Festival, you say?

Stockholm Beer & Whiskey Festival 2008:
more beer and single malt scotch than you could shake drunk-in-public citation at.

(note: no duplicate beers on this tap)

several hundred single malts from a regional distributor

There were also a dozen or so places to get some unique food. The Asahi guys were rolling sushi to compliment their beer. Most booths had something to snack on that would pair with their beverages. The Aussie reps had set up a kebab place with several exotic meats including alligator and kangaroo in addition to meats of more dubious origins.

Pirate-Burger's largest European competitor

por favor!

Carlsberg's booth had the bar of the future with touchscreen menu. The countertop responded to your empty glass and you could even send for another round or watch tv. Windows opened up and could be manipulated with you five fingers to change the scree or make it bigger.

like Minority Report, but without having to endure Tom Cruise

And of course, what would a beer and whiskey festival be without a little celtic music to accompany the creshendos of breaking glasses and calls for another beer. Oh yeah! A Flogging Molly cover band.

first three rows --- the *special* kilt-viewing rows
Zee beer goggles! Zey do nathing!

Viking Raid to Helsinki (pt. 3)

leaving Helsinki harbor

These islands mark the last specks of land (if by land you mean a desolate, wind-swept rock) between our ship and the angry Baltic Sea. I didn't know how I would make it through these treacherous waters without....

...

....A JACUZZI

Juan Hector, Emanuela, Estelle, Torben, and Michael

we eventually fit myself and another in after this photo

there were also group drownings
(JH and Luca)

Traveler's note: When in a new place, it is likely that the Germans will find where to get the best beer before anyone else. These two guys from KTH had found this pub (and its beer selection) through some sort of sixth-sense that develops shortly after birth in many Germans.

Julien surveys the beer-rainbow

The next morning we marched, exhausted but triumphantly back to the DKV with our bags overfilled with plunder. Already there were whispers of the next attack.













Keep one eye on the sea, Copenhagen.

Viking Raid to Helsinki (pt. 2)

I hit the streets feeling at death's door early the next morning. I followed this group from the KTH because between their machine-gun speed French I heard "Macdonalds." Like a zombie after fresh brains... They all went to school together before coming to Sweden and didn't seem to mind me stumbling behind them too much.

feeling a little more human, time for some sightseeing

Nordic berries

not just a shampoo flavor but also the contents of this gypsy's cart

the playground is ours!

Our mighty vessel across Helsinki harbor, back to the ship!

This guy takes your picture when you get on the boat and sells it to you for 10 Euros. I took a picture of him and tried to sell it to him. He was not impressed.

Viking Raid to Helsinki (pt. 1)

Last weekend.
About 20 students from the KTH joined together for this Viking-style raid to Helsinki. There was no shortage of mayhem and pillaging. But before the chaos that was created when combining university students, confinement, and copious amounts of alcohol there was time to go topside.

leaving Stockholm aboard the mighty Gabriella

Viking Lines offers fairly cheap prices for their cruises from Stockholm because the main attraction is that once the ship crosses international waters, they can open a duty-free shop. This allows college students and thrifty Swedes to bypass the ludicrous alcohol taxes on land.

fellow Vikings: Juan Hector, Sara, and Nico

rain over Stockholm archipelago

contest winner!

Tax free shopping and a disco...

My bunk was on the fiesta deck, two floor below the place where they park the buses. Room 2065 was somewhere near the bowels of the ship, though they were not indicated on the fire escape plan. Notice the wonderful view through my window.