Back, but not for long.....

To my regular readers out there I post this post as an apology. I feel bad that I haven't posted in so long....I could come up with a ton of excuses, studies are too exhausting, project work is taking it's toll, etc, but what it really boils down to is that this blog no longer excites me. I have carried on my rambles on this forum for the parts of three years now.....same old gobbly goop with a different package. It has been a good run though, I will admit that. This blog was a learning experience for me....an excuse to write and share stories as I stumbled around my life. Things have changed for me though....big things, things like my direction in life, my attitude towards life, my view on the world, my aspirations for the future, and my next steps (whatever the hell those may be). So, I may dribble a tid bit here and there on this forum, but for the most part this blog is closed.....it's time to let go.

Now, with death comes life. Therefore I am planning to launch a new site in the month or so to come. It will have a different feel to it and a different moat from which I write. It will focus more on entrepreneurship and future trends as well as some huge topic areas that I have been uncovering like a 'participation society' and other behavioral and economic undertones that affect us all. It will be geared towards the future and less focused on telling stories of the past. Sure, I'll make sure to include the occasional over dramatization of a bout with food poisoning, or a minimalist travel tale, but the focus of the work will be different and more about the future and less about reporting the past. There is optimism in this next step.....stay tuned and keep checking back for the launch of the new blog. I promise not to disappoint.

Welcome To Lund - Lesson Four

Lund University was voted 'least likely university in Europe to be able to print something from a PC 2007 and 2008' by Forbes Magazine college edition (someone should check that reference). For such a technologically developed area such as the Skane region of Sweden you will soon learn that printers are an elusive appliance. The solutions to this mess are few. You can either purchase your own printer for your flat, you can make friends with someone that has a printer who you can bribe for your term papers, or you can find a printer in the city somewhere. The first option, printer purchase, is going to cost you a fortune and therefore I wouldn't recommend it (if you have been following this blog series this week you will soon get the jist of the various themes; Sweden is expensive). The second option, making friends with a printer buddy, is a good option for an every now and again print job. You will however, quickly come to learn that those with printers learn the value of such an asset and become less open about free riders using the device without coughing up some sort of return for their investment. The third option is a good one. Find a printer in the city. Now, most of us students have access to a printer through our program. You will most likely pay for each sheet you print and you may or may not be at the mercy of the IT guy who handles any misfeeds or paper jams. I have seen students backed up for a month in the econ department waiting to print a regression analysis. Therefore, it is in my opinion that the best solution for your printing needs is to visit Lundabocker. What is Lundabocker you say....well, it is a second hand book store that sells consignment books that students want to sell. The store is a great place to stop in to see if there are any books you need (or may simply want to buy), as well as to do any printing and copying you might have. Sergio is the friendly face that runs the place and he's a good guy to know in Lund. The shop just moved at the start of the new year from the AF building to its new address at Kiliansgatan 11. I hear he is thinking of a coffee machine as well....so, print up and Welcome to Lund.

Welcome To Lund - Lesson Three

To complement yesterday's piece on food, I thought I would tackle the other staple of academic life...booze. Sweden is not the place to be if you enjoy cheap hooch and lots of it. A lush life can easily cost you twice your monthly rent....the government has to pay for the public systems someway right? Anyways, there are ways to cut costs and still indulge every so often. The best tip...avoid the bars. At almost all the bars in Lund a beer will run you as much as a pizza. Add to that a hefty cover charge for the privilege to buy such novelty and you will wake up with an empty wallet surely every time.

