London

After my time in Malta, I stopped by in London to see some friends I have there. And to visit London, of course, because I have never been there before. I arrived Thursday 3rd very late at night, and Friday, while my friend was taking an exam, I walked around in London. Friday is the day I walked most, but is what usually happens... then each day you are more and more tired.
I started in the Albert Hall, and then went to Hyde Park.

Walking, walking, I arrived to Buckingham Palace. And I saw a crowd in the square, the traffic stopped... wtf is going on here?- I thought. So I was there, at the Palace, and there started to arrive more and more soldiers, and they were strolling up and down in the inner ward. One hour after (one hour!!!) they started to left. And I was so stunned... it was just a fucking guard shift change!! One hour!!

However... Then I went to Trafalgar Square, to the Thamesis, Big Ben and Houses of Parliament, and to Westminster Abbey. Westminster is soooo pretty! I couldn't get inside (it was too expensive), but just in the outside is already astonishing. I only could get into a little chappel beside the Abbey (Sta. Margarita, I think), that was also quite nice.

Afterwards I went to the Natural History Museum, and I met Lorena (that already had finished her exam) and Peter (who is living in London for 4 years), and we went for a coffee. In the evening we went to see Spiderman-3, and then to bed early. I was pretty tired.

Saturday I went with Lorena to Camden Market. It was amazing. Lot's of 'my style' shops, tons of things to buy, a very nice atmosphere... Unluckly I couldn't buy NO2 nor butyl nitrate. I mean, you can buy it wherever there, but I was leaving in two days and I had no plans of partying, so... but I really want to try NO2.
Then we went to Covent Garden, where we met another Spanish girl that is living in London. We went to Chinatown and to have a beer in the Soho.

Lorena left to study and then we went to St. Paul's Cathedral, the Lloyds building, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Hay's gallerie, Tate Museum (just outside, three days is not enough to go to all the museums in London), Millenium bridge and Piccadilly Circus (is not as nice as I thought).

Saturday night I stayed at Peter's, and in the morning we went to Regent's Park, and the Barbican center. There, just by chance, we found where the first bomb fell during WWII. We dropped by in King's Cross Station, and I was about to take the Hogwart's Express!!

Peter had to left, and I went to the British Museum. But it is really huge, and museums are boring when you are alone (besides I was damn tired), so I didn't stay long.
I met Lorena again, we went to dinner, and... back to Göteborg!

I enjoyed London very much. It is very nice, and I really want to go back,... but that will be when I have some money again. I couldn't see some things (I wanted to go to Windsor, but...), and I didn't go out partying. Perhaps next time with my brother or some friends...

Today I'm too lazy to put Wikipedia links. Besides, you all know how to use it. More pictures, as always, at Picasa.

Next stop? Stokholm!


Después de la semanita que pasé en Malta, paré en Londres a ver algunos amigos. Y a visitar Londres, claro, que no había estado nunca. Llegué el jueves 3 por la noche (muy tarde para hacer nada), y me quedé en casa de Lorena. El viernes, mientras ella hacía un examen, empecé a patear Londres. El viernes es el día que más andé (o anduve), pero es lo que pasa siempre... luego cada día estás más cansado.
Empecé en el Albert Hall, que está al lado de la Universidad de Lorena, y luego fui hasta Hyde Park

Andando, andando, llegué hasta Buckingham Palace. La plaza estaba hasta el culo de gente, y el tráfico parado, y pensé 'Qué cojones pasará aquí?'. Así que me quedé. E iban llegando más y más soldados, que se paseaban arriba y abajo por el patio de armas, cambiando de formación y tocando musiquillas. Después de una hora (una hora!!!!), se empezaron a marchar, y me quedé ahí como un gilipollas... era un cambio de guardia!! Una hora para un maldito cambio de guardia!!

En fin,... después fui a Trafalgar Square, a la orilla del Támesis, Big Ben y Houses of Parliament, y a la Abadía de Westminster. Westminster es taaaaaan bonita. No pude entrar (pasando, muy cara), pero ya sólo por fuera es increiblemente preciosa. Sólo pude entrar a una pequeña capilla que hay al lado (Sta. Margarita, creo), que también era muy bonita.

Después fui al Museo de Historia Natural, y quedé con Lorena (que ya había terminado su examen) y con Pedro (que lleva viviendo en Londres la tira, creo que 4 años), y fuimos a echar un café. Por la noche Lorena y yo nos fuimos al cine a ver Spiderman 3, y a la camita pronto. Yo estaba reventado.

El sábado, después de un nutritivo desayuno inglés, Lorena me llevó a Camden. Increíble. Un montón de tiendas de mi rollo, millones de cosas que comprar, muy buen rollito por la calle, góticas a montón... por desgracia, no pude comprar NO2 ni nitrato de butilo. O sea, lo puedes comprar ahí en cualquier sitio, pero me piraba en dos días y no tenía intención de salir de fiesta en Londres, así que... pero tengo ganas de probar el NO2.
Después fuimos a Covent Garden, donde quedamos con Clara, y fuimos a Chinatown y a echar una cervecilla al Soho.

