Inge
Man-At-Arms
Joined: 04 May 2003
Location: Nieuw Lekkerland @ Holland
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 Posted: Tue Jul 12 2005 21:26
Scandinavians: help me out while visiting your countries! |
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Hello friendly people from Scandinavia,
Coming saturday I will jump onto a train to Scandinavia, and interrail through Norway, Sweden and Finland for approximately two weeks (July 17th till August 1st or 2nd). I've never been there, and I've never interrailed before, so everything is quite new to me. I'll probably won't get much further than halfway up; the northern region is a bit too far away and time-consuming.
I therefore could use a helping hand here and there. There are some practical things I would like to know, and there is a social thing.
The practical stuff:
1: What kind of weather is it during the end of july in Scandinavia? Should I pack all short trousers that I have, or my scarf and winter coat?
2: How is the train system in Scandinavia? Are they punctional concerning arriving and departing? Do they ride often? Are there a lot of night trains?
3: What are the spots I should definately visit? Why?
4: Are there things I should definately pack in my bag to survive Scandinavia? And are there things I definately should not carry along?
5: What else should I know/consider/not forget?
The social thing:
It sounds appealing to me to meet up with some people who live in Scandinavia and hang out at this forum. I'm nice with children, eat everything, and am easy to get drunk. I furthermore don't smoke, and carry a huge amount of music with me on my hdd mp3 player.
If you are willing to show me around in the region where you live, have a meal and/or drink with me, hook me up in your appartment, or willing to offer your laundry machine, then don't hesitate to contact me at inge@madtracker.org. I'll probably start my journey at SoulEye's place (after having survived the boat from Denmark to Sweden), and I'm eager to see more MadTracking Scandinavians 
Thanks in advance for possible feedback, help, advices, or general fun,
Inge (nervous and excited) |
Care for a game of Monopoly? |
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Yannick
MadTracker Author
Joined: 16 Apr 2003
Location: Belgium
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Posted: Tue Jul 12 2005 21:32
Re: Scandinavians: help me out while visiting your countries |
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| Inge wrote: |
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4: Are there things I should definately pack in my bag to survive Scandinavia?
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Condoms! 
Sounds like a nice trip! Hope you'll have lots of fun with the Scandinavian MadTrackers out there (with SoulEye at least).
Yannick |
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SoulEye
Beta-Tester
Joined: 31 Jan 2004
Location: Helsingborg, Sweden!
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Posted: Tue Jul 12 2005 21:38
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Rest easy old chap  , it will be a nice time here with lots of music, drinking, and gay-jokes  . I encourage anybody who are a bit nuts to take home Inge (dont forget to have your amphetamine  ready to calm him down). |
http://www.souleye.se |
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SoulEye
Beta-Tester
Joined: 31 Jan 2004
Location: Helsingborg, Sweden!
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Posted: Tue Jul 12 2005 21:40
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There will be *NO* activity that involve (or could involve) the usage of condoms at my place, so help me god! |
http://www.souleye.se |
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Comatose
Registered User
Joined: 29 Apr 2004
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Posted: Tue Jul 12 2005 21:43
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Inge
Man-At-Arms
Joined: 04 May 2003
Location: Nieuw Lekkerland @ Holland
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Posted: Tue Jul 12 2005 22:31
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| SoulEye wrote: |
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There will be *NO* activity that involve (or could involve) the usage of condoms at my place, so help me god!
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Ah? We were planning to make balloon animals with blown-up condoms!
*sobs*
Inge |
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Sunbuster
Registered User
Joined: 05 May 2003
Location: Finland
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Posted: Wed Jul 13 2005 12:04
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Can't answer for other countries, but here's what there is about Finland in my head:
1. If it's sunny, it's hot. If not, it can still be hot (for the last week or so we've had a sunny 25 deg celcius every day, at night it drops to about 16-17). August usually is pretty hot too. However, I wouldn't leave all my warm cloths at home, because it can change quickly.
2. Trains in Finland usually depart on the minute, almost on the second. For timeschedules, go to http://www.vr.fi/heo/eng/index.html
In general the public transport system in and around Helsinki (and other major cities) is a good way to get around, although it's a bit expensive compared to central Europe.
3. I guess Helsinki would be a pretty obvious place to go But I urge you to stop off at other smaller places too. They can have some pretty unique experiences hidden in them.
4. If you go to the north, get something against mosquitoes. They can be pretty irritating at times. The north (read Lappland) might be cool to visit for the endless nights
5. - You can easily walk to most parts of central Helsinki, same goes for most other major cities.
- Clubs and pubs in Helsinki close at 4am. Some close earlier, but they're seldom worth it anyway
- One place that might be able go give suggestions if you want to go clubbing is Streetbeat, a small but in the club scene well know record shop in Helsinki ( http://www.streetbeat.ac ).
- Hostels and hotels in Helsinki can be pretty full at this time, especially since we've got a world championship to host in August. You might want to try places outside Helsinki. You could for instance stay in a hostel in Riihimäki (north of Helsinki), and from there you'd be able to get into Helsinki by commuter train within one hour. Or stay in Porvoo, which is a small but very nice town to the east of Helsinki. From there it's a 1-hour busride into Helsinki. No trains from there though... |
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Martin
Registered User
Joined: 05 May 2003
Location: Norway
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SoulEye
Beta-Tester
Joined: 31 Jan 2004
Location: Helsingborg, Sweden!
