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Kick’n Back in Croatia

3/10/2019

1 Comment

 
By Bea
Having finally arrived in a non-Schengen country the plan was to slow down, just because we could! We found Val-travel Camping, a small campsite just outside Zagreb. What a find. The extremely friendly hosts, including the dog, came out to greet you. The campsite is a small, set up in the grounds of their home with room for 15 campers at the most. Once we were parked, the hosts welcomed us with a platter of smoked meat and cheese. They had free tea & coffee in the small kitchen and you could order bread or pastries which would be delivered fresh to your van the next morning. The hosts friendly nature was infectious and created a friendly, community atmosphere amongst the campers. Everyone was chatting to each other. Cannot recommend this place highly enough. https://www.val-travel.com/campen.htm
We had done some research and discovered a small fishing village Veli Losinj on the southern tip of Losinj island just off the coast so that’s where we headed the next morning. The plan to just stop and chill out for about 5 days. We had no idea what the area or town was really like, so we were going to suss it out, if all good we would treat ourselves to a small apartment. If not we would drive back up the coast to a better area.
We crossed to the first island by bridge then followed the coast road to a small harbour where we caught the ferry to the second island. We then followed the coast road winding our way down to the southern most point. It was beautiful scenery. Blue waters, sailing boats, cliff faces - just magical. Truly Mediterranean.
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Veli Losinj was delightful, maybe even better than we imagined. The sort of out of the way fishing villages that you see in the movies. Decision made! We searched booking.com for an available apartment then went to take a look. The building was very cute. It was situated on a narrow, winding, cobblestoned street - so picturesque. Sandstone walls, brown shutters, purple bougainvillea growing all over it.
The couple who owned the apartment were so welcoming. He didn’t speak any English, but bent over backwards to help us. She spoke a little English, extremely friendly, chatty and genuinely nice. She was super excited when she found out we were from Australia as apparently her uncle now lives there.
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We unloaded what we needed from the van (they arranged a parking spot for us about 200m away - as the roads were so narrow, there was no way the van would get down them) and settled into our 1 bedroom, ground floor apartment. It was huge compared to what we were used to. The decor was nothing special, but it was homely. We had a large kitchen, dining area, lounge area, bathroom, bedroom and courtyard.
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Went for a stroll that evening, discovered ‘the main harbour’ right at the bottom of the road, about a minutes walk. OMG a small village that was bustling with activity. Had a few restaurants and bars as well as a couple cafes and gelato shops. The village was amazing- cute cobblestoned streets, painted houses with shutters, restaurants with copious amounts of fresh seafood, fishing boats, rocky landscape and crystal clear water blue / green ocean... I kept wanting to break out in either “Mama Mia” or start reciting from “Shirley Valentine”... with her ‘chips ‘n egg’!!
Found a cute bar by the water edge for a pre-dinner drink, such a decision where to have dinner... decided on a restaurant at the end of the harbour. We admired the beautiful sunset as we feasted on a great grilled fish and seafood platter.
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Over the next four days some hard decisions had to be made- where to have our morning coffee, which bay / inlet to have a swim in and at which waterfront restaurant to have dinner. We certainly relaxed, it was nice to have a holiday from our travelling! We would go for a run, swim, write our blogs and take nana naps.
On one of the days we walked to the nearby town of Mali Losinj. Now Mali means small and Veli means big... but our town of Veli Losinj is the small town and Mali Losinj is the big town... go figure! It was about 5km north, up the coast following a newly improved coastal walk path. The town was far bigger than Veli, many more tourists too. I much preferred our small quaint town. We had lunch at one of the waterfront restaurants, and bought some fresh seafood to cook at home. On the way back, we stopped several times for a swim in the different bays.
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On another day we decided to hike up to a view point on top of the mountain, taking a picnic lunch with us. It provided a pretty spectacular 360 degree view of the town and coast.
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For two of the nights, we decided to stay in and Pete cooked the fresh seafood we had bought at Mali. One night we had marinated anchovies and stuffed squid; and the following night we had char grilled octopus and pork belly with caramelised figs, beetroot and a black current vinaigrette. Both were pretty amazing.
On the fifth day it was time to get back on the road. Pete had been in email discussions with a guy in Rijeka about getting a partial wrap done on the van to repair the paint issues and provide added protection. He had been very responsive, as opposed to everyone else, and he seemed to know what we wanted. We met up and after long discussions with him, decided to go ahead, it was going to cost half of what we were quoted in Central Europe. Unfortunately as we wanted a specific colour, that needed to be ordered, it was going to be couple of weeks before we could get the work done. Time to visit the Istra Peninsular.
The Istrian peninsula reaches down into the Adriatic Sea and known for its Mediterranean charm. It is has great views, cute medieval towns scenic coastal drives and rich farmlands. This is Croatia’s answer to Margaret River, known for its wine, olives, olive oil, truffles, honey seafood and meat. (Or maybe its the other way around, as yet, Margaret River doesn’t have any thousand year old villages and cute medieval harbours) We decided to start our investigation of this region in the south west corner at Pula. Here we found a campsite right at the end of the peninsula. Went for a late afternoon swim and dinner back in the van.
Pula is famous for its vast number of ancient Roman buildings, ruins and blue waters. The main town area was only a couple of kms away, so the next morning we rode our bikes in. It has one of the best preserved Roman amphitheaters, the Pula Arena and the structure was pretty amazing to see. In fact, that day, they were holding their annual Pula Marathon which finished inside the colosseum - now that’s a cool finish line!!
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We walked the cute cobblestoned streets and saw various sites such as the James Joyce statue, Triumphal Arch, the Pula Fortress, the Forum, the Cathedral and of course the market. It was starting to get overcast so we made our way back to the van where I cooked up a lasagne for dinner (and given the size, it was going to do us for 3 dinners!).
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Next stop - Rovinj. We found a campsite only 20 minutes walk from the town centre so after setting up we headed in. Rovinj is a small, historic town on the west coast of the peninsula whose, pretty cool, old town clings to the sea cliffs at the end of the headland.
It had a great atmosphere. This is a town you visit for its atmosphere rather than its landmarks, so we strolled the various winding streets, past the church, Balbi’s Arch and the Town Hall just enjoying its scale and vistas.
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As the afternoon drifted toward evening I decided it was time for a sundowner, I had read about a cool bar right on the water edge, so close you sit on the rocks and watch the sunset. Bugger, closed and it looked so perfect damn! About two doors down we passed a little stone archway through which we noticed the waters edge, small tables and people sitting around sipping their cocktails. Okay... why not! Sometimes you just have to do these things right? Anyway, this bar turned out to be a great find. It was really cool.
We found 2 small pastel coloured, wooden stools and a small table (it appeared they were all taken from the nearby kindergarten) right at the waters edge, we sat down just before another couple took it. Feeling a little guilty we moved over and they shuffled their stools to the water edge beside us. Now when I say ‘water edge’ I mean... stone floor> short drop> water! So close that as boat passed the waves would splash up at us. As we contemplated the cocktails selection, we heard the couple speak, no doubting that Australian accent. Pete asked them where they were from... Perth, Australia! City Beach in fact.
It turned out that Mark knew several people we did, close colleagues to Pete from the Planning Group and Hassell days... small world. From that point on, we chatted, drank and watched a spectacular sun set. It was a great night. Hopefully we can catch up with Mark and Monica over some cocktails on their balcony in the future. It’s moments like those that make traveling so enjoyable and memorable, a really friendly couple, who we had a really great night with.
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We left them at the bar in search of dinner. We wandered along the harbor promenade, lined with the ubiquitous alfresco seafood restaurants and cafes. It was getting hard to choose where to eat, all the restaurants seem to offer the same or similar dishes, then we came across a slightly cooler restaurant, Kantinon, whose food, while still seafood, appeared to be a little more of a twist to it, right up our alley!
They didn’t have alfresco waterfront seating but the food just sounded too good to pass up. We had spied a table in a large open archway right at the front, overlooking the promenade, though unfortunately it was reserved It was a bustling restaurant and they only had space available in the back room, no problem. As we waited to be seated the waiter glanced at his watch 7.16 walked to the ‘reserved’ window table, lifted the reserved sign and ushered us over! Score!!!

Kantinon specialises in 100% local produce. I had smoked mackerel with burnt lemon, beetroot purée, marinated beetroot followed by ‘foraged’ (ie I think the chef was out with his fishing line this afternoon) baked local white fish with garlic potato purée, oven roasted olives and tomatoes. Pete had lemon marinated sardines followed by an Istrian squid stew. Washed down with a splendid bottle of local wine recommended by the waiter.

Whilst we were sitting savoring our dinner, we noticed almost everyone that passed by were eating ice creams. The area being close to Italy, there is some seriously good gelato! So after dinner, well... of course we just had to! I think I had the best ice cream I’ve ever had!! It was peanut pie - OMG to die for!
The next morning we continued north, stopped at a little winery for a wine tasting and of course walked out with a bottle wine, olive oil and jar of olives! The weather had turned and the rain set in so it was a good opportunity to do some errands, buy a critical piece of equipment (that we had mistakenly left behind at a camp site earlier in our travels), get new data SIM card and fill up the gas bottles.

We arrived in Umag, in the north west corner of the peninsula, near the Slovenian border, mid afternoon. Took a walk into town about 5kms away. It was an easy walk around the port and water front. The town itself was pretty quiet, nice, but lacked the atmosphere of its neighboring towns. It was however, hosting an international seniors tennis tournament on at the time, so we bumped into many people in their country tracksuit tops on. Didn’t inspire us though, to seek out the tournament.

Back to the camper for a relatively early night. The next day we were booked in for a very special dinner!
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Poland

23/9/2019

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By Bea
Leaving the Baltic states, our original plan was to head into Belarus. Unfortunately to travel visa free in Belarus you have to enter by air not by land, that was not an option. With Belarus now out of the equation we headed slightly west to Poland. I had already visited Poland about 10 years ago but Pete hadn’t so this was still a good option. Also I had a friend, Marcin, in Warsaw so it was a good opportunity to be able to catch up.

