Whilst I love being a budget backpacker, one of the best things about being an expat rather than a traveller is splashing out sometimes. Budget travel has many benefits, but who doesn’t love a little luxury?
Stockholm archipelago comprises of …
American Brunch in Stockholm
What do you do if you are very hungry on a Sunday morning in Stockholm, and have a craving for American pancakes?
Let me give you some advice for if you ever find yourself in this situation; head to Arizona …
Lighting a Candle on All Saints’ Day, Sweden
All Saints’ Day is an official holiday in Sweden that usually falls on the first Saturday in November. On this weekend, many businesses close early on Friday, remaining closed on Saturday. This means that people who want to buy their …
Anundshög: Sweden’s largest Viking burial site
Being a bit of a History geek one of my favourite things about travelling is encountering ancient cultures and histories, and where better to be than Scandinavia—home of the Viking?
Britons, in particular, will be very familiar with the …
What a Year! 2011 in Pictures
It’s the end of another year and with New Year’s Eve just around the corner it’s the time to reflect on the year that has gone before. 2011 was a good year. Living in Sweden rather than Vietnam meant …
8 Things I Have Learnt in Sweden
What’s the point of travel if not to learn from your experiences? Here’s what I have learnt during my year in Sweden.
Bikes with a basket and bell are not just for little girls
Pretty much everybody in Sweden has …
Funballz, Hillbillies and a Raving Baby!
This time last year I was preparing to make the move from Vietnam to Sweden and I wrote a post about Västerås, the Swedish city that was to become my home. Now, here I am a year later preparing …
Midsommar: a night of Swedish madness
“Why, this is very midsummer madness!“ (Twelfth Night)
Not long ago Sweden welcomed the spring but Valborg is only the warm-up act. Midsummer, or Midsommar in Swedish, is the biggest party of year. …
Five foods the Swedes go crazy for!
1. Meatballs
Ask anybody what they think Swedes like to eat and the chances are that they will say ‘Meatballs’. This is probably largely due to IKEA chains worldwide serving traditional-style meatballs with a cream sauce, potatoes and lingonberry jam. …
Valborg – Sweden Welcomes the Spring
In Britain, Bonfire Night conjures up childhood memories of sheltering from the driving November rain, eating jacket potatoes while effigies, or ‘guys’, burn on a huge bonfire. Overhead, fireworks crackle with the acrid smell of sulphur – all to commemorate …
Spring Fever
It has been a long and cold winter in Sweden. After a very short Autumn, it started snowing in October and powdered snow lay on the ground until March. The temperature remained below zero for almost five months, sometimes …
St.Petersburg – No Visa Required.
According to the St.Petersburg Times officials are concerned about the lack of tourism to the city and measures have been put into place to address the problem. In early April of this year visa rules were changed to allow ferry …
Why Sweden is a Great Place to Live
Sweden is often regarded as being somewhat of a liberal country; many people think that blonde, tanned Swedes cavort naked in forest lakes all summer long before retreating into their saunas for the duration of the long and cold winter. …
The Arctic Journals #4 Aurora Borealis
“The Aurora blazed all of a sudden into brilliant life… a thousand miles high and ten thousand miles long: dipping, soaring, undulating, glowing, a cataract of glory.”
This is Philip Pullman’s description of the Aurora Borealis in ‘Northern Lights’, the …
The Arctic Journals #3 Cross-Country Skiing
There are two things that I have always disliked: sport and being cold. For this reason I have never understood why people want to go skiing. Skiing holidays baffle me, why would anybody pay a lot of money to go …
The Arctic Journals #2 Northern Lights Apartments
We were met on the road by Patricia Cowern, owner of the Northern Lights Apartments and Arctic-Color gallery in Porjus, who greeted us warmly and led the way to our cabin. The complex comprises of 4 wooden cabins aptly named: …
The Arctic Journals #1 A Long Journey
At 19.22 the train pulled out of Stockholm’s Central Station and our 17 hour journey into Swedish Lapland began. Our destination: Porjus, a small village approximately 100km north of the Polar Circle, and our mission: to seek the enigmatic Aurora …
Stockholm on a Budget
‘Stockholm’ and ‘cheap’. Two words that you don’t often hear uttered in the same sentence. It is common knowledge that tourists’ hard-earned cash doesn’t stretch that far in the Scandinavian countries, making visiting them an expensive …
Snow Days
Anybody who has attended or worked in a school in the UK will know how exciting it is when the winter brings the first snow, not so much because we love snow but because of the prospect of a Snow …
Fika Fridays – Swedish Cake Break!
Anybody who knows me will know that Fridays are my favourite day of the week. I love Fridays. Not because the weekend begins or even that I only work for 2 hours, but because Friday is cake day or as …