Cultural Learnings of EuropeCultural Learnings of EuropeAfter doing the Eurotrip2006.com thing and then living in Stockholm for a year Louis is off to Tallinn in Estonia to live the good life. Articles
Baby We Were Born to Run
2007-10-31 13:57:00 The eagle has landed at JFK were I picked up the hire car and my fears were proved founded, check it out, remember im delirious from a long plane flight So I hit the road, trying to make it out of NY and into somewhere with.. less traffic atleast. I headed toward this place called "Allentown" on the map but found somewhere better just before... "bethlehem". are you kidding me? well atleast they didnt call it "new bethlehem", thats over stating your status a bit too much. I found a reasonable hotel and bunked down for my first night on US soil.In the morning I kind of wondered north west a bit, no real destination in mind, anything small town america, thats what I was really looking for. I have also come to love the GPS unit. I couldnt do without it, no way, this country is huge and signpostings are cryptic at best and this thing knows EVERYTHING. It found me the hotel in bethlehem even. About the only annoying thing is the one generic womans voice... More About: Baby , Were
Pass The Dutchie On The Left Hand Side...
2007-10-29 10:24:00 Todays 4 hour stop over in Amsterdam is brought to you by these two great exports from dutchlandThe second not really being an "export" technically but hester sure does try.And what do you get when you combine the two (beside laughing uncontrollably at the name "cockpit")? After having some of Amsterdam's finest I am led to believe that you find yourself standing in the middle of the runway where the planes suddenly develop big smiley faces and welcome you to "the friendly skies". At the same time ground staff stand around scratching their heads as to how seemingly normal aircraft have suddenly developed personalities and wonder if they will ever take off with all that damn chit chat! And when did the french start getting high anyway? Now the plane is demanding a tanker of Bordeaux's finest instead. Damn the french, damn them and their talking planes.Now pass me another cookie please. More About: Left , Pass , Side , Hand
Most Experienced Traveller EVER
2007-10-28 12:19:00 Hi, my name is Louis and I have travelled all over the world, handled myself in all kinds of situations and I am an organised and independant traveller. Ha, theres nothing I cant handle. Look at me and how great I am.yeah yeah nah nah yeah yeah the flight is in the afternoon sometime, around 18 i believe.09:45: Louis awakes, takes coffee, makes eggs. Listens to Team American soundtrack and yells "FUCK YEAH" while drinking his coffee. He is pumped.11:50: Louis is almost packed and is writing down all the relevant details and numbers, goes to check the flight number and exact time of the flight. FLIGHT FROM TO DEPARTURE ARRIVAL------------ ---------------- --------------------- --------- -------SAS - SK903Sun 28 Oct Stockholm SE Newark US 10:40 14:35 Arlanda Newark International Blink. Blink. More coffee please!In a life defined by stupidity, this ... More About: Traveller , Erie , Experienced
USA USA USA
2007-10-24 09:07:00 The writings are cultural learnings are slow to come, am I having a crisis of faith? have I discovered drugs? yes. and that drug is called "darkness" and I am addicted to it 12 hours a day here and by "addicated" I mean "subjected without end". Thats todays english call finished with.Blogging in Sweden isnt too much fun well because... there isnt too much to blog about, yes sure there are some cultural learnings to be made, dont think Ive lost my love for cheap and shallow stereotypes, oh no thats as strong as ever, its just living each day is well.. living. I go to work, hide under the desk for atleast 5 hours avoiding my workmates, spend another 2 just randomly walking around the building looking busy. Its awesome, I am split between two departments so if you LOOK busy, 1 group assumes you are busy for the other group and noone is the wiser. Except all those others who hang around the coffee machine, we all share a dark secret.Anyway, life is life is ...