Marcin researched and recommended Majawa campsite located close to the CBD with good public transport access.
We met him after work and he took us on a walking tour of the city. It was great to have someone who is local and passionate about their city and country show you around. You get far more interesting information and see things off the beaten tourist route. He loves walking so he made sure we saw as much as we could!
We started in the old town area that, following the Warsaw uprising in 1944, Hitler and Himmel vowed to wipe it from the face of the earth as an example to other European cities.
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The Nazis destroyed 80-90% of Warsaw through bombing, burning and demolition they also stole a large part of its cultural heritage. Between 1950-1970 the city was painstakingly and lovingly rebuilt. The destruction was so severe that historical records such as 18th century landscape paintings by Italian artists were required for the reconstruction. Because of this the “old town” per se is really not that much older than the new town, but its wonderful to see this beautiful area reborn.
We strolled through the streets past sites such as the City Hall, Palace, Royal Castle, National Museum, St Annes Church, St Johns Cathedral, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where the eternal flame is under continual guard, the ever present Palace of Culture and Science (mixed feelings amongst the locals about this building as it was a ‘gift’ from the Soviet Union) and Jewish quarter.
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We discussed the various architectural styles - the ugliness and harshness of the Communist and Socialist era buildings, the ornate baroque and neo-classical buildings and the new modern 21st century buildings all of which sit side by side. After a lot of walking, sightseeing and chatting, we caught a tram and headed to dinner.
Marcin took us to his local hangout, the Kraken Bar. A great set up, one of three little restaurants / bars that share the same public space allowing you to order from which ever you prefer. It was a Wednesday night and it was pumping. A few drinks later, Marcin’s partner, Jesus joined us. It was a really enjoyable night and great to catch up. They certainly looked after us. We were so lucky to have such great hosts. It really makes a visit special.
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The next morning Marcin invited us up to his office where the 32nd level roof terrace has an amazing view across Warsaw. We said our final goodbyes and at Marcin’s suggestion we headed to Lazienki Krolewskie Park and Palace complex, stopping at an Asian supermarket and stocked up on supplies we hadn’t been able to find for months.
Arriving at the park we had a hard time deciding which way to tackle it - it was so big. The park was just beautiful. We strolled around the grounds where people were making the most of the lovely sunshine, sitting in deck chairs chatting, having picnics or chasing their kids! At the heart of the park is the Summer Palace. Funny to think the summer house was really only about 2km from their Winter palace. In fact this palace housed the royal baths and the word “Lazineki” literal translation means toilet (or more fondly known as baths. Baths sounds better than toilet park!).
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On our way out, we stopped to admire the large monument to Chopin. Sadly we weren't there for any concerts, what a great venue it would be to have a picnic and listen to an orchestra.
Time to get back to the van and on the road again heading to Krakow.
Marcin had felt guilty not taking us to a ‘Polish restaurant’, even though hanging at a cool local bar was way better for us, so we promised him we would go to one before we left.
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We arrived at Kemping Clepardia, in the early evening and headed to Restauracja Kosciusko just 10 minutes walk away, who specialised in good local Polish food. It was quite amusing, like walking back in time. The decor and atmosphere was certainly ‘old school’. It was a small restaurant attached to a hotel, with just one waitress who had to do everything, but she was friendly and certainly helpful. The food however lived up to its good reviews. Entree we shared a massive plate of Pierogis - which are traditional Polish stuffed dumplings, super tasty.
For main I ordered roasted pike perch in white wine sauce with a mushroom risotto and quail egg and Pete had veal cheeks au jus with roasted vegetables, parmesan cheese and couscous. The portions were large, the food delicious and the waddle back to our van required!
We caught the bus into Krakow city centre the next morning and spent a few hours wandering the streets having a coffee in Florianska street and visiting the Warwel Castle, Warwel Cathedral, Market Square, Barbikan Gate House, St Florian’s Gate and St Mary’s Church. Also stopping for an expensive mistake of Kielbasa (traditional Polish sausage) in the touristy food square. The price was the mistake not the sausage.
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Early in the afternoon headed to Auschwitz, the famous concentration camp.
Auschwitz is actually made up of three sites: Auschwitz I the main museum site - that houses the infamous gates), Auschwitz II or Birkenau concentration and extermination camp (that has the famous railway tracks and was the site of the main gas chambers) and Auschwitz III (Monowitz) a labour camp.
Auschwitz I is the actual museum and is very well organised. They only allow a certain number of people at a time. Unfortunately, the next available time was in 2 hours, so we headed, by free shuttle bus, to Auschwitz II (Birkenau), about 2km down the road. When I was in Poland about 10 years ago, I visited Auschwitz. At the time I didn’t realise there were other concentration camps, so it was definitely worthwhile me going back.
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It is mind blowing how big Bikenau is, 80% of the buildings still remain and they stretch as far as you can see. At the time each of these buildings were crammed with 400-700 people. Only a few of them were wash houses or toilets that were not built until 1944, prior to then it was buckets in the corners of each building.
After trying to take all this in, we caught the shuttle bus back to the main museum for our allotted entrance time. This place is very different to Birkenau. Initially an abandoned army barracks, the buildings here are brick and strangely look like a nice neighborhood community. However contradictory to its appearance thousands of people suffered and died here. In some of these buildings the physicians carried out medical experiments on infants, twins and dwarfs and also forced sterilisation and castrations on adults. The buildings themselves were designed to house 700 prisoners, but in fact housed over 1,200.
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The buildings are now preserved and UNESCO listed and dedicated them to the memories of what took place. They follow a set path and each building has a display dedicated to a point on a time line, from the arrival of the prisoners, to the suffering, to the executions and finally to the liberation. On display are many personal effects including women's hair; combs and brushes; clothing and shoes of women, men and children; men’s shaving brushes etc. Seeing these particular items bring in a reality to it and actually quite eerie. The volume of such items were astonishing. The compound also has restored landmarks such as the gas chamber, gallows and firing wall. Quite shocking and moving to see.
Over 1.1M people died in Auschwitz, it can only be described as dark, solemn, moving and emotional. However their motto is in order to prevent future wars, we cant forget the past.

It was early evening by the time we had finished our visit so we decided to drive a little out of town and look for a place to stay.

An hour and a half later we crossed the border into Czech Republic. We had googled a campsite along our route, the reviews said ok, so good enough. The manager staggered drunkenly from his caravan, unlocked the office then refused to communicate with me. He just kept saying “no English”. Now I am not one to demand people speak English. I live in a country where English is the second language. So I am more than happy to attempt communicating with hand signals, body language and google translate. But this guy just wasn’t cooperating. Sad, it was the first time we came across someone who wasn’t friendly and helpful in the campsites. The place was full, bar one spot by the river. We soon realised that although the place was full it was pretty empty of people. 90% of the caravans were permanents. Anyway, we just wanted to cook dinner and get to bed.
The next day was a road trip, destination Croatia.

Most of you know we have no end date to our travels. So really, there is no rush. However, we do have one major time restraint hanging over our heads. Fortunately as Australians, visas aren’t required for a majority of the countries we intended to visit, most countries offer us 90 days visa free. Unfortunately the bloody Schengen visa allows 90 days in 180 day period for the entire Schengen zone. Schengen area comprises of 26 countries, how does one cover everything? And to top it off, the Schengen is growing, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria are set to join next year. Currently I can spend three months in each of these counties when they join it will be three days (if I want to see all Europe) Maybe they need to rethink such rules, an applied visa extension or something!
Early in our travels Pete had made out an excel spreadsheet with the dates going from green to orange to red. Green was our safe time, orange we had to start thinking of making our way out of Schengen and red was get out of there now. We were starting to get close to the orange area, so we were making our way down to the first of the non-Schengen countries, Croatia.

Our plan is to travel around the non-Schengen countries until our 180 days is up, then we can re-enter. From Poland to Croatia is actually not that far... just Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and the corner of Slovenia between them! (They will have to wait until our return) Sounds incredible to someone who grew up in Australia.

We arrived at the Croatia border 6 hours and 5 countries later.. passport stamped....AND.... relax!!!!
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The Baltic states

