#NedEst

[jovianwishes]

Happy christmer

[scarlettlillies]

Hetalia - Tulips

At long last! A new fic! \ o /

It's been so long since I last posted any stories. Writing has been such a struggle these last few years. In addition to my work life keeping me busy, my perfectionist ways were preventing me from finishing something as simple as a paragraph and it really killed my desire to do any writing. But the spark recently returned a few weeks back and it felt so good to write again! I'm hoping it sticks around for good this time. I'm still very rusty but I'm very happy with how this fic came out!

This story isn't entirely new. This fic has been sitting in my drafts for the last 10+ years and has gone through multiple rewrites because I couldn't settle on how things should progress. Whether or not you see their relationship as friendship or romantic is sort of left up to you.

If you prefer to read this at Ao3, you can click the link here.

Hope you all enjoy!

Summary: When Netherlands found out that Estonia liked to garden, he was skeptical. He thought Estonia was just trying to make conversation. During a quick phone call on a warm September evening, Estonia had one favour to ask him: bring some tulip bulbs. Turns out, he really did like to get his hands dirty.

----

No matter how many times Netherlands stopped by Estonia’s home, it was always a shock to see him covered in dirt.

Their friendship was very new. His impression of Estonia was slick, neat, and modern. When their paths would cross, he was always well-dressed in expensive suits and noticeably owned the latest devices available on the market. Estonia seemed to be stunned when Netherlands shared his observations about him over coffee. It was their first time sharing a table together during a brief morning recess at an EU meeting in Paris. Estonia admitted he had a bad habit of changing his devices regularly and was struggling to break it. He was conscious of how others perceived him, therefore being known as an IT nation was important to him. He had convinced himself that being seen with a device that was more than a few years old would tarnish his reputation. His clothing, however, he insisted was fairly cheap. He was no different than anyone else; he shopped at one of the local malls nearby his home and bought what was within his price point. Netherlands found his words hard to believe but when he wanted to press him for more questions, they were called back to continue with the day’s agenda.

That was some time ago. Five? Maybe ten years ago? He doesn’t quite remember. Time was always a strange concept for their kind anyhow.

Over their short time together though, Netherlands had begun to learn more things about him. He had an interesting palette for alcohol, was a natural when it came to music and technology, and liked the outdoors. But most importantly he was business-orientated. He knew how to sell you on anything — whether it was a wacky dish at his favourite restaurant that you just had to try or you needed help selling your hand-made crafts at the local marketplace —m aking a quick buck seemed to come naturally for him. Netherlands liked that in a man.

But when he found out that Estonia liked to garden, he was skeptical. They had been sharing drinks in a Brussels jazz bar after a long meeting and thought Estonia was just trying to make conversation. He didn’t look the type to get his hands dirty (then again neither did he), especially to those outside of his main friend group. Even when Estonia shared his knowledge of botany, he chalked it up to just being the intelligent guy that Estonia was known for.

“You should come to my place in the spring! I think you’ll like the setup that I’ve got.”

Netherlands took him up on that offer. To his surprise, he definitely liked what he saw.

His yard wasn’t very large but it boasted enough room to hold a patio set that was perfect for entertaining a small group of guests. A wooden shed that was painted dark brown was tucked away in the far left corner of the yard. A small rectangular glass table had been placed next to the shed where several mason jars containing herbs were growing happily in the sunlight. Each jar had its own white sticker label with all of the names written in Estonian. Everything was connected by a winding path of large stepping stones. Flower beds were decorated all around the perimeter of a classic white picket fence. A small plot of the yard was wired off for growing vegetables like lettuce and cucumbers. Various other pots were scattered around and contained different kinds of berries, tomatoes, and peppers. It was a cozy sight that made him feel right at home.

He had been back only a small handful of times since then. Their schedules just never seemed to align. Dates that did would always end up getting cancelled last minute. But a phone call on an unusually warm September night during a listening session of Rita Hovink’s first album would connect them once more. Estonia was very adamant about seeing him no later than next Saturday. When Netherlands circled the date in a red marker on the calendar hanging up on the wall of his tiny kitchen, Estonia made sure to include one last request before their call ended:

If you can, can you bring me some tulip bulbs? About three dozen or so? I’d be willing to reimburse you for it.

