Now, the reasons may be that I’m not young enough to hear about any nightlife, therefor I have done some research for the next time we will go there, that I thought I should share with you. I’ll start with a few other evening/night pleasures we have picked out for ourselves.

If you’re a golfer, ask for the twilight round at Vilamoura Old Course Twilight Rounds, really good value for a round for a discounted price on a great course and the lights are making it a very unique experience. (Reminds of the time I played winter golf in the dark with a self-luminous ball…)

Take the night walk in the impressive Arabic castle with defensive walls in Silves. The red walls, white houses and street lamps gives a true medieval touch. There is also a Laser show, Aquavision at Fabrica do Ingles (Cork Museum), with images projected to the walls of the castle, music, dance, Fado, Flamenco dancers and more. Also hosts the Silves beer festival in July.

If you’re a party person, preferring a really crazy nightlife, bars and clubs, stay in the Areias de Sao Joao area, the strip Avenida Dr Francisco Sa Carneiro. Or maybe Montechoro, about 2kms from Albufeira old town. (We will stay closer to the Old Town to get more peace and quiet, we can’t manage to party every night any longer).

Some popular places to remember: Kiss in Albufeira, Kadoc in Vilamoura (gigantic: takes 7.000 visitors!) with open-air terrace. Rock: Round Up Saloon in Carvoeiro. Discoteca Ubi and Bar Bubi in Tavira has foam parties… Monte Gordo: Bar42 with DJ, Karaoke & live music.

For a more romantic choice go to Breeze Algarve, Praca Vale de Lobo, to sit on the terrace in the sunset kissing… Or take Champagne and something to eat, some blankets and your beloved one with you to some beautiful place to watch the sunset… and perhaps the sunrise.

If you’re uncertain where to go to eat, the best way is to ask the locals where to go and eat their traditional dishes and you’ll get plenty of alternatives! That way you might get more unbiased answers, because if asking at the hotel as an example, they often favorite just a few restaurants – and sometimes very touristy.

Even if you’re not much for the nightlife, the Algarve region has a lot of picturesque fishing villages or small towns rich of culture and history along the long coastline, which is filled with long, sandy and always gorgeous beaches. A perfect holiday destination if you don’t mind some waves and a bit cooler water than in the Mediterranean, because this is the Atlantic Ocean.

We will for sure visit both Lisbon – and maybe even the north area – as well as Algarve next time…

©Lifecruiser Love Algarve

Other Algarve travel related posts by Lifecruiser:

Portugal Algarve Dream Stay
Portugal Trip Monte Gordo
Portugal Trip Tavira
Portugal Trip Ayamonte Spain
World Dogs: Portuguese Water Dog
 

• Tips for Adventure Lovers! Register your adventure – or spot new adventures at Spot Adventures.
• Wow! Travel the world by these awesome panorama shots of cities around the world – Zoom in a destination!!!
• The Swedish Tourist organization STF (Hostels) made it on the Top 100-list by Internetworld Magazine.
• 2010 Years Best Swedish City Guide: goteborg.com. Check them out if you’re planning on travel in Sweden – it’s well worth it!
• Best charter travel site of Sweden 2010: Ving.se – accoarding to the Swedish magazine Internetworld. (Second place: Fritidsresor.se )

Something completely different: We’ve been busy starting up our old blog at WordPress.com again. This time as a pure Lifecruiser Photo Playground.

Any guesses what we’re going to use it for? Yes, our place for playing around a bit with everything related to photographing.

So, you might see us around for some photo memes over there! Welcome over and leave us your photo sites links…

Lifecruiser ♥ Travel & Photo
 

It sure is an interesting, very rewarding and more authentic way of travel to find a venue to go to with fellow bloggers you’ve been talking to in the internet and becoming truly dear friends also in real life.

Bloggers meetup background

We have met several of the bloggers before. The hosts this year for the Oslo Blog Gathering, Renny and Diane, arranged this event together with Visit Oslo to make it an awesome exploring of the Oslo area with the help of the Oslo Pass.

