Bye Chicago! See you later!

Yesterday was a sad, sad day. It was the last day I got to spend with my hostess Dana. This weekend we first got out of Sussex and got into Chicago where we met up with one of Dana's friends. We went to the Best of Second City comedy show after having spent a few hours gawking at organic food at Whole Foods. Would you imagine? I found Kombucha at Whole Foods! That's like... really rare nowadays! The comedy show was really entertaining. It was a mixture of improv and skits and the comedians were very relaxed and funny. They lured a lot of laughs out of us.

The day after Dana and I went out to have a celebration of my last day in Chicago. Even though it felt a bit like celebrating a loved one's death. The whole evening went between laughing and looking at each other with pouting lower lips and going "mmf..."

We kicked it off by an all we could eat Flat Top Grill. You pick your veggies, beans, fruits, rice, noodles and then you pick out your meat (fish, calamari, beef, chicken, etc), drown it in sauce and a chef will fry it for you.

My beautiful hostess holding her drink at Flat Top

After that Dana and I walked though the cold and windy night to the John Hancock Tower and had a couple of drinks together while marvelling at the city night scape spreading out in all directions underneath. The tower is one of the largest ones in Chicago, and even though the air wasn't completely clear, you could see for miles upon miles.

Isn't the view to die for?

Today however was the day when I had to leave Dana. We were both really brave and neither one of us cried at the airport. Even though it was very close. You might understand that our relationship is not only hostess and hosted any more. I guess that was quite clear when I ended up staying in Sussex for 6-7 weeks perhaps though. More about that at another time and another place. Now it is time to get to bed, because I have 18 hours of flight ahead of me tomorrow!

I met popeye!

Field trip! Field trip! Field trip!

My beautiful host Dana and her dorky hat

Dana and I headed to Milwaukee to see the arts museum there. It is an awesome building to be sure. The building's architecture is really awesome and unique, both inside and outside. Sadly, we did not have the time to see any of the exhibits since we got out a bit late and the museum was about to close. So instead we just wandered around the locale. Afterwards I took Dana out for sushi and spent a ridiculous amount of monies on dead fish.

Milwaukee Art Museum

We walked around the area with the Sushi shack for a bit and Dana showed me the places she used to visit when she was in college. The Mount Mary college. I can't see how that name could be interpreted as something dirty, can you? No, nay, nopes.

Inside the museum

We went into a pub to get a beer or two when we met a really strange and totally awesome older man. He instantly started talking to us and when he learned I was from Sweden he started telling Swedish jokes he heard from the Norwegians during the Second World War. He was a dog fighter who was stationed in England during the war and explained a whole lot about strategies and the things he would do to evade the Germans. Then he explained that once he came back to the US he became a voice actor and said he was the last voice for Popeye. He gave us a few examples and then showed some really impressive impersonation of old famous people, as he presented them to Walt Disney when he met him. First a few animals, then a really good Churchill. Everyone passing in and out of the pub, and passing by us greeted the old man as "Popeye", so he is a local celebrity. And to be honest, I'm not sure if he is telling the truth, but I don't want to research it. I want to believe I met Popeye!

Inside the museum

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow

I'm still in Wisconsin, big surprise. Hanging out with Dana and just taking it nice and slow. Watching good movies and scary documentaries. I've heard concern about me not posting for  a while so I'll make a lil' post now.

Contrary to popular belief I'm not being held hostage. And some people (you know who you are) are concerned I am not doing touristy things. Stop that silly nonsense. Don't you think that after having been travelling and going hither and dither though first Europe and then the United States, I deserve to get a bit of rest? I sure do!

Even if the situation here is not the best for my hostess, with family problems and such, I am doing very well. Everyone is very friendly and it is always wake my hostess up with  cup of coffee brewn to Swedish Standards (tm) and see her face light up. Even if her eyes stay closed for the better part of an hour or so due to her being a late sleeper and it taking a while for the caffine to grab a hold of her.

So, what have I been doing? I've helped keep my hostess happy, since she's going though a hard time. Last week we went into town and saw a play called "The Clock Maker". The actors were rally good, but the play in itself was a bit so-so. It wasn't all that involving and the plot was quite predictable. I sort of like and dislike the stage at the same time. The stage comes really close to the audience, and at points I was so close to the actors I could reach out and touch them if I would have wanted to. So for better and worse it was very intimate.

Yesterday I went to an all catholic Fish Fry with my hostess, her mother and her mother's friends. The friends of my hostess' mother are really awesome. I especially like one lady who is the real sort of "no nonsense" and very tongue in cheek teasing sort of person. I think she just about entered retirement and then thought "Model trains, that sounds like fun!". So she went to a store for train models and started browsing, then two young guys started talking to her and gave her all sorts of hints and ideas. So now she have started converting her ping-pong table into a landscape with the help of Styrofoam.

But mostly it have been about sleeping in and snuggling up under a blanket while watching movies and having a glass of wine. So I'm very content.

I have also been to all sorts of food places, eating out a whole lot and learned a lot about American food. Bigger is better, and the drinks are always free and just keeps on coming.

