Okay, so this is just a short post.
We're back in Australia - we got back in early March in fact. We're planning to put up a whole host of posts about our adventures since we left Sweden but we were so busy travelling that we never got round to doing it!
Something will be up in the next few weeks though just to make the blog complete!
:) Nat and Candice
A story of two little pigs and their travels
Hi Pigs! We're Nat and Candice Kitingan and this is our round-the-world travel blog. We're from Melbourne, Australia and between June 2008 and February 2009 will be visiting Oceania, North America, Europe and Asia. The bulk of our time will be spent in Uppsala, Sweden where Candice is studying for a semester (Uppsala Universitet). During this time, Nat will probably just loaf around or he might even get a part-time job.
We're back!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Posted by Nat and Candice at 2:00 PM 0 comments
Exploring the Arctic Circle
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
It was getting towards the end of November and the days were getting shorter. If we wanted to see Lappland, it would have to be soon or else it'd be too dark to do much up North.
We decided it was now or never and so together with Thomas, Ryan and Casen we booked our 16-hour train trip up north past the Arctic circle to see what lay in store. The plan was to go all the way to Abisko (Sweden's northernmost settlement of any significance) and if we were lucky, see the northern lights!
Casen, Ryan, Thomas and Candice on the nattåg (night train) from Uppsala to Abisko
The trip in "cattle class" took its toll on us
Towns were blanketed in snow as we whizzed by
The train ride was very long and we were inexplicably delayed at various stations through the night. Finally as day broke, we saw the stunning view of the sub-Arctic tundras. We passed Kiruna, Sweden's northernmost city and prepared to get off at Abisko.
Unfortunately for us, Abisko has two train stations. Originally, we got off at the right stop (in town) but due to a communication error, we thought we had disembarked too early and so we hurriedly got back onto the train only to find we had been right all along!
This meant we had to get off at the secluded Abisko Turist-station stop, which though stunningly beautiful, was a 30-40 minute walk back to where we were supposed to be - and was closed anyway. It was around midday and the sun was in the sky, so we decided a little walk through the snow couldn't hurt us!
The train as it drops us off at the wrong station
The boys taking it all in
Glögg, traditional Swedish Christmas wine
Julmust, Swedish Christmas softdrink - it tastes like spicy coke
Thomas in the kitchen where he belongs
The first night was clear and we were lucky enough to actually see the Northern Lights in action! Unfortunately it was too dark (and our cameras too crappy) to get a decent picture to show you what we saw, but it was beautiful.
Candice ready to go
We had to make the most of the weak daylight
We decided to take a route suggested by Naked Man which loosely followed the railway line back to the tourist station at which we had been marooned the day before and then cut off towards the water.
Snow coming off the mountains
The road
I got so hot skiing that I had to take off my headgear
Pigs at the Arctic Circle
A frozen river gorge
When we arrived at the water's edge, we "made camp" and drank some hot tea from our thermos. The tea was cold within about a minute and would freeze in about five.
On the expanse of frozen nothingness
Candice
The lake was full of floating ice
As it would soon be dark, we decided to make our way back.
Abisko
Hanging out at night with the hostel crew
Early the next morning (well, 9am but it was dark and it seemed like 5am) we set about preparing for our dog-sled trip.
Thomas and Ryan get close and personal with their vehicles
Candice's view from her sled
To be honest, if you had asked me a year ago if I ever thought I would go dog-sledding I would have said "probably not". I guess it's one of those cool things that you'd do if you got the chance but that you probably wouldn't go out of your way to make happen. It was very surreal to be actually flying through the air on a wooden contraption pulled by huskies!
My team and I
Candice during one of our breaks
The dogs would howl alot and were dear things
Whenever we left tree cover, the icy wind would whip our faces so much that one of my cheeks was numb.
View of Casen as he struggles in the snow storm
This is how beautiful Lappland is:-
We left Abisko with a heavy heart, knowing we would probably never be back. Our original plan was to go to Narvik in Norway to see the fjörds, but due to train delays, we decided to go a little south to Kiruna.
