As I was leaving Denmark on May 23rd, I noticed a few things that were a little different than I`m used to. First, locals in Helsingor don`t really have the same breakfast or meal items as we do in the states. Meaning, at 10am, people were eating that famous ice-cream I was talking about. I guess you could say it`s made with milk and we have milk for breakfast so ice-cream is now a breakfast item. I like that one. Next, at 10:30 in the morning, the Swedes were getting off the ferries and making the first stop at the hot dog stand. Ok, so they were hungry and wanted a hot dog for breakfast. I guess we eat sausage for breakfast with toast, so it`s kinda the same thing. But instead of coffee or juice, they washed it down with a beer (or two). Keep in mind this is 10:30 in the morning on a work day. Lastly, I read in my book that the Swedes come to Denmark by the boatload to purchase cheap booze. I saw many people get off the boat with carts so they could take cases of beer back and wheel it back to the ferry. When I boarded the ferry for Sweden (at 11:00 am), the party was in the bar with all the Swedes sitting by their trolly`s of newly purchased alcohol and buying more from the bar to drink on the 30 minute trip. Crazy fun to watch all this as I enjoyed my latte and fruit. I`m trying to eat as healthy as I can and found fruit to be easy, cheap and healthy in the mornings on the road.
Anyways – had to share that as I found it to be quite interesting. I spent most of Friday traveling and wanted to share my adventures as I saw little towns out in the Swedish countryside. Each place has a fun story:
1. Tram – Took a little Disneyland like tram from my hostel to town. I had to drag my bag up a dirt road to get there (not knowing what time the tram came) and barely made it as I heard the whistle and kept running with my bag. On the train, there were may beat up looking kids that had been camping (no showers I guess) and a guy holding a long, fat snake. I decided I didn`t need to make friends there.
2. Ferry to Helsigborg – this is the first stop in Sweden. When I got there, I knew I wanted to get to a city further north as a gateway to Gotland. What I didn`t know was how difficult this would be. After finding the tourist office and then the train station, then the ticket lady told me she doesn`t sell tickets and I had to go to 7-11 across the way to buy tickets. Strange but all right. Once I got to 7-11, the guy looked and said there were no trains. Oh no! I had a ferry ticket already purchased and had to get to this city. He told me to call a number and talk to someone there and she could help me figure out when the next train leaves on the weekend or next week. Luckily, this lady was able to get me a route that involved 3 trains and a bus, but at least I was on my way.
3. Train to Hasselbolm – this was pretty straight forward and uneventful
4. Train to Kalmar – I thought I had a nice 2 hour train ride and was having a wonderful time reading. After an hour, there is some announcement in Swedish – like most announcements, I had no idea what was said and just watched to see what people did. As the train stopped, a lot of people got off, but many stayed so I assumed it was their stop. When a conductor came by, I asked if I was on the right train and she said I had to get off, walk forward to another part of the train and the part I was in would be cut off. Glad I asked or I would have been somewhere in the country for the night.
5. I finally got to Kalmar and was able to see another great castle as I had an hour in this town.
6. Bus to Oskarshamn – As I was waiting for my bus, I noticed all the teenagers and a new fashion trend in this town. Facial piercings. I have seen the eyebrow, nose, lip and even a chin. In this town, the more places you had pierced, the better. Almost every kid I saw was dressed in black Gothic attire, with dyed hair (bright pink was my favorite – with neon green bangs) and many piercings in the chin, lips (both sides), nose, cheek (that`s a new one).
So after leaving my hostel in Denmark at 10am, I finally got to Oskarshamn at 7:15pm. Even though it sounds long, the time flew as I was constantly moving and enjoying the scenery.
When the bus driver dropped me off, it didn`t look like a town, but I did see the big ferries (that I would take in the morning) so I figured I would find my way. I did see a sign for the hostel I had booked, and after walking up a long, steep hill (dragging my bag), I finally found it. Problem was…the doors were locked and the sign said after 6:00 check in is at the hotel next door. Too bad the hotel doors were locked too. Hummm…what to do?
I saw two others on the bus walking up the hill and assume they were going to a hotel so I was going to walk that way and see what I could find. As I was walking back, a man at a quick stop store saw me and asked if I needed help. He seemed nice, it was still light out and there were people everywhere so I stopped and told him how I was trying to check into the hostel and it was all locked. He said he actually lived there and if I could wait a few minutes as he was ending his shift at the quick stop, he`d take me over there and help me with the reception process. Seemed like a good idea, but as we were walking back over, the doors were still locked, but he had his key to get in. We went into the hotel reception, but even inside that door was locked. He was a nice man from Iraq and spoke English and said he liked to practice when he could. At this point, I realized the hostel wasn`t an option as no one was there. This man said I could stay with him. I quickly said no thank you. He kept insisting and even said he would leave when I slept if I wanted that. I still said no as I knew there had to be hotels in town. I thought to myself…nice try buddy but I`m off to find a hotel.
