Dublin
Saturday July 22, 2017
In classic Irish style, I arrived from sunny Norway into cold, wet and windy Dublin. It wasn't too bad though, it would have still been around 15C. I met John at his apartment and we went for dinner at a local pub.
I was up early the next day to get on a bus tour to Giant's Causeway, all the way up north in Northern Ireland. The weather turned out to be magnificent, with blue skies and sun all around. The area is quite amazing by itself, there's some beautiful bays overlooking the North Atlantic Ocean towards Scotland. There weren't too many people as well, which meant I could admire the beauty of the area at my own pace and leisure. The stones weren't as large as I was expecting, but still a decent size - perhaps half a metre in diameter. Curiously enough, they were almost all hexagonal, probably as a result of the peculiar volcanic activity that created the area.
We had lunch nearby at a place called the Barn, which did a pretty mean Steak and Guinness Pie, then we continued on to Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. Originally used by fishermen to bridge a 20m long and 23m tall gap between the mainland and an island where they would place their nets to catch salmon, the bridge is now a national heritage site with strict rules regulating how many people can cross the bridge at any one time. From the island, you can easily see Rathlin Island and Scotland.
The rest of the tour took us to the Dark Hedges, a filming location from Game of Thrones, where a narrow road is flanked by a long row of trees. It didn't really have much significance to me since I've never watched Game of Thrones. It had also started raining, but as it was our last stop for the day, it wasn't too much of an issue. By the time we got back to Dublin, it was fine.
Yesterday I spent walking around the city, visiting Trinity College, Dublin Castle and the Guinness Storehouse. John's girlfriend Monica took me around the castle area, showing me all these cool little shops and food areas; I really enjoyed the vibe around the area. It's as lively and jovial as many other European cities I've been too, just not on the same scale. The Guinness Storehouse was pretty interesting, and I was given a free pint to "enjoy", which I managed about 1/5th of before ditching it and bee-lining out of the rooftop terrace. I met Amnon and John for dinner at Token, a bar with a dozen video game arcades and pinball machines inside. We played Tetris, Space Invaders, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Metal Slug and a couple of the pinball machines. I really wanted to play the Simpsons Game, but it was always busy so never got the chance.
It's my final weekend of travelling for a while, which I will spend Scotland. It's slowly dawning on me that the real world approaches - very fast! - and that I'll have to become an adult again.
Posted by Jeremy at 10:29am on Saturday July 22, 2017 :: 0 comments :: 
Bergen
Wednesday July 19, 2017
Stockholm to Bergen was extremely early in the morning, but since we're so far north, the sun had already risen when I left Rafael's apartment at 4am. By the time I got to Bergen, it was close to 9am, and I managed to contact my accommodation who said my room was ready to check in to. Excellent!
It was pretty wet that day. I had lunch at the seafood market - it had such an appetising smell that I couldn't resist. I also made it up the funicular to Fløien, with a magnificent view across the city. The rain was in and out during the day, but that didn't deter me too much - it pretty much just felt like home in Wellington. I walked around the various tracks and went up to the Skomakerdiket Lake, then took the funicular back down. I was cold and tired, so decided to take a nap back in my room.
I had an action packed day the next day. I took the train from Bergen to Voss, an hour train ride through some of the most scenic parts of Norway's fjords and lakes. The weather was still slightly inclement, but the low clouds hanging under the hills made it so majestic. The rain had also made the waterfalls that little more spectacular, but more importantly, the rivers were much more fun for white water rafting!
After suiting up and getting our safety briefing, we went to a nearby spot to practice our moves, as well as a forced swim through the rapids to make sure we knew what to do if we capsized. I'll tell you now, the water was incredibly cold; it would have definitely been unbearable if we didn't have wetsuits. Our bus driver (a guy from Turangi in New Zealand!) took us further downstream to begin our actual rafting. What a rough river it was, but so much fun. There were tons of exciting and thrilling moments, much more than the time I went rafting down the Wairoa River. Some of the drops were incredibly high too, but we all survived without capsizing. We had one man overboard from our boat, and we also plucked a swimmer from another boat in a dramatic rescue. I had so much fun on this one.
