Scott's Adventures

Hi there!

Well sadly this will be my last entry on here, since I am writing this from home, yes I am back in Adelaide now, my amazing year abroad has come to an end. But at least let me tell you how it all finished up...

So, after getting back from the tennis in Paris, had just a couple of days before it was back on the road, well the sea, on the ferry over to Helsinki. Eight of us from Linkoping went over on the so-called "party boat". We were greeted by drunk Finns before we had even set sail, so gave us a taste of what was ahead. It was really nice as we sailed out of Stockholm, the ship heads through the archipelago which has some fantastic scenery, so it was nice to sit back and enjoy that. For dinner, we splashed out and went for the 30 Euro buffet ($50), all you can eat, but more importantly, all you can drink wine. We managed to get quite a collection of wine bottles on our table, was quite enjoyable. Had the whole night to party, enjoying the nightlife on offer, before eventually arriving in Helsinki the next morning.

We had two days to explore the city, and had great weather which made it even better. Had a really nice time exploring around, seeing the famous churches as well as the island fortress Suomenlinna. Was a really nice visit to the Finnish capital!

We took it easy on the ferry back to Sweden, and arrived back in Linkoping for what would be for most of us the last few days of our stay in Sweden. But my time in Europe wasn't quite over, the day after returning from Helsinki, I was back in Stockholm, at the airport to greet my Aussie visitors! My sister Alexandrea, my cousin Matt, and my friend Marisa came over for a month in Europe, so naturally their first stop was Sweden while they waited for me to finish up things there. Spent Swedish national day in Stockholm, saw the royals which was a nice start to the holiday for the tourists, and being a fan of Princess Madeleine I was happy to see them as well After a few days in Linkoping, where I completed (and just passed) my last exam, it was time to hit the road. First stop was Helsingborg in southern Sweden, for a graduation party for my friend Jacob. Graduation from high school in Sweden is quite a big and traditional event, so it was nice to be a part of the celebrations.

From here, it was a short hop on the ferry over to Denmark. After the weekend in Copenhagen, we flew down to Rome. Without accommodation planned, we got to Rome airport and managed to get something sorted which was pretty close to the train station, so that was a convenient base for our time there. Even though I had been there before, the highlight and new thing for me this time was going inside the Colosseum. Was amazing, so historic and really fascinating to imagine what went on there however many years ago it was in use.

Next stop was Venice, just stopped in here for the day, did everything except the gondola ride, but was nice in any case to wander around and soak in the atmosphere. Really nice day. Next we were on the night train, 12 hours or so later we arrived in Vienna. Again, just the day here, again just wandering around and relaxing.

Another night, another night train, this time from Vienna to Paris. We had three days or so there, I figured out it was my sixth time there during this year, but still I enjoy it every time. Enjoyed the tourist sights once more with the newcomers, and even spent a few hours at Disneyland Paris which was new for me as well. Also exciting was a visit to the Moulin Rouge, had a great dinner, accompanied with champagne of course, and experienced an excellent musical performance. We were all really impressed!

From Paris it was then a short hop across the Channel to London. We had four nights here so was nice to stop in one place and take it a bit easier than we had been. Again, just the usual sights here, as well as catching up with a mate and visiting some markets and of course pubs. Nothing too out of the ordinary for a tourist visit to London, but nice nonetheless.

After five world cities in about ten days, it was time to slow down and escape from that for a while. So the next stop was quite a contrast, over to the Danish island of Bornholm. We had a couple of nights over here, and one full day, which we used to enjoy the nature and cycle along the coastline. Was really nice, even if my year of cycling in Sweden had made me much more capable on a bike than my co-travellers. So I was out on my own for most of the time. Got a bit lost and ended up on a walking-only track at one stage, much to the annoyance of local hikers. Too short a visit, but realised Bornholm is definitely worth a visit for a week or so.

By now, it was time for Midsummer, another high point on the Swedish cultural calendar. We stayed at a place near Helsingborg, with friends of Marisa's friends. Considering we hardly knew anyone, the people we met were really friendly and welcoming and showed us some of the traditions that take place at this time of year, such as dancing around the maypole, eating herring and drinking schnapps. Was really nice to be in Sweden to see this famous celebration.

