Norway: Oslo (Nobel, Vigeland)

Next to the city hall was the newly opened Nobel Peace Centre



"To inform visitors abt Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Peace Prize and current conflicts and international peace efforts"

The Nobel Peace Centre has quite a unique exhibition style.
After we passed by the latest nobel prize winner exhibition, we went thru a passage where many short quotes of speeches abt prejudice or conflicts were flashed:

"Allah is its goal, the Prophet its model, the Koran its Constitution, Jihad its path and death for the case of Allah its most sublime belief"--Article 8, the Hamas Charter
"We simply believe that the United States of America was founded as a white Christian nation"--www.KKK.com
"Lebensraum"--Adolf Hitler
"The bible is the authoritative word of God and contains all truth"--Bill Clinton
"Zimbabwe is for black people not white people"--Robert Mugabe
"Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man"--Thomas Jefferson



It was most interesting to note the above quote by George W Bush being displayed together with them. Other quotes by him displayed include:
"Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists"
"You can run but you can't hide"

After this there were other displays about the current conflicts all around the world and the glimpses of hopes by some more "politically correct" speeches in contrast to the ones above



This is an amazing place.
It's supposed to be the Nobel field of Peace Prize laureates. Each screen representing one laureate. Whenever you go near one, the LEDs below will change colours slowly, soft sounds will emit and the screen will display more info abt the laureate. And even when there were many people wondering around, there is still a strong feeling of awe, reverance and tranquility about this place



This is an absolutely awesome book about Swedish inventer and industrialist Alfred Nobel. The book is totally blank and the words are projected by the projector above this book. The projector auto sense which page you are flipping thru now and will project the corresponding content onto the blank page.



What's even more amazing is that you can actually manipulate the images, ie you can use your hand to select certain topics projected onto the pg as though it were a hyperlink. Certain topics are even linked to the surroundings of the book eg. selecting a certain option will defog an otherwise opaque window to show the view of Sweden in the far distance!



Next I went thru an exhibition on Amnesty International with graphic images like children carrying guns. Apparently gun control is one of the most pressing concern.



Another amazing technological display. You can find out abt everything you wanna know (eg. Nobel Committee, Alfred Nobel, past Nobel Laureates) by just adjusting vertically the knob at the side of the screen and the whole screen would change automatically.

Pardon me, but I've a thing abt quotes: (all are quotes from former Nobel peace prize winners)
Be happy: "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions."-Dalai Lamai
Be free: "Please use your liberty to promote ours."-Aung San Suu Kyi
Take a stand: "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference"-Elie Wiesel
Be brave: "It often takes more courage to change ones opinon than to keep it."-Willy Brandt
Live, and let live: "We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children"-Jimmy Carter
Communicate: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world"-Nelson Mandela
Respect Others: "A person is a person because he recognizes others as persons"-Biskop Desmond
Act: "Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person"-Mother Teresa
Be patient: "Let us be patient with one another. And even patient with ourselves. We have a long, long way to go."-Emily Greene Bald
Don't lose faith: "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope"-Martin Luther King



Nobel Institute-home of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, committee selected by the Norwegian Parliament(Storting)
From 1905 to 1946, peace prize awarded at the Nobel Institute
From 1990, Peace Prize Ceremony at Oslo City Hall



Beautiful statue at one of the Norwegian houses



I just love the wall creepers



Norwegian guard



Royal Palace
The statue of the man riding the horse is King Karl Johan of Sweden and Norway



Vigeland park-one of norway's main attractions with more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite and cast iron



Famous angry young boy



Man playing with his son
I like the way the background fits into the pic



Man frustrated by his children?



Beautiful flowers



Fountain surrounded by so many sculptures



The monolith: a 14 meter tall column with human bodies carved out of a single block of stone.



Mum overjoyed with her newborn



Mum bullied by children



Young lovers



Old lovers



So cute

Too bad I miss the Holmenkollen ski jump(hailed as the mecca of ski jumping) and Edvard Munch's Scream painting


Conclusion:

I still can't forget the fjords of West Norway which I visited at the beginning. They are just unimaginably beautiful. Anyone who has enough of excess, unneccessary technology and pollution and who just crave to be back to nature and embrace the gift of virgin wilderness, pure water and clean air will naturally find West Norway the garden of Eden.