19/9/2019

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By Pete
Travel note: putting AUS stickers on a van is absolutely pointless. People see the D on the number plate and are blind to the bloody great AUS sticker right beside it, they still automatically start speaking German and are surprised when we don’t understand. One guy did, in fact, see the sticker and then proceeded to ask us, in German, if we had been to Australia!! Go figure!
I have to admit we were crossing the Gulf of Finland to lands I knew very little about. Though I had never travelled through Scandinavia or the Nordic countries I felt I knew a bit about them, Fjords, Vikings, vodka, reindeer, Santa Claus and dumb songs by Monty Python. My knowledge of the Baltic states was limited to the fact they had been part of the Soviet Union and, after growing unrest and something called Baltic way, finally gained independence in 1991. I certainly wasn’t aware of the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between the Nazi’s and the soviets to divide their ‘spheres of influence’ over Central Europe, and while I had learnt about the atrocities inflicted by the Nazis I wasn’t aware of those inflicted on their populations by the Communist occupation. This oppression saw approximately one fifth of their population either murdered or sent to Siberian gulags, in towns we had visited only months before, Novosibirsk, Tomsk and Perm. The soviets also ‘encouraged’ hundreds of thousands Russian citizens to immigrate in order to Russify these countries. I vaguely remember the struggle for independence growing through the 80’s and the ‘black ribbon days, that culminated in the Baltic way, a peaceful protest on the 23rd of August 1989 (50th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact) that saw approximately two million people join hands to form a human chain spanning 675.5 kilometres from Tallinn in Estonia through Riga in Latvia to Vilnius in Lithuania. The three countries are now proudly independent members of the EU and after financial hardships in the aftermath of the soviet collapse they are now appear to have prosperous future, though the struggle ahead is a little more evident in the rural communities.
We arrived in Tallinn mid afternoon and headed to a marina campsite on the edge of the CBD. Being a Sunday the marina was a hive of activity, yachts and leisure boats coming and going, certainly a camp site with a difference. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny afternoon so we headed into the cobblestoned old town. Having done some research we had compiled a hit list of sights to see, yet walking through the gate in its 15th century defensive wall was a little like walking into a Christmas market, all your plans vanish, you just wander round trying to take it all in.
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Luckily the camper was booked in for a service in a few days so there was no need to rush, so we didn’t, I think we actually only ticked off two sites before we succumbed to the sunny afternoon and sat down in an alfresco cafe for a refreshing beer...or two.
We headed back to the van via a large supermarket next door, it had an amazing range and reasonably priced. The penny dropped big supermarket, next to a marina, close to Scandinavia...
We picked up some pork kebabs, chicken teriyaki, lamb sausages and a couple salads, set up the barbie, kicked back and enjoyed the balmy evening with a glass of wine, a bbq buffet and watched the yachts slowly return from their weekend sail or heading off back to Helsinki.... sitting a little lower in the water!
After a lazy start to the next day we strolled along the seafront to a memorial we had spotted from the bus the previous day, it turned out to be a moving memorial to the victims of the soviet terror campaign. The centre piece slices through the earth and slowly leads you up to and an apple grove. Simplicity of design and the symbolism is quite powerful. I couldn’t help note it’s location adjacent to, a now dilapidated, 60’s style monument to soviet power.
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We were booked into Ribe that evening, a restaurant known for its Nordic inspired dishes using fresh local ingredients. We headed in a little early to try to tick off a couple more site. Unfortunately as we arrived the heavens opened and we hadn’t bought umbrellas or raincoats. We slowly made our way from the bus stop in the direction of the restaurant dashing between overhangs and Porte Corcheres whenever the rain eased a little.
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We arrived slightly sopping at the restaurant earlier than booked but they happily let us dine early. The food was very nice and the service polished yet friendly, not quite fine dining, but several step up from the typical bistro in tourist districts. Bea and I often order something different so we can extend a two course meal into a 4 course mini degustation.
This night I ordered the scallops with a bisque vinaigrette and whitefish roe followed by roasted guinea fowl with mushrooms, raisins and chicory Bea ordered Estonian beef tartare with parsley mayo and pickled mushrooms then lamb with Kolrabi, spinach and lamb tongue. The waitress gave us a smile when she realised that plates were swapped after each course. She also recommended local wines that she, correctly, felt paired nicely with the dishes. A very pleasant evening.
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The nice weather had returned the next day so we made a concerted effort to get back on track with our sight seeing, a list that now included the ‘Balti Jaama Turg’ market, new ‘arty hipster’ neighborhood and a vegan chocolate shop that were recommended by the friendly campsite host.
The chocolate shop was obviously the first stop, and despite being vegan the chocolate was amazing, really intense flavors and extremely rich. Next the market with its great range of fresh, non-vegan, produce, we would be back.
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The ‘hipster’ neighborhood, a dilapidated warehouse district, backed onto the market so we continued on for a look around. It was quite small and obviously just in its infancy, after a quick look started heading back. I noticed a new building under construction within the warehouses so went to check it out, not that impressive but signs that the area was on the up.
As we headed out again I noticed a large street art piece on a nearby building so we wandered into a large courtyard square, ok maybe the area has a little more happening than you see at first sight. We kept wandering and kept discovering, cafes, galleries, street art, gin distillery (closed damn it) and artisanal ice cream shop (very tasty). Even though the area was being repurposed it had retained its grungy edge rather than being gentrified.
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Ok still had that list and we needed to plan and focus...
Alexander Nevski Cathedral, tick
St Nicholas Church, tick
Danish Kings Gardens, tick
Maidens Tower, tick
Toompea Castle, tick
Town Hall Square, tick
Town Hall, tick
St Olaf’s church, tick
Ok now back to the market for the lamb and that shop for the vegan chocolate!
That night I cooked roasted saddle of lamb with wild mushroom purée, garden peas, burnt onion and a red wine jus. Rather tasty I must admit!
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The next day was our 6 months anniversary of being on the road!! So we spent it hanging out in a shopping mall while the van was in for its service. With the van service finished and with a brand new set of tires we headed off at 5.45pm and arrived at the small the coastal, resort, town of Parnu around 7.30pm. Bea cooked a celebration dinner of gourmet lamb burgers with goat feta, mushroom purée, tzatziki and grilled halumi... and a bottle of bubbles.
We spent a little time in the morning exploring the town and its, unexpectedly, wide sandy beaches. The weather wasn’t all that conducive to sun baking but I can imagine that during the high season this place would be packed.

Following the coast, crossed into Latvia and arrived in Riga, its capital, at 4.00pm and again headed to a ‘city camp’ (Stallplatz) in a yacht club.
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We have been finding these city-camps in all the European cities they are usually set up on large areas of pavement such as yacht club hard stands and exhibition hall car parks, they are a great idea generating income from underutilized space and offering travelers easy access to explore the city.
Riga is a small, attractive, city of around 700,000 people set on the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the River Daugava. It’s medieval old town and beautiful timber buildings have established it, like Tallinn, as a must do stop on the cruise-liner circuit.
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We cycled into town the next morning to check it out for ourselves. The old-town has been predominantly pedestrianized making it very pleasant to stroll around enjoying the sites, the Town Hall square, the House of Blackheads, Riga Dome Cathedral and St. Peter’s Cathedral whose spire offers panoramic, though expensive, views do the city. From the old town we continued on our bikes to the Museum of Occupation where we learnt more of the terror inflicted on the population by both the Nazis and the Communists.
In the afternoon we visited their famous city market (yes there is a theme to the places we visit). This extensive market includes 4 vast soviet era halls along with surrounding open air fruit markets with even more stalls selling all kinds of household goods. We grabbed some salmon for dinner, had a guy blend up a couple of custom mix spices for us then headed back to the van.
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The next morning we drove to a suburb, adjacent to the old town, famed for its examples of Art Nouveau architecture and even though it is basically just one street, it show cases the growth of the style. We then headed to the old Jewish ghetto, and even though it was Saturday and the museum was closed it was early to think the horrors that started here. Between the ghetto and the central market, even more stalls has been set up for the weekend including a local flea market. I was looking for a cheap knife sharpener, they had everything but.
Before leaving Riga we hit the market one more time to get some ingredients for the following days.
We headed toward Liepaja on the Latvian west coast, Tom Tom knew how to get there, unfortunately, however nobody told her that the intersection she suggested had not been built yet! She quickly recalculated and sent us on 30km detour over corrugated gravel roads that shook the bejeezers out of the van. We finally arrived and camped up in a lovely forested camp near a lake a little out of town.
We continued down the coast through Liepaja, a more industrial harbour town where the recovery from the communist era appeared to be taking a little longer, to Klaipeda in coastal Lithuania.
Klaipieda had in fact been part of Prussia/Germany until the early 20th century when after a short stint as a French protectorate was annexed by Lithuania. After a stroll around the small Germanic town centre we continued on to Kaunas and another city camp.
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We rode into town along the river the next morning, locked our bikes near the Kaunas castle ruins and wandered into the old town for a leisurely coffee and pastry, sitting on the sunny sidewalk people watching. Coffee finished we felt it would be appropriate to explore this Hanseatic era area, through the town hall square and Santiago’s park to the newer Freedom avenue. It felt ironic that the old town was full of trendy cafes and young people whereas the newer areas were populated by older generations.
I have been noticing that unlike Western European cities Central and Eastern European cities don’t engage with their rivers. In the west they are celebrated as an important part of the city fabric, they are full of life. In the centre and east, rivers flow through the city but are not engaged by them. I find this unusual and fascinating.
That afternoon we continued the short distance to Vilnius.
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We found a wonderful place called City Forest Hostel and camping right on the edge of Vilnius historic centre. It was a cool hostel, with a great outdoor bar and BBQ terrace, that had 4 or 5 spots for campers. Not sure we were their target market!
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We strolled into town in the early evening to see what the town was all about and find somewhere for dinner, on the way in we stumbled upon the Bohemian ‘Republic of Uzupis’ and small neighborhood that, until recently, was considered the most dangerous place in Vilnius. It has now become an artist and creative district that has ‘seceded’ from greater Vilnius and even has its own constitution, which has even become an attraction within Uzupis - it reads:
1. Everyone has the right to live by the River Vilnele, and the River Vilnele has the right to flow by everyone.
2. Everyone has the right to hot water, heating in winter and a tiled roof.
3. Everyone has the right to die, but this is not an obligation.
4. Everyone has the right to make mistakes.
5. Everyone has the right to be unique.
6. Everyone has the right to love.
7. Everyone has the right not to be loved, but not necessarily.
8. Everyone has the right to be undistinguished and unknown.
9. Everyone has the right to idle.
10. Everyone has the right to love and take care of the cat.
11. Everyone has the right to look after the dog until one of them dies.
12. A dog has the right to be a dog.
13. A cat is not obliged to love its owner, but must help in time of nee.
14. Sometimes everyone has the right to be unaware of their duties.
15. Everyone has the right to be in doubt, but this is not an obligation.
16. Everyone has the right to be happy.
17. Everyone has the right to be unhappy.
18. Everyone has the right to be silent.
19. Everyone has the right to have faith.
20. No one has the right to violence.
21. Everyone has the right to appreciate their unimportance.
22. No one has the right to have a design on eternity.
23. Everyone has the right to understand.
24. Everyone has the right to understand nothing.
25. Everyone has the right to be of any nationality.
26. Everyone has the right to celebrate or not celebrate their birthday.
27. Everyone shall remember their name.
28. Everyone may share what they possess.
29. No one can share what they do not possess.
30. Everyone has the right to have brothers, sisters and parents.
31. Everyone may be independent.
32. Everyone is responsible for their freedom.
33. Everyone has the right to cry.
34. Everyone has the right to be misunderstood.
35. No one has the right to make another person guilty.
36. Everyone has the right to be individual.
37. Everyone has the right to have no rights.
38. Everyone has the right to not to be afraid.
39. Do not defeat.
40. Do not fight back.
41. Do not surrender.
We found a statue of a mermaid under a bridge then discovered that legend has it that if you find this secret sculpture and stare into her eyes you are destined to stay in Uzupis forever... nah.. we needed dinner. We found a cliche tourist restaurant in the middle of the ‘old town’ serving traditional Lithuanian dishes, and against our better judgement decided to try it. I had quail with buck wheat and pears (allegedly a 17th century recipe) Bea had beaver stew, I never thought I would ever see Bea eating beaver!
We walked back to the hostel through the heart of old town, which was buzzing with people enjoying warm evening strolling or drinking in any of the numerous restaurants and cafes that lined the streets and squares.
Being inland Vilnius is not on the cruise-liner circuit which means the tourists actually engage with the city and its restaurants and cafes more than Tallinn and Riga where after their 6 hours of shore leave they’re back onboard for dinner and onto the next destination. It certainly added to the atmosphere to Vilnius’s heart.
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We walked back into town the next morning with a more planned itinerary which included The Gates of Dawn, Gediminas Castle and several of its famous cathedrals along with Palace of Concerts and Sports and of course the Hales Market.
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The Palace of Concerts and Sports is a, now dilapidated, monumentally, brutalist soviet era indoor arena, while I cannot speak to its history or the negative cultural connotations that it may have on the Lithuanian people it was somehow sad, from a purely architectural view to see such a great building slowly crumbling.
That afternoon, after swinging through the Hales Market for dinner ingredients we headed off, via decathlon for running shoes, toward Poland.
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Finland, Finland, Fin....

