We have a new friend - barmaid Howrie!

Writing the blog sober can sometimes be a little of a chore.
Writing the blog while pissed as a fart is  . . .  a challenge.
So I didn't try to write the blog last night - hence me writing this morning!


The day started out well enough - with breakfast as we planned a day sightseeing in Göteborg.  Now Göteborg is a very walkable city.  It is predominantly flat and right on the coast with a significant harbour, with a few canals leading from the harbour in to the City.


The Scandic Crown Hotel is inner city - just beyond the Central Rail Station. The concierge at the desk here provides some advice on getting right in to the historic areas.  Walk around the station and through Nordstan, a 'Westfield style' shopping mall right in the centre of the CBD.  would you believe that in the month that we have been in Europe, this is the first shopping centre that we have been in.  And you will all be proud of us - despite all the 'Sale' signs in windows, we bought nothing!  To get to the historic areas of the City, we need to get beyond Nordstan, and the fastest way to do it is through it.

On the other side, we come out in an area of narrow cobbled streets radiating in a grid pattern out from the significant Gustaf Adolf’s Square facing the Rådhuset (Town Hall) with a canal running along one side - complete with picture pretty bridges lined with flower pots.

Our first building visit is in to The German Church which its also called Christinae Church. Named after Queen Christina, it was inaugurated in 1748, and used by he German and Dutch congregation in Gothenburg. While there are some ornate decorations, in the chandeliers and the windows, predominantly it is simple and basic and filled with light.


Crossing the canal brings us into closer quarters, with narrower streets, many of them pedestrianised so we don't need to be watching for vehicles quite so diligently.  It gives us a chance to look at doorways and rooflines and into the minutae of daily life here in Göteborg.


We are now close to the main canal and the city park and notice the spire for the Domkyrkan - the Cathedral.  We had a little difficulty getting in initially, turns out they are preparing for a radio broadcast on today, Sunday 8 September.  The original church on this site was consecrated in 1633 and following two fires, this final Cathedral was built in 1815. It is plainer than many we have seen.

We are headed to the Saluhallen, the Market Hall in Göteborg. This is the largest indoor market, and significantly nicer that the two outdoor markets we have seen thus far today.  When you enter in through the double doors,your senses are assailed in the very best of ways.  There are foods of all descriptions - smallgoods, cheeses, fruit and vegetables, sweets and nuts, meats, home-made pastas, cooked meals.  Only one fishmonger - and really they only had prawns and salmons plus sauces and salads.  Turns out that the City of Göteborg has its own fish markets down near the harbour.


Back into the sunshine - it is warm and lovely until the sun disappears behind a cloud and the wind picks up!  Across the next canal towards Kungsparken (Kings Park) we see further evidence of the regal presence in the city of the past.
At this point, Donna tells me we are not too far from the Haga district, the oldest quarter.  "How far is not far?"  "Only about 1.5 kms"  "Too far", was my response! Time to put the tram tickets we have bought to use.  Soon to the tram we go to visit the Haga district.  The first thing that we tend to notice are the rooflines - and that includes the spires and towers of the various churches.  There is no reason that the Haga should be any different!
At first we cannot get in to the Church as there is a service in progress.  Turns out the service is a wedding.  

I join the locals taking the sun, sitting in the beautiful little park adjacent to the church while Donna takes a walk down to see how close she can get to the Fish Markets we could see from the tram stop.  Like many other cities, there are significant road works being undertaken here and this means long detours around said works!
She comes back via some of the traditional half timbered houses that exist only in the Haga district now.  And like the main city area, some of the cobbled streets have been closed to traffic to allow safe access by pedestrians and bikes and cycles.

The bells were ringing (for me and my girl) as the newly wedded couple leave the church.  We come up to the doors as one of the church officials comes to the door, telling us we can only have five minutes as they are closing the church.  Quite a number of people follow us in! Church done, we head off to find one of the best examples of restored buildings in this area. We find a couple, unsure of which is the exact building in a row that all demonstrate some special features.

