Empty fortress on Aspö island

Fortress on Aspö island

Church on Ven island

Bicycles on Ven island

Kalmar castle

My brother’s new cafeteria

A good friend and not a NY fan

Another good friend

Red hands

Red bicycle

UFO in Landskrona city

Another UFO

Öland bridge connecting Sweden to Öland island

Ven Island in the Nordic Sea

Field on Ven island in front of the Tycho Brahe museum

For more pictures click here.

One of the most important natural ports in the archipelago with easy access to the Swedish capital, Sandhamn has been popular for pleasure boating since the late 19th century. It is known for its tavern, its clubhouse, and, not the least, its harbour.

While the settlement only has a hundred permanent inhabitants, the number of residents increases to 2-3,000 during the summer. Sandhamn receives an additional 100,000 visitors annually.

May 2009

May 2010

The only problem at the Polish customs was that they couldn’t scan my front registration plate:

I suggested them to bring a hair dryer or to use their brains and have a look at the back registration plate – which is usually in Moldova similar to the front one.

It was already 2 AM after passing the Ukrainian-Polish border and I was driving for more than 20 hours with no breaks. Red Bull is perhaps a good energy drink, but the Recaro seats from the Mergedes are definitely not a comfortable bed, so I have decided to spend the night at the closest hotel on my way to Lublin (Poland) – which was a nice hotel at a Shell petrol station – 15 EUR per night including breakfast – what can you expect more after the Ukrainian comedy;)

3. Stage three: Poland-Latvia

I am looking for a famous word, used by Jeremy Clarkson and which would best describe the road from Poland to Latvia…hmm.. astonishing - no way :)… boring – oh yeahh:) !

I was pleasant surprised by very smooth roads in Poland (of course in comparison with the Ukrainian roads), it looks that some of the EU (real EU) funds reached the final destination and passed through the Czech and Polish tunnels (google is full of definitions for the Czech expression of “tunneling”).

Why boring ? because the road maintaining services (whatever you call them po polski) were so fast in cleaning the road and respectively pouring the salt on the road, that I couldn’t even check the dancing skills of the Mercedes in the curves.

Nevertheless driving on icy roads in Poland and seeing so many accidents was quite stressful. Maximum speed around 70 km/h, accident after accident – really difficult to drive.

The first impression about Lithuania is ….empty :). With the Eastern EU enlargement of course the customs between Poland and Lithuania was removed, but when you enter Lithuania you have those empty customs buildings and almost ruined over the past years, which creates the impression that you have arrived in Chernobyl.
Speaking of nuclear power plants, Lithuania agreed to close its only nuclear plant as part of its accession agreement to the European Union. The nuclear plant accounted for 25% of Lithuania’s electricity generating capacity and supplied about 70% of Lithuania’s electrical demand it was closed on 31 December 2009. Now guess what happened?! You don’t need to have two Master’s degrees to figure out which country will have to pay a higher price for electricity. For this reason I support Moldova’s full independence and no rush for EU integration. Go Moldova, become a second Switzerland in Europe ;).

Weather conditions in Lithuania were slightly better, which allowed to increase the speed and reach Riga in a very short period of time.
Riga is as usually is a lovely place to be. I will not refer to too many details, since I have already dedicated several articles to this Swedish metropolis, ohh sorry, Latvian capital city on my blog;).

4. Stage four: Riga – Stockholm

13th of January, 17:30 sharp
Riga – Stockholm
Route operated by Tallink
Ferry name: Romantika

Parking and leaving the car on the deck was not an option for me, but it was the only choice – they don’t allow passengers to take their cars in their cabins ;). I was little bit anxious, since it is a route in the Baltic Sea and I thought the cars may scratch each other during the trip. However the people working on the deck took care of everything – putting some bubble gums in front of each tyre and make sure that the cars don’t make a single move. I was feeling even more comfortable when I saw in front of my car a Mercedes E420 and on the left side a Mercedes CLS 55 AMG :). The only problem was the Golf Mark III from the right side – but I am not racist, so I left it as it is ;).

