Journal entries

Random scribbles from the latest trip...

"Much as I like Ryanair's cheap fares, they aren't half a bunch of Nazis at times, marching up and down the aisles. They'd stow your internal organs in the overhead lockers if they weren't attached."

"Part of me still feels at home, and part of me realises that it's been a staggering 18 years since I last lived here."

"Apart from a few a few incessantly annoying habits, Sweden remains practically utopian. Wide open spaces, friendly people, efficient and cheap public transport... Hell, even Swedish TV is watchable these days."

"We taxied into the rather minute Gothenburg City Airport, which unlike it's larger sister Landvetter, gives Humberside a run for it's money in the tin-pot stakes."

"The polite person in me finds it quite frustrating that the relatives insist on paying for everything. The backpacker in me just keeps quiet and continues with the thank-you's..."

"The one thing I had insisted on doing that night was seeing the England football international, so Kenneth found an ex-pat pub in the city and we decamped there. Big screen, complete with boisterous, swearing crowd and half-decent pub grub. Ah, just like home..."

"Sightseeing has dwindled, through exhaustion, into retail therapy."

"I'd deliberately booked a slightly slower coach than the straight-through express, thinking I'd see more of the countryside and towns I'd visited. Seven cramped hours later I was regretting the decision."

"Following a long and ineptly-navigated walk back to the hostel..."

"...And find a Czech bistro in town memorable for it's GIGANTIC chairs."

"Food came in small and delicious, or large and average portions."

"The DJ keeps it cutting-edge, the crowd go wild for it and the atmosphere becomes irresistible."