Peter Lau's Blog

Still smiling as the images of the Northern Lights lingered in my mind. 

Went out in the morning to have a last round of Photoshoot.

(With the Ladies from America- Melanie & Danielle)

Was sad to leave the small village of Porjus after 3 days and 2 nights. After bidding goodbye to the 2 ladies, I went to catch a bus that brought me to a train station. Took an overnight train back to Stockholm. 

1 Oct 2011 (Day 62)

Hah, October already!

Arrived at Stockholm Central Station at about 11am. Went to MacDonalds and guess who I saw? Melanie and Danielle!! What a coincidence! They stayed over in Porjus for 1 more night and left Porjus this morning. The only difference was that they flew back to Stockholm and I took the train. And we met at the train station. How small can the world be?

I had no money to eat a meal so I ordered fries. 

Talked for quite a bit and off I went to catch the next train to Oslo, Norway!

Arrived in Oslo at 9pm. Quickly went to find the hostel, which is just 5mins walk away from the train station. Check-in, planned for the next day and slept. 

After meeting new friends in Pojus, MY LIFE WAS NEVER EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE....................................EEEEEEE............................EEVER, THE SAME, AGAIN!!!

OMG! I've been traveling for 60 days already! Unbelievable!

Had the luxury of walking up later because I was still staying in the quaint village of Porjus.

I went back to the house after one afternoon of taking photos. Just to give you an idea how I spent time during my 2nd day here, I had more than 1,200 pictures taken! Compared to the 500 pictures taken the day before.

I met 2 beautiful young ladies from the USA in the house as they booked the other bedroom. They are 2 fun-loving people with the same purpose of catching the Northern Lights in Porjus. It was nice talking to them and they told me that they had just graduated and will be traveling for the next 6 months! Cool..

We played card games to kill time as we waited till past midnight. The gals taught me to play 2 games that are apparently quite popular in the States. No gambling of course!

And finally, after hours of waiting and monitoring my laptop, we saw the Northern Lights!!! Suddenly, everyone jumped out of their seats and rushed to the window with our cameras and started snapping away. Then we braced the cold and went out of the house to get a wider view of the phenomenon.

Let me just tell you that it is definitely not enough looking at the following pictures, you have to go there to experience it! Enjoy:

I thank God for being able to witness the Northern Lights with my own eyes. And it wasn't even winter yet. I can only imagine how beautiful it will be in winter. 

Of course, Porjus is not the only place in the world that you can see the Northern Lights. Next time, I will go to a different place to see it! Simply can't get enough of it! Anybody wanna join?

Like I mentioned above, seeing the pictures is definitely not good enough, you have to go and experience it, at least once in your life. Seeing the lights dancing/moving in the night sky was something indescribable.  I was really happy and blessed to have seen it after traveling for 2 months. 

Slept super well that night, with a smile on my face....

I'll be checking out the next day in the afternoon, and I'll be heading to Oslo, Norway!!!

That will be a more than 24-hour journey. 

After experiencing the NORTHERN LIGHTS, MY LIFE WAS NEVER EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE....................................EEEEEEE............................EEVER, THE SAME, AGAIN!!!

After 1 train ride and 2 bus rides, I arrived in the small village of Porjus, Sweden. Yes, it is a village! It is not even considered a town. There are less than 400 inhabitants living there as we speak!

I love this tranquil and beautiful village! An outstanding place to do nothing! Well, there are actually things to do there such as, trekking, fishing, Moose hunting, taking photos, and that's about it. In winter, there are more things to do, such as ice-fishing, dog-sledding. reindeer sledding, ice-skating etc.

I was cold and hungry, so I went to the only grocery store in Porjus to get some supplies to cook.

