Denmark will reintroduce permanent border controls coming Tuesday (read more [german]). Luckily, we'll pass the border already on Sunday ;)
Btw: I enabled anonymous commenting :)
Friday 1 July 2011
Monday 20 June 2011
Where the sun never sets…
Three days ago Anja and I packed the car full (very full!) and started driving north. About 1300km later we're in Kiruna now!
The axe museum and shop in Gränsfors Bruks were closed (surprise, surprise - it was Sunday…). However, we managed to get into the museum using our special people-skills. Thanks to the lady working at the restaurant!
Yesterday I couldn't resist to go to a salmon fishing spot which was mentioned in a tourist guide. It turned out that you have to rent the equipment (because of diseases) for 30 SEK and pay for the fish you catch (69 SEK per kg, including guts :)). Well, it's not very difficult to get a salmon on the hook when there is plenty of them caught in a cage, even if your equipment is a fishing rod with the top broken off. At least it was delicious ;)
After a day of driving in the rain we're in Kiruna now, the northernmost city of Sweden, famous for ore mining. We had some delicious elk and reindeer meat together with - I'm tired of saying it - creepy expensive beer.
The highest mountain of Sweden (~2000m) is quite close, but the weather forecast doesn't promise nice hiking weather. Therefore, we'll probably head Lofoten (Norway) maybe with a short stopover in Narvik - just to see how it looks in summertime :)
The Scandinavia Picture Album has magically expanded…
The axe museum and shop in Gränsfors Bruks were closed (surprise, surprise - it was Sunday…). However, we managed to get into the museum using our special people-skills. Thanks to the lady working at the restaurant!
Yesterday I couldn't resist to go to a salmon fishing spot which was mentioned in a tourist guide. It turned out that you have to rent the equipment (because of diseases) for 30 SEK and pay for the fish you catch (69 SEK per kg, including guts :)). Well, it's not very difficult to get a salmon on the hook when there is plenty of them caught in a cage, even if your equipment is a fishing rod with the top broken off. At least it was delicious ;)
After a day of driving in the rain we're in Kiruna now, the northernmost city of Sweden, famous for ore mining. We had some delicious elk and reindeer meat together with - I'm tired of saying it - creepy expensive beer.
The highest mountain of Sweden (~2000m) is quite close, but the weather forecast doesn't promise nice hiking weather. Therefore, we'll probably head Lofoten (Norway) maybe with a short stopover in Narvik - just to see how it looks in summertime :)
The Scandinavia Picture Album has magically expanded…
Saturday 18 June 2011
Gotland, Canoe and Axes
Wow, the last 10 days were intensive! For about a week, Anja, Hermi, Luis and I cycled the northern part of Gotland (including Fårö) where we saw Raukar and sneaked to Ingmar Bergmans house but didn't catch any fish. The following three days we joined Caro and her friends to paddle from lake Rusken to Rymmen (close to Växjö) where my fish-counter increased by 70cm pike as well as a small and a quite big perch. All of them delicious!
Thanks to our Portuguese, Canadian, German and Austrian company - you guys were great!
I'm rather exhausted from paddling and driving and we're going to leave Uppsala for good today to head north. We'll first go to Gränsfors Bruks to see (and probably buy because I won't be able to resist) Swedish hand-forged axes.
Meanwhile, enjoy some impressions of Gotland!
Thanks to our Portuguese, Canadian, German and Austrian company - you guys were great!
I'm rather exhausted from paddling and driving and we're going to leave Uppsala for good today to head north. We'll first go to Gränsfors Bruks to see (and probably buy because I won't be able to resist) Swedish hand-forged axes.
Meanwhile, enjoy some impressions of Gotland!
Saturday 21 May 2011
No snow but a lot of light, fisk and Russ!
Well, I'm soon finished here (at least with studying) and then the Scandinavia trip will be executed!
