Markus i Sverige

Now it is almost a week ago since I moved into the living room. On Thursday we had valentine party in Kårhuset. Heineken was 19 SEK cheap, so I had to take the Friday off to prepare for the weekend. On Saturday we went to Kåren again. The DJ was not really talented, but at least they played some music you listen and dance to. It were several times the same songs and several times ABBA. But still better than the usual crap. The night was great and after we discovered that even Becks cost only 19SEK, we bought every bottle they could sell. At 2 we went to Norrmalms for the afterparty. Except of Doris and Marlies and some drunken Swedish people, Nacksta was dominating in the Norrmalms kitchen. At 4am I finally into my bed, skipping the after-after parties that started at Nacksta. But instead of sleeping long, I head to get up two hours later. I even woke up before my alarm, because at half past 6 we wanted to drive to Östersund watching the finals of Biathlon world championship. I ate qui...

20th - 24th January Short before the last of us leave we had our final trip. On Sunday morning we headed of to Vemdalen. 5 cars started at 7 in the morning in Nacksta. But except of Ole who did not have to refill gasoline 4 of us got already stucked at the gas station behind ICA Nacksta. Johan's car broke down and could not be repaired properly. In between the Corsa of the Marcos ran out of battery. First we planned to go by train to Östersund, but after midday we started with a rented car. In the meanwhile we heard that also Ole's car had some problems on the way to Vemdalen. They came off from the street, but except a spot in the car nothing serious seems to have happened. Since we arrived to late in Vemdalen we skipped the first day skiing. The following days were amazing. I even took a black slope, only during night skiing. But it is still to steep for me. I almost fell every attempt. But I made it to the second mountain this year where the slopes are longer than on the beg...

For not being stucked all alone in Sundsvall I joined the trip to Norway with Stefan, Sandra, Maritha, Ole, Hauke, Christian and Jens. And I do not regret a second. We stayed over the nights on a camping site in Trondheim and made day-tours from there. Saturday to the north hiking, Sunday to the South on an island. Monday to Trondheim itself, but it is not that pretty. The rest is undescribable. I have a few pictures, but I am looking forward to those of the others. 2007-10-01 , Weekend in Norway

Unbelievable. Anna is already since 10 days gone. Or is it only 10 days? I lost my feeling for time. Everyday is full of experiences and activities. I cannot recall everything what I have done in the past two weeks. Many things are just small things which I appreciate a lot. But the last weekend was a highlight. We went with 12 people in three cars to a place called Vallbo near Åre. We started at half past 6 in the morning on Saturday. Although some of us did not sleep at all during the fromer night we walked almost 8 hours. And it was awesome. We walked through so many different landscapes. Wood, swamp, high gras, Tundra, stone desert, climbed up a mountain, walked crosswards through the wood, on a dead river... Overwhelming. I remembered pictures of New Zealand while we wandered through that panorama. The view was breathtaking. The weather changed quickly a few times. One we had even an ice shower. In the end of the day we stayed for dinner at a pension where we got selfmade soup, b...

Sunday, I went to Alnö again. This time we were Basti, Inga, Phil, Ulrich and me joining Ulrike, Lars-Peter and Petter. Thanks to Basti and Inga who gave us a lift in their car. We have been to the beach next to Tranviken which we have been at the day before. But the second beach is not as nice as Tranviken. The sand is not as soft, you have a lot of insects there and small black sandstones stick later all over your skin. After sunbathing Petter invited us to his brother who leaves in a house on the seaside of the mountain next to the beach. The view is incredible and the house is still under construction but you already now it is a dream. Idyllic. We also ate fish. Fresh, but smoked, "strömming". It was the first time I ate a fish like this. You had to brake off the head with your fingers and to extract everything you does not want to eat (for me: organs and bones). Not my favorite snack, but eatable. And much better than surströmming, for sure. And our tour on Alnö was not ...

