Örebro Day 3 -Last Discoveries

by Patricia

PART 1  /  PART 2

The last day begun in Örebro. Waking up earlier than the usual, we started packing up as we had to check out by twelve o'clock. 

Although packing everything in our car did not mean leaving yet. After filling up the suitcases and stuffing them in our car, we parked out if the stugas' area to a free community parking lot and left the car there. 

The map of Gustavsvik, Örebro

We visited lots of places in the previous days, like Klossbutiken and Nora, but we didn't really get time to walk around our actual area IN Örebro; Gustavsvik! 

As a beginning, we walked down by the lake, which was completely frozen. I was totally surprised, because back in Stockholm, there was barely ice on the lakes, but here, it was completely hard and safe. Too bad I didn't bring my ice skates. :( 

Then we walked past an easy-looking obstacle route made of wood and a few ropes. Of course the family gave it a try, we'd never have missed it. :D As I said, it seemed pretty easy, but it was actually really hard! You had to swing, jump, balance… It was just a non-official playground like route though, probably built by the people around. It turned out good!

Afterwards, we walked all the way back to the reception near where we parked our car, to see a golf court. It was no ordinary court, this one was well-known all across Örebro. Why? Let me just explain.

This golf court was basically the maquette of Örebro. It showed every important place or tourist attraction from the city! The perfect copies of places were fully detailed and symbolised Örebro well, reflecting the importance of every each thing. For example, Örebros' well-known castle, the slott was built, just as good looking as its real building, but smaller of course. It looked great, even the water around was present! Great job, Gustavsvik!

Closer look at the slott

I really liked how the slott was made. As a person who likes art and drawing, I studied the windows for a while, how the designers made them look like they were in deeper, when the building was actually plain. The shadowing is done perfectly, well done to the artists!!!

There were also models of the water tower that is famous here, the Tekniska Museet av Örebro, a possible picture gallery I didn't know about, and many more! They looked amazing, all accurate and real!

The water tower and the Tekniska Museet with the water powered wheel

When we admired all built maquettes, we said goodbye to the reception staff and to Örebro itself. It was time to leave. Of course we visited an IKEA before approaching home though… and a Toys R Us…. and inside the car, I even wrote my English homework! I mean, better later than never!

This had been an amazing and eventful trip in my life. All these new memories… I hope we'll go on a similar trip like this soon! Maybe this spring in the Easter break! Travelling is endless.

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Stockholms Stadsmuseet

We went to Slussen yesterday (18 October) for a class trip to the Stockholms Stadsmuseet (Stockholm City Museum).

Facade

Opening Sign <Close-Up>

The first thing we did was to look at an overview of Stockholm by century, from 1400 to 2000. We then proceeded to another corridor with this replica on it:

This is a replica of the Stora Barnhuset pa Norrmalm, or the Norrmalm Orphanage. Our tour guide told us that children here were treated quite badly, giving them meals of bread and butter, chickpeas, or sometimes, no breakfast or lunch at all. If children tried to escape, their heads and hands will be chained to a wooden contraption, or their legs will be shackled to a chain connected to a heavy wooden log.

16 children have escaped the orphanage, though. They then raced to the Royal Palace (picture above, not exactly how it looks like now), where they met the current queen. Interestingly, the palace is heavily guarded, there were only a few entrances and exits and the walls were very thick and high, but they still managed to go in. Even our tour guide didn't know what happened. Maybe they were just really fast runners? They should have raced against Usain Bolt back then.

Fast-forward for about forty-fifty minutes and our guide led us to some stairs, before ending in one of the corridors leading to two houses. One of the houses belonged to a family of three, who really can't even afford the cheap price of the house. Because of this, two men from the harbor just nearby also settled into the house to help pay the bill. Quite disturbing.  <No pictures because my phone's battery died!>

Then our guide showed us the next house, belonging to only two people. This house was quite better, because it had a sewing area, some kind of writing/reading nook, wallpapers, and etc. It really is like those stereotypical "grandma's houses" that you see in the T.V shows.

The houses were really small though, everything was kinda squished together. I wouldn't be surprised if the house replicas would fit into a rather large bathroom or a small bedroom.

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Fees: SEK 100 (19 years +), otherwise free.
Overall Impression: Very good. The museum is great for kids because it is somewhat interactive, but it is still loaded with historical information. 7.5 out of 10.
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You should read more. 

• TRAVEL ADVICE for Sweden
• Stockholm's Changing of the Guards & Gamla Stan
• EATS: Jensen's Beefhouse - Vasagatan (Stockholm)

Travel stories? Advice? Tips? Bizarre experiences? Click here to share them.

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Universal Studios Singapore!

NOTE: Apparently, I forgot the main reason we went to Singapore (besides the sights), the Universal Studios Singapore. No errors were in the last post (Singapore 2011!), just that after the picture of the Singapore Flyer, we did not go to Kuala Lumpur yet. We went back to the hotel...