Some facts:
-NORWAY is the world's best place to live, according to the United Nations, which just gave it top ranking for a fifth successive year.
-Norway, a country with only 4.6 million inhabitants, is the world's third-largest exporter of oil, after Saudi Arabia and Russia. This generates a huge stream of cash for government coffers. To avoid the common traps of great natural wealth, the money is put in a petroleum fund, now worth about 1.2 trillion kroner (S$310 billion)

But you must first be loaded. Let me give you an idea. The BK meal there costs S$20. So if you extrapolate everything is abt x3-4 times more expensive than singapore. And not forgetting the incredible tax..... Sigh... <Big Mac index>

Norway: Oslo

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post.
Henry lost his camera, or rather, his camera got stolen. Gone too were all his photos for the norway trip....sigh..



What happened was that we reached Oslo Sentralstasjon around 12am on Sun morning.



We couldn't find any bus to take us to the hostel that the Jet & the girls were in. And the wooden benches in the Sentralstasjon seem too hard to sleep.



So we left the Sentralstasjon. Immediately, we felt sth was wrong. Behind us while we were taking the photo of the tiger, gangs of youths were hanging around, talking loudly and apparently looking for trouble. There were evidently some drunks around after Sat night clubbing. We felt especially uneasy and vulnerable standing out as tourists among them. And there were no sight of any security personnel or police. We quickly hurried into the nearby bus terminal.



The security person disallowed anyone from lying down on the chairs. So we had no choice but to sleep sitting upright. As we were sitting next to the automated door, throughout the night, we were woken up by the cold air rushing in whenever someone walked past the door. Sometimes, drunks also walked in and created a nuisance b4 the security chased them away. And when we finally got to sleep peacefully , we woke up to realise Henry's camera was missing!

After much frantic seearching, I helped Henry to report the loss of luggage. Henry was too distraught to travel after that so I went on alone...Sigh..



Oslo, being the oldest of the Scandinavian capitals with 1000 yrs of history, has notably many statues of famous people.



Oslo was destroyed by a fire in 17th century. It was rebuilt and renamed 'Christiania' by King Christian IV of Noway. The original name Oslo was later restored.



Old and modern ships at the harbor



Peter Tordenskjold, an eminent Norwegian naval hero in the Great Northern War.



Unlike Stockholm, Oslo still has trams



Oslo domkirke(cathedral)



Oops, they were having Sunday prayer service



Rainbow created artificially. The sun was shining from behind me on the mist generated by the fountain.



Surprised to see Roosevelt statue here



University of Oslo



Other interesting sights





Stortinget-Norway Parliament



Flags of Norway, Denmark, Finland & Sweden
Scandinavian = Norway + Sweden + Denmark
Nordic = Norway + Sweden + Denmark + Finland + Iceland



Happening Sunday



On display were fanciful cars fitted with stereo systems



This surround sound is enough to make the whole interior of the car vibrate madly



Oslo city hall, where the annual Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is held.



Front of the city hall were many statues depicting different working life in the past



Back of the city hall



Wooden frieze depicting Norse mythology(recall: Odin) decorating the walls of the courtyard

Norway: (Flåmsbana)

Flåm may be a small town of abt 450 inhabitants, but the train station is teeming with many tourists esp japs.
Fortuanately, most are just transit tourists who arrived here by Flåmsbana and would move to other fjord towns after short while, thus preserving the serenity of the place

Flåmsbana=Flåm Railway (similar to Tunnelbana)



So here we are, going to take the Flåmsbana, supposedly to be the other highlight of norway, beside the fjord cruise.



Some impt facts for those interested:
Flåmsbana is considered to be the masterpiece of railway engineering from the bottom of the Flam Valley up the precipitous mountain sides to the Myrdal Plateau
-20 years' construction
-20 tunnels



It's renowned for its excellent scenery along its very steep climb(1hour)



Hills and mountains casting shadows on one another, providing sharp contrasts in the scenic view



Waterfalls!



