Well I can hardly believe it but i have already been gone for over 4 months...time has just flown! I leave Uppsala next week and start my random little journey....yaahhhhoooo!

So far I have planned out the start of my trip but after that it is a bit of a mystery ...so just in case anybody happens to be in the area I thought i'd let you all know what I am doing.

June 2nd -8th: Norway with Iselin

June 9 & 10: Denmark - I'm off to see Princess Mary to see if she knows any available Princes who are into Aussie girls

June 11 - 13: Amsterdam

June 14 - 16: Berlin

June 17 & 18: Munich - World Cup Aus Vs Brazil

June 18 - 25: Who knows????

June 25: Meet Lisa in Paris

Estonia and Helsinki!

Hmmmm....Estonia...where to begin?

I loved it! It was a whirlwind trip and I would have loved to stay much longer. Despite the short time there I managed to experience just about all the random stuff you could imagine...there were gay clubs, girls fighting and pulling hair in the streets and old men trying to proposition us!


To get to Estonia you catch an overnight boat from Stockholm. I am really starting to lovvvveee these boat trips! The words 'duty free alcohol' are music to my ears. Alcohol in Sweden costs a small fortune...$40 for the shittiest cask of wine money can buy. If you are out on the town, you can pay up to $20 for a drink, it is ridiculous! So, we got a little excited about cheap alcohol on this cruise....


Drew discovered good old Estonian 80% vodka....




I discovered slabs of gin..mmm




Here's me and the girls after sampling some of our purchases. Next to me is Lex from Perth...yep, so many aussies here! In front is Ali from the US- she is the most typically american person you could ever meet!

We stayed in Tallin, the capital of Estonia (yes, you all get a geography lesson!). It was just beautiful. The old town where we stayed is all within these castle walls and when you walk around you feel like you are in a medival movie ( I was waiting for my knight in shining armour to come riding up on his horse but no such luck...i think he got lost???).


This is the old town of Tallin inside the castle walls



Looks pretty old school, doesn't it?




After a day of sighseeing we went to this estonian beer house where i had my first steak since i left australia...if anyone is wondering about a 21st present for me i can suggest getting a cow shipped over...thankyou!

Here is Ben, me, Ali and Steve at the beerhouse with worlds biggest glasses of beer!

After dinner Ben and I went to a gay club...hmmm, very interesting! I was shocked and it takes a lot to shock me! In the toilets they even had this drag queen handing you paper towel and condoms.

The next day we took a boat to Helsinki...worlds most uneventful town. We nearly missed our boat and were running around like the crazy people in the 'Amazing Race', we had to beg the lady at check-in to reopen boarding. Too bad, it would have been better to be stranded in Estonia! Luckily Ben had some friends living in Helsinki so we spent the night partying with french people. We tried to get into a few clubs but it turns out that if you are under 24 they don't let you in...bloody Finnish!

Not much to show of Helsinki..dull, dull, dull!

Russia!!!!
Geez, i don't even know where to begin...Russia is insane! You love it and hate it all at the same time. I had such a great time, we partied for 9 days straight never getting more than 3 hours sleep a night...i was sooooo ill by the end of it!

I'll start with the top 5 things i never want to see again....

1. Vodka - You can buy vodka that is cheaper than water
2. Russian Boobs - Everywhere and anywhere is a strip club
3. Russian men in g-strings - need i explain??
4. Another menu in Russian - Nothing is in english, for all I know, I ate dog balls
5. Russian police - the scariest people in Russia!

And the top 5 things i'd love to see again...

1. A Russian Ballet at the Bolshoi - it was amazing!
2. The Amber Room - a huge room in one of the palaces made completely of amber
3. The Hermitage - A palace with one of the biggest art collections in the world
4. 7 of us crammed into this tiny taxi with russian house music blaring
5. The perfect street - it is seriously completely symmetrical, so strange!

Ok, so one of the biggest highlights of the trip is the overnight cruise that we had to take to get there. It was like being on an unclassy version of the Titanic. We were surrounded by ice, it was really cool- literally!

The cruise is a huge ship complete with duty free alcohol and a cheesy nightclub. There was 200 uni students on my trip so the boat trip was just one massive party. Here is some of the gang partying on the boat.

Russia is all about palaces and churches...i won't bore you with the history of it all, i'll just show you some pics, these places were amazing!

Russia is definitely not the safest place in the world, Mcdonalds even had metal detectors!Everyone tries to rip you off, they charged us an additinal $10 per person at one restaurant for the garnishes on our food. Nobody speaks english so in the end you just pay, you don't want to anger the russians!

When you see police, you put your head down, try not to make eye contact and walk as far away from them as quickly as possible. The police bribed some of the girls on my trip. They made the girls give them $300 each, they were even helpful enough to take the girls to an ATM so the girls could take out the money! Here's a pic of some of the police, they have 4 different kinds...all dodgy and scary from what i could gather!