Taking a ferry over the Baltic Sea to Sweden I would strongly recommend. Especially I would recommend the ferry Romantika, which is the newest ferry on this route. The tickets are not very expensive, considering the distance, money you save on petrol and in which comfort you are traveling: 50 EUR for the car place and 30 EUR for a bed in a 2 place cabin.

The problem is that the tickets for the cars are completely oversold, so it is difficult to find a spare place for the car during a short period of time.

The ferry reached Stockholm just in time – 9:30, sometimes you are really impressed by this Swiss exactness, oh sorry Swedish :).

The only last complication was when the Swedish customs stopped me for a short admiring of the car:
“Wau, first Moldovan car in Sweden”

Officer:
Did you drink on the ferry, Sir ?

Ion:
I wish, No, Sir

Officer:
Please breathe in the pipe.

Ion:
But, I said No (sometimes Swedes are not so naive as you expect

Officer:
Welcome and have a nice vacation in Sweden!

Ion:
I wish again Sir, since my vacation ended 1 day before coming back to Stockholm

Happy End!

Route: Moldova > EU (to be read in the whole post as Eroded Ukraine) > Pooland > Lithiumania > Latvia > Baltic sea > Swengland.

3 means of transportation :
1. Car (if you can call a Mergedes E220 a car).
2. Homo sapient (Ion during navigation problems in Lvov (EU) and the customs between EU and Pooland)
3. Romantika ferry between Riga and Stockholm.

3 types of fuel:
1. ‘95-’98 year petrol for the Mergedes.
2. 3 Red bulls for the Homo sapient.
3. 40% Alchohol preferably for all the cruisers on Romantika ferry.

Leaving all the jokes on a side I would never recommend this route to anybody, especially during the winter and more dangerously driving alone. But when you were born in the United Kingdom of Moldova, where the only flights organized by the local rural state-owned international transglobal air company is to Pyongyang and Havana, then of course the only way going to Sweden is by car (bicycle was not an option).

First difficult decision – shall a take a viking ship or a Swiss knife:

However considering unnecessary ice-skating capabilities of the XC90 I opted for the Swiss knife:

1. Stage one: Moldova – Ukraine

Besides all the criticism, the roads in Moldova were in really good conditions and if you are not satisfied with their quality have a look at your lovely neighbour. I mean driving in the Western Ukraine it is a suicide for your car. You cannot even call it “driving” – it is just a game of picking and selecting the small wholes out of the big ones.

Traffic signs are missing, or I believe somebody stolen them and build him/herself a fence at home.

Entering EU (sort of) [EU=Eroded Ukraine]:

Average speed in EU (not the real EU) [ignore the hidden advertisement of Lukoil]:

Building a new highway according to the EU standards:

Ukrainian understanding of cleaning the roads during the winter:

Besides all the bad road conditions, it is a country of nice sights…

…and hospitable people: like the ones which helped with the navigation in Lvov (my igo 8 has a map of Lvov from 18th century) or like the ones in the stage two:

2. Stage two: Ukraine-Poland

I was approaching the border between Ukraine and Poland, more exactly the Rava-Ruska customs – one of the busiest customs in Europe – make sure you avoid this customs or you risk to stay in the queue for 2-3 days unless you have some shiny papers or a comprehensive reason! The colour of your passport or the number of stars on the front cover will not provide you any priority!

Stepped out the car and tried to exchange a word in Russian-Ukrainian-Czech-Polish with the poor people which were staying in the cars in front of me. I guess poor was not the appropriate word for this case. I mean how can you stay so calm and live with the idea, that it is normal to stay in the queue for 2-3 days?! And this doesn’t have any connection with the fact that Ukraine will have elections on Sunday or with the fact that Ukrainian custom authorities want to retain some foreigners in the country in order to increase the diversity and number of different nationalities in the country.

Tried to fall asleep for 30 minutes in the car and hoping that the queue of several km will be a queue of several meters. Was too cold to fall asleep so I have decided to go for a short walk to the nearest custom officer. Put my glasses on and prepared a comprehensive speech in order to pass the customs asap.

