Happy Birthday to me!

zSo, today is my birthday, which I conveniently spend while on the road to avoid having to drink too much coffee with friends and family. Nothing against friends and family, but that much coffee gives me heart burn.

First things first. So, my visit here in Gothenburg is spent mostly with my brother Tobias and his girlfriend Veronica. They got a cozy little flat not too far out of town, some 10-15 minutes by tram or so I believe. And I must not forget Octavia, their very, very, very lovesick cat with a 2 meter trigger radius of her purring.

Erik's hat-moose

Yesterday I met up with my good friend Erik (who had his birthday yesterday) and his roomie Jon. We made home made tortillas and played obscene amounts of "Rayman: Origins". Just simply had an awesome time together.

Today me and Veronica spent going though "Universum". A mixture of a museum and an indoor tropical zoo. Here you can find tiny, tiny monkeys, and

they're outside of their cages, so if you're lucky... or unlucky, you can get one tangled in your hair. There is also an assortment of strange and awesome fish in huge tanks and aquariums. Snakes, spiders, poisonous frogs and so on.

Here be monkeys!

Tiny and very cute =D

 
After that we met up with my little brother and had a lovely supper which ended in lots of really delightful cheesecake. And gods, been a while since my feet were this sore.

"Ack Värmeland, du sköna!"

Dan is playing "Polka Polka Revolution"

So now I leave värmland in general and Grums in particular behind. I've had the chance to make music with the person who together with a friend of his started up the group "FantomFürern" and we made a work-in-progress song called "Skeletkvinnan".

I also learned a whole lot of many things about living the life one live in Grums, and a city without any real expansion in the economical sector, despite the city expanding in numbers. The financial hell one tends to get stuck in and what it leads to in the long run.

Most importantly, I've learned that Eddie Meduza actually can make good music. I have to swallow my pride and confess to that I was wrong. All music made by the Swedish Raggar-idol Eddie isn't all that bad. He is sort of a genius in his way, however just turned to a direction I can't agree with. For instance, his song Skyrider is quite awesome. Obviously a take on Ghost Riders in the Sky, but he does it really well.

However, I must now leave Grums for Gothenburg, with a vague promise that I will get my beard or my head cut off next time I return. I leave my head hung in shame, and with my tail between my legs I accept my exile humbly and head on towards brave new goals. New horizons await!

Thank you so very much for having me, my good friend Dan, and I wish you all the best. Until we meet again, never stop being yourself.

Interesting fact about the train station in Grums. It is closed down, and inside it there is now a clinic.

Grums!

My dear Host

Grums!

So, I'm now in Grums, the point where world starts. Or ends.. or... Well, it is either end of the world. I'm here in Grums with Dan who is my awesome and generous host. Together we have seen a few movies, chilled and discussed the different importances in the world. We also started working on our very own song.

So, why Grums, and why Dan? I met Danne at an Arvika Festival a few years ago and he was a really nice guy. We discussed communism, sang songs about The Reaction by the group "Röda Stjärnan" (the red star). Since then we've kept in contact making music and such things together. Not much that got finished, but we've had a lot of fun together.

The current song sound really nice. The lyrics might be a bit silly though. The idea was generally to make a song. Then we went "should we have lyrics" and "What theme?". We were silent for a few minutes and then said "Okay, first article on the Tabloid aftonbladet.se will be our EBM song's theme." And so we made it "The Skeleton Woman" after an article with a woman called "Skelettkvinnan" meaning just that. Politically correct? Maybe not, but no one died from a bit of necrophilia.

Our beautiful studio

Thougts on the road

So, I just set out on the roads, heading towards Grums to meet up with Rub-a-Dan. And as I closed the door behind me and walked to the bus stop I could not help to ask myself "who will it be that comes back to this door in 2 to 4 months from now? Will it be a new and improved version of me? A less shy and more bold fellow? Or a guy asking himself why on earth all those monies were spent.

Whomever comes home next year, I'm very sure I'll like him better than the dude who just went out the door. Too long have gone since any real change. And by the gods I hope his spoken English is better than mine!

It would be fun to make a mental snapshot now and then compare it. A bit hard to do perhaps. I'll have to use friends and family as a reference point once I get home.

All packed!

