BERGEN, NORWAY: MY NORWEGIAN HOME

Whenever I asked anyone at home where in Norway I should go, the first place everyone replied was BERGEN. I didn't understand how this little city could have won the hearts of so many. Then I got off the ferry and had major heart eyes the entire time!

Bergen reminds me of home, people living at the bottom of the mountain and right on the water. I didn't feel like a tourist as I wandered the streets, it just felt like I was at home, which I seriously LOVED! 

I'd sit in the restaurants, walk through the streets, and look in stores and the locals would speak to me in Norwegian which was so dreamy! Except I couldn't understand what they were saying, so I'd just nod politely and hope I gave the right answer. All the waiters would ask where in Norway I was from and when I told them I was Australian, they were so shocked! They thought I was Norwegian! (Not that I'm complaining!) 

Hiking and getting lost the mountains every day was so surreal! Drinking Norwegian Solo (I'm having withdrawals) surrounded by trees, and birds, and people that soaked in every opportunity to be outdoors was so refreshing after just finishing my uni semester!

PREIKESTOLEN, NORWAY: MEET MAGGIE AND LARRY!

This hike is the entire reason I travelled to Stavanger. The pictures all over the internet of people looking out onto the gorgeous greenery was so dreamy! But turns out in Stavanger, the rain and fog can come over super quickly without any warning.

On the ferry, and bus over to the base of the hike, I met some AMAZING Americans: Maggie, and Larry (who I seriously love!) They are the most amazing people! So the three of us hiked up the mountain hoping for what felt like hours through the rain, cold, and fog. Two hours or so later, we finally made it up to the summit, and we couldn't see a thing ha! You could barely see the people in front of you! Which was such a shame, but it is by far one of the most beautiful escapes into the wilderness that I have ever experienced!

STAVANGER, NORWAY

This gorgeous little town is one of my favourite places in the world. Stavanger led me into this world where I felt like I was in a dream! I could go down to the pub and have a beer with the Viking supporters and sing horrible 80's Australian music with them, pay $48AUD for a pizza and some corn chips, and lose myself in dreams of Gamle Stavanger. 

Stavanger is filled with some of the most friendly Norwegians I have met, and that's really saying something! It's a town that I'll hold so close to my heart, and definitely be back at soon!

OSLO, NORWAY: THE REAL CITY THAT DOESN'T SLEEP

 * My future husband *

Landing in Oslo after hours and hours of travelling was one of the best moments I have ever experienced. After years of dreaming of being in Norway, I was finally here and I could not be happier. Armed with my cases, and Norwegian phrase book, I tried my hardest to navigate through the airport to make my way to the city centre. I ran into a group of retirees heading up to Svalbard and between the five of us, we made it to Oslo!

Being the poor solo traveller I am, I thought it would be a marvellous idea to walk from the station to my hostel - long story short, the torrential rain didn't ruin my camera equipment, but I was soaked from head to toe!

Once I checked in I made my first encounter with the creepy-40-year-old Swedish man I was sharing a dorm with, and he was half naked. So I locked away my luggage and ran out of there!

I spent the first day wandering the fortress on the harbour, and just looking around the city! It was so surreal! The bikes, the greenery, the atmosphere was like nothing I had ever experienced. What really got to me was that I would eat dinner at a restaurant past 10pm, and the streets were still packed! The sun doesn't set until super late, and the streets were alive even past sunset!

That next day, I ate my very Norwegian brown cheese, butter, and strawberry jam before back out in the city! I spent the day falling in love with statues, crying in the Nobel prize museum, and writing letters in the park behind the Royal Palace while eating jordbær, before eating at my favourite Norwegian restaurant Olivia's!

BOOST 2017

Heading down to Watersleigh with my church friends and family was the perfect weekend away from the hustle and bustle of uni semester life. We spent the weekend going through a series of sermons, and talks given by Tony Payne and it has given me an entirely new outlook on my faith and what I believe!

Tony Payne gave a series of sermons that were so insightful for Christians at all stages of your faith. He focused on the transition from the Dominion of Darkness to the Kingdom of the Son, and the way we are all making our way along the spectrum, and even though that when we were potentially in the Dominion of Darkness we made decisions that were not very highly of us, we can still make it to the Kingdom of the Son if we accept our mistakes and sins, and ask for forgiveness.

The weekend was full of love, and laughter, with everyone leaving inspired and smelling of campfires after our huge bonfire!

I'M 20!

I'm no longer a teenager (apparently) so to celebrate, all my closest and I went to a little bar in Thirroul. There were cocktails flowing, and all sorts of people dropping in and out, which made for a really laid back night.

It was so good to head over to Beaches for some dinner afterwards. Everyone I knew from uni came along to hang out, play pool and have a beer. It was so perfect just relaxing with a night off study. Pro tip: don't have me on your team if you want to win pool ;)

We headed out to Wollongong and all piled in cars towards Red Square. Not to say the drive there wasn't so rad! Driving with my head out the 'roof window' while waving at the passers by was seriously so fun and I'm so surprised I didn't hurt myself ha!

I QUIT SOCIAL MEDIA FOR 46 DAYS

So I deleted all social media apps from my phone on the night of Ash Wednesday, and didn't redownload them until the night of Easter Sunday and here's what happened:

I didn't know what everyone was doing with their lives at every minute of the day, so when I saw them in person, we were able to have proper conversations. And with those conversations, I was able to give my full attention to the conversation instead of letting my eyes trail to my phone every few minutes.

I was able to invest my time into projects that I wasn't getting distracted by. I had all my uni notes and assignments finished and organised well before their due dates. I was spending less time scrolling through the endless feeds of apps and instead focusing on my subjects. 

I was able to spend the extra time I would have usually had spend scrolling doing things I'd much rather do. Like go and get coffee, or go for a walk. I spent a lot more time doing things that were beneficial to my wellbeing.

I slept so much better! Where I normally go to bed at 9:30 and sit on my phone for a few hours, I was just going straight to bed. I was falling asleep at the drop of a hat and sleeping better throughout the night without the interruptions of notifications alerting me every half hour. 

I also wasn't napping as often as I normally do. Generally, I have to have a 3 hour nap at around 2pm to make it through the evening, but when I deleted the apps, I found I didn't need them as often. Yes, I still had them, but instead of being every day, it started to become around 4 days of the week. And this was saving me some serious time!

My health seemed to be improving. I wasn't getting as many headaches from all the white light screen time I was subjecting myself to, and it was so refreshing! Especially no that I'm looking back on Facebook and Instagram, I notice my eyes straining very quickly compared to when they used to.

I gained control of my time. I was early for events and on time for lunches. I found I wasn't scrolling through my phone losing track of time, instead, I was using that time to organise myself for the day- writing to do lists and actually completing them! 

So if you've got a lot coming up in the next few weeks, I would not hesitate to delete social media apps from your phone. I've just deleted them off my phone again indefinitely because I find I'm so productive without them, and that I don't need social media apps to connect with those in my life. So give it a go- you might even surprise yourself!