Thursday, September 29, 2011
Rothenburg City Wall
I Like Germany...I like Turtles
If you don't get the title, than you're not cool enough to get it. (Except you Savta, no one is cooler than you).
So I have been in Germany the last 10 days or so, and just because I'm only starting to write about it now has nothing to do against it, if anything it goes to show how great the last week or so has been.
The beginning of my stay in Germany was special for a number of reasons. For one, it was the first time a friend/family opened their home to me, after just knowing me during my Euro trip. Way back when I was in Scotland, I had met a group of German friends on vacation and struck up a quick friendship with them. If you remember, I briefly mentioned them in my post "Eating to Survive, Drinking to Experience". One of the things I was looking forward to the most about this trip was of course, the social aspect. And not just meeting people for 4-6 hours over drinks, but developing lasting relationships with people that have experienced life in a completely different way than I had growing up. Well, mission accomplished. Thank you Brian, David, Friedemann, Marius, Moritz, Jo, Pflaumus and Tabea. You all made the start to my Germany experience exceptional, and here is why...
To start, Marius, David, and Friedemann picked me up from the train station in Aalen. Off the bat, they gave me a true bavarian experience over a cup of coffee- my first Bavarian pretzel! Boom, one experience everyone needs to have, conquered. Much more to come of this sort, of course. From there, we started out tour of local churches and castles -- two things Germany is certainly not short of. It was mostly a whirlwind type of afternoon - 'if you look to your right, you can see a church, and to your left...well, another church. Oh look, there's another castle!' That kinda thing. To them it was just another castle, maybe a good hookup spot for high school kids, but to me it was...well, a castle! An 800 year old church! I knew it wasn't the most exciting thing they could have done that day, but that was one of the things that made these guys so great- it was always about me, and making sure I was having a good time.
From there we had lunch in Ellwangen, their home town and where I would be spending the next few nights. They brought me to a Turkish restaurant/kebab kind of place, where we got takeout wraps. Some sort of Turkish immigrant thing that has started/taken over in Germany. Delish. We met up with Moritz, who was then my tour guide for...you guessed it...more churches! But seriously, some pretty cool ones. From there, we went to David's house to drop off my things. HUGE, GIANT, THANK YOU to David and his parents. These people went so far out of their way to make my stay as perfect as it could be. I was the first American to stay in their place, and it was like they were in a competition to make their American happier than any other American to stay in a German residence that year. Well they would have won. You saw the picture below (if you haven't, look now). Check out that breakfast. How can you beat that you say? Add some beer with the breakfast as well as periodically throughout the day no matter what the time was? Ok cool, they did that too. Do my laundry and not let me lift a finger no matter how hard I try? Check. Someone just get the trophy.
From there we met up with the rest of the gang. Did I mention that my entire stay, it wasn't ''who's-gonna-entertain-matt"? Instead each one went out of their way to spend time with me if they could, every single day. That takes a special group of friends. That night we went to a bar for a few drinks (including my first shot of Absinth, though it was ONLY 60%-- what the hell is it normally?)
The next day, they brought me to the famous town of Rothenburg via the Autobahn (David reached just over 200 km/h, roughly 125 mph). This medieval German town may attract a ton of tourists, but its obvious why. Just walking along the town's mile and a half long wall transported me back in time briefly, as I pretended to shoot an arrow through one of the slits in the wall out toward the surrounding forest...ok, parking lot, but I have a good imagination. Checking out St. Jakobs (Jacobs, duh), which was partially built in 1311, we saw one of the finest High Alters there is, dating back to 1466. Before that day I didn't even know what a High Alter was, but I was still amazed.
We then had a typical Bavarian lunch in a little cafe/restaurant a little off the beaten path where all the tourists were paying twice as much. This meal included Schweineschnitzel (next to its name on the menu, it said, and I kid you not - "Wiener Art"). Yes, I took a picture. The english version just called it "escalope of pork", which is not nearly as entertaining, nor even English sounding. Accompanying the meal was, of course, the locally brewed Pilsner beer, Landwehr Bräu, and finally followed with an apple strudel for dessert (it was brought to my attention that most of the meal was actually originally austrian, but whatever).
That night I spent some time at Brian's house, where his parents were again unbelievably kind. We exchanged some tunes, listened to some of his band's music (BEST BAND EVER...;) ) and taught me some important German vocabulary, aka curse words. That night...well guess. We drank beer.
The following morning, David's mother cooked the incredible breakfast you see below. The white sausage, called Weisswurst, is a traditional Bavarian sausage made from minced veal, pork bacon, and spices, cooked inside "pork casings" (Im getting this off wikipedia and I guess they are trying to make it sound nice), which are actually the cleaned, pig's intestines. Yumm. Though you don't eat that part, you peal it off. It is served with sweet mustard (the dark stuff on my plate next to the butter, jar seen behind) and of course, eaten with freshly made pretzels and rice beer (we had Paulaner).
From there, David and Marius drove me to the train station for my trip to Munich, for Oktoberfest!
Another huge Thank You to David and his parents, my words don't nearly describe how great you were to me, and of course, the gang. Hope to see you all some day very soon, keep in touch!
- Matt
So I have been in Germany the last 10 days or so, and just because I'm only starting to write about it now has nothing to do against it, if anything it goes to show how great the last week or so has been.
The beginning of my stay in Germany was special for a number of reasons. For one, it was the first time a friend/family opened their home to me, after just knowing me during my Euro trip. Way back when I was in Scotland, I had met a group of German friends on vacation and struck up a quick friendship with them. If you remember, I briefly mentioned them in my post "Eating to Survive, Drinking to Experience". One of the things I was looking forward to the most about this trip was of course, the social aspect. And not just meeting people for 4-6 hours over drinks, but developing lasting relationships with people that have experienced life in a completely different way than I had growing up. Well, mission accomplished. Thank you Brian, David, Friedemann, Marius, Moritz, Jo, Pflaumus and Tabea. You all made the start to my Germany experience exceptional, and here is why...
To start, Marius, David, and Friedemann picked me up from the train station in Aalen. Off the bat, they gave me a true bavarian experience over a cup of coffee- my first Bavarian pretzel! Boom, one experience everyone needs to have, conquered. Much more to come of this sort, of course. From there, we started out tour of local churches and castles -- two things Germany is certainly not short of. It was mostly a whirlwind type of afternoon - 'if you look to your right, you can see a church, and to your left...well, another church. Oh look, there's another castle!' That kinda thing. To them it was just another castle, maybe a good hookup spot for high school kids, but to me it was...well, a castle! An 800 year old church! I knew it wasn't the most exciting thing they could have done that day, but that was one of the things that made these guys so great- it was always about me, and making sure I was having a good time.
From there we had lunch in Ellwangen, their home town and where I would be spending the next few nights. They brought me to a Turkish restaurant/kebab kind of place, where we got takeout wraps. Some sort of Turkish immigrant thing that has started/taken over in Germany. Delish. We met up with Moritz, who was then my tour guide for...you guessed it...more churches! But seriously, some pretty cool ones. From there, we went to David's house to drop off my things. HUGE, GIANT, THANK YOU to David and his parents. These people went so far out of their way to make my stay as perfect as it could be. I was the first American to stay in their place, and it was like they were in a competition to make their American happier than any other American to stay in a German residence that year. Well they would have won. You saw the picture below (if you haven't, look now). Check out that breakfast. How can you beat that you say? Add some beer with the breakfast as well as periodically throughout the day no matter what the time was? Ok cool, they did that too. Do my laundry and not let me lift a finger no matter how hard I try? Check. Someone just get the trophy.
