Had a nice day strolling around in Buenos Aires, doing the tourist track strolling through Recoleta, San Telmo with the fair and then La Boca and Caminito. Nice.
Something I didn't expect though was the most common reaction people had on hearing that I come from Sweden. I mean you do get to hear some different things and some more often that others, but here was a very specific for Buenos Aires/Argentina. I don't even remember how many times I have been told the story of how the Boca Juniors got their colours. Apparently they had difficulties choosing colours for the new team and they made the agreement to pick the colours of the flag of the first ship to enter the harbour in the morning and apparently it was a Swedish ship, hence the Boca is since then playing in blue and yellow (gold). I might somehow have heard that story before, but not the way that I remember it, but now I have heard it more times than I can remember..
Showing posts with label Sweden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sweden. Show all posts
Monday, October 10, 2011
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!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Domestic Travels II
As I don’t get to travel that much right now, maybe I should write more about Sweden, from a traveller’s perspective. After all it was on the news yesterday, that Sweden made it to the top-twenty-list of tourist destinations in the world. Quite unbelievable if you ask me! I don’t think I would go here if I didn’t live here!
But still, there are nice places. This weekend I will be off to the West coast again, my beloved Bohuslän!
But still, there are nice places. This weekend I will be off to the West coast again, my beloved Bohuslän!
Monday, May 28, 2007
Too little travelling in the normal life!
Hmmm, it is a bit sad that I haven't had anything to write on this blog in a long while. It means I have not been travelling as much as I want. I was wondering what would have happened if I had accepted the work in Abuja or in Dhaka. Would that then still have been considered travelling or "normal life"? I mean if I really would have stayed there and worked??
Well, that is not an issue right now anyway. I will stay in Sweden for the nearest future and I dont think my moving to Kristinehamn will count as travelling!
Well, that is not an issue right now anyway. I will stay in Sweden for the nearest future and I dont think my moving to Kristinehamn will count as travelling!
Friday, April 06, 2007
Riksgränsen
Back from a very nice trip to the north! I must admit this trip has somewhat changed my perception of the northern part of Sweden, I had to re-evaluate some of the prejudices I had about that part of the country and of the people living there, all for the better. I still have the same perception about winter though; I don’t mind snow and winter as long as I can go to it and it does not come to me! And this far north the snow is so very white and clean and the slopes have only natural snow. This part is really so exotic. For me it feels much more exotic to go here than to the Alps, although still in my native country. It is so far away, so open, so empty!
And still we had really bad luck with the weather. When we arrived it was raining. That night and next day it was snowing heavy and there was a very strong wind, which meant the whole mountain was closed off. Therefore I and Victoria went for some snow shoe walking, which was also very nice. In the afternoon we caught the train to Narvik mostly because the train ride is supposed to be very beautiful along one of the fjords, and it was! Of course the visibility could have been better, but it was still very nice.
All wrapped up for snow shoe walking in the hard wind.
The border between Sweden and Norway. We crossed the border several times that day.
It is really so far away from everything! Narvik.
We could actually only ski one day, because of the wind and the poor visibility, there was storm and even hurricane warning, so all slopes were closed. That day it was still rather cold and windy and the skiing was difficult because of all the snow that had fallen and the slopes were not well prepared, but it was still nice to ski again. The storm and snowing continued and for a while we were really snowed in as the road was closed and you could only leave in a convoy. As this is a small place with basically only one hotel, one restaurant and one bar being snowed in means you can not avoid getting to know some of the other guests and the staff; it makes a very friendly and familiar atmosphere. Very nice!
In the end it cleared up and they could open the road again (until 1984 train was the only way to get here at all, and if it hadn’t been for the transport of iron ore from the mines in Kiruna and Gällivare to the ice free port of Narvik, there would not have been a railroad either) and we could leave. By then the weather was sooo nice we did not really want to leave, but we had to. But who knows, maybe we will come back soon, they stay open till midsummer!
It is a paradise for off pist skiing!
Enjoying the sun when it finally showed. Someone called Riksgränsen "Heaven or Hell" and I can understand that, when the weather is nice up there it is unbelievable, but when not, it can get really nasty!