Lorena se tuvo que volver a estudiar, pobrecilla, y nosotros fuimos a ver la Catedral de St. Paul, el edificio Lloyds (estilo Metropolis, genial), la Torre de Londres, Tower Bridge, la Galeria Hay's, el museo Tate (sólo por fuera, tres días no dan para mucho museo), el Millenium Bridge y Piccadilly Circus (que tampoco es gran cosa).

Me quedé en lo de Pedro esa noche, y por la mañana fuimos a Regent's Park y al Barbican Center. Allí, de casualidad, encontramos donde cayó la primera bomba durante la WWII. También pasamos por la estación de King's Cross, de donde sale el tren del puto Harry Potter!

Pedro se tuvo que marchar, y fui al British Museum. Pero es enorme, y los museos son aburridos si estás tú solo (además de que estaba reventado), así que tampoco me quedé mucho. Quedé con Lorena otra vez, fuimos a cenar, y Lorena que es un encanto me acompañó a las 2 de la mañana al bus del aeropuerto...

Me ha encantado Londres. Muy bonito. Así que habrá que volver... pero cuando mi economía se recupere. Me quedé sin ver algunas cosas (me hubiera gustado ir a Windsor, por ejemplo), y tampoco salí por ahí. Tal vez la próximacon mi hermano o algunos amigos....

Esta vez estoy vago, y no os voy a poner links a la Wikipedia. Más fotos, como siempre, en Picasa.

Próxima parada: Estocolmo!

Malta - Spring Agora 2007

For all those who don't know, I'm member of an student association called AEGEE. This association is interdisciplinar and international, and twice a year we celebrate an Agora, the most important gathering.
This year, the spring Agora was in Malta from April 26th to 29th. I arrived wednesday 25th to the island, and, of course, the first thing I did was... party!!!
The next day, we went for a walk in the city where we were lodged, St Julian.

That night (thursday) we had the Opening Ceremony and the Welcome Party. Friday, awfuly early, we had to wake up and go to the Opening Plenary. Night: party again.
Saturday we went to Vittoriosa (well, the real name of the city is Birgu, but most people knows it as Vittoriosa after the Great Siege in 1565), a fortified city opposite Valletta.

At night... guess what? Party! Sunday the other people from my city left at noon, but that was not a problem for the night party!!

Monday started the post-event, with a more relaxed schedule and more turistic activities. We went to the Mnajdra Temples, some prehistoric megalithic temples very interesting, and then to visit Vittoriosa again.

In the evening we went to Mdina, the old capital city, now known as the Silent City, where only noble people lives nowadays. Tuesday we went to Gozo. Malta (country) is formed by Malta (island), Gozo and Comino. Gozo is very beautiful. More turistic, but at the same time more quiet. We did a boat trip through a crack in the wall, aaaaaaamazing.

Wednesday we went to Valletta, the actual capital of Malta, a city built by the Knights of St John for themselves, and named after their Grand Master at this time, Jean de la Vallette.

All these days, of course, we went partying at night but... I don't know, I expected more party these days than the previous ones and it was just the other way round... probably it has to do with the fact that most of the Spanish people had left already.

I enjoyed Malta very much. The event was very well organized, and Malta is great. I expected it to be more expensive, more crowded, and with Brithish timetable for the discos... but it was cheaper than Spain, full but not crowded, and we always left the disco by ourselves, not like here in Sweden that the Security people always kick us out.

After the event I went to London a couple of days... but I'll tell that other day. Just say that I'm too old to be one week on a row partying all nights... sigh!

More pictures, as always, at Picasa.

Para todos aquellos que no lo sepan, pertenezco a una asociación de estudiantes llamada AEGEE. Es una asociación interdisciplinar e internacional, y dos veces al año se celebran los Agora, que son las reuniones más importantes.
Esta año, el Agora de primavera se celebró en Malta, del 26 al 29 de abril. Yo llegué el miércoles 25 a la isla y lo primero que hicimos fue... salir de fiesta!!

El jueves salimos a dar una vuelta por la ciudad en la que estamos alojados, St Julian. Esa misma noche tuvimos la Ceremonia de Inauguración y la Fiesta de bienvenida. El viernes nos tuvimos que levantar asquerosamente pronto para ir al primer Plenary, pero por la noche... fiesta otra vez!!!

El sábado fuimos a Vittoriosa (bueno, el nombre real de la ciudad es Birgu, pero la gente la conoce como Vittoriosa después del Asedio de 1565), una ciudad fortificada justo enfrente de Valletta, al otro lado de la entrada del mar.

Por la noche... sí! Lo habeis adivinado! Fiesta!! El domingo el resto de AEGEE - Zaragoza se fue a mediodía, pero eso no impidió que volviera a salir por la noche...