From there we met up with the rest of the gang. Did I mention that my entire stay, it wasn't ''who's-gonna-entertain-matt"? Instead each one went out of their way to spend time with me if they could, every single day. That takes a special group of friends. That night we went to a bar for a few drinks (including my first shot of Absinth, though it was ONLY 60%-- what the hell is it normally?)
The next day, they brought me to the famous town of Rothenburg via the Autobahn (David reached just over 200 km/h, roughly 125 mph). This medieval German town may attract a ton of tourists, but its obvious why. Just walking along the town's mile and a half long wall transported me back in time briefly, as I pretended to shoot an arrow through one of the slits in the wall out toward the surrounding forest...ok, parking lot, but I have a good imagination. Checking out St. Jakobs (Jacobs, duh), which was partially built in 1311, we saw one of the finest High Alters there is, dating back to 1466. Before that day I didn't even know what a High Alter was, but I was still amazed.
We then had a typical Bavarian lunch in a little cafe/restaurant a little off the beaten path where all the tourists were paying twice as much. This meal included Schweineschnitzel (next to its name on the menu, it said, and I kid you not - "Wiener Art"). Yes, I took a picture. The english version just called it "escalope of pork", which is not nearly as entertaining, nor even English sounding. Accompanying the meal was, of course, the locally brewed Pilsner beer, Landwehr Bräu, and finally followed with an apple strudel for dessert (it was brought to my attention that most of the meal was actually originally austrian, but whatever).
That night I spent some time at Brian's house, where his parents were again unbelievably kind. We exchanged some tunes, listened to some of his band's music (BEST BAND EVER...;) ) and taught me some important German vocabulary, aka curse words. That night...well guess. We drank beer.
The following morning, David's mother cooked the incredible breakfast you see below. The white sausage, called Weisswurst, is a traditional Bavarian sausage made from minced veal, pork bacon, and spices, cooked inside "pork casings" (Im getting this off wikipedia and I guess they are trying to make it sound nice), which are actually the cleaned, pig's intestines. Yumm. Though you don't eat that part, you peal it off. It is served with sweet mustard (the dark stuff on my plate next to the butter, jar seen behind) and of course, eaten with freshly made pretzels and rice beer (we had Paulaner).
From there, David and Marius drove me to the train station for my trip to Munich, for Oktoberfest!
Another huge Thank You to David and his parents, my words don't nearly describe how great you were to me, and of course, the gang. Hope to see you all some day very soon, keep in touch!
- Matt
Location:Ellwangen, Germany
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
A True Bavarian Breakfast
Sunday, September 25, 2011
The Capital of Scandinavia
I arrived in Stockholm midday. I made it to my hostel after a great deal of frustration trying to find a map- the directions my hostel gave me were the street address and "A ten-minute walk past the city hall". Doesn't help much when you don't even know what the city hall looks like, and especially without a map. In the central station they had computers for information, and when I clicked on the Tourist Information Office, it just said that it's "located next to Central Station." COME ON Stockholm. Not a single information booth in the station, I wandered outside both way around the giant building until I finally found the office down the road a good 300 yards- not exactly next to the building. Not a good start to Stockholm, but it would get a whole lot better.
When I finally made it to my hostel I was ready to explore. I dropped my stuff off in my room and headed out to acquaint myself to the city. I stopped by the hostel's receptionist on my way out to ask about renting bikes, and she informed me, and then sold me on the system they have in Stockholm, where you can pick up a bike from any of the 50 or so stations around the city and drop it off at any one of them later, as long as its within three hours. I bought a swipe card for it, and headed out.
Well she failed to mention the tires on the bike are the size of a car's steering wheel, and I felt like an idiot peddling my heart out as the locals were cruising by me leisurely with their regular-sized tired bikes. That being said, though I may complain more about them (I was so sore the last day from the awkward muscles those mini-bikes made me overwork), those damn bikes did help me get from A to B much faster than walking would have, and for that I commend Stockholm on their shitty, I mean City, bike system.
I had recently finished a book by Bill Bryson, entitled Neither Here Nor There, in which the author travelled Europe, retracing the steps that he took thirty years earlier as a young adult. Though I had the intentions to finish the book and trade it for another book at a hostel or with another traveler, I later decided it would be fun to hold on to it and reread chapters when I was in the city that he was writing about. The point of me telling you this, is that Stockholm was the first city I practiced this idea, and decided to try to follow Bryson's steps in his first day in the city. The night before I had skimmed the chapter and read that he first went towards the Old Town, where the Royal Palace is and a ton of Swedish history.
Wouldn't you know it, I got a bit lost and headed across a bridge down to Sodermalm (Stockholm is really a dozen or so small islands strung together by bridges), drawn towards it by the bright lights and flashy advertising campaigns in the distance across the water, a seemingly polar opposite part of the city than the part I had just been in. I found myself on the main shopping/tourist street that cuts through Sodermalm, Götgatan, and walked halfway down the road, or rather up because of how hilly Stockholm is. (Another reason those mini bikes sucked was all of the hills, try peddling up a cobblestoned street in a child's -sized bike up a 30-40 degree incline, ohhh and it was raining. Yeah, it started to rain, and though my spirits were still up, I decided to find a cozy cafe and regain my energy during the rain.)
This is another idea that I have borrowed from Bryson, as he often would take coffee breaks and refuel after a long day of touring a city. I have developed a system for café searches - I walk along busy streets and look for the first place that sells coffee with a seat open next to a big window that I can people watch as they continue on with their day and I rest to my coffee and thoughts. That is how I came across a very nice place called Coffee Dacapo. The lady working there greeted me politely and asked what I would like. I just wanted a coffee and let her know that, but when she caught me eyeing some pastries and cakes when she turned back around, she caught me off my guard when she asked again if I wanted anything else. I decided to go with it, so I asked her what her favorite thing was that they served, and without a seconds' hesitation she replied Carrot Cake!
So, 10 dollars later I'm sitting by my large window sipping on a surprisingly delicious cup of coffee and starting to bite into one of the best pieces of carrot cake I've ever had, and I take out my city map to get my bearings and rethink my day. Once I realized where I went wrong, I took out Bryson's book to finish the chapter on Stockholm. Well wouldn't you know it, after he walked through the old town, he then crossed the bridge I had just gone over, and stopped for coffee on the very street I was on! This made me feel less of an idiot, which is always a good feeling, and after an hour or so of reading/relaxing, I headed on my way back towards the old town, to see if Bryson's description of an area with "a knocked-about charm...but surprising lacking any air of prosperity" was accurate.
Walking through the narrow, cobblestone roads/walkways through the old town, I instantly fell in love with Stockholm and its oddly Central European feel. The old town currently did have a kind of "knock-about charm", and it had done its trick- I was falling for Stockholm right off the bat. For the first time in my travels, I had arrived in a city with that oddly true European feel I had been looking for, even dreamt of. I wandered around the area for only twenty minutes when I stumbled upon the Royal Palace, a massive 600-room building guarded by the most "feeble-looking guards" (Bryson's description again, and this time he was so right). I had to take a picture of one of them, marching down 100 yards then back to is post in his tight white Donald Duck pants and white shower-cap hat past a yellow Volkswagen Beatle. Just too funny.
After walking around a bit more, the night suddenly fell upon me and I made my way to a small kiosk I had walked past earlier just over the bridge on Sodermalm. I ended up making friends with the kid working in the kiosk because he directed me to three ATMs (first two were out of order) and because he was amazed I followed my word and kept returning, he gave me a heaping pile of fried herring and every kind of vegetables they had, with a free coke "on the house". People are nice. After I headed back to the hostel to rest up for my only full day in the city.
