Archive for the ‘Sweden’ Category

Breakfast in Tallinn

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

Two nights on a cruise ship with 3000 raver kids, somewhere between Sweden and Estonia.

The weekend booze cruise has long been on my Cutural To-Do List.

And while I was a little wary of the fact this particular boat ride was based entirely around dance music, the possibility of changing my facebook status to “Christopher is grabbing breakfast in Tallinn” was simply too tempting.

The trip was memorable.

Words don’t do it justice.

Pictures don’t do it justice.

Videos *kinda* do it justice, but NOBODY is going to be seeing them, because they mainly consist of me, drunk on vodka and high on taurine, dancing around (at times shirtless) to rave music whilst bursting into spontaneous performances of my signature move, the “Kangaroo Hop” (the dance craze that swept the boat…).

So pictures it is:

Breakfast in Tallinn [#003]

Starting with the now-customary overdose of Red Bull before I go out. Leo was a bit worried the Duty Free store on board might run out… so we stocked up on the first evening. Scarily, we needed another two dozen cans (and 2 more litres of vodka) by early evening on the second day.

Breakfast in Tallinn [#009] Breakfast in Tallinn [#008] Breakfast in Tallinn [#002] Breakfast in Tallinn [#006]

 

Breakfast in Tallinn [#005]
Above, the Islands of Death…

 

Breakfast in Tallinn [#008]

 

Breakfast in Tallinn [#012] Breakfast in Tallinn [#013] Breakfast in Tallinn [#019]

 

Breakfast in Tallinn [#010]


(the sun is rising ridiculously early these days…)

None of us had gotten enough sleep by the time we pulled into port at Tallinn. So it was a very slow walk around the beautiful Old Town (though it’s got nothing on Stockholm’s Gamla Stan).

So after some hearty medieval fare it was back on the big boat, where we spent the afternoon out on the sundeck with all the raver kids, before I once again overdosed on vodka & taurine and danced the night away to very, very loud techno music.

Breakfast in Tallinn [#029]

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Good times!

Sunrise or sunset?
Not sure if this was sunset or sunrise… kinda all blurs into one.

 

 

Jay & Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington)

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

Got arty enough shot? Brilliant...

A weekend in the Swedish Sun with Jay, Jess and the infamous Buzz Killington.

WITH my very good friends in Dublin on a junkit this month, I was lucky enough to have them drop into Stockholm for the weekend.

Following an emotional trip to the footy shortly after their arrival, Jay, Jess and I headed into town.

Obviously I had to show them “Stureplan” aka the very fancy, very fashionable, very beautiful, and very snobby nightclubbing district of central Stockholm.

We headed to the relative safety of one of my favourite Stockholm bars, Utecompagniet.

Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#03]

Despite being smack-bang in the middle of Stureplan, it’s one of the few places you don’t pay $30 to get into, and you actually can find some pretty cool people there.

Though all we found this night was Buzz Killington (see further down for more details about this illustrious creature).

We spent the days wandering the beautiful streets of the city in some brilliant weather (we all even managed to get sunburnt – not bad for a trio of Gold Coasters in Scandinavia).

Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#07]

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We stumbled across the city’s most colourful bar. And despite it being full of Buzz Killingtons and having bar staff that looked like angels, it couldn’t have been more relaxing.

The most colourful bar I've ever seen, full of Buzz Killington types, though.

Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#11] Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#12] Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#15] Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#16]

Did the customary visit to Iron Boy:

Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#19]

Headed out to my favourite restaurant, PetSounds Bar, spending most of the evening trying to guess the famous musicians on the wall (in between reminiscing about the incredible Buzz Killington we saw the previous night).

Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#25] Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#26] Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#27]

Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#24]

Looking back 18 months, I can’t imagine any of us having predicted we’d soon all wind up in Stockholm, a year since having seen each other.

So we basically just spent the weekend soaking up the good weather, and the bloody good times.

Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#28] Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#29] Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#31]

Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#30] Jay + Jess do Stockholm! (a.k.a. The Search for Buzz Killington) [#32]

Buzz Killington

Buzz Killington!
Above: Stockholm’s most illustrious Buzz Killington

How To Spot a Buzz Killington:

- has blonde, medium-length, swished-back hair with a part in it
- looks like a wealthy douchebag
- acts like a wealthy douchebag
- most likely wearing a collared shirt with jacket
- alternatively can be wearing polo shirt, so long as it has a large, luxurious crest on it (popular with daytime Buzz Killingtons)
- Buzz Killington won’t be wearing jeans (that’s far too casual)
- socialises within swarms of other Buzz Killingtons – a Buzz by itself is quite weak, but in a pack they’re strong
- unlikely to be seen socialising with any non-Buzz Killingtons
- will be seen drinking champagne (never beer)
- in the evening Buzz Killington will look like he’s just come from dinner at the yacht club
- during the day Buzz Killington will look like he’s just come from lunch at the yacht club
- occasionally you may see the rare, female-Buzz Killington, “Emelia Bedford Forthington Chesterhill” (though Buzz and Emelia can never mix, that’d be like world’s colliding…)
- Buzz Killingtons almost exclusively frequent Stureplan
- locals here in Stockholm would simply call Buzz Killington a “Sturebrat,” or the more affectionate, “Brat.”

“Jog It Off Parker!!”

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

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Stockholm League, Round 4
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Solna Axemen def by. Södermalm Blues

Qtr Time: 2.1.13 || 1.5.11

Half Time: 6.3.39 || 2.7.19

3Qtr Time: 6.6.42 || 5.12.42

Full Time: 7.7.49 || 7.14.56
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A heartbreaking loss to the Blues…

We may have towelled them in the first round, but with all of their Swedish and Aussie stars returning, plus the mid-season recruitment of gun Centre-Half Forward Stewie (who has an uncanny resemblance to Hawthorn’s Stewie Dew – in more than a few ways…), Södermalm were always going to be tough.

Despite going up against a full-strength opposition without our Male Model/Coach Ryan Kingsley, the Axemen made the most of the blustery conditions at the home of Swedish (Australian) Football to take a commanding lead into the main break.

Defenders should always play in front of their man, defense 101 really...

With a couple of friends in the grandstand having flown all the way from Aus to see me play, I wasn’t about to let them down.

Unfortunatley I did, because after that it was all downhill…

We were outgunned eight scoring shots to three in the third term, with the Blues scoring a couple of late, cheap goals to setup a thrilling run to the finish for the capacity crowd (it was “Ladies Day at the Footy” aka Free Champagne Day).

While a scrappy start to the last quarter saw us edge a solitary point in front with seven or eight minutes left on the clock, we couldn’t hold back Söder’s stars for as long as we needed to.

With the clock counting down and the free booze having dried up, our Axe-hearts were finally broken, as first Stewie snapped a goal out of nowhere and then I found myself alone in front of goals against Blues forwards Joel and Johnny.

I was stuck in no-mans land: stay on my man (“Defense 101 Parker!”) at the goal line, or race out and try to prevent the other one having an easy shot.

In the end I chose the latter, but a simple handball over my head (I’m still yet to see a five foot full-back in the AFL…) unfortunately sealed a well-deserved win for the boys from the South.

MEANWHILE, media coverage of Swedish Aussie Rules has reached saturation point.

Several articles of late have trumped up the game nobody-understands-but-just-assumes-must-be-rugby and how it’s sweeping the nation.

We even scored a full page feature article in one of Sweden’s highest-brow weekend papers.

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Swedish Aussie Rules in one of the country's most respected papers

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AFL Sweden in the news

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Australisk Fotboll!

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AFL Sweden

 

It’s T-Shirt Weather!

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

72 Hours of Sunshine in Stockholm (pics!)

HELLO SUMMER!

 

Hello Summer!

The long-awaited return of Summer to Sweden…

Stockholm was sitting around 25 and blue skies all weekend, and a few hours south was enjoying Europe’s max. temp of 28. Nice!

All just in time for a few days of festivities.