..to crystal clear rapids



I sure wanna live in those houses



Distant lands shrouded mysteriously in fog



Each winter, dangerous avalanches thunder down these mountains



Notice some mountain goats or sheep on the green pastures beside the river



A glimpse of Myrdal station at the top of the mountain and the tunnel with a side opening of poles. Myrdal station may be in sight but we were not reaching there yet. This is due to the slight detours around the mountains to avoid areas of risk of avalanches



The train stopped at Kjosofossen for rail travellers to photograph the impressive waterfall



Thunderous roar of the waterfall
Thick mist formed around the bottom of the waterfall and where we stood



It was drizzling that time and it was very cold. But a short performance still carried on, whereby a lady clad in red(above in pic) danced near the waterfall



The bad thing about this ride is that it repeatedly go in and out of the 20 tunnels along its 1 hour journey, leaving you little time to react to photo nice shots. Sometimes there are these poles(above) blocking your every shot. In the pic, the river is supposedly to "resemble a silver ribbon lying on the vally floor"



Beautiful mountain lake near a stop popular with cycling and skiing



Approaching Myrdal train station which is bascially not a town but a small railway platform (photograh on my previous Oslo-Bergen NSB train ride)



Took the 629pm to 1152pm NSB train from Myrdal to Oslo

Norway: Flåm

Our fjord cruise boat finally took us to our destination-Flåm where we were to spend 2 days & 1 night. The name "Flåm" means "little place between steep mountains"



Surrounded by steep mountainsides, roaring waterfalls and deep valleys, Flåm is a real paradise
(this pic was taken from a high ground which we climbed to see Brekkefossen waterfall)



Blooming sunflowers



1st time I saw black cows



Apparently, rainbows are a common phenomenon in the fjords because of Norway's high latitude and frequent, light rain in the fjords



The river water is so clear!
Prob cos it's water from the melted glaciers from the surrounding mountains
The locals all drink directly from it



The spectacular Brekkefossen waterfall after a long climb up the hill



Flåm Camping & Vandrarheim
Super good accomodation at low prices!



Even had our own kitchen



Many Caravans also used the same site



The next morning, after checking out, we made our way towards the mountain farm Otternes



How much will you give to live here?



Peering at the ancient mountains



Aurlandsfjord in the distance

Norway: (Bergen to Flam Fjord Cruise)

The line of old buildings of Bryggen (mentioned previously) beside the Harbour.
Today, we are going to leave Bergen, the city of 7 mountains & 7 fjords, for the kingdom of the fjords



Some impt background knowledge on the formation of fjords:
Most of northern Europe was once covered by ice up to 3km thick. during a series of 40 ice ages this ice carved away 5400 cubic km to form the Sognefjord and its fjord arms-grinding deeper into stone at the rate of a mere half a metre into stone at the rate of a mere half a metre every thousand years.
The coast of norway and fjords were nourished by the warm currents of the Gulf Stream, which produced a far milder climate than other regions on the same latitude, thus the lush green.

So the fjord cruise that I am taking is considered to be the "dream of travllers all over the world". In fact, National Geo Traveler Magazine declared the Norwegian fjords to be the very best, unspoiled travel destination in the world.



We couldn't find any seats by the time we got on the cruise boat, so we just settle at the dining tables of the boat. Which turns to be damn good cos we had so much space to ourselves...haha



Passed a super long bridge connecting 2 islands which is considered to be an engineering feat in Sweden



These are the beautiful, idyllic islands north of Bergen that shelter the coast from Atlantic storms.
Lush green meadows



Coast pines that glow in the sunlight



At Mongstad, largest Petroleum Refinery in Norway



All of us under its spell. We know that it's probably magic.
--rainbow connection by sarah mclaughlan
Note there r double rainbows in reality. Quite faint on photo. The secondary rainbow's colours r inverted compared to the primary rainbow



After sailing past the island north of Bergen, we finally reached the Sognefjord (Norway's longest fjord).
Welcome to the Garden of Eden. Welcome to Lothlórien.
Snow-capped mountains



Lush valleys



Steep mountains with forests clinging to their sides



Cascading, glittering waterfalls



Mountains shrouded in low clouds



The enchanting magic of the fjord drew many out of the cabin to brave the freezing cold wind while taking photos



People along the fjord supposedly live a long and healthy life. Well, the air is certainly super fresh and the water is just crystal clear



Along the fjords are towns and villages, each with their own personality



Towns and villages, scattered and clustered farms, occupy a modest portion of this amazingly unspoiled landscape (note the small town in the above pic)



Leikanger, well known for its 100 000 fruit trees (mainly apples)



Mid-fjord Adventure:
Our cruise boat approaching another ferry bound for Gudvangen



Both our boat and the ferry side by side



Ladder b/w the 2 vessels for passengers to transfer from one to another in the middle of the fjord water!