10/9/2019

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By Belinda (with help from Monty Python)
Finland, Finland, Finland
The country where I want to be
Pony trekking or camping or just watch T.V.”
And its this outdoor life style that makes it such a great country to visit
Leaving Santa’s house and the arctic circle we initially planned to stop early so we could do slow cooked lamb dish for dinner, however nowhere was proving suitable to stop. It was raining and unpleasant so we just drove on, the lamb would have to wait. In the early evening we found a larger lay-by on the road suitable for us to pull off and free camp for the evening.
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The next day we headed into Kuopio and found a small rustic campsite on a lake. Pete set up the dutch oven on the bbq for our slow cooked lamb shanks. We now had the rest of the afternoon to relax. It was nice and sunny so we continued with the polishing of the van and removing more of the decals.
Finland has an abundance of lakes. In fact, there are 187,888 lakes in Finland larger than 500 square metres, about 57,000 of them are over 10,000 square metres and most of them are situated in the “mid-Finland area”. We meandered between some of these lakes toward Jyväskylä where good friends live and had invited us to stay at their lake side, summer house.
OMG we were overwhelmed with their hospitality. It is times like this, spending times with friends, especially locals that really add that something special to travelling. We had it in Denmark and now again in Finland.
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Our friends house was just gorgeous, we wanted to move in straight away. They had a gorgeous balcony that overlooked the forrest and lake. It was so peaceful. Just breathtaking. In the early evening Pete rowed us all to a little island picnic area that is popular with of the locals. Pete had to earn his keep. The island is a great place kick back and relax in nature.
They have communal bbq, and several groups were already BBQing their dinner, we put our Finnish snags on the barbie and joined in on the fun, chatting to the locals, it had a great community feeling. Truly special. We were told that people often camp overnight there and as we left a young group rolled up with their sleeping bags with that very intention.
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After admiring the local blueberries that were being baked in a homemade pie. We were taken, beer in hand, foraging for more berries and also mushrooms (getting a lesson in what was and was not poisonous!)
Our lovely hosts, lit up the fire in the sauna. We were complete novices at sauna-ing! Girls went first, it was admittedly, very relaxing - hot and very sweaty but good. A quick dip in the freezing lake in between the sweating certainly gave the heart a good jolt!
Dinner was a great Malaysian spread, which was divine as we had both been craving some spice. Lots of laughs, great conversation and of course great wine. Later that night we headed back outside to look at the stars It was great to have a beautiful clear night, in the country without city lights and see the milky way so vividly. I love gazing up at its distinctive spiral, something I haven’t really been able to do since the Australian outback.
The next morning we woke to a spread of traditional Finnish delights, open rye sandwiches with cold cuts, cheeses & rollmops, yogurts with fresh berries and delicious rye tarts with a rice & potato filling (Karelian pies), on to which we added salted buttered eggs. The breakfast was so good we ended up stopping the next day to buy our own supplies. Thanks so much Siri & Ilpo for a wonderful time.
Eating breakfast or dinner
or snack lunch in the hall (fall)
Finland, Finland, Finland
Finland has it all
We drove into Jyväskylä, the home of famous Architect, Alvar Aalto, a bit of a legend when Pete was studying. Pete was keen to see the University and visit the museum dedicated to his works. The museum was small but very interesting, even from a non-architect point of view! I’m still sure one of his vase designs was in my Mum’s cupboard whilst I was growing up (sadly I’m sure it isn’t there now). (Note from Pete, I cant believe my mother-in-law had anything that cool in her cupboard ;-) )
We reached our campsite on the southern shore of Lake Saimaa. Lake Saimaa is the largest lake in Finland and the fourth largest freshwater body in Europe. It has a shoreline length of 8,500 miles, which is the longest lake shoreline in the world. I was starting to think how the landscape really reminded me of Russia, it had such a similar look and feel. I have to admit, I was really surprised to learn how close to the Russian border we were.. In fact, the Campsite at lake Saimaa is just 30 mins from Russian border, and reminded us how far we have come and how far we still have left to go.
You're so near to Russia
so far away from Japan
Quite a long way from Cairo
lots of miles from Vietnam
We were on our way to Helsinki when I read about a small town, Porvoo, worthy of a visit, so the guides said, just outside Helsinki. I had seen a few thumbnail photos on the web but it hadn’t prepared me for what to expect, another charming old town with colourfully painted timber buildings, cobblestone streets and an unpretentious atmosphere. It was one of those great finds. We walked around admiring the buildings and small streets, dodging tourists from a cruise ship that had taken a day trip from Helsinki. I love that feeling when you discover an unexpected gem like this.
We arrived in Helsinki early in the afternoon and found a campsite close to the city area, with a metro stop right outside the gates, a perfect location. We went exploring the nearby area, bought a few supplies for the van then spent the evening lazing around and catching up on our blogs. Dinner that night we went traditional Finnish with open sandwiches and our recently purchased delights.
We were taking the ferry Helsinki for Tallin, Estonia in a couple of days but there were only a couple of ferry’s a day, so for peace of mind we took the tram to the harbour to purchase tickets, luckily we did as when we left it was pretty much full.
From the ferry terminal we strolled the headland to the old harbour . A very cool and hip area, with some great looking and hip restaurants. The harbour was full of sailing ships, which we admired and secretly wished we were part of the crew. We continued through the city visiting various buildings and sights including the Red Cathedral, Church of Light and the market square.
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In the last few days Helsinki’s new library had won the award for ‘Best Library in the World’, the latest amongst many accolades that had been bestowed on it, so Pete was keen to visit.
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It was pretty impressive. Inside was quite incredible too. They had so many facilities on offer such as 3D printers, sticker printing, poster printing, T-shirt printing, button making, sewing machine, irons, high powered computers for graphic design, meeting rooms, study spaces, open spaces encouraging interaction and relaxation etc etc... just incredible, certainly not the libraries that I remember.
There was a coffee shop on the curvy balcony, not only an interesting design (don’t fill your coffee mug too full), but with a great view. They do have books - yes books! I learnt there are libraries in each community and are extremely popular and well frequented. In fact one problem they encountered when they first opened was that people would visit the library, borrow a book, but return it to their local library... leaving the main city library short on books!
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As we strolled trough the city centre we were surprised by the sheer number of tourists, our local friends had all commented on the increased tourism over the past few years.
You're so (you were) sadly neglected
And often ignored
A poor second to Belgium
When going abroad (but not any more)
In the afternoon, we decided we had to do the ‘in thing’ and have afternoon tea at Ekberg Cafe. An establishment that has been going since 1852. We sat and had a coffee and their traditional cakes - Napoleon and Thousand Leaves. As you do!
That evening we caught up with Razi and his lovely new wife Anna. We know Razi from Bangkok and now he and Anna have settled back in Helsinki. Razi & Anna booked us in at at KuuKuu, local restaurant in (sub)urban Helsinki known for its local traditional food with a modern influence. We had so much to catch up on. The conversation and wine was flowing, the poor waitress struggled to take our order! I eventually ordered the salmon soup followed by Poronkäristys a traditional dish of thinly sliced sautéed reindeer with a lingonberry and potato mash - very hearty and so delicious. Pete had the prawn skangen followed by beef tenderloin. We had such a great night. So easy, comfortable and such a good time.
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Every 6 months the Helsinki council designates a ‘clean house day’ allowing residence to set up stalls in parks and common areas to sell any unwanted goods. We stumbled upon one as we headed to Alvar Aalto’ house and studio. In a corner park several people had set up their stalls, even a few stalls run by kids selling their much loved unwanted toys and fancy dress. It had a great community atmosphere.
In fact, over the side of town, Razi and Anna were doing exactly that. Having travelling so much and previously living in 2 large places, they had many items they needed to get rid of as they moved to one, much smaller, apartment. It appears they were somewhat successful. A step towards being able to enter their spare room!
After visiting and admiring the Alvar Aalto buildings, we headed back to the tram stop via a short stop at a great local corner cafe. So nice to be in a local area, just enjoying the Saturday morning vibe. It did remind us of a local hip Melbourne suburb on a sunny day.