Kiruna
Kiruna is Sweden's northernmost city and is the capital of the district of Kiruna, in which Abisko is situated. A mining town of 25,000 people, over the next 10 years it is actually going to be moved about 20km to counter mining-related subsidence.
Posted by Nat and Candice at 2:27 AM 0 comments
Labels: Abisko, Arctic Circle, Candice Kitingan, Cross-country skiing, Dog-sledding, Kiruna, Lappland, Nathanael Kitingan, Northern Lights, Sweden
Helsinki
Friday, November 7, 2008
On the 30th of October, we made our way across the Baltic sea to Finland. This was our final international trip while we live in Sweden and our first one by sea.
A cheap alternative to short-haul plane travel is to go by sea. Catching the cruise ship (or ferry) from Stockholm to Helsinki is an experience in itself. Several ferry lines operate across the Baltic sea. We caught the Mariella, which is a ship in the Viking Line.
Scandinavian ferry cruises across the Baltic are renowned for their "booze cruises". It seems that Swedes and Finns come out of their shells when they get onboard and literally drink themselves to death on these cruises. This is because alcohol is duty-free onboard due to the fact that it's an international cruise. Although our trip had its fair share of drunk Finnish medical students on our level, it was otherwise not that bad. The real drinking cruises happen on actual overnight "booze cruises" from Stockholm to Åland and back.
My cabin: the fake window rubbed in the fact we were in the lowest class.
I was sharing a room with Maxim, the quirky Ukranian. Here he is with Candice at the bar.
After a long journey, we finally arrived in foggy, wet, cold Helsinki.
We were met by Richard Brewis, an old family friend who I (Nat) had known back in Sabah. The Brewises were linguists who were responsible for the world's first complete Murut-language dictionary.
Candice and Richard
We were blessed enough to stay in a hotel this trip. Candice was so excited she had to be in the picture.
Upon arrival we embarked on the "Richard Tour of Helsinki". Richard took us round to see many of the city's landmarks on the reliable tram-network around central Helsinki.
Finland was conquered by Russia in the early 1800s and only gained independence in 1918 after a bloody war. Unlike it's southern Baltic cousins (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Finland stood up to the USSR and resisted expanding Soviet influence, turning towards Western Europe and its former colonial master, Sweden.
Richard and I in one of Helsinki's market squares
Walking around the streets of Helsinki, we realised that it was a much more recent city than Stockholm with an abundance of neo-classical and art-deco influence in its architecture.
Richard took us to Helskinki Olympic Stadium where we tried some traditional Finnish quisine - herring with sausage and pork soup!
At the cafeteria of Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Helsinki played host to the Summer Olympics in 1952, something which the city is still proud of today. An amazing view of the city can be seen from the stadium tower but unfortunately it was closed when we arrived.
Helsinki Olympic Stadium
The first photo above is us beside the statue of Paavo Nurmi, arguably the greatest track and field athlete of all-time (yes I looked him up). He won 12 olympic medals (second only to Michael Phelps) and broke 22 world records and probably would have won more had he been allowed to compete at the 1932 summer olympics.
Founded by the King of Sweden in 1550, today Helsinki is a bustling city of just over a million inhabitants. It seems to have a character of its own, unlike Scandinavia but also far from Russian. Perhaps it's the language, or the fact that Finnish people generally keep to themselves (hence the stereotype of the "silent Finn") and avoid small talk.
A busy Helsinki street
The Rock Church
The National Parliament Building
Me, Richard, Johanna and Kielo
Helsinki Cathedral
The reliable Helsinki trams
Our friends from back in Uppsala - Lauri and Vincent just happened to be in Helsinki the same weekend
On the Gabriella, drinking Becks
We awoke the next morning to see ourselves calmly cruise into Stockholm.
Posted by Nat and Candice at 4:53 AM 0 comments
Labels: Candice Kitingan, Cruise, Ferry, Finland, Helsinki, Hotel Anna, Kielo Brewis, Nathanael Kitingan, Richard Brewis, Rock Church, Vaantaa, Viking Line