We have also met Tor and Anna several times before, which now generously hosted us in their winter home. Poor Tor had to sleep on the sofa and Anna could only participate one evening due to her work unfortunately.

Even Claudie and Pierre were hosted by Tor, giving us an opportunity to reciprocate some of the food feasts at our meeting in Provence at Claudie’s home last year.

This time with a more Scandinavian touch of course! Not to mention a lot of Champagne cheers… *giggles*

Our fondness of Champagne actually has a history background: once upon a time I started something called the Cyber Cruise for bloggers, which simply was a way for us to do internet travel together to different destinations – and we also had a lot of fun partying with Champagne.

Last year we continued that travel idea into real life instead, beginning with France… and who knows where we end up at last…? One thing is sure though: we’re making a lot of new, awesome friends this way!

Oslo sightseeing by tourist bus

The Oslo Blog Gathering started out with an introducing bus sightseeing tour called Oslo highlights, with Margaret as guide – a truly inspiring woman with humor who did show us Oslo downtown, Vigeland Sculpture Park and Holmenkollen Ski jump.

Think about going down that ski jump? Well, you only have to qualify to participate in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships that will be held at Holmenkollen in February 2011!
 

Oslo City Hall Reception

After the Oslo sightseeing tour it was time for the reception with the Mayor of Oslo, Fabian Stang, in the City Hall. Yes, he actually agreed to meet us all over a glass of Champagne and some snacks – what a great PR for Oslo and the Norwegian hospitality, don’t you think?

Especially when you consider that this was on his birthday, so naturally we all brought him gifts, a small token of our gratitude, things from our home countries. Here in the photo above Claudie & Pierre from Provence, France.

Oslo City Hall is a very special building, in my opinion it’s not so much the outside postmodernism architecture as the inside interior that impressed me: native and historical wall paintings telling us a lot about Norway. Here is just one sample of them.

Click for more photos of Oslo City Hall

I understand very well why the yearly Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is held in the City Hall, don’t you?
 

Akershus Fortress

The Akershus fortress has survived many attacks, even by Swedish forces actually. The fortress was strategically important for the capital, and therefore the whole Norway. It’s said that the one that ruled Akershus fortress also ruled Norway.

Besides being filled with so much Norwegian history, it also has a gorgeous architecture and interior. One can truly feel the historical atmosphere in there – we even managed to meet the fortress ghosts – we think….

Click for more photos of Akershus Fortress

A walk around Bygdø Peninsula

Tor was doing a special walking tour around the Bygdø peninsula with some of us and of course he knew every part of it since he lived here for many years in his youth.

You have seen the Norwegian trolls I spotted before, but now he took us to the paradise instead!

Well, almost – the beach Paradisbukta (Paradise Bay) among some other interesting sights on the way….

Click for more photos from Bygdø Peninsula

Ship Museums at Bygdø Peninsula

For the one interested in marine history Bygdø is a real treasure with several different ship museums of important matter.

Fram Museum is the ship Roald Amundsen used at his Polar Expeditions, the first to reach the South Pole in 1912 and probably with the worlds strongest ship. I would call it one of the worlds strongest men too!

Click for more photos from FRAM Polarship Museum

Thor Heyerdahl was what some might call crazy Norwegian scientist and explorer, but I call fascinating. He most certainly must have inherited some viking blood, considering his extra ordinary world famous expeditions he did which are exposed in the Kon-Tiki Museum.

Click for more photos from Kon-Tiki Museum

Of course there would not be a completed marine museum tour if there were not the most ancient and truly inspiring Viking Ship Museum with the three Viking ships Oseberg, Gokstad and Tun and other grave findings.

Click for more photos from Viking Ships Museum

These ships were actually burial ships carrying lots of treasures like wagons, horses and textiles which seldom has been preserved from the Viking age. Together with the other grave findings it tells us a lot about the Viking life not otherwise possible to know.
 

