Steve Corin

Steve Corin

Steve Corin




Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Bangkok August 27th 2023

Landed in Bangkok at about 0630, and then had to walk over 300 meters to the next connecting area. The lounge is also in the same area. Originally we had over 2 hours stopover but now we are down to about 1. All of a sudden bad memories come flashing back to us. Same area we had to deal with when we flew in 53 days ago. Up the escalator to a passport and boarding pass check, then through another security screening. Same results - battery out and check it is compliant. All good then by the time we have done all this we really don’t have time to go to the lounge. Bugger. Looking forward to a shower to freshen up. Off to the gate, another 250 meter walk. Get there and there is a ... read more
Champagne at 0830. Well it was really 0330 in Stockholm so that works for me…..
View from planes camera. Note the baggage door still open. Reason for our delay.
Coming in to land at Tulla.

Europe » Sweden » Stockholm County » Arlanda August 26th 2023

Checked out of our last hotel room for the holiday. Breakfast at this hotel has been one of the better spreads I have to say. Can’t say I won’t miss packing, unpacking, finding the new hotel or putting up with carrying heavy bags up stairs where there is no lift. We decided to catch the express train to the airport seeing as how it leaves from the station about 50 meters away from the hotel. Got tickets but just missed a train. Never mind. Another one in 19 minutes. Asked the driver what was the best position for terminal 5. Middle carriage stops right at the lifts. Get our seats and all of a sudden the driver pops his head in and tells us that terminal 5 is the second stop. Nice service. By express they ... read more
On the train.
Display of the train speed. 185kmh.
Pork fillet for me for lunch in the plane.

Europe » Sweden » Stockholm County » Stockholm August 25th 2023

Last day in Stockholm - if you don’t count going to the airport tomorrow. Did the city hall today. Massive building with big and small areas, old and new and very different architecture throughout the whole building. Worth the wait to see. Then onto the hop on hop off bus. Did most of the lap but got off at the Vasa museum where they have the 1627 Viking ship housed. Built to fight the Danes, the king had to have the biggest and best. He wanted 2 decks of cannons. Problem was this made the ship top heavy. On its maiden voyage it sailed 1300 meters and got a gust of wind which proceeded to fill the ship with water through the gun holes. Sank with 20 or 30 killed. Not a great start. They eventually ... read more
Inside city hall members chamber. Pretty ornate furnishings
This is the gold room. Gold leaf on every mosaic tile. Over 14kg of gold in this room.
The Vasa. Bloody huge.

Europe » Sweden » Stockholm County » Stockholm August 24th 2023

7 weeks and one day away from home. Countdown is at 3 sleeps if you include the plane sleep….. Today we energized and became tourists again. Had massive plans for walking to city hall for a tour then maybe to the ABBA museum and the Viking museum. Fail at the first hurdle. Got to city hall easily - same way as the hire car place so I was on the money for a short walk. Unfortunately the only way into city hall is with a guided tour. Next tour was 1 hour wait. Bugger that. Ok. Re-schedule plans. Into the old town to do the Royal Palace then other stuff there. As we walked over the bridge we noticed an old building (lots of them) which happened to only be open between 1100 and 1200. In ... read more
Each of those panels on the wall were about a noble dude and his lineage. Lots and lots of them.
Not the usual church spire.
Each of these tin signs related to a royal who was buried in this church.

Europe » Sweden » Stockholm County » Stockholm August 23rd 2023

Left our Lake cabin this morning. A very peaceful and enjoyable 3 nights here. Back to Stockholm today. Only a 4.75 hour drive. All on expressways so speed was mostly 100 or 110 kmh. Stopped for a break in Noorköping - around the half way mark. They say the town was an industrial Centre back in the 1800’s but things went bad for the textile industry and the town went into a state of disrepair. Eventually they renovated and turned many of the warehouses into flash apartments. There is also a very busy university in the area as well. Found a pub and had a charcuterie board which was yummo. Back on the road and into the Stockholm traffic. Most going out but we eventually copped traffic jams as well. Dropped Chris off near the hotel ... read more
Building restored as a museum in the middle of the river
Our dinner time view. Interesting old building in Stockholm.