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Posted: Wed Jul 13 2005 13:45
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Ah yes. Alcohol is expensive here in sweden too. Thankfully, good old souleye has several bottles of, eh, well, lets just say I like Jägermeister+Redbull a lot.... Oh yeah my mum made "Flädersaft" which takes out all taste of alcohol in any drink it's in (mixes best with vodka) and replaces it with, eh, Fläder. |
http://www.souleye.se |
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rourin
User
Joined: 30 Mar 2004
Location: Kristianstad, Sweden
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Posted: Wed Jul 13 2005 17:27
Re: Scandinavians: help me out while visiting your countries |
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Here's a summary report from Sweden:
| Inge wrote: |
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1: What kind of weather is it during the end of july in Scandinavia? Should I pack all short trousers that I have, or my scarf and winter coat?
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As long as you don't plan on going to the northwest part of sweden to or to Lappland(as far up as you can get before you're in norway) short trousers are recommended, allthough a pair of pants or two is good to have for some evenings. It's pretty hot in june-august in sweden. The temperatures in the water is about 20-25 degrees celcius now, I'd guess, depending on what beach you go to.
| Inge wrote: |
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2: How is the train system in Scandinavia? Are they punctional concerning arriving and departing? Do they ride often? Are there a lot of night trains?
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Our trains are very punctual, but they don't stop at many stations. It's part of a plan our government had on saving money. They closed down smaller stations, which is pretty sad. The trains can be expensive here too, but that's just my opinion.
| Inge wrote: |
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3: What are the spots I should definately visit? Why?
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Stockholm and Gothenburg imo. The west coast is beautiful this time of year, but if you're planning on doing beaches I'd recommend the east coast. Better water. Salty instead of sweat, which means that you'll have the pleasure of avoiding irritating wateranimals. If you have the possibility to, try to get out of the cities for a bit and see the outskirts. It's pretty nice.
| Inge wrote: |
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4: Are there things I should definately pack in my bag to survive Scandinavia? And are there things I definately should not carry along?
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Hmm... I wouldn't know. If I can think of anything I'll get back to you on that one.
| Inge wrote: |
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5: What else should I know/consider/not forget?
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Allemansrätten doesn't give you any right to set up a tent on private property!
(I had a german guy set up a tent on my backyard when I lived in a house once without even asking. He insisted on his rights according Allemansrätten. That was fun). |
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PyroZane
Registered User
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Location: Trondheim - Norway
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Posted: Wed Jul 13 2005 18:28
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Hmm...
from 16th to 22th of July I'll be away fishing and camping in "Børgefjell" a nationalpark of Norway 
But If you visit Trondheim/Norway after that? I can always show you around I can also offer laundry machine, drycleaner, shower, and a couch to sleep on if needed but only after 22th of July
Trondheim = about 8 hours with train from Oslo.
I will come online again tomorrow and friday, if you want to visit Trondheim in Norway?
- PyroZane - |
http://pyrozane.madtracker.net/ |
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Inge
Man-At-Arms
Joined: 04 May 2003
Location: Nieuw Lekkerland @ Holland
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Posted: Wed Jul 13 2005 22:40
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Thanks for all the helping information so far! Does anyone by the way know what the easiest way is to get from The Netherlands to *any* location in Scandinavia by train (or additionally by touring bus)?
Two small additional points:
1: Do Norway, Sweden and Finland make use of reservations for certain train trips? This phenomenon is unknown in The Netherlands, but outside this country these things occur. I need to know this, since I might need to book them.
2: If people are willing to meet up with me, then send me an e-mail (inge@madtracker.org), mention what period you are more-or-the-less available, and your phone number. I'll then contact you once I'm around. I can't make any 'hard' appointments, since I don't have any schedule at all (and I would like to keep it this way).
Thanks again for all the help,
Inge |
Care for a game of Monopoly? |
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Blaster
Registered User
Joined: 04 May 2003
Location: Netherlands/Germany
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Posted: Wed Jul 13 2005 22:52
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Hey Inge, sounds like a very cool vacation.. just a general direction and see where you'll end up
have fun! |
united trackers |
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Sunbuster
Registered User
Joined: 05 May 2003
Location: Finland
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Posted: Thu Jul 14 2005 09:50
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| Inge wrote: |
1: Do Norway, Sweden and Finland make use of reservations for certain train trips? This phenomenon is unknown in The Netherlands, but outside this country these things occur. I need to know this, since I might need to book them.
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this page should explain it all as far as Finland goes: http://www.vr.fi/heo/eng/aika/fliput.htm
In short, you should be able to buy your tickets on the train at all times, but in those cases it will cost you extra if the stations ticket service was open when the train passed. Also, you are not quaranteed a seat when you buy your ticket on the train (in short, someone with a seat reservation for the seat you're sitting in can come and kick you out of your seat). |
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Sunbuster
Registered User
Joined: 05 May 2003
Location: Finland
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Posted: Thu Jul 14 2005 10:04
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oh yeah, if you go clubbing in Helsinki, one place that might be worth a visit is Uniq (not open all nights, www.uniq.fi ). They have an arctic icebar (a room/bar built out of ice) and their prices are based on a unex rate. In short this means the prices for drinks change during the course of the night based on how popular they are |
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