Waxnas Karlstad

... did a spot of shopping at H&M and Lindex. We also discovered the busiest shop in town, the Systembolaget. Yes this is where the Swedes get their full strength beer and not even that, 10% beer and 7% Cider! The place was packed, so much for trying to minimise alcohol consumption. There are no off-licences to go to get any full strength alcohol past 5pm or 6pm when the shops close, so basically this is the only place besides bars and restaurants to get your alcohol. Interesting ...

... we have been to and driven past. I lost as per usual! <br><br>So some things about Sweden:<br><br>* Where do you find full strength beer? They only sell a maximum of 3.5% at the supermarkets. I think we will need to check out the state run alcohol shops - System Bolaget, set up to minimise drinking - LOL<br>* Roads here are as expected well maintained and great for cruising<br>* Swedes seem to be ...

... looked like perplexed while he waited for the pump to switch on but eventually the nice Swedish male proprietor came out and explained in perfect english that we needed to pay at the pump with a card! I also learnt our 4 word of Swedish, Hey-do, which is bye. Hey being hello and Tack being thank you.<br><br>The Vitlycke rock carvings at Tanumshede were quite extensive and covered the most of the side of one hill. The carvings were highlighted by red paint to enhance the ...

... and drink the firewater that is aquaveet. We visited the barn of some friends of Lina and Johans where we learned the game of kubb. You throw blocks of wood to knock down the opponent&#8217;s blocks. Stopher and I cleaned house winning 2 games before trying to explain to the locals what a couple of Americans were doing playing kubb at a barn in N. Sweden. Everyone was a lot of fun and we had a great time. Finishing up our stay in the ...

For the past two nights I have been staying in Karlstad, about an hour by bus from Kristinehamn where I was camping. While here though I have been staying at a youth hostel close to the town centre. It was quite a sterile and empty place, and was obviously some kind of prison or military barracks in past days. The guy that runs the place must have been left over from those times as well. I'm wondering where all the tourists and happy holiday makers have gone, obviously it's back ...

... go out in a minute to watch them do hot laps shortly. I really am quite relieved to have found somewhere affordable again. I will be going back to Norway, but I think I will be travelling through it pretty quickly. I am quite tired of travelling at the moment and am missing home and friends and family a bit, but I know there is so much more to see and do ahead! until next time, -mike

... to see, you can always find someplace new because the world is huge. As I said i've had the luck to see very many places in my life and i'm still just 19 years old. This year i've been to Dublin, Liverpool and London during spring. And the summer started off quite good as well as I went to Austria and Innsbruck with a friend and saw the Euro 2008, where we ...

19 minutes past midnight and we are leaving Karlstad by a bus that is taking us to Örebro, where we'll change to another bus that will take us to Stockholm Skavsta Airport in Nyköping. In about 17 hours we'll hopefully be in Innsbruck in some pub or fan-area where we can view the game between Sweden and Spain.

... make change. I guess this speaks to the lack of bus crime. Johan, Hanna and Gustav (and yes, Hanna's name does not have an H at the end) We spent our visit getting to know Mathias' kids better. Johan is 8 and Hanna and Gustav are 5. Johan speaks a little English but the younger ones just chat away in Swedish as we nod our heads and "hmmm" and "oh!". It seems to work fine for all of us. Mathias does some translating if ...

... walked to the HRC in Stockholm a good 20 minutes away. There we bought a total of 5 T-shirts for friends who had requested us for them. There we saw some Americans from our group and help them chose T-shirts for their children who were about our age (rather they think we are really young). We recommended them going to Denmark to get the cool Copenhagen HRC Tee with Viking ship design instead. We retired for the night after coming back from HRC. It's been a long day.