El lunes empezaba el post-evento, con una agenda un poco más relajada, y más actividades turísticas. Fuimos a ver unos templos megalíticos prehistóricos muy interesantes, y luego visitamos Vittoriosa otra vez.
Por la tarde fuimos a Mdina, la antigua capital, ahora conocida también como Ciudad Silenciosa, donde ahora mismo sólo viven nobles.

El Martes fuimos a Gozo. Malta (país), está formada por Malta (isla), Gozo y Comino. Gozo es muy bonita. Más turística, pero a la vez más tranquila. Hicimos un viaje en bote a través de un estrecho en la pared, saliendo a mar abierto, que fue increíble.

El viernes fuimos a Valletta, la actual capital de Malta, una ciudad construida por y para los Caballeros de la Orden de San Juan, y que recibió su nombre del Gran Maestro de aquella época, Jean de la Vallette.

Todos estos días, por supuesto, salimos también, pero... no sé, esperaba más fiesta que en los días anteriores y fue precisamente al revés. Supongo que tendrá que ver con el hecho de que la mayoría de los españoles ya se habían marchado... especialmente los de AEGEE Zaragoza... una borrachera depende mucho de tus compañeros de borrachera.

Me ha gustado Malta muchísimo. El evento estuvo organizado de maravilla, y Malta es genial. La esperaba más cara, más atestada de gente, y con costumbres y horarios más británicos... pero era más barata que España, los garitos estaban llenos pero se podía estar, y siempre dejábamos la disco cuando queríamos, no como aquí en Suecia que nos tienen que echar los seguratas a patadas.

Después del evento me fui a Londres un par de días, pero... eso ya lo contaré otro día. De momento sólo decir que ya estoy viejo para salir de fiesta una semana seguida...

Me he currado los enlaces a la wiki en español también... pero yo si fuera vosotros los leería en inglés, que son más completos.

Ah! Y más fotos, como siempre, en Picasa.

A smile from Transylvania

After my pit stop in Spain, I went to Romania for a week. First thing I have to say, I expected the country to be way worse. That was a grate surprise. Anyway, there are still some things... There are no highways, and they drive like maniacs (even for my standards!!). The conveyor belt in Tirgu Mures airport is so tiny that only a few cases fit in it... so they cannot put new ones until the owners take them. A guy (the clever boy in the classroom, I'm sure) started to take cases out of the belt, and stack them in front of the door, so at one point it was imposible to get to the belt, to put new cases in it, and to go out if you already have yours. Amazing.
But, despite some little inconveniences, I enjoyed my stay here very much. Saturday, Sunday and Monday we just did a bit of sightseeing in Cluj. We went to dinner and have a drink to a couple of places, and I must say that there are many clubs and bars here way more 'in', stylish and cool that the ones you can find in Zaragoza. And way more cheap.

Tuesday we rent a car and we went to Sighisoara. We were thinking about renting a Romanian transport like this...

but it would have taken us too long to get anywhere. So we rent a Ford K. Sighisoara is a very nice medieval city. Is a shame that some things are not in a very good condition. We couldn't achieve an average of more than 70 km/h (because of the car, because of the other cars, because of the roads...) and so we got to Brasov too late to visit any castle, and we did some sighseeing in the city.

Wednesday we got up very early, because we wanted to visit three castles. First we went to Bran's castle, Dracula's castle... where Vlad was imprisioned for a very short time. So it's not Dracula's castle at all. But it is very nice anyway.

Then we went to Sinaia to see Peles and Pelisor castles. Peles is amaaaaazing. I think is the most beautiful and better conserved castle I've seen.

Thursdat we went to the botanic garden, and to have a walk in the city. Then, buying some things for the journey to Budapest (my flight departs from there), and back to Göteborg!

And, fuck, back to the routine. I have tons of things to do. And, believe it or not, I've been studying all this days. I've added a new album in Picasa with all the pictures I took this Easter (Logroño and Romania), and I've added the new places to my World Tour album.
Next stop: Malta.

Después de mi parada en boxes en España, me fui a Rumania una semana. Lo primero que tengo que decir es que me esperaba el país mucho peor. Eso fue una agradable sorpresa. Aún así, hay cosas que... no hay autopistas, y conducen todos como pirados (incluso para mi estándar). La cinta de equipaje del aeropuerto de Tirgu Mures es tan pequeña que sólo caben un par de maletas... así que no pueden poner nuevas hasta que los dueños las recojan. Un pavo (el más listo de la clase, seguro) empezó a sacar maletas de la cinta y apilarlas en la puerta, así que llegó un momento que era imposible llegar a la cinta, poner maletas nuevas, y salir si ya tenías la tuya. Incredibol.
Pero, a pesar de algunos pequeños inconvenientes, he disfrutado mi estancia. Sábado, domingo y lunes hicimos un poco de turismo por Cluj. Fuimos a cenar y a tomar algo a un par de sitios, y tengo que decir que eran mucho más 'in' y 'cool' que cualquier cosa que puedas encontrar en Zaragoza. Y mucho más baratos.