After a nice warm lunch, I was dropped off at the Voss Wind Tunnel, an indoor skydiving building. It's quite different to outdoor skydiving, as you can imagine, since you're not strapped to anyone. You control your own movements (to an extent) and I found it quite difficult to figure out what was going on, and ended up flying like a potato most of the time. The sensation was quite thrilling though, and I still had fun, but deep down inside I was disappointed that I couldn't maintain my flight unassisted.
The sun is out today, and it's actually really nice seeing Bergen in two completely different lights. I also realised that Bergen was the inspiration for Arendelle in Disney's Frozen! I wandered down to the aquarium and chilled out in the park for a bit, but there's not much else to see in Bergen. I really do want to come back one day though, Bergen is the closest airport to the famous Trolltunga, and there's tons of other awesome activities to do around here, and also around Norway - I didn't even get to go to Oslo! I also don't even know if I'll come back during summer or winter, as the country is completely different. Despite it being horribly expensive, I still had a good time.
Posted by Jeremy at 1:14pm on Wednesday July 19, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
Stockholm
Monday July 17, 2017
After arriving in Stockholm, I met up with Rafael and Erika, who took me around the sights of the local neighbourhood. We went up to a roof bar that overlooks the island that they're staying on, and on a cloudless day with the sun far from setting at 8pm, the view of Stockholm was stunning. There were even a few hot air balloons floating around - that would have been a great idea if I was made of money. We continued walking around and ended up at Mariatorget, a park on a cliff with a view of the north side of the island that looks towards the city hall and city centre. The warm hues of the sunset bathed the city in such an artistic light, it was a beautiful sight to see.
Yesterday, I ventured out by myself into the city's main sights, visiting Gamla Stan and the Royal Palace, the Modern Museum, Nordic Museum and Vasa Museum. I found a kayak rental, so hired a kayak for an hour and paddled around the strait between the museum island, near the Royal Djurgarden. When I started, the sky was completely blue and it was pretty hot out, but as I neared the end of the hour, the clouds and wind had come in.
After lunch (which was the traditional Swedish meatballs!), the weather had started to turn cold, so I took a tour of the Stockholm Subway. Several stations have some very interesting art installations, and since they're inside the subway itself, a single ticket is sufficient to view them all since you never need to exit the subway. My tour took me around:
- Kungstradgarden: Full of red and green bands, with some impressive Scandinavian statues
- T Centralen: Blue and white leaf patterns
- Radhuset: Archaic cavern with a large stone column
- Solna Centrum: A huge red and green mural depicting the destruction of the environment and nature
- Thorildsplan: Pixel art, including icons from Pacman, Space Invaders and Mario
- Universitetet: Scientific murals and artistic wordsearches
- Tekniska Hogskolan: Large geometric shapes with a nature theme
- Stadion: Art for the 1912 Olympic games, with a rainbow on the bumps and crevasses in the bedrock of the station
As I exited the subway, it was indeed raining, so I went back to Rafael's to chill out for a bit. I managed to see all I wanted to see, except IKEA, and I didn't want to stay out too late since I had an early start this morning. Next stop: Norway!
Posted by Jeremy at 4:28am on Monday July 17, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
Malmo
Saturday July 15, 2017
I took the bus from Copenhagen to Malmo very early on Friday morning. I tried my hardest to stay awake for the famous Oresund Bridge that emerges from underground on Peberholm Island, then stretches over the Oresund Strait over to Sweden, but I was just too tired. I met Glen at Malmo Centralstation, then followed him to Ubisoft Massive, where I also caught up with Ricardo.