My beautiful backpack

Okay, I've packed everything needed now. I think. But, what I find myself having forgotten I can just get on the road. I know the most important stuff have been packed at least. Toothbrush, passport and extra underwear.

The rest is just gravy and extra topping.

Only thing left to do is to fix train tickets and finalize a few hostel bookings and we're all set and ready.

The one thing I'm a bit sad about is that I got very little room left in my backpack. I should perhaps not pack the sleeping bag after all, but... you never know. Right?

My Travel Route

Okay, it is time for me to share my complete travel plan I think. The places have been sort of in flux, and I'm not 100% certain of the order in which I'll do things. But this is the rudimentary plan. But I got a break down of all the major places I plan to visit at least.

The times behind each item listen are when I plan to hit that spot.

My planned travel route. Click to enlarge.

The Adventure begins!

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Grums, Sweden (20th of November)
This is the place where the whole world starts. Or is it ends? Who knows. I will visit a friend I made many years ago at a festival. A really awesome and creative person named Dan, or "Danne" for short. Together he and I will make some songs, chill out and I will learn all there is to know about the backside of Sweden.

Gothenburg, Sweden (23th-25th of November)
Here I will meet up with friends from the Swedish equivalent of High School. My good friends Erik and Elin. If I get the chance I will also meet up with Oscar, an old co-worker and friend of mine, and his girlfriend Mia. Of course, I will also meet up with my beloved brother Tobias and his girlfriend Veronica. I will also celebrate my birthday here.

Fyn, Denmark (1st of December)
Here I will meet up with an internet friend of mine called Andreas.We met over a medium called "Second Life", which is more or less a 3D chat. Remember that, because I will be mentioning it a lot.

Antwerp, Belgium (3rd of December)
Here I will meet up with a friend I've known for a very long time though the internet. Bart. We first met on HavenMUSH many, many years ago. An old text-based chat in Celtic theme, made by a good friend of mine. With any luck we'll go to a Trappist brewery and see monks do what they do best. Beer!

Kerkrade, Netherlands (6th of December)
Here I will meet up with one of my newest Second Life friends, Tim. This is a really awesome person who is just about to undertake the adventure of transforming her body from the male one she was born with, to the female one she really always wanted. Also, I've been promised alfa beer!

Amsterdam, Netherlands (13th-16th of December)
Here I will visit a friend, who's real name I don't really know yet. Sort of funny, but that's how things tend to go when on the internet. A thing such as a real name does not really matter all that very much. She and I will however make Amsterdam unsafe and have a good time together. Though, this is not confirmed, since I've not seen her online for a few weeks to make sure everything works fine. If we do meet up, she and I will however take a weekend trip to...

London, England ( 14th-17th of December)
Where we will do all sorts of strange shopping and looking around. If things go to plan, we will spend a few days here and then head back to the mainland.

Berlin, Germany (19th-21st of December)
I will spend a few days on my lonesome here in Berlin for the heck of it. I really enjoyed this place when I was here during the summer with my family. Never the less, I couldn't help but to wonder what it would be like to just be here on my own without the need for calling early nights due to the hotel being far outside the city and the like.

Key West, Florida, USA (24th of December)
This is another spot I go to only for myself. The flight ticket is already booked, and if all goes to plan, I will take a Greyhound from Miami Airport to Key West the same day I land to live in a hostel down in Key West. I will spend a few long days there, and plan to spend New Year's eve in this place.

Fort Pierce, Florida, USA (2nd of January)
Here I will meet up with a good friend form the old Haven-days (that text-based place, remember?). She and I was really buddy-buddy back in the days, and despite breaks and hiatuses in our friendship, she is a very dear friend to me. I will be living with her and her girlfriend for a few days. And if all goes to plan, we might even be able to head to Disney World together. That idea is pending a bit though.

Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Here I will meet up with an old Second Life friend of mine called Kathryn. What we will actually do and what will happen is yet to be decided properly. But we will do something fun. I will also meet up with another good friend (and customer) of mine I know as Eshe. Another one of those persons I'm not sure of the real name of. But, what the heck. She promised me she would go to the store and buy Twinkies for me, now that they have filed for bankruptcy. After all, I've read about Twinkies in about every single Stephen King book I've read, and I MUST try them!