El martes alquilamos un coche y fuimos a Sighisoara. Pensamos en alquilar una carreta typical Rumanian de las que se ven por la carretera (ver foto más arriba)... pero nos hubiera costado un parto llegar a cualquier parte. Así que alquilamos un Ford KK. Sighisoara es una bonita ciudad medieval, aunque es una pena que algunas cosas no estén muy bien conservadas. No pudimos mejorar la media de 70 km/h (por el coche, por los otros coches, por la carretera...) y llegamos a Brasov cuando estaban los castillos ya cerrados, así que hicimos un poco de turismo por la ciudad.

El miércoles nos levantamos muy pronto porque queríamos llegar a ver 3 castillos. Primero fuimos al castillo de Bram, supuestamente el castillo de Dracula... donde Vlad estuvo encarcelado un breve periodo. Así que ni castillo de Dracula ni pollas. Pero es muy bonito de todas formas.

Después fuimos a Sinaia a ver los castillos de Peles y Pelisor. Peles es geniaaaaaal. Creo que es el castillo más bonito y mejor conservado que he visto.

Y... el jueves fuimos al jardin botánico, y a pasear un poco por la ciudad. Compras para el viaje a Budapest (mi avión sale de ahí), y de vuelta a Göteborg!

Y vuelta a la puta rutina también. Tengo un huevo de cosas que hacer. Y eso que, lo creais o no, he estado estudiando estos días. He añadido un nuevo album de Semana Santa en Picasa, con las fotos de Logroño y Rumania,y he añadido las fotos de los nuevos sitios a mi album World Tour.
Próxima parada: Malta.

Ah! Por cierto... en la parte en inglés he puesto los links a las entradas de la wikipedia de algunos sitios de los que he visitado... lamentablemente no hay artículos en español, así que los que tengais curiosidad, ya sabeis, a la parte roja.

Back to the tribe

Making the most of the two weeks break that we have at Chalmers for Easter (well, actually is only one week break, and one week of re-exams, but I'm a very clever guy and I don't have to take any re-examination), I come back home for one week.
And... well, one week has been enough. OK, it's nice to go down to the supermarket, and buy a bottle of Absolut for 10 €, the beer is cheap. You can go out all night, from one bar to another. Not entrance fee, nor fucking wardrobe... Seeing old friends, taking tapas...
But on the other hand, the traffic jams, the cars parked in double-line, the rudeness, the 14-y-o badass forgiving your life by the street, living again with your parents (even for one week)... Well, I must say that one week of Spain has been enough.
After one year living in Sweden you are sick of many things. But after more than 20 years living in Spain you are more than sick of a lot of things.

As soon as I'm back in Göteborg (high-speed Internet access), I'll upload the pictures we took in Logroño last weekend. Oh!, by the way, that is a new place to add to my World Tour album.

And... next stop? Romania!!!

Aprovechando las dos semanas de vacaciones que tenemos en Chalmers (bueno, en realidad era una sola semana de vacaciones y otra de recuperaciones, pero yo soy un tio muy listo y no tenía recuperaciones), he vuelto a casa por una semana.
Y... bueno, una semana ha sido suficiente. Vale, mola bajar al supermercado y comprar una botella de Absolut por 10 €, la birra es barata. Puedes salir por ahí toda la noche, de un bar a otro, sin pagar entrada, sin puto guardarropas... ver viejos amigos, tomar tapas.
Pero por otro lado, los atascos, los coches en doble fila, la mala educación, los mierdacríos perdonavidas por la calle, volver a casa con tus padres (aunque sea por una semana)...
Después de un año en Suecia acabas harto de muchas cosas. Pero después de más de 20 años viviendo en España acabas muy harto de un montón de cosas.

En cuanto vuelva a Göteborg (Internet de alta velocidad), subiré las fotos que hicimos en Logroño el finde pasado. Oh! Por cierto, eso es un nuevo sitio que añadir a mi World Tour album.

Proxima parada? Rumania!!

Spring is coming!!

We are having extraordinary good days lately here in Göteborg. Today it was sunny. Very sunny, even hot. Believe it or not, last week it did snow one day. Crazy weather.
Anyway, we decided to do a little excursion today, so I went with Xevi to the beach. It was too cold to have a bath, of course, but we stayed as lizards, sunbathing in the stones, eating something and drinking a couple of beers (a wonderful day is not that wonderful without a beer).
I'm going to Spain for Easter, but I hope when I return here the weather will stay more or less like this. If that is the case, we have decided to go all sundays somewhere: beach, park, botanic garden,... At the beggining, when I arrived last year, I didn't do much sightseeing in the city, and then,... well, when it's cold and grey you don't feel like sightseeing.
So now we'll take advantage of the spring to rediscover the city!!