The next morning, I headed towards the main shopping street called Drottninggatan, where I would have lunch on a side street and then realize there was no point in me being there because I never buy anything, and took out the book again. I would again do as Bryson did on his second day in the city, and head towards Djurgarden, an East-side island which is really just a city park full of grassy knolls and random yet interesting diversions (including a museum of Nordic life, an amusement park, an open-air museum called Skansen, the Italian embassy - random, and much more). Along the way, I biked along Strandvägen, a grand residential Boulevard with a boat-lined harbor on one side and huge, probably multi-million dollar apartments on the other. When I reached Djurgarden, I was blown away at its size. I biked around the island for a few hours, stopping to admire some Prince's old residence and gardens, now kept up for the publics' enjoyment, and found a nice area to sit in the sun and read. In the late afternoon I realized I still hadn't found Skansen, the huge open-air museum that Bryson had mentioned he had enjoyed a coffee break in. I was feeling up for some coffee, so I made my way there.
The park is actually the largest open-air museum in the world, where for over a century they have collected homes and other buildings from around Sweden and rebuilt them in their exact specifications as they had been, some more than 500 years old. During the main hours of operation, many of the buildings have actors in full costume of the buildings time/theme, explaining to visitors what life was like back when that building was in order. Im glad I sucked up the extra 50 kroner to enter before 5pm when most buildings closed down, because I found my way to an old spice shop and talked to the attendant, then an old merchant's home, before finally coming to an amazing coffee shop from the 18th century, moved from downtown Stockholm to this park. The size no bigger than a college dorm room, a smell of freshly made cinnamon rolls enticed my senses and drew me towards the little gem. I sat there until it closed by a small table with a window view, enjoying my cinnamon roll and three cups of coffee, then walked around the park for another three hours. If you ever go to Stockholm, check out Skansen. Its a must.
That night I met two lovely German girls and an Australian in my hostel, had a few drinks at a bar along Götgatan (which I guided us to without getting lost!) and made plans to hang out in Hamburg where the girls are from. More on that later.
This blog has been too long. Sorry, but Stockholm kicked ass. Go there.
- Matt
When I finally made it to my hostel I was ready to explore. I dropped my stuff off in my room and headed out to acquaint myself to the city. I stopped by the hostel's receptionist on my way out to ask about renting bikes, and she informed me, and then sold me on the system they have in Stockholm, where you can pick up a bike from any of the 50 or so stations around the city and drop it off at any one of them later, as long as its within three hours. I bought a swipe card for it, and headed out.
Well she failed to mention the tires on the bike are the size of a car's steering wheel, and I felt like an idiot peddling my heart out as the locals were cruising by me leisurely with their regular-sized tired bikes. That being said, though I may complain more about them (I was so sore the last day from the awkward muscles those mini-bikes made me overwork), those damn bikes did help me get from A to B much faster than walking would have, and for that I commend Stockholm on their shitty, I mean City, bike system.
I had recently finished a book by Bill Bryson, entitled Neither Here Nor There, in which the author travelled Europe, retracing the steps that he took thirty years earlier as a young adult. Though I had the intentions to finish the book and trade it for another book at a hostel or with another traveler, I later decided it would be fun to hold on to it and reread chapters when I was in the city that he was writing about. The point of me telling you this, is that Stockholm was the first city I practiced this idea, and decided to try to follow Bryson's steps in his first day in the city. The night before I had skimmed the chapter and read that he first went towards the Old Town, where the Royal Palace is and a ton of Swedish history.
Wouldn't you know it, I got a bit lost and headed across a bridge down to Sodermalm (Stockholm is really a dozen or so small islands strung together by bridges), drawn towards it by the bright lights and flashy advertising campaigns in the distance across the water, a seemingly polar opposite part of the city than the part I had just been in. I found myself on the main shopping/tourist street that cuts through Sodermalm, Götgatan, and walked halfway down the road, or rather up because of how hilly Stockholm is. (Another reason those mini bikes sucked was all of the hills, try peddling up a cobblestoned street in a child's -sized bike up a 30-40 degree incline, ohhh and it was raining. Yeah, it started to rain, and though my spirits were still up, I decided to find a cozy cafe and regain my energy during the rain.)
This is another idea that I have borrowed from Bryson, as he often would take coffee breaks and refuel after a long day of touring a city. I have developed a system for café searches - I walk along busy streets and look for the first place that sells coffee with a seat open next to a big window that I can people watch as they continue on with their day and I rest to my coffee and thoughts. That is how I came across a very nice place called Coffee Dacapo. The lady working there greeted me politely and asked what I would like. I just wanted a coffee and let her know that, but when she caught me eyeing some pastries and cakes when she turned back around, she caught me off my guard when she asked again if I wanted anything else. I decided to go with it, so I asked her what her favorite thing was that they served, and without a seconds' hesitation she replied Carrot Cake!
So, 10 dollars later I'm sitting by my large window sipping on a surprisingly delicious cup of coffee and starting to bite into one of the best pieces of carrot cake I've ever had, and I take out my city map to get my bearings and rethink my day. Once I realized where I went wrong, I took out Bryson's book to finish the chapter on Stockholm. Well wouldn't you know it, after he walked through the old town, he then crossed the bridge I had just gone over, and stopped for coffee on the very street I was on! This made me feel less of an idiot, which is always a good feeling, and after an hour or so of reading/relaxing, I headed on my way back towards the old town, to see if Bryson's description of an area with "a knocked-about charm...but surprising lacking any air of prosperity" was accurate.
Walking through the narrow, cobblestone roads/walkways through the old town, I instantly fell in love with Stockholm and its oddly Central European feel. The old town currently did have a kind of "knock-about charm", and it had done its trick- I was falling for Stockholm right off the bat. For the first time in my travels, I had arrived in a city with that oddly true European feel I had been looking for, even dreamt of. I wandered around the area for only twenty minutes when I stumbled upon the Royal Palace, a massive 600-room building guarded by the most "feeble-looking guards" (Bryson's description again, and this time he was so right). I had to take a picture of one of them, marching down 100 yards then back to is post in his tight white Donald Duck pants and white shower-cap hat past a yellow Volkswagen Beatle. Just too funny.
After walking around a bit more, the night suddenly fell upon me and I made my way to a small kiosk I had walked past earlier just over the bridge on Sodermalm. I ended up making friends with the kid working in the kiosk because he directed me to three ATMs (first two were out of order) and because he was amazed I followed my word and kept returning, he gave me a heaping pile of fried herring and every kind of vegetables they had, with a free coke "on the house". People are nice. After I headed back to the hostel to rest up for my only full day in the city.
The next morning, I headed towards the main shopping street called Drottninggatan, where I would have lunch on a side street and then realize there was no point in me being there because I never buy anything, and took out the book again. I would again do as Bryson did on his second day in the city, and head towards Djurgarden, an East-side island which is really just a city park full of grassy knolls and random yet interesting diversions (including a museum of Nordic life, an amusement park, an open-air museum called Skansen, the Italian embassy - random, and much more). Along the way, I biked along Strandvägen, a grand residential Boulevard with a boat-lined harbor on one side and huge, probably multi-million dollar apartments on the other. When I reached Djurgarden, I was blown away at its size. I biked around the island for a few hours, stopping to admire some Prince's old residence and gardens, now kept up for the publics' enjoyment, and found a nice area to sit in the sun and read. In the late afternoon I realized I still hadn't found Skansen, the huge open-air museum that Bryson had mentioned he had enjoyed a coffee break in. I was feeling up for some coffee, so I made my way there.