Årstider - Seasons
It's now already a lot of daylight here. I remember when I came here in the beginning of January, it was almost completely dark from 4 pm to 8 am. Yesterday I went to a party and it was still some twilight on the horizon at midnight and rather bright again at 3 am. When Anja and I go to North Cape next month I'll be even more impressed :) and probably sleepless.
The snow here started melting exactly on the first day of spring (March 21st) and was almost completely gone by easter. My last cross country skiing trip was on March 30, but it was already kind of crappy. I could find some snow at Holmenkollen about a week ago, and also many lakes were still frozen when the temperature was already around 20°C.
Fisk
During easter holiday I had a really nice vacation with Anja and her parents. We went sightseeing to Uppsala and Stockholm - where we discovered Eriksberg beer and Västerbotten cheese - and had a perfect time in Västervik. For me, most interesting about Västervik was that it is famous for its rich population of huge pikes (gädda på Svensk, gjedde på Norsk, Hecht auf Deutsch ;)) and also salmon, perch, herring and other delicious fish which obviously feel comfortable in the brackish water of the Swedish archipelago ("Schären"). So I packed my angling rod, bought damn expensive fishing equipment (lures and stuff) and was eager to catch huge fish!
Nothing the first day.
Nothing the second day.
And by the afternoon of the last day I had already lost 5 lures which are now all drown in the water, pierced through straw or water plants, except for one which is hanging in a birch (which was the point when I eventually gave up, kind of frustrated).
But Petri seemed to have mercy with me and lead us - on the last evening - to the place where one angler was standing next to each other. It was the harbor. And there were herring (strömming) swarms just a few meter below the water surface, snapping for everything that looks edible (through "fish-eyes").
Well, an hour and 20 swedish kronor (~2€) (for a lure with 6 hooks on a single fishing line) later we were also standing there. What should I say? Herrings are easy to catch, so 2 more hours and we left with 130 fish. We still have some left in the freezer.
Russ
When the Norwegians graduate from school they have this custom to put on red trousers and get really drunk all the time to perform rather weird tasks to get some badges to put on their hats (I've been told one of the more "difficult" tasks, but I'm not going to explain it here…). They call it Russfest (which is actually pronounced "Rüss") and it takes place from May 1st to 17th (the Norwegian National Day) which is actually during they have their final exams… I heard quite a lot fail just because they don't manage the balance between partying and studying. However, it's nice to see that they appreciate this custom, no matter what skin color, religion or gender.
Okay, there are new pictures added here and in the new Album.
Have fun!
Årstider - Seasons
It's now already a lot of daylight here. I remember when I came here in the beginning of January, it was almost completely dark from 4 pm to 8 am. Yesterday I went to a party and it was still some twilight on the horizon at midnight and rather bright again at 3 am. When Anja and I go to North Cape next month I'll be even more impressed :) and probably sleepless.
The snow here started melting exactly on the first day of spring (March 21st) and was almost completely gone by easter. My last cross country skiing trip was on March 30, but it was already kind of crappy. I could find some snow at Holmenkollen about a week ago, and also many lakes were still frozen when the temperature was already around 20°C.
Fisk
During easter holiday I had a really nice vacation with Anja and her parents. We went sightseeing to Uppsala and Stockholm - where we discovered Eriksberg beer and Västerbotten cheese - and had a perfect time in Västervik. For me, most interesting about Västervik was that it is famous for its rich population of huge pikes (gädda på Svensk, gjedde på Norsk, Hecht auf Deutsch ;)) and also salmon, perch, herring and other delicious fish which obviously feel comfortable in the brackish water of the Swedish archipelago ("Schären"). So I packed my angling rod, bought damn expensive fishing equipment (lures and stuff) and was eager to catch huge fish!
Nothing the first day.
Nothing the second day.
And by the afternoon of the last day I had already lost 5 lures which are now all drown in the water, pierced through straw or water plants, except for one which is hanging in a birch (which was the point when I eventually gave up, kind of frustrated).
