Category Archives: Epic Journey 3

ÆØ

20120710-143630.jpgAt some point of my life I toyed with the idea of replacing Swedish/Finnish äö with the mode stylish Danish/Norwegian æø. In all the four languages the letters serve the same function, but the Danish/Norwegian counterparts convey way more style and design. I was obsessed with the idea to such a degree that I had even planned ordering a DiNovo Edge keyboard from Denmark, but the export price set me back, so I had to settle with the umlauts instead. Maybe one day the grand idea of King Bluetooth of uniting the three crowns will come into fruition, language refor will take place and long boats will be built once again causing havoc all over Europe. On that note, nowadays it is hard to believe that these peaceful Nordic counties were once involved in a bloodshed going on for many centuries. All the castles in the area were built for the reason after all.

Danish language looks like Swedish and sounds like German. More specificaly it lacks the joy of Swedish language, but has the harshness of German. Not a fair trade methinks. Unlike Dutch Danish people do no get offended when they are mistaken for Germans, at least those I asked about. Place names sound like mythical places from fantasy novels, eg. Naerum, Dysselgård, Solrød and so on. A nice change from international brand sounding place names in Sweden. In a true viking fashion many men wear full grown beards. Danish women look, well, Danish, kind of Scandinavian but with a German touch. It is not Germany yet, but all the influences are there.

I <3 KBH

I visited Copenhagen three years ago in the winter of 2009. It was cold, it was stylish, it was expensive. This time it was different, at least in terms of temperature and general vibe. As with all the Scandinavian cities Copenhagen truly comes to life in summer. There’s life on the streets, bicycles bustle back and forth and terraces are packed never mind insane prices. Combine this with the stylish architecture and the famous Danish design and it almost made me to move here.

I longed for a company, but the days of “forestation” had left a mark. I felt lonely in the city full of people. Urban alienation at its best (or worst). I was not mad enough to strike conversations with random strangers. So I spent time cycling around admiring the excellent cycling infrastructure and pretty buildings. Cycling in Copenhagen is an experience itself. Bicycles are of all forms and shapes, can be found everywhere and thanks to the flat landscape they move fast. There is no room for solo cruising or interpreting try traffic laws in a creative manner here, you are part of the traffic. Rules are to be obeyed and your manoeuvres to be advertised using hand gestures. An intense experience, which requires your undivided attention, just like driving a motorbike in Vietnam.

20120710-135629.jpgI went to Christiania in the morning, but found only an unkept and messy area. Just llike a hippy commune that has not be cleaned up for ages, a strike contrast with the rest of Copenhagen. In the evening I rendez-voused with Teppo and I got the company I had longed for. We talked and the signs of the untalkative mood were completely gone. It is so true that in order to get into a talkative mood you just have to start talking. We visited Christiania again and this time it was full of people and there were no signs of the dirty hippy commune I had found in the morning. Just warm, laidback and cozy atmosphere. I stroke conversations with strangers and asked for tips on what to see in Copenhagen. Invariably the answer was always the same: Christiania. Well, there are definitely other worthy things to see in Copenhagen (the Little Mermaid status is not one of them, though), but Christiania is a truly liberal oasis in the heart of Scandinavian order and structure.

I enjoyed Copenhagen a lot and wished I would have spent more time there, but once again the journey had to be continued towards Germany and Fusion. Copenhagen to be filed under the “to visit again” category.

West Coast, yo!

20120710-130212.jpgI did the west coast very quickly and reached the point where I just wanted to get out of the country. The reason was the wind. This soul sucking, hope crushing wind. It started winding since I had left Uddevalla and went on all the way to Denmark. At times I regretted the whole enterprise and just wanted to stop pedalling and magically transport home. What is the point in keeping on, when you put so much effort and get so little result. I developed an aversion to open areas as well. I felt like a small animal in the field and just wished to escape to the forest. Alas there were only a few forest routes on the way. As a side note I solved the mystery of why the wind is always the headwind. The reason is trivial. Tailwind is unnoticeable apart from the effortless pedalling. No sound and no clothes fluttering in the wind.

