Stomping around Stockholm

Waking up excessively early to get to the airport by 5:45am, I ....   My first flight in a propellor-driven plane was uneventful and short, featuring stunning views of the archipelago and salty snacks.  After my rather quiet time in Helsinki, I was excited to get moving.  

Aerial Archipelago Assessment

Laden with my heavy pack and buoyed with the excitement of checking out a new city, I trundled through the quiet city streets and waterside walks.  The architecture, cleanliness and feeling of "everything is so right" really hit home here.

A typical Stockholm building

After a considerable walk, it was time to head out to the little island where I'd be staying.  That boat looked pretty neat docked beside the little castle.  

What a nice boat

I walked to the check-in, and was greeted with the news that I'd be sleeping on that white floatie!  It's amazing what you can forget a few months after planning a trip.  Unsurprisingly, it was way too early to check in; I stashed my bags and set off camera in hand.  

The plebe view from my hostel

Strolling on out, it was time to grab some groceries to take shelter from the outrageous Stockholm restaurant prices.  I expected that to be a fairly simple task, and it would have been but for one small obstacle:

Gay Pride Parade

The dense, colourful crowds of people from all walks of life made my little trek for a bite to eat a two-hour excursion.  The only attention I attracted was from a Finnish girl well endowed with facial hair.  Great.

Bunk up

I was glad to get back to the hostel, check in, and freshen up.  The early morning had taken a toll on me, and after a nap in my gently rocking bunk, I took a stroll over to Old Town.

This caught my ears before my eyes

Arriving in old town, I was greeted by beautifully restored ancient architecture, streets, and cars. It was a peaceful and surreal walk through a quaint and expensive part of town.

American cars are a rare sight in Europe

Clouds'n'stuff

Old Town Dock Construction

Some old guy who did something important

 I took the fading light as an opportunity to practice my panning shots.  They do cars right in Sweden.

Soon the sun started falling, and it was time to head back to the ol' ship again to recharge.

Typical stroll view

That evening I went out on the town.

I walked over to the 'bohemian' sector, then on to the hip & trendy main strip.  Walking up the hill I noticed a sign: "Happy Hour Drink Special: Beer 70 Kronor!"  This worried me - it converted to just over $10 cdn.  For one beer.  At happy hour.
Worse, it was already past happy poor hour, and beers were up to their usual price of 90 Kronor. Being used to German prices, I kept walking.  And continued walking.  Prices didn't improve.
I asked some locals where to go and was recommended a hilltop patio - if I was going to spend money I may as well do it somewhere cool.  It was closing as I arrived, so I gave up on that idea and went back to the hostel.

Cost of a night out on the town: 0 Kronor.

Mornings on the roof of the hostel

I woke up without a hangover and with a full wallet, which was nice.  I saw a couple Austrians I had met the day before in the morning (Sophie and Martin), so we went out to explore Stockholm.  We went on a hop-on hop-off bus tour, and saw the whole city.  I decided that Stockholm is, in a word, liveable.  It wasn't amazing to explore, but it seemed to ooze a high quality of life.

One highlight of the day was touring the Vasa museum, which was built around what was meant to be the crown of the Swedish navy in the 1500's.  Unfortunately it was tragically unstable and sank miles out of the harbour.  Something about a top-heavy design and low, open cannon ports didn't quite work. Oopsie daisy.

Sophie and I at the back of the Vasa

Sophie & Martin, the friendly Austrians

The Vasa took in too much Wassa and went for a plunge

Dat Stockholm Sunset

Stockholm harbour

The hostel was gorgeous to come home to at night

My bedroom

Tschuss!

The next day I went out to catch the changing of the guards at the Palace.  They were an impressively patient bunch of chaps.

Don't mind my zoom

N'sync

The afternoon was full of rain an catching up on Facebook, followed that evening by a much quicker grocery trip than the first day.

I decided to fill my last day in Stockholm with a boat cruise on the Strömma Kanalbolaget through the Archipeligio to Vaxholm.  Picturesque and peaceful, being out on the water was a beautiful way to spend an August morning.

The bow of the Strömma Kanalbolaget on the Archipeligio

Stockholm also had a giant park showcasing Sweden's interesting history - Skansen Open-Air Museum.  A thoroughly interesting 3.5 hours passed here, wandering ancient settlements, chest-height abodes and fully functioning 1800's bakeries.

Olde Tyme Machinery Shoppe

Trendy in the 1700's?

In the evening I caught some of the olympics in the painfully family-friendly hostel and got prepared to stay somewhere a little more lively.  

The next morning I was off to Copenhagen!

Hello Helsinki

I'm not totally sure why I went to Helsinki.  All I know is that the first evening was unreal.  I arrived at my hostel exhausted but curious to see what the city had to offer, so I decided to take a jog and cover some decent ground.  I found myself running along the oceanside in gorgeous summer weather, noting the lack salt in the air; apparently the Baltic is way less salty than the Pacific.  The more you know.

Running was a good and bad choice.  I don't know what was in the air that night, but every other runner I passed was the human equivalent of a barbie doll.  Mouth agape, I pushed on until dusk - I couldn't stop.  This was a poor decision: my calf decided to give out, and I was gimped for the next two weeks of travelling.  Worth it.