But Petri seemed to have mercy with me and lead us - on the last evening - to the place where one angler was standing next to each other. It was the harbor. And there were herring (strömming) swarms just a few meter below the water surface, snapping for everything that looks edible (through "fish-eyes").
Well, an hour and 20 swedish kronor (~2€) (for a lure with 6 hooks on a single fishing line) later we were also standing there. What should I say? Herrings are easy to catch, so 2 more hours and we left with 130 fish. We still have some left in the freezer.
Russ
When the Norwegians graduate from school they have this custom to put on red trousers and get really drunk all the time to perform rather weird tasks to get some badges to put on their hats (I've been told one of the more "difficult" tasks, but I'm not going to explain it here…). They call it Russfest (which is actually pronounced "Rüss") and it takes place from May 1st to 17th (the Norwegian National Day) which is actually during they have their final exams… I heard quite a lot fail just because they don't manage the balance between partying and studying. However, it's nice to see that they appreciate this custom, no matter what skin color, religion or gender.
Okay, there are new pictures added here and in the new Album.
Have fun!
Saturday 5 March 2011
Monday 21 February 2011
Narvik - Too Cold or Out of Order
"Let's go as far north as possible!" Okay, we did that. And where is the apparently only place far north where planes from Oslo and trains from Uppsala intersect? It's Narvik!
But it seems that ore is more important than people. Anja and her friends, who came from Uppsala by train, had to switch to a bus some (hundred?) kilometers before Kiruna (Sweden), because it was too cold for the train to go on… at least that's what they told them.
Well, the tremendously long (I tried to count the wagons - when I got to 69 it stopped and I still couldn't see the end…) ore trains from Kiruna to Narvik had obviously no problem with that. And they went just a few meters past the (in Norwegian terms) "cheapest" hostel of Narvik. All day. All night. And they aren't very quiet :)
Uh, yes, the Polar Zoo was one and a half hours away from Narvik - by car (therefore unreachable for us). But that's not worth mentioning on the tourist website. And the sauna at the hostel is out of order but still praised on it's website.
Well, I'm whining far too much. It was a fantastic weekend! We stayed partly at Henning's very nice couchsurfer's flat and enjoyed ourselves there while watching HD movies (huuuuuuge TeeeeVeee!) and having salmon for dinner. Skiing at Narvik's even on Sunday deserted downhill slopes with fresh snow while watching the fight between orange sunset and blue clear sky led to the hard decision of what to concentrate on.
And the last night's clear sky performed finally the North's famous "magical show"…
Enjoy the pictures :)
But it seems that ore is more important than people. Anja and her friends, who came from Uppsala by train, had to switch to a bus some (hundred?) kilometers before Kiruna (Sweden), because it was too cold for the train to go on… at least that's what they told them.
Well, the tremendously long (I tried to count the wagons - when I got to 69 it stopped and I still couldn't see the end…) ore trains from Kiruna to Narvik had obviously no problem with that. And they went just a few meters past the (in Norwegian terms) "cheapest" hostel of Narvik. All day. All night. And they aren't very quiet :)
Uh, yes, the Polar Zoo was one and a half hours away from Narvik - by car (therefore unreachable for us). But that's not worth mentioning on the tourist website. And the sauna at the hostel is out of order but still praised on it's website.
Well, I'm whining far too much. It was a fantastic weekend! We stayed partly at Henning's very nice couchsurfer's flat and enjoyed ourselves there while watching HD movies (huuuuuuge TeeeeVeee!) and having salmon for dinner. Skiing at Narvik's even on Sunday deserted downhill slopes with fresh snow while watching the fight between orange sunset and blue clear sky led to the hard decision of what to concentrate on.
And the last night's clear sky performed finally the North's famous "magical show"…
Enjoy the pictures :)
Wednesday 26 January 2011
Frozen inside
Hell, my window got an ice-layer during the night on its inside! I should stop turning the heating off at night… especially when it's -15°C outside.