The park is actually the largest open-air museum in the world, where for over a century they have collected homes and other buildings from around Sweden and rebuilt them in their exact specifications as they had been, some more than 500 years old. During the main hours of operation, many of the buildings have actors in full costume of the buildings time/theme, explaining to visitors what life was like back when that building was in order. Im glad I sucked up the extra 50 kroner to enter before 5pm when most buildings closed down, because I found my way to an old spice shop and talked to the attendant, then an old merchant's home, before finally coming to an amazing coffee shop from the 18th century, moved from downtown Stockholm to this park. The size no bigger than a college dorm room, a smell of freshly made cinnamon rolls enticed my senses and drew me towards the little gem. I sat there until it closed by a small table with a window view, enjoying my cinnamon roll and three cups of coffee, then walked around the park for another three hours. If you ever go to Stockholm, check out Skansen. Its a must.
That night I met two lovely German girls and an Australian in my hostel, had a few drinks at a bar along Götgatan (which I guided us to without getting lost!) and made plans to hang out in Hamburg where the girls are from. More on that later.
This blog has been too long. Sorry, but Stockholm kicked ass. Go there.
- Matt
Location:Oslo, Sweden
Norway in a Nutshell
Touring Stockholm
The Viking Ship Museum
Norway in a Nutshell
My last full day in Norway was a busy one. My Rick Steves' guidebook said that if you go to Norway and didn't take the time to see the Fyords, you should have your passport taken away. Wish I had read that before going to Norway so I could have planned it a bit easier, but challenge excepted Mr. Steves. I was going to do Norway in a nutshell, and that involved an early start and a bit of planning. My day started at 6:31, catching a train to the small country town/train station of Myrdal, a roughly 5 hour trip to the countryside to the West of Oslo. From there I hopped on another train, for a slow, scenic route, through the mountains. Seriously, the conductor would even keep the passengers up to date with what waterfalls we were about to pass, and which way to look for good views of the valleys below. At one point we even stopped for 5 minutes to let everyone out to take pictures of a particularly large and beautiful waterfall. By 1pm we reached Flam, a harbor town on the shores of Sognefjord Fyord, the second largest fyord in the world.
From there I hopped on a ferry, which brought us down the fyord for a little over two hours with periodical announcements from the captain/crew about the small towns (I can't emphasize 'small' enough, some were just a handful of homes) along the banks on either sides. The views the entire trip were breathtaking, and cameras were never put away for even a minute. Even saw seals at one point.
The ferry then dropped us off at Dudvangen, where we took a bus through the countryside back to Voss, where I took a train back to Oslo to arrive around 10:30 at night. Long day, but worth every bit of tiredness the next morning, when I woke up early again to make my 7:25 train to Stockholm!
(So clearly that was from a while ago. Next comes my blog about my short but sweet stay in Stockholm...)
- Matt
From there I hopped on a ferry, which brought us down the fyord for a little over two hours with periodical announcements from the captain/crew about the small towns (I can't emphasize 'small' enough, some were just a handful of homes) along the banks on either sides. The views the entire trip were breathtaking, and cameras were never put away for even a minute. Even saw seals at one point.
The ferry then dropped us off at Dudvangen, where we took a bus through the countryside back to Voss, where I took a train back to Oslo to arrive around 10:30 at night. Long day, but worth every bit of tiredness the next morning, when I woke up early again to make my 7:25 train to Stockholm!
(So clearly that was from a while ago. Next comes my blog about my short but sweet stay in Stockholm...)
- Matt
Location:Norway
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Hello Again
So here is what's up. The hotel I'm staying at in Munich (sleeping on the floor, no I havent given in to buying an actual hotel room) has wifi, but you have to pay for it. Soooo blogs will be delayed another day. Heading to Hamburg and Berlin for the next week or so, really excited for those cities because Germany has been so great so far.
More blogs/stories to look forward to, coming shortly:
Oktoberfest. Obviously.
Getting in my first fight, at oktoberfest. Dont worry savta, I'm fine, and was totally in the right. You're just going to wait on the story, may come with a picture if I wake up with a shiner tomorrow.
Until then,
Prost! (Cheers!)
More blogs/stories to look forward to, coming shortly:
Oktoberfest. Obviously.
Getting in my first fight, at oktoberfest. Dont worry savta, I'm fine, and was totally in the right. You're just going to wait on the story, may come with a picture if I wake up with a shiner tomorrow.
Until then,
Prost! (Cheers!)
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Be Back Soon
Sorry its been so long since my last post, staying with a friend in Germany currently, and don't have wifi. Heading to Munich tomorrow for Oktoberfest, hopefully will have wifi then. Have so much to tell you all about! Coming shortly: My day traveling Norway in a nutshell, my short but great stay in Stockholm, and of course my stay here in Germany with friends I met while in Edinburgh.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
No Way, Norway!
Man what a day. It just keeps getting better. Today started off a bit late, since I was up till almost 5am last night watching the Patriots destroy the Dolphins. Worth every minute and every yawn. Tom Brady, you continue to amaze.
Around noon I left the hostel after making myself lunch, which used all of my culinary skills to construct my salami and cheese sandwich. I snagged a map from the reception office and headed in the direction of the city hall, which I had read in my Rick Steve's Europe book was the location to hop on a ferry for the 10-minute ride to Bygdoy. This small part of Norway holds a cluster of sights the reflects the Norwegian mastery of the sea. My first stop was the Viking Ship Museum, which houses three ships that were excavated nearly a hundred years ago, but built around 900AD. Rape, pillage, and plunder were all the rage 1000 years ago, and its very likely some or all of the ships in the museum were used for those reasons. They were eventually used as burial chambers for a couple rich dudes and a woman and her slave child, but one look at the sleek, time-stained vessels and you can imagine how powerful, and useful, these ships once were for their original purpose.
Next I jumped back on the ferry and went to the Fram museum, which houses the polar ship, the Fram, which on separate occasions, ventured farther north and south than any other ship. What was so cool about this museum, other than the giant ship right in the middle, is that you can actually go onboard and check out how the crew and their dogs lived for up to five years. The only parts you couldn't access, the engine room and individual living quarters, would still be viewable through glass, and you could see things such as the tools/equipment used. Sooo cool. You can really witness how the Viking energy has channeled in more productive directions.
After I headed back to the mainland where I made my way up to the kongressenter, just 100 meters from the ground-zero bombing of that nut job that then killed a total 69 innocent people. There are still roses and other symbols of sorrow and support following such a horrible day. On a happier note though, it was there I met up with my first ever Au Pair, Ingela Pettersson, the woman that helped raise me when I was 4-5 years old. And an added surprise, we were joined by a friend of hers and another Au Pair for a family down the road from me at that time, Nina Birkeland. I hadn't seen either in 17 years, so I'm sure it was weirder for them to see me having grown and changed so much, but it was just so cool to reconnect.
They took me for a tour of the city, first walking past the ground-zero area and looking at a couple memorials that are hauntingly beautiful. We then continued to Oslo's avant-garde City Hall, which I had walked past earlier but didn't truly appreciate until Nina pointed out a few interesting parts to its design, including a woman-of-the-street sneakily sculpted into the side of the building. It is in there that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded each December, and a separate Novel building can be seen just across the way. Next we made our way to a wonderful restaurant that Ingela treated me to, no matter how much I begged her to let me pay. I ATE WHALE. And it was awesome, sorry PETA. When in Norway, ya know? Of course, I also tried a Norwegian beer, called Ringnes. Delicious. The entire meal was delicious. OH, LINDA, guess what was served with my whale?? Kantareller!! (The fungus we had been picking in the Swedish forests). And I ate all of it.
