travel

Christine reporting from Oslo

One of my favourite things about Oslo is that it is neither too big, nor too small.  It is the third largest city in Scandinavia, with a little over 500 000 inhabitants, and the capital of Norway, but it is still a manageable size and easy to get around.  It has shopping, entertainment and leisure activities for everyone, but today I’m going to show you my favourite spots.

My daily errands usually take me to the city centre, the area around the city’s main street Karl Johans gate.  The Royal Castle lies in one end of the street, and the central station in the other.  A lot of the big chains, like H&M, Zara, etc have stores along Karl Johan, and there are also several large department stores, and of course a lot of cafes and restaurants.

Heather reporting from Capetown

Today...a completely different continent... Africa...more precisely...its south-tip... South Africa's Capetown...hometown of Heather from skinnylaminx...Heather and I met when Bloesem was still written in Dutch and she was practicing her Dutch by reading Bloesem and giving comments in Dutch...as you know, although two distinct languages, Afrikaans and Dutch are very much related...since then Heather and I have become close blog friends...I am very happy she is sharing her favorite Capetown finds with us...

"Just up the road from me is a charming little shop called Heartworks, run by Margaret Woermann. It’s a bright and colourful place, full of amazing things but very carefully put together so you can see it all.

Lily reporting from Paris

Lily Descazeaux from the very beautiful and inspiring French blog les Carnets du design ... lives very near the Montmartre area and in the image above you can see the view from her window...

I would like first of all thank Irene for having me on Bloesem it's a true honor. Bloesem is one of my favorite blog on the internet planet!
"I live for twelve years at the bottom of Montmartre. I love this area which is like a village; When you start to go up the hill you left the noisy and restless Paris behind you. At the bend of each small streets there is a surprise, beautiful houses hidden in privates passages, artists workshops , new shops, galleries and when you reach the top of the hill there is the extraordinary view of Paris. Below, second hand trade on Place des Abbesses last weekend.

Pia reporting from Amsterdam

I’m a wanderer.  I love to wander wherever I am and try to make the time to do so as often as I can. My new home is Amsterdam, and I am head over heels for it’s quaint bridges, canals, and wonky old buildings. I love putting on my strolling shoes and wandering in Amsterdam, and this is one of my favourite wanders in this gorgeous city:
 

Diana reporting from Munich

I came to Munich with the idea of visiting my “husband to be” and to follow a German language
course, just for a couple of weeks. I stayed ever since (and yes: I got married!). It’s hard not to like
this city. Elegant, green, safe, pretty and with an ease of living that is almost southern European.

And then there are the shops. Oh the shops! Away from the glamour of the Maximilianstrasse there
are many, many small shops with individual style and handcrafted products. Although Munich
probably isn’t an international hotspot for avant-garde design, it has a long arts and crafts tradition,
the results of which can be found throughout the city in studios and ateliers from young designers, in stores that specialize on arts and crafts supplies or in traditional family businesses.