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Tag: old town

Old town Koh Lanta twice

We like to explore wherever we go so naturally we wanted to see the other side of Koh Lanta and visit Old town which is located there. We took the scooter and traveled over the mountain and came to a different part of Koh Lanta. Old town looks quite different from the towns located on the west side, and has much less tourists.


Vi tycker om att utforska platser vi är på så naturligtvis ville vi se den andra sidan av Koh Lanta och besöka Old town som ligger där. Vi tog mopeden och körde över berget och kom till en annan del av Koh Lanta. Old town ser ganska annorlunda ut än byarna på västsidan och har mycket mindre turister.

On our way to the other side of the island! We went twice to old town so this will be pictures in random order from both times.
Ulrika managed to take a pciture of us three on the scooter. The traffic is so easy here and we take it slowly.
We are driving over a mountain that separates the eat and west coast of Koh Lanta. Here we saw the east side for the first time. So we had to stop and take a picture.
Old town is so cozy and looks a lot different from the other places on Koh Lanta.
The tuk tuks are so beautiful in Old town.
We found a huge lobster at the pier.
We walked all the way out on the pier and realised that we could have taken our scooter out. It was kind of a hot day so our minds weren’t with us at the time.
The view from the pier and a fisherman’s boat.
We had read that there was a playground near the pier in Old town so we wanted to go there with Othilia.
Othilia on her way up to the slide.
Now it is only the down part that can be a little scary and Othilia wants to hold a hand when going down.
Pontus found a playground for adults as well.
Lunch time and we tried two different restaurants next to the pier. The first one we tried was called Fresh and Othilia needed a snack before lunch.
The second time we tried a really cozy restaurant called Pinto. Othilia was fascinated by the tables that were converted sewing machines.
Back at our beach we needed to jump in the water after being out in the sun all day on a scooter. We are both wearing dresses we found in Old town.

I’m so blessed to walk beside you my wonderful daughter and experience the world with you!

Visiting our friend Michi in Bamberg

Back on track and we can finally give a short explanation of why we ended up in Bamberg, a small town in the middle of Germany. We were here to visit our friend Michi, who we got to know during our three months stay in Acapulco during the 2016 version of Anarchapulco. It was just by pure spontaneous travel, a trait that we are known for by now, we happened to step of a bus in Bamberg. We had a lot to catch up with our friend since our good bye in Acapulco in 2016, so Bamberg just had to be our next destination.  
Originally, we were thinking of going to Paris, Amsterdam or Slovakia when Ulrika remembered that Michi should be somewhere in the southern parts of Germany. One message later and we had set our travel compass towards Bamberg. Little did we know that we would come to a lovely small town with a lot of history. 


Tillbaka på rätt spår och vi kan slutligen ge er en kort förklaring till varför vi hamnade i Bamberg, en liten stad i mitten av Tyskland. Vi var här för att besöka vår vän Michi, som vi lärde känna under våra tre månader i Acapulco när vi närvarade vid 2016-års version av Anarchapulco. Det var bara en ren spontanresa, en egenskap som vi är kända för i nuläget, att vi hoppade på en buss till Bamberg. Vi hade mycket att prata om med vår vän sedan vårt adjö i Acapulco 2016, så Bamberg var vi bara tvungna att ha som vår nästa destination.
Vår ursprungliga plan var att åka till Paris, Amsterdam eller Slovakien, när Ulrika kom ihåg att Michi borde befinna sig någonstans i de södra delarna av Tyskland. Ett ivägskickat meddelande senare och vi hade satt vår resekompass mot Bamberg. Lite visste vi att vi skulle sätta fötterna i en förtjusande liten stad med mycket historia.

Awesome to meet Michi again and to explore his hometown Bamberg!

Michi took us to the old town of Bamberg, which is on the UNESCO’s world heritage list because it has kept its medieval appearance.

You enter old town by crossing the Obere Brücke (a bridge built in 1455) and walk through the town hall of Bamberg, the town hall dates back to the 16th century and has cool exterior painting.

Michi and Pontus on the streets of old town Bamberg. Michi showed us around different parts of Bamberg during the few days we spent with him and his family and friends.

Bamberg was first mentioned in 902 and has been a town since the first millennium. The town was heavily involved in the witch hunt during the 15th century and approximately 1000 people were sentenced to death during a 5-year period. This was one of the largest witch trials in history.