After dinner we walked back to Nina's car and drove to Frogner Park, which is the home to thirty years of Gustav Vigeland's creativity, in the form of 192 bronze and granite sculptures. The centerpiece is this massive, 46-foot-tall totem pole of tangled bodies known as the Monolith of Life. Easily the most incredible, beautiful park I have ever been to. Rick Steves had recommended it to all that visit Oslo as a must see, and I completely agree. Finally, we ended the evening with a drive up a small mountain that holds two olympic sized ski jumps, and some incredible views of the city at night.
Thank you thank you thank you again Ingela and Nina. I loved seeing you both and I appreciate all you did for me today. Hope to see you again soon!
I have to head to bed, I have a long day tomorrow starting with a train leaving at 6:31. I'm doing "Norway in a Nutshell", taking the day to tour Sognefjord, Norway's longest and reportedly (according to Steves) best Fjord. More about this later...G'night
- Matt
Around noon I left the hostel after making myself lunch, which used all of my culinary skills to construct my salami and cheese sandwich. I snagged a map from the reception office and headed in the direction of the city hall, which I had read in my Rick Steve's Europe book was the location to hop on a ferry for the 10-minute ride to Bygdoy. This small part of Norway holds a cluster of sights the reflects the Norwegian mastery of the sea. My first stop was the Viking Ship Museum, which houses three ships that were excavated nearly a hundred years ago, but built around 900AD. Rape, pillage, and plunder were all the rage 1000 years ago, and its very likely some or all of the ships in the museum were used for those reasons. They were eventually used as burial chambers for a couple rich dudes and a woman and her slave child, but one look at the sleek, time-stained vessels and you can imagine how powerful, and useful, these ships once were for their original purpose.
Next I jumped back on the ferry and went to the Fram museum, which houses the polar ship, the Fram, which on separate occasions, ventured farther north and south than any other ship. What was so cool about this museum, other than the giant ship right in the middle, is that you can actually go onboard and check out how the crew and their dogs lived for up to five years. The only parts you couldn't access, the engine room and individual living quarters, would still be viewable through glass, and you could see things such as the tools/equipment used. Sooo cool. You can really witness how the Viking energy has channeled in more productive directions.
After I headed back to the mainland where I made my way up to the kongressenter, just 100 meters from the ground-zero bombing of that nut job that then killed a total 69 innocent people. There are still roses and other symbols of sorrow and support following such a horrible day. On a happier note though, it was there I met up with my first ever Au Pair, Ingela Pettersson, the woman that helped raise me when I was 4-5 years old. And an added surprise, we were joined by a friend of hers and another Au Pair for a family down the road from me at that time, Nina Birkeland. I hadn't seen either in 17 years, so I'm sure it was weirder for them to see me having grown and changed so much, but it was just so cool to reconnect.
They took me for a tour of the city, first walking past the ground-zero area and looking at a couple memorials that are hauntingly beautiful. We then continued to Oslo's avant-garde City Hall, which I had walked past earlier but didn't truly appreciate until Nina pointed out a few interesting parts to its design, including a woman-of-the-street sneakily sculpted into the side of the building. It is in there that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded each December, and a separate Novel building can be seen just across the way. Next we made our way to a wonderful restaurant that Ingela treated me to, no matter how much I begged her to let me pay. I ATE WHALE. And it was awesome, sorry PETA. When in Norway, ya know? Of course, I also tried a Norwegian beer, called Ringnes. Delicious. The entire meal was delicious. OH, LINDA, guess what was served with my whale?? Kantareller!! (The fungus we had been picking in the Swedish forests). And I ate all of it.
After dinner we walked back to Nina's car and drove to Frogner Park, which is the home to thirty years of Gustav Vigeland's creativity, in the form of 192 bronze and granite sculptures. The centerpiece is this massive, 46-foot-tall totem pole of tangled bodies known as the Monolith of Life. Easily the most incredible, beautiful park I have ever been to. Rick Steves had recommended it to all that visit Oslo as a must see, and I completely agree. Finally, we ended the evening with a drive up a small mountain that holds two olympic sized ski jumps, and some incredible views of the city at night.
Thank you thank you thank you again Ingela and Nina. I loved seeing you both and I appreciate all you did for me today. Hope to see you again soon!
I have to head to bed, I have a long day tomorrow starting with a train leaving at 6:31. I'm doing "Norway in a Nutshell", taking the day to tour Sognefjord, Norway's longest and reportedly (according to Steves) best Fjord. More about this later...G'night
- Matt
Location:Oslo, Norway
Monday, September 12, 2011
Footballlllllll
Just because I'm in 3495 miles away from home (yes, I looked it up), am 6 hours ahead of time (so the game starts at 1am), and only able to watch from the PC in the reception office, and can only hear the sound through a headset that only stretches two feet from the screen, I AM WATCHING THE PATS GAME.
Go pats.
Andrew I wouldn't watch if I were you, it's gonna get guy for Miami fans.
- Matt
Go pats.
Andrew I wouldn't watch if I were you, it's gonna get guy for Miami fans.
- Matt
Location:Oslo, Norway
Hostel in Oslo
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
This Is Why I Love Hostels
Just arrived in Oslo, Norway. I leave Sweden with a fond farewell, but only for a short time because I will be back in a few days to stay a couple nights in Stockholm, on my way back to the mainland. I just want to say a quick THANK YOU to Linda for the last few days, I had a blast and I hope to see you again soon. May the humungous fungus always find you :)
But here's what I need to get across- Hostels are awesome. Why? Well currently I am sitting in the common room/kitchen of the Sentrum Pensjonat Hostel in downtown Oslo, watching the US Open with Jovan, a Serbian chef working in Oslo, as well as a guy from Nigeria, and another from Spain. How many Monday nights do you spend doing that in the US? And just being in this room is an open invitation to talk about where you are from, why you are here/traveling, and of course, who you are rooting for.
Sure my room sleeps seven other people and has a faint smell of sweaty feet, but it's worth it for moments like this.
Picture soon to come.
- Matt
But here's what I need to get across- Hostels are awesome. Why? Well currently I am sitting in the common room/kitchen of the Sentrum Pensjonat Hostel in downtown Oslo, watching the US Open with Jovan, a Serbian chef working in Oslo, as well as a guy from Nigeria, and another from Spain. How many Monday nights do you spend doing that in the US? And just being in this room is an open invitation to talk about where you are from, why you are here/traveling, and of course, who you are rooting for.
Sure my room sleeps seven other people and has a faint smell of sweaty feet, but it's worth it for moments like this.
Picture soon to come.
- Matt
Location:Oslo, Norway
The Happiest People on Earth Ride Bikes.
Written a little over a week ago, first time with wifi since -- sorry for the delay...
As I mentioned in my last post, last week I decided on a whim to surprise my girlfriend, Taylor, in Copenhagen where she is studying. I woke up one morning in Edinburgh and decided it had been too long since I had seen her (almost a month) and jumped on the next bus to the airport. One of the main reasons I am traveling alone and without a scheduled plan is to be able to do things like this. Well it was a great idea, but the Edinburgh airport is pretty small, and with the Fringe Festival coming to an end that weekend, most planes were booked or had extremely high prices. The cheapest flight I could find in the next couple days flew out of London, so thats where I headed. A couple days later, I landed in Copenhagen, and with the help of Taylor's roommate and a mutual friend of ours from school, also studying in Copenhagen, I figured out where to meet Taylor and surprise her. She was touring Tivoli Gardens, a beautiful park in the center of Copenhagen that Disney World is supposedly designed after. Long story short I am struggling with my dying phone trying to contact my friend when suddenly some girl jumps on me and hugs me -- Oh hey Taylor. She saw me first! Thats not how this is supposed to work! But it was great to see her, and we spent the next few hours doing absolutely nothing but walking around just being happy to be with each other.
