Spendthrift Shoestring

My (Sort of) Bucket List

The end of the calendar year is good for reflection. On my long flight on Sunday from Schiphol to Dulles I found myself thinking about some future experiences I want to have. Most of these relate to traveling, writing, and/or endeavors that require a little bit of courage. This isn't exactly a bucket list—a morbid prospect if there ever was one—but it isn't a million miles from that idea; like a bucket list, there are several items here that are tough to accomplish without advance preparation or hard work or careful budgeting.

So here it is: my (sort of) bucket list.

1. Publish several books. Start with the current idea I have, which is quite good by the way.

2. Found a destination branding firm. (Anyone seriously into this idea? Email me.)

3. Travel as much as possible with my parents. Priorities include a northern Minnesota road trip with my dad and a visit to Kosovo's Decani Monastery with my mom.

4. Track down my long-lost relatives in Brazil.

5. Strengthen my German.

6. Formally learn Dutch instead of relying on my ability to recognize 95% of the Dutch words I come across.

7. Vastly improve Spanish to advanced conversational state.

8. Achieve conversational Swedish.

9. Learn to cook well.

10. Visit Fish Lake.

11. See the Badlands.

12. Return to the castaway Caribbean island I’ve decided never to write about.

13. Spend a week eating smørrebrød in Copenhagen.

14. Visit Tristan da Cunha.

15. Spend a weekend at an onsen in Japan while snow falls outside. Do the same at Therme Vals.

16. In fact, sample many different mineral hot springs. 

17. Fly Qantas first class long haul once.

18. Stay at these three hotels/resorts: Fasano São Paulo for its aesthetic, Petit St. Vincent for its quiet solitude, and Coco Point Lodge for its dated aristocratic air.

19. Have meals at the handful of Michelin-starred restaurants I’ve identified as particularly appealing.

20. Get the tattoos I’ve been putting off forever.

21. Skydive at least once.

22. Bungee jump.

23. Go zorbing.

24. Take rockclimbing lessons.

25. Become a minor media figure in a country with a population under 10 million, like, say, this one.

Finland: Design, Forest, Steam

My week in Finland in July with Mike was eye-opening. I'd visited Åland previously, but mainland Finland was completely new to me. We spent six nights between Helsinki, Turku, and Kuopio.

I left with a thousand thoughts about what happens when Scandinavian and Slavic spheres intersect. Helsinki, quite variable by neighborhood, reminded me of Vienna (another city, in an understatement, thoroughly structured by varied cultural impulses from east and west alike), Stockholm, and St. Petersburg. Yet the overall impression was of a city completely unto itself, one that bears comparisons to these other three cities only uneasily.

Turku is a neat and prim city, quite small and very well ordered. Our time there was filtered through my friend Staffan, co-proprietor of Porcupine and part-time Turku resident, who lives in a beautiful apartment.  Staffan played the part of tour guide ably, and fielded scores of questions on subjects as wide-ranging as immigration policy and the history of xylitol.

In Helsinki and Turku, I think it's fair to say, the strong imprint of modern Finnish design is omnipresent, and very seductive. As in Sweden and Denmark, it's impossible not to be impressed by the use of light and scale in modern architecture and the crisp feel of furniture, industrial design, and homewares. In Finland, to my mind, there is a stronger dimension of earthiness than in the Swedish and Danish design models, something particularly noticeable in Finnish furniture design. The earthy modern pieces that attracted me most were by Solid Furniture.

Turku's Main Library extension, which opened in 2007, gathers many of these impulses. Designed by Helsinki-based JKMM Architects, it is a breathtaking building.

Stairs from ground floor.

Ground floor infoteque.

In Turku two shops introduced me to another dimension of Finnish design, a folksier, DIY impulse that can't really be glimpsed in the modernist perfection of pieces by people like Kaj Franck and Aino Aalto. At Outolintu Arts & Crafts, the items for sale were craftsy, not streamlined, and all very interesting. The leftist café-bookshop at Vahna Suurtori (across from Outolintu) sells a range of simple DIY objects that depart smartly from the Finnish design template. A number of change purses caught my eye. I snapped two up as presents for hosts. Unfortunately their labels contain no contact information beyond the name "Christina."

Kuopio presented an entirely different aesthetic setting. In Kuopio I experienced a smoke sauna, swam in a frigid lake, hiked with rain and mosquitoes through a forest, and felt as if I were in a regional Eastern Bloc capital as opposed to a city in a country as rich and modern as Finland. If anything, the impression left by Kuopio was deeper and more enthralling than the modern design in Turku and Helsinki, which, after all, I had some familiarity with and expected to encounter.

Aforementioned frigid lake.

Perfectly executed modern design and the vastness of nature make for a distinctive and very appealing national profile—or, in today's word, brand, while a few measures of Santa/lumberjack kitsch provide an entertaining and amusing sense of play. When it comes to Finland, there are lots of interesting things to ponder, though design and nature are unavoidably central to any visit.

British Elle on Hip Hostels

OK, I'm now officially blaming August for Spendthrift Shoestring's dreadful drop-off in posts. I've got several Nordic adventure posts on deck yet have been, apparently, unable to summon the energy to edit and post them. They are forthcoming. I swear.

Meanwhile, the September British Elle made its way to Fort Greene last week courtesy of a houseguest in from London. (Spoiler for those with unread copies of the issue lying around: cover girl Lindsay Lohan is troubled!) I was interested in the uncredited feature on stylish hostels deep into the magazine (pp 346-7). Five hostels are reviewed, and the least expensive of these is Gyreum in Sligo, where the cheapest double is just €34. The article closes with a plug for hostel booking giant Hostelworld.