The next morning (August 2) I grabbed a tourist map and went for my usual sightseeing trip.  Here are the highlights:

This is the Train Station.  Neato.

The harbour, which is not where I went running.  

Another harbour picture

Tuomiokirkko (Lutheran Cathedral)

I stopped for the first fresh salmon I'd had in a looong time.  The coffee was good too.  

Mo' harbour

Reindeer sub.  

They have some cool architecture

Helsinki was being featured as the Design Capital of the World for 2012, so they had the odd event going (that was a big reason I came in the first place).  I eventually made my way over to the Cable Factory, where they had a bunch of the latest in Finnish design.

HI Design at the Cable Factory

They had some cool exhibits, but it was a little underwhelming as a whole.

Fancytram

 I took a quick jaunt from my hostel late that afternoon to Church in the Rock.  I was pretty Churched out by this point (7 months in Europe will do that to you), but the architecture of this one left a lasting impression.  It was gorgeous:

Temppeliaukio Church (Church in the Rock)

 After eating, I saw hints of a beautiful sunset.  I limped up to the highest point I could find near my hostel and enjoyed the beauty of it.  My hostel was boring and there was no partying or young people, so this was the extent of my night:

A sunset.  

On Friday I went on a Design Tour.  I was hoping for something more related to Industrial Design, but instead I saw a bunch of furniture, jewelry, and grandfather clocks.

My thoughts exactly.

Some furniture tricks you into thinking it's comfortable

A fine example of Finnish design.  

During the design tour, I finally met another person my age.  Julia and I hopped over to the fortified island of Suomenlinna, where we explored old settlements, strongholds and salty candies.  Salmiakki is a traditional Finnish candy of similar texture to wine gums.  The best way I can describe it is as a mouthful of sweet seawater.  Addicting and not overly pleasant in my books, it wasn't my favourite.

Salmiakki (traditional Finnish candy)

We strolled around, eventually reaching the end of the island.  There was a gap of what looked to be about 100 metres to the next island, and a cruise ship was steaming towards it.  I watched as this behemoth of a boat navigated the narrow channel with what was probably 25 metres on each side.  Damn impressive if I do say so myself.  Oh, and an airplane came by doing barrel rolls and flips.

Gosh darn Silja Line, you're uncomfortably close

Julia and I grabbed dinner, sampling some of the local fruit wines and hiding from the torrential rain that decided to make an appearance.  With an early flight the next morning, I packed my bag that night and retired, excited to see what more Scandinavia had to offer.     

Last weekend in Donaueschingen!

I finished work last Wednesday, and spent most of the weekend preparing for a little trip that I've planned.
I did have time to hop out to Loeffingen for a party, Lenzkirch for a BBQ, and Braulingen to see Andreas Tesch's custom smoker/bbq/grill fire up for the first time.
There won't be any posts for a month, since I'm off to make the following itinerary a reality (and won't have a computer with me).

-Helsinki
-Stockholm
-Copenhagen
-Hamburg
-Berlin
-Prague
-Florence
-Rome

See you on the flip side!

Ravensburg and the Bodensee

I took a trip to the small city of Ravensburg to visit some friends I had met along my travels.  I hopped off the train and said hi to Rika; she said she had a surprise for me.  I was handed a poncho, and we turned the corner to see a 1970's East Germany-made scooter.  I squeezed my head into the three-sizes-too-small helmet, and we set off into the downpour.  Some notable comments: "Sometimes my driving isn't so good"  "The brakes don't really work"

Fortunately the route didn't have any downhill slopes, so we made it to our destination alive.  After setting up in a bedroom, a few other friends came over to get ready to head out to the city festival: Rutenfest.  Friday night was a bit of a downer.  The pouring rain put a damper on all outdoor festival activities, and the beer tents were at capacity by the time we arrived.  We all had a mas (1L beer) under some umbrellas they had set up outside, wandered around for a little while, and headed home.

Subtle Bathroom Tiles

My only picture from that night

The next day, after a successful morning of shopping for some necessities..

Out with the old, in with the new.

And watching parades and traditional drumming,we made a trip out to Friedrichshafen to enjoy the Bodensee (Lake of Constance).  It rained and rained, but we still got ice cream.  By the time we got back to Ravensburg, the rain had stopped, so we went to Rika's aunt's house for a small get-together before heading down to the Rutenfest.

A rainy Friedrichshafen

The crowds around the drummers in Ravensburg

Pipers

We were moving slowly through the crowds when I saw one of the saddest sights I've seen on my travels:

He sat there for a good two minutes before I moved on

I briefly considered doing something about the situation, but we had friends to meet, a carnival ride to ride, and beer to drink.

The next day was gorgeous, and Rika and I drove out to Bregenz to check out a more picturesque view of the Bodensee.  We went up the gondola, and absorbed these views as we lounged in a reclined wooden bench at the top of the mountain.

Houses above Bregenz

Rika and I Relaxing in the sun

The views from where we sat overlooking Bregenz

The Alps in the back

Bregenz and Lake Constance

Europe can be beautiful.