The next few days seemed to fly by. London, Edinburgh, you guys were great. But nothing compares to Copenhagen, at least not yet. The people are the friendliest people I have ever met, the city is big but has a small city/big town feel to it, and the bikes-- there must be 20 bikes to every car there. Maybe that sounds like an exaggeration, but it isn't. The transportation system in the city is so much dependent on bicycles that their is a separate section of the road for bikes on almost every street, and when their isn't, the cars know that the farthest right side of the road is reserved for bikers. I can't say enough how cool this was to me. Taylor and I rented a bike for me while I stayed there, and the first day I was terrified riding around a city (especially with a bike that brakes when you peddle backwards...last time I used one of those was at school and I got hit by a car - yay). The cars were scary but the other bikers were even more terrifying, they seemed to think six inches of room to your left was enough to pass by without even a hesitation. It took me the first day to realize their was a system though. The bike paths, for the most part, had their own traffic lights. The bikers are supposed to stay on the right side unless passing someone, and use signals to turn or stop using their hands, just as a car would. Before long I got used to it and I realized the coolest thing about the bike system in this city- bikes were just as, if not more important, than cars on the road. In the US if you cut off a car they will honk and swear at you, that is if they bother to stop in time not to hit you. In Copenhagen, even the taxis would swerve or slam on the brakes to get out of your way, and not once did I see a car do otherwise. When they turn they look in their mirrors for bikers every time, since one time without looking could result in them hitting ten bikers and being in the wrong for all of it.
Ok enough about bikes. But seriously, if America could do to New York what Denmark has done to Copenhagen, well--- it wouldn't be New York anymore. I don't know why I even presented that scenario, it's just not possible. When pigs fly.
Anyways, my time there was perfect. Taylor would have school in the mornings, and then we would meet up and tour the city together. In the few days I was there, we biked around the whole city, went to a Nik and Jay concert in Tivoli with her roommates and friends (hugely popular boy band in Denmark, we couldn't understand a word they said but the place was so packed they must be good), checked out Christiania, the self-proclaimed "Freetown" by the anti-governmental Hippies in the 70s, taking over an abandoned military base; cool, but kinda creepy. We spent an afternoon checking out Amalienborg Palace, which is actually four palaces that make up the prime residence of the royal family, then toured the magnificent Marble Church, also part of palace system. We strolled in to find it empty, with the sound of an organ playing and a man singing choir music down below. We ate at a "rolling sushi" restaurant where it was all you can eat sushi brought around on a conveyor belt, and we ate till we were sick. We spent a day traveling to Kronborg Castle, a fortress just outside of the town of Helsinger that is better known as the setting to Shakespeare's Hamlet, and then ate some amazing ice cream at the oldest ice cream store in Denmark, opened in 1922. I'm not kidding, we did a lot. I know I am probably forgetting a ton. I'm sure Taylor will remind me of more later and I will update/add to this post what I can.
I still need to talk about the people of Denmark, so far the happiest and kindest people I have met, with not one exception. A couple times, Tayor and/or I would ask someone for something, such as if they knew if the grocery store had something, and every time the stranger would go out of their way to help, even searching for the object for ten minutes while Taylor and I felt guilty for making them work so hard (true story, happened twice). These people didn't work there, but they helped without hesitation and always with a smile. Another time I accidentally bumped into an old lady and before I could even apologize she turned to me with the biggest smile and, in english (cause I stick out like a sore thumb as an American somehow), said it was okay. Seriously, these people have harsh winters, rainy summers, and ridiculously high costs of living, and yet could not be any happier. Bravo, Copenhagen.
Before I go I just want to thank Lindsay Kimble for her help surprising Taylor, and Julie and Nana, Taylor's roommates, for their incredible kindness and hospitality the last few days.
Currently on a train through Sweden, arriving shortly in Stockholm where I will then take another train to Arboga where I will be meeting up with one of the greatest people in the world and one of my first Au Pairs - Linda Ohrn!
More on her and Sweden to come! I hope everyone is doing well at home, keep in touch :)
- Matt
As I mentioned in my last post, last week I decided on a whim to surprise my girlfriend, Taylor, in Copenhagen where she is studying. I woke up one morning in Edinburgh and decided it had been too long since I had seen her (almost a month) and jumped on the next bus to the airport. One of the main reasons I am traveling alone and without a scheduled plan is to be able to do things like this. Well it was a great idea, but the Edinburgh airport is pretty small, and with the Fringe Festival coming to an end that weekend, most planes were booked or had extremely high prices. The cheapest flight I could find in the next couple days flew out of London, so thats where I headed. A couple days later, I landed in Copenhagen, and with the help of Taylor's roommate and a mutual friend of ours from school, also studying in Copenhagen, I figured out where to meet Taylor and surprise her. She was touring Tivoli Gardens, a beautiful park in the center of Copenhagen that Disney World is supposedly designed after. Long story short I am struggling with my dying phone trying to contact my friend when suddenly some girl jumps on me and hugs me -- Oh hey Taylor. She saw me first! Thats not how this is supposed to work! But it was great to see her, and we spent the next few hours doing absolutely nothing but walking around just being happy to be with each other.
The next few days seemed to fly by. London, Edinburgh, you guys were great. But nothing compares to Copenhagen, at least not yet. The people are the friendliest people I have ever met, the city is big but has a small city/big town feel to it, and the bikes-- there must be 20 bikes to every car there. Maybe that sounds like an exaggeration, but it isn't. The transportation system in the city is so much dependent on bicycles that their is a separate section of the road for bikes on almost every street, and when their isn't, the cars know that the farthest right side of the road is reserved for bikers. I can't say enough how cool this was to me. Taylor and I rented a bike for me while I stayed there, and the first day I was terrified riding around a city (especially with a bike that brakes when you peddle backwards...last time I used one of those was at school and I got hit by a car - yay). The cars were scary but the other bikers were even more terrifying, they seemed to think six inches of room to your left was enough to pass by without even a hesitation. It took me the first day to realize their was a system though. The bike paths, for the most part, had their own traffic lights. The bikers are supposed to stay on the right side unless passing someone, and use signals to turn or stop using their hands, just as a car would. Before long I got used to it and I realized the coolest thing about the bike system in this city- bikes were just as, if not more important, than cars on the road. In the US if you cut off a car they will honk and swear at you, that is if they bother to stop in time not to hit you. In Copenhagen, even the taxis would swerve or slam on the brakes to get out of your way, and not once did I see a car do otherwise. When they turn they look in their mirrors for bikers every time, since one time without looking could result in them hitting ten bikers and being in the wrong for all of it.
Ok enough about bikes. But seriously, if America could do to New York what Denmark has done to Copenhagen, well--- it wouldn't be New York anymore. I don't know why I even presented that scenario, it's just not possible. When pigs fly.
Anyways, my time there was perfect. Taylor would have school in the mornings, and then we would meet up and tour the city together. In the few days I was there, we biked around the whole city, went to a Nik and Jay concert in Tivoli with her roommates and friends (hugely popular boy band in Denmark, we couldn't understand a word they said but the place was so packed they must be good), checked out Christiania, the self-proclaimed "Freetown" by the anti-governmental Hippies in the 70s, taking over an abandoned military base; cool, but kinda creepy. We spent an afternoon checking out Amalienborg Palace, which is actually four palaces that make up the prime residence of the royal family, then toured the magnificent Marble Church, also part of palace system. We strolled in to find it empty, with the sound of an organ playing and a man singing choir music down below. We ate at a "rolling sushi" restaurant where it was all you can eat sushi brought around on a conveyor belt, and we ate till we were sick. We spent a day traveling to Kronborg Castle, a fortress just outside of the town of Helsinger that is better known as the setting to Shakespeare's Hamlet, and then ate some amazing ice cream at the oldest ice cream store in Denmark, opened in 1922. I'm not kidding, we did a lot. I know I am probably forgetting a ton. I'm sure Taylor will remind me of more later and I will update/add to this post what I can.
