10 minutes ago I was alone in the DB longue.
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So, today I cooked a black bean and vegan mince stew, I ate it with Norwegian potato pancakes, and I have enough for tomorrow as well (won't have the kitchen anymore, but there should be a fridge).
Offering only vegan burger (or vegan pizza) is just lazy. They stock up on frozen Beyond burgers so that they can say they offer vegan food. But who can eat burgers every day? Is it so difficult to make a vegan stew? I am sure not only vegans would eat it. They could batch cook in the morning and keep it warm in insulated pots, like Backstube (a Norwegian bakery chain pretending to be German) keeps their carrot soup (now I regret not having that when I had a chance).
Make 3 kinds of vegan soup (leek & potato, minestrone, cream of broccoli), 3 kinds of vegan stew (bean stew, curry, goulash, paprikash) a day, and sell them to tourists about to board trains (trickier to eat on the bus), offer a discount if they use their own containers.
Maybe I should move to the Arctic Norway and open a vegan soup and stew restaurant
Finally I have some use of my jacket and long sleeved shirts I've been carrying in my backpack for 13 days.
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Is it being German or is it being a cruise ship passenger that makes one feel entitled? Or both?
I've never been on a cruise, I do not see the appeal, spending too much time on the ship, and too little in each port of call, having everything organised and just following the guides. I do travel by ships sometimes, but combine them with trains and stay longer in towns and explore them on my own.
So, the Narvik mountain (Narvikfjellet) is a huge construction site and closed for visitors, except on certain days when the cruise ships arrive. Like today. Still, there are fences and the visitors are asked not to cross them for their own safety.
So, I bought the cable car ticket for today for 30 eur. I waited until the evening hoping for fewer crowds. Besides one guy with a huge backpack and me, everyone seemed to be German speaking and from the cruise ship. Some of those people did behave.
At the lower station a guide tried to give me a cable car ticket thinking I was from her ship. Could have saved 30 eur.
But once we reached the top, they started crossing the fences, smoking at the restaurant terrace/picnic tables, and one girl did some gymnastics while her guide photographed her, she was barefoot, and she did it on one of the tables.
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Is it being German or is it being a cruise ship passenger that makes one feel entitled? Or both?
I've never been on a cruise, I do not see the appeal, spending too much time on the ship, and too little in each port of call, having everything organised and just following the guides. I do travel by ships sometimes, but combine them with trains and stay longer in towns and explore them on my own.
So, the Narvik mountain (Narvikfjellet) is a huge construction site and closed for visitors, except on certain days when the cruise ships arrive. Like today. Still, there are fences and the visitors are asked not to cross them for their own safety.
So, I bought the cable car ticket for today for 30 eur. I waited until the evening hoping for fewer crowds. Besides one guy with a huge backpack and me, everyone seemed to be German speaking and from the cruise ship. Some of those people did behave.
At the lower station a guide tried to give me a cable car ticket thinking I was from her ship. Could have saved 30 eur.
But once we reached the top, they started crossing the fences, smoking at the restaurant terrace/picnic tables, and one girl did some gymnastics while her guide photographed her, she was barefoot, and she did it on one of the tables.
Whenever I encountered misbehaving children in Scandinavia, they were without exception speaking German, ever since I first visited Scandinavia 15 years ago. There are Norwegian speaking teenagers misbehaving here, but whenever a hotel breakfast (which I do not normally eat, but Scandic has vegan food) is ruined by an unruly child running around tables, screaming and touching unrelated guests, once the parents of that child have had enough of their "childfree" time (because everyone else had to watch their child instead), they speak to that child in German.
Also, I often complain about quiet coaches of Deutsche Bahn not being quiet, it is always German speakers talking, drinking alcohol with their buddies (which alone would be fine, but it exacerbates unwanted behaviours), laughing, yelling.
They bring their children into the quiet coach, and let them scream or just talk all the way from Mannheim to Hamburg, 5 hours and 9 minutes. If I remind them that it's a quiet coach, they say that there is no room elsewhere. They wanted to save on the seat reservation costs, so they have decided to ruin the ride to everyone who paid 5.90 eur to sit in the quiet coach.