A Friday-night feast at The Mansion, sunbaking on the balcony (I’m now VERY happy that I shelled out for the master bedroom), a 30th birthday bash at The Mansion, skinny-dipping at The Mansion (at 2.30am, tad cold, probably a good thing it was still dark). And a lot of lazing about in the sun around the city. Good times!

“25 and sunny” is just another day back home on the Gold Coast, but here, in the far North of the world, where we’ve just had 7 long months of winter, where we have footy training in the snow, where just a couple of months ago parts of the country were enjoying -41 degrees…. it means a LOT.

As beautiful as winter can be in this country (especially in the North of Sweden), when Summer rolls around everyone’s smiling again, everyone’s happy, everything’s so much brighter…

So in Celebration of the Sun’s return, I set a few pictures from the weekend to the breezy, summery tunes of The Lucksmiths’ “T-Shirt Weather”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2phxGjAzXxA[/youtube]

The VB Cup (Solna Axemen – Champions of Sweden!!)

Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

SM Guld!

SM Guld!
The Mighty Solna Axemen – Swedish National Champions (SM-Guld) after winning the VB Cup in Karlstad!

Got up at 5am for the three hour drive to Karlstad.

Had been looking forward to this one for months.

Teams from across the country were converging in the middle of the country for AFL Sweden’s most prestigious prize – the VB Cup.

The Berserkers made the trek from Göteborg, the Maulers hiked up from Malmö, the Diggers came down from Falun and a few booze-happy students staggered across to make up the Uppsala Cardinals. They joined the big-bodied Helsingborg West Raptors, the ever-willing-to-argue-with-the-umpire Bromma Vikings, hosts the Karlstad Dragons, and of course the MIGHTY Solna Axemen.

Overnight rain had made conditions in the early matches difficult, but the sun soon came out and by early afternoon I was reaching for the sun-screen. Being reigning premiers, the Axemen had high hopes for the Cup, but last week’s loss to the Vikings, as well as the practice match debacle against the Dragons had made us realise just how tough the competition would be.

Group Matches:

Game 1: Solna Axemen def. Port Malmö Maulers

The Maulers struggled to make up the numbers, so with zero players on their interchange we were able to run them off their feet. But considering their clear disadvantage (we had six on the bench and were continually rotating fresh legs), the boys from Port Malmö put up a good fight.

Game 2: Solna Axemen def. Karlstad Dragons

The rematch. We were told to forget about our dismal performance against the Dragons last month and start fresh for this game. But I couldn’t get the memories of Vulcan’s boot smashing into my stomach out of my head. Karlstad were the hosts and had a big home crowd (AT LEAST forty people by this stage of the day) on their side. They were keen to keep the Cup in town and came out hard.

The Axemen, however, weren’t going to suffer a second humiliation and quickly got the jump, heading into the break a few goals up. It was a tight second half, but in the end the Axemen had the superior skills and showed the other teams we were a genuine contender to be drinking out of the Cup come day’s end.

Game 3: Solna Axemen def. Uppsala Cardinals

The students from Uppsala (the University/party town an hour North of Stockholm) were already out of contention by this stage of the day, but we needed a win to take top spot in our group and the luxury of a slightly more comfortable route to the Final.

In the end the Cardinals had one eye on the beer fridge as the Axemen ran all over them. A solid win ahead of the semis.

Semi Final:

While the Vikings were cruising to the final against the Dragons on the other field, the Axemen were locked in an epic with Helsingborg. In a scary flashback to the aforementioned practice match against Karlstad (where I duelled Vulcan from Gladiators), the Raptors fielded more than a couple of guys that clearly spend waaaay more time in the gym than on the field.

I was goal-umpiring earlier in the day when Helsingborg almost got over the top of the highly-fancied Vikings, so it was obviously going to be a tough path to the Grand Final.

But the boys from Solna once again flew out of the gates and within no time were four goals up.

Eventually our opponents began stamping their physical presence on the game and by half-time it was virtually dead even.