I finally found the hotel where that other couple checked in. It was a lovely Clarion Hotel and I knew it would be a lot more expensive, but in light of the situation, that was my option. So when I got a nice lady there to help me, she told me the price (about $300 for the night). I explained my situation and asked if there was any better price or if she could help me find somewhere else in town. She was so nice and said she could call a few places for me (as she was new in town and wanted to help). She actually found me a hotel room at the Best Western for $120 a night and gave me directions. She was doing this quietly as someone else that worked at the hotel was walking by…but she was a huge help to me. Gotta love the crazy travel stories right?
The night gets better…at this point, I`m tired, hungry and also just want to be out around people and wanted to talk to someone as I had a couple days of very little talking to anyone. So I find a place for dinner and chatted up the friendly pizza guy, get to watch a little English TV while I ate and then found the one pub in town that had some life and went in. First things I noticed which was a good sign – there was Kilkenny beer which I love.
My favorite Irish Beer, that is quite hard to find! Guess I have to go to a small town in Sweden to find it!
I sat down at the bar, chatted up the bartenders that spoke English and then met Este. He was a 42 year old man. He describes himself as short, old and disabled (as he has a problem walking as I think he was pigeoned toed or something). He hears me talking English and overhears that I`m from New York and invites me join him and his friends at a table. Great – an invitation to talk to people. So for the next 3 hours, I enjoy a few beers, talking to Este, his friends daughter Mona (22 year old – who was waiting for her dad to return to the pub as he had to walk home a women that made quite the scene screaming at the bartenders about something. It took 3 bar workers to calm her down and get her outside). Man did I want to understand Swedish at that moment. I later found out from Este that she was upset as her ex-boyfriend was there and was making her upset. So a good end to a long day. (Crazy this was all Friday)
Saturday morning, I was off to the Ferry for a 3 hour trip to Gotland island.
Ferry from mainland Sweden to the island of Gotland
I read this is a great getaway for locals and a fun place in the summer. It kinda sounded like the Hamptons or Fire Island where people go out for the weekend to enjoy the seaside and have a fun time. I was a little worried as I emailed 9 places to stay and none had gotten back to me. I know it`s the beginning of the high season and was a little concerned. When I got off the ferry, I found the hostel I wanted to stay in and found no one was there and the reception hours were over a 1pm (I got there at 2:30). So off to the tourist center I went to ask for help in finding a place. As they found a place for me I was walking that way and saw a man sweeping at the Prison hotel I wanted that was right in town. They had a room and I was super excited. Ends up, the place was empty and there were 2 guys there another woman due that night. Sounds good to me.
I spent the afternoon in Visby walking around the town. The city is surrounded by medieval wall that is about 3.5km around the city.
Outside the Walled city on the island of Gotland
Walking around the outside of the walled city
There are many towers, church ruins and all this was built in the 13th century. This has to be one of the most beautiful places I`ve been as you have the contrast of the old ruins, medieval wall, and the beauty of the sea right outside the wall.
Plus, its a summer destination where everyone is outside walking around, the streets are all cobblestones and the homes are small, brightly painted and it`s a wonderful town. This is a place I would come again as you can easily get here from Stockholm and spend a few days.
One of the lovely Gotland homes along the river
I ended by Saturday by seeing the new Indiana Jones movie. I was shocked they had a movie theatre here, let alone a brand new movie and it was in English. So I was there. It was pretty good and the scenery of the movie was great as it was filmed on location in some of the places I`ve been or will be going. After going back to the hostel, I met up with the two guys (Martin and Love – yes that was his name) and their friend Stephen that lives on the island. I ended up being the counselor to all three of them as they all had different girlfriend issues. Stephen – 25 year old with one kid and another on the way, moved from the mainland to this island to be with his girlfriend (and finace´) yet the finace´ is a total control freak. In my opionion (and his two best friends Martin and Love) he should not be getting married to her. The other two had some girl issues so we all talked about them and they all thanked me for an honest female opinion on each situation and then we went to the bar. They said there was a famous Swedish Hip Hop DJ coming to town for the night (they compared to Snoop) – but I don`t know if I would. Regardless, it was a fun night out with these guys and talking again in English as they all spoke it.
So I have one more day in Visby before I head to Stockholm on Monday.