At saturday we stood up at 10 and went to the university for booking the train tickets for Gema which she needed on sunday. We wanted to go to university anyway because there happened this years Medelpaddeln. The task at Medelpaddeln is for two team to canoe approximatly 100 meters upstream to the lower bridge, climb a latter, handshake with a person on the bridge and get back as first team to the starting point. It was great fun. A lot of canoes keeled over. Ulrich's team even won the first competition. I took so many pictures that I had to make two galleries in Picasa. One only about the race and one about race and audience. Click on the pictures below. After the race Gema and I went home while Philipp worked further at the university. As well as Gema I took a nap for being prepared for the evening. First we had a preparty at Ulrich's flat and went to the student house afterwards. It was even full. A pitty we missed the cover band in the first floor. Somehow in the upper flo...

I stayed at home on wednesday. It was my tactic to respond to the weather I mentioned before. At home I could read and see the sun at the same time. I read a part of the second article which I have to criticize. According to the feedback from Love who is the professor of this course I shall focus more on the content. The last time I criticized mainly the structure. In the evening I went out with Solene and Sebastian, again. After we walked to the lower lake on Monday and Tuesday we headed this time to Norra Berget. We climbed up the rocks, made a small fire and enjoyed the view. Afterwards we went to the museum and Solene and Sebastian played at the play yard. Our walk took again 5 hours and it was fun as always. Today I began to clean the flat. Our vacuum cleaner needed a new bag for the dust, so I went to StuBo, because I hoped they would offer the bags of their vacuum cleaners. But it turned out, that the vacuum cleaner belong to a different organization which also provides the furn...

Weather in Sundsvall is very strange. Since 2am you have a bright blue sky. At 5am you wake up because the sun shines directly on your bed you you feel far to warm. During the day it is sunny so you can lie next to the river and enjoy it during your lunch break. After lunch more and more clouds appear and when you finish work at university in the afternoon the clouds are heavy, dark and deep und you have to fear rain. And it is colder than the cosy 20 degrees during the day. Plans like barbecues or picnics become less attractive although you were looking forward to it all the day long. During the early night hours the clouds disappear and around midnight to 2am you have a blue sky again and everything starts from the beginning. On Monday I've been to university to fix some bureaucracy stuff. Since the printer did not work it took a while. In the evening I had a walk with Solene and Sebastian to the small lake (I know, it is not that small, but now everybody knows what I mean). We s...

Week past by more quickly than I wished. No wonder. It were only three days. On Wednesday I went out around 8pm searching for the beaver. And indeed, as I had assumed it swam downstream at this time coming from the lake. I waited at the bridge again and took a lot of pictures, but not even one was acceptable. The light has been already to dark. But I made a movie of it and it is quite good visible on it. Perhaps I can make a crappy screenshot from the movie. But because, I reinstalled my computer I struggle with some difficulties. Windows does not recognize the network interfaces and Linux has first to be taught to play quicktime-movies. I lost a lot of nerves at this machine this week. But I think, now it is working. My work at university does not progress as fast I want it to. The book I am reading does not go as deep as I would like to know expert systems, but on the other hand it gives a good survey. But it leaves me with a few questions which I cover in my article with brave assum...

Since one or two weeks have we discovered some strange things at the river. Loud splash-sounds at the water when we go late along the river, strange cutted trees, branches without bark, even next to the university, and something big diving at night close beneath the water surface. Of course, that sounds like a beaver, but for receiving an evidence for the connection between these discoveries, I started last night an expedition to the river during sunset. I walked upstream and discovered several trees which were cutted. But they were so many (around a dozen in 50 meters) that I thought, that the trees would probably be the work of some humans collecting wood for the may-fires last monday. But I was wrong. A few minutes later a big animal left next to me the bank and swam parallel to me upstream. It was to dark, so I could not figure out if this animal has a box-like head or not. But it was at least half a meter what I could see on the surface and it switched to the opposite bank still s...