A rousing half-time speech couldn’t prevent us from conceding the opening goal early of the second half. Helsingborg were full of voice and it looked like the game might have turned.

However a few heroic runs down the wing and plenty of screaming (more on that later…) of our own and we were back in it.

With a few minutes left on the clock the tension was almost unbearable.

Would the Axemen make it to the final and justify the painfully early Saturday morning drive? Or would the Raptors deliver the knockout punch (literally)?

In the end our full-forward Joel Tjernlund finally found his kicking boots and sealed a memorable passage to the final for the boys from Solna.

We were all bruised and battered, but only had 40 minutes to recover before the final – an all Stockholm affair against arch-rivals the Bromma Vikings.

Grand Final:

Games against Bromma are always heated. The Axemen cleaned them up in last year’s Stockholm League Grand Final, and last week the Vikings returned the favour in a spiteful Round Two clash.

Our cross-town foes are never short of confidence, and started the game feeling more than a little cocky about their chances.

But not for the first time in the day, our midfielders set a cracking pace early and within minutes we were 18 points clear, causing the Vikings to begin their now-customary ritual of assuming the role of second umpire a little earlier than usual.

However it didn’t take long for their gun full-forward Trevor to get into the game, and by half-time he’d already kicked a bag and sent his side 8 points up.

Some inspirational half-time words from former-male-model turned Coach, Ryan Kingsley, spurned on the boys and we came out guns blazing. In a see-sawing affair we managed to keep our noses in front as the clock ticked down.

The crowd had swelled (at LEAST sixty-seventy people by this stage, many were suggesting it was a ground record…), Bromma’s full-forward had kicked his seventh goal and Coach Kingsley had taken the Mark of the Year (much to the joy of the female fans).

But then emotions boiled over and the two stars were going at it, resulting in a five-minute ban for our fearless Coach.

This injustice only served to motivate the Axemen, and within minutes we had kicked two goals clear thanks to some straight-shooting from Joel T that would make any AFL footballer blush.

As the siren rang we were almost too tired to celebrate.

Five games in eight hours.

But once the Cup was presented and the champagne started flowing, we managed to find our voices again.

The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#27]

The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#04] The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#06] The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#08]

The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#09]

Above: Captain Courageous, Patty Hyberg.

The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#10]

Below: Full-forward and match-winner Joel Tjernlund, the always-smiling Coach Kingsley, and our Courageous Captain.

The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#11]

The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#12] The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#15] The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#14] The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#16]

But it wasn’t over yet. We’d booked into a few cabins adjascent to the footy oval so we could spend a night celebrating out on the town (Karlstad literally is a town compared to Stockholm…).

The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#22]

The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#23]

Everyone wanted a piece of the Cup! Champagne, wine, beer – anything remotely alcoholic was being poured in and quickly drained back out.

The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#25] The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#24]

The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#26]

By midnight the effects of screaming inspirational messages to teammates from the half-back flank were beginning to show.

I started sounding like I’d been on a binge of whiskey and cigarettes for the two weeks straight and by the wee hours of the morning was down to communicating via notes written on my mobile.
The VB Cup (Solna Axemen - Champions of Sweden!!) [#17]

As the Schlager bars began to wind down, we took a cab back to the camping ground and passed out in our bunks.

Both shoulders, a few ribs, and 100% of both legs were in absolute pain. It was genuinely the most uncomfortable sleep I’ve ever had. There was only one spot – where I was sort of lying on a weird angle on my stomach – where I could lay down pain-free.

By the morning none of us could walk properly. We staggered over to the breakfast hall, where I proceeded to make a new nickname for myself by eating copious amounts of Kalles Kaviar.

After that it was the incredibly tired drive back to Stockholm – but the pain was unbelievably satisfying, as the Cup was making the trip home with us.

“I’ve gotta sleep eventually… surely”

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008

a.k.a. The Weekend That Never Wanted To End.

Thursday. I’m thinking to myself: in a couple of days I’ve got the big Grand Final rematch against the Vikings. I’ve been training solidly in the gym all week, feeling great, and really looking forward to a couple of early nights so I can come out firing on the weekend.