It was after this that Marisa left us, so then it was just Alex, Matt and I. After a short pit stop in Linkoping, we headed north to the middle of Sweden, the town of Ostersund to be exact. Was a really nice location, on the edge of the Big Lake, we spent a couple of days here, exploring the local outdoor museum, as well as relaxing around and on the water. Also enjoyed a couple of the nice restaurants on offer! From here, we caught the train over to Norway, four hours away to the third largest city of Trondheim. Enjoyed sightseeing around here for five or six hours, before we were again on the move and on a flight down to Bergen, Norway's second largest city. Spent a day or so here in this really picturesque coastal town, enjoying the nature, as well as the nightlife. Caught up with some fellow students from Linkoping who were travelling around Norway for two weeks, we managed to find a bar which was serving 2-for-1 beer! Which in Norway means a really expensive beer is now only mildly expensive. No, actually I didn't find Norway quite as expensive as all the horror stories make it out to be. But in any case, managed to get my money's worth this night!

After much anticipation, it was time to take one of the world's famous scenic train journeys, the 7-hour trip from Bergen to Oslo. Though things didn't go quite as planned.... First there was a delay in leaving, then about an hour or so into the journey, the train couldn't go any further, so we were stranded at the station. There was much confusion as to what was going on, but to make a long story short, 4 hours after arriving at this station, and about half an hour before we were originally due in Oslo, we managed to get on a replacement bus and on our merry way. The bus wasn't quite as comfortable as the train, but the scenery was at least rather interesting to look at. But after dark, it was just totally boring! Anyway, at 12.45am, 7 hours after our scheduled arrival time, we made it to Oslo!!

Sadly this was our last weekend of the grand trip, but we managed to make the most of it. Spent some time sightseeing, visiting places such as the town hall to see where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, as well as visiting Akershus Fortress, the Royal Palace, Vigeland sculpture park, and Holmenkollen ski jump. We were joined on our sightseeing by Jon, a friend from Linkoping, and later went to a Swedish pre-party and then to a local bar, where we caught up with the German travellers from Linkoping once more. Was a really nice last weekend to spend in Europe for this year!!

Sorry, I'm nearly finished!!.... The last week of my stay was pretty uneventful. Headed back to Linkoping to get my belongings in order, packing was a nightmare, trying to sort out a year's worth of stuff!! Caught up with some friends during the week to say goodbye, as well as squeezing in one last trip to Stockholm, visit number 779 I must be up to by now! hehe but seriously along with Paris, it must be one of the greatest cities in Europe!!

I said a temporary goodbye to my co-travellers in Linkoping, as they headed to Frankfurt airport by night train, via Copenhagen. My flight left direct from Copenhagen so I didn't have to leave so soon, so I headed to Norrkoping for a couple of hours to meet up with my friend Elin. After arriving in Copenhagen the night before my flight to Singapore, I met up with some more friends from Linkoping, Martin and Daniel, who were making a stopover there on the drive home to Germany. We went out for dinner at Wagamama, a cool Asian restaurant, before having one last beer. Then it was time to say goodbye to my last Linkoping connections

So, after all the adventures I have had over the past year, just a few as you can see by what I have written during the time it was time to head back to Australia. 12 hours from Copenhagen to Singapore, arriving at 5.30am in Singapore, then having a whole day to hang around and relax on the beach, before flying over night from Singapore to Adelaide, arriving back in Australia 36 hours after I left Europe. Was quite a journey, and took me a few days to really get back in the rhythm. Went to bed at 8.30pm on my first night back, the earliest night I have had in a long time!

So, that's it! Nice to be back and see my friends and family, but on the other hand tough to leave the great friends I made during the year. In any case, I am graduating at the end of this year, so who knows where I will end up after that! Hope you have enjoyed reading this and all my other journal entries throughout the year, hope I have some more travel stories to share with you soon! Until then....

Scott