The easter weekend was a good opportunity for several partys. It started with thursdays black-and-white party for Celine's birthday and went on with a fridays pizza party at the italian flat with a lot of dancing. Saturday was relatively quite, because everybody was already exhausted from the two big partys the days before. And finally at sunday Ionut celebrated his birthday above Wayne's Coffee at town. But of course, we had some easter traditions, too. Philipp offered a easter brunch, therefore we had a cosy group of guests at sunday morning in our kitchen. Katharina, Sebastian and he had baked cakes and had painted eggs. After the brunch we had a walk with Petter around Sidsjön. The days could have been also active. On saturday I tried a smaller path in the woods of Norra Berget which led over the rocks above the city. Finally it led to the tower where I've not been since november . It was the first time I had a clear sight from there. When I've been there in septemb...

Sunday was not as lazy as I had assumed it. Spontanous Philipp, Nawelle and I joined for a walk to Sidsjön in the afternoon. On our way we came along with a sign to a path called "Klissberget". This was the way Phil and me had chosen once 3 month ago (oh my god, it's already quarter of a year since I have been on an adventure trip). And we could not resist this time, too. Encouraged by daylight we walked the path this time and were even able to follow the signs. But while the snow in Sundsvall is melting it consists in the wood. We walked tiny pathes and the snow was really deep. Deeper then the height of my knee. And my boots could not resist the water for ever. After a while we reached the top of mountain. There was even a sign pronouncing a height of 219 meters. For me it was also a sign, that we have followed a civilzed path and not only the way of some forest workers. A second sign showed to another path "Klissberget 1.6 km". But because it was already 4pm...

A week has passed since the last post appeared. Since last friday a week of skiing has passed. A week of joy, a week of celebtrating and the last days with a few of my closest friends. But first of all, it were holidays. Friday, 2007-01-19 In the evening we had Basti's Good Bye Dinner with the EILC people. Dennis cooked very tasty fish. As always, very deligious. Later in the evening Marlena arrived. She is Ulrich's fellow-student and just arrived at Sundsvall. As far as I know she was the first of the new students. The remaining night Basti and I worked on our assignments for Decision analysis. We were not able to complete it, but we hoped for receiving a "passed" for our already done work. Saturday, 2007-01-20 This was the first very cold day at Sundsvall since my arrival. Philipp phoned me, telling me, I should take very warm clothes, because it were -15°C. During the ski-week it were every morning that cold. So, early in the morning Basti and I started our last c...

Today nothing special happened. Well, there are some things. First, I wondered about my lecturer in Decision Analysis who knows my name and I don't know why. Second, after 18 month of abstinence I posted a picture at www.fotocommunity.de . You probably know it already from my blog about the barbeque in september. I changed the cut, as you will notice. But I like the motive and the depth of the picture. Have a look ! In the evening I had a nice walk with Phil through the woods. Since my adventure with Basti at september I was longing for something like this. We started at almost nine o'clock in the evening and were prepared with torches this time. We went tiny pathes and after almost two exciting hours we were back at Nacksta. During our walk we swichted the torches sometimes off to see the stars. It was amazing to realize when they became more and more the longer the eyes got used to the darkness. For the picture we installed one of the torches in a tree to light us during t...

The salsa party was good. I had expected more, but all in all it was good and we had our fun. I came home at 1am in the morning. Basti and I had laboratory at the following morning, but we felt better than we had feared. Laboratories practical exercises which has to been done. Luckily we are allowed to do it in small teams, so Basti an I can work together. In the evening was salsa lesson, again. Basti and I came 10 minutes too late. And guess what: there were only 5 boys! No girls! Damn! After another 10 minutes 3 other boys and 5 girls arrived. Very funny. The good thing: because we were oly 5 pairs, our trainer were able to help each of them. The bad thing: three men always had to dance alone. As you can see, I had fun with salsa at two days in a row and I would have had three (every friday: salsa party at Liquid Bar!!!), if Basti and I would not have had another idea. During the salsa party on wednesday Basti and I had decided to go to the biathlon world cup in Östersund on friday (...