Cutural Learnings Of... Swedish Sex Education
2007-09-12 20:48:00 ooh I remember this thing, I used to have a blog ages ago where I crapped on about all kinds of European stuff which interested me. Then i started to write about serious stuff with less pictures and people said "louis, we get where your coming from but the internet is the place for people with attention spans of 5 year olds, if we wanted to read a novel Id go rip off a book from angus and robertson". Well never fear, Im back and Ive got dick jokes, everything will be ok.So im having a conversation with a Swedish friend the other day and we start talking about school and then onto sex education in schools and I start to have a very strange flashback to my own experiences in the New South Wales public school system. Does anyone remember this guy?With a smile like that you'd think someone has a hand up her arse tooMyself and my generation of little Australians were given sexual and drug information by a puppet giraffe in the back of a dark caravan. Im not kidding. The Giraff... More About: Education , Duca , Ural , Earning
Ich Bin Im Ze Vaterland
2007-08-15 13:20:00 Rocking on in the Fatherland! Ive been working in Darmstadt this week so I took a weekend to enjoy Frankfurt, which is the very first European city Eurotrip2006 hit last year, so theres a fair few memories. Darmstadt is a nice little university centered place about 20 minutes away and Ive been enjoying the local hostel, as well as the local scenery, local schnitzels and local beers.So theres not a whole great to report, im back to Stockholm tomorrow evening with one eye on the future. Wish I had something funny to write. Here, lets make fun of the german language againUsing my expert German skills I can decipher this sign seen in a park in Frankfurt as "keep your dog on the leash or the Führer will smack".ah ok everyone like to make fun of them but I like it here, they have their own ways for sure but its cute and the scenery is nice and they have big autobahns with big expensive cars you can drive as fast as you want.. and then they have a racetrack where any yobbo c...
Gerogia Gets Bomb Dropped On It, Has A Cry
2007-08-09 09:06:00 News about the current Georgian / Russian incident this week has even reached to the other side of the world, but as usual our media does care so much if it happens way "over there" so heres a brief roundup of what went down this week. Heres what both sides more or less agree onSOMEONE flew some planes into Georgia, PROBABLY from the north (direction of Russia), circled a bit, stoped for a coffee and crumpet at the local and then proceeded to drop a bomb right near the village of Tsitelubani which is KINDA near the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi. Its about 67km away which i guess is close but in this part of the world where mere meters seperate civilisations, its not THAT close.The bomb didnt actually explode, it just kinda fell from the plane and landed in some guys field. Georgian officials then rushed to the site and inspected the undetonated device to find it was a Russian made device with lots of crazy Russian writing over it. Still doesnt prove it came from the Rus... More About: Bomb , Drop
Cultural Learnings Of... Booze In the Nordics, Part II
2007-08-05 18:37:00 I have talked before on the subject of booze prices and restrictions in Nord ic countries, namely how the Swedish system is closed tighter than Putins rear end but today I am on the err.. rear side of this equation, getting the cheaper booze down south.So heres how it works up in these parts. Sweden and Finland have crazy high prices for alcohol and indeed for that matter, crazy high prices for everything else. So when these "real" scandos want a quick trip away, its just an overnight boat ride from Stockholm or a few hours on the fast ferry from Helsinki. Its great, come over for a day or two, gawk at how the backward people live and then use your stupidily high exchange rate to buy heaps of booze at already low rates. Now there are limits to how much you can take back but its more than a human can carry in beer and if you and your blonde little buddies all jump in mums volvo and bring it over, then you can basically fill the bastard without fear of getting anywhere near t... More About: Booze , Part , Cultural , Nordic
Cultural Learnings Of... South Ossetia