Getting back into the centre, we made our way the Finlandia hall, another Aalto building. Then on to the library again to take a few more photos,
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Through Scandanavia ‘share ride’ electric scooters are a popular method of urban transport and we had been wanting to try them so we took the opportunity. They were a lot of fun and surprisingly I stayed upright! When we parked them up 15mins later we discovered that it had cost 12euros! We also discovered our love of walking!
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We met up with an ex-colleague of mine. Hang used to be in our Vietnam office when we were Talent Plus. She was a hyperactive and positive nutter... and still is! I love her to bits. It was so lovely to catch up with her and her new husband Juhani. They took us to Cafe Bar No 9, which was a great local Italian cafe institution, After lunch we all walked down to the harbour area, via the main park where more ‘clean your house’ markets were set up and people were out just purely enjoying the Saturday afternoon sunshine. Such a great vibe.
We sadly parted ways at the harbour, it was so cool to catch up, even though Hang was extremely disappointed with me for not giving her longer time. She kept trying to get Pete to promise to come back!
We took the ferry to Suomenlinna. An inhabited sea fortress built on 8 islands. With many walking trails, museums and cafes. I had just expected 1 fort on one small island. Apparently Suomenlinna was shaped by three historic eras when it helped to defend first Sweden, then Russia and ultimately Finland. It was originally built midway through the 18th century, when Finland was part of the Swedish kingdom and in 1991 was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site.
That evening we caught up Razi and Anna at Teurastamo, a former abattoir precinct that has been redeveloped into an arts and restaurant space. There were a couple of alternative theatrical events happening in the centre square, very hip. We had cocktails at the Helsinki Gin Distillery. OMG great local gins! Then on to B-Smokey, a local smokehouse that specialised in ribs, wings and pulled pork. After a great feed, we wobbled back to the Gin house for a final nightcap. By then the long day of sightseeing and second hand stall selling was taking its toll and we sadly parted ways. Yet another amazing display of hospitality that has made our trip so memorable. We are so privileged to be able to have several friends in various countries over here that have been making our trip special.

We do try to learn a few words of local language in each country we visit. Finland with one of the best... Kalsarikannit! Which, apparently translates to “getting drunk at home in your underpants!” Thanks again Razi and Anna!

We crashed into bed with an early start to catch the ferry to Tallin in Estonia.

Finland Finland Finland
The country where I quite want to be
Your mountains so lofty
Your treetops so tall
Finland, Finland, Finland
Finland has it all
Finland has it all.....(Fading)

(Apologies to Monty Python)
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Lapland (not Nana)

4/9/2019

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By Bea
Tromsø is 350km north of the Arctic Circle and when I imagine towns this far north I immediately think of those settlements on discovery channel, hardy places for hardy people. Hardy utilitarian buildings arranged along frontier roads, no place for decoration or whimsy, so Tromsø came as a bit of a shock. OK the ruggedly picturesque harbour was expected but the rows of turn of the century timber shops, the cafes and bistros, the town squares and parks and the two breweries!! Were not.
Tromsø is famed as one of the best places to view the northern lights (in winter!). In the early 1900’s it was the gateway for polar expeditions and hence got the nickname “gateway to the Arctic”. It also played a key role in WWII and functioned, for a brief time, as Norway’s capital. It’s rich in history with excavations showing people settling in the area over 11,000 years ago!
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We decided that reaching the furthest point North was worthy of a celebratory dinner, not that we needed an excuse, we’d been cooking in the van for long enough. We made our way into town to have a look around and then dinner. It is an attractive town, with century old wooden buildings and bold new contemporary ones. There are a couple of cathedrals, the timber, gothic revival, long church built in 1861 and the rather bold and impressive, triangulated concrete ‘Arctic Cathederal’ built in 1965. The new Library is pretty impressive as well.
It has a vibrant cafe and pub scene with one pub offering 50 different Norwegian beers on tap, mostly from Tromsø or the surrounding area. It just wasn’t a town we had expected to feel very comfortable in so quickly. After a walk around we discovered another cool pub, with local brews and great atmosphere to have a pre-dinner drink with the locals.
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Emmas Drommekjokken (Emma’s Dream Kitchen) could be classed as a high end bistro, stylish but not over done. It prides itself on unpretentious, home cooked food created with seasonal produce and Norwegian seafood. The wait staff were super friendly, happy and chatty.
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The meal was fresh and delicious. Pete ordered the 42 degrees salmon with egg cream, smoked trout caviar and fried capers followed by the wolf fish with beet risotto, fried mushrooms and red wine sauce. I ordered the creamy local fish & seafood soup followed by the smoked filet of venison, celeriac pure, green beans, mushrooms and fresh wild blueberry sauce. (We actually swapped dishes half way). Sharing a desert of Emmas creme brûlée with cloudberries.
With full bellies, we wandered the streets for a while and found a groovy cocktail bar a nightcap before headed back to the van.
As we strolled around the harbor area the next morning we came across the ‘Energy Observer’ the first vessel in the world to both generate and be powered by hydrogen, with zero greenhouse gases. It was a pretty amazing sight, covered in solar panels and very sleek. Pete was desperately trying to work out a way how he could join them! We visited Polaria, an arctic aquarium housed in a funky designed building that represents large ice chunks. We didn’t actually go inside the aquarium due to time restraints and quite costly for the amount of time we would be able to spend there. Further down the street we came across a local butcher, a rarity in Scandinavia as we have mentioned, and we took the opportunity to buy various locally produced meats, including reindeer snags, for the next few meals.

This was it, time to start making our way south.... and east, to Finland.
We discovered that the E8 we were on was known as the ‘Northern Lights Route’. This road is where the 3 countries of Norway, Sweden and Finland connect. Starting in Tromsø it follows the boarders of Finland and Sweden for 600km crossing back and forth over 7 bridges. The area has the highest fells of Finland and these make it one of the best advantage points to view the northern lights... in winter. It seams everywhere above the arctic circle prides itself on being the best place to see those bleeding lights... in winter!
Shortly after our lunch stop, overlooking the last of our fjords, the cars in front of us had come to a halt. Just in front of them was a car on its roof with a group of people trying to flip it back. Smoke was coming from it and a campervan was in the side of the road. The guys righted the car and a lady crawled from the car, thankfully, unhurt. The ambulances had arrived and they were in no rush, so obviously no one else appeared seriously hurt. Unfortunately the car was a total right off and lay across the middle of road. No one was going anywhere - either direction!
We had been trying to work out an alternative route but there didn’t appear to be one though many cars were turning around. We eventually spoke to a guy who had been talking to the medics, he said it would be at least another hour then gave us directions to the ‘old road’. He was a journalist and had come to see what was going on. He lived on the old road and had noticed the sudden increase of traffic, so he knew something had happened.
Back on the road again, Pete questioned whether I was ok to continue continue south in Finland or stay north and try to find a reindeer herd. He knew I was a little disappointed not to have seen herds of reindeer.
As we approached the boarder we saw a few more so I agreed, reluctantly to continue south. Minutes later, literally at the Finnish Boarder we were greeted by a large herd! They were running around the immigration building crossing from one forest area to another. We think they, like most people, were actually confused! do we take the green or red lane? I was very happy now and allowed Pete to turn south.
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800m later we stopped in to the alcohol shop to replenish the supplies, we were running on fumes given the Norwegian prices (no Mum, I’m not an alcoholic). Finland also has the same strict laws that alcohol can only be sold in one particular shop. Shopping done Pete wanted to continue on a little as it was only 5.30, I was keen to find a camp site as it was 6.30pm!!!! After a little confusion we realised that some how my watch had changed to Finnish time and Petes was still on Norway time... an hour time difference - doh! I won!
We had seen a free camp spot just back up the road that looked inviting. It was amongst the forest, had a great view overlooking a lake and already had a few other vans there. We set up campsite and to my delight we had several reindeer as company. I wandered off trying to get photos of them in a more natural setting rather than in the immigration queue.
We lit the bbq and settled in for the night.
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We couldn’t come to the Arctic Circle without visiting its most famous resident so the next morning we set off for Rovaniemi, Santas home town - yes contrary to my understanding, Santa lives in Finland! The drive down was lovely, through forest areas with many reindeer, but I was still desperately wanting to see a moose. Once I had seen my first reindeer I was on the lookout for a moose, but yet to find one.

We arrived in Rovaniemi mid afternoon and found a proper campsite situated next to a lake. After setting up we headed into town about 15 minutes walk around to the other side of the lake. The town is small and many of the locals were making the most of late Friday afternoon summer sun, hanging out in the outdoor bars and restaurants. We did a bit of shopping, looked around and headed back.

We had chosen this campsite in order to get free WiFi for the final round of the AFL home and away series. The next morning was the last game for Freo’s season (we weren’t making the finals again). Sadly, another disappointing loss. (Note; two days later the coach and CEO were fired, which made Pete Happy) Oh well it is the beginning of a new era for the club and let’s hope that next season they can turn things around with the new coach. In order to celebrate the last game we cooked up a hotdog lunch.. not just any hotdogs - but more appropriately Scandinavian style - Reindeer hotdogs!!!
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With a heavy heart after the game and a full stomach, we headed off to visit Santa. Santa’s house is open all year round and you can visit the village and Santa himself. https://santaclausvillage.info/
Santa’s village sits right on the Arctic Circle border. I could see how attractive this village would be when covered with snow. Instead for us, it was just bitterly cold. Although Santa was home, I didn’t get a photo with him, it would have cost 30 Euros!. Obviously he has his eye on upgrading his sleigh.
After a short walk around his village it was time to leave the Arctic Circle and Lapland behind us.
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Into the Arctic

