Blogs from Sweden, Europe - page 160

Ok, so very behind.... Sweden for nearly 2 weeks... so well make it dot points (and I cant find the apostrophe on this keyboard, so apologies for bad punctuation). 1) Fredrik (Lottas partner) submitted his PhD and had his public thesis defence a couple of days after we arrived and it was unbelievable - 4 professors from different countries grilled him on his work (to do with maths and physics and optimization and radiotherapy - after that I get a bit vague on the details). Anyhow, he shone, Im glad I dont have to do one, and we had a great party in a sort of cellar afterwards, followed by lots of wine-induced dancing. 2) Had a thorough exploration of Stockholm in the sunshine, including a couple of boat cruises, a 400 year old boat, a ... read more

So... sorry about the last few countires, and sorry also that this one might be a bit longer than I usually aim for. From Amsterdam we flew to Finland, where we promptly got on a boat to Tallinn in Estonia. It was really excellent, it has a mind-boggling old town and slightly better prices than Finland and Scandinavia! I'll try to attach a few photos of it. We had wine in an underground tunnel, some sort of local liqueur in a cave-cafe and generally soaked up the oldness. Boat back to Helsinki and a quiet night, followed by a day of exploring and an evening of drinks in very high-up bars. Helsinki was... there. My theory at the moment is that it might be a bit like Melbourne, you need a while there or a local ... read more

After a rushed goodbye - as I slept in! - I depart from Kamila and Barthos's place (and trying to get them to come to Hong Kong) I rush over town to catch the train over to Malmo before switching to catch the train to Stockholm. The train passes over the long bridge between Copenhagen and Malmo and Calatrava's large tower dominates the skyline. Almost make the same error of getting off at Malmo and not Malmo central but arrive there in good time. After an hour or so on the platform its off to Stockholm - around a six hour journey and hopefully I will be able to catch the oil pumper over to Helsinki. The train journey passes through mainly farm and woodland with one major town that seems to be based on a ... read more

As I write this, our Swedish visit is all but over and I am really quite disappointed. Sweden is a wonderful country, one that I would have liked to spend more time in. The contrast with the States could not be stronger, although the weather has been much the same as New York (grey, nothing above 10C). We have been treated particularly well by the Fredriksson's, in a manner in which our own mothers would be proud. This has been a nice change from looking after ourselves for a while. The next step, our bus tour around Europe, will be an interesting combination of the two. Anyway, this is what we have been up to over the last few days. April 12 Today we headed up to Uppsala to meet Lisa at her university campus. We ... read more

Its been goodbye to New York and on to the quiter pastures of Stockholm. This is what we have been up to for the past few days; April 8 Today was a more 'cultural' day in New York, starting in Central Park. Central Park really is a beautiful place, quite divorced from the rush and stress of New York city. I can see why New Yorkers hold it in such affection; it seems to stand for everything that the city is not. That is, it is beautiful, undeveloped, uncommericalised; a beacon of equality that runs for about 50 city blocks. It is a real pity that Auckland does not have a place like this, at least one located so centrally. Perhaps our beaches take away for much of the need for such a park. From central ... read more