Beitelen-the mouth of the Nærøyfjord, the narrowest fjord in the world
Our route thru the Sognefjord means that we have to compromise on the narrowest and most beautiful fjord in the world...Sigh.



We just sail past Beitelen but we do not enter it. I wonder how it looks on the other side?

Norway: Bergen(Mount Fløyen)

About to take the renowned Funicular up Mount Fløyen
Caught up with 3 girls from Chalmers: Yulin, Zhaoxin, Kaiyun...



... and Jet



The Spectacular View of Bergen



We were lucky to catch a number of parachutists about to take off
When the parachutist is ready, he just turn the ropes in hands to open up the parachute so that it will be caught in the predicted direction of wind and he will quickly leap off the plank...



...into the beautiful city below



Contrary to my expectation, they can stay in the air for quite long.
If the wind is right, they can also ascend higher whenever they wish.






Gigantic little troll at the playground on Mount Fløyen



Bryggen-UNESCO World Heritage site
Rebuilt after 1702 fire but building pattern is from 1100s



Cute, little basker playing the mandolin



The monument saluting the brave Norsemen Bergen sent to Britain during WW2



St Mary Church-Oldest Church in Bergen from 1130



Very old graves



The exterior of the Bergen info centre



Trolls like this stand outside many of the Bryggen shops

Norway: Bergen (Grieg's Museum)

We finally arrived at Bergen around 3pm after a 8h train ride from Oslo.

Bergen
-2nd largest city in Norway (big city with small-town charm)
-Gateway to the fjords (fjords' "capital city")
-city of culture(chosen to be Europe's cultural city in yr 2000)
-Scandinavia's greatest attraction



Norway is full of hills. And this is what makes it so beautiful
Imagine all the houses on this hill lit up at night



We forgot to check the weather prediction
It was raining heavily when we arrived. And it was freezing cold....



The tourist info centre was damn beautiful with huge wall paintings depicting the Norwegian industries eg. shipping and fishing
There are useful exhibitions of many tourist attractions to occupy the many tourists waiting for their queue number



Trolls originated from Scandinavian Folklore
They, together with the Vikings, seem to be the mascots of Norway. You can get these figurines as souvenirs everywhere. Just like our Merlion for S'pore.



It was too cold and wet to travel around. So we had to spend the rest of the day in
Bergen Vandrerhjem YMCA going thru all the pamphlets obtained at the info centre and planning our tour



It was still raining the next morning but at least it was smaller.
Went to the famous fish market just opposite where we stayed. The fishmongers were peddling all sorts of fish meat (even whale). The difference is that some of them sell the meat as a meal by placing them in breads or baguette.
Even for a fish mkt, the prices seem exorbitant.



Holberg, a famous Bergen dramatist, historian and essayist
Edvard Grieg composed the Holberg Suite(click to listen) to honor Holberg



Troldhaugen(the Hill of the Trolls)



Troldhaugen is where famous Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg(1843-1907) lived for 22 years. It is also the site of his museum, which is one of the main attractions for me in norway.

Who is Grieg? My faithful readers may ask. In order not to alienate you guys, I have placed hyperlinks to his popular songs all over this post. I'm sure you have heard some b4.






Click the above pic for a good summary of Grieg



Basically, this guy was proud of Norway and so Norway is proud of him.
It was at a time when Norwegians were greatly concerned abt finding their national identity after centuries of foreign rule (sounds familiar?). Edvard Grieg was the utmost ambassador for Norway and Norwegian culture. Through his music, other countries got to know Norway's cultural treasures.

Eg. Grieg explored Scandinavian folklore and wrote several pieces abt troll: In the Hall of the Mountain King (a bit soft)





Grieg with Nina, his wife. His wife is also a celebrated figure. She was not merely the famous composer's wife, she sing beautifully, was fluent in several languages and had a pleasant unpretentious manner.



Piano Concerto in A minor (Grieg's groundbreaking piece)-I remembered our Orchestra played this during Sec School



Believe it or not, Grieg's dying moment was special according to the words in the above pic



30-40 thousand people lined up the streets to pay their last respects; condolences came from kings and emperors; all the flags in Bergen were half-mast; church bells were chiming and an enormous funeral procession occured



His house is now a museum...