That seemed easy enough.

Netherlands gave Estonia a slight nudge against his right shoulder with the two brown paper bags he was carrying. With his knees deep in topsoil and dressed in messy blue overalls that were covered in grass stains, Estonia looked up with a big grin and a sunburnt nose.

It really did feel like Estonia was a whole different person.

What other sides of you are you hiding?

“Perfect timing as always!” he said cheerfully as he grabbed both bags. They crinkled loudly when he pulled them open and proceeded to tip each bag over to dump the contents onto the grass. He began counting each bulb carefully by putting them together in groups of ten. When Estonia got closer to the number thirty, he became more vocal in counting each number in his native tongue. Finally, at thirty, Estonia made a delighted grin and immediately began planting each bulb. He had two small plots with holes for each one all set to go. Netherlands crouched down at Estonia’s level and carefully watched him work. He noted how quick but delicate Estonia was with his hands.

“Don’t you think it’s a little early to be planting these? I usually wait until October.”

“It gets pretty cold here at this time of the year compared to most of Europe. I’ve already lost some of my berries to frost so I spent the last few days salvaging what I could.”

Ah, so that’s where those came from. When he had passed through the kitchen to get to the yard, he remembered seeing several glass containers and mini woven baskets spread out across the kitchen counter that were overflowing with various kinds of fruit like blueberries and strawberries.

“Fair enough.”

Despite the cool breeze, Netherlands was too warm with the sun’s rays beaming down on him and was forced to walk over to the patio set to remove his coat. He hung his brown trench coat over one of the chairs, which were noticeably one of the few items left in the yard that hadn’t been covered with a black tarp. On the table, he noticed extra gardening tools, gloves, and multiple clear bags of different types of flower bulbs and seeds. Just like the mason jars from before, the bags had white sticker labels on them, all handwritten in Estonian with a black marker. Netherlands didn’t bother asking and immediately put on the spare gloves, which were a size too small for the Dutch man’s large hands, and took the items to an empty plot next to Estonia.

Estonia jolted at the sound of the tools being picked up off the glass patio table and his eyes grew wide. Having guests work in his home was a big faux pas to him that he had to put a stop to.

“Wait! You’re a guest in my home. You don’t need to—”

Netherlands was quick to cut him off and delivered Estonia a stern look, “Quiet. I want to help.”

Estonia’s lips had parted as if he wanted to protest but the words just wouldn’t come. With an audible sigh, he immediately dropped the conversation and returned to planting the bulbs. Estonia was not the type to waste time arguing with others and Netherlands had picked up on that quickly when they first met. The men continued on in complete silence, with Netherlands only speaking up when he wanted to know what the labels on the bags translated to in English.

But the extra pair of hands proved to be more helpful than Estonia would have liked to admit. What he could have accomplished in a few hours had been cut in half.

Estonia ripped the gloves from his hands and tossed them to the ground. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. He could already feel the aches settling into his back and knees.

“I appreciate the help. But you know you didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s fine.” Netherlands stressed, “I wanted to help so don’t worry about it. Gardening is a hobby that helps me relax.”

“How can I repay you?”

“Some of those berries in the kitchen would be a good start.”

Estonia caught Netherlands’s soft grin and he couldn’t help but snort.

“That can definitely be arranged.”

----

In the early morning hours, Netherlands decided to go for a bike ride.

He had been staying in the town of Lisse, one of his favourite vacation spots. He had made it a tradition to visit once a year as a reward for surviving the cold winters in the city; although these days it seemed like winter was non-existent. It’s been some time since he had last seen a genuine snowfall on the streets of Amsterdam.

The town was famous among locals and tourists alike for the endless sea of tulips that filled the land. The scenery continued into the outskirts of town where more tulips lined the fields and the stereotypical Dutch-style windmills towered the skies. Each row sported a colour of its own: red, orange, yellow, and white respectively. Netherlands made a quick pit stop at the side of the road to take in the sights. With the morning sun fully risen, it was moments like these that served as a reminder of why spring was his favourite season of them all.

