Finally walking towards Christmas

Spending some time awaiting Christmas in a fifteen degrees cold Stockholm. The city is quite calm except on the major shopping streets, since many people have left for the countryside. Tonight I will meet a few old friends to take a pint or two. Chers! 

Eventually

Soon the freedom of Christmas leave will be a reality. Although liking the work that you do, there is nothing that goes up to be the master of your own time (if you are the slightest sane or at least have a life to talk about) and free to do whatever you feel for. The constant movie that goes in front of the eyes is changed for once and you can hang out with friends or just be with yourself. Chers for free time!   

Prima donna behaviour

Today I just want to show the following clip, that my Irish friend sent me a couple of months ago. It shows an angry audience in Dublin, having enough after waiting several hours for an Axl Rose consert. Being in the right mode it is quite funny: Walks off stage in Dublin.

Trivial stuff

During the Sunday I went with a couple of friends to eat brunch at Visby Hotel. Fortunately I was picked up by them in their car. We parked down by the small harbor and slowly walked towards the target. It became apparent that the local authorities on Gotland do not seem to understand how to stray sand on the streets, and for a couple of days there have been ice on both streets and sidewalks. Even fairly young people at work have bought spikes for the shoes (Visby have quite a few slopes). For me it is not too much of a matter, but my thoughts go to old people who have a hard time getting around in the city during this time of year.

News from the mainland

Yesterday a man blew himself up near the main shopping streets in Stockholm. Apparently he was a fundamentalist acting against Swedish involvement in Afghanistan and the pictures by an artist. Although probably amateur and not member of some advanced cell, it was very lucky the person had not reached the most crowded places in the city centre. Only one of a few containers with explosives exploded, resulting in that the bag which contained nails was not affected by the impact. According to specialists the bomb was not very well done. Today my thoughts go to all the people killed by hatred and conflict all over the world.   

Saturday evening

Living in Visby, a small city with about 25000 inhabitants, there is a limitation of things you could do during the weekend in winter time. The town itself is situated at a harbor location surrounded by more elevated ground and limestone cliffs. The medieval part with the well preserved city walls, which makes up the world heritage site, makes it attractive to tourists (especially in the summer time). Also in the winters more restaurants and pubs is open than a typical Swedish city of the same size, much do to some limited tourism, the school of higher education and business conferences and such. You couldn´t compare it to the big city though, and if you go to the countryside much is closed until summertime. One thing to do is to hang out at the cafés, my favorites at the moment being Café Ringduvan and Amalia (the picture below).

  

Really recommend the following blog

Soon I am off to a friend for some mulled wine (swe. Glögg), so this passage will be quite short. I simply want to recommend the blog below. It is in Swedish and hysterically funny if you are able to read the texts, but also the fantastic album covers is worth a view. Enjoy: Katastrofala omslag.

News from the island

Sorry I have not written for a while, but the last week has not been spent in front of the computer. This weekend I also went to Stockholm to celebrate my niece birthday. News from the island is few, but tomorrow the prosecution will be raised against those involved in the plundering of archaeological sites on Gotland. The case may form a precedent in Sweden since the maximum sentence according to the law has been raised to four years in prison.

Christmas Market

Snow has been falling for a few days now, covering the streets, and ice is hanging from the rooftops. The annual Christmas market was held today in Visby. During this small event, school classes gather to sell mould wine or coffee to people wandering the main streets. I put some support to them by buying a sausage with bread dry as a crisp roll, and walked on with a slight headache from the Saturday night at the Black Sheep Arms.

Fashionable people

Eventually the weekend starts. Today I simply want to recommend you the following link about beards, by the Swedish National Board. For those of you who do not know Swedish, I hope google translate do the job. Otherwise just enjoy the fantastic photographs.

Einar Ericis skägg (Riksantikvarieämbetet)

Wine and snow!

After work today a collegue of mine showed the basics of wine-testing. It was a brilliant idea and I think it opened my eyes to really reflect upon the different tastes. Walking home, winter had struck the island, Visby being covered in snow.