Our day is done.  My feet are done.
So it is back to the tram and back to the Scandic Crown.
After walking just over 5km (tram rides extra) we deserve a drink.

Howrie, bar tender of the day, helps us to make sure that we celebrate appropriately!
A few drinks later, we ask for Cointreau on ice.  She has never served Cointreau before and has to search the register to find the button!!
Its about now that she delivers a smallgoods tray to us.  Not sure if it was in recognition of our patronage or to ensure we eat something as we drink!  Who cares, was delicious.
She tells us that Göteborg can get as low as minus 20 degrees in winter and that in a heavy snow, the whole public transport network closes down.
She also tells us that limes are the most expensive fruit - even more so than mangoes,and that she would give anything to have a lime tree in her yard.  Turns out they sell at about 3 for 70 SEK.  That makes them about $3 each!

An early night follows - we needed it!

From prizes to princes

An earlier start today to make sure that we get the most of our visit to Gamla Stan.
Gamla stan, the Old Town, until 1980 was officially known as Staden mellan broarna (The Town between the Bridges), is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen.


It is a short ferry ride across the inner harbour  in the sunshine this morning, passing four large cruise ships enroute.  There is a slight breeze and the possibility of a shower, so Donna has packed the umbrellas - just in case.Gamla Stan is one of the larger islands in the archipelago that is Stockholm.  It has an area of about 0.26 square kms.  And while we didn't cover all of it,we gave it a pretty damn good shot.  Walked just under 5 kms today so you can imagine how my feet are tonight!  Still I am really pleased with how I lasted and thankful that Donna lent me her arm numerous times on the blasted cobblestones.  There were every possible type of them somewhere on the island - including those little rounded ones that they set on their edges - they are the most painful!
On our way to find the Cathedral (which turned out not to be the church we thought it was) we came across the intricate bronze statue to St George and the Dragon. This dragon was slain in return for the City converting to christianity!  Turns out, this is not the only statue to St George and the dragon, and most certainly one one of hundreds of statues on this elaborate little island.The first major building we entered today is the Nobel Prize Museum. Set in an imposing building facing one of the main squares where the City fountain is set, the interior is dark, although not at all cool!  This centre focuses on the story of how the Prize came about - as the legacy left in the will of Alfred Nobel who had made his fortune in the discovery and development of dynamite. 
Without any direct descendants (although he had large extended family) he decided to distribute his fortune to the recognition of those who excelled in a number of scientific and other fields:

• Physics
• Chemistry
• Physiology or Medicine
• Literature
• Peace

In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Th Royal Apartments (historic) are more accessible with lift access allowing easy access to the main areas (although there were still steps up from each foyer).  There are two things that strike us Once we had had our fill of the opulence, we retraced our steps to the courtyard just as the Changing of the Guard was taking place. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. We have unobstructed views, unlike the crowds who have just entered the Parade Square and are being marshalled by soldiers! The Guard have some of the best polished helmets we have ever seen!Out through the Parade Square and behind the Palace, we find the Storkyrkan - Stockholm Cathedral, St. Jacob's Church and St. Clara Church.  This medieval church, built from 1279, this cathedral, has been a Lutheran place of worship since 1527.  
By now it is now close to 5 pm and time for us to turn towards the ferry back to Skeppsholmen.  My feet HATE the cobblestones and the uneven roads and pavements, the hills up and down, have taken their toll.  I am really feeling our jaunt today, but thrilled that we were able to traverse most of Gamla Stan.
We return to the Hotel Skeppsholmen somewhat subdued, but happy with the day.
Night all - time to rest the tootsies!

There are not too many people getting off the ferry, although there were plenty on board - so I guess the museums we did over the last couple of days are still drawing the late summer / early autumn crowds.