2/9/2019

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By Pete
We spent over an hour in Trondheim before finally getting a new sim- then decided to head into Sweden where we could top up our old cards anyway!!.... that’s how unplanned this trip can be at times!
Heading east we left the jagged coast through the rugged beauty of the Scandes and into the softer, rolling hills of Sweden. Arriving in Östersund in the early evening I illegally parked while Bea ran in to top up our Swedish sims... you can never have too much data these days!
We camped that night at a large campsite with free WiFi so we didn’t need to use our sims!
Dinner that night, Pollock ceviche followed by crumbed Pollock... Pollock meal 3... getting over it.
The next morning we turned north and, while listening to the second test slowly ebb toward the inevitable draw, meandered through the rolling hills and lakes of central Sweden. After lunch, leftover crumbed fish sandwiches Pollock meal 4... totally over it!, we crossed 66*33’47.8”- we were now in the arctic circle.
Not that we knew it at the time, it wasn’t until the next morning we realised we were in the arctic, there was no sign or acknowledgement. Maybe Bea’s first reindeer sighting, and her ensuing excitement, should have been a clue! We camped that night down a forest track next to a lovely lake and Bea spent all night dreaming we were going to be murdered in the wilderness by the psychopathic, hoody wearing, walking dead!
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Still alive the next morning we continued north through grey skies and light drissle toward Abisko. Northern Sweden isn’t heavily populated and doesn’t have the developed infrastructure of Norway or Finland so it has a real frontier vibe, even the ski resorts are a little more than caravan parks with a couple of ski tows.. these were for die hard skiers not the apre ski crowd! Abisko is one location in Northern Sweden that has some tourist development as it is one best places to see the northern lights.
The adjacent mountains trap the clouds creating clear skies.. in winter! It is has some great hiking and back country skiing.. in winter. The weather, and the lack of snow, did not deter us from donning our thermals taking the chairlift to the top of the mountain for an exceptional view of the white out and a hearty, warming lunch of homemade soup and hot chocolate. We then walked back down through the misty forest, picking blueberries along the way.
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Turning east again we dropped back down through the dramatic, ragged, mountains of the northern Scandics rejoining the Norwegian coast at Narvick, the gateway to Lofuten. Almost everyone we spoke to in Norway, both local and tourists, said the Lofoten islands were a must. This jaw-dropping chain of islands, jutting from Norway’s western arctic coast, is characterised by its raw jagged mountains, plunging cliffs, sheltered inlets, fishing hamlets, sandy beaches and... surfing!
Yes, if Klitmoller (Denmark) is cold Hawaii then Unstad is bloody freezing Hawaii. We laughed when we saw a van hiring surfboards and offering lessons, we were stunned when, on our way back, we saw a lesson being held in the rain, in 7 degree water ...with no waves! It turned out to be a school group and this was their outdoor-ed, they would be doing it every Wednesday for 6 weeks- they breed them tough in the Lofotens.
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In fact the archipelago has a relatively balmy climate considering its arctic location with summer temperatures soaring as high as a sweltering 14 degees! This relatively mild weather, the great fishing and the safe anchorages is possibly why it has been inhabited for over 5,500 years, with towns established during the Iron Age and early Viking era. The Lofotr Viking Museum creatively that displays the history of one such settlement and tells its history and that of some of its early inhabitants. Much of the information and artefacts came from 38m longhouse who’s remnants were found at the site, a replica of which forms part of the museum.
We drove the ‘Lofoten’ tourist route through changing weather wind whipped rainstorms then breaks of sunshine, it may have been nicer on a beautiful clear day but some how this weather felt appropriate for such a rugged and variable landscape. We then turned north east again toward Tromso, the furthest north we would get on this trip.
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On the ferry towards Tromsø I found myself, as usual, staring into the water and I realised that their was no rubbish, at all, nothing, just a wonderful array of jelly fish, seaweed and bird feathers, and it had been like this since reaching Scandinavia, what a marked change from Asia and China where all you see, even in the most remote landscapes and desserts is the plastic excrement of human population. Is shows that humanity can care and respect nature, I just hope that those gulf streams never bring Asia’s crap to this most pristine environment.
Anyway on to Tromso.
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Crafted by Slartibartfast