100 ways to use a hairdryer

Working on a government agency with a yearly budget, much is expected to be finished at the turn of the year. This makes the last months of the year somewhat hectic. One way to stress down is to do something relaxing after work. Me and a friend (below) usually goes swimming. The local bathhouse is quite clean compared to many of the ones in Stockholm. At those bathhouses it was not unusual to try to find a path around pubic hairs, blood and pieces of plaster, going out of the dressing room. I thought it was safe-conduct in Visby, until my friend told me that an old man usually hanging out there was using the hairdryer to dry his butt and crutch. I think you could guess the rest of the story (now I always check he is not there before using it).

Irish headache?

Apparently Ireland is deep into the depression once again. I am not too sad remembering the two Irish pound pints of Guinness when visiting back in the late nineties, before the Celtic tiger infused hubris. It seems like the money-flow in the years to come was badly used for personal benefits before social welfare. Houses were bought for prices suitable to a millionaire by the man on the street, with empty wallet. Meanwhile, the prime minister went drunk on the radio. Visiting my old Irish friend in Dublin about a year ago, the pubs tried to make some use of the bad economy by advertising “depression steak” on the menu. I am not surprised this happened, but being a lovely people I hope they will recover soon.

Turn and return

Arrived at Stockholm on Friday, took a turn and return railway ticket to the county of Västmanland on Saturday. Had some glimpse of winter, when going into the snowy landscape north of Stockholm. Back in the city I met a few good friends and had some Chinese food, whiskey and wine. After that it was off to Gotland with the ferry, after meeting Robin for a brief dinner at the central station. Time is short in Stockholm, but very well spent in the company of friends.

Crossing the Baltic Sea

Today I had the pleasure of some success in our new tradition of some ping pong after work. This must be one of the best “sports” ever. It does not demand too much in sense of redressing and it is not particularly exhausting. Tomorrow it is time for the monthly trip to the mainland. As a colleague of mine expressed it, Gotland is a wonderful place but once now and then you need the waterhole that turbulent city life makes up as well. For my own part I like the very act of being on travelling foot. The ferry takes about three hours, but its time well spent on changing environment and to be alone with thoughts. It is another movie than the one that plays in front of the eyes during an ordinary working week. Although, it can be less nice during storm such as some months ago when a lady was puking up her dinner a few seats away. Unfortunately I will not be able to update this page until Monday, hope you will keep up anyway.

Auspicies for good luck?

Grown up in the countryside far from the ocean, close to dark pine forests, ridges and streaming rivers, there is something special about being able to take a walk along the seaboard an evening after work. The light colored limestone bedrock on Gotland is also quite good for the senses, especially during autumns when the sun sets early. Of course one sometimes misses the more extensive forests and rolling landscapes of the mainland, but it is another cup of tea. Nature is close on Gotland as well. One weekend in September, me and some friends on visit, saw three golden eagles (Kungsörnar). This must be something extraordinary.

Medieval fighting

Today the State owned game operator Svenska spel regulate much of the gambling business in Sweden. Although regulated some people obviously find themselves in addiction. Also in the olden days games could be a risky thing, especially when money was involved. Travelling with my wife this summer we stopped at Källunge to watch the famous reliefs by the church door. The church is one of the older stone churches on Gotland, but have been rebuilt already in the Medieval period as most of them. The reliefs consists of beautiful medieval scenes (14th century) of musicians, dancing goats or (as in the picture below) a knife fight over the gambling table. For those of you visiting Gotland it is really worth a stop if you are passing by.

November on a "small" island

The island of Gotland could not be described as the most turbulent place during November. Life in the city of Visby goes slowly by. Waterholes like the Black Sheep Arms are welcomed features for the Saturday pint. Shops close early on Sunday and only a few cafés is holding the good spirit of social life at a decent level (such as Amalia). Although November might be quite dull, especially on an island in the middle of the Baltic Sea, it has some relaxed charm to it. The nature is beautiful a sunny day, and sometimes quite dramatic. The picture below was taken during a ride along the Eksta coast in November two years ago.