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Whenever I encountered misbehaving children in Scandinavia, they were without exception speaking German, ever since I first visited Scandinavia 15 years ago. There are Norwegian speaking teenagers misbehaving here, but whenever a hotel breakfast (which I do not normally eat, but Scandic has vegan food) is ruined by an unruly child running around tables, screaming and touching unrelated guests, once the parents of that child have had enough of their "childfree" time (because everyone else had to watch their child instead), they speak to that child in German.
Also, I often complain about quiet coaches of Deutsche Bahn not being quiet, it is always German speakers talking, drinking alcohol with their buddies (which alone would be fine, but it exacerbates unwanted behaviours), laughing, yelling.
They bring their children into the quiet coach, and let them scream or just talk all the way from Mannheim to Hamburg, 5 hours and 9 minutes. If I remind them that it's a quiet coach, they say that there is no room elsewhere. They wanted to save on the seat reservation costs, so they have decided to ruin the ride to everyone who paid 5.90 eur to sit in the quiet coach.
So, is it cultural? If your parents bring you to the quiet coach and let you scream, if they let you scream and bother other guests in restaurants, if they themselves smoke next to people trying to eat in peace (regardless of if it is outdoors), if they let you dance barefoot on the tables which are used for eating, are you going to grow up to be an entitled prick as well?
I have many German mutuals here, so please enlighten me.
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So, is it cultural? If your parents bring you to the quiet coach and let you scream, if they let you scream and bother other guests in restaurants, if they themselves smoke next to people trying to eat in peace (regardless of if it is outdoors), if they let you dance barefoot on the tables which are used for eating, are you going to grow up to be an entitled prick as well?
I have many German mutuals here, so please enlighten me.
Oh well, looks like Norwegian fathers who only have their children on weekends are no better: "Avoid Sundays, as weekend daddies let their little monsters run screaming through the exhibits." https://wikitravel.org/en/Troms%C3%B8
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Oh well, looks like Norwegian fathers who only have their children on weekends are no better: "Avoid Sundays, as weekend daddies let their little monsters run screaming through the exhibits." https://wikitravel.org/en/Troms%C3%B8
My bus is cancelled because of the Arctic race (can't you people race somewhere where you won't disturb the public transport, seriously?) I had to check out at 11 and I have to wait until almost 16. So I am in the Narvik library
I love how libraries in Scandinavia truly serve the community. In some cities I couldn't even enter the library as a non-resident (Brussels, Florence) but in Scandinavia I can plug in my computer, use the Wi-Fi, bet they'd let me even borrow books if I told them I'd be staying in the city for a few days.
Libraries in larger cities are also makerspaces, they have sewing machines, 3D printers, in Oslo library one can extrude plastic waste into new products, digitise VHS tapes, etc... They have musical instruments so children whose parents can't afford to buy one can still learn to play.
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My bus is cancelled because of the Arctic race (can't you people race somewhere where you won't disturb the public transport, seriously?) I had to check out at 11 and I have to wait until almost 16. So I am in the Narvik library
I love how libraries in Scandinavia truly serve the community. In some cities I couldn't even enter the library as a non-resident (Brussels, Florence) but in Scandinavia I can plug in my computer, use the Wi-Fi, bet they'd let me even borrow books if I told them I'd be staying in the city for a few days.
Libraries in larger cities are also makerspaces, they have sewing machines, 3D printers, in Oslo library one can extrude plastic waste into new products, digitise VHS tapes, etc... They have musical instruments so children whose parents can't afford to buy one can still learn to play.
I am in Tromsø until Monday and on Monday there are no more free seats on the Narvik - Kiruna train. I had kind of given up hope of visiting Andøya and/or Senja without a car (a local told me that unlike Lofoten it is not easy). What should I do?
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Vegan bowl in Egon chain, 20.58 eur. The only vegan dish there, but at least not a burger, I've had enough of burgers. I do not think Norway is more expensive than Germany, a similar dish in MoschMosch would cost the same.
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Remember Normal, a kind of a dollar drugstore? Well I needed it today because I do not like the hotel shower gel. Of course I had my headphones on, but I was still approached by a girl. She asked me if I spoke any English, and I was like: "Yes but not much Norwegian". So she asked me to check if a certain supplement is vegan. "Oh, I'm used to checking if ingredients in Norwegian are vegan".
