One society I think is really cool and I wouldn’t have known about is a society for Romanians in Cambridge. The Cambridge Romanian Society’s (CRS) exists to promote an open forum for all the people in Cambridge who are natives or citizens of Romania or are in any way interested in Romania.
I did not know there were so many Romanians in Cambridge. Then again I also did not know that there were people who really, really, liked crocs.

In this post we try to shed some light on Midsummer (or midsommar in Swedish), what it is, why it is celebrated and where to go. Midsummer is always on a weekend between the 19th of June and the 26th of June. Midsummer’s Eve is the big day where everyone celebrates, and this is always on a Friday. Midsummer’s Day is always on the Saturday. Midsummer’s Eve is always between the 19th of June and the 25th of June.

Midsummer is somewhat of a Swedish national holiday. It is so important to the Swedish people in fact, that some refer to it as Sweden’s real national holiday.

Why is Midsummer so important to Swedish people?

This is the big question. The best answer anyone has been able to give me is that Midsummer is Swedish. It is one of the traditions that anyone who has grown up in Sweden, or even ever been to Sweden around Midsummer, can relate very strongly to. Comparing Midsummer to an American holiday, let’s take Thanksgiving. Everyone has some type of relation to that holiday – whether it be a childhood memory, a tradition that has lived on for generations or a specific dish that grandma used to make, just so.

Maypoles at Midsummer

The maypole or in Swedish “midsommarstång” is central to the celebration. This is, however, mostly for the children. Dancing around the maypole at midsummer used to be a tradition that everybody took part in, and looked forward to. However, these days it is usually for the younger children.

The Midsummer Food

The food eaten at midsummer varies from the north to the south, and from the east to the west, and again wherever you go in Sweden. The food even varies depending on if you go next door to the neighbors house. Some common elements do appear on almost every table though. Starting with pickled herring. Pickled herring is a very, very traditional Swedish dish – and also an acquired taste. With that the Swedish drink Aquavit, which is a type of Vodka with spices. Also, no midsummer meal would be complete if it were not finished off with strawberries. Either served with ice cream, whipped cream, on a cake or any other which way. So long as the strawberries are on the table. Ice cream and cakes are usually a pretty nice bribe to get the children to try the fish at an early age…

Other Midsummer Traditions

Each family has it’s own set of traditions. This can be anywhere from bonfires, to dancing to playing brännboll (Swedish variant of baseball). What it comes down to in the end though, is that if you were planning on visiting Sweden any time at all in the Summer, Midsummer is when you want to go… and there is basically nowhere else we would recommend you to go for that weekend.

IKEA made a pretty nice commercial on the topic of midsummer. Sadly, it was not aired as it was deemed to controversial. (might be mildly NSFW) It should, however, be taken very lightly and a friend of mine (who is Swedish) ensures me that it is all true (and that Swedes find it really funny) even if it is extremely exaggerated.

There are also lots of places outside of Sweden where Swedish expats and Swedish clubs celebrate Midsummer. For example there are the Swedish Days near Chicago.

Sweden.se also has a resources page on Swedish holidays and has an article on Midsummer in Sweden.

On this day you can apply for a passport without an appointment or expedite fees. A lot of blogs are covering this, and with good reason to. If you don’t have a passport, you can’t really travel anywhere. Not even Canada.

So if your passport if about to expire, or you don’t have one – you know what to do tomorrow!

You might also want to check out:

Where to keep your passport on vacation

Always carry your passport on your person

A lot of people will say that backpacking is the best way to enjoy a country or territory. Enter the alternative of a road trip! There are lots of cheap car rental services like rent a wreck that offer a really cheap alternative for transportation.

Backpacking is often associated with taking a train… and spending a lot of time on those trains. If you are on a train, and you see something in the distance that you would like to check out – it can be quite difficult. In a car, that’s a piece of cake.

As always when going on a trip it is important to plan ahead – and that goes for road trips as well. I read a great post with the top 18 tips for planning a road trip.

Apart from the general stuff not to forget when heading abroad here are my favorite five tips from that article:

Bring your own music – the right soundtrack can make or break a long drive. Music in foreign countries can be very different from what you are used to. That is nice some of the time, but not if you are looking at a five-hour-plus drive.

Sunglasses – they don’t only make you look cool, but they do help when the sun is shining bright, and straight through the windshield.

Stick to the rules – I’ll be the first to admit it, I have a bit of a heavy foot. If you are traveling on a budget you might want to stick to the set speed limit. In some countries the ticket isn’t that much of a dent in your wallet, but in Switzerland for example you may end up having to cut your road trip short.