The Russians try and sell everything as souveniers... the guys loved it, they purchased the most random stuff...like this mask

The trip was soooo much fun, i can't even begin to explain, we partied everynight. For 9 days striaght i only ever got 2 -3 hours sleep a night. The people on the trip were lots of fun!

I've just chucked on a few random happy snaps from russia at the end for your viewing pleasure...

Me with some russian students...the boy to my left is grabbing my butt. He couldn't speak a word of english but turns out he knew the language of love!

A Russian Folkdance - Hot outfits!

Me and some friends in Red Square

The perfectly symmetrical street

And here is a Russian 'what the..' for you all

TRIP TO KIRUNA

Just got back from Kiruna and it was amazing! Kiruna is a city in the northernmost part of Sweden above the arctic circle (for those of you who were wondering). It is so damned cold, i wore every piece of clothing i had. Turns out you can wear 4 pairs of thermal socks at the same time if you are willing to spend half and hour trying to squeeze your feet into your shoes! And boy, was i glad for every pair!

From Kiruna I did two trips, one was to the Ice Hotel and then I did a 2 day dog sledge tour. I've got heaps of photos below!

First of all though, i thought i'd just chuck in a few of Kiruna city, they have these amazing snow sculptures!






























Kiruna sure had some interesting signs...What the????

The Ice Hotel
Ok, this place was just so amazing, I don't even know where to begin. The Ice Hotel gets rebuilt every year and it is completely made of ice(walls, chairs, beds, drinking glasses - everything!). They have ice bedrooms, an ice dining room, an ice bar and an ice church. There is just so many great photos but i've tried to pull out a few of the best.

Ok, this first one is of Ally (Canadian) and I in the entrance hall of the ice hotel.



















They even make chandeliers of ice!














Now for the bedrooms....

This first one is a chair in one of the bedrooms. They cover all the chairs and beds with reindeer fur so you don't literally freeze your butt off! The next 2 are bedrooms that people can rent for the night.

This next one is of me outside the Ice Church where people can get married....hmmm, not my idea of a dream wedding, but each to their own!

And of course...The Absolute Ice Bar! This is of Javier (Peruvian), Ben
(French), Steve (Aussie) and I.We sneaked behind the bar for this
one...couldn't resist! They charge a hefty $25 here for a shot of vodka, so it's
a rather quiet bar!

Roughing it...oh dear god!

The 2 day dog sledge tour was unbelievable! It was like nothing I have ever done before, however, it was definitely much more ‘outdoorsy’ than what I am used to!

Here's some pics of the sledging in action. We all took turns driving the sledges and snow mobiles, it was so much fun!


























After freezing our butts off on the sledge ride we arrived in this incredibly isolated place by a river where we stayed over night.

Here is the little village area where we stayed. It was this tiny little group of hutts. Each hutt was like a different room. One was the kitchen, one the sleeping place, one the meat house(yuk!)and one the sauna.













This is the river next to our mini-village. This really gives you an idea of how isolated it was! We got to ice skate on the parts where the ice was thick. I have to admit though, i was so paranoid, i kept thinking that i could hear the ice breaking under me.












We had to do everything for ourselves, including chopping your own firewood and making your own fires. Turns out that I am not so bad with an axe!










We even had to collect our own water from a hole in the the river











Seeing reindeer was a big thrill for me! Unfortunately, it turns out that the people up in the arctic think that reindeer can replace all 5 food groups. They tried to feed it to me both days and i truly battled. I promised myself i would have some but i just couldn't. Kept thinking of Rudolf!











Besides, they didn't exactly make reindeer seem very appealing to eat. Picture this.....About 5 meters to the left of the kitchen were live reindeer, to the right was a reindeer hide stretched out to dry. Then just outside the door to the kitchen were reindeer feet with the leg bones sticking out, still with some blood on them. Then you walk inside the kitchen, sit on reindeer furs and have a reindeer head mounted to the wall above the table. Then this big bowl of reindeer meat gets slapped down in front of you...it was a little much for me!

But overall, it was awesome. We got to go ice skating, cross country skiing, play ice hockey and go ice fishing. We went for walks where the snow came up to my waist.
The boys jumped off trees into the snow and we had the biggest snow fights. It was really great!

Hey All!

Not much in the way of exciting stories this week...i've been forced to geek it up! But be warned there will be a very big week ahead to make up for lost time!

Trips
I've got 2 big trips planned for next month. Firstly, i'm going to the arctic circle (yes, really!). I'm going to this place in the north of Sweden called Kiruna. It is home of the famous 'ice hotel'. Everything is made completely of ice, even your bed (sounds comfy!). Apparently they even have an 'ice bar' where they serve you drinks with glasses made of ice...how's that for an incentive to drink quickly!