Ion:
Dear Colleague, I am studying duty law in Sweden and if you let me to pass the customs without waiting in the queue I can manage to catch the ferry from Riga to Stockholm on 13th of January, be in time on the exam which I have on 14th of January and by passing the exam I will finish successfully the university and I will serve with honour the customs authorities in Sweden like you.

Custom officer:
oh really ?! yes, no problems. Let’s go to your car and let’s try driving the opposite lane of the highway

Driving on the opposite way is the only solution to avoid the queue, however is a little bit dangerous, because those who passed the Polish-Ukrainian customs are driving very fast towards you. OK, I turned on the beam of the car and trying to scary out all the others on the highway with the fact that a nerd from Moldova is a kamikaze. I have no words how to describe what I was seeing on the right side – an immense queue, it was so *********** long, that it took me at least several minutes to drive at the speed of 100km/h the entire queue.
With the help of the Ukrainian custom officer I have passed the entire Ukrainian bureaucracy very quickly. I was even a little bit embarrassed for passing so fast and that everybody was treating me like a diplomat. I still have voice of the office in my head: “Please allow this student to pass asap, he is in a hurry to catch the ferry” :).

Polish check was somewhere more demanding and I had to respect the queue of some 50 cars and 2 hours of waiting – Welcome to EU (real EU):

Continue to part II.

Från: Ion Ciorici [mailto:ion@minister.com]
Skickat: den 14 juni 2009 10:49
Till: Bokning HTL
Ämne:

Hello,

Thank you in advance for your kind answer,
Ion Ciorici.

The answers which I recived within the next 24 hours, were simply delicious:).

Dear Mr. Ciorici,
thank you for your email.
I think you mean Switzerland when you write of cows and Alps. We are in Sweden – the big, lovely country in northern Europe. We do not have violet cows, cheese or chocolate, but Stockholm is a beautiful city to spend the holidays. And the surroundings are beautiful too – with the archipelago and breathtaking scenery.
Please let us know if you are interested to come to Sweden and which date you would be interested to stay in Stockholm and we will send you an offer.
Best regards from Stockholm, SWEDEN

**********************

Dear Mr. Ciorici,
I think there is a littel mistake Stockholm is in Sweden not in Switzerland. Alltought we can offer you the room but we need the date of arrivial and departure.
For any questions we will be glad to assist you.
Kind regards!

**********************

Dear Ciorici,
Thank you very much for your inquiry and your interest shown in the Grand Hotel. In order to offer any rates I do need the exact dates due to our rates can change daily.
Concerning the supporting program I think you interchange the countries Sweden and Switzerland – we do have any Alps or Violet cows around.
Kind regards,

**********************

Dear Sir,
thank you for your kind E-Mail.
Before sending you an offer for your inquiry I would kindly let you know that the atraction – Alps and violet cows and normally the good chocolate – are in Switzerland.

Plese confirm that you have planed to visit Sweden in Northern Europe and not Switzerland.
Wishing you a nice day we beg to remain
With kind regards from Stockholm, Sweden (Northern Europe)

**********************

Dear Mr Ciorici
Thank you for your email.
We are sorry, but please check if you really like to stay with us. In Sweden there are no violet cows, there is no cheese and no Alps.
Please get back to us if you really like to stay in Stockholm and not in Switzerland.
Kind regards

**********************

Dear Mr. Ciorici!
If you like to come to Sweden and stay in our hotel we would be pleased to welcome you.
But if you like to see violet cows and Alps you have to travel a few thousand miles more, then you are in Switzerland (small rich country).
Switzerland = Central Europe (next to Germany, Italy, ..)
Sweden = Northern Europe (big country far away from US)
Best regards

“The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.”
/George Santayana/

Breathe Freely is the slogan of an unknown and perhaps one of the most beautiful places in the world (of course according to my excellence ) which is called simply – Sigulda.

I have been already 5 times this year to Latvia and all the time I am there I feel like I belong there – for real , it is the place where I find myself. I become speechless all the time I visit new places in this country and I am no wondering why the local authorities are not doing a big effort in promoting the beauty surrounding them – indeed they just want to preserve the places for them and me .

