It's the differences that make us different

I’m starting to pick up the language.

Okay, that’s a lie.

There are a couple of kiwis here which will help to break up the Swedish a little - and give me a chance to practice my Swedish. So far I can count to three, and thank someone for lobster (not yet useful). I have yet to master the art of finer conversation – which way to the train station, how do I change the channel on your tv, your liquor laws are silly, and so on.

Seriously, the Swedes do everything they can to discourage you from drinking, short of actually banning the stuff. You can buy low-alcohol beer and wine from standard supermarkets easily enough, but anything over 3.5% and you have to buy it from a store called System Blogget (Sys-tiem Bah-logg-it) – a government owned store that is only open for a few hours a day (not at all on Sundays), and that sells warm beer and wine (i.e. no fridge) presumably to minimize the number of beers you drink as soon as you get home. This doesn’t include the fact that they tax the heck out of it as well. You should have seen their faces when I asked them where the beer fridge was; it was almost like I’d broken some horrid taboo and that swat police would swarm in through the windows any second.

No swat team. Shame.

You’ll be pleased to know that I have arranged travel and accommodation to Copenhagen. I registered with the couchsurfing website and after a couple of rejections (possibly to do with my profile picture of me posing like a lion) I found someone willing to let me stay with them. That’s all rather good, as I wasn’t particularly keen on paying 80 euro a night to sleep with 15 other dudes at a backpackers. So my plans over the next week or two are thus:

From now until Tuesday 11 – hang out in Sweden, mainly Goteborg and wedding-venue,

11 Aug - Train to Copenhagen, hang out with a little mermaid or do something else Grimm,

14 Aug – fly to Vienna from Copenhagen (via Estonia – it’s on the way, check your atlas) where I begin my tour of Europe proper.

My goal for Austria is to escape alive – my ability to refrain from too many “we won the war” comments should help.