(no subject)
Did I tell you that I was going on holiday to Sweden and Denmark? Probably not.
So I'm having my first Scandinavian holiday, mainly staying with
erinmack in Lund in southwest Sweden. I first met Erin when she stayed with me in 2006 as a Couchsurfer, and via the magic of Livejournal we've kept in touch ever since. Until a month ago she was living in San Francisco, but she's just moved over here to complete her degree in Scandinavian studies, and if all goes well she is planning to stay here for good. Lund is a quaint little university town, all cobble streets and old brick buildings, quiet at the moment because the students are on holiday, but really pleasant.
Thanks to the efficiency of the Swedish transport network however, I haven't really spent much time there, because I've been too busy exploring the rest of the southwest of Sweden. If you have a bike and a train timetable here you're pretty much set, and rural areas are accessible in a way that they aren't in other countries if you don't have a car. Yesterday I crossed over to a little island called Ven, rented a slightly rickety one speed bike and rode along a little coast side path, stopped to sunbathe and swim in the sea, and then carried on, looking at the seaside cabins as I went along and trying to decide which one I would rent for the summer if I could. Its nice not being limited to cities in the way that I normally am when I travel, I need to get out to the countryside more often.
I've also been to see a Swedish band called Bob Hund, who were, urm, interesting. They sing in Swedish which is rare in a country where most people speak English better than the English. They were a bit too rockkk for me, with lots of over the top chair smashing antics going on on stage, much to the amusement of the pissed up audience who were singing along with nationalistic pride (short ferry ride over to Denmark equals cheap beer you see). And then half way through the set I heard a familiar riff and they started playing a Swedish language version of Final Solution by Pere Ubu (obscure 70s garage band from Cleveland, USA, who only, like, ten people in the world know about). So I watched in amusement as the crowd pumped the air and sang whatever the Swedish words are to what is supposed to be a really nihilistic song, bizarre!
Today I crossed over to Denmark to visit Copenhagen for a couple of days and give Erin a bit of a break from me. Tonight I'm staying with a Couchsurfer called Anne, who met me at the station this morning and has been my guide for the day. She took me to Christiania, the 'free city' which has been squatted since the early 1970s, and told me about the history of the place, which the authorities here want to clean up and build new housing on, even though its one of Copenhagen's biggest tourist attractions, and it contains the neatest, cutest self built homes that I've ever seen (not that I've seen that many, but you get the idea). We followed that with a boat trip around the canals so that we could cool off for a bit. Yes, its been absolutely baking here today, my tan is coming along nicely and my freckles have come out, but you know me, I like the sun. Right now I'm sitting in Anne's flat (no bathroom, that's a communal affair down in the basement, seems to be a common arrangement here) whilst she cooks a fantastic smelling meal for me featuring courgettes from her parent's garden. I always luck out with Couchsurfers, I'm yet to stay with anyone who I haven't got on with fantastically.
Tomorrow night, I'm going to meet up with my long lost friend G, who I haven't seen since we ungraduated from university six years ago (neither of us bothered to actually go to our own graduation ceremonies, but that's another story). We lost contact for ages and then found each other on Facebook, as you do. She's just finished a Phd in anthropology and also works as a youth worker. We should have a lot to catch up on...
So I'm having my first Scandinavian holiday, mainly staying with
erinmack in Lund in southwest Sweden. I first met Erin when she stayed with me in 2006 as a Couchsurfer, and via the magic of Livejournal we've kept in touch ever since. Until a month ago she was living in San Francisco, but she's just moved over here to complete her degree in Scandinavian studies, and if all goes well she is planning to stay here for good. Lund is a quaint little university town, all cobble streets and old brick buildings, quiet at the moment because the students are on holiday, but really pleasant.
Thanks to the efficiency of the Swedish transport network however, I haven't really spent much time there, because I've been too busy exploring the rest of the southwest of Sweden. If you have a bike and a train timetable here you're pretty much set, and rural areas are accessible in a way that they aren't in other countries if you don't have a car. Yesterday I crossed over to a little island called Ven, rented a slightly rickety one speed bike and rode along a little coast side path, stopped to sunbathe and swim in the sea, and then carried on, looking at the seaside cabins as I went along and trying to decide which one I would rent for the summer if I could. Its nice not being limited to cities in the way that I normally am when I travel, I need to get out to the countryside more often.
I've also been to see a Swedish band called Bob Hund, who were, urm, interesting. They sing in Swedish which is rare in a country where most people speak English better than the English. They were a bit too rockkk for me, with lots of over the top chair smashing antics going on on stage, much to the amusement of the pissed up audience who were singing along with nationalistic pride (short ferry ride over to Denmark equals cheap beer you see). And then half way through the set I heard a familiar riff and they started playing a Swedish language version of Final Solution by Pere Ubu (obscure 70s garage band from Cleveland, USA, who only, like, ten people in the world know about). So I watched in amusement as the crowd pumped the air and sang whatever the Swedish words are to what is supposed to be a really nihilistic song, bizarre!
Today I crossed over to Denmark to visit Copenhagen for a couple of days and give Erin a bit of a break from me. Tonight I'm staying with a Couchsurfer called Anne, who met me at the station this morning and has been my guide for the day. She took me to Christiania, the 'free city' which has been squatted since the early 1970s, and told me about the history of the place, which the authorities here want to clean up and build new housing on, even though its one of Copenhagen's biggest tourist attractions, and it contains the neatest, cutest self built homes that I've ever seen (not that I've seen that many, but you get the idea). We followed that with a boat trip around the canals so that we could cool off for a bit. Yes, its been absolutely baking here today, my tan is coming along nicely and my freckles have come out, but you know me, I like the sun. Right now I'm sitting in Anne's flat (no bathroom, that's a communal affair down in the basement, seems to be a common arrangement here) whilst she cooks a fantastic smelling meal for me featuring courgettes from her parent's garden. I always luck out with Couchsurfers, I'm yet to stay with anyone who I haven't got on with fantastically.
Tomorrow night, I'm going to meet up with my long lost friend G, who I haven't seen since we ungraduated from university six years ago (neither of us bothered to actually go to our own graduation ceremonies, but that's another story). We lost contact for ages and then found each other on Facebook, as you do. She's just finished a Phd in anthropology and also works as a youth worker. We should have a lot to catch up on...