Enough about wind and other unpleasantries, though. Tjärebro and the surroundings were pretty amazing. It is called the most beautiful road in Sweden for the reason. Some nice fortress and castles were encountered on the way: Bohus, Tjolöholm, Varberg. Bohus was particularly bad-ass. Built to be invincible, it has indeed never been captured during its long history. At that point I had not seen enough castles yet, so anything medieval was a welcome sight. I exited Sweden in Helsingborg by taking a ferry to Helsingør. I spent only a couple of hours there, but it made a good impression. Slightly bigger than an average Swedish city, more walking streets, more history, more pretty architecture and an overall good sunny vibe. In fact it is the third city in Sweden I would like to visit again after Stockholm and Göteborg. Another side note: what is the deal with Helsing* and why Helsingfors is so far away? The moment I crossed the strait the sunny weather turned into the rain, but the wind changed the direction, but this is a story for another time.

Visiting a city guerrilla style

  1. Arrive early in the morning, leave the backpack in a locker at bus station, change clothes in the toilet.
  2. Go to Valhalla swimming pool (what a great name by the way!). Shower, sauna and a 1km swim. Swedish bastu is rather bland. Cold and no löyly.
  3. See the city, do what needs to be done.
  4. Eject from the city in the evening and go to the forest to sleep,

This is how I visited Göteborg. This mode of travelling had its toll. After all the cycling, swimming, one Asian buffet and one beer, tiredness and melancholy overtook me and I just wanted to go to the base camp. But I had none, so I spent hours in a cafe wasting time on the internet and hopelessly trying to charge my phone. It is not always easy.

Göteborg lacks the polish of other cities in Sweden I’ve been to. While in our postindustrial society industry is hidden from the view, Göteborg has industrial areas standing right next to the city centre. The bank of the river is not for strolling and jogging, but a home to the cargo port. Right in the heart of the city. Never mind this oddity, Göteborg is a pretty place. Yellow brick buildings, Scandinavian architecture, a handful of walking streets, boutiques canals, one fancy opera house and plenty of green areas. Slotsskogen, Göteborg’s main park, is very enjoyable – spacious and massive. An English park at its best, just like Central Park in New York or Voldenpark in Amsterdam

I enjoyed Göteborg. Unlike with most places on my way I would like to see Göteborg once again. Not guerrilla style, though.

Insights about Sweden

I met Helena on a trip to the Gobi desert in Mongolia. Our team of five spent a week in an old Soviet minivan breathing dust and marvelling the great nothingness of Mongolian wilderness. Then we continued to Beijing and Xian to have more adventures, after which our ways parted. You rarely see people for your travels again. You meet very nice people and spend quality time together. When the time to part comes, contact information is exchanged, after which they become just another Facebook friend you rarely talk to. However, Uddevalla (or rather Smedsvik) was sort of on the way, so why not visit the fellow traveller? After many days of cycling and the woods I longed for a pit stop and somebody to talk to. And we talked…

There is a phenomenon among posh people from Stockholm called “vaska”. It involves purchasing two bottles of expensive champagne and asking the bartender to pour one out just to demonstrate your wealth status. The phenomenon was born after bars and restaurants banned spraying champagne all over the place by the same type of clientele, as this practice destroyed interior. Well, old habits die hard, so “vaska” was born. Nowadays in the age of digital technology you can even order “vasta” using SMS and you get a confirmation message that the service was carried out. NOW HOW COOL IS THAT?

20120628-010518.jpgWe visited Smögen, an overgrown fishing village and a popular tourist destination, not so far away from Uddevalla. The tourist season had not started yet, so it was eerily quiet, which I enjoyed the most about it. A rathet enjoyable place, but not all that exciting as Lonely Planet makes it to be. Not that unique either. I visited Fiskebäckskil visited by accident – forgot to turn in tie, which resulted in a detour and a visit to this village. Anyway it was very similar to Smögen with all those rows of white houses and orange roofs, minus tourist infrastructure and posh people from Stockholm. Very quiet too. Another revelation about Sweden I had is that west coast areas are full of fauna I normally associate with more tropical areas. Crabs, shrimps, jellyfish and all kind of sea creatures not found in Finland. Good seafood soup in Smögen as well.