Sweden and Finland
Brad Nicholls in Senate Square, Helsinki, Finland

Published September 19, 2022

It was an overnighter at the airport. Not the worst ever. But still, an uncomfortable energy draining time. And without nicotine, without caffeine. Long ago, a while ago and recently for these long airport stays I had nicotine, I had caffeine, those two aides to artificially push my body through, I no longer have either, self-imposed and final. I must make it through alone. Oh well. I did it, and all the other painful hours that this trip provided, I did them too.

This trip was both long and short - a couple of days in Sweden and a couple in Finland but the nature of the travel schedule meant I had little sleep and a lot of moving to do. It was made that more difficult by the fact that my feet were cut up and so very sore, new shoes with a terrible mad design responsible for it. By the time I arrived back in England I had multiple, large open wounds on both of my feet.

Let's talk about these countries then. Sweden, I liked. Finland, I liked. Both SEVEN out of TEN countries. With potential to climb higher than that.

In fact - Norway, Sweden, Finland and Estonia, I would rank on a very similar level, with Estonia edging the rest. Maybe one great union could one day form from them, leave Denmark out of it and Latvia and Lithuanina. Nordenfinstonia. Great place, love it.

And this Nordenfinstonia is different from what I imagined it to be, everything is built solid, strong, it's thick, REAL.

You can actually see and feel the exorbitant tax rates being put to great use. The streets, the public transportation, the flow of everyday life. In contrast to the rich countries that have an obvious and unequal divide, in Nordenfinstonia everyone seems enriched and equal, fucking disgusting I know.

I only had a block of four or five hours to explore both Copenhagen and Helsinki, but I made perfect use of the time and I got everything done I needed to.

I turned 31 years old on this trip too. So Happy Birthday to me.

My flight back to London was delayed, a major cock-up by Stansted ATC or some dim authority. They had mistakenly prioritised Joe Biden over Brad Nicholls, tut-tut-tut. It was nice to have Air Force One about though, I do love that plane.

And I know Air Force One isn't the name for the plane itself, but - 'It was nice to have the plane that is called Air Force One when the president is on it about though' or 'It was nice to have a Boeing VC-25A about though' don't really work do they, and neither does the fucking explainer, SO FROM HERE ON OUT Air Force One shall also refer to the planes most often used to perform the task as well as the call sign itself. Done.

Fun stuff.

Fun stuff trip, fun stuff Blog post. Fun stuff.

6th and 7th new countries of the year done, 35th and 36th on the list. Special Mission - Visiting Every Country in the World continues...

Sweden and Finland
Brad Nicholls in Senate Square, Helsinki, Finland

Published September 19, 2022

It was an overnighter at the airport. Not the worst ever. But still, an uncomfortable energy draining time. And without nicotine, without caffeine. Long ago, a while ago and recently for these long airport stays I had nicotine, I had caffeine, those two aides to artificially push my body through, I no longer have either, self-imposed and final. I must make it through alone. Oh well. I did it, and all the other painful hours that this trip provided, I did them too.

This trip was both long and short - a couple of days in Sweden and a couple in Finland but the nature of the travel schedule meant I had little sleep and a lot of moving to do. It was made that more difficult by the fact that my feet were cut up and so very sore, new shoes with a terrible mad design responsible for it. By the time I arrived back in England I had multiple, large open wounds on both of my feet.

Let's talk about these countries then. Sweden, I liked. Finland, I liked. Both SEVEN out of TEN countries. With potential to climb higher than that.

In fact - Norway, Sweden, Finland and Estonia, I would rank on a very similar level, with Estonia edging the rest. Maybe one great union could one day form from them, leave Denmark out of it and Latvia and Lithuanina. Nordenfinstonia. Great place, love it.

And this Nordenfinstonia is different from what I imagined it to be, everything is built solid, strong, it's thick, REAL.

You can actually see and feel the exorbitant tax rates being put to great use. The streets, the public transportation, the flow of everyday life. In contrast to the rich countries that have an obvious and unequal divide, in Nordenfinstonia everyone seems enriched and equal, fucking disgusting I know.

I only had a block of four or five hours to explore both Copenhagen and Helsinki, but I made perfect use of the time and I got everything done I needed to.

I turned 31 years old on this trip too. So Happy Birthday to me.

My flight back to London was delayed, a major cock-up by Stansted ATC or some dim authority. They had mistakenly prioritised Joe Biden over Brad Nicholls, tut-tut-tut. It was nice to have Air Force One about though, I do love that plane.

And I know Air Force One isn't the name for the plane itself, but - 'It was nice to have the plane that is called Air Force One when the president is on it about though' or 'It was nice to have a Boeing VC-25A about though' don't really work do they, and neither does the fucking explainer, SO FROM HERE ON OUT Air Force One shall also refer to the planes most often used to perform the task as well as the call sign itself. Done.

Fun stuff.

Fun stuff trip, fun stuff Blog post. Fun stuff.

6th and 7th new countries of the year done, 35th and 36th on the list. Special Mission - Visiting Every Country in the World continues...

© Brad Nicholls