29/8/2019

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By Bea
For the past week we have been very low on gas. We had stopped at several locations to try and exchange the bottles, but the fittings are different in Norway and no one had European bottles. Starting to get a little concerned we found a caravan and camping store in Larvik, just a short detour south of Oslo. After talking with their technicians they generously gave us a fitting that we could use on the bottles here. They also told us a place where we could actually refill bottles, success, we managed to refill both our bottles. A sigh of relief and we were on our way again.
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An ex staff member of mine (who now is married to a Norwegian and lives in Norway) said “if you like nature you will love Norway“... she was so right. It is truly breathtaking. We have fallen for this country and cannot get enough of it.
We rejoined Route A134 and headed toward the west coast. What absolutely stunning scenery. Massive pine forrest covered mountains, beautiful lakes, and stunning waterfalls. We barely spoke, OMG, check that out and holy ‘toledo’ were our common reactions.
We stopped for the night at a small campsite, by a lake, called Haukelifjell. We discovered that it even had a small chair lift and a couple of ski runs.
It was a pretty campsite and we were pleased with our choice...until the next morning when we headed off and whilst being even more gobsmacked at the even more gobsmacking scenery we came across several campervans parked in little side-road in the heart of gobsmac-kingdom... camping for free! - OK lesson learned it IS ok to camp anywhere (almost), as we had read. From then on we looked for spots like that.
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As we continued towards Haugesund we need a brief pit stop as one of our headlights had blown. As we checked all was ok other one went, very frustrating but when you are going through tunnel after tunnel after tunnel... working headlights were a priority. I can tell you there are a lot of tunnels in Norway. All we seemed to be doing was either a tunnel or a roundabout. Cant even think of the number of roundabouts we have had to encounter... Pete is so over them!
Haugesund is on the west coast and it was from there that we planned to head north following the, fjords and islands. This was, allegedly, even more scenic than the routes we had just taken.
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We reached the town of Bergen in the afternoon and camped up at a stallplatz close to town, right next to the city tram. It was a quaint town that had been the capital of Norway for a significant slice of its history. The main attraction is, the UNESCO listed, Tyskebryggen (German docks), a series of 11th century Hanseatic wooden merchant buildings that line the eastern side of Vagen harbour.
Their facades are photogenic but walking back behind them and seeing the construction and extensions is fascinating.
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A tall ship race had recently finished in Bergen and a couple of the of the ships were still docked, so we walked around admiring the boats and wishfully thinking we were joining them. After a brief reconnaissance through the fish market area, we planned on buying some fresh seafood the next morning, we made our way back to the van.
3 cruise liners had docked overnight so, the the next morning, the place was heaving with tourists (says us!). We took a walk around the harbour, visited Rosencrantz Tower, which was under renovation (by Guildenstern builders plc....RIP), St Mary’s Church, then made our way to the Floibanen a century old funicular railway that connects the city centre to mount Floyen.
There was a stunning view of the city from the top and it was bustling with locals off to enjoy the surrounding parklands & swimming lakes! and tourists taking selfies. After a lamb hotdog for brunch we walked back down the mountain, through the forrest, into the suburbs of old wooden houses before finally reaching the harbour.
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The fish market was bustling with tourists but we hadn’t had fresh seafood for a while so we picked up some mussels, other seafood and a side order of reindeer salami! (At tourist prices!)
It’s strange that in Norway, with their amazing fishery and great farmland, there’s almost no butchers or fishmongers, whenever we ask the locals, they tell us to go to the supermarket where all the meat is pre-packaged in display shelves, disappointing.
We headed off later that morning following the Osterfjorden north. Again just breathtaking scenery. Crystal clear waters, sheer cliffs and countless waterfalls. We stopped for lunch at a lookout over the fjord, then caught the ferry from Leirvag to Slovag.
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We were just outside of Eivindvik when the road started getting narrower and it was getting late, we were contemplating turning around and heading to campsite we had passed earlier but decided try a possible spot marked as an ‘attraction’. Score! a great free campsite right by the fjord and a medieval Viking gathering place. There were a group of amateur thespians rehearsing for an upcoming festival, a guy fishing on the jetty and another guy in the campervan next to us preparing his scuba gear for a dive the next day.
Chatting to him about the dive he told us visibility is as far as you can see. Now that I would like to see, I have not experienced a dive with such visibility. We just can’t get over how crystal clear the water is here. The parts that are black is purely because it is so flipping deep!. He also noted that it was 8 degrees...mm no thanks!
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The next morning we left Eivindvik and headed north for a ferry from Rutledge to Rysjedalsvika. At the crossing, I met up with a German guy and his wife who were trying to make head or tail of the confusing timetable (being in Norwegian didn’t help) eventually we decided the ferry didn’t leave for about 2 hours, “Bugger”. I was annoyed and frustrated at having to wait when he turned and said “oh well - we are on holiday right!??” The penny dropped, he was totally correct! It was a beautiful sunny summers day, we were parked along a picturesque fjord- get a grip girl! We went back to the vans, he then took out his fishing rod and went to the waters edge to fish!!
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Disembarking the ferry we headed east(ish) along the edge Sogneforden known as the ‘King of Fjords’ as it is the longest and deepest Fjord in Norway stretching over 200km inland. This was an incredible road, the gargantuan cliff faces made me feel so small and insignificant. It certainly was a massive fjord.
Another ferry crossing from Dragsvik to Hella, then around the fjord road to Sogndal before turning north to Fjaerland ‘Glacier country’. Still ooeing and arghing we camped that evening surrounded by 4 glacier arms!
All these arms were fed from the the Jostedal glacier, the largest in continental Europe with an area of over 480 sqkm and a thickness of 600m
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The next day we walked to the Glacier Museum. A really interesting museum, small but very well done, informative and well laid out.
We couldn't get this close to the glaciers and not actually go for a hike on one could we? We found a company, recommended by the museum, and booked a tour for the next day. Realising Pete didn’t have any suitable pants we took a short drive back to Songdal and found a pair on special, success. Unfortunately trying to get out of a very tight area we soon learnt that- long van versus a tight turn= bugger!... back at camp, after some elbow grease with the polish and a little hammer time, Pete minimised the evidence!
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Their were 5 of us on our glacier expedition Margarit our guide and Helene and Gutye from France..
Wow what an experience!
It started with a 1hr hike up to the edge of the Haugabreen glacier arm. After a picnic lunch, we layered up, donned our helmet & crampons, grabbed our ice axe and, after a brief lesson on how to walk on the glacier, off we went. We were all roped together with pete at the rear so he could take photos.
Margarit wanted me behind her, not sure why - maybe it was the fear on my face when she mentioned balance, walk face first down a hill, or trust your crampons! She walked effortlessly across the ice, I nervously stomped my way across making sure that each step the well inserted the crampons.
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It was a great experience and much to Pete’s disappointment finished way too quickly. He was so comfortable on the ice and in seventh heaven. The guide was extremely concerned about a possible thunderstorm looming. Lightning doesn’t bode well when you are standing on ice holding a steel ice axe! Just as we got off the glacier the rain started - good timing.
Wet and cold, yet very happy, we went back to camp. During the glacier expedition the guide had been telling Pete that the lake we were staying next to had the best Trout in Norway. No more needed to be said... Pete bought a fishing rod, a fishing license (something required in Norway when fishing in a lake) and even though wet and cold, he was in a happy place. Let’s say we didn’t have fish for dinner.
While in Bergen we had learnt about the ‘Norwegian National Tourist Routes’ These are 18 roads of significant natural beauty. The amazing roads we had been on so far didn’t even rate.. according to Norway Tourism!! Each of these routes has been further enhanced by the addition of art installations and Architecturally designed view points and rest areas. The Architects, and artists. along with their inspirations, are acknowledged in both the online literature and the signboards at each stop. It was really nice to see design being respected.
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The next day we took our first of these routes- Tourist route 55 - Sognefjellet - ‘On the Roof of Norway’. The route links Gaupne to Lom and yes it lived up to its write up, time to recalibrate our recalibration! Narrow winding roads, steep cliff faces, sheer drop offs and a multitude of waterfalls. I was very stressed - and I wasn’t driving! The route took us from the lush valley of Boverdalen over the highest pass in Norway (1,434m).
We started the day in t-shirts and ended up in fleeces, jeez it was cold. It felt even colder when you could see snow, ice and glaciers on the mountains not that far. The route isn’t all that long, but it took us considerable time as there were so many amazing scenic view points along the way, several with interesting sculptures. We kept stopping to take photos and just soaking up the views.
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At the peak there is a resort with quite an interesting architectural space that links two of the original halls, Pete was impressed! Unfortunately There was a large bump in the driveway we went over it there was quite a bang under the car. We started to drive on Pete noticed a noise An unusual noise. A little concerned by this, we decided to call it quits for the day. Pete had a brief look under the car but nothing visible.
The next morning we stopped in Lom to find a garage where we could put the van on a hoist to get a good look underneath. We were sure everything was fine, but peace of mind is better. Especially when we knew we had the ‘Death defying Trollstigen switchbacks’ to come, no place to have car issues. With the help of the technician we checked it out and nothing appeared to be damaged. We were back on track.
While we waited for the hoist we checked out Lom. It has an old stave church allegedly the biggest and most beautiful in the country, dating back to 1158 and an important stopover for pilgrims. It has several outdoor shops, one where Pete finally replaced his now almost deceased boots. It has a very nice bakery but alas no butcher or fishmonger!
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Leaving Lom we headed toward our second tourist route-63, the ‘Geiranger-Trollsingsten’ which actually starts at Langvinet
Route 63 was, once again, just incredible and I would highly recommend doing it. As we continued, purely mesmerised the late afternoon fog started to set in and by early evening we were driving through a whiteout. We called it a day in Geiranger hoping the next day, when we would tackle the two famous switchbacks, would see better weather.
Our plan paid off. The next day saw sunshine and clear skies, perfect weather for such a route.
A cruise liner had docked in the bay overnight and we were a little concerned seeing the queues of tour buses about to do the same route as us. We grabbed some breakfast delights, snacks and lunch from the local bakery and headed off ASAP.
OMG what a drive. Spectacular scenery and an amazing climb. The sheer drop offs of the Geiranger switchbacks had me holding my breath on occasions. Pete handled the van well and I managed to control my stress levels. I didn’t grip the arm rests too hard! The roads were crazy narrow. Only one a half car widths, so you had to take it relatively slowly and pull off where possible to be able to pass. The issue was the tour buses - they weren't stopping for anyone! The good thing is the tour buses only went part of the way up, the not so good thing was them careering back down as we continued up!!
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The road plateaus out after the switchbacks and you continue through more stunning landscape to the Trollstigen rest area. This is one of those fantastic Architecturally designed cafe and lookouts along the tourist routes. This one was by the firm Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter.
What goes up must come down and directly after this stop was the famous Trollstigen switchbacks and the architects had kindly provided overhanging viewpoints just to let you know what awaited you, and help me stress out. What an amazing viewpoint. Great to see architecture so beautifully integrated into nature and respected.
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So we had seen the switchbacks below us - oh boy... Ok here we go.....
We made it! Everyone was respectful of speed and passing. There were some crazy people doing it on bicycles!!! Seriously??? They would struggle the top then turn around and hurtle back down! Admiration or stupidity - I’m still not sure.
(In fact it was pretty easy, but fun).
We now headed west following yet another picturesque fjord, including 2 more ferries, to Molde. With precision timing, we reached each ferry point and drove straight on
Just beyond Molde we reached the west coast and our next tourist route- the “Atlanterhavsvegen from Bud to Vevang” This route follows the coast north past rocky headlands and remote fishing villages, what a dramatic change in scenery. We chose to stop for the night just outside Bud, keen to make the most of drive the next morning.
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We found a free camping area for the night. no great outlook but there was a sculpture inspired by a can of whipped cream, we had to check it out! It turned out to be a a series of white marble pieces that had been ‘squeezed out all over the rocks and pools along the rocky shores. It was fun and in a strange way really worked with the natural landscape. After a predinner drink at the cliff edge we had a bbq dinner, then a sunset walk back to cliff area for photos of the sculpture.
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The Atlanterhavsvegen includes the ‘Atlantic Ocean road’ an 8.3km stretch from Karvag to Vevang connected by 8 bridges. You basically island hop your way up. The new James Bond film for 2020, was filmed here last month on one of the more well known bridges.
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We took off, over the first bridge. Pete wanted to pull off to get a photo. When we pulled off we realised it was a diving and fishing operator. Next thing we knew we had booked the guy to take us out on his boat fishing!! (Diving was out of the question... it was 8 degrees in the water and we don’t have dry suit qualifications. There was however 1 guy diving in a normal 5mm wet suit - bollocks to that!!!! We dive in thailand in 28 degrees in boardies and a rashi!!). I was a little disappointed though when I saw the size of the scallops the divers were bringing back.
Olav took us out about 2km from shore. We were given a rod & reel. We both cast whilst Olav sussed out the area. I had a bite and lost the fish about 2m to the boat. So typical!
We reeled in and went back to the same spot so we could drift over the same spot. This time Olav threw in his hand line... his handline had 5 hooks on it, within a minute of casting he reeled in 4 Pollocks, including one monster. Pete immediately gave up the rod and reel and took the handline... first cast he pulled in 4 nice size pollocks. One happy chappy!!! Second cast he reeled in another 3!!!!
We swapped so I could try the handline. I’m obviously a sustainable fisherman... as I had 3 casts pulling in 1 fish each time.
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Happy with our catch and way more than we personally needed we headed back. Pete cleaned enough fish our consumption and Olav took the rest for his guests. His company also had Orca expeditions, now that would have been cool! www.orcanorway.no. He is also building a new hotel and was keen to show Pete his plans.
That afternoon we finally made it over all the bridges then, after buying some fresh bread rolls, we stopped and cook up some of our freshly caught fish!! Yummo!!!! Simple meals are sometime so good! Simple pan fried fresh fish in a soft bread roll. :-)
Turning east again we headed toward Trondheim. Time to look for a camp spot, we saw a potential spot down the hill by the waters edge where another camper had just pulled up. We went down to join them. Pete went to park and suddenly I saw the back wheels of the camper sink down into the mud. I felt sick! All I could think of was how the hell are we going to get out of here? Luckily Pete used his 4WD experience. As opposed to revving the car, spinning the wheels and just getting bogged, he managed not to get the camper stuck, but quickly got out of the boggy area! Given the rest of the area wasn’t suitable, we ditched that idea and went back up the hill to find another spot. Shortly up the road we came across a nice pull of with stunning views over the lake on a cliff edge. We lit the Weber and cooked up one of our fish.

Next morning, we drove into Trondheim to look around. Our Sat Nav needed updates loaded so we found a MacDonald’s to use their WiFi (we had previously discovered they have strong free WiFi) Unfortunately this time the WiFi wasn’t so great and the updates didn’t work - in fact we lost all our maps! Now no TomTom!!!! Peeved we wasted time and lost the maps we tried to sort out a new sim card but nothing was straightforward! Annoyed we had wasted the best part of a day we left. Decision time! which route to take? Head east into Sweden then up the middle through the national parks or continue north following the Norwegian coast. We felt we hadn’t given Sweden enough love so we headed towards the border. With about 200 roundabouts and 100 tunnels behind us, we headed to the border of Sweden!....
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On to Oslo

24/8/2019

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By Pete
The Swedens ‘Route 66’ drifts casually across the lower Scandinavian peninsular from Stockholm toward the Norwegian border. The rolling hills, quiet lakes and peaceful rivers you pass make it a rather ‘pleasant’ road trip. This was originally a ‘stunning’ road trip, that was, until we drove further through Norway and had to completely recalibrate ‘Stunning’.
It was along this route that, ironically, we noticed Scandinavian’s passion for ‘50s ‘60s and ‘70s Yank tanks- Chevi Bel-airs, Lincoln Continentals, El Dorados and the like, there were so many cruising 66 that we assumed that it was a car club, however when we spoke to one owner he said it was just a typical weekend, people out for a drive. Since then we have seen them throughout Sweden and Norway, they are still pretty impressive cars.
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We arrived in Oslo early evening and, this time, we choose to head directly to the campsite on a hill overlooking the city.
Oslo is a relatively young city for European standards, having only been the Norwegian capital since 1814 as Christiania. It therefore doesn’t have a plethora of historic buildings rather it is an exemplar of modern urban regeneration. In fact Oslo is considered a ‘Global City’ and was ranked "Beta World City" in recent studies carried by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group. It was also ranked number one in terms of quality of life among European large cities.
There are ambitious plans to develop swathes of the older dock areas into lifestyle precincts of mixed use developments that include apartments, retail and offices around quality urban public spaces, including docks and even swimming beaches. The centre piece of the first stage is the impressive opera house whose design hints at the iconic Norwegian glaciers.
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Winging out either side of the opera house are the first of the mixed use developments which, to me, are very good examples of urban regeneration, if this quality of design continues for the future stages Oslo will be more even impressive city.
On the way to visit the Opera house we met a South African lady who used to be a Ballerina at the Opera who suggested that, after our visit we should check out Salt and then take the Fjord Harbour cruise.
Salt is a semi permanent street art and culture space that occupies part of the docks opposite the Opera house, with gallery space, stage and food vans, even in the cold with leaden sky’s it had a nice vibe.
After lunch at Salt we took the advice and went for the cruise which was a great way to get a feel for this waterside city and see the Renzo Piano designed Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art.
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I was keen to see the Fram Polar Ship museum and the Viking ship museum so the next morning we hopped back on the harbour cruise (it was a 24hr ticket) and headed to the museums.
I had only heard about the Fram once we were in Oslo but it turned out to be one of the most interesting exhibitions I’ve been to. The Fram was a wooden ship built near Oslo at the turn of the century to explore the arctic and was specifically designed be ‘trapped’ in the winter ice with a hull shape that was pushed upwards rather than crushed by the advancing ice. It was involved in several expeditions including Amundsen’s successful South Pole expedition. All these expeditions along with the actual boat are exhibited in fascinating detail. https://frammuseum.no
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A short bus ride from the polar museum is the Viking ship museum which is also interesting as it exhibits, funnily enough, Viking ships, but all three exhibited were real ocean going viking ships before they were hauled onto land to be used in burial rituals for their wealthy owners. In the burial mounds, archeologists unearthed skeletons, beautiful wood carvings and a diverse range of artefacts from the viking age.
That evening we strolled from the campsite into the adjoining Ekebergparken sculpture national heritage park. This is a lovely park that with a strong international sculpture collection scattered within a beautiful natural setting with many spectacular lookout points and an appropriate end to our visit to Oslo.
The next morning headed up the coast toward Bergen.
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Stockholm