Gamla Stan has a really interesting skyline with cupolas, towers, spires and the stair-stepped roof-lines reminiscent of those in Brugges and the slightly rounded ones found across many of the other European cities.

Between 1901 and 2018, the prizes have been awarded a total of 590 times.  And there is information on each and every one.  One of the more interesting ways they are presented is on a ceiling mounted tracked system that features each of the laureates on a separate hanging banner.  Other ways they are presented are in decade visual blocks where one can read in detail of the recipient.  And some are featured in special displays.  There is a major display on the works and times of Martin Luther King.  We spent about 2 hours working through the discoveries and works of some of the amazing people who have and are currently influencing our knowledge of our world.

Following our enlightening, we ventured back into the afternoon sun - it is hard to believe that summer is done and locally, everyone is commenting on how later summer is lasting.  After wandering through backstreets, peering down alleyways and into doorways and courtyards, we end up on one of the straight lines that cross the island - Osterlangg, looking for a light lunch.  
The small restaurant Cultur was easy to enter (steps here are everywhere) and in fact, compared to here on Skeppsholmen, very affordable.

Donna had Cod with crab sauce and baby potatoes and I had Chicken with Tarragon, mashed potatoes and white beans.  Washed down with a glass of Italian Pinot it was delicious and very satisfying, providing the energy needed this afternoon.

So we next headed to the other end of Gamla Stan and The Royal Palaces. 

With more than 600 rooms, much of it open to the public, we could have spent a full day in this one complex. However, time is short and there is still so much to see.  Donna climbed the many steps to take some photos in the large Chapel - basically one large hall that hosts major ceremonies.

Straight away we are struck by - the amazing chandeliers in all the rooms, and the plethora of clocks -some rooms with more than one - and all keeping perfect time.  Turns out the Palace has its own clock-maker to ensure that these historic pieces all run true!
There are gifts from popes and princes, priceless tapestries and furniture and elaborate furnishings in the king's rooms.  The Council Chamber still hosts meetings of the Swedish Cabinet three to four times a year with the King sitting as Chairman.
And Karl XI's gallery, modelled on the castle Versailles mirror gallery has a series of chandeliers running its length!

It houses the other statue of St George slaying the Dragon that we have seen today.  This one, carved in timber in 1489 is amazing in its detail.

Tomorrow we check out and will take the train to Gothenburg on the other side of Sweden.  At least this way we will get to see more of the countryside.

Finally a clock that tells the true time

Post for 1 September

After a late night we had arranged with Riikka to meet us for breakfast at 9 am at the Albert Hotel.  In the end, we sent her a message this morning and put everything back 30 minutes.  We don't need to check out until noon, so it makes it easy.

Both of the major churches that we want to see have services this morning and are not open to visitors until after 12 anyway.
It was certainly worth the measly €8 for the convenience of having the car on-site. We have got the packing down pat now and having sent some of our clothing, shoes and books etc back by post, we now have more balanced and lighter suitcases.  So right at noon we pack the bags into the car and wriggle out of the very tight car space.

Or first stop is at Uspenski Cathedral.  We park right in front in a private car park. Either not too many people know about this hidden gem, or are not prepared to pay €5 for an hour's visit. I don't care and really are appreciative of the fact that I don't need to walk too far!  And finally, a Church clock that has the correct time!!

This is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Helsinki, and the main cathedral of the Orthodox Church of Finland, dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos (the Virgin Mary). Its name comes from the Old Church Slavonic word uspenie. It is built in the Russian Orthodox style with gold plated orbs atop the turrets and church high points. Riikka has explained that if you want to be officially recorded in a religion, and have the option of choosing religious education for your children, then you need to pay a religious tax in Finland. The joke is that most of the tax goes to replace or add to the gold leaf atop this Cathedral on a regular basis.  

There are signs at the entrances saying 'No Tourists' but after countless others push past us to walk in, and some soul-searching on our part, we decided to also take a quick peek.

