Backpacking in Europe: London

Thursday, April 21, 2016

I was excited about London! I have never been in there before.

We leaved Borås so early…when we arrived to England it was almost lunchtime. After the flight, a long bus trip and a walk till the hostel (that we could not find so quickly) we went to the city´s streets to enjoy what London has to offer.

During the first hours in the capital we went to visit the Freddie Mercury´s house. In the wall we left him a message, like all the others fans that he has left behind. Mariana is a huge fan of the Queen band.  They have been always part of my play list, because I also listen to them since I was a child.  We walked till Harrods, the place where the queen does her shops. Visited the biggest toys store from the entire world. It´s crazy! The shop has 5 floors with incredible toys and entertainments. It is like a new world. We finish our day in the center of the city, experiencing the crazy dynamic of the capital. London is the city that never sleeps!

Live in there can be quit expensive. To don’t spend money on transports we returned to the hostel by walk. It was long way and (since it was late) the streets were pretty cold.

The hostel was a little place with a common living room, a small kitchen, bedrooms for 6/8 people and some bathrooms. We were sharing the space with more three boys from others parts of the world. In the hostel lived, at least, 3 Portuguese that went to London searching for a better life.

On the second day I went to the Natural History Museum! I learned so much…I discovered more facts about the humans anatomy, mammals, birds, sea creatures, little insects, about the Planet Earth…and of course…I saw dinosaurs, those magnificent creatures that lived in our planet millions years ago. The museum is enormous. It is possible spend a whole day in there and don´t finish the visit tour. When the afternoon arrived I met Benny and Mariana next to our hostel. They had been in the Warner brothers Studios tour- The Making of Harry Potter, to visit the backstage of their favorite saga. They were also really excited about their day. At night we gave a little walk around our area, as usual.

On the third day we went to a lot of places. We crossed the Tower Bridge, visited an imposing cathedral, passed through the London Eye, the Big Ben and lay down in the St. James Parks sward. A little bit before dinner we visited China Town and its wonderful lights and colors.

When we arrived to the hostel it was already late and we were really tired. But the people from there were really friendly and invited us to join them for a card´s game. We accepted the invitation. The night went on…when we looked to the clock it was almost 5am. It was time to sleep. A long trip was waiting for us on the next day. I´m glad we could rest during our returning to Sweden. Our home was waiting for us and we were dreaming with our owns bed.

Backpacking in Europe: Copenhagen

Monday, April 11, 2016

We packed our bags, took the train and went to Copenhagen, the land of bicycles. We stayed in a very cool hostel, super trendy, clean and not expensive (Urban House is the name).

When we arrived we let our baggage in the room and went to the city´s street.

In the next morning we woke up early and prepared ourselves for the visit to the aquarium (one of the biggest aquariums from whole Europe).

In one of the rooms it was a small and open aquarium where it was possible to touch (with careful, of course!) in some fishes and sea’s creatures.  I touched in a sole, a very peculiar fish, that likes to bury itself in the sand. Its touched was wet and soft.

I also touched in one big snake. Its texture is also quite soft and I could feel the irregularities of the skin.  Den blå Planet is a space where it is possible to find a variety of animal´s species and environments. All the space is made to involve the public with the oceans. There it exists a famous tunnel that makes us feel like if we were under water with all those magnificent creatures. The ocean it is such a mystery to me. It fascinates me!

On the next day we went to a free tour around the city to know a lit bit more about the Danish history. Danish people are very friendly and they really appreciate the free time and the welfare in their life (something that it is very important among the Nordic countries). Hyggeligt (cosy) is the golden world for them. It describes a moment where you are relaxed next to the ones you love..a moment where nothing else matters.  

During the afternoon, in another tour, I visited the modern part of the city and learned about the drugs and prostitution problematic in Denmark. We finished the tour in the hippie part of the city called Cristiania, the land of anarchy inside Danish territory.

Copenhagen is a very dynamic city with a certain chaotic charming.  Hope to return soon!

Backpacking in Europe: Stockholm

Sunday, February 7, 2016

If we will be in Sweden for three months we had to take some time to visit the capital! But life in Sweden is more expensive than in Portugal. So we decided to talk with Patrick (a very cool Swedish boy, that had study in our portuguese university) to know if he could help us to find a nice and cheap place to stay for four nights. A Patrick´s friend offered his place for that short period of time. Simon is his name. He opened the doors of his house and received us in the most kindest way.On our first night Simons prepared the most popular type of food among the Swedish people: Tacos! This is the kind of meal to have when the friends are joined and celebrate the end of the long week. Swedish are crazy about different types of foods and tastes. They really like to try flavors from other parts of the world.On the next day, in one of the capital´s streets, we met two Brazilians, Mateus and Aline. When you are in a foreign country and meet someone that shares the same language as you do the connections happens very naturally.  We spent the rest of the day together and had a wonderful swedish lunch. I tried my first Semla in their company. When the afternoon arrived we had to follow our own way. How nice it was meeting them!While us three were returning home we decided to cook for Simon. The menu was meat with fried egg and chips, a dish pretty easy to find in almost little restaurants along Portugal. Patrick also joined us for dinner. I cooked veggie burgers for both of us (since Patrick is also vegetarian). After dinner we went to an authentic Viking bar with pieces of fur along the halls and sits. I tasted a traditional Viking beer with such a sweet taste because of the honey.On Saturday we could have the pleasant company of Simon for the whole day. Saturdays always feels so good! During morning we went to Medeltidsmuseet (Museum of Medieval Stockholm) to find more about the history dimension of Sweden. We discovered more about the popular Gustav Vasa and the origin of the capital´s name, (if we divided the word Stockholm we got Stock that means log of wood or ancient German fortification and holm that means island, referring to the small island from the central part of the capital, where the city started to grow).On the afternoon we had a FIKA time. Simon took us to the Chocolate Factory for a  delicious cup of hot chocolate.Since the capital have a such different dynamic comparatively with the peace and quite that characterizes Borås we wanted to experience the night in Stockholm. We went to Uggla Boule &Bar, a place to meet friends and play different types of games. We finished our night in to a very trendy club. We danced so much while listening music from the 80s.In Borås the night finish so early. The sun goes down sooner so the day also starts and finish earlier than what I am used to. Around 4 o´clock we were backing home ready to have a really good night of sleep.On the Sunday we spend our few hours buying some souvenirs for our friends and families.We were a little bit sad to let Simon behind. He has got such a special soul. He already were in a lot of parts above the globe, living adventures and connecting with other cultures. He has a traveller spirit. Just a soul like that would receive three unknown foreign like he did. I will always remind him and we will all wait for his visit to Lisbon. Estamos à tua espera Simão (we are waiting for you Simon).