and surrounded by mountains.

Our Japanese style bedroom

.. And with a typical tokonoma (床の間) alcove

Both dinner and breakfast was included in the stay, and in the evening we had a delicious washoku (和食) Japanese style dinner.

An overview of the food we has for dinner Yummy!

The changing room

The common room, which offered a wide selection of books about outdoor activities

Our favorite was still the cafe, where they offered free drinks for staying guests and a nice view of the outside river.

After having hiked the nearby Mt. Chogatake it was refreshing to spend a day relaxing in the beautiful Kamikōchi. I already look forward to the next time my boyfriend gets some days off work. This time we're going to visit my hometown in Bergen, Norway.

When talking about mountains in Japan the thing that first comes to mind for most people is probably Mt. Fuji, a famous Japanese landmark which additionally has become the country's newest World Heritage site. However, there are many other mountains in Japan that can offer an interesting experience for those who are longing for adventures outside of Japan's sprawling city life.

Although I lived in Kyoto for two years as an exchange student to I never had the chance to visit Kitano Tenmangu (北野天満宮)'s monthly flea-market even once (although I visited the shrine during one of their autumn light-up events at the Kitano Tenmangu garden).
Now I'm back in Japan for work, and before moving to Tokyo I spent a week in Kyoto, during which I finally got myself together and went to the "Tenjin-san" (天神さん) flea market  to take a look at what kind of things they were selling there.

This news was provided by Community Korea. You can like their Facebook page to get a lot of information to make your stay in Korea more fun!

Hey guys, for those of you who plan to visit Korea or already in Korea for your studies or exchange program, here’s a great tip to stay connected with your friends. (AND avoid wasting your time and energy on Korea’s complicated cell phone registration requirements for foreigners!)
http://www.ktexpatblog.com/?page_id=32
Above is KT’s website (in ENGLISH), Korea’s largest cell phone provider. Use the link above and have a look under the ‘Prepaid Rate Plans’ section. Basically it’s a prepaid SIM card plan, and you can choose the amount of credit to be loaded to your phone starting from 3,000KRW to maximum 50,000KRW. (They even let you talk for 100 minutes FREE if the person you’re calling is using KT) AND most importantly… there are NO ENROLMMENT FEES, NO CANCELLATION FEES AND NO MANDATORY REGISTRATION!! Oooh yes. Saves you so much hassle. 
Visit your nearest KT store, (There are literally hundreds of them on the streets…Even if you’re not in Seoul…you’ll find it!) and ask for ‘KT SIMple SIM card’. Guys there will set up your phone in less than 5 minutes. Plus, the card is free if you top up more than 10,000KRW for the first time. 
Hopefully this helps you guys settling down in Korea. Enjoy your stay!!

My year as an exchange student in Korea is over! I have learned a lot during the time I spent at Kyung Hee's GIP campus, and met so many great people during this year. Although I have spent a lot of my time in the GIP (perhaps too much time) studying by myself I have still been fortunate to make some great friends along the way, and I believe that the best thing about our school might be the chance to meet such talented and kind people from all over the world.

I am really thankful for all the experiences I have made at the school. There have been both good times and hard times, but all in all I believe that my stay in the GIP has helped me improve myself as a person and inspired me to pursuit a career where I also can be of inspiration to others. The knowledge I have gained at the GIP will definitely be used to the fullest so that I can become a better person in the future. Kyung Hee has taught me a lot about our society, and inspired me to work for global peace and prosperity through whatever path I might find myself walking on in the future.

Thanks to all of you who have been supporting me throughout this year! I really appreciate each one of you a lot :)

Today was my last day in Korea, and while taking the 3 hour long trip from my campus to the center of Seoul I was thinking that there could impossibly be anything worth experiencing on this trip that I have gone through so many times. But I couldn't have been more mistaken. When I got onto the blue line at Hoegi station I quickly realized that the interior looked quite different from what I had seen before in Korea. The usual row of seats had been placed, and instead there were a section where travelers could get a medical checkup and health advices from a doctor.

This blogpost is dedicated to my friend and roommate during the past semester, the intelligent and warm-hearted Nazzina from Bangladesh! Although the GIP has a general rule that foreigners should share room with Koreans I ended up loosing my Korean roommate due to some unfortunate complications with her undergraduate school, and in the end the office let me and Nazzina share room instead.

A fair trade pencil case from Bangladesh

Today there is an event called the "Warrior Dash" being held in Japan's Kanagawa prefecture (神奈川県)  where people dress up in funny costumes and run an obstacle course with their costumes on.. It looks pretty interesting!
My bf is participating in it, and he showed me his costume on Skype the other day. Apparently he had stitched it himself.. He is such a creative guy. My dear caveman <3 Too bad I'm in Korea right now, or I would have loved to join the race too. また今度！

My boyfriend, the caveman.. :)

Apparently the company that arrange the race is planning on having Warrior Dash-races in a lot of different countries this summer, including the US, Denmark, Norway, Italy, New Zealand and Australia..
I guess it will look similar to this (pictures from their Facebook page):

Warrior Dash: The funny participants

Warrior Dash: The obstacles

Warrior Dash: The Goal

For more information about this summer's Warrior Dash events, check out their homepage