In January, a friend and I firmly vowed to one another that we would do our own mini weekend getaway together. We had quite a lot of flexibility on when we could travel so the big question was: where? I’d had Norway on my travel list for a while and, despite having grown up partially in Copenhagen which is only a short distance away, I’d never managed to visit the country. I was initially deterred because of how much Scandinanvia usually costs as a tourist, but after looking at both hotels and flights for off-peak March, we were sold - £200 for both for a 3 day getaway!
It was honestly a really sweet and uplifting time away. Everyone was incredibly friendly and we’d somehow managed to get ourselves a few freebies here and there (shoutout to the Radisson Blu Plaza for upgrading us to the 22nd floor of their hotel, Hos Thea for the wine top ups four times & Baker Hansen for the free lattes). We’re not famous at all haha so they were just genuinly very hospitable. This trip was also a pivotable point for me, as I wanted to explore a new medium and attempt to film the adventure rather than take photographs. It enabled me to think about capturing the city in a whole new perspective and let me dive into this new world of video editing.
Little did I know that after completing the edit of this video, this would probably be our last trip anywhere out of the country, let alone more than a mile from our homes, for quite a long time. The timing couldn’t have been better, all things considered, as only a week after we went on our trip, were the borders to both Norway, and pretty much every country in Europe, closed to guests. It’s a weird time to be alive right now and it feels like we are literally living through a groundbreaking point in modern history. In honesty, I am letting myself be ignorant of the perils of this situation we’re all facing and am focusing on being grateful for my health, friends & boyfriend whom I live with and having a company who seems to have gone to the ends of the earth to provide their employees with means to work from home. I’m in a very privileged position at the moment and my heart goes out to the people who are struggling, so I feel any complaint on my part is just a offense to the people who aren’t in a more fortunate position. I’m trying to translate all this new time I have into creative energy and shaping content to keep myself and other people entertained, as well as centreing attention on being appreciative for the small things.
Stay safe and healthy x