Use the bathroom when you stop, and make an extra stop if you have to – just common sense really, but I loved the comment: 10 minutes at the next exit is not going to ruin your vacation or cause you to lose some Awesome Travel Time Trophy, because you do feel like you have to win that whenever you are on a road trip!

Plan for the unexpected – this is the whole point of a road trip. If you need to be in a city to meet someone on Thursday and it should take you 1 day to get there, then why not leave on Tuesday or even Monday. You never know what you might find on the way…

Road trips come in all shapes and sizes (even with dogs!) so make of it what you will.

I am also not a big fan of taking a ferry – for a lot of reasons. A ferry is slow, people get seasick and there is nothing to do. Well, none of that is true. Just my opinions. You can imagine my interest in a post I came across stating that a ferry is superior to taking a plane.

The article took up some great points. For a lot of people, traveling is not only visiting somewhere, it’s also about getting there. A ferry does have a lot more space than a plane, the food is probably a lot better and there might even be a swimming pool or a movie theater.

Where a ferry does not match up to a plane though is speed and (barring a landing on the Hudson) a plane will get you where you are going a lot faster.

Changing perspective and looking at a cruise ship it’s a whole different story. Kreuzfahrten or cruise trips offer a great balance between enjoying going somewhere and being there. There are many famous ships such as the Queen Mary or Queen Elizabeth but also more modern cruise ships such as those servicing the Aida Kreuzfahrten.

So on to where to go today!!

St. Patrick’s Day

Today is St. Patrick’s day. A day famous for green beer, parades and acting like you don’t have a care in world Irish. For those of you who don’t know why St. Patrick’s Day is significant head over to Wikipedia and check it out.

I have tried to find the best place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, as I am a big fan. Most people might have thought that Dublin would have been the place to be. I have another theory, and I know that a lot of Irish people agree with me on this; and that is Boston. Even though a lot of other “Top Places Lists” tend not to agree with me on this.

So, what is there to do in Boston on St. Patrick’s Day… except drink lots, and lots, of green beer.

There is the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which is kind of a big deal.

You could also check out some historical stuff in Boston and learn about Evacuation Day.

Before you go, check out what’s open so that you don’t miss out!

Oh, and happy St. Patrick’s Day

The Pros

There are a lot of benefits that come form staying in a dormitory. The probably greatest benefit is the fact that integration into the student body becomes a lot easier if you are living with other students.

The dormitory will often be operated either by the school you are visiting, or at least be administrated to some degree in cooperation with the school. Since this is most often the case the international offices or exchange program coordinators at your destination will help you find a placement.

Dorm’s are often also very cheap alternatives to getting you’re own flat. Dormitories also often a lot more freedom, than for example a homestay.

Dorms will include internet access a lot of the time, most often through the university or school network. Although, an Internet connection is no guarantee so checking before you decide on your accommodation option, this might be something you would like to check.

The Cons

A dormitory is not a five star hotel. Depending on the country you will be going to the type of dorm will vary – but shared kitchen, shared bathroom and shared common room are the norm rather than the exception. The level of courtesy you need to show the other student you will be living with increases with the number of facilities that need to be shared and the number of students sharing them.

A dorm is a cramped space – or at least the room you get to stay in. The kitchen and other common areas are usually a lot larger. If you need a quiet study environment, then the best thing to to is to plan on spending a lot of time in the university or school library.

The Choice

It’s hard to say whether the dorm is the right choice for you. The best thing to do is to weigh the options and consider what you value more.

If you are unsure of what would be a good idea, then why not try and read up on some other students experiences form staying in dormitories. There are posts with tips on how to live with a roomate, what the food is like in a dorm, staying in a dorm or just finding the right place.

Alitalia – Aircraft Landed In Tokyo, All Luggage In Anchorage

BEA – Broken Engines Everywhere

BOAC – Better On A Camel

BOEING – Bits Of Engine In Numerous Gardens

DELTA – Don’t Even Leave The Airport

QANTAS – Quarrelsome And Nasty, Try Another Service

SABENA – Such A Bloody Experience, Never Again

SAS – Same As Sabena

TAP – Take Another Plane

TWA – Try Walking Across

There are many variations to the acronyms, but the list includes the most commonly used and accepted versions. Let me know if you think I got one of them wrong, or if you think I should add one to the list.

Happy travels!

The controversy has spanned from them breaking laws regarding protection of adolescents to the fact that the machines are not always 100% accurate and therefore not worth the violation of personal privacy.

However, the FCNA or Figh Council of North America have issued a statement where they claim the full body scanners are in violation of Islamic law.

At the end of the day the question remains, how much of our privacy and freedom are we willing to sacrifice to feel safe when we travel?

Fun trivia: certain reports claim that electronic devices like babyphones, which give of a special type of low yield signal, apparently interfere with the body scanners.