Everywhere you go, you’ll find lovely houses with interesting exterior that you want to check out further.

Schlenkerla is one out of nine old, famous pubs that brews the famous Bamburg Rauchbier – a
beer which has a distinctive, smoky aroma and flavor.

Rauchbier is almost pitch black and has an interesting taste. We liked it, but felt it was enough drinking one.

Another nice thing here is that people are standing outside on the street, having a beer and having conversation with people passing the pub. It is a joyful atmosphere!

We continued our walk through the old town and found more medieval houses.

We walked, but old town also have a tourist sightseeing bus tour. We ended up at the “little Venice of Bamberg where we recorded a short video, which can be seen below.

The old town of Bamberg also has its own cathedral and it is under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church. The original cathedral was founded in 1002 by King Heinrich II, but the first two cathedrals burned down in the 11th and 12th centuries, so the current one has been standing here since the 13th century.

The Neue Residenz, the palace that was the bishops residence from 1602 to 1803.

Behind the bishop palace, there is a beautiful rose garden to enjoy.

Wikipedia claims that the rose garden has over 4500 roses in different colors.

Michi likes to climb, so he took us to the local boulder room  (Block Helden) to get our muscles working again.

They accept bitcoin, so we really like this place! Notice that you’re not allowed to pay with bitcoin if you’re a drug dealer 😂

Michi showing different problems in the boulder room.

Pontus warming up on an easy route.

Ulrika feeling out the bolted holds once more.

Michi’s cousin is an experienced climber, so he showed us more difficult routes in the boulder room.

Michi also took us out on the countryside to taste the local famous food and beers around Bamberg. Hölzlein is one of the guest houses famous for their brewery and food.

We had the chance to spend time with Michi’s friend Andreas talking a lot about the German school system.

A proper German dinner – some kind of meat, sauerkraut, sauce and potatoes!

Grießnockerlsuppe, Semolina dumpling soup, was a new kind of soup that we haven’t tasted before coming to Bamberg. It was delicious!

A random art project we found while exploring the town. Loved it!

We also took a walk to Hain park, which is next to the old town and it is an easy walk to discover more beautiful surroundings here in Bamberg.

An old bridge in Hain park.

Here you’ll find the botanical garden!

More photos from Hain park.

Andreas joined us on the walk and we really appreciate the conversations and the the explorations we had with you guys. Thanks for letting us spontaneously come visit you!

And thanks for letting us stay with you! Next stop for us was Berlin!

An old friend in Kings Landing

Dubrovnik or Kings Landing, depending on if you’re a Game of Thrones-fan or not, was our next destination. We ended up here because one of our old friends has relocated to this place and we decided to pass by and surprise her with a visit. There are direct flights from Istanbul to Dubrovnik, so this time we had an enjoyable flight with only a few hours in the air and no transit. It was Pontus birthday as well, so the flight attendants came and wished him a happy birthday and gave him a small present.
Within half an hour after we stepped on a bus towards Dubrovnik, the Old port of Dubrovnik showed up outside our windows and it was as to see Kings Landing, the only thing we missed was the giant fleets battling in wildfire. We were going to spend a few days here and we really liked what we saw.


Dubrovnik eller Kings Landing, beroende på om du är ett Game of Thrones-fan eller inte, var vår nästa destination. Vi hamnade här för att en av våra gamla vänner har flyttat till denna plats och vi bestämde oss för att komma och överraska henne med ett besök. Det finns direktflyg från Istanbul till Dubrovnik, så den här gången hade vi ett trevligare flyg med bara några timmar i luften och utan byte. Det var Pontus födelsedag också, så flygvärdinnorna kom och önskade honom grattis på födelsedagen och gav honom en liten present.
Inom en halvtimme efter att vi gick på en buss mot Dubrovnik, så uppenbarade sig den gamla hamnen i Dubrovnik utanför vårt bussfönster och det var verkligen som att se Kings Landing. Det enda vi saknade var jätteflottorna som kämpade i “wild fire”. Vi skulle tillbringa några dagar här och vi gillade verkligen vad vi såg.

Next stop for us was Dubrovnik, Croatia!

And we were here for this girl, Linda!