I still need to talk about the people of Denmark, so far the happiest and kindest people I have met, with not one exception. A couple times, Tayor and/or I would ask someone for something, such as if they knew if the grocery store had something, and every time the stranger would go out of their way to help, even searching for the object for ten minutes while Taylor and I felt guilty for making them work so hard (true story, happened twice). These people didn't work there, but they helped without hesitation and always with a smile. Another time I accidentally bumped into an old lady and before I could even apologize she turned to me with the biggest smile and, in english (cause I stick out like a sore thumb as an American somehow), said it was okay. Seriously, these people have harsh winters, rainy summers, and ridiculously high costs of living, and yet could not be any happier. Bravo, Copenhagen.
Before I go I just want to thank Lindsay Kimble for her help surprising Taylor, and Julie and Nana, Taylor's roommates, for their incredible kindness and hospitality the last few days.
Currently on a train through Sweden, arriving shortly in Stockholm where I will then take another train to Arboga where I will be meeting up with one of the greatest people in the world and one of my first Au Pairs - Linda Ohrn!
More on her and Sweden to come! I hope everyone is doing well at home, keep in touch :)
- Matt
Location:Copenhagen, Denmark
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Taylor - Amalienborg palace
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Taylor And I - Kobenhavns Havn
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Spider Bite
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Fungus Hunting In Sweden
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Saturday, September 10, 2011
Just Outside The Swedish Forest
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Friday, September 9, 2011
What's Really Been Going On
The last two days I spent walking around the Swedish forests some more, collecting more fungus. Here's why describing my experiences via a blog is difficult- cause you read forest, walking, fungus. Well today while doing this forest/walking/fungus stuff, I decided to write about the other stuff that goes on, the things I don't normally talk about...
For instance, today, while walking through the forest on a beautiful afternoon in Sweden, I found myself waving around a stick in front of me swiping away spider webs before I accidentally would walk into them. Ok, maybe I was waving the stick around like a 10 year old pretending he is wielding a sword chopping and flinging it around like a knight of the round table. Don't worry, it gets better.
I can't remember what song I was listening to when the sword fights with the invisible opponents/spider webs began, but I do remember a few throughout the day, and can now only laugh at the randomness of them all. Let's start with Barry White's - Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up, singing along and dancing like an idiot on top of a mossy hill, later changing to some Stroke 9 - Kick Some A*s followed closely by The All-American Rejects. The last two are the type of that punk music phase that almost every teen goes through at some point, where if I was in the car with Taylor or anyone else for that matter two months ago, I would quickly have changed the song and act like I had no idea how that got on there. But I was by myself, and I hadn't heard those songs in a long time. And you know what- I had fun listening to these and other random songs, because when you're already in such a great mood, any song sounds good at that moment. And that's what living everyday to the fullest is all about. (Yes I know that's a huge overstatement, but you know what I mean).
What else has happened. Oh, Linda made the Swedish pancakes that she used to make for my family years ago, one of those foods that I will never forget eating a dozen of in one sitting as a kid, and they were equally as amazing today. Spread some lingo berries that she caught in the woods in her backyard and chase back with some coffee out on her porch, and that makes for one heck of a great start to the day.
I also saw one of the biggest rabbits I've ever seen. Might have been a hare. Not exactly sure of the difference between the two, and not afraid to admit that. As it sprinted away I instantly pretended it was yelling ''I'm late! For a very important date!''
Also got bit by something yesterday, swollen about the size of a tennis ball on the back of my ankle today. Figure it can't be too bad if it took it that long for me to notice it's swelling. I noticed the initial bite/whatever it is the other day when it happened, but didn't feel any swelling yesterday. If I have to cut off my leg I'll let you all know. Oh, also had my first tic today. Same with that- any diseases, you'll find out. I like limes, how bad can the disease be? I've already written it so deleting it wouldn't erase the bad karma I already put on myself so I'll just keep it.
Oh and saw a moose yesterday, 20 meters from the road. Just sat there looking at us for a while before taking off. Huge thing, but oddly graceful, if that makes sense.
Soon I'm going to write about American TV in Europe. Thanks Jersey Shore, no wonder they all hate us.
Going to bed. Checking out the city of Orebro tomorrow. G'night.
For instance, today, while walking through the forest on a beautiful afternoon in Sweden, I found myself waving around a stick in front of me swiping away spider webs before I accidentally would walk into them. Ok, maybe I was waving the stick around like a 10 year old pretending he is wielding a sword chopping and flinging it around like a knight of the round table. Don't worry, it gets better.
I can't remember what song I was listening to when the sword fights with the invisible opponents/spider webs began, but I do remember a few throughout the day, and can now only laugh at the randomness of them all. Let's start with Barry White's - Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up, singing along and dancing like an idiot on top of a mossy hill, later changing to some Stroke 9 - Kick Some A*s followed closely by The All-American Rejects. The last two are the type of that punk music phase that almost every teen goes through at some point, where if I was in the car with Taylor or anyone else for that matter two months ago, I would quickly have changed the song and act like I had no idea how that got on there. But I was by myself, and I hadn't heard those songs in a long time. And you know what- I had fun listening to these and other random songs, because when you're already in such a great mood, any song sounds good at that moment. And that's what living everyday to the fullest is all about. (Yes I know that's a huge overstatement, but you know what I mean).
What else has happened. Oh, Linda made the Swedish pancakes that she used to make for my family years ago, one of those foods that I will never forget eating a dozen of in one sitting as a kid, and they were equally as amazing today. Spread some lingo berries that she caught in the woods in her backyard and chase back with some coffee out on her porch, and that makes for one heck of a great start to the day.
I also saw one of the biggest rabbits I've ever seen. Might have been a hare. Not exactly sure of the difference between the two, and not afraid to admit that. As it sprinted away I instantly pretended it was yelling ''I'm late! For a very important date!''
Also got bit by something yesterday, swollen about the size of a tennis ball on the back of my ankle today. Figure it can't be too bad if it took it that long for me to notice it's swelling. I noticed the initial bite/whatever it is the other day when it happened, but didn't feel any swelling yesterday. If I have to cut off my leg I'll let you all know. Oh, also had my first tic today. Same with that- any diseases, you'll find out. I like limes, how bad can the disease be? I've already written it so deleting it wouldn't erase the bad karma I already put on myself so I'll just keep it.
Oh and saw a moose yesterday, 20 meters from the road. Just sat there looking at us for a while before taking off. Huge thing, but oddly graceful, if that makes sense.
Soon I'm going to write about American TV in Europe. Thanks Jersey Shore, no wonder they all hate us.
Going to bed. Checking out the city of Orebro tomorrow. G'night.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
What The Fungus!?
Ok, to begin with, I just gotta say this is hard. Like I said in my last post, Linda has been kind enough to let me use her computer to write these posts, but using a European computer means having to deal with things like... ä where the ' symbol should be, a tiny shift button that constantly makes me type a bunch of <<< symbols before I realize I did not infact capitalize that last letter, and much more annoyances. But hey, part of the experience right? Jeez speaking of which, why do they put their question mark up over with the numbers::: (thats what you get instead of the question marks) No one might understand this except others currently using a European keyboard and seeing what I mean, so Iäm sorry to the rest of you. Yes I purposely did that last one too. Cause thatös how annoying this is.