While i'm there I'm also going to go on a two day dog sled tour where you get pulled on sleds by huskies...so that should all be very random! Oh, i nearly forgot, the also have the northern lights up there which are meant to be really cool.

Yet another strange fact....
I heard that the japanese believe that the Northern Lights help them conceive so they all rent out igloos with glass tops. Apparently as soon as the northern lights appear at night all these japanese just run for their igloos. I'll have to report back on the truth in this rumour!

My other trip is at the end of march and i'm going to Russia. Once again, pretty random but it is meant to be really great. If anyone has any good suggestions about some more trips, please let me know.

No longer unemployed!
INext week is my first day of work snce i got here. i think i may be having withdrawels! You will never believe how much i get paid...well actually i don't even get paid, i just get 2 free meals...how outrageous! I'm thinking it's more like charity than work!

Food - help!
Ok, i'm seriously out of food ideas! If anyone is in the area could they please come over and cook for me or perhaps you can just suggest something easy for me to do myself. Also, if you have any suggestions of how to make baked beans exciting that would be much appreciated! Loren, i'm not eating them through a sieve!

Love
A retired Aristos

Sorry about the lack of action on my blog...i have been having some technical difficulties! I'll try and give you all a bit of a speedy update.

Firstly, I experienced my first swedish sauna. And yes, people really do run around naked in the snow! Let me explain.....I went to a party at one of the student housing areas called Flogsta. Flogsta is a little strange (mum, you'd be very glad i'm not staying there!). Anyway, back to the story....every ten minutes or so everyone runs out onto the roof and rolls around naked in the snow! And I'm sure some of you may be thinking i was involved but i can assure you all, especially you mum, i was too busy taking photos to roll around in the snow! I've got lots of photos to prove it (photos on application!).

There was only one photo that i thought was semi appropriate to share with you all. Lauz, this is just for you! You requested photos of hot swedish guys so the guy second from the left is all yours! Andrew, i'll be sure to find you an equally hot swedish girl!


The truly bizarre...
At one student housing area they have a very strange tradition. Everynight at 10pm everyone who lives there (around 1000 people) start yelling out their windows. If you are anywhere near the area you just hear all these people yelling...it's soooo strange! Apparently, the students all do it to relieve stress.

Another thing that is rather strange is the latest trend amongst the Swedish men right now. For some stupid reason someone has told all the guys that moustaches are cool! Oh dear god… I hope they get over this repulsive trend soon, I feel like I’m surrounded by cheesy 80’s porn stars!

And the third and final random thing is the arabic smoking pipe. Yes, it's another strange trend sweeping the city of Uppsala. They are sold in milkbars and other random shops, they are everywhere! It is huge...it took 2 photos to get it all in. Mum, it's not drugs, it's just apple flavoured tobacco in a communal smoking pipe. Below is a photos of one of the swedish guys smoking it and in the next photo you can see what it looks like (well, sort of!).



The Raccemottagning
Not sure if i have told you much about the nations. Anyway, i've joined one called Snerikes. They have a huge club that has parties twices a week and you can go to the bar there any night. You can also just go to their restaurant or study in their library, the place is huge and really old. It's historically listed so it's really cool to go to these massive parties there.

Anyway, the other night i went to this welcoming dinner there called Raccemottagning. This nation has been around since the 1500's so it has heaps of really old traditions that were rather strange.

Firstly, when you get there you arn't allowed to go up the stairs to the dining room until you are escorted by a man. Then, they serve pea soup and pancakes for dinner (it is a traditional swedish meal that the swedes eat every Thursday).

They serve this warm punch with the entree (pea soup) that is severely laced with alcohol. You are not allowed to drink it until you have sung a punch drinking song ( you always have to sing a song before you can drink anything!) Then you have to cheers to your left, then to your right, then opposite. Take one drink and do it all again. Then out comes the shots of schnapps and it keeps going!

Next we had the oldest student orchestra in the world ( seriously, my nation has the oldest orchestra in the world..pretty impressive!) play for us. They started off with a few traditional things and then out of nowhere blew us all away with Nirvana! I had to take a picture of them, they all looked rather strange. Wish i could show you guys the video!




Finally, to conclude the dinner one of the head guys (a really old professor) has to stand on his chair. Once he does, everyone else has to do the same and we can't get down until after he does...imagine me after some highly potent punch and a few shots of schnapps...the old man was doing a better job of standing on his chair than i was! Once everyone gets down from their chair it's rude to sit down again so you all leave the room...bizarre!

Ok, you guys asked for it. Here is some photo's of me in Uppsala (not the best, but it will do temporarily!). These were just a few random shots taken around town today with Iselin.




This photo below was also taken today about 4pm . It is pitch black by that time here. It is so bizarre!





