Goodbye Sweden, Hello Lofoten!
Hello there. As you might have suspected from the header I am no longer in Sweden and it’s with a big smile I am writing to you once again from Henningsvaer, a small little island above the arctic circle in -drum-roll please- Norway! It’s not quite the same as being on a warm channel island in the UK, but it’s not a bad plan B hey? I am super happy to be here, it’s just very funny how I had just come to terms with being in Eskilstuna for the summer when this opportunity arose.
If you’ve followed me for a while you might remember that I was here last summer as well, working as a Bartender/barista at Klatrekafeen here in Henningsvaer and now I am back to work here again! I’ve kept in touch with my old boss and when my job in the UK fell through and I got offered a job here, I jumped on the opportunity! I talked to the cafe I had just started worked at back home, luckily I was only casually employed there and not only did they completely understand, but they are going to leave my contract open so I’ll have a stand-by job for this autumn as well (which will be amazing if travel bans are still in place because you know me, this girl gets bored super easily) and I couldn’t be happier about this! I was soo nervous about having the talk, I really liked it there and didn’t want to disappoint anyone so I am super happy with their response!
Oh boy, I just realized that in a matter of weeks, my summer plans twisted and turned and somehow turned out in the best way possible given the situation. When I left Lofoten last year I still felt like there was a few things I wanted to check of my forever growing bucket-list and life has guided me back here, So I take it life must have felt that I needed to check these last few things of my list. Feeling all the appreciation and gratitude right now.
TRAVEL DURING A PANDEMIC?
I am back in Lofoten
I have been getting a few questions and thought I’d try to answer the most common ones here so there is no confusion. Haven’t Norway closed its borders? Yes & No. They have closed their borders for tourism (Some countries are allowed in from 15th of June) but the rules for Sweden is that if you have a contract of employment & your passport you are allowed to enter! So to disappoint a few, I didn’t have to sneak through the border, haha. You will however need to do a 10 day self-quarantine when you arrive but you’re still allowed to go outside for walks (hehe hikes) & exercise as long as you keep your distance from other people. It’s a lot of information and it changes frequently which makes it all a bit blurry and I think it might also be different depending on which country you’re from but as far as I know, that’s the current rules for us Swede’s. If you’re about to head into Norway yourself, or planning a trip here you are able keep up to date with the Travel ban & quarantine rules via helsenorge & regjeringen which is what I’ve been doing.
How did you get to Norway? Being Swedish, I drove across the border with my friend who is also gonna work here this summer and we are in quarantine together which has made the days a little less lonely. Tonight marks the last night in Quarantine though and tomorrow we are FREE to go hang out with friends, go to bars, eat out etc. and I have been craving a coffee from my favorite cafe ever since we got here!! I have been passing it on the streets, so close but still so far away.. (haha, quarantine might have made me a bit over dramatic).
The drive up is quite far, we drove in shifts and only stopped for food, gas & to spend the night in a hotel. Is felt very strange to be traveling in these times, but we were super careful not to do any unnecessary stops, used hand sanitizer before we got out of the car and when we got back in to the car and since none of us have gotten sick, I would like to assume that our precautions helped and that we didn’t catch the virus! Phew. * self five *
2020 has so far been very interesting. Australia’s been on fire, I lost my job due to a global pandemic and was forced back to my hometown indefinitely, managed to get a job on stand-by there and scored a seasonal job overseas in the middle of the chaos. What is going on. Is this all a dream? Am I gonna wake up soon? God, I hope not. * another self five *
If you have any more questions about the Quarantine, or about traveling during a pandemic, feel free to drop me a message! With that said, I hope you liked this post and all I ask of you in case you like my blog and wants me to continue creating content is to not only pop in for a visit every now and then but to also Like, Save, Comment & share my posts on social media. That way I am able to see if what I’m writing is appreciated by you. That was everything for now, and until next time, take care! xo Nathalie
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