Inside the air is thick with the remnants of the incense used in the services this morning and it creates and it creates whorls as the sunlight streams through from the windows.  It is ornate with gilt and iconographic pieces.  As we are here, a small wedding party has arrived in a late model Porsche and is directed to the Krypt - presumably for their service.

While not particularly old, the Cathedral is striking from near and far with that gleaming gold against the green capped rooflines.

The next church we visit is in the other quarter of the waterside centre.  This is the Helsinki Lutheran Cathedral (Tuomiokirkko). This is a very large imposing white building with a green domed roof.  It towers over the large and impressive Senate Square. 

Getting a car park in the street below the Cathedral, we entered through the Krypt that was currently home to an interesting art exhibition by Makela Pirkko. 

Inside, this building is humble and understated and is in direct contrast to the ornate orthodox church we have just seen.  The Lutheran religion does not put the emphasis on the altar, but rather, on the pulpit where the priest preaches the word of God.  

The young, female priest, dressed in a brightly coloured striped dress leaves as we take a seat in the pew.  She was not more than 35.

We wandered out to the top of the steps of the Senate Square, observing the very geometric layout of the architecture around this impressive square.  Down around the fountain, there is a flurry of activity which appears to be the packup after last night's Midnight Run through Helsinki - celebrating the last day of Summer here!

After this, Riikka gave us an hour tour through the streets of Helsinki and out along the waterside residential areas.  I particularly loved the new Helsinki Wave Library set is wide, open lawned areas.

We finally dropped her off outside Taro's home with lots of hugs and kisses and genuine love.  It has been so lovely to spend special time with her and to have time with the family generally.  We are already planning to catch up again when Riikka and Runo come out to Australia looking at job opportunities next March or April. 

Flying to Stockholm tonight, we say goodbye to Finland and watch some of their thousand of islands and islets dwarf as we move away, and the fingers of water that move into the countryside slip away.  As we near Sweden, the clouds start to appear.  Once we are over this coastline, it is evident that although there are some islands off the coast and rivers extending away from the coast, there is not as many as Finland.  And the forests here are denser, more tightly sown and yet another different green.  So close, and yet already we see the differences.











The clouds thickened, the cotton wool became denser, the plane shuddered a few times, buffeted by the storm and just under the hour later, we landed at Stockholm (Arlanda) airport.  I pulled my irksome ankle as we walked the half kilometre from the gate to the baggage claim area. So now I am really hobbling.

We caught a cab to the Raddison Blu Arlandia hotel and have already decided that we will book another night and have a rest day tomorrow to try to soothe it.  The cabbie told us it had been raining on and off today and we promised him clear skies tomorrow.  He laughed it off and we had to convince him that we have taken the sunshine everywhere we have been!


Dinner tonight was ordered in - Donna had a HUGE Caesar Salad with Chicken and I had the Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberries and mashed potato.  Nice to just veg.

Pest to some, but still King of the Sea

Description

We are getting so full. If ever anyone is told that they need to eat more, may we recommend taking a cruise.  All you seem to do is eat!  We opted not to have breakfast, but to have an early lunch. Same offerings as other days - there is variety in the hot dishes but we are skipping them for salads and cold salmons and meats, cheeses and crackers, fruit and dessert.
Today there is no cider available - sacré bleu!  So we tried a Mack Ginger Beer - nice enough, but not a patch on the cider for lunch.

Tromsø is the Arctic Capital.  We begin our shore excursion here with a trip high above Tromsø in the cable car to a mountain ledge at Storsteinen, 471 metres above sea level.  It is from here that most of the trips to see the northern lights depart.  No chance of us seeing them as we are coming out of the time of the midnight sun, with the sun setting just in time for the moon to shine for a few hours.  Last night, just before we travelled through the Trollsfjord, Donna managed to get a lovely photo.

As we are travelling further north towards the North Pole, there is more and more permanent snow visible on the mountain caps.  Doesn't matter that the altitude is low, the latitude is higher and higher.