Happily, the global recession has brought with it a lot of features like these. I love them. I wish magazine editors would take the next step and begin to extol the coolness of creative, independent, budget-friendly travel on a regular basis. Reduced glorification of the aspirational model of travel would be a good thing all around.

Titanic Awards: Bad Ann Arbor Hotel, Dreadful Schnitzel, & More

Check out my top five "World Worsts" list on the Titanic Awards site. The list was one of the most enjoyable things I've had the opportunity to write in some time. Thanks to Doug Lansky for letting me pen my contribution.

Nordic Airline Bonanza

I wrote a post for EuroCheapo on Tuesday documenting my airline adventures across the Nordics. Read why I graded Finnair higher than Atlantic Airways. (Spoiler: my heart is accessed through my stomach.)

Copenhagen: Five Perfect Things

Copenhagen manages to be simultaneously neatly organized and dirty. This quality alone makes the city supremely appealing. The overhead clocks in the metro are illuminated just so, trains glide right into the airport, and the airport itself is strewn with signs telling passengers exactly how long they'll have to wait in security lines. Yet the streets are grubby, drunks are prevalent, and an anything-goes spirit infuses many central neighborhoods. In comparison to more pristine Nordic capitals, Copenhagen feels downright sultry.

I spent three nights in Copenhagen with my cousins Brad and Trina and their kids. The Robertson foursome is doing two successive three-week home exchanges in the Copenhagen area. During my visit, they inhabited the top floors of a beautiful Christianshavn abode with access to an enormous shared courtyard. The complex is enveloped in a relaxed, communal atmosphere. (My cousin and his family have since moved on to a modernist house in the swank northern suburb of Lyngby.) My other native informant was an old college friend, Jason, who has been living in Copenhagen for a few years.

Copenhagen has its problems as well as its perfections. Here, I'll glance at the latter.

1. A perfect neighborhood: Nørrebro.

Jason mentioned that Nørrebro reminded him of Berlin, and, in fact, it was the most Berlin-like of the 'hoods I checked out in Copenhagen. With cafés spilling out onto a pedestrian-only street, leftist bookstores, shops serving immigrant communities, and political posters I felt Prenzlauer Berg on one corner and Kreuzberg on another. Were I to find myself in Copenhagen for a while, Nørrebro is likely where I'd look first for a smart little flat.

Street scene. Blågårdsgade, Nørrebro.

Mural. Wesselsgade, Nørrebro.

2. A perfect bakery: Lagkagehuset.

The branch of Lagkagehuset on Torvegade in Christianshavn is a beautiful space. In warm weather, customers can enjoy their incredible pastries over a newspaper in front of an open window that faces the canal. The pastries are of exquisite quality. When you eat an iced pastry like a tryksnegl at Lagkagehuset, you realize how the vastly inferior "danish" developed over time in the US and other places, and you find yourself fervently wishing that Lagkagehuset would set up shop in your hometown. 

3. A perfect swimming spot: Islands Brygge.

Copenhagen's canals are so clean that you can swim in them. In 2002, a swimming facility was opened at Islands Brygge. During warm weather, the facility is mobbed with serious swimmers doing laps as well as huge throngs of families. The bracingly cold water feels great fifteen seconds in. There is something downright lovely about being able to swim in an urban canal. It's the sort of experience that triumphantly reconciles the urban and the natural.

4. A perfect canal: Christianshavns Kanal

Christianshavns Kanal lends its neighborhood atmosphere and provides an elongated congregation zone. Unlike the urban canals in Amsterdam, which derive much of their charm from how pinched they feel, Christianshavns Kanal is broad and open. There is certainly something undeniably calming about urban canals.

Christianshavn Kanal.

Along the canal at Torvegade. 

5. A perfect place to discover a new country: Det Grønlandske Hus/Kalaallit Illuutaat.

Greenland has been on my list of places to visit for as long as I can remember. With tourism opening up in the Arctic territory it's becoming easier and easier to visit, though it remains excruciatingly expensive to do so. Greenland is a Danish territory—albeit one with newly expanded powers of self-determination—and the Greenlandic presence can be felt around the city. There are people of Greenlandic background throughout, and one also sees a Greenlandic language option at some cash machines as well as the occasional presence of Greenland's flag. Greenland in Tivoli, apparently the largest Greenlandic cultural event outside of the mother country, will be held this year at the amusement park July 30 through August 1.

The Greenland House is a cultural hub for Greenlanders and other curious sorts interested in the territory. There is a gallery—during my visit, an exhibition of Greenland in the 1970s was on display—a library space, and a café. A Grønlandseksperten travel agency is conveniently located on the premises. 

My visit made me want to board one of these red airplanes for Kangerlussuaq...

Air Greenland airplane at Kastrup.

Return from the North

A few housekeeping matters on deck.

I found out late last week that Tripbase awarded Spendthrift Shoestring eighth place in the Budget Travel Blog category of their 2009 Travel Blog Awards. I'm psyched. Thanks Tripbase! Check out the competition here. The upper echelon of the Budget Travel Blog rankings include the EuroCheapo blog—a blog I previously had the honor of editing—in second place and the superb Less Than a Shoestring in sixth place. My one question for Tripbase: why no links to the winning blogs in your award listings? 

Also check out the Helsinki budget tips post I wrote for EuroCheapo, published last Thursday.