The Travelling Entrepreneur’s Blog
Just another WordPress.com weblogSweden – the coldest place on earth!
I’m on a roll, 2 country’s in 3 days! Location Sweden
The night ferry from Turku to Helsinki, docked at 06:30 in the morning but becuase I was so knackered the cleaner woke me up when she came in at 07:30. I think Sweden is confused as to what being in the EU and sigining up to the Euro is all about as some places don’t accept euros, they have their own currency, the Kroner, it’s aso one of the few places I’ve gone to as a UK citizen and found to be more expensive that the UK, that’s right, it CAN happen. However, the money is obvisouly going somewhere, check out this amazing building (which is a museum) Picture 1 & Picture 2
I got off the boat and nearly died, I was the coldest I have ever been in my life, ever. I had to put my thermal on which involved taking off most of my clothes and I very nearly didn’t make. Fortunately I can prove this, take a look at this picture. If that didn’t convince you check out this picture (for those of you who are too lazy to look it’s me stuck to my camera) The little screens said it was -9 but I think it was broken becuase it was so cold, it was at least -100C probably -150C, I’m not sure exactly. The ferry left that evening at 21:30, so life became a running surival countdown clock, travel around the city involved a series of legs between buildings, I didn’t even care what the building did, if it had walls, a roof and preferably heating I was interested!
I spent 2 hours in the Vasa Museum. The Vasa, as far as I could understand, was a really shit, big ship that sank after travelling less than half a kilometre. For those of you who wondered what a ship that bad lloked like, I’ll humour you, check out this picture of the Vasa) Well, that’s worth spending years and millions of Kroner on to fish out of the river if you ask me. I’m not sure if I created something rubbish that sank I’d bother getting it out of the water, never mind expect someone else to, some people. Still that was 2 hours down!
Sweden was a bastard to walk around (mainly becuase it was so cold) but also because it’s built on an archipelago. The place you want to go to is only 500 metres way but you have to walk 3500 metres to get there. I managed to clock up my longest ever meal time (at an impressive 2hrs) at an pizzeria (which incidentally gave me food poisoning) and then went to the National Museem, where I managed to kill another 2 hours. Score.
Finally, it was time to head back to the boat! I had brought a return ticket so went to the bus depot (a 45 minute walk) to be told that the only bus left at 18:30. It was 18:33. I then had to walk for another 45 minutes back to Gamla Stan, the old town, and beyond. I caught a tram that I calculated took me closer to the port. It did, the only problem was the terrain was like something out of Commandos: Behind Enermy Lines. I had to run through drifts of snow up to my knees, over rocky outcroppings, through holes in fences that I had the sapper cut with his wire cutters, and past a Nazi guard stood at the top of the street lit steps (who I distracted by throwing a stone) Fins met me at the port and we finally made it to the ferry where I was sick all night and stopped playing with my imaginary friends.
Finlandia
Not a bad start, Day 1 and I’m travelling, location Finland.
Before you knock it Finland is actually a really important country! No, it is! Think about it, Nokia is Finish, as is Polar (as in heart rate monitors) as well as Sibelius, HIM and most importantly, Nightwish … So there you have it, don’t mess!
I had a really excellent time in Finland, I stayed in Turku, in the South West and even though I wasn’t there very long I had quite a few interesting experiences.
I went to the ice skating ring and “liberated” some boots from what I’m told was the lost property room and is common practise, still it didn’t stop me feeling like a criminal, you can see the lovely booties here. (I returned them afterwards before you ask)
The other rather interesting experience was at the swimming pool. The Finnish like their nakedness. Apparantly everyone has to walk around in the saunas and showers totally in the buff for “hygiene reasons” but personally I find this argument hard to accept. I was under the impression that genitals had spread more disease around the world over the course of our history than swimming trunks, please feel free to contact me if you believe you have proof to the contrary. I was lucky really, the swimming pool I went to expected you to stay clothed in the main swimming area so it was only the chaging rooms, showers, saunas and steam rooms I had to be naked in, and no I’m afraid there aren’t any photos! It must be said that once you get over your initial social aprehension and rip off those trunks there is something quite pleasing about it all! I’m not gay or owt.
A large diehard bunch go to outdoor sauna’s and jump to and from them and the sea in what I can only imagine is some sort of sado machostic illness. Notice the people in this picture on the pier and ladder!!!
