Good morning Sweden (Stockholm)

Greetings from Örebro

So I arrived in Sweden at 7 am and had just about 1h sleep on that ferry from Turku. That lucky bastard Lassi just grunted, turned around and slept on.. oh the envy! So I got off, threw my things into a locker at the trainstation and went exploring Stockholm. Beeing as tired as I was and as early in the morning, it was a rather refreshing expierence. I had Gamla stan for myself.. which, i would find out later, was something very rare.

God this city is full of tourists! What else can be said about my Stockholm expierence? The Hostel was shitty and the city rather dull. I don't want to talk it bad but compared to my week in Turku it really was rather boring. This just shows me how much more fun my journey is with couchsurfing. Yeah it was beautiful there.. but thats about it :)). I come to realise more and more, it doesn't matter where in the world you are but who you meet. The who and not the where determines if it will be a lasting memory.

Oh and the multicoloured duck that is now my travelcompanion, is called Hemingway.

so enough with the words, lets get the pictures on...

1h of sleep is not a good look for me.

Hemingway is enyoing himself

Hemingway marvels at the royal palace.

Kinda looks like Niederdorf in Zürich.. just a wee bit bigger and nicer.

It's got the be VIP when there is a monkey with a hat.

pssstttt we can't talk here, the walls have ears!!

just a random cool pic

blog ya again soon...

Goodbye Finland

It's me again!

I haven't had more than 1h sleep in the last 36h so please forgive any weird comments or typos.

But let's start at the beginning.. yes Yuriy, you are right, I did forget to mention
Kuopio and I am sorry for that. It does deserve beeing mentioned for several reason; It's a beautiful place, I met great people, had a great host and tried things i had never done before.
So without saying anything more right now, lets follow this up with a few pictures:

Kuopio from above

This is Spartaaa...errr..Finland


Biggest Smoke Sauna in the World (It's not that big. Really.) Yuriy, thanks for taking me (us) there! It was a really nice experience.

Yuriy my great Host in Kuopio, his beautiful Girlfriend, two strange polish dudes and the swiss guy.

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Now you have to Imagine that this is a new post because after Kuopio came Oulu then Vaasa and only then Turku from which the following pictures were taken.

I planned to stay in Turku for 3 nights but my host Lassi (the awesome dude from the Flow Park post) convinced me to stay longer.. no we never went to that festival that was the initial reason why I stayed longer, but nontheless I am sooo glad I stayed that long. I couldn't have wished for a better way to end my trip to Finland.

I think just the fact that I am about to drop dead from beeing so tired speaks for itself. Turku is nice and all but really not that interesting if I may be blunt.. but boy, did Lassi make it a good time!

Turku Castle

Old docks

awwwww isn't he cute! kawaiiiiiii

Goodbye Finland... you were perfect




I am now 19 days into my trip and have just left the first country. I think it is clear; I couldn't have hoped for a better start. I met so many great new people, made many new expierences, seen so much and to top it all if the weather was just perfect (right Sari?). I think I can really say, Finland you were AWESOME. You set the bar really high for all the countries that will follow.

To anybody thinking about visiting Finland. DO IT! This country has so much to offer and don't believe what they say about finns and beeing quiet and shy.. it's plainly not true.

Thank you to all my new friends in Finland, you will always have a spot in my memory and I really ment it, that you are always welcome to crash on my couch if you pass through some place I happen to be living at! I hope to see you all soon! How about one big party at my place?

Sweden bring it on!

FLOW PARK

This is an unscheduled posting. I had such a cool day, I just have to share it. My cool host Lassi took me to the Flow Park here in Turku and it was just awesome!! As some of you know, I am not a fan of heights but this park had to be conquered and so I did. It might not look like much, but when your up there hanging in those ropes you really dont want to look down for too long.

Don't miss the short video at the bottom!

Lassi, Thanks a bunch for taking me to this awesome place!!!!!

Lassi is truly the King of this place!

hang in there? ;)

just going slightly mad

Now all please Welcome this little dude. He will join me on my trip from now on and make regular appearances in my pictures. I haven't named him/her yet. Any suggestions?

Oulu - Vasaa

Hello World

I am just two weeks into my trip. So far I have only stayed at hostels in Vaasa and Tampere. All the other places I have been couchsurfing and it has always been a great expierence. I met so many new faces through couchsurfing and it has made my trip so much better. I think thanks are in order. So:

THANKS GUYS N GALS

I can't wait to see how many more great expierences I will got through CS on my trip.

Oulu was as far north as I got. It was a pretty little town and I really enjoyed the market square there. I think it's one of the nicest market squares in Finland. Well at least of the ones I have seen. If your into cycling everywhere, this is your place. The town/city has an excellent network of cycling lanes.

Vaasa itself was a bit boring but the CS community there has made my stay memorable. I met up with some of them, they cooked for me and I had a great time enjoying the beach and some beers with them!

After Vaasa my journey continued on to Turku where I am currently and from where I will take the ferry to Stockholm to leave the beautiful country of Finland. It's a bit earlier than anticipated but I think I have seen in Finland what I wanted to see and this way I can make an unplanned stop in Norway. Many people I have met here in Finland have told me I should go and see the Fjords in Norways and I will listen to them.

until soon my friends, the stories will continue.

View in Vaasa just around Midnight

I just can't get over the fact that there are slot machines in every bigger grocery store in Finland. How weird is that??

University of Vaasa

Old Ships serving as Restaurants are widely spread in Finland!

Finland's dramatic weather

Old buildings on one of the many islands around Oulu

Old warehouses turned into restaurants at the Oulu market square

Finish police officer

Market hall in Oulu

Tampere - Savonlinna

Happy Greetings from Kuopio.. do I realize the topic of this post is Tampere - Savolinna? Yeah I do! Thing is, I post things from places that I have already been.. and reside somewhere else... ehy that makes sense?

Did you know..that no matter in what kind of dorm you sleep there is always somebody that snores. Be it army, trip with school or a Hostel. Did the Earplugs work? nahhhh not really.. but sleep came nonetheless.

Enjoyed Tampere, but let me tell you.. if you go to a free tour of the city.. it's not really free. Scandalous!

After Tampere I moved on to Savonlinna.. why? Cause I wanted to explore the so called lake lands with a boat trip from Savonlinna to Kuopio. 10 1/2 hours on a Boat sounded like a great Idea. Hour 1 : Great Nature. Hour 2: Everything kinda looks the same. Hour 3: What is this lunch? Lunch für 16 Euros should be way better!!! Hour 4: Damn finished my book. Hour 5: Still the same when I look around.. trees, water and clear blue sky. Hour 6: Average age on the boat 60 or more. Hour 7: Will this never end? Hour 8: AAAAARRGGGHHHHHHH ......

But I arrive in Kuopio eventually and met up with my host Yuriy.. And he is actually the first one to cook for me.. not that I would expect or demaned it but I'm a bit surprised that a guy is the first one to cook for me...

Street Art in Tampere

Love the industrial Style and feel of Tampere

Keep Olavinlinna, impressiv and the only attracti0n in Savonlinna

Yeah the View was great on the boat.. but for 10 1/2h?

Always feels weird to take pictures of myself

Next stop: Oulu.. after that? Who knows... more adventures to follow