Tromsø's old town is characterised by old timber buildings while its recent (1965) Arctic Cathedral dominates the low skyline. Tromsø sits on the island of the same name and until the 1960's almost all development was contained on the island. Across a small channel, on the mainland, there was farming. By the 1960's the population was swelling and as the island is sea-locked, development had begun on the adjacent mainland areas, although access was not practical for work, school or shopping. By then, there were sufficient numbers on the mainland and demand for more development and so a bridge was built.
Even today, Tromsø struggles for land for development and down near the harbour there is active land reclamation going on. Our guide explains that half of the land on which the port is sited was not even there two years ago.

We leave the boat and catch a bus through the centre of town, detouring because of a major music festival that starts tonight, and dodging roadworks before entering a tunnel that OMG has roundabouts in it!  Sarah (guide) explains that much of Tromsø's road network is underground to ensure access in the winter months and that the network runs north-south and east-west, hence the need for the roundabouts.  She also explains that it takes much of the traffic off the inner city streets. Up through narrow residential streets the bus travels to the cable car station.  A number of times, cars need to reverse to allow the bus access - must annoy the locals during the tourist season.

The actual cable car ride is only short.  The views from the top looking down on Tromsø, its ski jumps and other sporting fields, the long fjords and waterways where cargo ships are miniaturised and the mountain chains under snow and cloud stretch as far as the eye can see.  It is postcard perfect and one of the views that often grace Norway tourist pitches.

On the way back into the city, we stop at the Arctic Cathedral, a Lutheran Cathedral - very sparse and sombre on the inside without the stunning stained glass window behind the altar - and this was only put in because the sun was blinding worshippers!

Our final stop is at Polaris - an aquarium plus educational centre that is attached to and benefits from the adjoining multi-national Arctic Research facility. Kind of twee, although they showed a panoramic movie of the areas of the northern Arctic that are almost impossible to visit.  More Oh. My. God. scenery and I wish that I could be looking at it with my own eyes in nature.
The other attraction here is the seal feeding pool where they have two small leopard-spotted Harbour Seals and two Arctic Fur Seals that are about four times the size. Like all these feeding operations, the seals do tricks for their dinner and these were no different. Cheeky and a bit of fun. 

We arrive back on the ship just before 6pm and tonight have a booking in the Kysten A La Carte Restaurant for a King Crab Meal.
Prosecco on arrival, 500 g of red King Crab with hot melted brown butter, charred lemon halves, a dill mayonnaise and a chilli aoili.  Served with bread and butter and a pineapple and melon salad.  SUBLIME.  We washed it all down with a French Chablis.  Ended the night with a Cheese Board - Camembert, Hard Goat Cheese, and a delectable Norwegian Blue paired with Cloudberry syrup, Carrot marmalade, fig relish, toffeed nuts, strawberries and raspberries.  We finished with Coffee and Cognac.  Wonder what the poor people are eating tonight?!

Died and gone to heaven!  
Talk about King of the Sea!!

Oslo - where the Vikings once ruled

All night long, we were lulled with a muted rythmic rumble. Turns out that there is a very regular tram line that runs under our window. They run every 2 minutes during the day and not much less even into the wee hours of the morning.  The triple glazing must be excellent, as we are not disturbed at all. In fact, it is quite soothing.

Well Oslo is a bit of a surprise. Brunch this morning is fabulous coffee (oh, how I have missed you) and the lightest, plumpest cinnamon scrolls that look like a double carrick knot. Its cool but not cold and without any breeze.  As we sit enjoying our food, we here sirens and then a protest march in the near distance.  Great. Not. I guess that being a little on edge is becoming the new norm for travellers. Don't worry. Not close enough to cause any concern.