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Friday 21 January 2011
Norwaaaaay!
Okay, I finally managed to scrap some time together to write this post :) Not that I'm so much into studying, but, let's say I never got bored (not even now!) and of course I wanted to wait for some interesting things to happen that I can write!
There are (too) many pictures from our New Year's Eve trip to Berlin. Well, in fact it's pictures from Berlin, not from New Year's Eve.
Maybe I should shortly describe (although most of you probably know) the overall plan:
Anja, Hermi and I are on Erasmus exchange studies in Scandinavia now. That offered the opportunity to get (t)here by car and add a few days of vacation previously. And that's exactly what we did!
Since we got a car here now Anja and I plan to do a big Scandinavia trip after the end of semester.
Right now I'm sitting in my student's flat, it's dark and cold outside :) Since it's Friday, I'm supposed to get drunk today… Here in Ås on campus, the place to have some beer is called "Samfunnet", and it's open every Wednesday and Friday. The Norwegian ritual of partying is as follows: Have a "Vorspiel" (yes, that's how they call it), that is, have some drinks before you go to the club because it's bloody expensive there. Expensive here means that 50 Norwegian Kroners (NOK) for 0.5l beer is the cheapest you can get. Try "50 NOK in EUR" in a search engine of your choice…
Many people are already really canned when they head for the club. Then, you spend a lot of money and do extreme par-taying within about 2 hours, because no one could afford being there longer.
When you go home and you think that wasn't enough, you can add a "Nachspiel"…
Enough of that. Most of the other exchange students haven't been here the last three weeks, since the "real" semester starts next Monday. Therefore I haven't met many people yet. Anyways, I accidentally got to know a student from my university who's even studying the same subject. I was walking around in the city center of Ås when I heard a voice behind me murmur "… he is from Austria!" So I turned around and answered: "Yes! How do you know?" "You're wearing Waldviertler!" she answered.
And that was the story of how I was recognized by my shoes.
Ok, I don't want to drown you in text. I'll try to add some short stories continuously. For now, check the snowy pictures!
There are (too) many pictures from our New Year's Eve trip to Berlin. Well, in fact it's pictures from Berlin, not from New Year's Eve.
Maybe I should shortly describe (although most of you probably know) the overall plan:
Anja, Hermi and I are on Erasmus exchange studies in Scandinavia now. That offered the opportunity to get (t)here by car and add a few days of vacation previously. And that's exactly what we did!
Since we got a car here now Anja and I plan to do a big Scandinavia trip after the end of semester.
Right now I'm sitting in my student's flat, it's dark and cold outside :) Since it's Friday, I'm supposed to get drunk today… Here in Ås on campus, the place to have some beer is called "Samfunnet", and it's open every Wednesday and Friday. The Norwegian ritual of partying is as follows: Have a "Vorspiel" (yes, that's how they call it), that is, have some drinks before you go to the club because it's bloody expensive there. Expensive here means that 50 Norwegian Kroners (NOK) for 0.5l beer is the cheapest you can get. Try "50 NOK in EUR" in a search engine of your choice…
Many people are already really canned when they head for the club. Then, you spend a lot of money and do extreme par-taying within about 2 hours, because no one could afford being there longer.
When you go home and you think that wasn't enough, you can add a "Nachspiel"…
Enough of that. Most of the other exchange students haven't been here the last three weeks, since the "real" semester starts next Monday. Therefore I haven't met many people yet. Anyways, I accidentally got to know a student from my university who's even studying the same subject. I was walking around in the city center of Ås when I heard a voice behind me murmur "… he is from Austria!" So I turned around and answered: "Yes! How do you know?" "You're wearing Waldviertler!" she answered.
And that was the story of how I was recognized by my shoes.
Ok, I don't want to drown you in text. I'll try to add some short stories continuously. For now, check the snowy pictures!
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