In the beginning of September 2012, I visited Budapest for the first time. It was my first time ever visiting a more eastern European country.
Taking a tour boat is a needed and welcomed adventure when exploring the city.
In some aspects the city definitely screamed eastern Europe to me, while in others, it was quite modern. For example, it’s still a country mainly run on cash, so when visiting, make sure to bring some. On the other hand, the city was so vibrant with life; with loads of light electrifying the city at night.
And it only gets better as the night rolls on.
While I didn’t appreciate having to constantly pay for bottled water (since tap water isn’t available at restaurants), it was much worse to be flashed. In fact, not once, but twice were my co-workers and I flashed by random men–once on a train and once in a park. Not sure how common this is (or how unlucky we were), but that wasn’t the most enjoyable part of the trip.
The most enjoyable parts of the trips are seen in the pictures below; and it’s not tough to see why you can fall in love with this city.
MuseumMuseumBudapest architecture.
Art work abounds in the city.All fruit picked from local trees.
Gorgeous sunsets.Lots of wonderful eateries.Some even have eclectic statues to peak your interest.A private room in the cool hipster dive bar where you can sit and chat.The cool hipster dive bar.
Budapest can easily be seen as one of the top romantic cities, whether touring in the day or night, with its historical buildings and spectacular lighting. Definitely worth a visit.
During the summer of 2014, I hiked around Växbo lin (an old linen factory). Their website is quite nice and really highlights what types of products they have. This place is a nice day out for the whole family.
There’s several wooded paths, as well as a multi-building complex complete with a children’s playground and lake.
Inside the buildings of this multi-building complex are the old tools and equipment that they used to use.
Yes, that does say the year 1779!
This room full of old tools was found decades after it was abandoned, with no tools missing. Perhaps a tip of the hat to how honest Swedes are (or that few people visited this more remote area once it closed down).
There are also places to eat and shop.
Some 3D local art made of wire.
You may even see some hens.
Although this bad boy is a rooster!
Taking a one kilometer hike through the woods will allow you to see several old buildings that used to be used for the old linen factory.
On top seeing the beautiful nature, you can even stop and have a snack, as there are edible berries along the route.
Edible and delicious!
The final destination however is the modern-day linen factory that’s still in operation (and you can drive to it too, if you prefer). There they sell all things linen–from dishtowels to bathing towels to clothings and hats. And several other products.
It’s worth taking a look around the shop, but the prices aren’t the cheapest; but they do have unique fun designs + you’d be supporting a local business, so perhaps you should buy something 🙂
During the summer of 2014, I traveled a bit around Hälsingland. Hälsingland has a lot of natural beauty, with its hilly backdrop and numerous rivers and lakes.
Seeing red houses and ornate doorways are just a part of living in Hälsingland.
I started off my trip by seeing a new play (put on by Scensation) about the Swedish gods in Järvsö.
Järvsö is a little town, but is known for its outdoor zoo and its next door neighbor, the world famous downhill mountain biking course.
But when it’s finally in the 30s (or even 20s), you have to go to the beach.
A drive through the woods and backroads will lead you to some amazing beaches and camping areas (although this is Sweden and you can camp anywhere you want).
Building sandcastles is fun at any age!
Any canoe trips are also quite popular….even for groups of 30.
While in Hälsingland, I also saw my first brännbollyran in Bollnäs. Brännboll = “burn ball” in Swedish, and is a bit similar to American baseball, except no one “gets out,” so everyone has a chance to run all of the bases. Another big difference is that there is no pitcher–the batter tosses up the ball and then swings for it (much like most American children do).
Although not required, many teams dress up while competing (oh, and drinking all day is a typical event….before they have a huge outdoor party in the evening).
KISSPirates
See the youtube video to see more pictures from the games (not uploaded by me)
For Americans visiting Sweden, checking out the Migration House in Alfta is worth a trip. It’s a small museum that follows the life of a Swedish woman as she moves with a cult religion group to the US, eventually ending up in Illinois to enjoy religious freedom….for a while. Check out the Edsbyn-Alfta website to see what other things you can do while visiting.
In a town called Växbo there’s a wonderful little mill and park that you can walk around (maybe a kilometer from one end to the other).
There are several old buildings that you can tour at your own leisure (i.e. free) and end (or start) at the linen factor, where all sorts of objects are still being made today (so feel free to do some Swedish shopping). Check out Växbo Lin for more information.
An old building that’s no longer in use, but at one time would have some moving parts thanks to the river.
Before ending my time in Hälsingland, I had plenty of time to nail down some creations.
Below you can see my creations–the top piece of artwork is a Christmas tree, direction arrows, or a little girl in a skirt while the bottom artwork is either a man, a woman, or a bodybuilder with an unknown gender.
Culturally, Sweden is a really cool country. But like all countries, it has its idiosyncrasies.