As we did not sleep too much during these days I was rather tired on my way back home. So tired fell asleep on the train from Stockholm! I slept so heavy I did not wake up when I should have got off. I did not wake up until my mother, waiting at the station, called me asking where I was. I was so gone! I hade to go with the train all the way to Göteborg, wait another hour for the last train back and did not get home until two o clock last night. Strange ending to a nice trip! Would be nice to calculate how many kilometres I travelled yesterday.
And still we had really bad luck with the weather. When we arrived it was raining. That night and next day it was snowing heavy and there was a very strong wind, which meant the whole mountain was closed off. Therefore I and Victoria went for some snow shoe walking, which was also very nice. In the afternoon we caught the train to Narvik mostly because the train ride is supposed to be very beautiful along one of the fjords, and it was! Of course the visibility could have been better, but it was still very nice.
All wrapped up for snow shoe walking in the hard wind.
The border between Sweden and Norway. We crossed the border several times that day.
It is really so far away from everything! Narvik.
We could actually only ski one day, because of the wind and the poor visibility, there was storm and even hurricane warning, so all slopes were closed. That day it was still rather cold and windy and the skiing was difficult because of all the snow that had fallen and the slopes were not well prepared, but it was still nice to ski again. The storm and snowing continued and for a while we were really snowed in as the road was closed and you could only leave in a convoy. As this is a small place with basically only one hotel, one restaurant and one bar being snowed in means you can not avoid getting to know some of the other guests and the staff; it makes a very friendly and familiar atmosphere. Very nice!
In the end it cleared up and they could open the road again (until 1984 train was the only way to get here at all, and if it hadn’t been for the transport of iron ore from the mines in Kiruna and Gällivare to the ice free port of Narvik, there would not have been a railroad either) and we could leave. By then the weather was sooo nice we did not really want to leave, but we had to. But who knows, maybe we will come back soon, they stay open till midsummer!
It is a paradise for off pist skiing!
Enjoying the sun when it finally showed. Someone called Riksgränsen "Heaven or Hell" and I can understand that, when the weather is nice up there it is unbelievable, but when not, it can get really nasty!
As we did not sleep too much during these days I was rather tired on my way back home. So tired fell asleep on the train from Stockholm! I slept so heavy I did not wake up when I should have got off. I did not wake up until my mother, waiting at the station, called me asking where I was. I was so gone! I hade to go with the train all the way to Göteborg, wait another hour for the last train back and did not get home until two o clock last night. Strange ending to a nice trip! Would be nice to calculate how many kilometres I travelled yesterday.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Domestic travels
This weekend I enjoyed some travelling in Sweden. I visited some friends in southern Sweden, in Helsinborg and Lund and besides the nice socializing and partying we also saw some wellknown sights I hadn't seen before, as Ale Stenar; kind of a Swedish Stonehenge. Felt like holiday. Nice!
Some small houses in the picturesque village of Kåseberga.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Travelling without moving
If you can not travel for real, there are ways you can pretend you are travelling. Today I suddenly found myself in southern France, racing the Tour de France! And still I never left Stockholm; I just went to my local fitness club! I went there to join a body combat class, but the class turned out to be full and I was suggested to join a spinning class instead. It was a long time ago since I did any spinning, but why not… Once there I found out the class was called Tour de France and the idea is that the class follows a different section of the real race every time. Unfortunately for me, this; the sixteenth section supposedly was the toughest, uphill, uphill, uphill. Oh my God, I am not sure I will be able to get out of bed tomorrow. But, hey, I have been to France on a Monday evening…
Another way of travelling without moving is of course to let someone else do the travelling for you. This weekend I watched the film; Borat!: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. All I can say is; go and see and have a good laugh! It is hilarious! If you have read the travel guide; Molvania, A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry, and liked it, you will love this movie. If you haven’t read the book or watched the film, you have a lot to look forward to!
Another way of travelling without moving is of course to let someone else do the travelling for you. This weekend I watched the film; Borat!: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. All I can say is; go and see and have a good laugh! It is hilarious! If you have read the travel guide; Molvania, A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry, and liked it, you will love this movie. If you haven’t read the book or watched the film, you have a lot to look forward to!