22/8/2019

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By Pete
I had been driving the camper for a few weeks and Bea felt It was time to test my competence. As we approached Stockholm, she suggested we try a campsite smack bang in the middle of town called ‘beautiful, idyllic parkland, serenity campground’, or a name to that effect. Sounded too good to be true, especially as I had done some research the night before and hadn’t found it! Anyway, after months on the road, you have to trust the misses, so into Stockholm we headed. Through the outer suburbs, through the inner suburbs, through the outer CBD, into the CBD, into the one way system of lanes and into the 3.5m wide cul-de-sac ending next to a shop called ‘beautiful, idyllic, parkland, serenity, outdoor store;, or a name to that affect. Something got tested that afternoon.. and it wasn’t my driving! With a can opener and a set of stilsons I extracted the van from the CBD and head back to the outskirts to a pleasant enough Stallplatz, close to the city train.
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Originally the plan was to head into the city and check it out...but my mood had changed and needed an alcoholic beverage immediately. I found there was a local bistro, The Orby Bar and Kok (Kitchen), not far from where we were parked up, it turned out to be very local and very enjoyable. The beers were cold and food was homely, the plank steak was tasty and very retro-perfect.
Stockholm is a city of culture and the next morning we dove into the heart of it - The ABBA Museum, sad but Bea loved it. It’s actually quite a fun museum and very interactive, tracing the band history from solo artists on the folk festival circuit through the heady years post Eurovision and then explored their achievements post ABBA. And Bea even got to sing & dance with the hologram ABBA.
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Fotografiska is one of the world’s largest meeting places for contemporary photography. Four unique large exhibitions and about 20 smaller exhibitions are presented annually.
Vincent Peters, Light within- a collection of his best portraits
Refit Anatolia, Latent History- an amazing digital collage history of Stockholm using algorithms and 150 years of photographic history.
Mandy Barker, Sea of artefacts- images using waste plastic collected from beaches around the world, as well as
Scarlet Hooft Graafland’s, Vanishing Traces and James Nachtwey’s Memoria
https://www.fotografiska.com/sto/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoJqlhcOP5AIVA6MYCh2kgAmiEAAYASAAEgIwTfD_BwE
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It was late afternoon by the time we finished viewing the exhibitions so we headed into Gamla Stan and wondered the streets of the old city before heading to dinner at Pelikan.
Pelikan is a 110 year old beer hall restaurant serving traditional Swedish dishes in a fantastic setting.
We shared “gubbrora”- anchovies, eggs, parsley & dill on sweet brown bread and marinated reindeer with mustard cream, horseradish, sea buckthorn or entree. Bea ordered the roasted reindeer, potato croquettes and smoked pork belly red wine sauce while I went all out on a traditional pork knuckle. Delicious!
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The weather was bright and sunny the next morning so we spent the day wandering the city. We visited city hall and the Palace, We had lunch on the wharf area of Skeppsholmen, the ‘art island’ then checked out Pride Park.
It was pride week in Stockholm with many events through out the city. It was wonderful to see how the city embraced the event, not just cafes and clubs, the buses ferries and public buildings flew the rainbow flag.. even the pedestrian crossing signs got into the spirit!
At dusk headed back through Gamla Stan, where we happened upon the navel band performing in a wonderful old square, then on to Ivar lo’s Park, a fantastic little community park with great views over Gamla Stan.
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Late that evening we had reservations at Ekstedt, a starred restaurant that only cooks over wood- no gas, no electricity. The 6 course degustation menu was amazing and included Blackened scallops with girolles and sugar kelp, Hay flamed lamb with Jerusalem artichokes and yellow beetroot and wood fired oven roasted oats, raspberries and sorrel. Every dish was enhanced by the subtle smokiness of the wood fires but never overpowered. This was my kind of food, refined rustic!
We really enjoyed Stockholm. It is an elegant, yet down to earth city with a scale and texture that makes you feel at ease. Being spread over 18 islands with 50 bridges makes it an enjoyable city to walk and the waterways offer views from almost anywhere. The cobblestoned streets and terraces of the older quarters give an air of history without impeding its very modern outlook. The thriving art and culture scene fits comfortably within the city with pockets of art, community interaction, social and culture activities throughout. We’ll be back!
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We left the Stallplatz relatively early the next morning and, avoiding the CBD, headed out along the very picturesque ‘Route 66’ toward Oslo, Norway.
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Gothenburg and Beyond

11/8/2019

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By Pete
Arriving into Gothenburg by ferry is a little underwhelming, its all industrial buildings and tank farms, that is until you approach the bridge. Passing under it is a little like Alice’s rabbit hole, the view transforms from modern industrial to historic(ish) port town.
We drove off the ferry into a new country with its own traffic nuances, getting to grips with this we found ourselves at a Stallplatz* on a picturesque hill on the outskirts of the city. The location turned out to be part of a large parkland designed for outdoor activities. It was at the juncture of two long distance hiking trails and had a range of running trails, mountain biking trails, soccer pitches and an 18 hole frisbee golf course! We used the jogging tracks and were keen to try the frisbee golf but alas time was not on our side.
*A Stallplatz is a designated area for camper vans there is no reception or amenities accept power, its first in first served and you pay for a parking ticket at a machine. They are a great way to get a cheap site close to town.
A tram line at the bottom of the hill delivered us into the CBD in about 15mins so the location was not only picturesque but really convenient. The first item of business was to arrange Internet as our German sim had expired, timing was appalling as it was Mum’s Birthday and we were trying to contact. We managed to get a new sim and a data sim for the van WiFi but unfortunately it was too late to contact mum, oh well, her birthday just got extended by a day!!
Happy 80th Mum!
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The glorious weather we had had in Denmark had followed us so we spent the afternoon strolling the historic centre of the city, first to the main market then through the park along the river to the iconic ‘Seafood church’ the market got this nickname as its 19th century, triangulated facade looks more like a church than a simple market building.
Fika is an institution in Sweden, it is basically the art of having coffee and cake with friends and gossiping, so late afternoon we headed to the Haga area of town, an older precinct with pedestrian streets lined with timber buildings converted to Boho second hand boutiques and coffee shops, for our first Fika minus the friends...and gossip!
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The alarm went off at midnight, I stirred, reached over for the phone, and rang mum, Happy Birthday, finally! Sorry if I sounded a little drowsy.
The alarm went off again at 5.00am for the Dockers game. I wish it hadn’t! We got smashed.
After the game, a brief nap, and then we headed off to the Gothenburg archipelago, as it was still the weekend, and great weather, the ferries to the island were heaving we had to park a few km’s from the pier but no probs, we were taking the deadly treadlies anyway.
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The archipelago is the Gothenburgers summer playground, holiday homes, mariners, restaurants and swimming bays. We caught the ferry to Styrsö and cycled over to Donsö where we bought a Swedish salmon baguette and a skagenrora, a creamy prawn lobsters and crab salad, for lunch which we ate at a wonderful swimming bay and yes we went for a quick swim!
We continued cycling around both the islands discovering quaint holiday villages and trying out the various swimming bays. It is a bit bazaar but I think I have swum in the Baltic Sea more often than the Andaman Sea, and I lived in Phuket for four years!!
We headed back to the ferry (via a lovely second lunch of ‘Raksmogas’, prawns piled high on bread with mayo!
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That evening we headed out of town in the direction of Stockholm, but only got a few km’s past Gothenburg before nightfall.
The next morning we continued east debating weather we head straight to the capital or divert Gotland. Gotland sounded nice but it would be $300 in ferries and exorbitant camping fees, Stockholm it would be.
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We didn’t quite make Stockholm that day, so pulled over at Jorgeso in Oxelösund with the intention of heading into the capital early the next morning. Jorgeso campsite was pleasant so we went for a walk to the nearby beach, wow this area was seriously nice. We found a map that showed the Oxelösund area and all the attractions including swimming beaches and jogging paths.
Discovering this and watching the holiday makers having BBQ’s on the beach we got a serious case of FOMO so immediately decided to stay an extra day to really get a feel for this little paradise, Gotland’s loss was Oxelösund’s gain.

We spent the next day cycling around the mini-archipelago enjoying the sunshine, the wonderful views and the invigorating Baltic Sea.
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In the afternoon we called into the local supermarket bought sausages, buns and a disposable BBQ. That evening after one final swim we had our own beach side sausage sizzle- FOMO over.
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    Bea
    Foodie, learner photographer and a glutton for punishment! Love to explore and learn new cultures. Open to anything new!!

    Pete
    Designer, foodie and
    try hard photographer

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