2007-08-01 18:22:00 So for some background, Georgians are their own independant race of people, taking influences from all those around them, Russia, Europe and the Middle East but being distinctive and different also. At the top of the land known as Georgia there are a few provinces where the people are not Georgian, however when the Soviets rolled in, Stalin gave these lands to the Georgians as a nice gift. Oh and then he gave Georgia to himself but now everyone is free again, these provinces arnt so happy that Georgia wants to keep them under their control.South Ossetia is one of them, its in the north of Georgia and they have been fighting an armed conflict with the Georgians since about 1991, not long after they all declared indepedance from Russia, trying to claim the land as their own. The international community recongises the land as Georgian... except one... Russia. Inside of the CIS is where North Ossetia lies and its no secret they want the southern part back too. Im sure they also want all... More About: Cultural , SETI , Ural , Earning
What Went Down in Georgia... Getting Into South Ossetia
2007-08-01 18:06:00 Its long I know but its a good story, possibly the best of eurotrip, I mean its not everyday you get shaken down by the KGB right? Do remember most conversations in this story happened in Russian and they were translated to me after the fact. Most of the time I had a fair idea of what was happening anyway, tone and body language can tell you a surprising amount when you don’t hear any of the words being yelled at you.Georgia is a pretty safe place, we haven’t had any trouble at all but the Australia Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT), gives the country a 3 out of 5 AK47's on its danger rating, still we know they are overly cautious, its their job. However there’s a special clause on the page, the separatist regions, including South Ossetia, get a full 5 out of 5 which puts them in the same category as say... Iraq. Remember how I said I was going to try and stay out of these areas? Well.. you know how long THAT was going to last.In the hostel Iiris and I had 3 th... More About: SETI , Went
Viljandi Folk Festival
2007-08-01 17:08:00 Cop all the photos in the galleryThis weekend passed was the 3 day long annual Folk Festival or pärimusmuusika in Viljandi, right in the middle of Estonia. Its an awesome 3 day event where people camp out or get shelter with anyone they know who lives locally, drink lots of ciider and beer and get rained on while watching lots of funky folk music where every second band has an accordian player.I had a great time but was still recovering from the nasty Georgian bug so I took it easy. The festival i a fantastic place to catch up with all your friends because EVERYONE goes atleast one of the days and come on, Estonia isnt that big to start with. The stages are all set amongst old castle ruins ontop of a hill looking down onto a big lake. Its festival action Estonian style and I love it.
The Road From Georgia To Back Home
2007-07-23 18:02:00 We were both delirious from hunger and in need of one last Georgia n feed, however the streets around the train station proved fruitless... sensing defeat we hailed the first taxi we saw and as typical, Iiris negotiated the fare and we hopped in and away.Instantly I knew we were in for good time when the driver used a cigarette lighter to illuminate the dashboard to see the speed as the dash lights were out. Thankfully or not, speed proved to be of little concern to our driver, as indeed to every other driver on the roads of the Georgian capital. I sit in the back seat, the music is up quite loud, it sounds like a drunken Georgian version of Joe Cocker at 3am after a big night out. I don’t mind the atmosphere but as Iiris feels her ears might be bleeding soon, she motions the driver to turn down the volume, to which he looks disappointed but compliesAs we sped off down the road I started to realise this might possibly be the worst car I have ever driven in, the handling, the co... More About: Home , Back , Road , The Road
Letters From The Black Sea
2007-07-22 07:46:00 Check out the latest photos, this country is photo gold im telling youWe are here in Batumi, on the Black Sea coast of Georgia. Ive never seen the Black Sea before, it has always tantalized me, all the way over here and you have to go through some strange country to get there.I will say one thing, its HOT here, very farking hot. Hot like it is in Asia... hot like it was in Spain last year. I didnt expect this and it sends me a bit mad, I come from a country of such heat but i can never think straight when its so hot. In many ways this place reminds me of a soviet version of Schnookville in Cambodia without the foreigners, this town seems to be touristic but have scarce few foreigners. Swimming in the Black Sea isnt bad but its all pebbles like it was in Nice but we tend to go in the afternoon as its far too hot, we are both sunstroked and Ive copped a great wife beater mark.Today we are leaving however, at 17 we have a train back to Tbilisi then at 2am we have a flight back to Riga.... More About: Letters , Lack
Cultural Learnings Of... Stalins Home Town