Recalling the conversations he shared with his siblings weeks prior, Netherlands decided to capture the sights. However, he had to be quick. The mornings were still cool and he knew his hands would freeze quickly if he stood by the fields for too long. He could see his warm breath in the air when he tossed his black leather gloves into the metal basket on the front of his bike. He reached into the right-side pocket of his orange puffer jacket and quickly began snapping photos. After taking the fourth shot, a notification popped up on the screen with a bell-sounding tune following after. It was a message from Estonia, who he hadn’t seen in person since their gardening escapades last autumn. There was no text attached, just a photo of light pink peonies. Before Netherlands could reply, another photo popped up, this time of yellow daffodils.

The photos kept coming; one of red roses that hadn’t fully bloomed, one with a mixture of red, purple, and yellow pansies, and one of light and dark blue cornflowers. The final image though made his heart soar. It was a shot of the tulips they had planted together. When he had brought the bulbs over, he had no idea what colours they would bloom into. They were extras he had picked up from a bin labelled ‘Assorted Tulips’ from a downtown shop. They hadn’t fully bloomed yet, but he could see the beautiful colours of red, orange, and yellow all mixed together.

Finally, a text had come through.

They’re coming along nicely. Thanks for your help.

Netherlands wasn’t sure if it was intentional but Estonia slipped in a red heart-shaped emoji at the end of that sentence. He found it both cheesy and somewhat charming . He’s once again learned something new about him.

So when are you inviting me over to see the rest?

A minute had passed and a reply came through.

How does next weekend sound?

He cracked a smile and typed a quick response.

It’s a date. I’ll bring us some gin.

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

Their Favorite Eurovision 2024 Songs (Headcanons)

(Rise!Turtles + Bonus!)

A/N: I just HAD to do this! I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now, and I thought it was very fitting to do it for the Rise boys, because, well, they have made it obvious that they love music (and I just couldn’t focus on anything else before I had made this…). And with the running order of the semi finales being revealed today, I just thought it was fitting.

Warnings: Flashing lights💚

Raphael:

1 points: Georgia🇬🇪 Firefighter - Nusta

2 points: Moldova🇲🇩 In the Middle - Natalia Barbu

3 points: Ukraine🇺🇦 Teresa & Maria - alyona alyona, Jerry Heil

4 points: The Netherlands🇳🇱 Europapa - Joost

5 points: Belgium🇧🇪 Before The Party Is Over - Mustii 

6 points: Lithuania🇱🇹 Luktelk - Silvester Belt

7 points: Sweden🇸🇪 Unforgettable - Marcus & Martinus

8 points: Switzerland🇨🇭 The Code - Nemo

10 points: Albania🇦🇱 TiTAN - Besa

12 points: Austria🇦🇹 We Will Rave - Kaleen

Leonardo:

1 points: Armenia🇦🇲 Jako - Ladaniva

2 points: Malta🇲🇹 Loop - Sarah Bonnici

3 points: Cyprus🇨🇾 Liar - Silia Kapsis

4 points: Belgium🇧🇪 Before The Party Is Over - Mustii

5 points: The Netherlands🇳🇱 Europapa - Joost

6 points: Greece🇬🇷 ZARI - Marina Satti

7 points: Portugal🇵🇹 Grito - iolanda

8 points: Switzerland🇨🇭 The Code - Nemo

10 points: Spain🇪🇸 ZORRA - Nebulossa

12 points: Italy🇮🇹 La noia - Angelina Mango

Donatello:

1 points: Latvia🇱🇻 Hollow - Dons

2 points: Australia🇦🇺 One Milkali (One Blood) - Electric Fields

3 points: France🇫🇷 Mon amour - Slimane

4 points: Slovenia🇸🇮 Veronika - Raiven

5 points: Luxembourg🇱🇺 Fighter - TALI

6 points: Lithuania🇱🇹 Luktelk - Silvester Belt

7 points: Sweden🇸🇪 Unforgettable - Marcus & Martinus

8 points: Switzerland🇨🇭 The Code - Nemo

10 points: Belgium🇧🇪 Before The Party Is Over - Mustii

12 points: The Netherlands🇳🇱 Europapa - Joost Klein

Michelangelo:

