Finlandia

Well, as it went the journey from Bergen through to Helsinki was surprisingly easy and even relaxing in places. The train ride from Bergen back to Oslo was even better this time round, the same scenery but with better weather. My afternoon in Oslo was dull but restorative and consisted of using the internet and watching some happy clappy band sing songs of praise at the station. My afternoon is Stockholm was lovely but not of particular note. The sun was out and I cruised around all of the central areas with my big old backpack on. Sweaty back and shoulders but nice sightseeing. I didn't get up to much particularly adventurous, just meandered my way from the main train station in the north of the city to the ferry port in south stopping at most major tourist locations and trying to sneak in for free. The ferry ride was good fun too and had all of the classic/rubbish activates to get up to i.e. quiz on the top deck, bingo, duty free booze and a couple of games of waste-your-money-in-the-casino. I met a nice couple whilst admiring one of the best sunsets of all time from the back of the ship and spent the rest of the evening playing cards and drinking beer with them. Next stop, Finland...

There isn't much I can write to explain just how enjoyable my stay in Finland was. The city of Helsinki is much like any European city and by now, as I mentioned, I was becoming a bit blasé with regards to the European capitals. There is always a nice building here, a nice church there, a few big roads full of McDonalds and normally a big park in there too. However, staying with people who really know and love the city they live in is an infinitely rewarding thing. Jyry and his friends were the warmest and most fun group of guys I have met in a while and remind me a lot of my good friends back in London which turned out to be just what I needed. Every night of the week, whether they had work, or not they would be happy to walk or bike down to the area of town known as Kallio or invite us over for a beer, which surprised me since Jyry's description of average young male Finns was that of a generally insular bunch who drink too much. It struck me that this could possibly be said of me and my mates and maybe thats why I felt right at home once the ice was broken. The mid-week though was just a precursor to the weekend to come. Plans had been made for a weekend visit to Jyry's cabin in the countryside.

It was immense...

The cabin itself was an old-as-time log cabin about as close to the edge of Lake Lojha as you can get without being ankle deep. In fact, the only reason it is allowed to be so close to the waters edge is because it was built long before regulations were brought in 50 or so years ago stating cabins must be built further back from the shore. I guess the easiest way to describe it is to appeal to the romantic vision most people would have of an old log cabin nestled snugly where forest meets lake in the Finnish wilderness. Easier still is to just go look at the pictures! The night consisted of the manliest activities one can imagine short of spearing a wild moose and eating it raw. We roasted countless hunks of meat over an open fire, fired up the traditional Finnish sauna (of course!), cooled ourselves off in the lake and listened to hour upon hour of Finnish power metal...all the time drinking about as much beer and vodka as it is possible to without causing permanent damage. It was nothing short of a perfect night with the lads done Finland style and one I am unlikely to forget. Soon enough though, it was time to leave and after saying my goodbyes and inviting everybody in Helsinki to come stay with me in Hong Kong when I get my own place I was on a train to St. Petersburg, Russia. More interesting stories ensue but right now I simply don't have the time! Another update tomorrow...

Nor-way Jose!

Oh yes, the greatest title yet!

Right... I'm having a somewhat lazy evening in Helsinki and thought I would use a bit of free time to post a bit of a catch up on my Norwegian exploits.

Oslo
I arrive in Oslo at around 8AM after my overnight train from Malmö, Sweden, only to find that my hotel had an even more outrageous check in time (4pm) so I had the best part of the afternoon to check out the City. I picked up a few guides to give me some ideas about things to do and hit the streets. A backpackers budget guide to Oslo which warned me straight off about how expensive Oslo is, a comment I didn't pay much attention seeming that I am used to pretty expensive cities having lived in Hong Kong and London. In reality Oslo makes London and Hong Kong look relatively cheap. Being a traveler, I'm not really concerned with taxes or the general cost of living as a resident but instead the backpacker essentials such as food, entertainment and beer. After paying nearly £6 for a sandwich and some orange juice for breakfast (from a 7-11 no less, hardly Michelin starred service) I decided I would do well to watch my wallet very closely. As such I decided my best bet would be to rent a bike and simply look around for the day and try my best not to buy anything unless I was starving to death.

