Partying...and Ikea ;)

Hej!

Another week has passed...it was quite a busy week, lots of courses and quite a lot of work - but it was fun doing it. On Wednesday I went shopping - Swedish style - IKEA - yeah ;)
But I can tell you - Swedish Ikeas don't look different than the ones in Austria. Except that you don't understand anything and you don't know if that strange thing in your hand is supposed to be a carpet or a blanket. You just know that it's called "Ludde" and that it could work as a carpet but also as a blanket...well, those are the huge problems you have to cope with when you're in Ikea ;) Nevertheless, I found some nice things for my room - for example "Lykta", my beautiful "70s-like-retro" lamp. Or my new "I cost just 50 kr, so buy me and throw me away after 1 year" carpet called "Agger"...Finally my room is more comfortable and cosier than before.

On Thursday we had a big "Welcome Dinner" - it was the last part of the Orientation Days. A big dinner at K6 - it was funny and I met quite a lot new people, because you couldn't choose were to sit (you got a number for the seat and you had to sit there). So you couldn't stay with your friends, which was - of course - a bit sad, but also quite good, because so you had to talk to new people. The Host Students planned the whole evening and sang various songs, which was quite funny. Afterwards every nation had to go on stage and perform one song from their home countries. It was really funny when all the Germans (it must have been at least 60 people) entered the stage and sang a Sportfreunde Stiller song...and of course Austria had to sing too. We were just 6 people and sang "I am from Austria"...well, or at least we pretended to sing it, because only a few people knew the lyrics to it...I was just humming along, singing some words I knew. I guess I'm a bad bad Austrian for not knowing the lyrics of the unofficial Austrian hymn...

Afterwards most of the exchange students went to a nightclub nearby (ARENA) and of course I joined them ;) It was quite cool there, although the music was really really strange. People who know me know that I like dancing to almost every type of music, as long as the DJ is good and knows which songs go well together... But I think the DJ at the Arena was on drugs, because he played songs like "I'm a gummibear" and other Aprés Ski Hits, followed by Rhianna's "Umbrella" (in a cool Umbrella/Cinderella version [I found it (free&LEGAL) on last.fm (I [Right click - save target as...]) and some Techno and Rock stuff...My musical brain was really confused by all this style-jumping. Still, I had quite a lot of fun there, danced and laughed a lot.
On Saturday I went to the Nöjesfabriken ("Fun Fabric") - another big Nightclub in Kalrstad.

Before I tell you how I liked it, I'll tell something about Karlstad's Nightlife.
There are several bars and 3 Nightclubs - "Arena" (for people 18+), Nöjesfabriken (entrance for people 20+) and BlueMoon (23+). And - that's the most disturbing thing here in Sweden - ALL the Bars & Clubs close at 2 o'clock a.m. It's really strange compared to other countries (especially Spain/Ibiza, because there the party starts at 2...*g*). Of course this doesn't mean that the party is over after 2 o'clock,because a lot of people go to private parties afterwards...

The Nöjesfabriken - it's huge - really huge. There are 3 dancefloors (House/R'n'B, Rock/Alternative[with live bands], Swedish Schlager), a bowling alley, several Bars, Go-Kart, and a Restaurant - all in one building. It's massive...almost too big. Of course I had most fun in the House/R'n'B room - the dancefloor was really big and crowded, everybody was dancing and having fun. The "Schlager Room" was strange - I think you can compare it to the Aprés Ski Rooms in Discos like "Nachtschicht" or A14 - just without the kitschy plastic cottages.
Although the Nöjesfabriken is so huge, it was quite crowded - it seems as if everyone between 18 and 40 goes there to have fun. And of course all the fun costs something...80 Krones (about 8 €) for the entrance. One beer costs 50 krones (~5 €) - but thank god, I only drink coke (20 krones = ~2 €).
So, it was really cool and I think I'll go there again soon...

That's it for now...I've added a new gallery (click here )with some beautiful pictures from the Värmland-trip & some other party pictures...Enjoy :)