2007-07-19 19:21:00 ok im a bit out of order, given the lack of net Ive been writing blogs on my laptop to keep them fresh. We are in Gori right now, hometown of this bloke Look familiar? The only place in the world I think where they still have standing statues of him and not just on the grounds of the museum either, theres a big assed 50 meter tall one in the center of town too. Focus on the good parts people, focus on the good parts. As you can see, Iiris and I had slightly different reactions when seeing the great leader in front of us. Whats crappening Stalin ? Now the Estonians reaction.. Gori is an amazing little town, much cleaner than Tbilisi and has far more room to move in. There arnt too many tourists either, ive counted about 5 all day, by jolly am I glad Iiris is here to speak to everyone in Russian, it would be a true test of body language to get by with only English. We spent a night here and today looking at the museum and the fortess on the hill, which has a fantastic view over the ... More About: Home , Town , Cultural , Ural
Irenas Homestay, Tbilisi
2007-07-19 18:58:00 Welcome to Irenas Homestay, your place and mine when in Tbilisi, Georgia! Irena is a sizable Georgian woman who runs a guesthouse in Tbilisi, she has a big old house which she has decked out with as many beds as can comfortably fit and you will not find a more lovely or welcoming woman. She gets up at 3am to let us in, in fact we already woke her half an hour earlier because we couldnt find out taxi driver and we had to get her to speak to the next driver over the phone in georgian. From the beginning its obvious Irena runs this place for the love of having people around, prices and cheap and whatever she can do to help, its yours. Hanging around the living room you meet a fairy hardy bunch of travellers, Georgia is far enough off the beaten track that general intelligence and adventurous level of the guests is way high, the stag parties drop off at Riga it seems, so what you have left is a bunch of cool hip people who really want to learn about the culture. Of course you might get ... More About: Stay
Gori, Hometown of one Joseph Stalin
2007-07-19 14:31:00 How about that Stalin guy eh? What a funny old fellow he was, rose to power after Lenins death, oversore both a massive period of growth for his nation as well as a massive period of killing for his own people and anyone else he could get his hands on really. After Tbilisi we have come to this small town Gori, in the middle of Georgia where one Jose ph Stalin was born! This is the only place left with statues of old mate and they are everywhere, they have a museum with his personal rail carriage and they have preserved his birth house. The museum itself is quite sweet, lots of photos and you get a guided tour, plus they have tacky stalin souvineers, I got myself a small stalin statue, perfect for that special someone who has everything! This town is like a little time machine back to Soviet days, its immensly facinating to be here, english is hard to come by, Iiris does most of the talking for us in Russian which is understood by almost everyone. Our accomodation last night was some ... More About: Joseph Stalin
In Tbilisi and Wet
2007-07-16 17:20:00 Not much time but we are in Tbilisi and spent the day walking around, its a nice city, its not quite chickens and donkeys on the sidewalk, its quite pleasant in fact. It is wet though so not sure of the next move, we are in a sweet little guesthouse called Irenas Homestay, this lady has a massive house here and just converted her house into a hotel, its awesome she is so lovely and helpful and theres plenty of other cool travellers to give us the good word on Georgia. Its an interesting mix of cultures here. Its on the crossroads of The Middle East, Europe and Russia and has little bits of all while still being distinctive. You can see the people have had a hard life but there are are always smiles behind the sighs, yay capitalism! more later comrades
First Stop, Riga Latvia
2007-07-14 13:50:00 One ferry ride later and Im in my first stop, good old Riga !I took the overnight ferry from Stockholm last night, the old rust bucket Regina Baltica, the smaller, less impressive of Tallinks Baltic fleet. as you can see above, 5pm leaving Stockholm harbour is quite the afternoon rush. Our boat may be small, cramped and crap but this floating RSL always serves up a few fun moments, its a great mix of cultures, swedish, english, latvian and LOTS of crazy russians, although the fact that most people went through the EU line at customs tell me they are mostly Russian Latvia ns. Also dont forget the small Malaysian kiddies who spoke a very iirie american engish, like they had grown up in an international school, it was weird.At night you can sit out on the deck and watch the still white nights, the sea was calm and in one direction was darkness and in the other a warm orange over the horizon. It occured to me out there that I havnt experienced real darkness in months, it will still be a m... More About: Stop
Where The Bloody Hell Is Georgia?
