Stockholm’s trash

Taking out the trash

I looked at my watch. It was already 12.00 p.m. Geez. My first day in Sweden had flown by….and I was still in bed. Oops.

It’s hard when you’re battling jet lag that included an overnight flight from Bermuda to London and then the next day a three a.m. start for a flight from London to Stockholm, Sweden. I should have been thrilled to be back in Sweden but I couldn’t get out of bed.

So I stayed in ….no of course not. I made a coffee and decided to get my act in gear and head for the cobblestoned streets. I can see why Ikea is Swedish.

I can also see why it is so darn clean in this Scandinavian country. They don’t just put their trash away they also lock it up! Hence this photo of the day. A key pad will unlock this trash!

Well what more can you want? Oh you need a gift for a wedding? I’ve got the perfect one tomorrow straight from Stockholm.

Travel with Perspective

“You know what I’ve noticed….people in London are not very friendly. I mean I swore before they used to at least say hello.”

“Robyn no. If they say hello run the other way. If they say hello there’s a good chance you’ll end-up in their freezer.”

But I like to say hello. I like to be friendly and joke about the weather or the fact that I had to be up at 3 a.m. for my cab to the bus to the airport (yep the cheapest way to an airport). Maybe it’s the Bermudian in me. I’m going to be friendly despite myself.

And yet as I struggle to leave the Bermudian in me I am actually trying to escape Bermuda.

It’s not a myth. Love em and leave em. It’s the only way to stay sane. Swizzle in and Swaggle out. I’ve got Rock Fever. I’ve got island fever. I need to escape!

How many sayings do Bermudians have to escape our lovely little island. And it is lovely. Don’t get me wrong I love Bermuda. I can’t imagine living anywhere else (and I’ve tried).

But it’s small.

After a while things that should not matter start to matter too much. People who should not matter to you – do. Comments about your work start to build-up and bury you under scepticism.

So I boarded my plane. I was still surrounded by people I knew. Ok maybe not to invite to a party, but to say hello to on the street. Touchdown London.

Breathe you're in London

I escaped. Breathe. And I could. I could sit in a Starbucks and I didn’t know a single person. I could concentrate on the work I needed to do.

But escaping Bermuda, for me, is not just about being able to blend into a crowd. It’s comforting. It’s comforting to see a new world (even if I’ve been to London before).

It’s comforting to find people living their lives in lots of different ways. It’s comforting to find a 20 pound flight to Sweden and being able to visit a friend.

But that’s what traveling is truly about, isn’t it? Remembering that where you are from (i.e. Bermuda but it applies to everyone) is not the only world out there. It’s remembering that people are watching the world in a different way. They don’t all believe that they live and die by your words.

It calms. It calms me to know that there is a bigger universe out there that does not revolve around Bermuda. It puts my home in perspective. It makes problems at home, while important, not seem so overwhelmingly bad.

It’s refreshing. And it’s time to visit Stockholm…the first stop on my cheap European trip. I swear I will find cheap visits.

Liberating Paris

If you were in Paris today 66 years ago, you’d be relieved. Why? Nazi occupation of the city had ended thanks to the French 2nd Armored Division and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. For four years, Paris would have been under the Nazi’s spell.

Luckily the commander of the German garrison did not blow-up Paris’ landmarks or burn the city before the liberation and he signed the formal surrender this afternoon, 66 years ago. So now it’s time to see Paris. Have you seen it? Are you missing out? Yes.

Have you been before and are struggling to figure out what to do now? Good because it’s time to plan ahead and figure out September. First of all if you’re looking for somewhere to stay Tablet.com  is offering great deals for Paris until September 1 right now.

While if you’re in Paris later in the month then the Autumn Festival is the place to be. It is a festival of contemporary arts, embracing and combining different art forms. From September 13 to December, the Festival features over forty events attracting a total audience of more than 100 000. For more information check out their website.

Sprechen Sie Deutsch? No? That’s all right with the amount of beer flowing at Oktoberfest there will be no need. That’s right it’s called Oktoberfest but it actually starts in September. Officially you have 24 days, 2 hours and 1 minute to visit the 177th Oktoberfest. Want to continue the countdown? Visit the beerfest’s website. So plan ahead and make sure you’ve organized your trip to Munich, Germany for a sanctioned scarfing of beer!

Next stop in September? How about London? How about combining London with a run….in a Gorilla costume? Yep on September 26th if you have been dying to break-out that costume, but haven’t had a chance too here’s your opportunity.

From 10.30 a.m. on Sunday, September 26th 1,000 Gorilla look-alikes will line-up at the Underwriting Centre ff Mincing Lane in the City of London.

In costumes better suited for the jungles, these philanthropic men and women will finish a 7 kilometre route (that’s just over 4 miles) through the heart of the City of London, over the famous bridges and past some of London’s major landmarks.

This will all be in the name of saving Gorillas and really should be a stop for anyone visiting/living in London.

Finally, and this is on a personal note because I am going to be heading here in September, Stockholm, Sweden is hosting Ozzy Osbourne at the Langholmen arena on September 7! Think I might give it a miss. Not my style and, well, I won’t be there until the end of September.

So there are your plans for September in some European destinations…..any more ideas? Heard of some good concerts to suggest? And return tomorrow for CTravel’s answers to European travel….on CTravel Thursdays.