1 points: Sweden🇸🇪 Unforgettable - Marius & Martinus

2 points: San Marino🇸🇲 11:11 - Megara

3 points: Finland🇫🇮 No Rules! - Windows95Man

4 points: Estonia🇪🇪 (nedest) narkootikumidest et tea me (küll) midagi - 5MIINUST, Puuluup

5 points: Australia🇦🇺 One Milkali (One Blood) - Electric Fields

6 points: Armenia🇦🇲 Jako - Ladaniva

7 points: Switzerland🇨🇭 The Code - Nemo

8 points: Greece🇬🇷 ZARI - Marina Satti

10 points: The Netherlands🇳🇱 Europapa - Joost

12 points: Croatia🇭🇷 Rim Tim Tagi Dim - Baby Lasagna

Bonus!

Splinter:

1 points: Luxembourg🇱🇺 Fighter - TALI

2 points: Germany🇩🇪 Always on the run - ISAAK

3 points: Iceland🇮🇸 Scared of Heights - Hera Björk

4 points: Sweden🇸🇪 Unforgettable - Marcus & Martinus

5 points: France🇫🇷 Mon amour - Slimane

6 points: Portugal🇵🇹 Grito - iolanda

7 points: United Kingdom🇬🇧 Dizzy - Olly Alexander

8 points: Latvia🇱🇻 Hollow - Dons

10 points: Azerbaijan🇦🇿 Özülne Apar - Fahree (ft. Ilkin Dovletov)

12 points: Ukraine🇺🇦 Teresa & Maria - alyona alyona, Jerry Heil

Baron Draxum:

1 points: Ireland🇮🇪 Doomsday Blue - Bambie Thug

2 points: United Kingdom🇬🇧 Dizzy - Olly Alexander

3 points: Slovenia🇸🇮 Veronika - Raiven

4 points: Ukraine🇺🇦 Teresa & Maria - alyona alyona, Jerry Heil

5 points: Norway🇳🇴 Ulveham - Gåte

6 points: Azerbaijan🇦🇿 Özülne Apar - Fahree (ft. Ilkin Dovletov)

7 points: Portugal🇵🇹 Grito - iolanda

8 points: Serbia🇷🇸 Ramondo - Teya Dora

10 points: Latvia🇱🇻 Hollow - Dons

12 points: France🇫🇷 Mon amour - Slimane

April:

1 points: Norway🇳🇴 Ulveham - Gåte

2 points: Georgia🇬🇪 Firefighter - Nusta

3 points: Czech🇨🇿 Pedestal - AIKO

4 points: Poland🇵🇱 The Tower - LUNA

5 points: Cyprus🇨🇾 Liar - Silia Kapsis

6 points: Portugal🇵🇹 Grito - iolanda

7 points: Luxembourg🇱🇺 Fighter - TALI

8 points: The Netherlands🇳🇱 Europapa - Joost

10 points: Italy🇮🇹 La noia - Angelina Mango

12 points: Switzerland🇨🇭 The Code - Nemo

Cassandra:

1 points: Latvia🇱🇻 Hollow - Dons

2 points: Poland🇵🇱 The Tower - LUNA

3 points: Ukraine🇺🇦 Teresa & Maria - alyona alyona, Jerry Heil

4 points: Lithuania🇱🇹 Luktelk - Silvester Belt

5 points: Azerbaijan🇦🇿 Özülne Apar - Fahree (ft. Ilkin Dovletov)

6 points: Slovenia🇸🇮 Veronika - Raiven

7 points: Czech🇨🇿 Pedestal - AIKO

8 points: Portugal🇵🇹 Grito - iolanda

10 points: Norway🇳🇴 Ulveham - Gåte

12 points: Ireland🇮🇪 Doomsday Blue - Bambie Thug

[dutch-nt]

Netherlands v Estonia | UEFA EURO 2020 Qualifiers, Group C ©Laurens Lindhout/Soccrates/Getty Images | 19.11.2019

[eu-football-info]

Netherlands national football team

Netherlands vs Estonia

[arsenalfrauen]

i stg i just heard the sound of links rechts, am i going crazy or am i just evolving to hear the full force of the oranjeleeuwinnen fan base at all times