Sigulda is really the place, where the beauty of nature becomes an integral part of the city. I was really amazed by all the things you can do in Sigtuna. Besides visiting the Bird festival, or maybe Opera festival, Gauja National Park, Gutmanis Cave, Krimulda, Sigulda Castle, Turaida Castle you can do any type of sport activities starting with most borring ones to Bungee jumping, bobsledding the vertical wind tunnel Aerodium, or the rope course (the kind of emotion one can experience only in Sigulda).

It is quite difficult to convince my colleagues about the beauty of this place or of this country. Anyway why trying to convince people, which were hanging around only in Stureplan . Nevertheless the photos taken there are really surprising them :

Riga

Jūrmala

Sigulda

Prior to arriving in Hong Kong, I was expecting hustle, bustle and the kind of traffic-induced pollution so often found in South-East Asian cities. I anticipated anxiety and confusion; those feelings that so often come hand in hand with visiting an unfamiliar country – the very definition of culture shock itself. However, it was almost immediately clear that this place was different. It wasn’t due to a lack of crowds or traffic though – it just, well, it felt like home. Now, I’ve traveled around quite a bit and it’s rare that I don’t feel any kind of disorientation when visiting a new city. But what was one of the first things I saw upon my arrival? Double-decker buses!

If it’s your first time to go to Hong Kong, you might also be wondering what to expect – perhaps you envisage myriad Jackie Chan Statues and a sprawling packed city full of pollution and noodles? Stereotypes from home can easily invade your perceptions even if you try vehemently to resist. Thankfully, after spending some time in Hong Kong I can tell you this is not the case. Hong Kong is in fact one of the cleanest, most modern cities in the world and despite its relatively small size, there is a surprising lot for visitors to do.

Like many tourists, one of my first stops was the highest point on Hong Kong Island – the place best known as Victoria Peak. Although you can go up The Peak by one of the many distinctive red taxis or even by bus, the most exciting way to get there is by the infamous peak tram. You can’t stay in Hong Kong for long without hearing about the Peak Tram. To fill you in on a bit of history, the tram line was built way back in 1888 by Phineas Kyrie and William Kerfoot Hughes. When they’d first proposed the idea in 1885, everyone had thought that they’d gone insane, but conversely, the tram turned out to be an astounding success and it’s now one of the most memorable landmarks in Hong Kong.

Going up such a steep slope, and believe me – it is steep; the sky scrapers of the city begin to turn on unusual angles as you begin the ascent and your back presses hard against the wooden seats. It’s not the most comfortable of rides that is for sure – and there is no business class I’m afraid, even if you do wave your money around at the ticket office!

Being pulled up the mountain by a thick steel cable, I noticed that some people began to feel a little unsafe during the ride. However, I felt secure with the knowledge that there have been no accidents during all its years of operation – quite a boast considering how long it has been running and probably making it one of the safest ways to travel in the world.

Up on the peak, I was stunned by the panoramic views and noticed that it’s a bit cooler than down in the city. Someone told me that it’s usually about 5 degrees cooler on the peak than down below, which is probably why it has been a popular place to come ever since the British arrived in Hong Kong in the mid-nineteenth century. British company bosses used to build summer houses up on the peak to get away from the intense summer heat and humidity. Now, a modern complex has developed – a galleria shopping mall, entertainment (including a great waxworks museum), restaurants, in fact, it is one of the best places in Hong Kong to visit. I stayed there until it was dark and watched the nightly light show unfold down in the city below.

Unfortunately, my visit to Hong Kong was a short one and I felt like I left all too soon. I didn’t even make it onto one of the infamous Star Ferries during my stay, but still managed to make some panoramas :

1st of April – should be April Fool’s Day – a day invented to honour Dr. April Fools (according to uncyclopedia), but not this year. This year seems to be the year of every other day full of lies and only April Fool’s Day is the only day of the year where absolutely everything you see or hear is true .

Yes, I am now in Moldova and it is not a lie I came to vote and again it’s not a lie. Actually I am voting for the first time in my life and I am convinced that I will vote for a CHANGE – a better or worse CHANGE – time will show. The most important thing is that I have the CHANCE to vote for a CHANGE and I will not miss this CHANCE.