Lille Herbern Island

To get to the Lille Herbern Island from Bygdø Island, we had to take the smallest ferry I’ve traveled with so far which goes a very short way over to the island, only a few minutes ride.

We were going to dine there at the Lille Herbern restaurant together with the other bloggers, who were on another sightseeing tour than us.

We sat down outside to wait for them and of course we grabbed the opportunity to drink Champagne while we were chatting. We didn’t mind waiting at all! *giggles*

If the weather had been more nice one could have stayed out there for a long time admiring all the different boats that passed by the island.

Click for more photos from Lille Herbern Island

Harbor & boats in Oslo

Our regulars readers know that we have a special love for boats, so of course we did capture a lot of different boats in the harbor of Oslo and surroundings. There are many fjords in Norway and following are of course a lot of boating.

Click for more photos of Oslo harbor & boats

Drøbak town

Drøbak is a small town not far from the capital Oslo, with many picturesque tree houses situated on hill streets well worth to wander around.

The town also has an important history since it was Oslo’s winter harbor during many years because the fjord did freeze in severe winters all the way to Oslo.

From here you also can take a ferry out to the Oscarsborg Fortress – if you make it in time which we did not…

Click for more photos from Drøbak

One important moment in the history was from the German invasion of Norway in 1940. The German heavy cruiser Blücher sank after an attack from the Oscarsborg fortress near Drøbak narrows.

Result: it was blocking the way for the following troops, leaving enough time to evacuate the government, parliament, royal family and the national treasury.

Norway never surrendered to the Germans, they participated as an ally in the war instead.
 

National gift Voksenåsen

Voksenåsen is a national gift from Norway to Sweden for giving help to Norway during World War II – another sign of the two countries friendship – not only by bloggers….

Even though Voksenåsen was not part of the OsloBG sightseeing, we went to this hotel and conference center by ourselves during the Oslo visit. It has a simply breathtaking view over Oslo.

Click for more photos from Voksenåsen

Middle Ages Ruin Party

In the old parts of Oslo city there are some preserved ruins from the Middle Ages. It was here that the urbanization of Oslo started around the year 1000 – and this was also our place for a bloggers bubble water party the last evening.

Click for more photos from the Oslo middle age ruin party

Suitable don’t you think? Old habits meeting new habits….

OsloBG Roundup

After the bubble water intake in the ruins we went on to the pub Dubliner in central Oslo, where also some bloggers who hadn’t been able to make it earlier, had a chance to meet up and chat. A truly nice roundup of a wonderful blog gathering.

At the Dubliner they have a wall painting saying: “A stranger is only a friend you havent met yet” – and those bloggers really proved that the saying is true.

Thanks x millions to all the Oslo Blog Gathering participants & hosts, for making it such a huge success and wonderful memories to re-experience it through all ours photos!

Lifecruisers Norway 2010 photos (with links to different folders).

So where do we meet up next time? Well, I did hear some rumors about Ibiza…

Lifecruiser ♥ OsloBG Bloggers
 

Photo by riptheskull

It’s believed that the Swedish Easter witches flew off on broomsticks like in the vintage card above, but the cat used to be a black cat symbolizing the devil. I think this witch look rather kind and not so wild as the others I’ve seen.

No one know exactly when it all began, at least in the beginning of 1800, but probably even long before that. Like all traditions, it has changed quite a bit during the years.

To travel to the Swedish Easter Witches Island, they used anything, not only brooms but even with all kind of things or animals.

They were taken the way through the chimneys with the words:

- Up and down and all the way to hell!

…or if they said it wrong:

- Upside down all the way to hell!

They still managed to get there, flying upside down were no big deal for them…. *giggles*

So at Maundy Thursday the Swedish people made sure to shut their chimney dampers so no witches could get in and locking in all things or animals that could be used to fly on.

