The idea of a Viking Ice Race popped up when visitors from the skating organisation from Holland visited Sweden after their Eleven Cities Tour (Elfstedentocht) of 1997 together with the winner of that years competition. An investigation started which later did show that the only route possible of a Swedish skate competition is just the route Uppsala-Stockholm, because it’s there the safest ices are with not so much open water.

To skate between Uppsala and Stockholm had been a classic route for all kinds of ice skaters for many years already before the Viking Run started for the first time in 1999, organized by the Friluftsfrämjandet organization and the Swedish skate association including other sponsors.

In 2013 it’s scheduled to go off at the 10th of February around 8am at Skarholmen, Uppsala and finish in Hässelby, a suburban of Stockholm. The Viking Run race is probably the worlds longest recurring ice skate race that take place on only natural ice and not on a special built up or artificial ice track.

There are actually several different races:

• The Vikingarännet 80 km start in Uppsala
• Tjejrännet (Women Race) 35 km start in Sigtuna
• A short race of 15 km start in Kungsängen

The race got it’s name from following the ancient Viking transport routes on lake Mälaren, but you don’t have to be a Viking to participate. All types of skates are allowed and I actually hope for some participants to choose similar skates as the Vikings!

Yes, even the Vikings did skate, but their skates were made of animal thigh/shin bones, had no shoe and were attached by leather strings only. At just one spot on the Swedish island Björkö, in the Viking town Birka, they found 70 skates together.

In this year’s vikingarännet there are more participants from other countries in Europe, like Great Britain, Belgium and Holland (last years winner) of course – so obviously this Swedish competition starts to be more known around Europe’s ice skaters.

If you have the opportunity to get there, there are plenty of places where you can see the ice skaters swooshing by. Or why not sign up for the race? Go to vikingarannet.com to signup or get more information.

Sign up for a distance that suits you, read the rules properly (ex. Ice prods are compulsory), prepare yourself to skate strong as a Viking, hope for great weather reports and have fun racing!

Lets hope the cold weather will continue, so there will be great ice’s for skating, you never know with the Swedish weather…

To get there:

From Europe there are low budget airlines like Norwegian.com or Ryanair.com to fly you to Stockholm, but I would try to get a Norwegian flight in the first hand, because you will arrive at Arlanda airport, which is much closer to the event than Skavsta airport where Ryanair arrives.

I also recommend that you take the arlandaexpress.com into Stockholm City Center or if you are going to Uppsala, take the special flightbus 801 between Arlanda airport and Uppsala. Also have a look at the arrivalguides.com and look up either Stockholm or Uppsala to get more start info about the two cities.

Special thanks to:

Anders Tysk, secretary-general and one of the originators of Vikingarännet for replying to my request, providing me with more information and pictures from the competition to use when writing this blog post.

©Lifecruiser Love Viking Ice Run

The Viking Run (Vikingarännet) 2013 Map, (click to see details)

Here’s a sneak-peek at beaches in Bali and what activities they are best for.

Best Beach in Bali for Surfing: Kuta

Image courtesy of eGuide Travel/ Flickr.com

Found on the western side of Bali’s narrow isthmus, Kuta Beach is one of the world’s most famous surf hot spots. On a good day, you can look forward to average wave lengths of 50 meters. On a great day, they can grow to thrice that. It’s such a popular location that surfers will make the trip from all over the island to hit these waves.

Kuta is primo for great adventures, shopping and dining. You can take in the Bali Bombing Memorial Monument or discover one of the many temples throughout Kuta that contain brilliant designs and pieces of art. If you fancy shopping head to the Discovery Shopping Mall Esplanade where you may also find live DJs, parades and concerts.

Best Beach in Bali for Swimming: Padang Bai

Image courtesy of shanghaifoodie/ Flickr.com

Padang Bai is one of the quieter beaches in Bali. It’s warm climates, silver sand, crystal azure waters and wondrous cliff formations, makes for a perfect day swimming or lounging in the comforting rays of the sun. Stretching for 120 meters, it’s only accessible through a passage sitting between two cliffs. In the evening, join the gawkers to witness some of the most incredible sunsets.

Swimming, cold beers, cocktails and building sand castles aren’t all the area has. There are beautiful villas that sit on the rocks, striking guest houses and bungalows that actually start under $100 per night.

Best Beach in Bali for Sunbathing: Jimbaran Beach

Image courtesy of shanghaifoodie/ Flickr.com

Located on the south-western coast, this beach gets to take full advantage of the sun. The beach and bay are filled with little secluded areas, promising peace and tranquillity. The beach is surrounded by tropical forests and celebrity hideaways. Stay close enough to society so you can still enjoy fruity drinks under umbrellas or find your spot and lay there in seclusion with only the sounds of the waves to keep you company.