Ultimamente estamos teniendo unos días extraordinariamente buenos en Göteborg. Hoy hacía un sol genial, e incluso calor. Lo creais o no, la semana pasada incluso nevó un día, y ahora... Vaya clima más loco.
A lo que iba. Decidimos hacer una excursión hoy, así que me acerqué con Xevi hasta la playa. No estaba para bañarse, obviamente, pero nos quedamos en plan lagartija al sol, en las piedras, comiendo algo y echando un par de cervecitas (un día maravilloso no es tan maravilloso sin una cerveza)
Me vuelvo a España para Semana Santa, pero espero que cuando vuelva el tiempo siga más o menos así. En ese caso, hemos acordado hacer todos los domingos alguna excursión: playa, lago, parque, jardín botánico... Al principio, cuando llegué el año pasado, no es que hiciera mucho turismo (diurno), y... bueno, cuando el tiempo está gris y hace frío tampoco es que apetezca especialmente.
Así que aprovecharemos la primavera para redescubrir la ciudad!!

Birthday party - Sauna Party - TABARavE

Better late than never, they said. And I got tired of waiting for some lazy people and their pictures, so here is the post of my party!!!

From Spain came my brother Alejandro, Angel, Paula, Fer, Silvia, Violeta and Adolfo. We went out on Thursday and Friday (exams next week? What's that?), and saturday morning we went to the house in the forest to have lunch and start preparing the sauna. I don't know if you have used a wood sauna anytime, but it takes a long time to warm up.

Besides, it was quite cold outside. When we arrived, the fucking lake was frozen!!

People started to arrive at around 5, and, well, we was drinking, having some snacks, having sauna, drinking, having a bath in the lake, drinking,...
It's a pity the weather was so crappy... it was raining all night long, and I guess some people missed the party because of that. Anyway, their bad.
The first part of the party, was Sauna!!



Then, party all night long. I was in the sauna for the last time at 2300, or something like that (I was not wearing a watch, what was the point?), but it was on all night, so I guess someone went to it even later...



We all survived the night (ones better than others, but...) and in the morning people started to left home to sleep. Some of us (the less) stayed there for lunch, and then, everybody home.

Was really a great party, and for sure there will be a second part.
Thak you all for coming!!

And remember, more pictures at Picasa.

Mejor tarde que nunca, dicen. Y como me he cansado de esperar las fotos de unos cuantos vagos (principalmente Angel y Violeta), así que aquí está el post de mi cumpleaños!!

De España vinieron mi hermano Alejandro, Angel, Paula, Fer, Silvia, Violeta y Adolfo. Salimos el jueves y el viernes (ah, que tengo un examen el lunes? esto...)




El sábado por la mañana nos fuimos pronto a la casa del lago, a empezar a preparar la sauna. Porque no sé si habeis estado en una sauna de leña alguna vez, pero le lleva un rato calentarse. Además, fuera hacía un frío de cojones. Cuando llegamos, el lago estaba helado! Que esté algún valiente en manga corta no significa que el valiente en cuestión no tenga frío.



La gente empezó a llegar alrededor de las 5, y estuvimos bebiendo, comiendo algo, en la sauna, bebiendo, bañándonos en el lago, bebiendo,...
Una pena el tiempo, porque estuvo lloviendo toda la noche, y creo que hay gente que no vino por eso. Pero bueno. Peor para ellos. La primera parte de la fiesta, sauna. Luego, fiesta hasta que el cuerpo aguante (el de algunos aguantó más que el de otros).
Yo creo que me metí a la sauna la última vez a eso de las 2300 (no llevaba reloj,... para qué?) y estuve en bañador hasta las 0030, o algo así.
La sauna estuvo encendida toda la noche, así que alguien debió de molestarse en echarle leña, y por tanto supongo que ese alguien aún se estuvo dando sauna y baño entrada la madrugada.
Y por supuesto hubo... tequila!!




Todos sobrevivimos la noche (unos mejor que otros) y por la mañana la gente se empezó a marchar a casa a dormir. Algunos (los menos) nos quedamos a comer, y luego todo el mundo a casa.

Fue una fiesta genial, y seguro que habrá segunda parte.
Gracias a todos por venir (a los que vinieron, claro, XD)

Más fotos, en Picasa.

Tú dónde vives?

Where do you live? I live in the cocktip!!

Tú donde vives? Yo vivo en la punta de la polla!

Kiruna!

I know is a bit late, but I had to wait until I had all the pictures, and upload them, and I've been sick, and... well here is a brief post on our trip to Kiruna!!

We left Göteborg Jan 31st at 1700... it was supossed to be a 22 hours trip but it took 23 because we got stuck one hour in a station due to technical problems. Anyway, I thought it would be harder. I mean, we was chating, playing cards, eating some stuff, playing cards, sleeping a little, playing cards...