The bicycle rental system in Oslo is clever and surprisingly cheap; you pay 60Kr (around £6) and you receive a smart card which works on bicycle racks which are scattered across the city for 24 hours. When you put your card in a rack, a simple bike (4 gears, two wheels etc...) is released which you can ride around for up to 3 hours before having to replace it at any of the other racks in the city. Using this cool little system I just pedaled around seeing the typical tourist’s sites. The most impressive of these is probably The Vigeland Sculpture Park. I don't know much about the artist in question but the park has hundreds of cool sculptures in a picturesque setting. Otherwise, I have to admit that Oslo didn't provide a great amount to excite me. Maybe it was because I was feeling a little down. I'm not totally sure why. Maybe I was just being a big girl, maybe it was because I miss my little puppy Chili or even just because I am a tight bugger and spending so much money was stressing me out, but either way Chelsea losing 2-1 in the last minute to Mark-Bloody-Viduka-Boro didn't help. Fortunately, I was heading to Bergen the next morning and it turned out that it was exactly what I needed (even though I didn't know it yet...)

Bergen
Before heading on this trip I had heard that the Oslo to Bergen railway is one of the most impressive in the world. It is. Only an hour after leaving Oslo the first signs of a leaving the city and entering the great outdoors are apparent. Then suddenly, the fairly standard issue countryside lakes and forest scenery are swept into the darkness of a fairly long tunnel. When you emerge, the world changes. I don't know what sort of odd portal we went through, but the next 4 hours were spent with my face/camera stuck to the window devouring the epic landscapes along the route. It's easy to forget that the world outside the frame of the window is actually there and as countless lakes, mountain vistas and even Glaciers pass it would be easy to become desensitized (in a television violence kind of way...). However, I can honestly say it was the first long train journey I have taken where the traveling was more enjoyable than arriving. Pictures fail to capture quite how amazing it was, but I tried to take some none the less. The town of Bergen, though, turned out to be a quite a match to the train journey there.

My hostel was conveniently located right by the fish market in the center of town, and after checking in (finally a hostel with a sensible check in time!) I headed out to see what I could see. Bergen is small, but what it lacks in size and things to do, it more than makes up for in charm and beauty. Instead of wondering what activity was next on the list I was more than content just walking around and looking at things from the port and fish market, to the old wooden buildings to the tips of the 7 mountains surrounding the city. One thing I did notice about Bergen that day (aside from the fact it wasn't raining, which it supposedly does 90% of the year) was the number of metal head touring around the city. Though I fit right in with my At the Gates t-shirt and general attire I couldn't help but wonder why I had seen more pasty arms and legs, dodgy black t-shirts and even dodgier black hair today than in the rest of my trip combined. The answer was only a beer away. As the sun spectacularly set on my first day in Bergen (see pic above) I decided to find a place to have some food and some fizzy golden travel fuel and on the advice of a girl in a rather fetching Morbid Angel t-shirt I went to a bar called the Garage. It was Hole in the Sky festival. Tonight, under this very bar, would be a metal-stravagaza with bands such as Necrophagist and Morbid Angel playing. What's more is that this would continue for 2 more days with Celtic Frost, Witchcraft, Satyricon and even Atheist playing. As I tucked into a horribly overpriced beer and complained that I couldn't find a ticket and American accent beside me muttered "Hell, we are playing tomorrow night and we can't get downstairs". Turns out even if you are in one of the headline acts you couldn't get in if you weren't playing that night and so began my evening of drinking with the guys from Atheist.

I awoke refreshed by a night of beer and death metal, and determined to conquer one of the mountain peaks surrounding Bergen, however, the famous Bergen rain was to dash my hopes for now. The highest peak (Ulriken) was engulfed in clouds and they didn't look like moving. I waited the day out to see if it would clear up but by lunch time it became clear that I would have to settle for visiting Floyen and small peak closer to town. I can't imagine what Ulriken was like because the view from the top of the Floyen funiculaire was spectacular, but I had my sights set on a long walk up to a higher peak. Armed with a bottle of water, jacket and MP3 player I headed through the rain up a 3km trail to a nice looking lake. A few hours or so later I was still walking and couldn't seem to figure out if I was still on the right trail. What I did know though is that I was heading up, and that was good enough for me. The weather was deteriorating, but I couldn't bring myself to turn back as every corner revealed a new perspective down the mountain to Bergen, a nice lake or some forest older than time itself. At this point, I may have already seen my original lake (there were so many it was hard to tell which one was the right one) and I abandoned my quest replacing it with a newer one. To make it to the top of this wall of rock if it killed me. Never in my life have I been happier to be tired, wet and hungry on the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere.