Jimbaran Beach is the spot for dining. It has a three kilometre patch of international restaurants and cafes. As one of Bali’s most easy going beaches, the nightlife on this part of the island tends to be serene. You’ll more likely find romantic dinners and cliff-side rendezvous.

Best Beach in Bali for Snorkelling: Sanur

Purists argue Amed Beach is the standout for snorkelling, however, Sanur takes the edge for its additional attractions. Sanur was Bali’s first beach resort, offering serene coastal ambiance. It’s where you can find the unique Bali Seawalker, which is a snorkelling device that requires minimum equipment. However, there is still plenty of traditional snorkelling. Schedule to go out during high tide when the underwater creatures are truly animated.

Sanur is small, so if you want to golf, you’ll have to settle for nine holes. It’s said the Bali Beach Course is a challenge with its hibiscus trees and shady pines. There’s also great sailing as Sanur is one of Bali’s premier boating points. The beach is perfect for kite flying too and there is an annual festival held here each year.

Best Beach in Bali for Being Alone: Geger Beach

If you’re not into the surf and crowds, Geger Beach is wonderful for many relaxing hours. The calm, sparkling water is of a tranquil blue-green colour and the sands are soft yet thick, great for a nice run or a game of volleyball or Ultimate Frisbee. The waves roll smoothly, and watching them can send you to a quiet place. You’ll likely glimpse farmers harvesting seaweed.

Geger Beach is excellent for young kids with its quieter waves. There are water sport activities for the family, including beach games. There are also plenty of cafes serving everything from great fish to burgers and fries for the little ones.

If you are going to get away from it all, do it right! Get out to Bali and explore these beautiful beaches. This Indonesian paradise is filled with adventure and relaxation. You won’t have any problems finding great rates on flights to Bali with a little research.

Lifecruiser Love Bali Beaches
 

Flying Regulations in Russia

In order to fly a private plane while on vacation in Russia, visitors need to first file a request for flight authorization with the Russian aviation authorities. This flight authorization needs to include the purpose of the trip, the pilot and aircraft information, passport numbers and names of all passengers, flight computer information and the flight plan for the trip, including dates and times for all arrivals and departures. A flight plan must be filed with Russian aviation authorities at least 24 hours prior to takeoff.

If flying to small airports in Russia, keep in mind that most of the smaller airport control towers are only open from 8 AM to 5 PM. It is illegal to land at an airport when the tower is unstaffed. Most of the smaller airports do not have English-speaking staff, so it will be necessary to hire a navigator that speaks English and Russian. These navigators cost a couple hundred dollars a day, but they make it much easier to deal with the Russian bureaucracy.

Fun Places to Go

There are so many great places to explore in Russia that it is tough to fit everything into one trip. Moscow is the obvious place to start. The Russian capital has centuries of history and is the cultural, economic and political center of the country. Visitors will find that Russia has an amazing culinary scene with some of the best restaurants in the world. There is also a vibrant nightlife with lots of shows, clubs and attractions to choose from. Of course, no visit to Moscow is complete without visiting the mighty Kremlin.

Though Moscow is a great city, St. Petersburg is the better tourist town. Formed around a number of canals, the city has a rich history as the former home of the Russian tsars. There are lots of great historical attractions to visit, including the fabulous former home of the tsars, Winter Palace. There are a number of beautiful cathedrals to visit. The nightlife and cuisine in St. Petersburg is some of the best in Asia.

Vladimir was the first capital of Russia. It has a number of historical attractions to visit, most notably the Golden Gates that once protected the city from invaders. There are also a couple of stunningly beautiful cathedrals, St. Dmitry Cathedral and Assumption Cathedral.

Those looking for a break from Russian city life should visit the town of Suzdal in the Vladimir region. This town of 12,000 people is protected by law from development. The buildings in the town are some of the oldest in Russia as some of them date back to the early part of the 11th century. The town is surrounded by lovely meadows and farms and is a very popular Russian pastoral getaway.

Lifecruiser Love Private Planes
 

Lifecruiser Love Flights
 

British Airways has tested this new environment-friendly paint for a year now on an airplane with a flight route between London and New York. The new paint is not only better looking, but also improving the aerodynamic of the airplane, making it less fuel consuming and saving millions for BA.

I have no idea why the airplanes can’t be bare naked, why must there be paint at all?

There are many other ways to strip an airplane obviously, British Airways let all their employees come with suggestions and they came up with enough alternatives that made BA save enough fuel to power 550 flights from Heathrow to New York last year… and they continues with other projects in 2012.

I was just thinking: think if every airline (and other transportation related companies) would adopt this, making all kind of savings – what an impact it would have on the environment!