I walked around central Malmo in the morning. It was a little chilly, but certainly nothing like what New Zealand is currently experiencing. I even managed to get a slice of the famous Swedish Prinsesstårta, a layered sponge cake with a marzipan icing finish. I met Glen for lunch with some of his Ubisoft colleagues, and then I borrowed Ricardo's bike for the afternoon.
It was actually the perfect weather for biking around, since I warmed up quite quickly as I explored the city. I followed the canal from Ubisoft Massive up to the Centralstation, then continued further north to the Turning Torso, perhaps Malmo's most famous landmark. It's a residential apartment block that looks like it's been twisted 90 degrees, and stands at 180m, Scandanavia's tallest structure. The area it overlooks is a really nice park that stretches down the coast, so I was happy to bike up and down that for a few hours. I accidentally biked into the nudist area too, and was quick to u-turn my two wheels out of there.
I got back into the centre of town and rode around Malmo Castle when it started to rain. I took a breather inside the cafe and tried to wait out the rain; it didn't stop and I was getting a bit cold, so I biked back to Glen's apartment and chilled out for a bit there. We went for dinner with Ricardo to Lilla Torg, or "Little Square" in Swedish, a vibrant and happening quarter of town with tons of restaurants and people out enjoying the summer evening.
I took it easy this morning, but met Ricardo and his wife back in town for a final coffee with Glen. We also hired a paddle boat and spent 30 minutes cruising up and down the canal before I had to hot tail it to the Centralstation to catch my train to Stockholm. It was such a beautiful day in Malmo, and the perfect temperature too. In many respects, it's much like Wellington - great cafe and food culture, very multicultural, small enough to walk everywhere, the only real difference is that it's flat, and great to bike around!
Posted by Jeremy at 2:12pm on Saturday July 15, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
Legoland and Copenhagen
Thursday July 13, 2017
We were up extremely early on Wednesday morning to get to Berlin Tegel Airport for a flight to Brussels and then to Billund, Denmark. Why Billund? Really only one reason - Legoland!
I remember trying to book transport to get to Billund. Theo and I mulled over all our options and needed to get our timing perfect. We were mildly worried about our transport from Billund to Copenhagen - there didn't seem to be many prepaid options available, and it seemed like any option we took would be a 3 or 4 hour trip. We decided to do as much as we could and leave the rest to fate. We hoped that it was worth the cost and hassle of getting up at 4am.
I remember my first reaction upon entering Legoland's Mini Land - my jaw dropped and my eyes widened. I couldn't believe how amazing all the models were. We passed by a very familiar model castle - Neuschwanstein Castle - which we had visited mere days ago; there were some magnificent Star Wars moment captured in Lego, as well as a massive X Wing, a fully working canal, Amsterdam, various Danish landmarks and towns, Mount Rushmore, Cape Canaveral and tons more.
We went on some rides as well. By far the best one was the Polar Express, a short but fast coaster, with a 5m free fall drop! We went twice, and on the second time, we posed for the camera. I love the picture so much; I'm doing the Asian victory pose and Theo is fast asleep. It's so good. We also went on the Ninjago Ride, the Temple, the Dragon and the Haunted House. We wanted to go on the X-treme Racers but Theo was too tall for that.
I can say with certainty that Legoland met expectation and it was definitely worth it. I enjoyed myself immensely, and we even made it to Copenhagen safely.
We took it easy today, exploring the big sights of Copenhagen. Of course, we visited the Little Mermaid statue, with hundreds of other tourists clambering about on the rocks trying to get the perfect Instagram photo. We also went to Rosenburg Castle, the Kastellet, St Alban's Church, Frederik's Church with the massive dome that we ascended, and Nyhavn. After lunch, I said my goodbyes to Theo - he's back to London while I continue on to Sweden tomorrow.
It's been so nice having a companion on my travels, and with Theo's departure, it only means that my time of travelling is coming to a swift end. I can't believe it! It's been such an amazing five months.
Posted by Jeremy at 9:55pm on Thursday July 13, 2017 :: 0 comments ::