[nedwnt]

oranjeleeuwinnen via twitter & instagram: “Nog 2⃣ dagen tot (2 days till) #NEDEST...⏳”

[midtvasksafetyfirst]

Nino... fundet på den aller nedeste lagen i bundt . Husk at kigge godt efter

[jovianwishes]

Nedest as bday gift for my friend😌

[scarlettlillies]

🌹️🌹️🌹️🌹️🌹️ one rose for the meme, the rest for youuuu :D whatchu been working on lately, Lilly? (also ❤️❤️ ty for the ask! alas I will have to get to it later this week)

From this meme here

Sara <333 You're the sweetest. Thank you!

I recently updated my WIP page and have a few fics that I'm working on behind the scenes! One of them is an old NedEst ficlet I started about a decade ago and decided to pick it up again by giving it a rewrite. Here's a small snippet of the beginning. :D

No matter how many times Netherlands stopped by Estonia’s home, it was always a shock to see him covered in dirt.

Their friendship was very new. His impression of Estonia was slick, neat, and modern. He looked like a million dollars dressed in expensive suits and always carrying the latest devices. Estonia always insisted that his clothes were actually cheap but Netherlands refused to buy that. He had an interesting palette for alcohol, and liked the outdoors, but most importantly he was business-orientated and therefore knew how to make a quick buck.

Netherlands liked that in a man.

But when he found out that Estonia liked to garden, he was skeptical. They had been sharing drinks in a Brussels jazz bar after a long EU meeting and thought Estonia was just trying to make conversation. He didn’t look the type—but then again, neither did he—and even when he shared his knowledge on botany, he chalked it up to just being the intelligent guy that he always was.

“You should come to my place in the spring! I think you’ll like the setup that I’ve got.”

He took him up on that offer. Sure enough, Estonia was correct. He definitely liked what he saw.

[nco05]

They have a Scottish kid do the national anthem in Scottish/English sign languages wow!

(Gonna watch NEDEST but that's cool)

[dutch-nt]

Netherlands v Estonia | UEFA EURO 2020 Qualifiers, Group C | 19.11.2019

[annapaaeventyr-blog]

Tværs over Asien

8/5 2017

Fire ture med den transsibiriske jernbane, og jeg er efterhånden blevet ret god til at svinge mig som en abe og gøre ting i underlige stillinger. Jeg er blevet vant til den konstante baggrundsrumlen, til kopnudler og til at falde vuggende i søvn til vognens behagelige svajen. Til time efter time i selskab med det samme evige skov- eller ørkenlandskab. Faktisk er jeg blevet så vant til det, at jeg stadig følte min krop gynge adskillige timer efter, at jeg var stået af i Irkutsk.

Den transsibiriske jernbane har på mange måder været lidt af en oplevelse. Men bestemt ikke en ensartet en af slagsen; de fire ture, jeg har kørt, har været ekstemt forskellige. Hvis ikke strækningen havde haft et navn, og jeg var taget af sted med mindsettet om at køre fra den ene ende af Asien til den anden, havde jernbaneturen næppe føltes som en helhed.

Jeg startede med en ’kort’ tur på lidt over et døgn fra Moskva til Yekaterinburg. Kupéerne består af fire senge, to overkøjer og to underkøjer, og da jeg steg på, havde jeg en enkelt kupémakker. Hun var ikke videre snakkesalig, og det krævede en del kræfter at få lokket et smil ud af hende, så første del af turen blev primært brugt på at kigge ivrigt ud af vinduet, spændt på hvad denne her transsibiriske jernbane gik ud på. Men så stod et ældre ægtepar på, og de var begge meget venlige og ivrige efter at kommunikere, så godt som det nu kunne lade sig gøre. De to første jernbaneture var nemlig lidt af en kommunikationsøvelse, eftersom stort set samtlige medpassagerer var russere. Jeg mødte i hvert fald ikke en eneste udlænding her. Men det var nu meget hyggeligt; damen insisterede moderligt på at rede min seng for mig, og jeg stod i lang tid ved vinduet med manden og prøvede at hænge på, mens han udpegede diverse ting og forsøgte at lære mig deres navne på russisk. Udover interaktioner var der masser af tid til at fordybe mig i min bog, høre musik og filosofere over, hvor vild en distance jeg var ved at tilbagelægge.