...filled with memoentos of the composer's life



"Troldsalen", a concert hall opened near his house 80 years after his death



Procession of the Trolls



This little hut is the composer's hut for him to compose songs drawing inspirations from...




...the Lake Nordas



Morning (popular piece)



Edvard and his wife Nina are buried in a cliff-hewn tomb in the grounds looking out to the Lake...
It's carved "Edvard & Nina Grieg" on the surface of the rock.
The surrounding is Very Beautiful and serene with the sound of trickling water down rocks.

Norway: Oslo to Bergen NSB train ride

Swebus Express-the bus that took us from Stockholm to Oslo



It was a freaking 7h overnight ride in the bus with little leg room



Woke up repeatedly throughout the night
Once, saw this ticket inspector boarding the bus at one of the stops and forced a lady off the bus for not having a proper ticket.



The bus was scheduled to reach Oslo Sentralstasjon at 5.40am yet it arrived at 6.20am
We were all so panicky that we ran madly with our 70l bags bouncing on our backs, like Amazing Race contestants, to catch our 6.39am NSB train ride



Ha, we made it
Alway choose a travelling partner who can run
The seats are comfortable with ample leg room space for us to catch up our lost sleep



The NSB train ride from Oslo to Bergen is reportedly to be "one of the most beautiful train routes in the world"



It is
Afterall, it travels across the 'roof' of norway ie. on top of hills and mountains




The best part is: You dun really get bored of the scenery thruout the 8h train ride
The type of scenery just keep changing. The trees, the water, the contours of the land...
Eg. The water: From cascading waterfall...



to a tranquil, large lake...



to gushing rapids...



to lush white snow capping the mountains
Note that behind the lake in the photo are hills capped with snow, not water

Stockholm: Gamla Stan, Skeppsholmen

Been cooped up in my room for few days cos busying planning for my 1 wk trip to Norway, so it's good to come out and breathe some fresh air



Gamla Stan, literally "Old Town"--a small island in the middle of Stockholm
Flooded with pp queueing to take cruises






Got our hostelling international card finally



Other interesting shots

Stockholm: (Mac, Cars, dinner w Roger)

Ok, this is a trival blog post, but i just feel that i need to declare that Sweden's McDonald's has beautiful interior designs



Why does Singapore Mac not have such beautiful interior?



2 possible answers
1.) S'pore Mac hire Singaporean architects who design our HDB
2.) Swede Mac really need to make the dining ambience much more 'class' to attract the more discerning Swedes to consume their Macshit. In S'pore u dun care abt the ambience. U just give more free coupons...



Coloured pp are quite a norm and they are treated like normal pp



BMW, Volvo, Merc and convertibles are such a norm in the town
Sigh...
And there are always the eye-catching ones..






View at the park near my accomodation



Invited Roger for dinner at our place
Learnt many things abt Sweden from our long dinner talk
Do you know?
In Sweden, everyone has the "right to public access" or Allemansrätten. This gives everyone equal opportunity to enjoy countryside or nature. As long as you do not disturb the owners or destroy the property, you are entitled to enter anyone's backyard (even if their gates are closed) or even camp overnight!
For more info: Allemansrätten

Stockholm: Skarholmen(IKEA), (Bicycle)

IKEA at Skarholmen, Stockholm
The iconic large blue box with yellow words--colours of sweden flag



Huge, as expected






Even got user-friendly computers to plan the layout of the furniture in your homes



Cheapest meal we ever had in Sweden!!
10Kr (S$2.20) for a slice of pizza and free flow drinks!!!
All these available after the counter at IKEA... What better ways to thank the customer?



Bought a bicycle for 990Kr
So impromptu. 1.) We saw an ad featuring the sale 2.) Within an hour, we went to get it 3.) The man said need 2 wks to assemble 4.) So we said, nvm, we'll assemble them ourselves!!



Well, it took us a long time to figure out.... From afternoon to night...
We were out there in the open, cold and hungry, doing problem-based learning
But, it was worth it



Especially when the cold wind blows on your face as you cycle on the beautiful Stockholm streets....

Stockholm: (KTH), (Stadion)

Early in the morning...