The next 48 hours were meant to be so simple: maybe catch up with a friend for a bit on Thursday night, relax at home Friday, and be well rested for the game come Saturday morning. Definitely no alcohol, and certainly no late nights.

Where did it all go so wrong?

It started with a call from Leo on Thursday afternoon. A bloody good bloke – you’ll never meet a more generous Swede. He’d just gotten back from jetsetting across the world for a month and wanted to share some of his adventures over dinner.

“Great,” I thought. Catch up with a couple of friends for a quiet night – won’t even have to worry about dinner.

Next thing I know it’s 2:15am and I’m running across town to catch the last night bus home for the next hour (the ever-reliable tunnelbana stopped running a long time ago).

I’m not sure if it was my obsession with Kristian’s iPhone or the potent Japanese liquor that Leo unveiled, but somewhere during the night I’d completely forgotten about my preparation for the Big Game.

So by the time I climb into bed, somewhere close to 3:30am, the sun is rising and I’m wondering how early I’ll have to be in bed Friday night to make up for this.

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Friday.

“No drinks. Early night.”

I enjoyed a good sleep-in and was looking forward to taking it easy that evening.

Then Leo called again (like I said, bloody good bloke, but I have to admit my body gets a little nervous every time his name flashes up on my phone nowadays).

There was a PhD Student party at the Karolinska Institute. Nothing over-the-top, he assured me.

I ummed and ahhed and then decided I could go out for ONE drink. No more, and definitely on the t-bana home before midnight.

Fast forward to 1am and I’m dancing to really, really bad Swedish music in a Schlager Hall (I’ve given up on getting this song out of my head).

Home by 4am.

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The Big Anzac Day Clash
(You’ve gotta remember the guy standing next to me is about 8 feet
tall. Why on earth did I choose to stand next to HIM?)

Saturday. I wake up after six hours sleep. Two hours too few on any given day, let alone the day of the big game.

Despite falling off the wagon in the preceeding 48 hours, I felt good. I was PUMPED for the big Anzac Day Clash against the Bromma Aussies Vikings.

The game had plenty of spirit. We’d lined up to hear the Last Post on the bugle before the bounce, and both teams had a point to prove. With each team having six or seven players on the interchange the game was played at a frenetic pace (as frenetic as AFL in Sweden can get, anyway).

But with the Vikings’ gun full forward Trevor in fine form, the Axemen went into the break four goals down.

We weren’t about to roll over and concede, however. And after the break came out firing with two quick replies.

The Vikings started arguing with the umpire (surprise surprise), Trevor ran down to full-back to plug their defence, and we felt the tide was turning in our favour.

Alas, a couple of cheap kicks later and the game was all over.

Bromma Vikings 10-16-76 def. Solna Axemen 7-10-52

It was a disappointing loss, and my body was aching.

I was in no mood to go out.

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Saturday Afternoon. I make it home by 5pm. I’m exhausted. I’m considering crawling into bed right now and wondering if I’ll wake up again before Sunday. Probably not…

But no, Leila calls. “Join is in Södermalm for a couple of drinks and something to eat.”

Hmm, why not. It was a glorious day, no better way to forget about our loss than with a couple of drinks in the sun.

After a couple of hours I was ready to call it quits and head home for the night.

7pm. Leo calls. “Hey mate we’re going to a dance party tonight, pre-party at mine from 8pm, come over.”

I should have known right then and there that I wasn’t getting to bed for a long, looong time.

Leila and I head over to the pre-party at Leo’s.

I steadfastly refused any notion whatsoever of going to the dance party (I don’t dance, I have no idea what the difference between “House” and “Trance” music is, and I was already running on fumes), but was suddenly warming to the idea of a few more drinks.

I think this was my downfall:

I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#28]

I was being served vodka red bulls in giant glasses, which basically required a can and a half of red bull with three shots of vodka.

I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#03] I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#04] I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#08] I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#06]

Before I knew it, I was high as a kite and making plans to get a permanent residency permit off a lovely young girl in exchange for me going out to the dance club.