So, what is a lad to do if he needs to itch that thirst. Well, there are two options....the first option is to use your mandatory membership into the university nation society to attend 'pub' nights at the hosting nations as they come about through the week. A beer at the nation (Swedish equivalent to a fraternity) will still run you 25sek ($3 USD) per pint, but it's half or less the price than at a bar. The second option, and my personal favorite, is to simply buy booze from the Systembologet (state run liquor store) and consume it at your leisure wherever you desire. Now, for 10sek ($1.25 USD) you can buy a half liter of cheap Swedish or Danish beer in a can. The brew doesn't win any sort of awards for its tastiness, but it's tolerable and a good option for the price....don't forget to save the can when you're done....each can has a deposit of 0.5sek on it....that adds up to be big bucks if you clean up a corridor party the night after a big bash. One unique feature of Lund is that you can have an open container in the city and it is completely legal. This is a unique feature in Lund and not something that is tolerated elsewhere in the country. The reason for this is that the student union of Lund fought to keep the law this way. So, while it's cold now and a few chilly one's with your favorite blokes in a corridor room might get a bit monotonous, spring will be here soon and then a cold one on one of the many green spaces in the city will be just the ticket. So drink up and Welcome to Lund.

Welcome To Lund - Lesson Two

By now you have undoubtedly noticed the cost of everything in Sweden. For anyone from the states the sticker shock is extra shocking as our homeland has spoiled us with cheap goods that we import with low tariffs and huge economies of scale. Sorry fellow statesman, there's no super Wal-Mart up here. So, presented in my second lesson is a cost survival guide for food. At least this way you can eat (which is about all you can afford to do up here). Most of the living arrangements in Lund have a kitchen of some sort...either it's a corridor where you share the kitchen with flat mates (like me), or you have a small kitchen in your room that consists of basic microwave, sink, etc. In either case you need to learn how to cook and take advantage of such luxuries.

When you just can't stand your own culinary concoctions anymore and decide to venture out for a meal here are some tips. Sit down meals are very expensive....a big burger at a nice place (Hercules Bar) can easily run 140sek ($20 USD) and a salad most 'nice' places are 60 sek. Thus why I have yet to step foot inside a sit down restaurant for a meal....I say, if you want to eat a proper meal, buy a ticket to the Baltic states and spend a weekend there. You'll come out ahead. So, if nice sit down places are out what is a person to do? Simple, falafel and pizza!!

There are numerous falafel and kebab stands throughout Lund. These are the equivalent to the American fast food dining experience (except there is limited variety and it is way healthier). My favorite falafel is a place I refer to as Kebab Huset Centrum which is located at the corner of Kyrkogaten and Paradisgatan (adjacent to the central library Stadsbiblioteket). These guys run a good place. The oil in the fryer is changed regularly and thus makes the falafel taste true to form. In each wrap there is a load of vegetables jammed in and you can pick between several sauces for toppings (I recommend spicy). A wrap will set you back 25sek ($3.50 USD). If you want to upgrade throw on an order of pommes (fries) and you are set for the rest of the day for under $5 USD. If you get tired of falafel the other option in the city is pizza.

There are several pizza options around and I haven't tried enough of the different places to comment on a 'favorite'. That being said, since it is Sweden, everything is more of less the same so the pizza experience won't differ much from shop to shop. You have two options when you go to a pizza place...take away or dine in. This is tricky business.....if you are solo, take it to go. The reason for this is that the pies are huge. They run around 60sek so you need to stretch it into at least two meals if not three (I've even heard tales of petite women splitting one 4 ways....oh to be thin again) and the only way to do that without insulting the place is to take it to go. The whole 'doggy bag' concept is elusive in Scandinavia. If you are with someone else you can usually maximize your money by dining in as most of the shops have a cabbage salad that they serve along with their pies that you can load up on (unlimited self serve refills) and thus have plenty of food even for two hungry lads. The tricky part about dining in is that the shop owners assume that if there are two people there will be two pies being ordered. They will be astounded when you order one pie and there are two of you....I don't really understand this, but you'll see what I mean when you try to do it. My favorite pie is a ‘kebap pizzor’ with garlic sauce. You will find these everywhere. They are basically a thin crust Italian margarita pizza with kebab shavings loaded on the top and drenched in garlic sauce. A few hot (mild) peppers on top and you are set. Bon appetit and welcome to Lund.