The clouds strutting their stuff



Went to KTH again to settle admin issues



Explored other parts of the campus















Nymble-A place for students to chill out










Henry deciding whether to take up the gym membership at KTH Hallen






Most walkways and roads have a place for bicycles in Stockholm
This is one of the roads leading out of KTH to the city



Tennis Stadium



Like a Disneyland House



RV(recreational vehicle) park
-equivalent of a hotel for people with recreational vehicles.



Many of such statues encircle Stockholm Stadium

Stockholm: (Farm behind Lappis)

Parade of hot-air balloons in the evening sky outside my window. Stockholm is supposedly to be the fantasy destination for balloonists each summer...

Decided to go for an evening run with Henry after lack of physical activity for a few days and being cooped up in the room for the whole day settling module mapping....



Awed by the view






It was dark, cold and creepy
Enough to make one run faster and faster



Burst out into the open onto a beautiful field of flowers
Too beautiful.
Busy taking pics
Can't run anymore



So decided to keep some lonely farm animals company












One day, I'll get a house like this here when i retire
Haha



Even the power supply tower stood majestically

Uppsala

Enjoying the scenic views...




...from the SJ train journeying towards Uppsala, Sweden's 4th largest municipality.
Uppsala, the university city, is located 70km above Stockholm, in Uppland.



The largest bicycle parking lot I've seen so far in Sweden



Uppsala seems to be not much different from Stockholm, with its typical cobblestoned roads...



...till we saw the famed Uppsala Cathedral (Domkyrkan) looming majestically over everything else



Uppsala Cathedral
-built in the 13th century
-took more than 175 years to complete
-Swedish national shrine



The carvings of the statues are ever so beautiful






Utterly awsome interiors






Even me, a non-religious person, is beginning to feel spritual in such a holy place



Can anyone tell me why the person is headless?



Nice carvings again, but a bit creepy














Sweden's 15th century university



Sweden's oldest Botanical garden (350 yrs old)



What a view!



Note the interesting-looking pyramid-shaped bushes



This giant bench is so comfortable after all that walking....



Gustaf II Adolf the Great, King of Sweden, famous for employing mobile artillery. Idolized by Napoleon.



Do U wanna eat in this restaurant overlooking the choppy canal water?



Or this classy restaraunt overlooking the calm waters?



I've no money for both so I can only afford this shot

Stockholm: Odenplan, (Capoeira)

Lappis or Lappkarrsberget



My uni KTH "Kungliga Tekniska högskolan" even has a train station named after it ie "Tekniska högskolan"




The train driver coming out of the train to ensure nobody else is near the doors before he closes them




Graffiti as avante-garde Art









Graffiti as vandalism....



Scandinavia's largest instituition of higher education in technology



Do you know? Bill Gates was conferred honorary doctorate by KTH?



Changjie was complaining about why my school(above) seems to have so many other buildings beside it whereas his, Linkoping(below), looks like some warehouses surrounded by an ominious large forest....






How do you parallel park your car so near to the kerb?
You drive one wheel up the kerb and then down...



Behind me is Handelshögskolan


Handelshögskolan is the one with the arrow pointing to the dome
So who's the garden city or city garden?






















We saw this Greenpeace guy approaching people on the streets but people were avoiding him like how we avoid charity solictors on Orchard road



Turns out that he is asking people to donate $ to the Greenpeace organization too...



Stockholm library ie. Stadsbiblioteket



Hans Christian Andersen, who we will come across again when we go Denmark





Even the library toilet requires 5 Kr..



NETTO-the cheapest supermarket in Stockholm



One of Stockholm Capoeira classes at Roslagsgatan 21



Alright, Sirui, i know it's a bad handstand.
Derrick, I hope you guys are still training! :)






Jacob, the other NOC guys in Sweden

Stockholm: (Stockholm uni), T-centralen

Accomdation Instructions for recycling glass, plastics, cardboards, paper and metals. Pp here really follow. And one automatically feel obliged to do so



Impossible to have underground power cables thruout such a big country, unlike S'pore.



There are no carparks around and most pp just park along the side of the road
This is my long path from my place to the nearest train station, Universitetet



Fortunately, there are always these animals to observe
Sorry, deprived childhood on an urban island



Monster slugs all over the place.
Supposedly killing each other, so i'm witnessing a slug-fight fest
Too bad there's no gore, it's just wet and wetter.
So it's PG, not NC-16.



