How to tell you’re a traveller: Noticing the little things

I get a lot of acknowledgment from people who think I am this “experienced traveller”. Yes, I travel ALOT but to myself it never really registers as been “experienced”. Most of the time I feel like a tourist, with the constant snapping of my camera, my bright colours and countless maps. (I also tend to stand a lot on street corners looking lost.)

I believe it’s part to do with the constant shorter stays in countries in which I only have time to visit the “must-see” attractions. So, when I look pass the historical buildings, foreign language signs and smorgasbords of street food and notice something so small and simple as a fashion trend among locals, I get a bit giddy inside.

Somehow noticing something so mundane as popular shoe styles in other countries makes me feel like a real traveller. It’s the little things, the small quarks that stick in my mind when I leave those cities and it’s those things that I remember when sometimes everything else goes so fast it seems like just a big blur.

Vlog #4: Contiki Scandinavia: Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm Town Hall

For those looking to find the most passionate youth tour guides in the world, look no farther than Stockholm City Hall. Used for many different purposes including banquets, weddings, and of course holding parliament.

Random Egyptian painting in the golden hall. There are tons of surprises to find within these walls, my favorite was the way the they heated the building through hidden vents and ducts behind the walls. So clever!

Changing of the Guard

Another sight recommended in Stockholm was to go see the changing of the guard. Apparently this happens in several countries, most noticeably London at Buckingham Palace, but when we were there we were too lazy to wait for it to happen. Well, after about 15 minutes into the 1 hour long changing of the guard we were satisfied with our intake of marching band and headed off to our next destination.

Vasa Ship Museum

I would just like to formally state that this is the most amazing eye-candy ship “museum” I have ever been to. Vasa is basically the Titanic of Scandinavia, but salvaged and restored to 95% original ship. Like the Titanic, it sunk on it’s maiden voyage only 300m off the coast. Although you cannot walk onto the ship, you can see the various levels and marvel at the sheer size of it. The Museum was literally built around the ship.

I honestly cannot recommend this place enough, I felt like I was in a Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but not in the Caribbean, in Scandinavia instead.