Monty

It’s been amazing days and something tells me that the adventures will continue once I get to North Carolina (NC) which will be next Monday. On Saturday I am leaving with my former roommate Dave to Milwaukee for a day or two and then back to Chicago to fly to Greensboro in NC.

Last weekend was just a blast. Usually Sundays are boring but we, myself and three crazy guys, turn it to a great time. We started off by hiking the bluff and the view over La Crosse was incredibly once we reached the top. This is something I definitely should have done during Spring 2008. Better late than never.

Then it was time for more fun, Go-kart and mini golf.

And during the racing I managed to slam right into Bryan, the guy in the green t-shirt.

Once this was done, we went for mini golfing which I really enjoyed.

Loved the weather and the sunset.

Finally, we ended up in McDonald’s where most of the fun occurred. When we wanted to order, everyone was polite and said things like “Hi, I would like to have a …” but Bader, the guy with the hat on the picture above, went to the cashier and said in a funny aggressive voice “CHEESEBURGER!!!!”. Damn, I laughed so much I almost cried. But I guess he was just a little bit nervous because of his language proficiency limitations.

Before I went to sleep I couldn’t resist to order a cologne I sampled at Valley View Mall earlier that day. So I put an order on Calvin Klein - Man, which smells like candy. Love it!

We ended the night by hanging out and playing xbox. Did someone say that Sundays are boring?

It’s been amazing days, without a doubt. The adventure started in my hometown Växjö when I was heading towards Copenhagen, Denmark. I managed to get a first class ticket on SJ (Swedish railway) for 50% off the price on a second class ticket. Usually first class tickets cost about 450 kr (70-80 dollars) but in some strange way there was a ticket for 110 kr (20 dollars) the day I wanted to travel. It was also a perfect time. You just have to love the Swedish railway system. Most people in Sweden do, right? Free internet, coffee, juice, fruit, and newspapers. That’s how a trip should start.

Once in Copenhagen, I barely managed to step out of the train until I saw an alcoholic stand in front of me, pulling his pants down, and well; you figure out the rest. It wasn’t a pleasant first impression of Copenhagen. Maybe I should have asked him if he wanted some toilet paper? But things got better once I met up with lovely Beth. I met her roommates and we went out to eat some oriental food. Later, we went out and hit some night clubs until 3 am. Then it was time for me to get to the airport since check-in started at 04:30 am. Unfortunately, things got a bit rough since I missed the last bus to the airport. But somehow I enjoy when things get hard and tough; makes me become creative and flexible. So I took a taxi to Copenhagen union station and from there I managed to get a free ride on the train to the airport with a little bit of sweet talk with the conductor. Thank you Beth.

Off we went to Brussels in Belgium, 6 am in the morning. I managed to get 1-2 hours of sleep before I had to switch terminal in Brussels. I was really surprised how much faster everything went compared to my experience at Heathrow, London during my flight to La Crosse, Wisconsin in January 2008. At 11 am we managed to depart to Chicago and as expected everything went smoothly, great entertainment and food on the airplane. However, the arrival was less pleasant since the captain made the landing sound like a crash. I thought it was my time. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. Surprisingly it took me only 12 minutes (I timed it) from getting out of the airplane to getting out of the airport. Unlike my last experience to USA, which took about 50-60 minutes with a load of questions and interrogations. Thank you USA for putting trust in me. Big mistake!

Outside, I waited a couple of minutes until Grant finally managed to spot me. I was sitting, looking at him while he passed by me and thought “have I changed that much?”. Finally, after 230 years he managed to spot me and we were on our way. As soon as we started to drive to Lombard in Chicago, it began to rain. I think I’m cursed. Wherever I go, rain follows me. Same thing happened in Berlin the first couple of days. Beth can confirm it!

In other news, I bought a new Ben Sherman zip-up jacket (the one on the photo) from Sweden before I left. Think I am becoming in love with Ben Sherman clothing. Yesterday I ordered the new cologne Adventure from Davidoff. Purely amazing. Today we are leaving for Madison, and then a couple of days in La Crosse before I head down to Greensboro, North Carolina on the 18th of August.