Amsterdam tourist style

The train ride from Copenhagen to Amsterdam was really nice. I had good company and slept all night. Unfortunately the bed was hard as a rock so I ended up sleeping a couple of hours after checking in at my hotel too.
I stayed on a boat quite close to the Centraal Station. It was really nice and if I'd been able to find a homepage I would have posted it here. I've taken a few pictures of the docks, and I'll update this post with them later on.

After sleeping a while yesterday I went out to see what the town has to offer a tourist. I found the street with the leather clubs and one with a lot of rainbowflags, but I dont think it was the street with all the gay clubs on. I also found myself on a street with girls standing in windows. They mainly looked bored in their neon colored bikinis and I wasn't able to find my self having any emotional reaction to it at all. I'm not sure why, but I had expected something.

Having decided that I was going to be the typical tourist I also had to go into a coffeshop. I sat there drinking my juice, and yes I did have a regular coffe too, and realised I never listen to hardcore rave anymore. I did that for a while during my teens.
Today my clothes smell like skunk and I really have to find a laundromat later on.

I'll probably be here for two more nights. I'm meeting my CouchSurfing host in about an hour and it sounds like I'm welcome to stay for a while if I whish to.

Copenhagen

Yesterday I went to my first CouchSurfing party. It was a really nice event where everyone brought something they would eat at easter in their country. There isn't much difference between the Swedish and the Danish traditions so I went with salmon and "Kalles Kaviar" which seemed appreciated. I had a lot of fun and it was just what I've been looking for to kick-start my trip.

I've stayed at the hostel I'm staying at now once before. It was about four yers ago but I found my way here without even looking at a map. The location isn't very central and my body hasn't had the chance to get used to the weight of the rucksack yet so my thigh muscles were a bit sore after the walk from the central station. (The red marks I had on my shoulders before leaving Sweden went away without leaving any bruises though).

I've sleapt really good but I'll try to avoid mixed dorms in the future. The one I'm in now has 14 beds and it smells quite bad...

Tonight I'm taking the night train to Amsterdam where I'll stay for a couple of days.

The winter that was

Can you still see the bus?

Going... going... gone!

(picture: my best friends for the next five weeks/mina bästa vänner de kommande fem veckorna)

I'm finally on my way. The interrail I have been planning for maybe one and a half years begins tomorrow.
I've promised to write something here at least once a week, but I'm hoping to have the time to write a bit more often than that. I know many of you are hoping for pictures, and when I can find a computer that can read my memory card I'll post a few.
My first stop will be Copenhagen, Denmark where I'll stay for one night. From there I'll take the night train to Amsterdam, Netherlands where I'm meeting a CouchSurfer.

(picture: spring/vår)

Jag är äntligen på väg. Tågluffen som jag har planerat i säkert ett och ett halvt år börjar imorgon.
Jag har lovat att skriva någonting här minst en gång i veckan, och när jag hittar en dator som kan läsa mitt minneskort så lägger jag upp ett gäng.
Första anhalt blir Köpenhamn, Danmark där jag stannar över natten. Därifrån tar jag nattåget till Amsterdam, Nederländerna där jag ska träffa en CouchSurfare.

Göteborg (Gothenburg)

Learning from my mistakes I took very few pictures in Gothenburg. A bit too few. Ill try to land somewhere in between the amount taken in Berlin and this on my next trip.

My first hours in Gothenburg were mostly spent worrying since I didn’t know when my planned host would arrive. I couldn’t get in contact with him and (as I later found out) his train was severely delayed.
Luckily I had been in contact with Joel who, like me, had hosted a hitchhiker named Roi. When Roi found out that I was going to Gothenburg he told me that I simply HAD to meet Joel.
Sometime after 6 pm I sent Joel a message asking if he knew if and when we could meet. I also mentioned that I was worried that my host had disappeared. He answered almost immediately and wondered if he should come pick me up. I am really grateful to him for taking me in on absolutely no notice at all, and I ended up having a great time the days I stayed at his place.
We went out to a pub with his friends, transported a massage bench through half of Gothenburg, went to the museum of world culture, looked through second hand stores and just in general had a very nice time.

I also got to spend a night in Trollhättan where Marita, a woman from A Feminist Initiative, lives. We arrived late and I had to leave early so I didn’t see much of the place. Everyone says there really isn’t anything to see though.
It was really nice to be able to spend a whole night with Marita just talking about all and nothing. I rarely find the time to do that with people I do political work with.

The weekend was spent discussing politics and sleeping in a very nice hotel with Linnéa, but that’s not really of interest to this blog (I think).

Sweden is a very modern country sometimes

And sometimes not.

We still use these to stamp tickets with time and date.

In Germany (and Finland I hear) they’re considered collectors items.

Berlin pictures and all – Just a Friday

I spent half a day at the Jewish museum. The entrance looks like the security check at an airport (unfortunately you aren’t allowed to take pictures in that area), and after having had all your things scanned and passed the metal detector you have to check in your jacket.
According to Judith this is perfectly normal since this place is related to Jews. For a Swedish person it’s strange and a bit distressing.

The architecture of the museum was just as interesting as (and a part of) the exhibit.

The yellow stars the Jewish population had to wear during the Nazi ruling.

“Feminist prayer bookIn this prayer book God is not addressed as a male but as the ‘source of life’.”

Fore some reason the "Not Kosher" section interested me more than the "Kosher" section that mainly contained farm animals.

I never thought hyenas where that big. They’re huge!

Bugs aren’t Kosher so you should make sure not to eat any. A light board helps you check everything thoroughly (personally I just rinse my lettuce).Might be a good thing for vegetarians too I guess.

Gummi bears is something I strongly connect to Germany (I blame Hedwig and the angry inch) so I just had to buy some from this really cool vending machine. This is not for vegetarians though. They use fish gelatine.

I remember that they also had an Einstein action figure.

Stairs.
In Berlin there are stairs everywhere, but not that many escalators and elevators. I would be much more fit if things where the same in Stockholm…

There was October fest theme at the Ackerkeller and one of Judith’s friends had dug up a Dirndl (traditional Bavarian costume) for her.

I think most people have heard of Lederhosen (traditional Bavarian costume for men).

Blonds DO have more fun!

The party girls behind the bar!

Me and Judith somewhere between The Ackerkeller and SchwuZ.

At the end of the evening (or at about the time I usually get up in the morning) things got a bit blurry and cameras a bit unsteady.

So what conclusions about Denmark and Sweden did Ida and I come to that night? Well, we decided that Sweden is somewhere in the middle, that Swedes in general doesn’t understand Danish, that Danes in general understand Swedish and that the Danish “Ris a la Mande” is much better then the Swedish “Ris ala Malta”.