Deprived childhood again
You dun see such bright flowers growing everywhere and plants scaling the wall back home



A monument to their glorious Viking days (top of the monument)



Stockholm uni, which is along the way
Beautiful architecture it has
Simple yet elegant





Bicycles are expensive here, yet it's in high demand and found everywhere





Minrui, my hc junior, one of 4 NUS overseas college based in Stockholm
Bloody busy they are, yet he was kind enuff to bring us around



Is it the splendid-looking plants or



artistic, simple structures dotting the landscape,
that made me feel as if every journey is a special, unique one?



There's no "Bicycle parking lot"
Nor white lines on the floor to indicate how u should park your bike

Somehow, things in Sweden run in an orderly quiet manner. Everybody seems to know what is the correct thing to do. It's just respect for the unspoken practices, not fear of getting caught for breaking certain rules

Is S'pore ever ready to do that? Or will it never be able to shake off the image of a "fine' city?


Ahlens City, their equivalent of our Orchard Road
This is supposedly the most crowdy street in Stockholm



A plaza outside T-centralen



A monument or ?



More statues



It's funny why a country with 9 million population



can produce so much more art works than us





Henry finally got to meet Daniel, his Swedish "fadder"



These snacks are everywhere
Dun understand why any kid will fancy the gum-lookalike

Stockholm: (Arrival), (City Terminalen), (Lappis)

Stockholm Arlanda airport



Roger Fredriksson--my Swedish "fadder' (Godfather)--who so kindly brought us around Stockholm
Behind is Pressbryan, the Swedish convenience store found everywhere




Hmm.. The taxis drivers kept a respectful distance, not like in Delhi airport
Everything you want to do and get in the airport is pretty accessible and convenient, yet it isn't pushy, thus giving everyone his own personal space



Arlanda to Stockholm Bus (59Kr)



Rays of light piercing through cumulonimbus clouds



They have 2 types of trains:
1.)Pendeltag = Commuter train
2.)Tunnelbana (T-bana) = Underground train

Almost all gates in Stockholm are auto, including the above revolving door



Above is T-Centralen, a T-bana stataion
Spacious and beautiful, with sky light shining thru the top



Many pp at the station seem to be going for hiking trips
I will too, if I were born here
Where can I hike in S'pore w/o fearing mosquito or stinky clothes?



Viking line to take you to neighboring Scandivanian countries
We'll be back here again



Left:Rabattkuponger-A strip of 20 coupons for usage on transport(buses, trains) within Stockholm
Right: Arlanda to Stockholm bus ticket



Hiss = Lift
Yes, it smells like somebody piss in there too
Why? Cos there's no public toilets in the train stations

All their "hiss" operate with a door to be opened outwards (requires quite a lot of strength) rather than our sliding lift doors
So can I dare say I've finally found sth Singapore is better at?





Inside their train
Comfortable seats, subtle advertisments, relatively quiet--no hp ringing from calls or sms, no voice that repeatedly says "Watch out for suspicious objects" in 4 different languges, "door closing", door closing warning sounds...

It's just more peacful, even in the main city, Stockholm



Cute little boys and girls wearing the bright yellow jacket waiting to cross the wet road
Supposedly to be from a kindergarten or child-care centre



Everything in Sweden is beautiful
Every corner, every angle you take is just so picturesque
Though they sometimes have objects on the streets that make you wonder what they are for, like the big ball up there



All their public toilets require 5Kr (S$1.11 to enter)



Waiting for the bus 40 to take us to Lappis(below)





Horrendous to drag your 30kg luggage, even on wheels



Finally reached Forskarbacken



Even the spiderweb looks picturesque



My room in the day



After Sun sets at 8pm



Where I'm writing this now



There's no min age to start hitting the tobacco

S'pore: (Farewell)

While the little red nation was preoccupied with its 40th independence celebration...

my beloved family...

band of brothers...

were seeing me off to the promised land--Sweden



Henry, who will be studying with me at Kungliga Tekniska högskolan [Royal Institute of Technology]



The little Swedish princess who behaved so aristocratically on our 10 h flight from Bangkok to Stockholm--calm, confident and well-mannered



Never cease to marvel the beautiful seas of cirrus clouds, whenever I am 5000m up in the air



Thai airways riding high



Sweden peering shyly through the wispy stratus clouds...
A land of cities



rivers



farms



and large patches of lush pine forests