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Tuesday in November
Ahhhh!!! It is cold, wet and DARK! I can't stand it! Please anyone, take me away from here!
Why must autumn in Sweden be so depressing?!
But, dear friends, in just another two days it will be the first "Tuesday in November" of the year! Something we really have to celebrate!
For those of you who might not yet be familiar with the concept of "Tuesday in November", I can just inform you that this is a tradition to celebrate and cherish. If you have ever experienced November in Sweden or any other northern country (maybe November is not great in a lot of places) you know it is not the most enjoyable time of the year. And it is hard to think of a more depressing day than a Tuesday in November. So, what to do about it?! Of course you should turn the whole thing around! Make something nice of it! Gather your friends around a nice meal and some wine, go to the movies or the theatre, make a afternoon visit to a spa or just do anything that you like and will make you feel better and get you through the month. That way you might even start looking forward to Tuesday in November!
Why must autumn in Sweden be so depressing?!
But, dear friends, in just another two days it will be the first "Tuesday in November" of the year! Something we really have to celebrate!
For those of you who might not yet be familiar with the concept of "Tuesday in November", I can just inform you that this is a tradition to celebrate and cherish. If you have ever experienced November in Sweden or any other northern country (maybe November is not great in a lot of places) you know it is not the most enjoyable time of the year. And it is hard to think of a more depressing day than a Tuesday in November. So, what to do about it?! Of course you should turn the whole thing around! Make something nice of it! Gather your friends around a nice meal and some wine, go to the movies or the theatre, make a afternoon visit to a spa or just do anything that you like and will make you feel better and get you through the month. That way you might even start looking forward to Tuesday in November!
Monday, October 09, 2006
The Normal life
If there is anyone who still checks this site and wonder what has happened to me, I can inform you that I have started writing about my "normal" life on another blog. Somehow it did not feel right to write about it under the name Travels 06..
So if you are interested check: www.goodrun-normallife.blogspot.com
So if you are interested check: www.goodrun-normallife.blogspot.com
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Problems of the developed world
I have now been back in Sweden two days and already feel terribly restless. But I will have to start get my life going again. New challenges wait around every corner! Or..?? Not..??
Being back I have confirmed something I have been suspecting for some time. For the first time in my adult life I have gained weight!! Not too many kilos but I feel really bad about it. Not about the kilos themselves, they will soon go away once I am back to normal life, but I feel sincerely bad about gaining weight in an extremely poor country!
But maybe that is symptomatic. If overweight is a welfare problem of the developed world it is telling that I gain weight when I am relatively rich. It is not as if I cannot afford to eat in Sweden, but what I think makes the difference, is that in Sweden I walk much more and thereby get more exercise without thinking of it. In Harare I always drove a car wherever I went. In Sweden I don’t afford having a car but take the train, bus or underground, which automatically mean I have to walk more. And in Harare people always said it is not safe to walk, so, hence the extra kilos.
I went jogging yesterday and I was hoping that I would feel very light and fit after having had some high altitude training (Harare is on 1500 m), but shame on me… I felt very unfit. Now I will have to go to town and buy new jogging shoes, the old ones I left in Harare. I am sure that will make the jogging feel much easier..:-)
Being back I have confirmed something I have been suspecting for some time. For the first time in my adult life I have gained weight!! Not too many kilos but I feel really bad about it. Not about the kilos themselves, they will soon go away once I am back to normal life, but I feel sincerely bad about gaining weight in an extremely poor country!
But maybe that is symptomatic. If overweight is a welfare problem of the developed world it is telling that I gain weight when I am relatively rich. It is not as if I cannot afford to eat in Sweden, but what I think makes the difference, is that in Sweden I walk much more and thereby get more exercise without thinking of it. In Harare I always drove a car wherever I went. In Sweden I don’t afford having a car but take the train, bus or underground, which automatically mean I have to walk more. And in Harare people always said it is not safe to walk, so, hence the extra kilos.
I went jogging yesterday and I was hoping that I would feel very light and fit after having had some high altitude training (Harare is on 1500 m), but shame on me… I felt very unfit. Now I will have to go to town and buy new jogging shoes, the old ones I left in Harare. I am sure that will make the jogging feel much easier..:-)
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