Welcome To Lund - Lesson One

The Nordic region is cold this time of year. You should have been prepared for that before you moved here. That being said, there is nothing better on a cold day than spending some time with some good blokes over a warm cup of something. Lund offers endless cafes and bakeries to warm up in on these long winter days. One of my favorite places to go is Cafe Ariman. This cafe is located near the rear of the large cathedral in the city center just south of the AF building on Kungsgaten 2. During the day you can occasionally find a chess game (if you don't mind playing on a timer) and at night you will find a large presence of the student body simply hanging out. In the spring time the cafe sets up outdoor seating (and outdoor heaters) along Kungsgaten. A coffee will cost around 24sek ($3 USD) and a beer will cost around 45sek ($5.50 USD), not cheap, but nothing here is....remember the tuition isn't costing you a dime. If you plan to make a night of it at the cafe take a small flask of something in your breast pocket. You can spike your coffee and then offer a spike to your neighbor in exchange for them buying you another cup. You have to be shrewd and constantly look for ways to make your kroner go further.

Welcome To Spring (semester)

Tomorrow will mark the official kick off to Spring semester 2009 in Sweden. The days are getting longer and brief glimpses of sunshine have started to show through the haze and gray that is the Swedish winter. Before long we will be rolling on the white sand beaches of Lomma and sunbathing until midnight!! Well that, or we'll be able to go outside without a stocking cap, scarf and gloves....I'd take either at this point. So, with the dawn of the new semester and on the heels of the new year I thought it would be fair to kick off a week long series for those new arrivals from across the globe who just arrived in time for school bells on Monday.....simply titled 'Welcome To Lund - We Know It's Cold'....in this series I will try to dish up a daily piece of wisdom that transcends the typical 'orientation' bullshit that will be shoved down the throats of all those budding academics who just stepped off the train. Little lessons that took me months to deduce will be available in short order to the 'newbies'. The best part of the whole deal....no paddling or any other sort of hazing activity (I learned my lesson the first time on that one)....just free advice to make the transition easier. Welcome to Lund!!

Germans vs. Austrians......Kleenex Is The Winner!

My latest travels were void of a travel partner for the majority of the time. I find that, while sometimes lonesome, solo travel allows you to be more observant about what is happening around you. You notice the small little details of a place that you may not have otherwise picked up on if you were sharing the experience with someone else. At the same time however, you don't have anyone to share your amazing discoveries with when you find them. Oh thank heaven for blogspot....a public place to share details about people's privates...or something like that.....

With that lead in I will share (for the first time ever publicly) what I feel may be an anthropological discovery of mass proportion in which I discovered during my traverse of southern Germany and the country of Austria. While Austria and southern Germany are in fact different in many ways, they share more similarities than they do differences. The language is common (with the exception of regional dialects and accents), the food is Germanic and shares similar root ingredients and the architecture of homes and city buildings share a common influence (to name a few). There is however one distinct difference among the habitants of this land.....the difference; the way in which they clear their nasal cavities.

I was born with a strange defect in which I was unable to blow my nose until the ripe age of 26...it's scientifically referred to as 'sniffalotus' and is only found in 1 in 1 million children born annually. This condition fostered an acute awareness of how people in society blew their nose. It became this fascination where I wondered what it would be like to pass air so freely through my own sinuses. Luckily I grew out of my own debilitating condition, but the acute pinpointing of where fellow man is unleashing a blow has yet to subside.

The Germanic snout lends itself well to a good blow. It typically has a wide nostril and tends to protrude noticeably from the face in a manner that makes it virtually impossible not to notice. Despite the similar shapes of both Austrian and German noses the way in which their handlers unload these foghorns seems to differ distinctly based on political bounds. While equally audible and obnoxious there are distinct differences between the two. Process definitions follow:

German blow - this process begins by the 'handler' placing a receptacle (Kleenex or perhaps dishtowel in extreme cases) in a cupping fashion just below the exit chute (nostril). The palm of the hand is turned up and positioned as an overflow. Air is pushed from the diaphragm in a manner that ungulates the upper body like that of a serpentine. It's a steady push and constant flow as the waste is removed. The audible sound mimics the (un)popular television ads for the throat lozenges Ricola in which lederhosen lads pierce the still of the alpine tundra by blasting 'calls' through alphorns. If you happen to be near one of these outpourings as it happens you will feel a slight change in barometric pressure as the surrounding air is displaced by the force of the push.