Besides voting, I am glad to be home close to dearest people with really good people from Sverige. I don’t know how many foreigners write Master’s thesis about Moldova, but I am really glad and proud that Johan and Hedvig (alias Johanna or Hedvin or Victoria ) decide to explore this country and I hope that they really had a great time and experience in Moldova – especially at the Central market in Chisinau and hopefully this is not their last time in Moldova.

I will let pictures to speak as usually :

Most beautiful country in the world

Country of contrasts

Johan & Hedvig admiring the history

Most expensive story

Proud house owner

Checking wind/temperature

Mănăstirea Hâncu

Hedvig’s first try to let the surrounding villages (-/+ 20km) that some Swedes came to visit the monastery

An important message from Her Excellence – Princess of Sweden

Amici

Very friendly and hospitable priest

The trip was of course very peaceful, except one small cross-cultural issue

In the end some photos with the local star

Next article will be written from Hong Kong, so be prepared for some spicy words ;).

P.S. some thousands fo photos from this trip are HERE.

Why not joining the ARMY*? Army is cool and is like a big parade ! If you join the army and become a Scout Trooper, you get paid, you get a cool gun and of course you don’t pay tax!

You get free training, free food, free accommodation, and a free funeral (how encouraging) for the entire period of your service, and a military pension afterwards (if you don’t die).

You can then spend the rest of your life with two cats and talking about the huge sacrifice you made to your country. You also get to tell civilians that you know more than they possibly can about the complexities of defence policy. You can also make fun of the Navy because they are a bunch of pansies who have it so much easier than you, (because the Navy is for pansies)

So how about to become a Scout Trooper :

As you can I was trying to avoid taxes as well in Denmark and Norway

*The term ARMY is a backwards acronym for Yes. My. Retarded. Ass. or Aren’t Ready to be Marines Yet. This term ARMY is also known as the ASSKICKERS – a large collection of brave men (but not brave enough), women and others who defend any country from such hazards as “armies” which are evil organizations of trained killers which exist in foreign countries.

First of all, everything you need (and don’t need) to know about The Glorious Nation of Latvia is to add all the time everywhere possible an “s”, especially at the end of the words and trust me, you will be fluently in Latvian

It is not a secret that Latvia is located near Stoneya and Lithiumania and the people of Latvian ethnicity are currently enjoying the countless benefits of the marvelous European Union – in other words, being able to eat french fries after years of suppression and persecution, also the ability to warp to Great Britain, Ireland, Spain and other EU countries such as Uzbekistan.

Referring to financial crisis, I guess the only survivors will be the Latvian banks, known as the world’s largest exporters of virtual credit cards, which are only useful for purchasing imaginary power to operate the virtual memory of PC’s .

Anyway no more bull**iting and below are some pictures :

…a here is the evidence of the crisis:

more pics HERE

Fram (”Forward”) is a ship that was used in expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctic regions by the Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup, Oscar Wisting, and Roald Amundsen between 1893 and 1912. Fram was probably the strongest wooden ship ever built. It was designed by the Norwegian shipwright Colin Archer for Fridtjof Nansen’s 1893 Arctic expedition in which Fram was supposed to freeze into the Arctic ice sheet and float with it over the North Pole.

…as usually I am lucky to see only the first half of the things

…improvising

FYI: The Eiffel Tower (also known as the Aw’Ful Tower, Waffle Tower or The World’s Tallest Lightning Rod) is a cheap Taiwanese knock-off of the Blackpool Tower, located in both Pisa, Italy and Tokyo, Japan, but originally constructed near Paris, France ;).

As far as I know Eiffel Tower was very useful to the French in World Wars 1, 2 and 3; during this time French soldiers used the tower as an important Battle-Station where they would take refuge when the tides of battle turned. After fleeing to the top of the tower for, er… regrouping, the French would turn off the lifts. After tense hours of-er… strategizing, the French would remove rivets from the structure and proceed to drop them on the Germans.

The Kolmården Zoo is Scandinavia’s largest Wildlife Park and basically is packed with quite exciting experiences, where you can meet almost 750 wild attractions from jungle, savannas and oceans.