They even had bonfires or were shooting with guns to scare away witches and from this the Swedish traditions of crackers at Easter were born.

At the island the witches were partying, dancing and having all kind of wild orgies (!) with the devil – served a lot of delicious things they thought, but it was frogs, toads and snakes. They didn’t return home until it was Easter Sunday.

From this old beliefs, the tradition of going around knocking door dressed up as Easter witches (in Swedish: Påskkärringar), were spreading all around Sweden.

Photo by jooleeah_stahkey

Strangely enough, both boys and girls dress up with a scarf on their head. an apron and red painted cheeks, often carrying a coffeepot, giving away Happy Easter drawings in exchange for some candy.

Most parts of the country is doing it on Maundy Thursday, some west parts of Sweden at Easter Saturday, even though it has been decreasing – as all traditions tend to do nowadays.

The famous Swedish scientist Carl Linneaus who visited the island in 1741 wrote:

… women and fairy-tales … generally say that all witches will go here (truly a rather difficult journey) each Maundy Thursday; but those who have visited the place once are not likely to return, and should find out the reason for the fable: If any place in the world looks hideous, this is surely one of the most cruel…

It’s not a surprise he called it hideous, it’s really not a pretty sight. Neither beaches nor dunes exist on this wild island, which consists of 1.4 million years old granite. Glaciers have grounded it down to a very smooth and even area.

Passing sailors were said to be struck with bad luck and bad weather. They say that the sailors have been doing heave-offerings on the island too. I guess that was to please the evil powers there…

The island is called Blåkulla by people, which means “blue hill” because that’s what the island looks like. The red granite rocks are covered with dark lichens, making it at least kinda blueish.

Photo from Wikipedia

The island became a national park in 1926 and has national park rangers that guards the area and also guides visitors.

There is also some caves and a very interesting labyrinth, an ancient monument with an intricate maze of paths made of smaller stones that is placed directly on the rock in a southern part of the island.

Linnaeus described it in his travel report from 1741, calling it Trojeborg, so it obviously existed already back then, but age and function still are unknown.

Photo from Wikipedia

If you plan to visit, you have to walk the labyrinth, but be sure to do it in a certain right direction and you’ll appease the magic and get a successful life. It take about 10 minutes to go through it.

One theory is that the labyrinth was built by a stranded sailor that succeeded to get to the island instead of drowning. It’s also said to be Northern Europe’s biggest stone labyrinth.

There is a marked trail on the island leading up to the top, but that is about it, except for some bird life. The most seen bird is the black guillemot. The whole island is about a kilometer with lots of variation in the nature.

Our suggestion is to bring your own picnic food, something to drink, warm clothes and proper walking shoes if you’re going there.

If you’re not a nature-lover, there is really not much to see on this island – if you not want to feel the magic or believe in witches and hope to meet them and the devil…

Sorry, you’re not allowed to stay over night, so no night party with the devil! *giggles*

Just a friendly warning though: Do not take any stone from the island or you’ll be haunted by bad luck until you return it!

It truly is a mystical island even without the witches and others have asked the interesting questions: How come the granite on the island? How come it has that lichen that grows no where else at the east coast of Sweden?

To go there take the train to Kalmar, then the bus to Byxelkrok, or the train to Oskarshamn. Boats departure to the island Blå Jungfrun daily from Oskarshamn or Byxelkrok harbour in the summer.

The rest of the year? Take the broom!

If we’ve been there during the Easter? Schhh… Witches don’t tell…!!!

Nearest Info: Oskarshamns Tourist Office.

Lifecruiser ♥ Wild Islands
 

If you haven’t already, NOW is the time to book a visit to Oslo, the capital of Norway: August 18th – 22nd to explore the city in the north with it’s history, culture and traditions – all this together with a bunch of highly curious bloggers!!!