2007-07-11 12:53:00 Sweden is such a nice country, even after having a year and a half of holidays, I get an extra 3 weeks in July because all of Sweden shuts down in this month to enjoy the 4 hours of sunlight they get annually. So whats a guy to do with some time on his hands and a small case of the wanderlust? (this of course being different to the vandersexxx)I was thinking of Ukraine.. its pretty wild, lots of social change, my kind of scene, or there is Kaliningrad, that little piece of Russia between Lithuania and Poland, who ever heard of going there on a holiday? Thats exactly why I wanted to go.However then some friends suggested Georgia ! No, not the American state but the formerly occupied Soviet state just above Turkey... oh and just below Chechnya, maybe you have heard of that place. Sounds like a wild and crazy place to me, im listening...And as it turns out my Estonian friend Iiris, fresh from finishing her PHD also wants to go to Georgia and has the time free... sounds like a plan to me... More About: Hell , Where , Bloody
Smoke Sauna Of Fiscal Policy
2007-07-11 09:38:00 Im sitting here at work first thing in the morning feeling a bit bored, not an uncommon thing given its July and Swedish business virtually shuts down over this time, so im sitting and thinking.Im thinking about my thoughts and impressions of Eesti and how they have changed over time. Theres been a lot of articles out there of late about eastern european economic policy right now and in short how its getting hotter and hotter out east. Alot of the talk has been centered around some articles from The Economist which also points the finger mostly at Latvia. So whats happening in general? In "eastern" countries, the economies are hotting up, growth is far too strong and labor demand is outstripping supply, ie there arnt enough little wild and crazy eastern euros to fill the jobs, indeed the birth rate is falling in most countries. Everyone has a dig at Latvia because its the hottest of the hot right now, inflation up above 8% and everyone is spending up big on consumer items,... More About: Policy , Smoke , Fiscal , Poli , Sauna
Cultural Learnings Of... Putin Speaks to IOC, In English!
2007-07-07 13:50:00 So this week Sochi in Russia won the bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. Great Success! One of the major factors attributes to this win is the main man himself, your favourite ex KGB bad ass and mine, President Putin flying down to Guatemala himself to give a speech and not just any speech my friends a speech in English ! Putin NEVER speaks in English in public and then he caps it of with a line in French too! What a man! There hasnt been such a great Olympic speech since Australia rolled out Tanya Blanco, the girl with the oversized breasts and overextending arm gestures for our speech for the 2000 games. "In the year 2000 I will be 18, who will remember me?" I will Tanya, I will. hahaha thats champagne sketch comedy.Anyway enough with the obscure australian comedy references, we are talking about Putin, here's his speech. I love listening to this guy, in the same way I like to watching the dancing boris video over and over and over again. if your bored skip to the... More About: Peak , Cultural , Ural
Cultural Learnings Of... Swedish IKEA!
2007-06-30 19:22:00 It has only taken me 3 months but today I visited that most Swedish of institutions... IKEA*!So this one is like IKEA big time, a MASSIVE store over about 17 thousand levels**. Since I am now Volvo-less I had to catch the train out there, who ever heard of catching a train to IKEA? So i made my way out there and it was AWESOME! Today was a bit special, all the moons aligned It is the end of the month, everyone has just been paid It is a rainy afternoon and its saturday So it was a MADHOUSE, or indeed a Swedish madhouse, which means it was lots of people moving around in a fairly even, semi ordered manner. Come on, this IS Sweden after all. You know how they have that "one path" through IKEA and you all thought it was so they made you walk past the most merchandise possible? WRONG, your not thinking Swedish enough, you have to be ordered, one in, one out and we can all see everything. In computer science its called a "hamiltonian path" and i love it!... More About: Ikea , Dish , Cultural , Ural
Cultural Learnings Of... Swedish IKEA!
