Per-Olof Persson

A Small Swede in the Big World

Per-Olof Persson

I'm a small Swede that simply just love to travel. I haven't been around as much as I'd wish to yet, but my life long goal is to visit all the countries in the world. I still have a long way to go before that mission is accomplished though. I live with my two cats and one spider in Alvesta, a small city outside of Växjö where I try to host people from all over the world as often as I can. If you need a place to stay, just look me up on couchsurfing.org and send me a request. My living I make working as a insurance adviser, it's a soft job with plenty of free time.

I try to get out in the world a few times every year and I always strive to go some place new, and going somewhere where there is interesting things to see, I'm not the type to lay on the beach for a week. Honestly the boredom of that would kill me! I'm the kind of traveller who wants to see as much as possible on a location. I hope you'll enjoy following me on my trips!

Grand Shrines under Grand Weather

Asia » Japan » Wakayama » Tanabe » Hongu August 25th 2018

Enjoying the View

A Small Swede in the Big World

Hello my fellow travellers! I slept like a log during the night and the first thing I did when I wok up was to check the status on my camera. Unfortunately it was still taking photos as if I was standing in a fog, I decided to try it out during the day and if necessary switch to my mobile phone which was luckily in good shape. I went down and picked up the hairdryer again and took a photo of them next to each other as to not forget the life-saving (or phone-saving) process. My clothes was all still moist and even my sutra had taken a hit yesterday although it was still readable. As I looked outside the window I could see that the storms had finally subsided even though it was still an ... read more

Photo of the Ōtorii (Great Torii) with Camera

Trekking through the Typhoon

Asia » Japan » Wakayama » Tanabe » Nonaka August 24th 2018

Ready for the Trail

A Small Swede in the Big World

Hello my fellow travellers! I slept well last night despite the storm raging outside. I woke up once due to a loud signal, I don't know if it was a warning or an all-clear signal but I had no problems going back to sleep afterwards. My day started early with a sturdy breakfast before I set out on the road again. I left together with the Hawaiian couple I met yesterday but since they were using the luggage transportation service they were able to move considerably faster than me and soon pulled away from me. When I came to two small sculptures of Jizō at the end of the village I bowed before them and wished for a safe journey today. For the time being it wasn't raining, but I had a feeling that the typhoon ... read more

Trampled by a Typhoon under the Gaze of a Legend

Asia » Japan » Wakayama » Tanabe » Takahara August 23rd 2018

Statue of Benkei

A Small Swede in the Big World

Hello my fellow travellers! After another night's good sleep I felt fully ready to take on the Kumano Kodō pilgrimage trail. I ate a light breakfast together with Kenichi and Yumiji while we watched the news about the typhoon. It seems like I'm in for a rough walk and the Japanese government are advising people to stay indoors in the Tanabe region. I won't be discouraged by this though, I figure that as long as I keep my wits about me and trek with care I should be fine. We said our goodbyes for this year and I made my way over to the Osaka Tenman-gū to ask about the shuin as a memory of the wonderful and lifesaving time I've spent here with Kenichi and Yumiji. When I arrived at the shrine I made my ... read more

Pursuit of Enlightenment

Asia » Japan » Wakayama » Koyasan August 22nd 2018

Statue of Zōchōten

A Small Swede in the Big World

Hello my fellow travellers! I slept exceptionally well last night and when I woke up this morning I felt completely restored. The last remnants of pain in my legs and feet was gone and I really felt a sense of hope and anticipation for the six days of hiking that lay ahead of me with start tomorrow. For today however I still had a full day of exploring the rest of Mount Kōya ahead of me before returning to Osaka to meet with Kenichi and Yumiji again to spend one more night at their place before the third and longest part of my pilgrimage begins. The morning began with an early morning service at 6.30 am and there were actually quite a lot of guests that were attending it. To my disappointment though it didn't really ... read more

Shōjin Ryōri (Buddhist Vegetarian Cuisine)