I should perhaps make a few observational posts, but truth be told, I've been so busy just socializing with Dana, that I've not had the time. And honestly, most post would be about the differences between Sweden and the US, which in the long run would probably seem like me being ungrateful, which I am not. I really like the differences, it makes it so very fun and real.

Benefit of the doubt: Atlanta

Feeling really sorry for me, Rania, a woman I met though SecondLife not all that very long ago (what is it now, a year? Half a year? I forget) wanted to show me that Atlanta is not all about racism and seedy people glaring at you.

First thing that happened was that poor Rania thought a plane was going to crash into her car as she came to pick me up. The driveway is in an upward slope, and the plane comes in at an angle so I don't blame her. I was scared myself when I first saw how close the planes come. If you were stand on the roof of the hotel you could reach out and touch the planes as they come by.

We then headed out to a really good family owned Persian restaurant where I got to see what real Hummus should taste like. Also, I learned that kebob is nothing like the kebab we're used to in Sweden. It was so good and so tender I still tremble at the memory of the taste. Then we went on impulse to the Atlanta Aquarium.

Of all the indoor aquariums I've seen so far in my trip, this one was really the best. They got beluga whales, whale sharks, manta rays and otters! This place was amazing and really awe-inspiring. If you go to Atlanta, this is really the place to be.

After that we went to Der Beirgarten where I finally got to have a taste of good beer. German beer, yes, but good beer. I've been missing good beer ever since I got to America. Just as I've been missing good coffee ever since I left Kristina and Carla. I even got to show off a bit by pronouncing Pilsner Urquell correctly.

When all is said and done, I had a lot of fun with Rania yesterday, and I'm only sad I didn't have the chance to meet her husband and make use of their guestroom. But, what the heck, the jet engines passing over the hotel got a soothing quality seen from the right light... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Two Wars, one Pub

WW1 Gas Mask

What a day!

Today Bart and I started out early. We got up at 9 and stumbled into the kitchen for some breakfast. Then we headed off to Ieper for a World War 1 museum. That museum was simply amazing. It was really hightech with bracelets with chips in them that you used on different stations to activate monitors and things like that, to get everything spoken back at you in the right language. Also, it checks if you had any relatives who fought in the war, and if you did you get all sorts of available information about them. Sadly I had none (but then again, the Swedes were neutral in that war...too).

It is hard to put in words how amazing that museum was, and how well it was put together. Really, if you go to Berlin, this is a must-see place.

We also went to see a Brittish monument for the fallen soldiers in the WW1, with thousands upon thousands upon thousands of names.

After that, my dear guide and I headed towards Kemmel, where we went to a Cold War bunker. A bunker that was a big secret, even long after it became a museum. Only really know to the local people and was really only made popular after a TV show explaining about different sorts of local sights worth seeing that no one knew about. The whole place was like a time capsule back to the 60s. Really nice design and very well done over all.

Then we had a quick beer at a local pub in the tiny town of Kemmel. A very, very cozy pub. I only wish we would have had a bit more time to spend there.

Last, but not least, I was invited over to Bart's parents for a family dinner with Bart's parents and brother. Together we had a traditional Belgium stew consisting of three kinds of meat (chicken, rabbit and turkey) called Hobokens stoofpotje, beans, cauliflowers and of course real home-made double baked Belgian fries with mayo. Mmm, mayo. The national drink of Belgium. Bart had to leave me for a while, so me, his parents and brother got to practice our English skills together. Showed that they have been to Sweden for a road trip, the parents that is, and that they really liked the Vasa museum.

Changes

I've made some changes...

The plan was to head to Odense after this to meet up with Andreas for a weekend in the city. However, that had to be changed due to too much work for Andreas which he couldn't dodge. However, my hosts were kind enough to let me stay a bit longer here.

My hosts are really happy to see me stay longer!

This, however have caused a bit of problems train-wise. Especially since I had called to a travel agency and asked about the train tickets from Denmark to Amsterdam and then onward to Antwerpen. They said they can't book within europe. I said I can't book though the site and it asks me to call in. They say that It will be available closer to the departure date. I try to get a ticket, and it says "we would give it to you, but it is too close to the departure date!"

Sooo, there I am, my friend Bart waiting for me in Antwerpen and have gotten a few days off even. Panic rising. I start calling all agencies I can find online to see if anyone can help me. Noone can. I am about to give up, half-choking sobs, when it strikes me... one of the sites showed which train company the trains belong to. So I do a new search on that site, then go to each and every company's site and manage to get an e-ticket from them, which my beloved brother printed out for me.

In other news, these last few days have been rather calm and nice. I've spent a day shopping with my brother's girlfriend. Spent an evening with my good friend Peter, drinking a few beers and talking about travel in general. Also eating on a Dutch themed resturant (hutspot and meat, mmm). And today I spent an afternoon and evening with Oscar and his girlfriend Mia. Oscar have made a really, really, really awesome mulled wine and also threw together a really sweet pumpin soup.

So, on Sunday I head to Denmark to spend half-a-day there, with monies donated by Peter towards the cause. And then onwards and forwards to Belgium!

My beard got upgrades!

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.

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