I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#07]
(Red Bull starting to well and truly kick in)

I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#05]
The Anderssons!

I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#14]
“Yeah, nah let’s go dance for four and a half hours straight, definitely!”

I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#16]

I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#18]
(Tove was literally dancing this fast)

I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#20]
I have no idea who this DJ was… but the videos (that I’m deliberately withholding to save some form of credibility) suggest I was thoroughly enjoying his music.

The club ran til 4am. The tunnelbana (Metro) stops running at 3.45am. Well bloody timed!!

We tried in vain to get a taxi before giving up and walking allllll the way back to Leo’s as the sun came up.

I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#21]

I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#22]
Why not?

I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#23]

An hour later we were there.

I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#24]
The “korv” (hotdogs) tasted like heaven at 5.30 in the morning.

I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#25]
Andreas inventing the world’s most uncomfortable sleeping position.

I've gotta sleep eventually... surely [#26]
“Yeah, nah feeling great guys.”

We all tried (and most failed) to sleep for a couple of hours before I made my way home after 8am.

I walk in the door of The Mansion at 9.30am. I’ve been going virtually non-stop for the past 60 hours. My body is aching from a brutal game of football, four hours on the dancefloor, an overdose of alcohol and Red Bull, and way, waaaaaaaay too little sleep.

But as I turned the key to our house, I stopped and thought for a moment just how beautiful the weather in Sweden had become. How it was green and colourful, how the sun was shining and the birds were chirping. It felt like the perfect way to end a fantastic weekend, and slip into an endless slumber.

Then I opened the door, and a big sign on the house noticeboard read “Outside Cleaning Day, Sunday 27/4, 10:30am, everyone be there”.

I think right at that moment I may have shed a tear.

I had just enough time for a shower and breakfast, then spent the next three hours scrubbing garden furniture.

By 1pm I crawled into my bed and never, ever got out of it again.

The Mighty Solna Axemen

Monday, April 21st, 2008

SAFF Round 1

Solna Axemen vs. Södermalm Blues

After getting comprehensively schooled by the Dragons last weekend, the mighty Solna Axemen were out to restore some credibility.

It was the opening round of the 2008 SAFF (Stockholm region Australian Football Federation!) season, and we were up against the unpredictable Södermalm Blues.

Söder missed the ’07 Grand Final (there are only three teams in the Stockholm AFL league… so if you miss out on the final you automatically collect the Wooden Spoon, ouch). But in an effort to make up for it in 2008, they’ve been putting in the hard yards all pre-season – constantly showing up to the early Sunday sessions with a full squad.

We were expecting a tough clash.

Fortunately we had some big returns for the season opener, in particular our captain courageous Patty Hyberg.

The absolutely brilliant springtime weather had well and truly kicked in around Stockholm, so we had a glorious, sunny day at the home of Swedish football: Årsta.

With the wind at our backs we got off to a flying start. In no time piling on the pressure via the scoreboard, as well as giving the Blues a lesson in tough, physical footy.

Bucks crunched Söder’s star midfielder Maxy Larsson, our President Mike Nabb got sent off for a stray elbow, and I managed to keep my hair clean on the half-back flank.

With a strong lead going into the second half, we were close to finishing them off. And when former SANFL player and male model “Coach Kingsley” tore past three hapless defenders to kick a clever goal from the pocket, it was all over.

A solid start to the season in front of a capacity crowd of 32 at Årsta Stadium back-field:

Solna Axemen 77 def. Södermalm Blues 38

Next week we’ve got the Grand Final replay (again, with only three teams we’re gonna have a “grand final replay” every third week…) against the Bromma Aussies Vikings – always a heated affair.

But of course it wouldn’t be a win without a celebration. So afterwards the team headed to a nice little pub in Sundbyberg for a few quiet drinks.

Somehow a few drinks turned into 10, and before I knew it a few of the Axemen, along with a couple of girls (that were quite possibly twice my age), were showing me the way to the famed Garbo’s nighclub.

