Land of Gustavs

It wasn't easy leaving behind Iceland relatively unexplored. Four days is nowhere near enough time to embrace and understand a culture, but it's something I'm going to have to accept with eight countries left to go. Outside the window, with that strange island fading below the clouds, the land of my ancestors became the next adventure. Sweden, the self-proclaimed capital of Scandinavia, was already a radical transformation from Iceland. The countryside is riddled with dense forests and pastures and by sprawling farmlands that are as flat as patches of Illinois. Rivers crisscross the rich landscape coloring the soil extravagant shades of green. It had been a few days, but we could finally see the sky!

When the plane hit the runway it brought us some 40 kilometers north of Stockholm so we arrived without a glimpse of Sweden's largest city. A high-speed train led us to the main central station and the gates swung open to what was in an instant an extraordinarily vibrant metropolis. Not a dirty, overcrowded metropolis, but graceful and modern with a passion for cobblestone alleys and classical architecture. It weaves history with technology seamlessly. Cathedrals loom adjacent to office buildings. Museums, pubs, coffee shops, and art galleries sit corner to corner. This capital of around two million must be one of the most underappreciated gems of Europe.

Bill, Nick and I have traversed the E-4 and the E-20 both north and west across Sweden the past few days, but for now I have to dedicate this entry solely to Stockholm. Grazing over this irresistible city would be an injustice to you and me! Perhaps the most breathtaking segment of Stockholm is Gamla Stan, translated to Old Town. Dating back to the 13th century, Gamla Stan is like walking into a fantasy. The Royal Palace of the King greets you from the northernmost bridge and to the south you have the port of the Saltsjön River. Between those borders, you are flanked on all sides by shops, ice cream parlors, and restauants featuring every delicacy. You can cut away from one cobblestone road, slide through an alley less than a meter wide, and find yourself in an ivy covered pub with a glass of wine and some chicken wings. Not a day passed where we didn't find ourselves in the center this part of town.

On Wednesday, we hiked our way east through town to visit the areas of Östermalm and Ladugårdsgärdet. At this point, we accepted the beauty of this city as inescapable. We walked along the river passing gothic cathedrals and luxurious hotels. Yahts and cruise ships adorned the harbor and fashionable Stockholmers laced the streets. We joked that every Swede who passed by belonged in an ad for some nondescript cologne or perfume. Me in my Saluki hoodie may have had me pegged as homeless. We took in three museums that day: the Swedish National Museum, the Vasa Museum, and the Museum of Science and Technology. At the National Museum, we successfully used our American cunningness to get in via the student discount. The exhibits were pretty impressive. Brilliant artists like Claude Monet, Edvard Munch, Francisco Goya, and Paul Cézanne all had some of their work present. The sculpture "Laocoön," which depicts the Trojan citizen Laocoön and his two sons being devoured by serpents after angering the goddess Athena, was another unexpected treat. The hall itself was gorgeous: huge archways, marple steps, and white pillars. Stockholm really can't help but be a show off. Seriously, even the interior of museums? Afterwards, we paid a visit to the Vasa Museum. Finally an ugly building! The museum touts the remains of a 17th century ship, "Vasa," the largest in the world for its time. It was colossal. Measuring at 226 feet long, the ship inspires, but it also conjures mixed feelings. Vasa was conceived by King Gustaf II in 1628 to be a devastating asset for the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea. For endeavor that lasted the better part of two years, the artistry was impeccable. Carvings glorify the lineage of the Vasa family and homage Greek myths and legends. However, the engineering was not so good. Vasa only sailed one nautical mile before it barreled over and drowned thirty members of the crew. Oops. Nonetheless, the museum did a good job covering the history of Vasa's construction and the efforts to drag it out from the depths. A local snarked that we were wasting money on a museum that glorified bad engineering, but for 100 krona I didn't mind being the unoriginal tourist.

The last leg of our hike to eastern Stockholm had some interesting elements. We stopped for lunch at a local food stand on our way out of the Vasa Museum. I sat down with a savory bratwurst when Bill thought it would be a good idea to feed a french fry to a bird lurking at our feet. Next thing we know, the three of us were starring in a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. An army of gulls came swarming in trying to tear either us or the little bird to shreds. Ducking and swatting, we grabbed our food and ran for cover. This is how we lay low in Sweden. Unscathed from the violent scene, we popped in and out of the Museum of Science and Technology down the road. The museum was empty and honestly kind of dull so I can't say I'd rate it as a must see here. On the way back we bumped into a film set shooting a scene from a famous Swedish book series. Crime writer Henning Mankell is renown for his "Wallander" books that follow a detective who investigates gruesome murders. I bought the first one a few months ago and brought it on the trip so it was an unusual but neat coincidence.

I'm going to post this novella before it gets too out of control. Tomorrow I'll write about our day trips to Uppsala, Gävle, Örebro, and the hometown of my ancestors!

The Creatures from the Blue Lagoon

Last day in Reykjavik today. Shows how quickly this trip will fly by. Nick and I are still two zombies seeking any semblance of a sleep pattern. Try snoozing when you see sunlight through the curtains at 3 o'clock! We begrudgingly dragged ourselves out of bed in the wee hours of the morning to pay a visit to the much acclaimed Blue Lagoon about 40 minutes outside of the city. Waiting outside the bus station in 40 degree weather, the wind howling at our faces, didn't do much to amp us up for swimming. Nonetheless, we managed to brave on and suck it up for adventure's sake.