There was really nothing much to do here so I walked around the village and took lots of photos. I took more than 500 pictures in my first day in Porjus. I will only show you this much:

Well, my purpose of coming to Porjus was to see the Northern Lights. And it is not an every night thing. Sometimes it appears, and sometimes it doesn't. The best time to see it is during the coldest months of winter. The colder it is, the higher the chance of seeing the Northern Lights. It was only autumn when I was there but sources indicate that there is a high chance that I could still see it.

If there is one country that I'll definitely go back; it is none other than Sweden. And it is not because it is the home of IKEA and H&M...

Arrived in Stockholm in the mid afternoon. The train station wasn't particularly big or as impressive as their European counterparts. Took a 15mins walk to the hostel.

Dropped my haversack and off I went.

While I was walking to the Museum, I saw 2 mothers sitting on a bench with their babies. They were just chatting away and somehow I felt compelled to ask them for directions. Usually after asking for directions, I would ask for recommendations for local food. I have been to so many cities and that became sort of a standard "questioning routine". The mums were really friendly and straightaway recommended me a place that serves the best Swedish Meatballs in Stockholm! Super excited!

They warned me though, that the price was on the steep side.

I found "Prinsen Restaurant" quite easily. The waiter recommended beef filet with fried potato cubes. So I ordered that and a plate of Swedish Meatballs. Let me tell you this: If you have time for only one meal to eat in Stockholm, you MUST definitely try the Beef Fillet with Fried Potatoes at Prinsen.

It was the BEST Beef Filet steak I have eaten. I haven't tried a Beef Steak that was so tender, juicy and aromatic at the same time. When I ate the Fried Potato Cubes, I just went "Ooooooooohhhhhhh". They served with a special kind of sauce that was made from egg. The Potato with egg sauce was amazingly delicious.

I can now officially declare that this is one of my top 2 favourite dishes for my whole in Europe! (The other one was the food I ate in Madrid.) I can't fully express how much I love this Beef Filet with Potato Cubes.

Took a nice walk around the capital of Sweden. Bought some groceries at the supermarket and went back to the hostel.

My second day in Stockholm. 

Stockholm is made of different big islands and I went to explore an area called SoFo in another island quite far from the city.

Walked past the old town.

Since I was in the home of the most famous furniture store, I had to make a trip there. In Stockholm, you will find the WORLD'S LARGEST IKEA store. I heard that there was a free shuttle bus that leaves neat the train station every hour but I couldn't find the pick-up point. I asked many people but they all seemed to be unsure about it or they gave me the wrong directions! Well, you have to first understand that most people in Stockholm are not from Stockholm. That was why.

After walking in circles for more than 45minutes, I finally found the IKEA Shuttle Bus pick-up point. Just made it in time for the bus, otherwise I had to wait for another hour! The bus ride took about 20mins and I arrived at the WORLD'S LARGEST IKEA!!!

Even though I probably ate the best Swedish Meatballs last evening, I thought I had to eat the IKEA meatballs since I was at the WORLD'S LARGEST IKEA. So I did. The question is, "does the meatballs taste nicer than the ones in Singapore?" The answer? Nope. It tasted almost exactly the same as the Singapore IKEA meatballs. Very good quality control I must say.

Of course, the Swedish Meatballs at Prinsen Restaurant was way better. 

Walked around the WORLD'S LARGEST IKEA and went to buy the Hot Dog when I left. Surprisingly, the Hot Dog there is cheaper than the one at Singapore's IKEA. It is lesser than SGD $1!!! Probably the cheapest food I've seen in the whole of Stockholm!

Took the shuttle bus back to the city near the train station and walked back to my hostel. By the way, this is one of the better hostels that I've stayed in during my whole LAND TRIP.

Cooked some pasta for dinner and got ready to leave the Capital of Sweden. I was going to catch a train that night up to Porjus, Sweden!!! (The place I hoped to see the Northern Lights!)

It was going to be a long ride - a more than 24-hour journey up north!

After experiencing Stockholm and eating the best Beef Filet, MY LIFE WAS NEVER EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE....................................EEEEEEE............................EEVER, THE SAME, AGAIN!!!