Anden tur var den længste og den, hvor jeg for alvor kom ind i en rytme og blev revet med af ’the train feeling’. Jeg stod på i Yekaterinburg klokken 10 om aftenen og hoppede af ved middagstid tre dage senere i Irkutsk; pludselig i Asien, seks timer foran Danmark og meget langt væk fra, hvor jeg indtil da havde rejst. På denne tur havde jeg selskab af Albina, en rigtig sød dame, og hendes lille charmetrold af en fireårig søn. Sønnen, Daniel, var svært udviklingshæmmet og kunne hverken gå eller tale, og de to var på vej hjem efter at have taget den ugelange togtur fra endestation til endestation, for at Daniel kunne modtage en eller anden form for behandling i Moskva. Vi talte sammen via google translate, så der røg nogle detaljer i oversættelsen, men ikke desto mindre var det let at fornemme, at Albina ikke havde noget nemt liv. Hun og Daniel rejste landet tyndt for at få behandling forskellige steder, på lange ture som sled på dem begge, fordi de ikke havde råd til at flyve. I det hele taget kostede behandlingen så store summer, at de mere eller mindre levede af folks donationer. Daniels far var skredet, da de fandt ud af, at han ikke var rask, så hun var oven i købet helt alene om det. Ikke nogen fed situation og bestemt en historie, der satte mit eget liv i perspektiv. Men vi hyggede os nu på togturen, og jeg underholdt Daniel med et par af de sange, jeg har haft succes med nede i vuggestuen.

Den første dags tid havde vi også selskab i kupéen af en yngre mand, jeg først troede var Albinas partner. Han kunne lidt engelsk, og vi snakkede sammen alle tre og viste hinanden billeder af vores familier. Det var manden så vild med, at han fortsatte med at køre hele sin fotorulle igennem og begejstret dele ud af alt fra sin kat til computeren på sit kontor. Til sidst gik han endda så vidt som til at insistere på at vise billeder fra en operation, han havde fået lavet, hvor han lå i en hospitalsseng med nogle grimme sår på benene. Don’t ask me why.

I løbet af den lange togtur fik jeg også listet et par smut forbi restaurantvognen. Den virkede til at være til primært for turisternes skyld; jeg var i hvert fald stort set den eneste besøgende. Men de havde ret lækker mad og til ganske almindelige priser, og så var det et dejlig køligt afbræk fra de forholdsvis lumre sovekupéer.

Et køligt afbræk kunne også fås på de eftertragtede halvtimespauser, der indimellem var indlagt på diverse stationer. En oversigt over stop med ankomst- og afgangstider hang i hver vogn, så vi kunne følge med i togets rute. Dagen i toget blev planlagt med hensyntagen til, hvornår vi stoppede længere end fem minutter på en station. Det skete typisk et par gange om dagen og gav anledning til en horde af mennesker, der myldrede ud for at strække benene og få lidt frisk luft. På flere af stationerne kunne man købe diverse snacks og drikkevarer fra små kiosker. På en enkelt station var der rigtige krejlere, der rendte rundt med fisk på en snor eller vogne med pelshuer, som de solgte ud af.

Når man rejser så langt fra den ene ende af Rusland til den anden, når man at blive pænt tidsforvirret. Rusland har elleve tidszoner, og fra Mosvka til Irkutsk kom jeg igennem fem. Det bliver ikke mindre forvirrende af, at alle ankomst- og afgangstider i Rusland er opgivet i Moskva-tid (i Mongoliet og Kina er de opgivet i lokal tid… så det er om at holde tungen lige i munden). På den første togtur kunne jeg holde mig til Moskva-tiden og nøjes med at stille mit ur to timer frem, da jeg ankom til Yekaterinburg, men den tilgang holdt hurtigt op med at give mening på den lange tur. Her endte man i absurde situationer med et ur, der sagde klokken fem om natten, mens det var højlys dag udenfor. Så jeg var nødt til gradvist at sætte mit ur frem, som vi kørte gennem tidszonerne, og så konstant regne baglæns for at finde ud af, hvornår vi stoppede på de forskellige stationer.