Anywho...
Today was awesome. Today consisted of walking around in the woods for 5 hours collecting fungus. Yup. I kinda want to leave it at that. But fine I'll explain. First, I'll take a step back...
Linda Öhrn, one of the coolest people you could ever meet, lived with my family when I was 7 years old (Yes, I was wrong in my last post, I just asked Linda). She was our Au Pair, which if you don't know is like a nanny that lives with you for a year, often from countries around the world. This meant dressed me, fed me, washed me, potty trained me, etc. What I'm a slow learner! But really, she was a huge part of my life, as well as my brother's, and have had the good fortune to maintain friends over the years, to the point where she opened up her house for me for the next few days in my travels through Sweden. Ok, everyone caught up?
Anyways, her house is amazing. One of the coziest homes I have ever been in. To make it even better, it is deep in the country, with nothing behind the house but a couple apple trees, three rows of raspberry bushes, a chicken coop with sixteen chickens laying fresh eggs daily, and forest. Lots and lots of green, lush forest. Not the kind you find in the states that have bike paths and signs of people everywhere. And big spiders. Just green, mossy, beautiful woods. And today, we did one of her favorite hobbies- walking through the forest, finding and collecting mushrooms, or fungus as she calls it. Specifically "kantareller", also called "the gold of the forest", because of its beautiful golden color and of course, it sells for a fairly good price. And that's one of the other cool things - she spends hours at a time doing what she loves, walking through the woods collecting these and other types of fungus, and sells them at local markets. So not only was it a beautiful day of strolling through the woods with our necks bent down, searching for little bits of gold, but it was finding things that would one day soon be in some family's dinner down the road. Or better- in our dinner tonight! I don't even like mushrooms normally but the meat pie tonight would not have been the same without the fresh fungus inside- yes I know how that sounds.
Tomorrow, we head to an even bigger forest where we will search for the big suckers. Pictures soon to come...hopefully.
Anywho...
Today was awesome. Today consisted of walking around in the woods for 5 hours collecting fungus. Yup. I kinda want to leave it at that. But fine I'll explain. First, I'll take a step back...
Linda Öhrn, one of the coolest people you could ever meet, lived with my family when I was 7 years old (Yes, I was wrong in my last post, I just asked Linda). She was our Au Pair, which if you don't know is like a nanny that lives with you for a year, often from countries around the world. This meant dressed me, fed me, washed me, potty trained me, etc. What I'm a slow learner! But really, she was a huge part of my life, as well as my brother's, and have had the good fortune to maintain friends over the years, to the point where she opened up her house for me for the next few days in my travels through Sweden. Ok, everyone caught up?
Anyways, her house is amazing. One of the coziest homes I have ever been in. To make it even better, it is deep in the country, with nothing behind the house but a couple apple trees, three rows of raspberry bushes, a chicken coop with sixteen chickens laying fresh eggs daily, and forest. Lots and lots of green, lush forest. Not the kind you find in the states that have bike paths and signs of people everywhere. And big spiders. Just green, mossy, beautiful woods. And today, we did one of her favorite hobbies- walking through the forest, finding and collecting mushrooms, or fungus as she calls it. Specifically "kantareller", also called "the gold of the forest", because of its beautiful golden color and of course, it sells for a fairly good price. And that's one of the other cool things - she spends hours at a time doing what she loves, walking through the woods collecting these and other types of fungus, and sells them at local markets. So not only was it a beautiful day of strolling through the woods with our necks bent down, searching for little bits of gold, but it was finding things that would one day soon be in some family's dinner down the road. Or better- in our dinner tonight! I don't even like mushrooms normally but the meat pie tonight would not have been the same without the fresh fungus inside- yes I know how that sounds.
Tomorrow, we head to an even bigger forest where we will search for the big suckers. Pictures soon to come...hopefully.
Rightttt, So The Internet...
Internet is oddly harder to come by than I had thought. Let me rephrase that. The internet is there...but when you need to pay for it and sign in and stuff but all the directions are in swedish, well that makes things a bit harder. As promised, I wrote a fairly long blog while on my train from Copenhagen to Stockholm, but when I tried to connect to the internet to post it-- Swedish. I know what you're thinking...find the button that says English. Trust me, I did. It was nowhere to be found, I'm pretty sure there are some Swedish software developers that designed the train system's internet system laughing somewhere about the stupid Americans that can't figure out how to log on. Congrats you guys, go to hell.
I will publish that post when I can next get wí-fi, it is saved on my ipad and I reallyyy don't want to retype it all. As I will explain in my next post, I'm currently staying with a friend of mine, actually an Au Pair that helped raise me when I was 9. She is kind enough to let me use her computer for these posts but does not have wireless, so you're gonna have to wait on that other one, sorry.
I will publish that post when I can next get wí-fi, it is saved on my ipad and I reallyyy don't want to retype it all. As I will explain in my next post, I'm currently staying with a friend of mine, actually an Au Pair that helped raise me when I was 9. She is kind enough to let me use her computer for these posts but does not have wireless, so you're gonna have to wait on that other one, sorry.
Monday, September 5, 2011
He Lives, He Breathes!
Hello All,
I'm sorry I've been so out of the loop with the blogs lately, but I have a good reason. The last few days I have spent with my lovely girlfriend, Taylor, in Copenhagen, Denmark. I'm sorry, but I had not seen her in almost a month and in the couple weeks of travel leading up to coming here, talking with her was limited to texts and a two-minute phone calls every few days, so when I was here, I thought very little of shutting myself away from her and writing a blog post. Also, she didn't know I was coming. I woke up one morning in London and decided I had waiting long enough, I couldn't take it anymore, and bought the next ticket to Copenhagen (that was reasonably priced -- 700 pounds for a 10am flight the next day? sorry Taylor, thats a bit much even to come see you). So two days later, I left, and in that time I could not blog about my future plans due to her avid following of my blog entries.
Now that I have apologized for my lengthy absense, I will say that this will not happen again. I had enough whiney texts from my dad (yeah I'll call you out) and a very cute but sad voicemail from my bestfriend at home, I will never go so long without an entry from here on out.
That being said, Copenhagen has been amazing. But guess what!? I can't tell you about it now, I still need to pack my things and meet up with Taylor before catching my train to Stockholm, Sweden! I will blog about my time here when I'm settled on the train and will hopefully have the internet access to post it then too, if not later tonight.
Until then...
-Matt
I'm sorry I've been so out of the loop with the blogs lately, but I have a good reason. The last few days I have spent with my lovely girlfriend, Taylor, in Copenhagen, Denmark. I'm sorry, but I had not seen her in almost a month and in the couple weeks of travel leading up to coming here, talking with her was limited to texts and a two-minute phone calls every few days, so when I was here, I thought very little of shutting myself away from her and writing a blog post. Also, she didn't know I was coming. I woke up one morning in London and decided I had waiting long enough, I couldn't take it anymore, and bought the next ticket to Copenhagen (that was reasonably priced -- 700 pounds for a 10am flight the next day? sorry Taylor, thats a bit much even to come see you). So two days later, I left, and in that time I could not blog about my future plans due to her avid following of my blog entries.
Now that I have apologized for my lengthy absense, I will say that this will not happen again. I had enough whiney texts from my dad (yeah I'll call you out) and a very cute but sad voicemail from my bestfriend at home, I will never go so long without an entry from here on out.
That being said, Copenhagen has been amazing. But guess what!? I can't tell you about it now, I still need to pack my things and meet up with Taylor before catching my train to Stockholm, Sweden! I will blog about my time here when I'm settled on the train and will hopefully have the internet access to post it then too, if not later tonight.
Until then...
-Matt
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