Iceland is very strict about hygiene in public pools so we took a quick shower and made our way to the lagoon. You can tell standing in front of the door that you are about to freeze your barely clothed little tail off. A few courageous souls boldly pushed the door open and a few less courageous souls came scurrying back inside. The cold hit you to the bone. Nick darted for the lagoon not even realizing he had his towel still around his neck. Once you got inside this milky, crystal blue water, you are instantly at ease. The lagoon is equivalent to a gigantic hot tub, only this hot tub is said to work wonders on your skin! A geothermal power plant down the road pumps superheated water near a lava flow through turbines and a heat exchanger to make this creature what it is. It works brilliantly. To add to the lagoon's mystique are the mammoth volcanoes that surround it. A girl we met told us that some 90% of the landforms in Iceland are actually volcanoes. Fear not, these did not erupt. I cannot imagine how beautiful this place must look when the landscape is covered in a blanket of snow. A future adventure maybe?

Free from frostbite and our spirits healed by the lagoon, we spent the rest of the day wandering Reykjavik. Our last meal was at a popular seafood restaurant dubbed Sjavargrillid. Instead of ordering fisherman Jon's catch of the day, we dined on catfish and two Viking beers that tasted as awful as Pabst. I still haven't earned my Viking cred I guess. The meal was a hit until the check came. Nick and I are still having some problems with our conversions apparently.

Tomorrow we tumble along to Stockholm, Sweden. Our good mate Bill Ryan becomes our latest companion on the trip, joining us from Ireland. We will leave Iceland in awe of its beauty and with a high opinion of the Nordic people. Such great culture, talent, and kindness.

Lost in Icelandia

"Ahhhhhhh!!!!"

The day started off with a bang. Er, a burn. As Nick and I sat in our brand new rent-a-car, we were fiddling around with our GPS trying to get it charged. Astutely, Nick pulled out the cigarette lighter to free up the charger, but the unexpected happened. Smoke shot out of the lighter like an Icelandic geyser and Nick's hand was caught dead in the middle of the ongoing chaos. As a layer of my brother's finger fried off, I was forced to take control of this desperate situation. I told Nick to run inside the Avis center and ask the people at the front desk what to do. After the echoes of my brother's cussing wore off, I was safe inside the car once again trying to figure out how to drive in this Nordic country.

Once I came to the realization that all I had to do was put the car in drive and step on the gas, I was relieved. Avis gave Nick a band-aid and we were ready to roll. Our new destinations were to a doctor and a pharmacy. To my dissatisfaction, my brother's well-being became our top priority. The good news: We were about to experience the joys of socialized medicine!

I dropped Nick off at a local doctor's office and within ten minutes the situation was resolved. The doctor interrupted her visit with another patient to check out Nick's finger and passed along her two cents. No insurance cards. No paperwork. On to a pharmacy we were and Nick troopered through the rest of the day.

The two of us were now free to explore the foreign lands of this magnificent country. We had all of our limbs in order and a full tank of gas and by God we were going to make the most of it. Before we left Reykjavik for the open road, we pulled off to a local hamburger shop that sits along the Atlantic. The joint was arranged with 1950s American regalia, but the only word in English I caught was "hamburgers." Icelandic burgers were a bit unspectacular but all we needed was a full stomach. (Tomorrow we will finally taste the island's famous fresh fish for all you foodies out there.)

What we didn't expect this evening was a three hour adventure to the center of Iceland to turn into six hours of poor navigation. Every website or blog dedicated to traveling here mentioned the Gullfoss waterfall as a must see. It is considered one of the most beautiful natural sites in the world. It was a no-brainer to head out there. Only problem was how do you get there when your GPS craps out? Oh, you purchase a map? What do you do when you have no clue where the hell you are? Nick and I ran into a few of these head scratchers. The one upside to getting lost in Iceland is that you are more than happy to pull off to the side of the road. When you step out of the car, you are surrounded by enormous mountains with mist floating across their peaks. Words can't describe its beauty. There is rarely a car in sight so you can't help but feel transported to a different century. I never thought being lost could be so worth it.

After paging through our map and sorting through some direction screenshots we saved, we got our bearings. Teamwork at its finest. We swerved and zig-zagged along tiny roads through the rocky countryside and across massive acres of farmland. The Viking agent at Avis warned us of wandering sheep that clog up the path and the steep penalty of hitting them. Somehow we preserved and weren't forced to buy off a local farmer with the few krona we had left in our pockets. It was 10 o'clock by now and my main concern was getting to Gullfoss with the little sunlight we had remaining. I flew down the windy trail at over 100 kilometers (okay, thats not that fast) and to my surprise, we made it with plenty of time to spare.

Gullfoss is a sight for sore eyes. The waterfall could match up with some of the best in the world. And you are able to get right up on top of it. The sheer magnitude and power of Gullfoss gave me the chills. As you stand next to it, water is spraying at you in every direction and the wind makes it tough to hold still. Even while being drenched it's hard not to love each second of this place. The waterfall is enclosed by towering canyons that don't even seem real. Best of all, there wasn't a single tourist in sight! For the thirty minutes we spent at Gullfoss, it belonged to just the two of us. Thank you very much Iceland!

The road home was much easier than the original journey. The sun didn't set until around midnight (fooled me) so we had a lit path home. That helped seeing as there are no street lamps in rural Iceland! In the end, we made the most out of day that got started with a burn. We missed the Blue Lagoon, but hopefully tomorrow we make up for it.

Sam signing off!