Trejde tur – Irkutsk til Ulaanbaatar – var radikalt anderledes end de to foregående. Jeg havde begået en stor fejl ved at tage af sted fra Irkutsk om aftenen, idet jernbanens efter sigende flotteste strækning langs Baikal-søen dermed blev kørt midt om natten. Det var lidt, som om det var et forvarsel, for togturen var uden tvivl den mest frustrerende, jeg har kørt længe. Det startede allerede på perronen, hvor en stewardesse greb min billet, skubbede mig ind i en forkert vogn og sagde, at jeg havde en helt anden seng end den, der stod på min billet. Hun nægtede at forklare noget eller lade mig se min billet. Jeg var alene i min kupé, mens den ved siden af var blevet fyldt op med to par hollandske rejsekammerater. Det var de første andre turister, jeg mødte på den transsibiriske jernbane, og de var også blevet smidt ind uden begrundelse. Af en eller anden grund var de blevet stuvet sammen i en kupé, selvom halvdelen stod tomme ned langs gangen. Mange gange nåede vi at blive enige om, at det var den mærkeligste togtur, vi havde kørt.

Der var ingen oversigt over stationer, ingen informationer, og de to rimelig irriterende stewardesser snakkede minimalt engelsk og gav os modstridende oplysninger, hver gang vi prøvede at spørge om noget. På den russiske side af grænsen stoppede vi i fire timer. Her hoppede vi ud i det bagende solskin, det lige pludselig var blevet, mens toget kørte væk i et par timer og senere kom tilbage som en enkelt vogn (det var heldigvis vores). Inden vi kørte videre, kom der et par russere i militæruniform og snuppede vores pas, som vi fik tilbage et kvarters tid senere med stempler i. Derudover var tre-fire forskellige hold grænsepoliti inde i kupeen og løfte de nedeste køjer (der er et rum under dem), tjekke afkroge med lommelygter og åbne vores tasker. Et af holdene havde gudhjælpemig en hund med, som snusede vagtsomt rundt efter tegn på ulovlige smuglerier. Efter at have sikret sig et par og tyve gange, at vi forlod Rusland lovlydigt, fortsatte toget i en serie af uforklarlige stop og ryk frem og tilbage. Ofte kørte vi 50 meter frem og nåede lige at blive begejstrede over, at vi bevægede os, bare for at holde stille i en halv time og køre tilbage igen. Endelig nåede vi frem til den mongolske side af grænsen, som kvitterede med en ventetid på tre timer og mere inspektion. Det havde måske været ok, hvis ikke det havde været en bagende hed dag, hvor solen skar nåedsløst ind gennem vinduet. Mens vi holdt her, kom stewardesserne på et tidspunkt listende ind i min kupé og skubbede mig ned på sædet, lukkede døren og trak gardinerne for og spurgte, om jeg ville veksle penge. Det gjorde jeg så, lettere forskrækket, og de gav mig det meste af det mongolske beløb, jeg skulle have, og sagde, at jeg fik resten om ”twenty minutes”. Det samme sagde de, da jeg tre kvarter senere spurgte efter pengene. Det endte med, at de lagde dem på mit bord, mens jeg sov.

Da vi langt om længe havde overstået grænsehejset, troede vi, at turen endelig gik til Ulaanbaatar, men sådan skulle det ikke være. Over de næste par timer stoppede vi i timevis på uforklarlige steder, mens jeg lå frustreret og prøvede at falde i søvn uden toget til at vugge mig. Men stoppene var åbenbart alle en del af togets plan, for vi var fremme til tiden. I løbet af turen begyndte jeg at forstå, hvorfor der går et andet tog, der tager af sted morgenen efter vores, men er fremme nogenlunde samtidig. Det eneste gode ved mit tog var sådan set, at man med det andet ville have stoppet på grænsecheckpointet midt om natten.