Because not much is labeled vegan in Norway, one can't be 100% sure about glycerol or magnesium salts of fatty acids, mostly they are vegan. I told her if it's her only option to buy it because she needs her B12. She's a student, just arrived, staying for a year, has no idea if there's any vegan food at the uni. I told her about the HappyCow website and app, she had no idea those existed.
Then I wondered what are the chances that a vegan in an Arctic Norwegian town would ask me, of all people, to check if something is vegan... and I realised what I was wearing
https://www.rootsofcompassion.org/SALE-Death-in-my-metal-not-in-my-meals-T-Shirt-klein-taillierter-Schnitt-Auslaufmodell -
P pelle@veganism.social shared this topic
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Remember Normal, a kind of a dollar drugstore? Well I needed it today because I do not like the hotel shower gel. Of course I had my headphones on, but I was still approached by a girl. She asked me if I spoke any English, and I was like: "Yes but not much Norwegian". So she asked me to check if a certain supplement is vegan. "Oh, I'm used to checking if ingredients in Norwegian are vegan".
Because not much is labeled vegan in Norway, one can't be 100% sure about glycerol or magnesium salts of fatty acids, mostly they are vegan. I told her if it's her only option to buy it because she needs her B12. She's a student, just arrived, staying for a year, has no idea if there's any vegan food at the uni. I told her about the HappyCow website and app, she had no idea those existed.
Then I wondered what are the chances that a vegan in an Arctic Norwegian town would ask me, of all people, to check if something is vegan... and I realised what I was wearing
https://www.rootsofcompassion.org/SALE-Death-in-my-metal-not-in-my-meals-T-Shirt-klein-taillierter-Schnitt-AuslaufmodellSo many tourist activities in the Arctic are non-vegan: whale watching, dog sledding, (ice) fishing. The food is mostly fish (dried cod which makes parts of Lofoten very smelly), reindeer meat, elk meat. And then there are souvenirs: wool, more dried fish, honey, more elk meat... Even staying in the (cold rooms of the) Ice hotel wouldn't be vegan because of the animal skin blankets.
I get it, it is tradition, you had no other choice centuries ago. But you do have the choice now. Barbaric traditions are supposed to be abandoned.
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So many tourist activities in the Arctic are non-vegan: whale watching, dog sledding, (ice) fishing. The food is mostly fish (dried cod which makes parts of Lofoten very smelly), reindeer meat, elk meat. And then there are souvenirs: wool, more dried fish, honey, more elk meat... Even staying in the (cold rooms of the) Ice hotel wouldn't be vegan because of the animal skin blankets.
I get it, it is tradition, you had no other choice centuries ago. But you do have the choice now. Barbaric traditions are supposed to be abandoned.
The city (well, Tromsøya) is cordoned off because of the Arctic race, so today is the laundry day. No laundromat at my accommodation, so I am using the one called "Clean Kokos" which is conveniently located in the same complex as the Biergarten. Having a non-alcoholic Mack Isbjørn while waiting. People here are seriously watching the race. Not me, I'm gonna read my book.
I had had troubles remembering the Statoil's greenwashed name, I would say "You have those vegan wraps at the Circle K petrol stations, Circle K, that's Statoil or whatever they're called now...". Until I saw that it is one of the sponsors of the race
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The city (well, Tromsøya) is cordoned off because of the Arctic race, so today is the laundry day. No laundromat at my accommodation, so I am using the one called "Clean Kokos" which is conveniently located in the same complex as the Biergarten. Having a non-alcoholic Mack Isbjørn while waiting. People here are seriously watching the race. Not me, I'm gonna read my book.
I had had troubles remembering the Statoil's greenwashed name, I would say "You have those vegan wraps at the Circle K petrol stations, Circle K, that's Statoil or whatever they're called now...". Until I saw that it is one of the sponsors of the race
For some reason my phone camera is making the Arctic race gay.
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For some reason my phone camera is making the Arctic race gay.
If you never hear from me again, these weren't blueberries.
In Lofoten I picked red berries and asked the hotel manager if they're lingonberries, she tasted them and said "no, those would give you GI upset". Hope she's still alive
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If you never hear from me again, these weren't blueberries.