Renny has taken the initiative to gather us bloggers and as you can imagine, this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The Official Program:
 
• 18th of August: Participants arriving from all over the world
• 19th of August: 10AM – 1PM – Highlights of Oslo – A compact guided tour
• 19th of August: 5PM – Grand opening by The Mayor of Oslo
• 20th-21st of August, Daytime: Free choice of Oslo attractions, some guided by locals
• 20th-21st of August, Evening: Group outdoor activity to enjoying the long summer night
• 22nd of August: Participants returning home

The Highlights of Oslo is an awesome sightseeing tour of several of Oslo’s most interesting attractions: Downtown Oslo, Vigeland Sculpture Park, Holmenkollen & Viking Ship Museum. Free choice of return to the city center by bus or boat (if the weather allows).

There are also lots of other things to choose to see, different kind of attractions depending on your taste – and of course we’ll have wonderful Nordic summer evenings together!!!!

We’ve been to Oslo before, but not seeing all of the attractions yet. Downtown Oslo of course and the Vigeland Sculpture Park, but we don’t mind seeing it again, this time with more time to really enjoy it fully.

We’re so excited to go there, we’re going by car from Sweden – mostly because we hope to see YOU there!

Click the image below to read more – and to book the program!

Lifecruiser ♥ Blog Meetups

This is a very traditional Swedish red cottage, just placed a bit unusual. It was built in 1998 and renovated in 2006. No damage to the tree was done when they built this cottage, no nails – it’s carried up by very powerful steel wires.

Mikael Genberg is the Swedish artist that came up with this unusual and fun project and this is not the only place he want to place a red cottage – he also want to place one at the moon before 2011, thus creating quite an interesting challenge for the Swedish Space Corporation!

I’m not so sure that I could manage to book the Woodpecker treehouse hotel suite for the night, not that I wouldn’t dare to sleep there, but because how on earth would I get up there in the first place? I’m afraid of heights and it’s only accessible by a (wobbly?) rope ladder!

No, but I like the use of the rope ladder for something else though: to get up the yummy meals!!!

In this photo you can see how the ropes goes up in a hole at the floor at the treehouse, but I saw no harness – which I think they use to get you up there, you don’t have to climb thankfully.

… and yes, it does has both a kitchen and a toilet up there too, so you don’t have to worry about getting down the rope ladder in a hurry! *giggles*

Personally, I think they have a rather expensive room rate: 1100 SEK (146 Dollar / 108 Euro) per person and night without any meals, 1250 SEK with breakfast, 1500 SEK per person and night with breakfast and dinner.

One could think that you really could get some peace and quiet alone up there, but I wonder how it is with all the people passing by in the park? Would it be like to be on stage?!

Tempted to give it a try? The treehouse can be booked by Västerås Tourist office (+46 21 39 01 00).

It can only be booked between 1 April – 31 October since it got no electricity or heat (other from yourself!), but I recommend June-August since nights can be very chilly!

…and sometimes very windy too, but that might just do the trick to get you to sleep…

Lifecruiser ♥ Unusual Hotels
 

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So despite the fact that we were very tired from being out all day yesterday, we went into the city to meet up with my sister Susan. The weather was gorgeous, so we were not only hoping to get some Paella, but also enjoy the summer weather.

The rice dish “Arroz a Banda” (a fish paella) ingredients are: olive oil, swordfish, octopus, saffron, garlic, parsley, yellow onion, paprika powder, bay leaf, tomato puree, Mediterranean rice, turmeric, water, salt.

I think the paella were done by www.esmia.se, or at least the products were from there. Spanish deli in Sweden – not a bad business idea actually. We Swedes are extremely interested in all kinds of food!

I really loved their sign they had put up at their tent:

The sign says: “Be happy! You are in Spain!” Need I tell how happy we were? *giggles*

Below you can see a few photos we did take there.

So what did we do after that delicious lunch? Were there anything else going on in Stockholm this particular day?

Stay tuned and you’ll find out what in our next post coming up as soon as I’ve sorted the photos…

Lifecruiser ♥ Spain