Trip to Europe, September 2015, Jönköping, Karlskrona

Traditional homes in Sweden often look like these. The reason for the preference for the dark red colour, known in Sweden as Falu red, is that it was easy to make it using a waste product from copper mines. This waste product contained iron, hence the red colour.

I like trains. This one was in Jönköping.

You most likely never heard of Jönköping, but maybe you know the name Husqvarna - the company that makes chainsaws, tractors, and robotic lawn mowers - they originated and still have a factory in Huskvarna (name of the place changed slightly), which is part of Jönköping now.

Sweden must be number one in international rankings in the number of global brands per capita. For a country with 9.5 million people, it seems like every business that ever started in Sweden is known internationally. I know these, but there are many more: IKEA, Volvo, Saab, Scania, ABB, Oriflame, Nordea, Electrolux, Skanska, H&M, Husqvarna, Absolut Vodka.

I finish this short exploration of Sweden in Karlskrona, which has a ferry connection with Gdynia in Poland. A more modern and typical for European cities, architecture of Karlskrona:

Sweden makes its own submarines, obviously :-), and Karlskrona is home to a great maritime museum that houses two. Here is the nose section of one of them, Neptun:

Time to get on a ferry to Gdynia...

Trip to Europe, September 2015, Ystad, Malmö

Driving from Ystad to Malmo is safer and faster thanks to cleverly designed 3 lane roads with a metal wire barrier. The number of lanes in one direction changes from 1 to 2 every few kilometers. This allows easy and safe overtaking of slower vehicles. This design is badly needed in Poland and elsewhere. It does not require much widening of existing country roads, but improves safety and comfort enormously.

Malmö, Sweden: this building reminds me of the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Poland and Sweden were for a short time part of the same kingdom in late 16th century.

Hybrid buses disguised as articulated trams in Malmö.

Old advertisements on a building in the center of Malmö.

Next, a short trip to Copenhagen...

Trip to Europe, September 2015, Vienna, Ystad

I'm back in Australia from a month long trip to Poland (and a few other countries). The trip was educational, but physically and mentally exhausting. I may be getting too old for such trips.

A few highlights:
Vienna, Austria: there are many beautiful streets and buildings in Vienna, but for me the typical old Vienna street looks like this. No trees to soften the asphalt and concrete view. The view of the sky is so narrow that even if there were any landmarks, to help orientate in the labyrinth of 5-story buildings, they would probably be rarely visible. I kept getting lost walking these streets "on azimuth".

A less common view of the famous Hundertwasser house in Vienna with a bit of its neighbour on the left.

Ystad, Sweden: a beautiful little city that has a ferry service to Świnoujście, Poland.

These small houses in Ystad reminded me of Ireland:

To be continued...