The public transport is amazing. This morning Donna got out the guide book and spent an hour or so cross referencing the transport map and the locational map to identify which trams and buses would get us to places such as the Opera House, the main railway station and the Vikingskipsene - our major destination for today.
And before we go any further, I just want to note that Donna has absolutely NO sense of direction.  Google maps sending us the long way around or not (as it does), she still has no natural sense of direction. Thankfully, I do! And thankfully Donna is a whiz at working out the connections.

We pick up the bus outside our building.  This is the former main Post Office - a beautiful building that covers an entire city block, it now houses apartments, shops, offices etc.  The bus stop is on one stage of the block and the tram stop on the other side of the building. So the bus stop is at the front door and the tram at the back!  On to Bus no 30 we head out. 
We have not been able to find out how or where to buy a ticket and are hoping that we can buy them on the bus. And yes we can, but only with cash, which I had bought prior to leaving Australia. But the bus driver could not make the change needed and so told us to sit directly behind him in case an inspector got on.  Everyone just boards the buses, you do not need to show your ticket, there is no tapping and I am guessing that there would be plenty of locals who ride the transport for free, taking a chance on not seeing an inspector who can demand to see your paper ticket or your electronic ticket on your phone.

A 21 minute bus trip through part of the historic areas, past a number of the embassies and consulates and through (obviously well-to-do) residential areas and eventually into some rural settings, takes us up into one of the ridges and finally to the Vikingskipsene. You can recognise it by all tourist buses parked outside! And yet there are not too many people here.  As we go in, once Donna has divested herself of her backpack and bought our entry tickets at a very reasonable AUD $33 for the two of us, we learn that this morning there were three cruise ship groups in and they had to hold people waiting outside because the museum had reached capacity.

THIS is a museum and a half.  The building is quite austere, painted all white inside.  This allows the pitch-black of the Viking ships to stand out in stark contrast. Each of the three main ships is housed in a wing off the small foyer, entry desk and souvenir shop.
They are mind-blowing!

Obviously restored, these three boats were only discovered in the 20th century. But all were built in the first century AD. The level of detail and care taken with construction and decoration of not only these main vessels, but all the artefacts found buried with them talk of the pride of the Vikings. 

As we learn more about our earliest ancestors, we learn more of the prowess and skill they had. 
No longer can we believe anything that we knew of the barbaric thugs we knew of as children.  These are sophisticated people with complex class structures and a true sense of adventure.  We sit through a really well done visual presentation of Viking history that showed the peoples they had dealt with across the globe as well as highlighting the natural features of their home lands.  I comment to Donna, that I wonder who was that first brave person who thought to build a boat and launch into the treacherous northern waters. I would have had heart attack after heart attack if it were me in one of the slight (looking) boats as it tossed and heaved in the swell depicted.


The Norwegians are obviously proud of their Viking heritage - and rightly so!!

Our wander back in history done, we catch yet another bus where the driver cannot make the change (and yet it appears to be a common event as we were not the only tourists to be caught out). We quiz him on where to buy the tickets and he says online (been there, tried that one unsuccessfully) or many shops such as 7-eleven - yes, the same chain as at home!  (Small world). We make our way down to the very modern Opera House and nearby find the main tourist office and the Olso Sentralstasion and in the harbour close to the Opera House are two enormous cruise ships. 


While there, Donna went in to the tourist office to purchase bus tickets for tomorrow and we see some unique art pieces. The 'trees' are found in the children's play area and the 'foot' sculpture (which looks totally different in side view as the space between the toes and the body of the foot is open) is on the concourse.

Tickets bought, we head turn for the apartment searching as we go for a restaurant and find ourselves at the Cafe Cathedral in front of the Cathedral where we order Baked Salmon - Fresh Norwegian salmon with fennel salad with dill, orange and apple.  Served with potatoes, asparagus and white wine sauce and (the best ever) Fish Soup - Our famous creamy fish soup with shrimps, salmon and vegetables. Served with bread.

Finished with a cheese plate, a pinot grigio and pear cider. Oh what a night, and a meal.

Another day dawns soon and bed beckons.  Chat soon all.