Stockholm (Sweden) - 15th to 17th June 2010

Having planned our arrival to Stockholm to coincide with the start of the NZ football match, we went straight to the pub and put the touristing on hold for a few hours. After a 3 hour bus ride, we were of course thirsty! Great result by the boys which made it all worth it.

Once we finally got going we realised that it was an exciting time to be in Stockholm. The Crown Princess Victoria is getting married this Saturday so the town is going crazy. There is a special 'Love' festival for a couple of weeks leading up to the big day with stages and marquees everywhere but it also meant for some reason we were able to buy a hotdog for 50p, considering they are normally around £3, a pretty good deal!

We wandered around the Royal Palace and Gamla Stan (the old town), but it was a pretty grey and cold day so we had an early night ready for a full day touristing on Wednesday...

The sun was shining so we were up bright and early for a look over the city from the nearby cliffs and back into the old town for some more aimless wandering and a looksee in the Royal Armoury underneath the Royal Palace. Back outside we fought the crowds for the midday changing of the guards. It was a spectacular day in Stockholm, a city which is situated on 14 lovely islands, so we walked over to the parklike island of Djurgarden to the "Sweden in miniature" attraction, Skansen. With buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries relocated to sunny Stockholm plus a zoo of scandinavian animals, we spent the afternoon soaking up a bit of Swedish history.
The last act before the clouds came over was a trip out to a small island half an hour away by boat for a few rounds overlooking the water. A super day sightseeing, pushing Stockholm right up there in our list of favourite cities.

Orebro (Sweden) - 14th to 15th of June 2010

Roughly halfway between Gothenburg on Sweden's west coast, to Stockholm on the east coast (7 hours in total), lies Orebro. Lonely planet rated it the most postcard friendly town in Sweden, and having had a wander through its parks, riverside and most of all its castle, its hard to disagree.

Gothenburg (Sweden) - 12th to 14th of June 2010

Nearly 4 hours on a bus south to Gothenburg. A miserable trip in pouring rain, which hadn't eased by the time we got there. We were tempted to stay inside, but had a quick walk around in the rain and wind, until it finally eased a little. We had a walk through the parks that line Gothenburg's canals and up to the old fort.
After a good night at the pub watching F1 qualifying and the world cup, and not a lot to do in Gothenburg itself, we headed north for an hour to Marstrand, a little fishing island just off the coast. It was a beautiful morning and we caught some sun walking around the little village (no cars allowed) and up to the fort before enjoying some fish and chips on the quayside. Back into Gothenburg in the afternoon for a canal tour and another pint at the pub for the F1.

Oslo (Norway) - 10th to 12th of June 2010

The trip from Gudvangen to Oslo was always going to be a highlight. First up, a two hour ferry through the Fjords to Flam.Flam meets the railway line that climbs up to Myrdal, 866m above sea level. It took 20 years to build and includes 20 tunnels, and was an awesome ride.
Its the only train ride we've been on that actually stops for you to take photos. Not surprising with this fall...
Myrdal is on the mainline train route to Oslo. Not that that stopped the camera getting a workout. The route is deemed to be one of the best in the world, and we don't disagree.
We finally made it to Oslo at about 10.30pm, for a walk to our hostel with still plenty of daylight around. Its been getting dark around midnight, and from what we can tell the sun gets up again about 3am - weird!

Friday was a full day in Oslo, a little bit miserable with rain but we braved it, and ticked off the Fortress, the Armed Forces Museum, a ferry across to the Viking Museum, a walk through the sculpture park, the City Museum and past the Royal Palace. All in a days work.

Gudvangen (Norway) - 8th to 10th of June 2010

An hour train inland from Bergen is Voss, a pretty little town situated next to a glassy lake that looked very inviting in the sunshine. Until we felt the water that is. We spent some time enjoying the sun reading our books waiting for our bus to Gudvangen.
Gateway to the Fjords, Gudvangen is so small that it doesn't even warrant a paragraph in our lonely planet. Its 45 minutes downhill from Voss, and arguable the best bus ride we've been on, past waterfalls, rapids and lakes, all with snowcapped mountains in the background.
We stayed in a cute little cabin at the camp ground, the only way to save some money in expensive Norway. Not a bad view though... Starting off our trip taking it a bit easy, we had two nights in Gudvangen, so with nothing really to do in Gudvangen itself, we spent the day in between walking a path along the Fjord to the next village. An absolutely amazing day with superb views, perfect for a picnic.
Looking back towards Gudvangen...

Bergen (Norway) - 7th to 8th of June 2010

First stop on our two month detour to Dubai was Bergen. On the west coast of Norway it is Norway's second largest city, and an amazing place to start our adventure. A nice port town with a few sights, we had time after our morning flight for a wander around the fish markets, the old buildings, and a trip up the funicular for views over the city and harbour.

South Wales - 29th to 31st of May 2010

Someone should really tell the guys in power that two bank holidays in May is a little bit silly. But nevermind, despite all the packing and cleaning still to do in Putney, we were going to make the most of it - and so were up early on Saturday to hire a car and off we went to Wales.

Because it was on the way, and so why not, we stopped in at Bristol. Small fact for you, there are 34 other places on earth named Bristol. Isn't Wikipedia amazing?

But on to Cardiff, where our luxury accommodation awaited us, just in time to see the two attractions. First up Cardiff Castle, on a spot where there has been a castle or fort since 55AD.

Rounding off our sightseeing before a much needed beer, we hit Millennium Stadium for the last tour of the day, built to hold the 1999 rugby world cup. I forget who won that year...

Having had a few beers and a couple of wines experiencing the wildness that is Cardiff on a Saturday night, we were feeling surprisingly chipper on Sunday and so headed further west along the Southern coast of Wales. Stopped in Swansea for a look at their harbour...

...stopped in Kidwelly for a snap of their pretty castle, followed by a stop in Carmarthen for a great Sunday roast. It just happened that they were showing the F1...
But unquestionably the highlight of the day was the half hour spent sunning ourselves on Tenby's excellent (for the UK) beach, overlooked by a very pretty and colourful old harbour. By mid-afternoon the sun was out, and we made the most of it.
But we had more driving to do before we could call it a day, and so we went west until you could go west no more, ending up in a little B&B just outside Fishguard. There were more castles on the way, this one Carew Castle.
Bank holiday Monday and with a long drive back to London in front of us we hit the road back along the coast, stopping for some decent pics of south Wales.

On the way home we stopped in at St David's, with a population of 1797 the smallest "city" in the UK, awarded such lofty title due to its Cathedral. And a pretty decent cathedral it is too..

Trying to find some scenery to match the stunning views were had seen in Scotland earlier in the month, we made our way back to London via the Brecon Beacons, a national park just north of Cardiff. Very nice, but Scotland is going to take some beating.