In Lofoten I picked red berries and asked the hotel manager if they're lingonberries, she tasted them and said "no, those would give you GI upset". Hope she's still alive
How many times do I have to tell you, yes you, me, to not trust Google Maps navigation at a construction site?
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Kiruna mine has better mobile connectivity at 300m underground (500m under the original top of the mountain) than most inhabited places in Germany at the ground level.
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Here in the North people like making small talk. I do not mind, it's only while waiting for the bus. Turns out my Swedish is still so much better than my German, it is not as straining to speak it, I do not have to think hard about each word. I had learned Swedish for 4 years and passed the B2.1 exam in spring 2018.
However, Swedes do not like it when I say that the reason I didn't move to Sweden in the end is the pandemic mismanagement.
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Here in the North people like making small talk. I do not mind, it's only while waiting for the bus. Turns out my Swedish is still so much better than my German, it is not as straining to speak it, I do not have to think hard about each word. I had learned Swedish for 4 years and passed the B2.1 exam in spring 2018.
However, Swedes do not like it when I say that the reason I didn't move to Sweden in the end is the pandemic mismanagement.
Utter chaos with Norrtåg! A replacement bus to Gällivare was late and the train to Luleå left. The next one is at 15:55. People have other trains and buses to catch. Because we (multiple people) called the company, they made the train wait for us in Nattavaara and they're sending a bus to take us there.
Please never privatise essential services! It's an utter mess with all those for-profit companies in Sweden!
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Utter chaos with Norrtåg! A replacement bus to Gällivare was late and the train to Luleå left. The next one is at 15:55. People have other trains and buses to catch. Because we (multiple people) called the company, they made the train wait for us in Nattavaara and they're sending a bus to take us there.
Please never privatise essential services! It's an utter mess with all those for-profit companies in Sweden!
By not waiting for us for 10 minutes, they made everyone on the train wait in the middle of nowhere for 100 minutes. Now none of us on the train, not even the passengers who started in Gällivare, will make our connections.
I've been told that there's been a railway chaos in the entire Sweden the whole summer, not just in the North. So many interrailers who could theoretically return for free (a few eur for seat reservations) are flying back from the Arctic. By not making trains reliable they are forcing people to fly! We are paying more to ride trains, both in money and in time, we have to have 30 different travel apps, have to buy reservations from different services, have to deal with replacement buses, cancellations, too few trains that get fully booked quickly, missing connections (or paid accommodations).
So many places are not doable without a car! Esrange Space Center can't be visited without a car. Andøya Space Center is theoretically possible by bus, but I couldn't find a way to do it in a reasonable time frame.
If private companies can't make their trains run (at all, or on time) they should be nationalised. If private companies decide to only run the profitable routes, they should be nationalised! Hey, it worked once!
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By not waiting for us for 10 minutes, they made everyone on the train wait in the middle of nowhere for 100 minutes. Now none of us on the train, not even the passengers who started in Gällivare, will make our connections.
I've been told that there's been a railway chaos in the entire Sweden the whole summer, not just in the North. So many interrailers who could theoretically return for free (a few eur for seat reservations) are flying back from the Arctic. By not making trains reliable they are forcing people to fly! We are paying more to ride trains, both in money and in time, we have to have 30 different travel apps, have to buy reservations from different services, have to deal with replacement buses, cancellations, too few trains that get fully booked quickly, missing connections (or paid accommodations).
So many places are not doable without a car! Esrange Space Center can't be visited without a car. Andøya Space Center is theoretically possible by bus, but I couldn't find a way to do it in a reasonable time frame.
If private companies can't make their trains run (at all, or on time) they should be nationalised. If private companies decide to only run the profitable routes, they should be nationalised! Hey, it worked once!
Well, could have been a worse place to kill 2 hours.
ETA: Not in the Arctic anymore 🥺 But I will return.
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There are construction works on the line, and I didn't quite understand the announcement (neither did the native speakers), it was mentioned that we had make a detour, and 2 hours were mentioned.
So I asked the conductor when we were supposed to arrive, and we are arriving exactly as stated in the schedule. So either the schedule accounted for it, or the detour lasts the same as the original route would last.
So another announcement was made (again in Swedish only) that we are arriving on time, not 2 hours later.
This is the state owned SJ.