I soon realised it’s famous for all the wrong reasons. But just like a car-crash I couldn’t look away. In the end I stumbled home at 5am with the sun well and truly up and my body very much hating me for not having gone to bed 10 hours earlier.

I’ll be sure to look after myself a bit better next weekend.

“That’s Ambitious.”

Monday, April 14th, 2008

This weekend was Amanda’s turn to escape the clutter of London town.

It was also my first game for the mighty Solna Axemen, with a practice match against cross-country rivals the Karlstad Dragons.

The beautiful springtime weather took a break, and we had cold, blustery conditions reminiscent of Winter in Victoria.

Heading into the match we were under-strength, but still confident.

Given my immense understanding of the game of Australian Rules Football (sure I’ve seen plenty of games, but I’ve PLAYED all of two seasons in my life – when I was 14…) the team saw fit to throw me in the backline.

I didn’t think I was quite built to be a defender, but I was determined to give it everything regardless.

We warmed up, went through the game plan, and ran out to our positions.

Then Karlstad ran out to their positions.

I was sort of hoping some short, medium-paced forward-pocket type player would come and line up on me. But alas the Dragons felt like having a laugh, and when my opponent ran over I had to do a double-take.

For a second I thought this guy was lining up on me:

Vulcan!
(Vulcan from TV’s Gladiators!)

I was so outsized and outmuscled that it may as well have been.

It soon became obvious that his biceps were bigger than my head, and after I tried to smother his kick only to get a boot in the hip, then try and hip & shoulder him only to bounce off him like a rubber ball, our fullback Niklas put me out of my misery and took over the duel.

That, of course, meant I had to play full-back.

I don’t QUITE remember seeing a 176cm full-back ever run out onto the MCG, but I was so fired up just to be playing my first game I gave it everything I could.

In the end everything was sadly nowhere near enough. Despite some third-quarter heroics, the reigning premiers got a lesson in football from the vastly-underrated boys from Karlstad.

Karlstad Dragons 93 def. Solna Axemen 55

———

We spent the rest of the weekend wandering around the city, with Amanda taking in the beauty of Stockholm and me complaining about how tight my hammies were.

A trip to the world’s 7th best market hall, a reunion with Iron Boy, photo shoot at City Hall, and some drinks in a very swish bar overlooking the Old Town.

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The ugliest fish in the world. Amanda was impressed.

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Australia! (Why it’s being advertised eight months before it’s premiere I have no idea…)

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“Jog it off Parker!!”

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Amanda being reunited with Iron Boy.

Hello sunshine, my old friend.

Monday, April 7th, 2008

Jaree breaks free from the hustle & bustle of London for 72 hours in Stockholm. [flickr]

- Dinner at one of my favourites: Pet Sounds Bar.

- Walked, mouths salivating, around Östermalmshallen (rated by Bon Appétit magazine as the 7th best food market in the world, nice!).

- Found an awesome Aussie red wine in Systembolaget (the state-owned, draconian, expensive, rarely open alcohol monopoly chain) that brought back memories of our days together on George Street, Brisbane.

- Visited Iron Boy, a true staple of my guided tours of Stockholm.

- Spent a lazy Sunday morning relaxing in a 100 year old bathing house (WHY can’t we sit in the spa when it’s not bubbling? WHY!?!).

- And even got to relax out on the balcony (I’ve got the master bedroom at The Mansion, sweet!), first time I’ve spent more than two minutes out there since I moved in.

- The weather suddenly got awesome. SUN! (the lake in front of my house was FROZEN less than three weeks ago…)

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- …ran out of time to see the Vasa Museum! ohnoes!

Granted, it would have been my SEVENTH time there… along with Iron Boy it’s pretty much the cornerstone of my guided tours (but I don’t care how much history goes into a 370 year old ship, no museum is THAT exciting).

Ricky Gervais advertising Swedish chocolate…

Friday, March 21st, 2008

Brilliant:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcwKBEQCk3Y[/youtube]

Plopp