Austrian blow - this process begins by a 'handler' placing a receptacle across the bridge of the nose and loosely clamping it in place. The pinky finger and ring finger remain free as the other three fingers apply pressure. Again, air is pumped from the diaphragm and the blow begins. The air is released in short spurts that start and stop in rhythmic fashion as though chanting a secret message of Morse code in dots and dashes. The ring finger flutters violently in perfect unison with the pauses in the air release. It's job; dop up the waste as it's exited.

In either case the actor is relieved and fresh at the completion of the exercise....ready to further tackle their day.

Bavaria, A New Indian Family, and Serbian Kebabs

My latest travels took me to a wonderfully different part of Europe that I feel I had slighted in the past. I started my journey in Munich....the Bavarian capital of Germany, and ended in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana. I was able to spend just one night in proper accommodation at a hostel in Salzburg Austria, whereas the rest of the time I couch surfed with random people I met through the internet site couchsurfing.com. This was in itself a new experience and admittedly an exciting one. I met some wonderful people along the way and truly got to dig deep into the cultures of the places I was visiting. Avoiding tourist traps and the typical A-list attractions was not only a money saving affair, but a time savings as well.

Munich, the first stop, is an enticing German city and stereotypical in my opinion of what Americans perceive Europe to be. It has castles, beer houses, ladies in lederhosen, heavy meats and potatoes and a host of historically important events that centered around the city through the ages. Since it is home to the annual Oktoberfest, Munich is a haven for travelers daring to try the many beers that originate and popularize this region. Pints are pulled by the liter and serve as a wonderful accompaniment to the Germanic foods that can be found in the city. I was, as always, traveling on a shoe string budget so I never ate much in the way of a proper meal while I was there. You could however notice the warm glows of the other patrons in such establishments who were enjoying such fare...their mugs and blood pressure raised in delight. While I simply fell in love with the grit and diversity of Berlin during this holiday season, it was nice to meet a German city that you could in fact 'take home to mom'.

Salzburg Austria was the next stop on this tour. Salzburg is roughly two hour train ride due east from Munich. During the ride you are escorted by the Alps which you constantly flirt with as you move. It took some ingenuity to manage my way onto the train at a price I felt was fair. Germany has a wonderful rail system, arguably one of the best in Europe. The problem with that system is that it is expensive. There is however one great deal called the Bavarian ticket. This ticket allows up to five people to travel for 24 hours within Bavaria for 28 euro total. Split 5 ways this is a steal. The counter to that is that when you are traveling solo you pay 20 euro for the same ticket. In lays opportunity. My first approach was to convene at the rail station with a cardboard sign that said 'Salzburg - Bavarian Ticket'. My hope was that I would be approached by someone looking to go to Salzburg that morning and we would either split the ticket or find a couple of others to chop the cost further. I stood just outside of the main bahnhaus and waited. I wasn't there for more than about three minutes before the train Gestapo put an end to my pitch. Since I am officially an illegal resident of Europe now and a wanted criminal in Berlin (thanks to Hanife's ill advised intercity rail advice that landed us a 'currently outstanding' fine for illegally riding a metro without a proper ticket) I had to abort my efforts. I was just about to break down and drop the 20 euro on the ticket when suddenly I spotted my 'family'. It was an Indian family three strong. They were headed to the Salzburg platform. Perfect! I offered the man of the house 10 euro for a spot on their ticket. It saved me 10 euro and saved them 10 euro. He agreed and we boarded the train. It was a comedic exchange onboard the train when the guard approached to check our tickets and I pointed to 'dad' as the keeper of my pass. Classic!

