Sirened

With the US dollar struggling mightily, even against currencies like the Russian ruble, it’s a whole lot less of a bargain traveling with the green backs these days. But not all bad deals are created equal, so I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the 10 most expensive cities to visit with US money.
10)Helsinki, Finland
9)Frankfurt, Germany
8)Zurich, Switzerland
7)Reykjavik, Iceland
6)Osaka, Japan
5)Tokyo, Japan
4)London, UK
3)Copenhagen, Denmark
2)Paris, France
1)Oslo, Norway
There are a few different lists circulating around, but this one seemed to be the most accurate. Obviously there are different ways to measure the expense of a city but this list seemed …read more

1 Comment

Fast food doesn’t get any faster than food from vending machines and it doesn’t get any slower than Greta’s digestive tract.
photo credit: personal collection

2 Comments

Less than 200 days to do! So ok, that’s still like 1,999 days too long but what the hell can you do? At least the end is near…Dance George dance!

3 Comments

If you’re visiting Stockholm, staying on a boat is the way to go. When I was there in 2001 I stayed in 2 different boat hostels, the Red Boat Malaren and the af Chapman. Both of which are still in operation.
The af Chapman is an HI Hostel (which sometimes includes very annoying rules like curfews, lockouts and genuine bullshit). But at the af Chapman there is no curfew and no lockout, and best of all the location is phenomenal. From the front of the ship you can see the royal palace, yachts randomly docked in front of buildings and the …read more

Comments Off

Today my wife and I are off on a week’s vacation to Sweden and Denmark! This won’t be my first time to Sweden as I previously visited the country back in 2001 and truly enjoyed it.
Stockholm is one of the cleanest and prettiest cities in Europe and they have some of the fanciest 7-11’s you’ll ever see in your life! Not the insides but the outsides, in that some of them are in beautiful old buildings. Sure it’s a bastardization of their culture but ah, what can you do?
My wife and I will be staying in a boat hotel in …read more

3 Comments

From this day forward things just won’t be the same. Thanks for the great memories public smoking, you will be missed…
Smoking in Bars, Restaurants and Clubs: Long ass time ago-June 30th, 2008
photo credit: me

Comments Off

Another month has come and gone, and slowly we’re all getting older and crustier. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights from June.
Prescription drugs kill more people than illegal drugs. We also learned that nobody in the state of Florida died from marijuana in 2007.
The fact that nobody died from marijuana in Florida led me to wonder, is it even humanely possible to die from an overdose of weed?
June saw Europe go nuts with Euro Cup fever. So I decided to list 10 things that annoy me about soccer.
John McCain might be old and decrepit now, but …read more

Comments Off

Yup, sure looks like one.
photo credit: me

2 Comments

Effective July 1st, the Netherlands will be joining several other EU countries in banning smoking inside all restaurants, bars and clubs. But of course, since it’s the Netherlands there is a wonderful kicker, the ban is only on tobacco!
For awhile, many people were concerned that the smoking ban would bring an end to the Netherlands famous “coffee shops.” And if this were the case, come July 1st, some 200 businesses in Amsterdam alone would be no longer.
The future of coffee shops in the Netherlands is still an uncertain one, but for the time being they will be safe. Patrons will …read more

2 Comments

I believe the Dutch translation is “smoking is cool.”
photo credit: personal collection

5 Comments