My Life - So Far

"Unbounded ambition makes an obscure existence simply impossible for me"
Lucien de Rubempré

Monday, August 28, 2006

Scandinavia VIII


The last station of our trip through Scandinavia was Oslo in Norway, one of the most expensive cities in the world. As of 2006, it is ranked first according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Yet about 22 % of the population of Oslo are immigrants what we couldn't overlook. We payed 80 NOK for a return ticket to get to Grefsen where our YHA lay and provided a superb view of the city.
Unfortunately the weather changed from sunny and warm to rainy and cold. Luckily we already explored Oslo the day we arrived! The second day we spent mainly in cafés and shopping centres as it was raining outside.

Actually my impression of Oslo was not that good. Sweden and Copenhagen were much better!

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Scandinavia VII



In the morning of the 6th August we took a bus which drove us back to Sweden and straight on to Göteborg. The weather was great and it was even pretty hot, even though there was a slight wind from the sea. In Göteborg we hadn't booked a hostel in advance, as we couldn't find any in the internet. We then went to a tourist information centre. They had bad news: All hostels were booked out. At least they gave us some youth hostel numbers. I then called some of them but they had only dorms for female. But we were lucky this time! The last number I tried had still some beds!


In the afternoon we enjoyed the beautiful weather while we were walking through the city centre. Because of the European Athletic Championships the whole city was in party atmosphere! There was the so called EM-Festen a big music festival with swedish and international bands such as Eskobar or CKY. We watched Eskobar after we had been to the Ullevi Stadion where the EC take place. They played great!

The next day we relaxed and then went to the Ullevi Stadion, as we had half day tickets for the Athletic Championships! We watched the 100m quarterfinals with Dwain Chambers, shot put, javelin, and the womans 10000m final!

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Scandinavia VI



We spontanously decided to stay two days in Copenhagen and then move on to Göteborg back in Sweden. We decided to sleep a bit longer than usual cause we've been out until 3:30AM whereas the italians came home at around 5AM! In the morning we first had coffee with the italians and after a short walk to the tourist information centre we had another at Baresso, rated as the best Coffee-Bar in Danmark.


Besides we went to Christiania a partially self-governing freetown which was founded in 1971, when a group of hippies took over an area of abandoned military barracks.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Scandinavia V


In the morning of the next day we left Malmö by bus and headed to Copenhagen in Danmark. The journey took us over the Öresund Bridge with a total length of almost 8km. It's quite impressing beeing over the bridge that provides a fantastic view over the strait.
Arrived in Copenhagen, we first went to our hostel where we met two funny Italians, Fabio and Antonio. They offered us some italian coffee and we talked and talked and talked. As the weather was really nice we decided to leave the Italians and to do some sightseeing. We visited Amalienborg Palace, the winter home of the Danish royal family, Strøget, the longest pedestrian shopping area in the world, the Kastellet, one of the best preserved fortifications in Northern Europe and constructed in the form of a pentagram. Of course we went to see the little Mermaid, maybe the most famous tourist attraction in Copenhagen.



The Italians in our room invited us to a party on the Stubnitz, which is a huge fishing boat, which had been transformed into a mobile platform for parties! Unfortunately it was quite expencive to get in, so we decided to have a drink somewhere else.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Scandinavia IV


The following day we took the X2000 train from Stockholm to Malmö which is the third largest city in Sweden. Malmö is situated in the south of Sweden and once again the weather was superb although it was raining most of the time in the train.

Our hostel was outside the city centre, so we left our luggage in a locker and explored the Old Town. And again we had some stops for coffee. We were hungry and therefore went to Pizza Hut to buy a Pizza. Smart as we are we ordered only a small Pizza to save some money. Actually it was still pricey. But what we got was soooo small... You couldn't name it Pizza!



Nonetheless, we were ready to go to the beach in Malmö. One thing which is visible almost everywhere in Malmö is a skyscraper named HSB Turning Torso. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava and officially opened in 2005. The tower reaches a height of 190 metres with 54 stories and is actually an apartment building apart of some offices at the bottom.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Scandinavia III


The next day we got up early to catch a sightseeing bus that drove us through all parts of Stockholm. We were still tired so both of us fell asleep during the tour. Maybe it was because I listened the tour information in French :-)

We had lunch in Gamla Stan and bought some coffee. Then we were ready again for new explorations.

We walked to the island of Södermalm, former renowned for its poverty and regarded as a slum. Today it is considered a fashionable place to live or to go to, and it boasts prominent shopping districts and a wide range of cafés, restaurants and bars. Also, rather than being known as a slum, Södermalm is now known as home of bohemia, alternative culture and a broad range of cultural amenities.

Once again we stopped for a coffee on our way to the Globen. The Globen is the world's largest spherical building (it has a diameter of 110 metres and an inner height of 85 metres). It is now mainly used for Ice Hockey and music concerts. Even Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela have been inside.


Besides: On our way back to the hostel we took the subway for the first time!

At 9:30 PM we went to the famous Ice Bar in the lobby of the Nordic Sea Hotel. The outside temperature was around 22°C whereas it was bloody cold inside with -5°C! The interior and even the glasses are made of pure ice!

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Scandinavia II


The first thing I can remember is that I had to get up at 3:40 AM... And I tell you: That sucks!
After a two hour flight we landed in Stockholm and immediately went to our hostel. We couldn't check in at this time but store our luggage there. After a short rest and loads of coffees we explored Gamla Stan, the Old Town of Stockholm.

The weather was fine and not to hot as it was back in Switzerland before we left. However, we were quite tired because of the walking we did. We wanted to save money by not taking any means of transportation. So we walked and walked.



After several coffees and energy drinks we went to the Vasa Museum on the island of Djurgården (Stockholm is built on 14 islands). The Vasa was a hugh war ship in the 17th century but sank during its maiden voyage in 1628. In 1961 it had been salvaged and now it's preserved in the Vasa Museum.

In the evening we went to Friday's to have a drink to celebrate our first day in Sweden.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Scandinavia I


I hope I will soon find some time to post all pictures and stories of our Scandinavia trip! It's been a fantastic journey through three countries and three capitals within 10 days...

I went to an Openair Cinema to watch "Brokeback Mountain" the same day I landed in Zurich. It was a bit stressy but seeing that movie made up for everything...