Et lyspunkt på Ulaanbaatar-turen var det pludselige landsskabsskift. I fire dage havde jeg været omgivet af endeløs sibirisk skov med høje, nøgne træer og pletvise landsbyer. Som vi rullede mod Mongoliet, blev terrænet mere kuperet, der kom floder ind i billedet, og et ørkenlignende landskab med tør jord og spredt bevoksning udfoldede sig for øjnene af os.

Det allerflotteste landskab fik vi dog på den sidste tur mod Beijing. Da vi vågnede om morgenen på den kinesiske side, blev vi mødt af de vildeste bjerge dækket af grønne træer og omkranset af små floder. Denne tur var helt anderledes turistet end resten; pludselig bestod passagererne primært af udlændinge, og man kunne snakke med de andre rejsende, som om man befandt sig på et hostel. Ved en underlig tilfældighed endte jeg i samme kupé som to af hollænderne fra den forrige tur. I det hele taget var der flere med, jeg kendte, også fra mit hostel i Ulaanbaatar. Både det og de mange udlændinge tror jeg skal ses som et resultat af, at togene på denne rute kun går en gang om ugen. Det er ikke på samme måde som i Rusland et tog, de lokale bruger.

Også på denne strækning brugte vi lang tid ved grænsen. Skinnerne i Kina er en my smallere end dem i Mongoliet, så toget brugte et par timer i en værkstedsbygning, hvor vognene blev løftet op enkeltvis (mens vi var i dem) og forsynet med nye hjul (eller noget…). Da vi kom til den kinesiske side, og grænsepolitiet bad om vores pas, fangede mine ører det første strejf af kinesisk. Hold op, det var herligt!

Desværre brugte jeg det meste af ventetiden ved grænsen på at være sulten. Jeg havde nemlig regnet med at spise aftensmad i restaurantvognen, men den var jo blevet hægtet af, mens vi hang der og dinglede. Den kom ikke tilbage, så jeg var ret taknemmelig, da en kinesisk mand pludselig rendte op og ned ad gangen og solgte kopnudler.

Sulten eller ej; tanken om Kina gjorde det svært ikke at være i godt humør. Faktisk følte jeg mig rimelig ekstatisk over at være tilbage. Bare det at alting pludselig stod på kinesisk! Da vi rullede ind i Beijing, var jeg godt og grundigt ekstatisk, og det samme gjorde sig gældende, da jeg et par timer senere satte mig ind i en tianjinsk taxi og hjemmevandt sagde ’Huaxia Weilai’ (Cathay Future). Hold kæft, det er fedt at være tilbage!!!

[seekesotsibteadmist]

RULES  :  TAG  NINE  PEOPLE  YOU  WANT  TO  GET  TO KNOW  BETTER Tagged by: @eldtunga @sverige-san @qarthadasht  

[clearly I have to be tagged three times to summon me]

Relationship status : Seeing someone - sometimes. Favourite colour : Purple,Blue and Black Lipstick or chapstick :  Lipstick Last  song I listened to : Let’s Get innocuous - LCD Soundsystem Last movie I watched : something on Netflix idk Top three TV shows : I’m saying the Get Down three times and y’all can’t stop me.That’s my three The Get Down x 3 Top three characters :  uh. Idk. I like my three dorks so- the characters I write. And  other than that  I enjoy Netherlands a lot, I don’t know though I have other things i like in characters that can’t be limited to 3 - Dizzee, Ra Ra , Mylene. (I just went back to the Get Down again - sorry not sorry) Top three ships : Sve/Est, NedEst (I’d explain but like.. idk man. ), throw in DenEst just because,  EstFin platonically.  Books I’m currently reading : Listverse book of bizarre lists.

Tagging: go forth and steal this meme

[nedwnt]

oranjevrouwen via twitter: “🦁 T E A M 🦁 #NEDEST”

[grimalkinsquill]

Thou nedest nat have wealthe To be my love Thou nedest nat be cool To rule above Ther nys no especial signe Ich have affinitee wyth Ich nede naught but thyne extra tyme and thy [lute riff] kysse

— Chaucer Doth Tweet (@LeVostreGC) April 16, 2020

from Twitter https://twitter.com/ArbitraryStray April 16, 2020 at 07:46AM via IFTTT