©Lifecruiser Love Airplanes

Other flight related posts by Lifecruiser:

EU Airports facing capacity crunch
Travel Tools: Flight Tracking
Google flight search engine – new useful travel tool
How to find the cheapest flights – the ultimate flights guide
Flight Stockholm – Palma, Thomas Cook Airlines
Budget flight Ryanair-Skavsta – Bratislava
Mark green approach to travel
 

Orlando is perhaps most known for the Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando Universal Resort, SeaWorld and Gatorland, but for us golfers also as a warming up winter escape place with many top golf courses as well as other attractions and activities for the whole family (lots of gardens for the wife).

As an old golfer since 26 years, I’ve picked out a few golf courses to try out, which I found interesting. Of course, what is interesting varies for different persons, but if you’re a fairly good golfer with at least a rather low golf handicap, you might like these ones you too.

Falcons Fire: given four stars by GolfDigest as well as rated as America’s Top 15 Women Friendly Courses by Golf for Women, it’s a must play, conveniently located close to the Walt Disney World Resort and Orlando International Airport, rates from $49-$79. (falconsfire.com)

Golf Hawks Landing: at the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort (the worlds largest Marriott) with beautiful wildlife with native birds, rates $39-$129 depending on time of the day when going out. (golfhawkslanding.com)

Hunters Creek: Another must play public golf course with strategically placed bunkers I could need the experience from. Spacious, rolling fairways among 13 lakes sounds like a relaxing but demanding enough golf round for me. Rates $16-$69. (golfhunterscreek.com)

Mystic Dunes Golf: 2 different nine holes. The front nine similar to a British Isles link’s course, the other nine as classic Carolina courses, with wetlands and marsh areas and cypress forests. It’s perhaps the rolling sand dunes and 5 sets of tee boxes that makes me think it would be my kind of course. Golf Getaway Packages starting at $135. (mysticdunesgolf.com)

Grand Cypress: A golf resort with 45 holes of Jack Nicklaus Signature golf, with luxury Orlando hotel accommodations which my wife would love to stay at (OK, me too), relaxing at the spa getting a massage or in the pool while I’m golfing. (grandcypress.com)

There are so many great golf courses in the Orlando area, that at least I don’t think that you would be disappointed, what ever golf course you choose. Some other great websites to check out if going to Orlando are orlandogolftrail, orlandogolf, golforlando and golfnow.com/orlando.

When to go there depends on what kind of person you are, if you cope with the heat or rain. Most of the rain falls June-September. I think I’d prefer to go there in the spring. I would definitely try to avoid the hurricane season, especially with my wife’s bad weather curse, remember? (lol)

If we ever are in the same area, let me know and we do a golf round challenge. That is, if you dare? My golf handicap? Officially 5,8, but I’m not sure if I live up to that. I’ve been trying to raise my handicap – have been down at 3,2 when I played every day, now I play more seldom.

©Lifecruiser Love Golf Travel

Some other golf travel related posts at Lifecruiser:

Tips for nightlife in Algarve (twilight golf)
Enjoy UK golf breaks and take in these top three courses
Swedish Golf Season Start 2011
PhotoHunt Golf self-reflection
Golf pleasures in and out
 

The amount of foreign travelers at Sweden’s airports has increased tremendously during just the last couple of years and now even more is expected during 2012.

Sweden may be a small country way up in the north, but we do have lots of things that may interest lots of different types of tourists, as well as a diverse and unique climate throughout the country. Sweden are also known for innovations, design, fashion, music and lots of high quality restaurants!

I don’t find it particularly odd that the Swedish tourism is increasing, since we have been very bad at marketing our noble country before and just recent years stepped up the efforts to be seen around the world.

There have also been formed new partnerships and cooperation between different companies and organizations working within the tourist and transport sector – even concentrating on special destination connections, making the marketing more effective.

There is a lot of big investments going on at several of Sweden’s airports the upcoming years and the capital city of Stockholm’s closest international airport Arlanda, will be extended to become Arlanda City – a big built up business center.

Sweden is increasing it’s efforts to welcome many more tourists than it has ever. As a traveler I’m happy for that, but at the same time I am a wee bit concerned too: will our little country be able to take the hit of the tourist masses without changing too much?

That is a question that have to be answered in the future…

©Lifecruiser Love Sweden
 

• The tourism in Sweden is increasing further, as it has the past eight years, despite the economical crises around in the world. Last year the tourists spent 87 billions Swedish crowns – which is more than double the amount Sweden did earn on the Swedish car export…
• In the last quarter of 2011, Sweden had the most expensive hotel rates of the whole European Union, with a average of 1180 Swedish crowns/night. Denmark came in on the second place, UK at third place. Though I must say to Sweden’s defense that the hotels in Sweden generally keep an high standard.
• The most visited Museum in Sweden is the old and famous outdoor museum out on the Djurgården island, neighbor to the only amusement park in Stockholm, Gröna Lund. After that it’s the Vasa Museum with the old Vasa ship and then the Museum of Modern Art.
• Flybe starts a new flight route Bromma (Stockholm) and Oslo in the beginning of May with 22 departures per week. Already today you can take a flight to Copenhagen, Tallinn of Helsinki with Flybe.