As soon as we arrived, we went to the supermarket to buy some food and, of course, to the fucking Systembolaget to buy some beer (did I tell you any time how much I hate this system?)
We went for a walk, trying to see the northern lights, but we were not lucky. Actually we were very unlucky with the weather, because it was cloudy all nights, and the last days it even snowed. So...
We couldn't go out anywhere, besides, so we stayed drinking something in our rooms, and we went to bed not too late.

Friday 2nd we went in the mornig to visit the Ice Hotel. It is amazing. It is melted every year, and every year they built a completely new and different one. It is not exactly in Kiruna, but in Jukkasjärvi (which means, if I remember properly, 'rendezvous point'), about 10 km from Kiruna. They harvest the ice in huge blocks from Torne River, that has excellent stream conditions and that's why the ice is so clear and has no bubbles. They don't use this ice just for the Ice Hotel, but they export it to all the Absolut Ice Bars around the world.
Each year they select the best from the artist that apply to work in the hotel, and, I can tell you, the whole Hotel is a piece of art.
They have also an Ice Bar, and an Ice Church... where people apply to get merried (and baptise their children) quite in advance!!
In the evening we went to have dinner altogether, and, as all the discos were closed (on friday! can you believe it?) we went back to our rooms to have some beers.

On saturday, we had a walk through the city. It has some buildings that has been voted as 'The Most Beautiful Building' by the swedes, as the Cityhall and the Church.
Then we visited the mine, which is the largest underground mine in the world, and one of the biggest iron-producers. We was only in the museum level, that is... 750 meters underground!!



Then, that evening, we went on dog-slide. It was awesome, but it was the moment I feel more cold in my entire life.
We also did snowmobile, and... well, I was playing the fool and I went out of track... the guide had to come to take our snowmobile out of the half meter of virgin snow it was stuck into... That was funny, though.



And that's almost it... we went partying that night, we slept well, and we got ready for another 22 funny train hours back home. I was playing poker until 2 am, and, well, I finish second, so I cannot complain!
It was a really awesome trip!!

And remember, more pictures at my Picasa!


Sé que es un poco tarde, pero he tenido que esperar a tener todas las fotos, subirlas, he estado enfermo, y... bueno, aquí viene un breve post de nuestro viaje a Kiruna!

Salimos de Goteborg el 31 de enero a las 1700... supuestamente era un viaje de 22 horas pero nos costo 23 porque estuvimos atascados una hora en una estación por problemas técnicos. De todas formas, pensé que sería peor. Quiero decir, estuvimos hablando, jugando a las cartas, comiendo guarradas, jugando a las cartas, durmiendo un poco, jugando a las cartas...

En cuanto llegamos, fuimos al supermercado a comprar algo de comer, y, por supuesto, al puto Systembolaget a por alcohol (os he dicho alguna vez cuanto odio este sistema?). Salimos a dar una vuelta por la noche, a ver si había suerte y veíamos la Aurora Boreal, pero nada. Tuvimos muy mala suerte con el tiempo, porque estuvo nublado todas las noches y los últimos días hasta nos nevó, así que...
No se podía salir a ningún sitio, además, así que nos quedamos a echar unos tragos en las habitaciones, y nos fuimos a la cama no muy tarde.





El viernes 2 fuimos por la mañana a visitar el Ice Hotel. Es increíble. Se derrite cada año, y cada año vuelven a construir uno nuevo completamente distinto. No está en Kiruna exactamente, sino en Jukasjärvi (que si no recuerdo mal, significa 'punto de encuentro'), a unos 10 km de Kiruna. 'Cosechan' el hielo cada año del río Torne, que tiene unas condiciones de corriente excelentes, lo que hace que el hielo sea tan cristalino y sin burbujas. No usan este hilo sólo para el Ice Hotel, sino que también lo exportan a todos los Absolut Ice Bars del mundo.
Cada año seleccionan a los mejores de entre todos los artistas que solicitan trabajar en el hotel, y podeis estar seguros de que el hotel en sí es una obra de arte.
También tienen un Ice Bar y una Ice Church (iglesia de hielo), donde la gente se apunta para casarse (o bautizar a los niños) con muucho tiempo de antelación.
Por la noche salimos a cenar todos juntos y, como todas las discos estaban cerradas (un viernes! a quién se le ocurre?) volvimos a nuestros cuartos a por unas cervecillas.

El sábado salimos a dar una vuelta por la ciudad. Tiene un par de edificios que han sido votados como 'El Edificio Más Bonito de Suecia' por los suecos, como el Ayuntamiento y la Iglesia.



Luego fuimos a visitar la mina, que es la mina subterránea más grande del mundo, y una de las mayores productoras de hierro. Estuvimos sólo en el nivel del museo, pero eso está... 750 metros bajo tierra!!

Esa misma tarde, fuimos en trineo de perros. Fue genial, pero también fue el momento en el que más frío he pasado en mi vida.
También fuimos en motos de nieve y... bueno, por ir haciendo el idiota, me salí de la pista y tuvo que venir el guía a ayudarme a sacar la moto del medio metro de nieve virgen en el que se había quedado hundida la oruga. Fue divertido, eso incluso.