Salzburg is a fairy tale city, plain and simple. It has a mountain back drop that oozes beauty and a city center that is simply perfect. Perfection comes with warning though; the city is a tourist trap. The whole place is over priced and nothing (except the architecture) is authentic, but it still emits this amazing feel and charm to it. It is a must do day trip from Munich. You can see the city in a long day and leave with euro in your pocket by dodging the exurbanite cost of a night's accommodation....I stayed in a hostel that night which ran 17 euro....not too bad, but not great either. At one point on the train I thought about pushing my luck with the Indian family and asking them if they had any extra room in their hotel......that would have been interesting.

After Salzburg it was time to catch another train that would take me the whole distance across Austria, through the Alps, and punch out on the other side in the sleepy little city of Villach. At this point I was traveling with a half gnawed loaf of bread, a tillahook block of mozzarella cheese, and a few pepperoni sticks that I picked up two days before when I made my exit from Munich. This was not a trip of culinary discovery but rather an exercise in minimalism. My train ticket allowed me to hop on and hop off the train as much as I liked during the day. There were trains every two hours so I planned to make one stop along the way and see the Alps a bit more intimately than from behind cabin glass. I selected Bad Gastein as the place I would stop. It was deep into the Austrian Alps and I thought would give me a taste of what this range had to offer. Living in Colorado I have certainly seen my share of ski areas and the surrounding towns that adjoin them. This place was different though. It was nothing like the sprawling mega plexes of American ski areas. Bad Gastein is a quaint little village with just a single line train that towed skiers in and out throughout the day. I hiked around the city for about an hour and a half...walking the many small alleys and cobblestoned paths. I eventually made my way to a nearby hill top where I had a great view of the slopes across the valley as well as the exit to the female sauna where an occasional 'snow angel' would get made in hopes of cooling off. I returned to an outdoor seating area where weary skiers were taking a break with hot beverages and light snacks to wait for my train. An hour later I was in Villach.

Villach is a truly sleepy little town on the southern border of Austria. I arrived in the city on a holiday so literally nothing was open. I wandered around the city center for a few hours and waited to meet up with my couchsurfing host for the night....once she arrived we had a light dinner at her place and then I crashed, taking an opportunity to stay out of the cold for an extended period of slumber. Two days later it was time to head further south to Slovenia. I again hopped on a train.




Now here was an interesting place. Slovenia occupies a geographic position that truly makes it a melting pot. You have the Balkans to the south, Italy on one border, the Germanic influences of Austria and Germany to the north, as well as lingering 'spice' from the eastern block that sits not so far away. I had no idea what to expect when I got to this place, but I was certain that my host and good friend Primoz would show me a good time. My first encounter with Slovenia was a pizza shop called Azur (spelling?)....here I had a pie that was to die for. I don't know if it was the fact I had only had cheese and half spoiled pepperoni for the half of week leading up to the meal or what, but this pie was amazing. I gobbled it down at break fork speed nearly impaling a waiter along the way. The next indulgence was a cup of coffee on the city's main river walk. A perfect cup. Much different from Scandinavian and other European coffees I have had during my time here. We explored what we could of the city the first day and I took a few pictures along the way. The second day we took a short drive to a nearby city that was situated about an hour away from the capital. Here Primoz had a meeting with some colleagues of his so I was escorted by his girlfriend to a cafe nearby where we were to wait. Here I had a massive slice of chocolate cake with a cherry on top. Delicious! When Primoz finally returned we headed back to the capital for the afternoon. In the evening (after not eating anything substantial since noon the day before) we set off to experience Serbian cuisine at a local spot Primoz was familiar with. He took the liberty of ordering and I'm glad he did. Out came this tray of meats! Sausages, beef steaks, chicken breasts, chicken skewers, and did I mention sausages. Along side sat warm pita bread and a host of salads and toppings to garnish the carne. We gorged to a point of discomfort and rolled out of the place with pants unbuttoned. The final day we took a scenic drive as we headed back to Austria to the airport there. Slovenia has an amazing range of mountains that when covered in snow was simply beautiful. I think this is a country that those traveling to Europe should seriously consider throwing on the itinerary. Great food, surprisingly friendly people, amazing coffee, and a few mountains to stimulate the cornea make this a truly undiscovered hot spot for westerners looking for something a bit different in Europe.