Thursday, March 31, 2011
Swedes abroad
It is amazing how easy it is to tell a Swede among other nationalities abroad! I have been sitting at the same place in the airport in Lisbon now for almost two hours and noticed several times how easy I can tell who is Swedish- I can tell from afar. This far I haven't mistaken once. However I can not exactly tell what it is, but I see it from a long distance. I wonder if people just as easily can tell that I am Swedish!? And if other nationalities spot their countrymen just as easy. Please let me know!
On the Move again
So I am on the move again. Sitting at the airport in Lisbon on the way to Brasília. I have quite some time to spend here and airports are great for writing/blogging. If I were an author I think I would spend a lot of time writing at airports.
When I wanted to log on to the wlan at the airport I realised that all the information was in Portuguese. I don't know Portuguese, but I did not find it very hard to guess my way through the system. At least I somehow managed to get the system working. I was smiling to myself while doing it and thinking about when I landed in Rio in January. In the plane, before landing, they handed out embarkation cards to be filled in. They were also only in Portuguese. Too proud and stubborn to ask for help, and also because I love doing things on my own, I guessed my way through that form as well. And then I knew even less Portuguese! I kind of realised that it would be a bad thing to accidentally give the wrong answers at a moment like that. "Do you bring weapons, ammunition, drugs etc etc? Yes!" But at least they let me in and I didn't get any problem then. Let's see if they will let me in this time. Maybe it is good that I travel on different passport this time. :-)
Lisbon looked absolutely lovely from the air. I will have to come back and stay. I noticed that I had been looking out the window for quite some time before noticing the fact that it was green, warm and summery outside. It just looked normal. Swedish winter is an absolute abnormality. A freak of nature.
But there is (at least) one thing that I think Sweden should make a serious effort to export. That is the construction of washrooms and lavatories at airports! I just don't understand what the architects/constructors are thinking while creating these small cabins at airports. At airports you are constantly reminded not to leave your luggage unattanded. So what is your option when travelling alone and if you need to go to the bathroom?! You will have to bring your luggage. Then it is absolutely nervewrecking trying to squeese into those small cabins where the doors, of course, also open inwards!! Why the hell do the doors have to open inwards!?!? I must say I don't particularly like Arlanda, but the toilets are great in comparison.
Ok, still three hours to go. Hmm see what I will do now. Shopping is not an option as I already have a huge amount of luggage. Drinking another beer might be an option..
When I wanted to log on to the wlan at the airport I realised that all the information was in Portuguese. I don't know Portuguese, but I did not find it very hard to guess my way through the system. At least I somehow managed to get the system working. I was smiling to myself while doing it and thinking about when I landed in Rio in January. In the plane, before landing, they handed out embarkation cards to be filled in. They were also only in Portuguese. Too proud and stubborn to ask for help, and also because I love doing things on my own, I guessed my way through that form as well. And then I knew even less Portuguese! I kind of realised that it would be a bad thing to accidentally give the wrong answers at a moment like that. "Do you bring weapons, ammunition, drugs etc etc? Yes!" But at least they let me in and I didn't get any problem then. Let's see if they will let me in this time. Maybe it is good that I travel on different passport this time. :-)
Lisbon looked absolutely lovely from the air. I will have to come back and stay. I noticed that I had been looking out the window for quite some time before noticing the fact that it was green, warm and summery outside. It just looked normal. Swedish winter is an absolute abnormality. A freak of nature.
But there is (at least) one thing that I think Sweden should make a serious effort to export. That is the construction of washrooms and lavatories at airports! I just don't understand what the architects/constructors are thinking while creating these small cabins at airports. At airports you are constantly reminded not to leave your luggage unattanded. So what is your option when travelling alone and if you need to go to the bathroom?! You will have to bring your luggage. Then it is absolutely nervewrecking trying to squeese into those small cabins where the doors, of course, also open inwards!! Why the hell do the doors have to open inwards!?!? I must say I don't particularly like Arlanda, but the toilets are great in comparison.
Ok, still three hours to go. Hmm see what I will do now. Shopping is not an option as I already have a huge amount of luggage. Drinking another beer might be an option..
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