Thursday, August 31, 2006

Sverige...

historically has been very different than the Sweden of today. On this trip I have learned and been reminded that the friendly blonde tanned people of the north have in fact been savages in the past. Of course their is the Viking period when, though they were not known as Swedes, they inhabited that part of the world. Then beginning in the medieval period Swedes, as a country, began to expand west into Norway, a little bit south into Denmark and then east into Finland. Norway and Denmark are considered Scandinavian and share a similar background and language. Though there is variation in the language it is by and large the same and someone speaking Swedish can understand someone speaking Norwegian and so on. But there are differences. The bid oddity is Finland as the language there is completely different but more on that in another post. So Norway is mountainous and full of fjords whereas Sweden is much more flat and full of forests and fields. The driving through Sweden was quick and easy and the 500 or so kilometers went really quick. Also the sun came out and welcomed Veronika to her homeland. Other differences noted was that meatballs in Norway are call kottkaker and in Sweden kottbullar. As anyone who has a Swedish meatball, probably on a trip to Ikea, the exterior is brown due to it being fried and the interior is a greyish brown. They are also small and about the size of a marble. In Norway the meatball is much larger and more of a oval. Additionally, the meat is brown all the way through. I found this odd but so far cannot explain the difference as it certainly seemed the meatball was fried. Anyway. Stockholm was very nice and sunny as we took in the sites. We saw the canals, Wasa warship, Gamlastan, Swedish Architecture Museum and the others. It was a good two days in Stockholm. Having been to southern Sweden exclusively before it was odd to see a big Swedish city. Previously I had thought Sweden to be one big suburb but Stockholm is definitely a city and a very pleasant one at that. It also helped that we could stay with Veronika's aunt and uncle who were very accommodating and excited to see us. On the 27th of August in the evening we caught the ferry from Stockholm to Turku, Finland. The ferries are nice and relaxing. This one was about 11 hours long so we took the overnight arriving bright and early in Turku. The Finnish language is certainly unique and I found it impossible to understand. Something I forgot about Europe is the Roma gypsies. There was a load on the ferry and they dress just like they probably have for centuries. It was odd and scary and reminded me of the time when I was little and scared of gypsies. I remember being little and visiting Poland with my parents and my friends their pointed out the gypsies and for some strange reason I remember being scared. Anyway on the dance floor in the ferry nightclub they can certainly dance and Veronika and I enjoyed watching them cut a rug. Turku and Helsinki in the next entry.

posted by NV @ 6:53 pm 1 comments

The Need to Eat

We have now made it to Tallin in Estonia, eating along the way, as one has to. It's funny how it works, when home in London eating out is a special treat, something special every once in a while to be savored. Now we are eating out everyday and it is a necessity rather than an indulgence. It's amazing how much time, I at least, spend thinking about the next meal. As Nick can attest I get very grumpy if food is not found the moment I get hungry. There have been a few hairy moments looking for something suitable to eat...

Since leaving London we have had some very good and not so great meals. We have tried to savor the local cuisines which have included Norwegian meatballs (Nick noted that they are significantly different from the Swedish ones), herring (which doesn't vary much in taste), smoked reindeer meet (a Norwegian specialty popular with the tourists) and different types of cakes.

What has varied most in the different countries is the price you have to pay to fill your belly, in Finland some cakes and coffee in a fancy cafe cost us 10 pounds. The same type of cakes and coffee in Estonia cost 2.50 pounds.

What hasn't varied at all is the breakfast buffets that have been waiting for us in the mornings at the youth hostels we have been staying in Norway and Finland, and the breakfasts we ate in Sweden. They all consist of bread, cheese, sandwich meat, muesli and "filmjolk" a sour milk. As a Swede this is something I'm used to and quite enjoy getting back to my breakfasting roots, but as an American used to waffles and eggs Nick is dreaming of other flavors. We will see what awaits tomorrow morning in the Estonian youth hostel, unfortunately I doubt that it will be a variation on the theme.