Europe » Sweden » Kalmar County » Kalmar August 22nd 2023

Another day in the Kalmar area. Today we crossed the bridge from mainland Sweden to Oland. Reasonable sized island massive sized bridge - about 6 km long. It is relatively flat until the middle section where it rises reasonably steeply to allow shipping underneath. The island is famous for its old windmills. They dot the island everywhere. We stopped at one large windmill which has sort of been turned into a museum. You climb the old timber stairs up 5 levels. The original mechanisms are still in place. The engineering from back in the 1800’s is amazing. We then went on some back roads and along the waterfront. Narrow roads and in some cases dirt. Nice distraction from the main roads we had been traveling earlier. Many interesting things along the way. Our ultimate goal was ... read more
Massive windmill set up as a museum
Internal mechanisms used to turn the grind stones
Note the wooden wheels used for the belt drives

Europe » Sweden » Kronoberg County » Kosta August 21st 2023

Last laundry day for this trip. Had breakfast with the only other guest this morning. Very quiet. We both agreed that they needed to have some music playing to break the silence of no crowds. Washing done and hanging inside the huge laundry room at the accommodation. They do their own washing here so there were racks of sheets and other stuff hanging in this room. Our wash took up a small area but it was better to hang than go through the dryer again. We are now off to the town of Kosta. Sound familiar. Many will have heard of Kosta Boda glassware and also Orefors. Kosta, Boda and Orerfors are 3 towns relatively close together. They all had their own glass ware manufacturing plants for many years but somehow they all merged into the ... read more
Glass manufacturing plant. Note the date.
Drum kit made entirely of glass.
That is the best in the base of the vase. Poet and I don’t know it………..

Europe » Sweden » Kalmar County » Kalmar August 20th 2023

Headed away from Simrishamn this morning. Pretty little town but woke up to a morning fog. Couldn’t even see the rock wall of the marina - only 70 meters away. Watching the footy scores then Jessica called and let me watch the last minute of the game. Good result but a bit tight early on. Spoke to Pippa and Jessica after the game. Jessica said she would call later. We then called Stephanie. All good all round. On the road towards our next stop. Just out of Kalmar in a place called Armund. Expressways, then onto smaller roads and even in the middle of dense forest where the roads were a lot narrower than they needed to be. Waiting for the elusive moose to jump out but no luck - or misfortune. Looked for a place ... read more
The Castle as the mist is moving on
The Castle after the mist has gone. Only 5 minutes between first and third shots.
An old water tower in the old part of Kalmar

Europe » Sweden » Skåne County » Simrishamn August 19th 2023

Another hotel down, bags packed and out onto the streets again. Well maybe. Drive up the car park ramp - doors didn’t open. Hmm. Out of the car and got Chris to hold the person door open while I hit the intercom from outside to get the garage door opened. Voice says what is the problem. I answer can’t get out. Nothing happens. I get back in the car and back down the ramp looking for maybe another exit. Nope. Back to the original ramp. That is when I notice the button to open the door. D’oh. Anyways. Out on the streets now. Me looking really stupid but on our way. Heading to the IKEA museum today. When in Sweden what else is there than a dose of IKEA and Lego. Some interesting scenery along the ... read more

Europe » Sweden » Västra Götaland County » Gothenburg August 18th 2023

Tourists in Gothenburg today. Looked at hop on hop off bus and maybe just get a metro ticket for the teams, buses and ferries. Neither of these happened. Then saw a hop on boat doing the Harbour out the front of the hotel. Maybe that might work. Got a call from Pippa so we chatted with her and Charlie. Pippa is missing us. Hadn’t been to Eastland for a while. Nice to know we are good for some things. Haha. Had a quick chat with Stephanie then hit the streets. Walked around to a few of the highlighted spots in the Gothenburg book we had. Worked well until the rain came. Sheltered under cover at one of the museums that looked back down the main avenue in Gothenburg. Very scenic and dry. Rain eased enough to ... read more
Voted ugliest building in Scandinavia 7 times.
Main avenue in Gothenburg
Skansen Kronen. The crown at the top relates to Kronen.




Tot: 0.088s; Tpl: 0.008s; cc: 14; qc: 64; dbt: 0.0531s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.2mb