2007-06-30 19:22:00 It has only taken me 3 months but today I visited that most Swedish of institutions... IKEA*!So this one is like IKEA big time, a MASSIVE store over about 17 thousand levels**. Since I am now Volvo-less I had to catch the train out there, who ever heard of catching a train to IKEA? So i made my way out there and it was AWESOME! Today was a bit special, all the moons aligned It is the end of the month, everyone has just been paid It is a rainy afternoon and its saturday So it was a MADHOUSE, or indeed a Swedish madhouse, which means it was lots of people moving around in a fairly even, semi ordered manner. Come on, this IS Sweden after all. You know how they have that "one path" through IKEA and you all thought it was so they made you walk past the most merchandise possible? WRONG, your not thinking Swedish enough, you have to be ordered, one in, one out and we can all see everything. In computer science its called a "hamiltonian path" and i love it!... More About: Ikea , Dish , Cultural , Ural
Cultural Learnings Of... Working In Sweden
2007-06-27 21:03:00 So whats it like working in Sweden ? AWESOME, is the answer!A small photo gallery of my officeI work for a consulting company in the city, meaning they hire us and then we get pimped out to our clients to do work for them. My company is great, they really look after you, as you can see from the photos, its like some kind of brochure inside... and then just wait till its filled with good looking Swedish professionals all walking around with sharp suits and handsfree mobile cords hanging from their ears. Its a very motivating environment and they seem to like I am the madman aussie who comes in to jump around alot and has as many bright ideas as he can.I like doing business with Swedes, they tend to bring their cultural habits to the table, I find it easy to talk with them and come to an agreement. They are generally quite opened minded, they sit and listen to what you have to say and for the most part are quite rational about the way they do things. Having understanding people around ... More About: Working , Cultural , Ural , Earning
Cultural Learnings Of... Working In Sweden
2007-06-27 21:03:00 So whats it like working in Sweden ? AWESOME, is the answer!A small photo gallery of my officeI work for a consulting company in the city, meaning they hire us and then we get pimped out to our clients to do work for them. My company is great, they really look after you, as you can see from the photos, its like some kind of brochure inside... and then just wait till its filled with good looking Swedish professionals all walking around with sharp suits and handsfree mobile cords hanging from their ears. Its a very motivating environment and they seem to like I am the madman aussie who comes in to jump around alot and has as many bright ideas as he can.I like doing business with Swedes, they tend to bring their cultural habits to the table, I find it easy to talk with them and come to an agreement. They are generally quite opened minded, they sit and listen to what you have to say and for the most part are quite rational about the way they do things. Having understanding people around ... More About: Working , Cultural , Ural , Earning
Cultural Learnings Of... Midsummers
2007-06-25 22:51:00 Check out the new photos from the weekendSo, what is this midsummers holiday thing we dont have in Australia? See up here, the days get much looonger in the summer, not quite fully white but still quite nice even at middnight. That means also the days are much shorter in winter but never mind that. So the longest day of the year, thats a big event up north for all scandos and baltic nations as well. In Estonia its called Jaanipäev or "St Johns Day". You can also hear it referred to as "Victory Day", not missing a chance to beat their patriotic chest, this was almost the day they booted out the Germans in 1939 and started the first time of independance so WHY NOT stick them together. Ill drink a vodka to that.So to celebrate this I REALLY wanted to be all traditional and go out into the countryside. So my lovely friends arranged for us to go down to their friends family country house which is right down in the south east of Estonia, so close you can sme... More About: Cultural , Ural , Earning