Uni Life

I started uni late last week and there is already so much work! I did my first major presentation today, I have another Monday and then again Friday. This is all for one subject. You only study one subject at a time here and it goes for about 4 weeks then you have an exam. Everyone who knows me would understand that my poor brain is in meltdown mode.....i'm not really into doing much in the way of uni work, so this is quite a battle for me!

Below is a picture of Ekonomikium, it's basically the business studies building where I have all my classes. It is so close to where I live, it's great. I can leave my room 5 minutes before class starts and still make it on time...a little different from the 40min/1.5 hour drive to Caulfield!

I just read this list that some Aussies wrote about their time in Sweden and it is so true! It just gives you a bit of an idea of how things really are here and may make you laugh a little as well!

You know you’ve been in Sweden too long when…..

1. You think that riding a bicycle in the snow is a perfectly sensible thing to do.
2. You regard it as sensible that the ice cream van comes around playing that annoying song when it is -15C.
3. The first thing you do upon entering a bank/post office/chemist (anywhere really!) is to look for the queue number machine. You accept that you will have to queue to take a queue number.
4. You accept that if someone wants to “follow” you home you don’t need to be afraid. They actually just want to walk you home.
5. Hugging is reserved for sexual foreplay
6. You've come to expect Sunday morning sidewalk vomit dodging.
7. Someone calls you a ”good moron” first thing in the morning and you smile acknowledgement.
8. When a stranger asks you a question in the streets, you think it's normal to just keep walking, saying nothing.
9. You think that people who wear other colours apart from black, grey, white or blue are exhibitionists.
10. Trousers/pants tucked into all shoes, including low-top sneakers, seem like reasonable fashion sense.

Well, I've officially been freezing my butt off for one week now. Sooo much has already happened, I don't even know where to begin!

Firstly, everyone has been asking about where i'm staying. I'm living in this student housing area called Rackarbergsgatan (yes, they have the longest words in the world over here!). I live in a dorm with 4 other people(3 swedes and a german guy). Living with everyone has been really easy to adjust to. The whole BYO toilet paper is a little strange. Everytime you want to go to the toilet, you have to take your own toilet roll.

The first photo is of our shared kitchen, it's really squashy! The next photo is the corridor that we live in(yes, you guys get the complete guided tour!)






These next 2 photos are of my room here. It's not very exciting, my backpack didn't really allow for me to bring much. Iselin actually bought 4 massive bags, each one bigger than my backpack. She seriously has everything you could ever imagine, she even bought rugs and cushions! Somehow she also scored a tv and stereo....i'm seriously going to battle without any tv for 6 months! I have to share a shower and toilet but i have my own sink in my room.



This is the view from my window. You can see what the housing looks like from the outside..and yes...that is snow....everywhere!





I went to Stockholm for the first time last night. It's about 40min south of Uppsala. Stockholm has a massive reputation as being a very stylish city. I actually don't understand how anyone can be stylish, it's too bloody cold!

This is a picture of my friends that i went to Stockholm with. On the left is Drew, a guy from Sydney living at Rackarbergsgatan with me. Next is Iselin who many of you guys have met. In the middle is Nina, a swedish girl that was in Australia last semester and lived with Hampus and Eric. Next is Stephen who is also from Sydney and on the end is a random American girl that i don't really know.


Below is a picture of drew with a banana protector (yes seriously, it protects bananas from getting bruised!). They were actually selling these in a shop and we thought it was a photo opportunity too good to miss!




Last night I was invited to my swedish friend Eric's birtday party in Stockholm. I met Eric last semester in Melbourne, he lived with Hampus and Nina.

There were a few little weird things about this party....firstly when you get there you have to take your shoes off. It is so strange to be at this party and everyone is standing around drinking and dancing in their socks. All the swedes were clearly aware of this rule and being very stylish knew to wear really cool socks. Me, however, had on 3 pairs of socks and the outermost pair were these massive ugly, kathmandu explorer socks that i'd tucked my pants into. i was looknhg hot!

The other thing that was really weird was the food. They served this finger food that was rockmelon wrapped in ham. It was bizarre! I felt the need to take a photo! I was clearly standing out as quite the tourist at the party by this stage!



The other thing that was weird was that they stored all the slabs of beer out on the balcony to keep them cold. it was -17 last night so it was actually much colder outside than in the freezer.

Anyway, that pretty much brings you guys up to date. Anything you want to see pictures of, let me know. i haven't really taken any photosaof the town (it is really beautiful and old, so unbelieably differnt from home!). I'm always too cold to even take my hands out of my pockets to take tpictures but i will muster up the courage soon.

Cheers!

SWEDEN

Hi All

I'm leaving sunny Melbourne on Jan 14th and will arrive in the land of ikea on the 15th. Hope to hear from you all soon!