Apparently I'm not the first person to think that this is a logical combination

Monday 30 May 2011

SWEDEN

Map of Southern Sweden (just in case someone doesn't speak German)

Rough Itinerary:

Here is a list of some of the places I might visit, depending...

Stockholm - this is the only for sure place.  I have booked a hostel there for 7 nights (hostel not as seen below - this is a picture of Gamla Stan aka "Old Town" in Stockholm).

Stockholm Archipelago - made up of around 25,000 islands!

Gotland - island in the Baltic sea.  Full of medieval churches and Viking rune stones.

Fårö - a small island just northeast of Gotland.  Home to interesting rock formations called Rauks and, of course, Bergman Week!  A festival celebrating the works of Ingmar Bergman on a remote island in the Baltic Sea - what's not to love??

Malmö - largest city in southern Sweden (and third largest overall).  Good base for exploring places in the area like Ystad, Lund, Trelleborg, and the Foteviken Viking Reserve (a reconstructed Viking village where people actually live as the Vikings did, at least for the warm part of the year).
Malmö

Lund

Foteviken

Båstad - on the southwest coast.  Hosts the Swedish Open (tennis) for men and women every July.  Close to Hovs Hallar, a nature reserve, and also where Max von Sydow challenged Death to a game of chess.

Hovs Hallar

Death choosing his colour

Göteborg - on the west coast.  Sweden's second largest city.  Lots of interesting museums, including one that houses Sweden's only original Viking ship, and one that has the world's only stuffed blue whale.

Bohuslän Coast - north of Göteborg and also on the west coast.  Home to picturesque fishing villages and 3,000 year-old rock carvings. 


Lake Siljan area - in Dalarna (central Sweden).  Famous for its natural beauty, medieval churches, and wooden horses.
Dala Horse

Rättvik's church (c.1400s) and horse stables (on Lake Siljan)

Lake Siljan at sunrise (or sunset)

Uppsala - fourth largest city in Sweden and location of the oldest university in Scandinavia.  Gamla Uppsala ("Old Uppsala" - 5 km north of the current city) was an important center in pre-Christian Sweden, when Norse gods like Thor and Odin ruled the land.
Present-day Uppsala

Royal Burial Mounds at Gamla Uppsala (c. 6th century A.D.)

Odin and Thor


BELGIUM

To visit/eat/drink:

They are called "French Fries", but originate from Belgium - deep fried twice (always) and served with mayonnaise (optional, but recommended)

Belgian Waffle

Pralines: Belgium's important contribution to the world of chocolate

How many will I be able to try?

Westvleteren Trappist Beer - brewed by monks and sold only at the abbey store to individual customers who have made reservations by telephone

Lillian Gish in The Wind (1928).  Brussel's Cinematek screens silent films with live piano music!

Not to mention the Grand Place, Mannekan Pis, EU parliament, numerous museums and parks...