Y ya no hay mucho más que contar,... salimos esa noche, dormimos bien, y nos preparamos para otras 22 horas en tren de vuelta. Estuve jugando al poker hasta las 2 am y, bueno, acabé segundo, así que no me quejo!
Fue un viaje alucinante!

Y recordad, más fotos en mi Picasa!

You know that you've been in Sweden too long when....

1. You rummage through your plastic bag collection to see which ones you can keep to take to the shop and which ones can be sacrificed for rubbish.

2. The first thing you do upon entering a bank/post office/chemist etc. is to look for the queue number machine.

3. You accept that you will have to queue to take a queue number.<

4. When a stranger on the street smiles at you, you assume
a: he is drunk
b: he is insane

5. Silence is fun.

6. The reason you take the ferry to Finland is:
a: duty free vodka
b: duty free beer
c: to party hearty...no need to get off the boat in Helsinki, just turn around and do it again on the way back to Sweden.

7. A sharp intake of breath has become part of your vocabulary, as has the
sound ”Jah hahh”

8. Your idea of unforgivable behaviour now includes walking across the street when the light is red and there is no WALK symbol, even though there are no cars in sight.

9. Your bad mood becomes your good mood.

10. Sundays no longer seem dull with all the shops closed, and begin to feel restful instead.

11. "No comment" becomes a conversation strategy.

12. You have only two facial expressions – smiling or blank. Also your arms are just hanging down when you chat with other people.

13. Your old habit of being "fashionably late" is no longer acceptable. You are always on time.

14. Hugging is reserved for sexual foreplay

15. You hear loud-talking passengers on the train. You immediately assume
a: they are drunk
b: they are Finnish
c: they are Spanish
d: all of the above

16. You no longer see any problem wearing white socks with sandals.

17. Indoors you wear sandals with socks, regardless of the season.

18. You accept that 80 degrees C in a sauna is chilly, but 20 degrees C outside is freaking hot.

19. An outside temperature of 5 degrees C is mild.

20. It no longer seems excessive to spend 1,000kr on alcohol in a single night

21. You think that riding a bicycle in the snow is a perfectly sensible thing to do.

22. You have conversations with people outside when it is –10C.

23. Someone calls you ”good moron” first thing in the morning and you smile acknowledgement.

24.It's acceptable to eat lunch at 11.00.

25. You associate Friday afternoon with a trip to systembolaget.

26. You think it's more fun to stay at home and drink then go out.

27. You get extremely annoyed when the bus is two minutes late.

28. When a stranger asks you a question in the streets, you think it's normal to just keep walking, saying nothing.

29. You lose any artistic talent whatsoever.

30. You think that if you smoke a joint you will wind up in an insane asylum.

32. You have an uncontrollable urge to mail this list and point out the numbering is incorrect!

33. You assume that anyone who apologises after bumping into you is a tourist.

34. Paying $6 for a cup of coffee seems reasonable.

35. You start to think that having a sauna in the nude with a bunch of strangers is a necessary part of daily life ... and a necessary part of business.

36. You start to differentiate between types of snow.

37. You get offended if, at a dinner party, someone fails to look you in the eyes after raising their glass for a toast

38. Seeing a young woman with lit candles stuck to her head no longer disturbs you.

39. "Candles" are a permanent fixture on your weekly shopping list.

40. You manage to convince yourself that you really enjoy eating potatoes, tuna, pasta and sausages and it's not just because that's all you can afford to eat here.

41. You accept you must walk 2 kilometres to collect your book/tape from the Post Office, because they don't deliver small packages (or large ones)

42. You accept that you will never again wear your beautiful stiletto heels because
a: there's snow everywhere and even if you did then,
b: you still have to take them off at the door which instantly ruins the hitherto glamorous line of whatever you were wearing as you drop, 10cm, onto your flat feet in your short and sexy little black dress. Not the same effect at all.

43. When offered a bottle of beer the first thing you look at is the alcoholic percentage.

44. You use the alcohol percentage-per-kroner standard for measuring the quality of beer and wine.

45. You think it is normal EVERYTHING is regulated and you obey the rules voluntarily.

46. When someone asks you for "sex" you assume they mean half-a-dozen.

47. You will squeeze past somebody rather than say excuse me.

48.Drinking spirits can only be accompanied by formal singing from song sheets and vice versa.

49. You don't get disgusted by the little balls of discarded snus (chewing tobacco) at your feet at every bus stop.

50. You don't even get disgusted by seeing people spit, constantly.

51. You start talking to yourself in Swedish.

52. You take your shoes off when entering a house while visiting your family back home.

53. You can't throw a plastic bottle away with out having a guilty conscience.

54. You find yourself wobbling home from the pub on your bicycle.

55. You hide 5 or 6 bottles of spirits in your suitcase, one or two in your backpack, and put just one in the duty free shopping bag.