I came back down a new man, the slight sadness of the previous days was behind me and I didn't even care that I didn't have enough money to eat a nice meal when I got back down. I was exhausted. I bought some supermarket pasta and sauce, cooked it at the hostel and fell asleep almost instantly. Tomorrow was to be the start of a busy two days of traveling in which I would make my way from the west of Norway to Finland by means of train, bus and even a ship. Sleep was just what I needed then, and it is just what I need now.

The Invisible Maze

Don't ask me how, soon after I wrote my last post I found myself in an invisible maze. I had to memorise the route (which changed day by day) and navigate my way through a big empty room without hitting the invisible walls, which would cause my head to vibrate. But first, a bit about Denmark...

My first day in Copenhagen was a bit of a damp squib. Whilst waiting for the rain to calm a bit back at the hostel I started chatting to a Brazilian guy. I told him that I was going to see a few sights and then find a pub that would be playing the Chelsea match and then try and get in touch with a friend of Bjorn’s for something to do in the evening. He liked the sound of that plan and the next thing I knew we were out cruising the town together (when the sun decided to make a cameo). Over the next two days we walked about the place, took in the sights and sounds and talked a lot about football and complained about prices and weather a lot.

Copenhagen is a cool city fully equipped with impressive architecture, a rich history, Vikings, a teeny weeny little mermaid on a rock and loads of people on bikes. I wanted to rent one of these contraptions to aid me in my sightseeing, but unfortunately the deposit was more than the maximum payable amount on my debit card so I had to settle with my trusty feet (sadly, attached to my not so trusty knees). I must have walked well over 1000 miles over the days and the old boys held up well. I was there and saw all of the old buildings and tourist sights, saw Chelsea open up a frosty tin of whoopass on Man City and even went to the erotic museum. The museum starts basically as a surprisingly interesting summary of eroticism (basically old pictures of people getting at it) throughout different periods in history. From here you are taken through to the present day via a maze of artifacts and narrated videos (and even Denmark’s first 'real doll') with a particularly detailed section on Copenhagen's prostitution. This section holds the single greatest museum exhibit I have ever seen. In one corner is a little window with a curtain you are instructed to peek through to get an idea of what a prostitute’s bedroom would have looked like circa 1850. To cut a long story short, it is a few bits of painted cardboard with two shop-window mannequins (nipples and pubes drawn on) moving mechanically to and fro on top of each other with the occasional grunt or groan over a speaker system. I have never laughed so hard. I thought they might throw me out. Sadly, they didn't.

Later, the Copenhagen National Gallery to see a French Master Drawings exhibition (which strangely included Picasso...who wasn't French the last time I checked). This was great, and the Copenhagen national gallery is a wonderful building. It was here that I had my experience with the invisible maze, the basis of my little allegory at the start of this post. You figure out what it means, it was something about traveling but it seems so long ago now the moment is gone. Copenhagen was fun and even though Bjorn’s friend never showed up I had Bienardo to hang out with which was cool. The city was stunning when the sun finally decided to shine, there was no end of cool stuff to do, but eventually I had to leave and it was another goodbye, and onwards to Oslo. I swear by the time I have finished this trip I will have a sofa to sleep on in every country on Earth! I am currently in Oslo having already spent a few days in Bergen (in the west of Norway) but I am rapidly running out of time and as usual I have far to much to say so I guess this is another post cut short. By Sunday I will be in Helsinki at a friend’s house where I may finally be able to get some of my photographs online for you all to see and also finish my Scandinavian adventure!

Now where the hell is the bus to Stockholm?