Blurry picture with Linda and her co-workers Amanda and Caroline. Linda has started to work here this season with Solresor. Linda is a fantastic history geek, so that is handy when she’s taking her customers out exploring the historic parts of Dubrovnik (in Swedish).

Linda brought us to Old town and told us about Croatian and Dubrovnik history. This is the Stradun, the main street of Old town Dubrovnik. We also filmed a few parts of our tour with Linda, which you can see below.

The shame-shame steps from where Cersei starts her naked walk through the mob (Game of Throne-reference again). It is much smaller in reality.

The old Port of Dubrovnik and the harbor of Kings Landing (Game of thrones-reference).

The big Onfrio’s fountain, near the Pile gate, is one of two fountains in old town. The fountains were built in 1438 to give people access to the 20 km long water supply system from the mountains. The big Onfrio’s fountain is the only fountain still in use today.

The clock tower in the end of the main gate was built in 1444 and shows both the time and the phases of the moon.

Orlando’s Column near the Clock tower has a sculpture of the famous medieval knight Orlando, or Roland which was his real name. There are famous songs written about knight Roland and the chivalry associated with knights are believed to come from knight Roland.

For a long time the old town used Roland’s underarm as a unit of measurement, 1 L equaled to approximately 51 cm. Merchants that came to Dubrovnik had to convert their goods to the unit before they could enter the market in Dubrovnik. People who bought for example a piece of fabric could go to the column and see that they weren’t fooled. They have carved out 1 L at the bottom of the column so people didn’t have to reach up to use knight Roland’s under arm.

The small alleys are packed with tables. The red flags, which are hanging at the entrance of the alleys, tell you what you can find further in the alley.

The war time photo museum is very interesting to visit, but can be hard on you if your’e sensitive to see the ugly parts of humanity. It was a war photographer that documented the Yugoslav wars, who opened this museum after the war. The main exhibition is photos from the wars on Balkan between 1991 and 1999, but they also have temporary exhibitions on display and a room full with selected pictures from earlier temporary exhibitions.

We headed up to Fort Lovrijenac after our tour in the old town. This place is called Dubrovnik’s Gibraltar and the Fort is built early in the 11th century to keep the Venetians away from Ragusa (the old name of the city). You get an awesome view over old town from the fort!

It was so much fun meeting Linda again and to see where she spends her days now.

A short pit stop in Phuket town

Our visit to Phuket town was short and it was just before we had to leave Thailand, because of visa rules. We had managed to book accommodation in the Old Town of Phuket town without us knowing  about it. We’re in the process to prepare for major changes for us and such information just passed us without notice when we booked our accommodation. However, it was lovely to suddenly find ourselves in a street market in  the old town of Phuket when we stepped out of our hostel in search of a place to eat.

Visa, which we are not a big fan of, was just one of the reasons that we said good bye to Thailand. Another reason was also that we’ve long been looking forward to returning to Bali. Bali is one of the few places in the world where we feel at home and, like our last time in Bali, we are here to meet interesting people, check out the Bitcoin-stage in Ubud and welcome part of our family to the island to show them one of our favorite places on the planet .


Det blev en kort visit i Phuket town innan vi var tvungen att lämna Thailand pga av visumregler och utan att vi visste om det så hade vi lyckats boka boende mitt i gamla stan i Phuket town. Vi håller ju på att förbereda oss för stora förändringar och sådan information hade lyckats gå förbi oss när vi bokade boendet i Phuket. Desto trevligare var det att plötsligt befinna sig på en marknad i gamla stan när vi klev utanför dörren i jakt på att hitta något ställe att äta på.
Visum, vilket vi inte är ett stort fan av, var dock bara en av anledningarna till att vi lämnade Thailand. En annan anledning var också för att vi länge sett framemot att återvända till Bali. Bali är en av få platser i världen där vi känner oss hemma och liksom vår senaste gång på Bali är vi här för att träffa intressanta människor, kolla in Bitcoin-scenen i Ubud och välkomna familjemedlemmar till ön för att visa dem ett av våra favoritställen på denna planet.

The walking street market in Phuket town

You’ll find both artists and…

…musicians here to entertain the crowd

However, we were outside looking for food and we found our dinner that night on a stick.

Pontus with our favorite beer in Thailand – Leo is a bit darker and has more flavour compared to Singha and Chang, which is two other Thai beer brands available here.

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