Author RenegadeTourist
On Thursday we had already shown Yinis parents most of the places we wanted to show, but we took a short drive to the meadows at the far end of the village, and just strolled around taking in the view and breathing in the fresh air. There is a special kind of enjoyment in these simple pleasures.
After some lunch in the sun, we packed up our stuff and took the train north to my old hometown Göteborg. We found our hotel, an old ship that had been converted into living quarters, then went downtown to meet up my friends … Read the rest
On Wednesday me and my wife commendeered my parent’s car and took her parents out out for a drive, showing the most famous spots on the Kullaberg peninsula.
We started with the old farmhouse Himmelstorp up on the hill in the beach wood forest. There is a cafe there which is normally full of hikers stopping by for ice cream but now everything was closed. The parents-in-law liked it a lot all the same.
We continued out to the tip of the peninsula and the lighthouse. The landscape there is spectacular and we had some excellent weather, the four of … Read the rest
This summer, me and my wife decided we should bring her parents to Sweden to let them see a bit of my country. Unlike my parents they do not speak any English and are not used to independent travel, so me and the wife will spend a lot of time guiding them.
We took off late on Sunday evening, but due to a traffic jam at the airport we were delayed and missed our connecting flight. After a long wait in the transfer hall of Amsterdam airport we finally arrived in Arild on Monday evening, tired but happy.
On Tuesday … Read the rest
On Sunday we had to return the rental car so instead we headed out by bus. The roads were crowded but at lunch we finally reached Meersburg, a small town on lake Konstanz. Like any German small town with self respect, Meersburg had a castle, but that was not our main interest. Instead we got a delicious lunch from (hopefully) local fish, then took the ferry to the island Mainau.
At the restaurant 
Waiting for the ship 
On board 
The ship’s bell 
Approaching the island
Mainau is a small island just outside the town of Konstanz, and it’s basically just … Read the rest
Right now I’m on a business trip to Germany, and because there are no good hotels near the company I work in, I have access to a rental car. As soon as the weekend rolled around, me and my colleague made full use of this.
When we got up on Saturday the sky was grey and it was drizzling; not great for sightseeing but we set off anyway, hoping it would clear up during the day. We drove for about an hour and a half through sleepy little towns in the German countryside until we got to Hohentwiel fortress ruin … Read the rest
Every time we drive south on the highway we pass a series of cliffs and ridges formed of orange soil, that are commonly called Flame Mountain. Recently Yini found out there is a walking trail there so last weekend we went to check it out. Since my scooter has been feeling tired and slow lately I bought a new one on Friday and to test it out we went there by scooter. It was more or less just a long slog on boring roads but thanks to the new scooter it felt effortless.
The trail itself starts a few paces into the … Read the rest
The light turns green and a bunch of scooters, me included, launch forward. Just as we’re picking up speed I see a lone scooter cutting across the path of the swarm at an angle. “that can’t be good” I think, just before a rider in front and to the right of me smacks into the side of it. It’s not a big crash, more like a bump, but the rider that was hit gets knocked down while the other remains upright. My heart leaps at the sight, like I’ve been kicked in the chest from the inside, and I instinctively … Read the rest
I have covered up as well as I can, rain jacket, rain pants and even shoe covers, but the rain is pretty heavy and it gets amplified by my speed; though I’ve only been on the way for a few minutes, I can already sense chinks in my armor, little spots of cold where the water is starting to work it’s way through. It’s like nature wills me to hunker down and shy away, but I keep my back straight and my speed high, defying the elements, defying my own instinct. This will be hell to pay.… Read the rest
There are a few more islands that belong to the Matsu archipelago but we never managed to arrange a good schedule for going there. However we still had a day left and had already seen most of the two main islands so we decided to take it easy. We slept till fairly late in the morning then went out and rode around leisurely checking various minor tourist attractions.
The giant Matsu statue 
vegetable gardens in the center of a small village 
A post warning you not to stray from the path because there are still landmines in the area.
Eventually … Read the rest
Whe we woke up this morning the rain had stopped but the sky was still grey. That didn’t matter to us since the goal of the day was to see several of the underground bunkers and tunnels that are no longer in use by the military. The first one was tunnel 88 which used to be for tanks but now acts as a storage place for the local wine. My camera doesn’t capture smells but if it did you could get a whiff of the rather strong wine odor in there.
We thought the wine tunnel would take a bit more … Read the rest