Eternal Meditation amongst the Lords of Japan

Asia » Japan » Wakayama » Koyasan August 21st 2018

Procession of Buddhist Monks

A Small Swede in the Big World

Hello my fellow travellers! (I apologise that it has taken me so long to continue my writings from my last trip to Japan) This morning I woke up feeling a bit more rested after a good night's sleep. I ate a light breakfast, consisting of various fruits, together with Kenichi and Yumiji before they left for work. I decided to go and visit the Osaka Tenman-gū before I went to the train bound for Mount Kōya. My legs was still sore as hell from climbing Mount Fuji over the past two days so my decision to take the cable car rather than hiking up Mount Kōya still remained. Fortunately Kenichi and Yumiji were kind enough to let me leave a large portion of my things at their home. I just brought a change of clothes, my ... read more

Tombs of Takeda Shingen and Takeda Katsuyori

Tombs of the Mōri Clan of the Yamaguchi Prefecture

Amongst the Clouds

Asia » Japan » Shizuoka » Mt Fuji August 20th 2018

Guardian of Mount Fuji

A Small Swede in the Big World

Hello my fellow travellers! When I left you yesterday I had just reached the 9th station of the Fujinomiya Trail on Mount Fuji. I was doing a bullet climb throughout the night after having previously climbed Mount Hōei together with Takae before she had to go back home to Shizuoka. After a while of staying hunkered down at the 9th station I dragged myself up as I was getting too cold to stay stationary for too long. My plan was to make it to the top and then add as much clothing as I possibly could to myself and find myself a decent spot to wait out the last few hours until sunrise would come and hopefully warm me up a bit. The climb up to the 9.5th station was a slow and arduous one as ... read more

The Pilgrimage Begins

Asia » Japan » Shizuoka » Fujinomiya August 19th 2018

Praying to Konohanasakuya-hime

A Small Swede in the Big World

Hello my fellow travellers! This morning I left before Ichiro woke up and made my way over to the train station to go to Fujinomiya, a city located at the foot of Mount Fuji on the Shizuoka side. I was greeted by a lovely morning with perfect weather and I felt good about the prospect of climbing Mount Fuji under such conditions. The train ride to Fujinomiya went well and as I exited the station I was met by a smiling Takae who had arrived about 20 minutes earlier than me. She had already checked up on the location of the buses heading to the Fujinomiya trail 5th station which is where we would begin our climb. Before our ascent however there was one place in Fujinomiya that I wanted to visit, the Fujisan Hongū Sengen ... read more

Preparing for a Pilgrimage

Asia » Japan » Tokyo » Shinagawa August 18th 2018

Ichiro and Me

A Small Swede in the Big World

Hello my fellow travellers! After some 20-25 hours or so spent on trains, planes and airports I finally arrived back in Tokyo, almost a full year after my last visit to Japan. This year's trip will be quite different from the previous years' though, because this entire trip will more or less be a long pilgrimage set in five different parts one after another. The first part of the pilgrimage, which will begin tomorrow, is to climb to the summit of Mount Fuji. My initial plan was to do this together with Takae, but unfortunately she can't take time away from her work on Monday. My back-up plan was for us to do a bullet-climb, starting in the morning and ending in the evening, but for that to work I would have needed to stay at ... read more

Road of Kings

Europe » Poland » Pomerania » Gdansk November 27th 2017

John III Sobieski Monument

A Small Swede in the Big World

Hello my fellow travellers! When I woke up this morning Joanna had already left for work so it was a good thing that we said our goodbyes last night. I didn't have much time before my plane would leave for home so my only plan was to walk around a bit in Gdańsk before catching the train to the airport. My aim was to take in the general atmosphere of the city even though I wouldn't have the opportunity to delve deeper into it. The first sight of the city that I came to was the main train station itself, Gdańsk Główny Railway Station, built 1896–1900. It survived both world wars but was damaged by a fire in 1945, it has since been renovated and it's a really beautiful building well worth some attention. As I ... read more

I'll Seal You in Hel!

Europe » Poland » Pomerania » Puck » Hel November 26th 2017

Seal of Hel

A Small Swede in the Big World

Hello my fellow travellers! Today we travelled the road to Hel! Well, the town of Hel that is, it's a small town located at the tip of the Hel Peninsula in Puck County. It took us a while to drive there and to be honest I wasn't feeling to well so I was drifting in and out of sleep and therefore I wasn't much of a company for Joanna on the road. Once we arrived we were greeted by a strong, cold wind though and thankfully it freshened me up and lifted my spirits, and despite the cold wind the weather was nice and sunny. We parked outside a hostel where Joanna knows the owner, we took a toilet break there and chatted with the nice staff and Joanna showed me a room that is named ... read more

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