New York, New York, USA
Here I will meet up with my oldest still continuous Second Life friend. Her name is Astoria, the perfect picture of a New Yorker. She will show me what New York is all about and let me at that famous New York pizza which every New Yorker claims to be the best in the world. I still bet it got nothing on our Swedish Super Kebab Pizzas.

Milford, New Hampshire, USA
I am still a bit uncertain about this place. It is a bit out of the way form my other destinations. And travel will most probably be by plane though the states. But if time is not all that awful I will try to squeeze this place in. Here lives a friend and ex-Second Life girlfriend of mine, whom I'd gladly want to visit.

Columbus, Ohio, USA
Here I will visit a good friend from the Haven days. Their name is Kat. My visit here will be quite brief, and our meeting will probably be the one of a cup of coffee or dinner or something of the like. Kat seemed a bit reluctant at my to meet up, but I'm really happy they agreed to, sine they're one of the persons who have made an impact on my life.

Chicago, Illinois, USA
Here I will meet up with a new internet friend of mine named Dana. She and I will have all sorts of adventures. She plans to show me strange places where she lives (like a Swedish themed restaurant!). Also, if possible, I will appear on Chic-a-go-go which is a public-access television show in Chicago where random people dress up in silly costumes and dance. I'm a bit scared of this part. And, if possible, Dana and I will rent a cozy log cabin and just chill for a day or so.

San Diego, California, USA
So much to do here! So much to do. Here I will meet up with Necron, a really good friend of mine whom I met though Second Life. He will also house me for a few days while here. Together we will go to "Das Bunker" which apparently is "the hot shit" when it comes to industrial music. Also, I will meet up with another one of my second life exes, Talina. She have planned to take me and Necron out to Palomar Mountain for random fun in a cabin/house there. Not quite sure about the details. We must not forget Adam, whom I will also meet here. I am a bit nervous about meeting him though. He is friends with both Necron and Talina but knows me as a female online. Aww well, I'm sure it'll be okay.

San Francisco, California, USA
I will make sure to wear some flowers in my hair when going here. I come here to meet up with another good friend (and client) of mine called Brianna and her husband. Where I will be staying is in a bit of a flux. They do have a guest room, but I'm not sure I can and want to impose. If that doesn't work out I will stay in a hostel/hotel provided by Brianna's best friend. A best friend who is into modelling and whom Annie wants to hook me up with. Let's see how it goes, if The Shy Viking will dare to date The Model. Adventure!

Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Over the border! Over to visit another good friend from the Haven Days, Robyn. She lives in some sort of strange collective. I'm really curious to see what is happening and going on there. As well as getting to know Robyn better. She and I have not spoken in a long while, but she's an awesome person.

Rossland, British Columbia, Canada
Here I will visit my oldest still continuous internet friend. We've known each other online since further back in time I can remember. His name is Roger, and while I'm not certain what we will do once I hit Rossland, I'm certain we'll have a blast of a time.

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So, this is my current plan. If I'm passing by a place where you happen to be near, do not hesitate to ask me to visit. I'd love to meet up with friends. Old and new. Heck, even friends in waiting (aka, perfect strangers).


Click here to see the travel route on google maps.

So. This is me. Hi!

I'm just going though the last few things, ordering the last few tickets and insurances and what have you, and then I will head out into the world and see grand and pretty new things.

I will keep this blog running and show all the nice pictures I take with my trusty new camera I just got from my father and stepmother. Or, well, not all pictures, but you get the idea.

I will also use this place to vent ideas and make sure you know I'm not quite dead yet. And of course, last but not least, tell about my adventures and explain about all my friends I meet along the way.

The whole idea of this trip is to meet up with old and new internet friends. Some friends I've known for over 12 years. A few others only for a month or too. But they have all managed to win my heart somehow. Some seems to be nervous about me imposing on them, others are all very eager and are making plans for what to show me once I get there. Already now I'll say "I'm sorry I'm late!" because I am fairly certain my idea of a time schedule is pretty messed up. The only real time I got set in my mind is to be in Berlin at latest on the 22nd of December and then be on Key West at the 24th of december.

Anyhow, to keep in interactive, feel free to ask me questions, challenge me to do things or simply just talk to me.

First stop will be on Tuesday the 20th of November. Grums of Sweden! There I will meet up with my friend Danne, and we will make strange music together. =)