With this view in mind, let’s play a game called “What’s Missing”?
(Answers are found at the bottom of the post).
1) What’s missing in this picture?
2) What’s missing in this picture?
3) What’s missing in this picture?
4) What’s missing in this picture?
5) What’s missing in this picture?
What are some other juxtapositions, hypocrisies, or just weird things that you’ve noticed about Sweden?
Answers:
1) No street lights, even though this is a road about three blocks outside of the center of Uppsala. Uppsala has a few street lights, but by-and-large, Sweden’s fourth largest city lacks streets lights; allowing walkers, bikers, and cars to traverse at their own risk.
2) Again, no street lights, even though we’re in the heart of downtown Uppsala on one of the busiest streets. However, the main thing missing is any semblance of a sidewalk or security for people dining at a local restaurant. See, Uppsala believes that cars, bikers, walkers, and in this case diners, should all share the road.
3) Trick question: everything is happening the way it should–cars are stopped, bikers are biking, and they’re even thanking the car. Such a rare moment. Although biking is quite common, at intersections, there’s always a bit of chicken being played, where cars and bikers wonder who will yield to the other.
4) Although biking is immensely popular in Uppsala, helmets are rarely worn. In fact, you can almost always tell who is a parent and who isn’t–hint, parents want to be good role models for their children.
5) This is a very popular shopping center (representing many shopping centers also constructed this way). This one is popular since it contains a grocery story and a liquor store. However, despite its popularity and the massive road outside of it, there are no parking spaces. People who shop here walk or take a bike. And that’s not a road for cars, there are just that many bikers in Uppsala.
The Migration House in Alfta provides insight into how Swedes emigrated to the USA. Another good website for the Migration House and tracking genealogy is found here.
The house itself is both a place to come and conduct genealogy on the Gävleborg residents (or you can have the workers there do the research for you) and to travel through time following Brita Olsdotter’s life.
The museum is small, taking about 30 minutes to go through, but it still leaves a nice impact. It mainly follows the life of Brita Olsdotter, who was born in 1827 in Älvkarhed.
The museum the leads us through her expedition as she, along with a few hundred other people, follows Erik Jansson’s religious cult to Bishop Hill, Illinois. Today there’s a Bishop Hill museum devoted to the American side of this Swedish emigration.
Type of bed they would sleep on as they traveled across the Atlantic. Next to this was an audio recording–one of the oldest in the world.
The museum in Alfta starts with why she wanted to leave Sweden–religious persecution. And then describes how she traveled to Gävle to secure a boat passage to the USA; the hurdles she and others hand to overcome along the voyage, with many people dying along the way. Only to land in the USA and then have to travel across several states to reach the religious sects new land in Illinois (again a perilous journey) in the mid-1800s.
A map of the town they built.
Life wasn’t easy after reaching Bishop Hill though. The town needed to be constructed, and Erik Jansson had several strict rules that needed to be obeyed, including abstinence (even if married). This was eventually reversed after some teenagers protested.
AncestorsA complete list of Brita’s ancestors, including her modern-day American ancestors who are currently living and who inspired this genealogy research.
The texts were all written in Swedish next to the artifacts, but there was a good English version available to read as you progressed along in the museum.
For those interested in the Swedish emigration movement, this is a must-see.
It’s not unusual to go to someones house and find a minuscule trash can, because everything else gets recycled.
The coffee machine is about as big as a typical household trash can in Sweden.
Or go to work and find 1 trash can for 30 people (and it still isn’t full after the full day).
On the left is food rubbish to be decomposed, while on the right is the only cafeteria trash can for 30 people.
And yet, whenever you go to the store and buy a liter bottle of coke or a can of beer, you’re charged an extra Krona (about 14 cents).
Many people see this as a strategy to encourage you to recycle. However, there are problems to paying people for their recycling:
1) Purity is key
Damaged cans are no good for recycling:
How can a can be recycled if you can’t read the bar code? There couldn’t be another way….not in beautiful Sweden!
Damaged cans are worth nothing (there’s goes that 1 kr). Hopefully you kept all of the other 50 cans from your party in good condition.
2) Take your receipt
Forgetting to take your receipt or forgetting where you left the paper earns you no money back!
How could a machine pay you direct cash? This is Sweden; we’re cashless and care about the environment: please take your receipt.
Cash dispensed would then allow people to buy anything, including alcohol…and that would be bad.
So, recycling = money for grocery stores (who sell beer….but it’s weak beer….and no one would collect enough cans to buy enough weak beer to continue with their alcoholism.
You can cash them in or donate your kronor to the Red Cross….How did they get so lucky to be the only organization I can donate to?
3) After this process, you may now claim your prize
If you remember to hand the receipt to the cashier. Oh well, next time I’ll remember to give it to them.
Do not lose this or your life is over.
With this hassle, cans and plastic bottles are some of the least recycled products in Sweden, at least by those who drank the contents.
See, Swedes would rather not go through this hassle, and instead typically toss them in the nearest public bin for others to rummage through and eventually make a killing on their bags of cans.
I’m not throwing away items that could be recycled, I’m creating jobs, thinks a Swede.
In fact, digging through the trash grew so large that Uppsala has now replaced normal trash cans with these industry beasts throughout the center of the city!
Nice Swedes place their cans in these “can containers” (on the left) so that “pickers” can more easily reach and recycle them without leaving trash all over the ground. The city installed these bear proof solar trash compactors….politically for multiple reasons, but in truth, so pickers aren’t able to continue littering the street while digging for cans.
In private areas, like housing/apartment complexes, there are locked rooms around the neighborhoods where people divide their recyclables, so that pickers can’t weed through the trash looking for them while creating a mess.
About once a month I’m stopped entering my apartment by unfamiliar people asking me to open the recycling room for them.
If cans and plastic bottles didn’t have this monetary recycle value, then people wouldn’t go rummaging through the trash, and then the recycle/trash rooms wouldn’t need to be locked.
But apparently it’s either cheaper or easier to just install solar powered trash compactors that are bear proof throughout the city. No one is getting into my rubbish bin, claims the city! (Disclaimer: Not literally said by the city)
One of several found along the Fyris river; downtown Uppsala.
On one hand, Swedes recycle a lot, so why wouldn’t they recycle cans/plastic bottles? On the other, people living on the street can earn money in a legal way by finding and recycling the cans. And are often seen at major events approaching people asking for their cans.
Morning after Valborg 2012 in Uppsala. No cans, but plenty of broken glass bottles. Maybe there should be a cash reward for recycling glass!
Do you think that the aluminum cans and plastic bottles should have this 1kr surcharge or does it create more issues (i.e. recycling them is just easier)?
Leksand is situated on the southernmost end of the Siljan Lake. One of the prettiest built sites in Leksand is its church.
Leksand’s Church
The church seats 2300 people, which make it one of the largest churches in rural Sweden, and it’s also the oldest church surrounding the Siljan lake. In fact, archeological digs have found that the church has been a cemeterial ground since the 1000s, with the oldest parts of the current church date back to the 1300s.
In the background is the Triumph Crucifix.
Inside the church is a triumph cross that has been dated back to either the 13 or 1400s (depending on the source). To read more about the churches historic history click here.
Swedish wood carving.OrgansMore organs.
A painting of people getting off their boats on Lake Siljan to attend church.
Historically, culturally, and interestingly this church is a must see for tourists visiting Leksand.
Feel free to cross over from the church to the and visit a small “town” of old Swedish houses built from the 1500s to the 1800s.
Leksand is home to about 15,300 people (and even more during the summer months). It’s also home to Leksand’s Hembygdsgådar: a place where festivals are sometimes held, especially in the summer.
I visited Leksand in the summer of 2008 (probably July by the looks of the Maypole). The pictures are from that time period, although since the area contains houses from the 16th Century, I doubt it’s changed much.
Taking a tour around the Hembygdsgådar is as simple as locating Leksand’s Church, since the “town” is built adjacent to the church.
These old houses show how amazing Swedes are with wood. For example, one house was built with two-stories in 1793 (almost unheard of from that time period), using massive wooden drills to drill, and using wood (instead of nails) to “nail” wood floors together.
Below are examples of houses and tools used in the Hembygdsgådar.
This chimney is massive compared to the size of the house.Probably an old storage unit.Using wood to keep floorboards togetherMaybe an axe sharpener.Wooden wheeled wheelbarrow.Disintegrating May Pole.Wooden drills.Interesting chimney and door handle.Decent sized house.Entering the hembygdsgårdar.
For anyone interested in old construction, Swedish living history, or just want to step outside of mainstream Leksand, checking out the Hembygdsgådar is a nice change of pace.
Biking is a huge part of living in Sweden, especially in Uppsala.
Many people get around solely via bike.
Bikes serve many different purposes: going fast, commuting, climbing mountains, or simply just wanting to blend in.
Below are the different bikes I’ve owned while living in Sweden:
My first DBS/crappy city bike. Purchased for 400kr and it broke down in less than one year. The handlebar broke off and seat fell away. But after fixing the bike up, the chain solidly locked into place with it’s ball bearing bursting.
Blue DBS. Great cheap city bike. No worries about this bad boy getting stolen.
My great single speed-looking (technically has three speeds) Bianchi. This fast commuter bike gets me to where I need to be in no time.2013 Focus Cayo Carbon LTD with Campagnolo Athena 11s. Very quick road bike with fantastic shifters. First road bike owned in Sweden.2013 Cannondale Super X. Easily the most expensive bike I’ve owned. A beautiful cyclocross.
Swedish Traveling, Culture & More Adventures 