Traveling!

Hei Hei! 

My adventure began this past Wednesday the 11th around 9 in the morning. I said goodbye to a few close friends that morning on our front steps before stuffing my body-bag-sized duffel, my best friend Bella, and my doggos into the car. We drove into Minneapolis and stopped at our favorite restaurant, Cafe Latte in order to meet up with my aunt Heather. It was a lovely stop 💜and I am so glad I was able to see her before heading out. Soon after we learned that I needed a negative covid test to board my first plane. I had been tested the day before but had yet to receive my results. We panicked for a bit before figuring out I could get a rapid test done at the airport. After the process of checking bags and finding security, I said goodbye to my parents and Bella. It turned out to be quite a bit harder than I expected to say goodbye, and I'm not gonna lie, I cried through most of the first plane ride. 



My first flight from MPS to AMS (Amsterdam in the Netherlands) was 7 hours and 55 minutes. I left the United States at 5:35pm, and arrived in Amsterdam at 8:30am the next morning. The Amsterdam airport was busy and filled with people. It was more like a mall than an airport with tons of clothing and cosmetic shops. I wandered around for a while and then found a place with warm food to eat. I ended up with a tea, a waffle thing, and a melty cheese sandwich. Hit the spot. My layover in AMS was a miserable 7 hours and 45 minutes. At this point, I was exhausted due to no sleep on the first plane, but there was absolutely nowhere to sleep so I just wandered until two of my classmates showed up, Yhan from Texas and Chase from North Carolina. It felt good to finally be with a few of the people that I would be with for the next 9 months. At 4:15 our flight departed for Kristiansand, Norway and two hours later I finally stepped onto Norwegian soil. Very exciting moment. 

Amsterdam airport 

The Kristiansand airport was basically a warehouse with walls that didn't reach the ceiling. Very small, but we went through the COVID-19 testing process very efficiently. We got a rapid test done, and when the results came in negative 15 minutes later, we were sent to passport services. We gathered our luggage and met Marianne, our NLC teacher at my school (Agder). She is incredibly sweet and made me feel so much more comfortable knowing she was there looking out for us. She gave us each a few treats to take with us into quarantine, and then we were whisked away on a bus to our quarantine hotel in the town of Kristiansand. Below is a picture Marianne took of Chase, Yhan, and I. Feel free to email me at amniel237@gmail.com or comment here with questions :)

Yhan from Texas on the left and Chase from North Carolina on the right. 

Comments

  1. Mason BranstratorAugust 15, 2021 at 11:04 AM

    Is that Yhan on the right ? If so what’s around his neck ? Miss you !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Annika's Year at AgderAugust 15, 2021 at 11:20 AM

      Chase is on the right, I believe that is a passport purse haha :)

      Delete
    2. Mason BranstratorAugust 15, 2021 at 8:22 PM

      Dang he really looked like a Yhan and big travel guy I see

      Delete

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