Heading East Part.2

Why is it that hostels all have the most nonsensical check in/out times? I arrived in Copenhagen today at 8.30AM, went to my hostel only to be told I can't check in until 2PM which irritated me greatly. The place is in a great location though, right in the centre of town, so I can't complain I suppose. Last night was an interesting night, I got to Berlin hoping to be able to easily booking myself a couchette on the Euronight Express from Berlin to Malmö (in Sweden, but only 20minutes from Copenhagen) but wound up having to pay €30 for a proper bed as the couchettes were sold out. It hurt my bank account, but it was nice to have my own room with a nice bed and even a shower in the hall. When the conductor came around asking for my ticket he also asked me to sign a boarding card for a boat telling me that about 3AM we will be setting sail. Just what I needed; having to wake up mid-slumber to climb onto a boat. Much to my surprise, the train actually pulls onto a boat, sails for a few hours and pops back off in Sweden without us having to ever leave our cabins. I didn't even know that was possible! I sincerely hope they made the peasants in the second class couchettes wake up and pull the train on board manually.

Anyway, Prague...

On arriving into Praha my first destination was Dejvicka (pronounced *David's Car*, later to be known simply as The Car) to meet Colin at a pub. Now I was incredibly happy to see Colin again because the last time we parted ways we didn't get much of a chance to say goodbye properly as we had been out that night and a series of events led to me standing on the street alone at about 5AM whilst my him and my other housemates were already on the night bus. I didn't get home until ages later, everybody was tired, went to bed etc etc.... This time we could have a proper send off and we went about it in style. The first night was pure Prague party carnage. Again, accounts are not necessary; anyone who knows me and Colin will pretty much get the idea. Sadly, this left the next day as a bit of a write off, however, sticking to my rules I refused to waste a day and about 9PM I headed out alone to see the City by night leaving Colin and Neva to watch a film on my portable DVD player at home. I decided not to get too adventurous and just headed up Prague castle which I had heard had its ground open until 11PM each night.

Let me say beforehand, if you ever visit Prague and do not visit the castle by night, you may as well have not bothered going. Of all the things I did in my 5 days here, this is the one thing that will stay with me forever. Climbing the old castle steps I completely neglected to actually look behind me until towards the top, an Australian couple about to stroll back down commented on the beautiful view. I turned around and uttered a brief poem which I felt summarised succinctly my emotions at this exact moment in time and space. I like to call it, "Holy Sh*t". Fortunately the couple found this as amusing as I, and I continued to climb until I reached the gates. At around 10PM the castle and grounds were near enough empty which made for an almost ghoulish atmosphere as wandered through the small 'village' that is the inner castle grounds. At the centre of the grounds lies the single most impressive religious structure I may have ever seen. As I turned the corner to view the front of the St. Vitus Cathedral my earlier poem ran through my head but didn't seem to do it justice (plus I doubt Jesus would have appreciated it much as a poem). Standing by the base of the entrance I felt dwarfed in a way no building has made me feel before. I mean I grew up in Hong Kong, so I am no stranger to buildings far bigger than this, but St. Vitus has a presence that makes you feel completely powerless and humbled. Maybe it is a religious thing.

I must have been there for the best part of an hour before some armed guards started to usher me away to close the grounds. I went back and tried to put the place into words but felt it best if we just went again tomorrow by day. We went back and it didn't seem to have the same aura. Maybe it was the hordes of like minded tourists or the lack of dramatic lighting but it simply wasn't the same. We spent the rest of the day doing the usual tourist route over the Charles Bridge into the old town to watch the Astronomical clock chime the hour, I bought a copy of The Trial at the Franz Kafka bookshop and we had a few beers in some nice bars and restaurants.

The rest of my stay passed in much the same way, chatting away the days in the sun with Colin and Niva, enjoying the finest Czech Pilsner, accidentally finding ourselves in the nudist section of the local swimming lake and that sort of thing. I have to say, Prague is one of the greatest places I have been in the world, and one I would jump at the chance to back to any time soon but after 5 days I had already blown my chances of seeing Berlin and didn't want to do the same with Scandinavia so off I went...

...and now, here I am. Copenhagen is calling me and I only have 3 minutes and 12 seconds left on this account, hopefully the sun has tried to shine whilst I have been in here otherwise it could be a damp day, but either way I am sure it will be fun.