56. Trousers/pants tucked into all shoes, including low-top sneakers, seem like reasonable fashion sense.

57. You don’t think twice about calling someone in the next room using your mobile phone.

58. It's normal for a post office to be located inside the local ICA store, where no one can help you.

59 A 25 % sales tax on just about everything is no big deal.

60. You refer to weeks by their number.

61. If you meet someone you haven't seen in ages you just stay right where you are chatting away even if that happens to be in the doorway of a very busy department store.

62. You think the songs played at "The Eurovision song contest" are instant hits.

63. You don't find it strange that they add tax on top of the taxes.

64. You are concerned when the picture on the front page of the paper is not of some completely random person watering their garden or of a child holding an animal.

65. You stop thinking you're being yelled at every time you hear "Hey!"

66. You no longer look for toilets marked specifically male or female.

67. You accept that fruit juice is always made from concentrate.

68. The most interesting report on the news is the weather.

69. You find yourself eating bay-con for breakfast and talking about Bill Clin-ton and taking a trip to Lon-don.

70. Swedes saying Va' to you is still annoying (even after ten years), not to mention that there is no real word for please, or?

71. You think that reading this list is one of the most exciting things you have done for ages.

72. You only leave the country to stockpile cheap alcohol.

73. All of your conversations resemble a chess game, with each participant quietly and patiently awaiting the other to finish their turn.<

74 Even the 140kg amateur body-builder uses the handicapped door-opener instead of "straining" himself and you think nothing of it. In fact, you do it yourself.

75. A seven-year-old with his own mobile phone seems perfectly sensible.

76. You no longer eat yoghurt, you drink it.

77. Three for the price of two is the deal of a lifetime, regardless of what it is. Even 3 for the price of 2 1/2 surprises you.

78. You use a coupon to save 5 kronor on something that costs over 100 kronor.

79. Your wallet contains more plastic than a Hollywood superstar.

80. At Easter, pre-adolescent boys dressing up as old women isn't a sign of a developing psychosis, it's just part of the festivities (although it may explain a few things down the line)

81. Drinking is the fundamental pillar of your social network, be it coffee or alcohol.

82. You aimlessly chat using SMS.

83. A “big strong one” is a beer.

84. When someone says "Cheers" you look at everyone in turn before drinking.

85. You stop converting Swedish crowns into your native currency.

86. It seems sensible that you need to be at least 25 to buy a bottle of red wine.

87. The only thing in your quick memory is “Hej” and “Hej Hej”

88. You think Sweden is big (because you always compare it to Finland, Norway or Iceland)

89. You think is perfectly normal that nobody talks on the bus, train or tunnelbana (or even in the lifter)

90. You accept that people talk to you only when they are really drunk.

91. You accept that the best answer for a question is always "Jag vet inte" meaning "I don't know".

92. Pronouncing Euro as “Evro” makes sense.

93. You think it's acceptable that builders start banging and hammering at 5.30am

94. You are horrified if you see anyone drinking wine with their lunch.

95. You haven't been to the pub on a Monday for five years.

96. You start thinking about the weekend on Wednesday morning.

97. Bouncing without any rythm is what you call to dance.

98.YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE LIVE ANYWHERE BUT IN SWEDEN

Sorry, Swedes!!! No offense, but it's fucking true!!!

Extracted (and resumed) from
http://www.coolabah.com/sweden/youknow.html
(this Australian guys are pretty weird also)

Snow!!

Today has been snowing all day long, and thus when I've finished my lectures I've been to the forest behind my place, to take a few pictures. Some observations and conclusions:
-My boots are waterproof. That's good to know.
-To walk in virgin snow is cool,... until you step in virgin snow over a block of ice. That's not cool.
-I love my camera. I don't know how I've survived all this time without it. My parents are great.
-Autoshooter should be in the list of Men Best Inventions, with the wheel and the beer.
-Sunsets here last a lot.
-I saw a girl with a coat longer than his skirt. And the coat was no long at all. Wasn't she cold?
-If any other joins me, and thursday we have still snow, it would be a good idea to go to do some jackass with a slide.










Hoy ha estado nevando todo el día, y cuando he acabado las clases me he ido a hacer unas fotillos al bosque que hay detrás de mi casa. Algunas observaciones y conclusiones:
-Mis botas son impermeables. Es bueno saberlo.
-Mola andar sobre la nieve virgen,... hasta que pisas nieve virgen formada sobre una placa de hielo. Eso ya no mola.
-Me encanta mi camara. No sé como he sobrevivido todo este tiempo sin ella. Mis padres son geniales.
-El disparador automático debería estar en la lista de los Mejores Inventos de la Humanidad, junto con la rueda y la cerveza.
-Las puestas de sol aquí son larguísimas.
-He visto a una chica con el abrigo más largo que la falda. Y el abrigo no era largo. No tienen frío o que?
-Si alguien más se apunta, y el jueves aún hay nueve, estaría bien hacer un poco el jackass con un trineo.