We were just looking around a bit… and we were VERY tempted to book two other trips, because we found awesome bargain prices for flights to both Palma de Mallorca and Venedig with another airline.

I tell you: we were soooo close to book since the weather is really boring here in Stockholm right now and we had booked them for sure – if it were not for the fact that we need to save for our long Europe trip later this year… *sigh*

©Lifecruiser Love Travel
 

Shopping for airfare in advance or securing it with a Capital One Venture Double Miles Challenge can make flying in much more affordable, and simply choosing to avoid big resorts will allow you to see and do far more than you had imagined.

However, before you take flight, be sure to pack each of the following in that backpack that will become your lifeline:

Variety

One of the biggest pitfalls that backpackers get themselves in to when traveling is not packing a variety of items. Be sure to pack at least one tee shirt, tank top, long sleeved shirt, pair of jeans, and pair of shorts. You will also want to pack one or two pairs of different shoes to fit the variety of terrain you will be covering. Ultimately, you want to make sure that you will be prepared for any climate situation.

A Solid List

Before flying out, create a list of all hostels in and around the areas in which you will be visiting. Along with names, you will want to make sure that you include addresses and phone numbers so that you can contact them in advance if you wish. Having this list will help you get about more easily, and will also make it easier to find other accommodations should your first choice be filled up for the evening.

First Aid Kit

You never know when a bump or scrape may occur. To keep yourself from having to find a local pharmacy for Band-Aids and antibiotic ointment, pack a small first aid kit equipped with bandaids, gauze, ibuprofen, and antibiotic ointment.

Travel Journal

While it may not seem like a necessity, having a travel journal during your travels will be something that you will thank yourself for bringing later. Be sure to take a small one along to document places you’ve stayed in and people whom you have met. It’ll be great for resparking memories and for future travel plans should you choose to return.

A Credit Card

While cash is great to have on hand, having a credit card can be a real life saver for travelers needing to cover an emergency or book a last minute room. Just remember to make sure that the card you take is one of the numerous credit cards without foreign transaction fees to maximize your spending.

Smart Phone

Taking a smart phone may seem frivolous and expensive when traveling abroad, but it can definitely be a life saver. In addition to translation apps, a good smart phone will be able to help you locate restaurants, hostels, sites, and just about anything else of interest. It is essentially a personal assistant for the wandering traveler.

Ziploc Bags

Clothes get dirty and wet when traveling around, and toiletries spill. To keep your other items clean and dry, always take a few extra quart and gallon sized Ziploc bags.

Locks

When you are out and about exploring cities, the last thing you want to do is lug around your backpack. However, leaving your bag unattended isn’t always easy either. To keep your belongings safe at hostels, bring locks for both your zippers and for your hostel locker. This way you will be able to stay both bag and worry free.

Backpacking is a great way to see all the nooks and crannies of Europe, but it is an adventure that you don’t want to be unprepared for. Make sure that you adequately pack your bag so that you are able to take on any adventure you come across.

Lifecruiser Love Europe Trips
 

The Spanish flight company Vueling even decided to start their flight route between Stockholm – Barcelona today – much earlier than planned (March) – because of the Spanair bankruptcy. Tickets can be bought through their mobile site too: m.vueling.com.

So if you are a Spanair.com lockout victim, you can hopefully get this special flight rate by Vueling at: http://www.vueling.com/spanair/ or read more in their blog post about the Spanair passengers options.

I can imagine what a chaos, since Spain is such a huge European tourist destination, when all those stranded passengers are going to try to get tickets with other flight companies like Iberia, Air Europa and Ryanair (49 Euro rescue fare) etc.

Having an owner of ownership in Spanair of 10,9 percent, the Scandinavian Airlines SAS reports that their loss will be possible to handle for them and that they will be involved as a creditor in the upcoming bankruptcy process. The event will have a limited effect on SAS liquidity.

Let’s face it: It could have been you or me. It’s never fun – to not get that well deserved getaway that you may have saved up for in months. What a nightmare.

To be stranded somewhere without a flight you’ve counted on if you really have to return at a specific date could cost you more than you can afford, both money wise and perhaps work wise. Your boss might not be pleased if you can’t get home in time.

Me? I would LOVE to be stranded in Spain right now… he he…

©Lifecruiser Love Spain