Cultural Learnings Of... Midsummers
2007-06-25 22:51:00 Check out the new photos from the weekendSo, what is this midsummers holiday thing we dont have in Australia? See up here, the days get much looonger in the summer, not quite fully white but still quite nice even at middnight. That means also the days are much shorter in winter but never mind that. So the longest day of the year, thats a big event up north for all scandos and baltic nations as well. In Estonia its called Jaanipäev or "St Johns Day". You can also hear it referred to as "Victory Day", not missing a chance to beat their patriotic chest, this was almost the day they booted out the Germans in 1939 and started the first time of independance so WHY NOT stick them together. Ill drink a vodka to that.So to celebrate this I REALLY wanted to be all traditional and go out into the countryside. So my lovely friends arranged for us to go down to their friends family country house which is right down in the south east of Estonia, so close you can sme... More About: Cultural , Ural , Earning
Cultural Learnings Of... Estonian Gümnaasium Graduations
2007-06-25 21:34:00 On friday, Sigrid and I went back to Nõo High School to see our mates, Jordan and Taavi graduate. High School graduation is a pretty big thing there, everyone is dressed up in their formal clothes and the ceremony goes for ages, every student gets a clap and the school hall is over flowing with people, they even have it projected onto a big screen outside so everyone can see. I know back in Australia all we want to do is down the free champagne, get our certificate and get out of dodge as fast as possible.It was absolutely great to be there for this afternoon. Nõo is about 20 km outside of Tartu in the kind of countryside and it was a gorgeous sunny day and everyone was so happy, Im pretty sure I was the only foreigner there and it was a top surprise for the guys when I showed up. Afterwards it was traditional estonian travel back to town.. hitchhiking.Myself and Taavi out the front of Nõo Kool.Technorati tags: More About: Adua , Cultural , Toni , Ural , Earning
Cultural Learnings Of... Estonian Gümnaasium Graduations
2007-06-25 21:34:00 On friday, Sigrid and I went back to Nõo High School to see our mates, Jordan and Taavi graduate. High School graduation is a pretty big thing there, everyone is dressed up in their formal clothes and the ceremony goes for ages, every student gets a clap and the school hall is over flowing with people, they even have it projected onto a big screen outside so everyone can see. I know back in Australia all we want to do is down the free champagne, get our certificate and get out of dodge as fast as possible.It was absolutely great to be there for this afternoon. Nõo is about 20 km outside of Tartu in the kind of countryside and it was a gorgeous sunny day and everyone was so happy, Im pretty sure I was the only foreigner there and it was a top surprise for the guys when I showed up. Afterwards it was traditional estonian travel back to town.. hitchhiking.Myself and Taavi out the front of Nõo Kool. More About: Adua , Cultural , Toni , Ural , Earning
Cultural Learnings Of... The Systembolaget
More articles from this author:2007-06-17 19:41:00 Finally, ive worked up enough material for a blog! Time to celebrate with a drink! Oh wait, I cant go to the booze store today, its sunday.. which leads me to the topic of my discussionThats right! The Systembolaget which literally translates to "The System Company" and its the only booze store in Sweden. And the government runs it. Thats right, you heard me. You can still buy in bars and licensed establishments of course but if you want to buy some grog for home, when inside Sweden, you have to buy it from the SystemBola get.Apparently it all started around 1766 when king Adolf Fredick (clearly from this act he is the greatest Swedish leader since "rockin" Gustav established tartu university) abolished all laws on the sale of alcohol. Good show! By about 1800 Swedes had become some of the biggest piss heads in Europe. I bet they had wild parties back then. Sauna, good looking swedish girls and guys, heaps of cheap booze, I bet it was an awesome time. Howeve... More About: Cultural , Ural , Stem , Earning 1, 2, 3 |
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