And so as we eat our way across Europe, we will hopefully have more good meals than bad ones, but I for one will soon start dreaming of savoring an exotic home cooked meal.

posted by NV @ 6:33 pm 2 comments

Monday, August 28, 2006

The trip thus Far (Norway).....

has been good. It's Been a week now and it has flown by but at the same time felt like a long time away from our home in London. On Friday the 20th of August we drove up to Newcastle to take the ferry over to Bergen, Norway. All of our stuff fit into the rear and a little behind the passenger seat. All in all perfect for the trip. Only now we realised that even though we paired down to what we thought were the basics, we both still packed too much clothing!

The drive up to Newcastle was good as it was Sunday and the roads were largely empty. The Smart car is speed limited in our version to just short of 90 mph and I tested this several times on the way up. No matter how hard you press it won't go any faster. Believe me, I tried it.

The ferry was largely uneventful but restful following all the work we did in the few days prior to leaving for the trip. Leaving work, moving house and finishing up all the renovation works to the new place, really took it's toll.

Norway is absolutely beautiful. It is a country full of mountains, fjords, rivers, and glaciers. Bergen is a beautiful city surrounded by seven mountains and seven fjords as the guidebooks say. We stayed in a hostel up in the high hills which eventually became Ulriken mountain. We climbed to the top and could see several directions to the city of Bergen and to other mountains and fjords around.

Originally the plan was to drive to the Arctic Circle through Norway. We quickly discovered that due to all the mountains and fjords there was no direct route up to the Circle and that for the same reason, speeds of 60 kmh could rarely be passed. So instead we decided to go east to Oslo, Norway's capital.

Oslo was nice and we went to the Kon Tiki museum and the Viking Ship museum. Norwegians are extremely proud of two things, their country and their history of exploration. Like most Scandinavian cities it is very clean and similar to what I have seen of Swedish cities.

The thing I will always remember about the trip to Oslo though will be the drive. Words cannot describe and the pictures that we took probably will not do the places we saw justice. The fjords are just fantastic! However the driving along all those mountain passes that sweep down to the fjords only to switchback to a mountain road are fantastic to drive even in the Smart which isn't really designed for country roads. It held its own and was a fun drive. It would be a pleasure to come back to Norway for the scenery once more but I would bring a car better suited to get the most out of the driving experience.

Lastly about Norway is that it is really, really expensive there. I could not believe the prices. London is expensive but Norway beats it by 25-50% on everything. So if you are going to Norway, pack up on travel food at your local Tesco and then go. Your wallet will thank you.

posted by NV @ 7:24 pm 2 comments

Oh how time flies

We have now been on the road for over a week, although it feels more like several weeks. I guess time flies when you are having fun... The idea was to post every couple of days to keep everyone updated, but we've been too busy doing stuff (which I guess is a good thing) and internet cafes in Norway (which was the first stop on our adventure) are hideously expensive.
So what have we been up to? well...
We've been on two ferries, one from Newcastle to Bergen Norway and one from Stockholm Sweden to Turku Finland. The ferries being an adventure all to themselves, filled with colorful characters and accompanied by equally colorful drinks.
We've seen some stunning scenery in the shape of several fjords, reached by dangerously curvy roads, and even a glacier.
There have also been some nice cities along the way, the first being Bergen a small yet perfectly formed clean and mountainous place. We then went to Oslo, where it rained and so most of our time was spent in museums, learning some interesting facts about vikingships and Kon-Tiki. Stockholm was our next stop where we enjoyed being real tourists on a hop-on-hop-off bus.
We are now in Turku, the first place where neither of us can speak nor understand any of the language. Very strange to have to ask people to translate signs and menus, but interesting nonetheless.
As we head East internet and all other things will get cheaper, leaving us with more food and accommodation choices and also more opportunities to keep you updated.

posted by NV @ 7:23 pm 1 comments

Sunday, August 13, 2006

First Blogging

We recently discovered this new invention called the internet! Apparently you are able to communicate over vast distances via a computer. As we are soon departing on a Smart Adventure around the Baltic Sea, please stay tuned to this page for updates.

posted by NV @ 10:09 pm 0 comments