The main attraction of the zoo is the Dolphinarium, which was the first in Scandinavia, opened 1969.

Below you’ll find some pictures with the castles/palaces owned by the Swedish royal family and believe me you won’t find inside any IKEA decoration .

Drottningholm Palace

The Drottningholm Palace is on UNESCO´s World Heritage list. It is the most well-preserved royal castle built in the 1600s in Sweden and at the same time is representative of all European architecture for the period. The Palace is also the present Royal Family’s permanent residence. The rooms in the southern wing of the palace are reserved for this purpose. The rest of the palace and grounds are open to the public year round.

Gripsholm Castle

Gripsholm is known as Gustav Vasa’s castle, since he decided to build the castle.

At Gripsholm you can take a royal stroll around the romantic castle grounds or meet the royal deer at the Hjorthagen nature reserve. Gripsholm Castle is also home to the oldest national portrait gallery in the world. It is also one of the largest, with around 4500 pieces, primarily oil paintings. The earliest portraits date from the late 15th century and the collection includes contemporary works.

Despite these nicely decorated locations, in Sweden there other nice destination like Vaxholm. Vaxholm is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a city. According to Statistics Sweden, however, only localities with more than 10,000 inhabitants are counted as cities. The name Vaxholm comes from Vaxholm Castle, which was constructed for defense purposes, by King Gustav Vasa.

1. Wife Carrying World Championships
Each summer, this weird event in Sonkajärvi, Finland, becomes more and more popular. The wife-carrying contest has been at a world championship level for over 13 years now.

2. World Cell Phone Throwing Championships
Finland is the home of cellphone manufacturer Nokia, but it is unclear if they have anything to do with this weird event. Ever wanted to throw your phone? Join the World Cell Phone Throwing Championships taking place each August in Savonlinna, Finland.

3. Ice Swimming Events
Whether in the nude, or clothed, ice swimming is popular in Finland. There are events in many areas. So whether you’re looking for a quick ice-cold shock, or nude beaches in Scandinavia, Finland is the destination for you!

4. World Cup in Snowshoe Football
Finland also has football! No, not the regular kind, but the unique kind: Snowshow Football.

5. Finnish Sauna World Championships
Not quite as weird as other annual events in Finland, the Sauna World Championships test how long the competitors can tolerate a humid 110º Celsius in a Finnish sauna.
Perhaps the Finish sauna, is their sole contribution to human life as of today (except of course, nordic walking and the totally useless Nokia ). Some like to say that the Sauna really comes from Russia, but don’t be silly: everyone knows the only thing the Russians ever came up with is the AK-47.

Before describing the trip to Helsinki, I will present some fact about this lovely country:

* One of the most successful countries in the Eurovision Song Contest.
* Finland’s natural resources are composed mostly of non-vegetative soil, prairie, and cell-phone minutes.
* The climate in Finland is pleasant and temperate. During summers it rarely snows and during winters it doesn’t rain so much.

Government:
Bureaucratic Demorcratorship.
Official language:
Undecipherable with lots of unpronounceable vowels.
Location:
Far away from USA, so far from Japan, quite a long way from Cairo, lots of miles from Vietnam, but it´s there.
National anthem:
The Nokia Tune and any HIM song.
Currency:
present day EU rubles, before that Säkkiwulesi, ihQseteli and flying squirrel skins.
Population:
Maybe a bit over 1000, nobody cares.
Exports:
Saunas, Love Metal, snowboards, Lappi, Turunmaa, Jarkko Ruutu, Vowels.
Imports:
Russian vodka, African husbands, Russian wives, Beer, Used German cars.
Kings:
0.001 %

I guess to many facts and now some pictures:

It seems that in Finland everybody used to be or is a sailor-man, so this leads to another Finish record – the highest number of hats per capita

My impression is that people are not so conservative and cold as it is stated in all crappy cross-cultural literature.
They are actually very friendly, all the time ready to help and give a hand for the people in need:

They will listen to you very carefully and also provide time for retort:

will make you company and serve with cold Finish beer:

For a while I thought that I am actually in Georgia or Ukraine when seeing all those demonstrations for the 1st May: