Generic post title I know. Anyway there was not a whole lot to do in Helsinki so thank god we were only there for 2 nights. The city itself was nice but very quiet and chilled out, not a lot happening at night. I dont mind being in a city where there are not that many actual tourist attractions to go to because sometimes it is more about the vibe of the city or lifestyle which is how I felt about Gothenburg. I really liked Gothenburg because of the lifestyle and the general feeling of the city more than actual attractions that were there, however Helsinki is just really......simple. If I ever went back to Finland it would definitely be to Oulo or something like that.
Anyway Helsinki was good to relax anyway before we got to New York. The flight was ok, I watched Office Space on the flight and annoyed the guy next to me a bit with my loud laughing ha ha. We went past the Van Wyck expressway on the way to our hostel which made me laugh because of Seinfeld. Our hostel is right next to Broadway in Times Square so its pretty crazy. As soon as we stepped out of the subway onto the street we couldnt wipe the smiles off our faces because it was just so confronting. Billboards EVERYWHERE and bright lights. Our hostel is ok....enough said. We are going to another hostel for the last 5 nights which I think will be a little better. It is kind of expensive here which sucks, the first day we went for a stroll through Central Park and had a stroll down Broadway and saw Carnegie Hall etc. We also saw Trump Tower and the Columbus monument and spotted a few things I recognized from Seinfeld and stopped for a Cosmopolitan. We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art to see a screening of the Mogwai film Burning which was really good and saw the Guggenheim etc. Today we went to the free Broadway on Broadway concert in Times Square hosted by Kelsey Grammer and saw a few songs performed by the cast of The Lion King and a few other musicals on broadway at the moment. We saw the building where David Letterman is filmed, The Empire State Building, Madison Square Gardens etc. Some guy that I bought a bagel from thought that I was a movie star which was kind of funny. Its been making us laugh listening to some of the conversations American people have ha ha.
Tomorrow we think we will go see the Statue of Liberty and Wall Street etc and maybe make the trip into Brooklyn. Still have to take a trip to the Bronx and Harlem etc.....still so much to do. We are really enjoying ourselves here though, off to San Francisco next but that isnt till the 19th. Not long now until we are home but I think we are both definitely ready :)
Monday, September 13, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Stockholm Syndrome.
So we didnt do anything too crazy whilst we were in Gothenburg, on a whole there are not a lot of touristy things to do in this city its more just about the lifestyle I suppose. We chilled out a lot at our hostel, watched a bit of MTV cause Swedish TV is mostly in English with subtitles and wandered the streets of Gothenburg going out for dinner etc. Everyone in this city is really stylish and all the men have the same haircut, its really strange. Swedish men dress really nicely too :)
We rode the big wheel for a view of Gothenburg and on the last night we met up with our Swedish pal Dunken who we met at Hellfest and Wacken. We went to a metal bar called Rock Baren and had a few drinks and ended up pretty spastic. Met an Australian guy there who lives in Sweden and was a bit of a racist dick. I didnt like it from the beginning though because he said Melbourne sucked. Met a few other nice Swedes and partied to Bloodbath and Satyricon before having my first snus experience. Dunken has been trying to get me to try the stuff since Hellfest but I refused until this night. It burnt my gums at first but then I got used to it and it was alright. Had an awesome vege burger on the drunken stumble home.
We headed to Linkoping after that to see some more of our Swedish friends from Wacken. Linkoping is sort of between Gothenburg and Stockholm. I pictured it to be a real one horse town but it was actually pretty big but I still felt like we were in the middle of no where ha ha. We were staying in a nice hotel where it was good to have a room and bathroom to ourselves for a change and watch some movies on TV. One night Global Metal was on which made my night. Timmy came and met us at our hotel and took us to get some beer and what not before meeting Jesper at a soccer field where they all sit around drinking beer before the show we were going to because it was a drug free event ha ha. Needless to say I felt like I was 16 again back at the Arboreetum at home. So we had some beers adn watched one band then went to Tommys ridiculously clean place for a visit. We had some drinks there and some of Tommys friends came over who were really nice and we listened to some nostalgic music ha ha. We went to Pitchers aka Hitlers after that for more drinks before Timmy, myself, Manda and Kim went back to the Mooses house. After that most of the night was a blur but we some how made it back to the hotel. The next night we did much the same except we went to one of Timmys other friends houses and met more of his lovely friends and then our time was up. We said our goodbyes and were off for Stockholm.
Stockholm looks like a huge city and its strange because there are so many old nice buildings around but new factory looking buildings seem to be wedged between them all? So it makes it hard to get a nice picture of the city. Anyway I liked it here, we had some nice meals out on the harbor as our hostel was right next to it and we made a trip to Sandsborg Cemetery to see Quorthons grave. It was kind of confusing when we first got there to find but we eventually did.
We are at the airport now waiting for our flight to Finland where we will be for 2 days before heading to New York. Only about a month to go now, I cannot believe how time has flown. We are staying in an Olympic stadium in Helsinki which should be interesting.
We rode the big wheel for a view of Gothenburg and on the last night we met up with our Swedish pal Dunken who we met at Hellfest and Wacken. We went to a metal bar called Rock Baren and had a few drinks and ended up pretty spastic. Met an Australian guy there who lives in Sweden and was a bit of a racist dick. I didnt like it from the beginning though because he said Melbourne sucked. Met a few other nice Swedes and partied to Bloodbath and Satyricon before having my first snus experience. Dunken has been trying to get me to try the stuff since Hellfest but I refused until this night. It burnt my gums at first but then I got used to it and it was alright. Had an awesome vege burger on the drunken stumble home.
We headed to Linkoping after that to see some more of our Swedish friends from Wacken. Linkoping is sort of between Gothenburg and Stockholm. I pictured it to be a real one horse town but it was actually pretty big but I still felt like we were in the middle of no where ha ha. We were staying in a nice hotel where it was good to have a room and bathroom to ourselves for a change and watch some movies on TV. One night Global Metal was on which made my night. Timmy came and met us at our hotel and took us to get some beer and what not before meeting Jesper at a soccer field where they all sit around drinking beer before the show we were going to because it was a drug free event ha ha. Needless to say I felt like I was 16 again back at the Arboreetum at home. So we had some beers adn watched one band then went to Tommys ridiculously clean place for a visit. We had some drinks there and some of Tommys friends came over who were really nice and we listened to some nostalgic music ha ha. We went to Pitchers aka Hitlers after that for more drinks before Timmy, myself, Manda and Kim went back to the Mooses house. After that most of the night was a blur but we some how made it back to the hotel. The next night we did much the same except we went to one of Timmys other friends houses and met more of his lovely friends and then our time was up. We said our goodbyes and were off for Stockholm.
Stockholm looks like a huge city and its strange because there are so many old nice buildings around but new factory looking buildings seem to be wedged between them all? So it makes it hard to get a nice picture of the city. Anyway I liked it here, we had some nice meals out on the harbor as our hostel was right next to it and we made a trip to Sandsborg Cemetery to see Quorthons grave. It was kind of confusing when we first got there to find but we eventually did.
We are at the airport now waiting for our flight to Finland where we will be for 2 days before heading to New York. Only about a month to go now, I cannot believe how time has flown. We are staying in an Olympic stadium in Helsinki which should be interesting.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Its been a while.....
Well I have been super lazy and havent updated this thing in ages so here is a brief attempt at summing up what we have been doing since Party San.
We headed to Dresden after Party San for a few days recovery before we went to Nurnberg to go to Summerbreeze. Dresden was a cute little city and the area we were staying in reminded me a lot of Brunswick street. Lots of hippy types and tattoo covered people etc. Everyone was so trendy and there was a nice Vegan place nearby. We made our way into Old Town which was very pretty and spent most of the time relaxing and recovering yet again.
Summerbreeze was good but it was way too hot, it was the complete antithesis of Party San. There was little to no shade in the festival so you had to stand in the sun which sucked. Most of the time we would make a trip down to the shops to chill for a little in the shade or nap in the park ha ha. We saw some great bands though, Anathema were fantastic as well as Insomnium, Pantheon I and GWAR! They were hilarious ha ha. We were camped next to some Spanish guys who made us laugh. We certainly werent upset to say goodbye to our tent as we are totally over camping at this stage.
Next stop was Switzerland where we traveled to Bern first. This city was really beautiful and we were right in the centre of the old town. We made a day trip to Gruyeres for the H.R Giger Museum. The little town was so beautiful!! It reminded me of one of the little towns from Zelda. The museum itself was also amazing! They had a life size Alien there and room after room of amazing artwork including Gigers own personal collection, his Academy Award etc. They were playing the first Alien movie and all I wanted to do was sit down and watch it in its entirety ha ha. We went to the Giger bar afterwards which is soooo cool, all the chairs and tables, the ceiling etc all designed by Giger. All in all it made a really nice day trip.
We went to Zurich after this and didnt really do any sightseeing cause we had a flight to Norway the next day. I was so excited to arrive in Bergen!!! We had no issues finding our hostel, really we were just thankful we had a place to stay. We were up in the hills with really nice views of the mountains and the city below. We went to the Fantoft Stave Church which Varg burnt down for those who know anything about the Norwegian Black Metal scene and the woods surrounding it were really nice so we went for a wander. The city of Bergen is really nice, all nestled between the hills. We went to Hole in the Sky on the Friday and Saturday night and saw some amazing bands including Venom and Nunslaughter who were really good! We ran into a whole bunch of famous people including Ihsahn, Cronus, Abbath, Apollyon, Frost, Cathedral and Nunslaughter.
After this we headed to Oslo where the train ride was really scenic and it snowed and it was just beautiful, the countryside in Norway is breathtaking! In Oslo we visited the sculpture park, the fortress and castle etc and tracked down where Helvete used to be again for those who know anything about the Norwegian Black Metal scene. Anyway it is a coffee shop now but still cool to be there. Presently we have just arrived in Gothenburg in Sweden where we will spend the next few days before heading to Linkoping to see our Swedish friends from Wacken for the weekend :)
We headed to Dresden after Party San for a few days recovery before we went to Nurnberg to go to Summerbreeze. Dresden was a cute little city and the area we were staying in reminded me a lot of Brunswick street. Lots of hippy types and tattoo covered people etc. Everyone was so trendy and there was a nice Vegan place nearby. We made our way into Old Town which was very pretty and spent most of the time relaxing and recovering yet again.
Summerbreeze was good but it was way too hot, it was the complete antithesis of Party San. There was little to no shade in the festival so you had to stand in the sun which sucked. Most of the time we would make a trip down to the shops to chill for a little in the shade or nap in the park ha ha. We saw some great bands though, Anathema were fantastic as well as Insomnium, Pantheon I and GWAR! They were hilarious ha ha. We were camped next to some Spanish guys who made us laugh. We certainly werent upset to say goodbye to our tent as we are totally over camping at this stage.
Next stop was Switzerland where we traveled to Bern first. This city was really beautiful and we were right in the centre of the old town. We made a day trip to Gruyeres for the H.R Giger Museum. The little town was so beautiful!! It reminded me of one of the little towns from Zelda. The museum itself was also amazing! They had a life size Alien there and room after room of amazing artwork including Gigers own personal collection, his Academy Award etc. They were playing the first Alien movie and all I wanted to do was sit down and watch it in its entirety ha ha. We went to the Giger bar afterwards which is soooo cool, all the chairs and tables, the ceiling etc all designed by Giger. All in all it made a really nice day trip.
We went to Zurich after this and didnt really do any sightseeing cause we had a flight to Norway the next day. I was so excited to arrive in Bergen!!! We had no issues finding our hostel, really we were just thankful we had a place to stay. We were up in the hills with really nice views of the mountains and the city below. We went to the Fantoft Stave Church which Varg burnt down for those who know anything about the Norwegian Black Metal scene and the woods surrounding it were really nice so we went for a wander. The city of Bergen is really nice, all nestled between the hills. We went to Hole in the Sky on the Friday and Saturday night and saw some amazing bands including Venom and Nunslaughter who were really good! We ran into a whole bunch of famous people including Ihsahn, Cronus, Abbath, Apollyon, Frost, Cathedral and Nunslaughter.
After this we headed to Oslo where the train ride was really scenic and it snowed and it was just beautiful, the countryside in Norway is breathtaking! In Oslo we visited the sculpture park, the fortress and castle etc and tracked down where Helvete used to be again for those who know anything about the Norwegian Black Metal scene. Anyway it is a coffee shop now but still cool to be there. Presently we have just arrived in Gothenburg in Sweden where we will spend the next few days before heading to Linkoping to see our Swedish friends from Wacken for the weekend :)
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