... so after another night at the hotel, we went to Universal Studios Singapore! The tickets for a one day pass for adults (13 to 59) is SG$ 74, for a child (7 to 12) is SG$ 54 and for seniors (60+) is SG$ 36.

Me And The Infamous Universal Studios Globe

So I think the first attraction we went on was "Treasure Hunters" which included a crazy long line with over a hundred people on it. So the purpose of the attraction was to ride on a jeep which was supposed to be driven by you. You then drive around an Egyptian village. Rate the ride? 6/10. 

We were supposed to ride The Revenge of The Mummy next, but I saw that was an indoor roller-coaster, and I HATE ROLLER-COASTERS. Just the combination of fast, heights and the lack of the presence of safety in my mind don't mix. After only my auntie and uncle rode the ride, they proved that us two (me and my sister) had the right decision. The ride was really not for the faint-hearted. Which is also me. 

Us In The Entrance of Revenge of the Mummy 

So after this, we went and watched a re-enactment of Waterworld. When we entered the audience's area, the actors were like pranking people which were in front and spraying them with water guns and throwing buckets of water to random people. I don't know if the people were paid or something, but I just think that that was cruel. And a waste of water. Re-enactment was real, but it would've been better. 

Us In The Entrance of WaterWorld 

After this, we went searching for somewhere to have a quick lunch. We found a stall selling slushies and cold sandwiches. The seller was a Filipino, by the way. Near the stall were two inter-twining roller-coasters where only my uncle rode on... 

My Uncle in the Entrance of one of the Two Roller-Coasters

We then rode on a small, indoor Ferris-Wheel and that kiddie ride where cars go up and down while revolving in a circular motion. I don't care on what it's called, frankly. 

We then rode on a Madagascar themed ride, which seemed a lot like Disneyland's "It's a Small World". It showed some clips on the Madagascar movies with high focus on the penguins. 

We then went like five times on another Madagascar-themed carousel. We then watch some jazz players perform in the middle of the street and spent about forty-five minutes inside a theater where there was a musical called "Monster Rock" that was being played. 

That's basically it. The Singapore 2011 entry is officially over and please watch out tomorrow where I will release the blog entry for Malaysia 2011 and hopefully, Hong Kong 2013. 

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READ MORE: My Adventure at the Vasa Museum - Stockholm

SHOUTOUT: Leah L. Suarez* | Renee Bamba**

* - Again, my mom provided the pictures on the whole Singapore-Malaysia journey. Thanks mom!!

** - Thank you Renee! 

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Vasa Museum & Aquaria Ocean Museum Stockholm

So we went to Stockholm city and Djurgårdsbron today to visit the Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet). The Vasa Museum displays an inact 17th century ship, the warship Vasa that sank on its first voyage in 1628. According to Wikipedia, this is the most visited museum in Scandinavia. 

So the admission rates were SEK 130 for adults, SEK 100 for students, and for children and teenagers 0 to 18 years, were free. The address of this attraction is Galarvarvsvagen 14, Stockholm. 

Upon paying for your ticket, you will cross a hall with sets of glass doors. After the third set, you will be welcomed by the ship itself. Take note that once you enter, you will be in the fourth floor. 

The Salvaged Vasa Ship

What amazes me once I saw the boat was it was excellently preserved. You may not see from the picture, but even the minor details of the boat seemed to be untouched, considering that the boat sank in the 1600's. 

There are lots of stuff you can see in the fourth floor, such as a presentation room where you can see how the Vasa ship sank and some models on how they re-constructed the ship itself. 

The second floor didn't have much to offer though. It just showed some mere pieces of planks, axes and stuff that they used to build the boat. There was also a replica of a smaller boat there. I supposed that this was a life/rescue boat... 

On the fifth floor, there was a theme that was introduced, and that was Life Onboard The Ship. It pretty much showed how the people interacted with each other, the form of currency they used and my personal favorite, the gun and cannon artillery. -

A Cannon From The Artillery 

The sixth floor had a theme of Power and Influences. This part of the museum particularly explained how the Roman Emperors influenced the Vasa ship and its people. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures from this floor. Whoops... 

The final floor was an observation deck, where you can clearly see the top and upper parts of the ship itself. I took a picture (below) which shows the view from the seventh floor. 

After this, we headed to the Vasa Museum's Restaurant / Cafe for a quick nibble. Yes, they have a cafe. Overall, I think that this is the most interesting museum I've been in. It was very informative and historic, and I recommend it to anyone. Rating? I'll give it a 8 out of 10. 

By the way, my stepdad told me that he visited the museum 10 years ago. When I asked on how was the museum then, he replied: 

"It's been ten years since I have last visited here. The crew was still restoring the actual ship. The ship was about seventy percent completed then." 

So after our magnificent trip here, my stepdad let us choose if we would rather go home early or go to another attraction. My mom, sister and I then said that we wanted to go to another attraction. We saw a post indicating that there was a Marine Aquarium Museum.

After a quick, five-ten minute walk, we stumbled upon Aquaria, the marine museum. Long story short, the place was divided into sections that resembled the wilderness and rain forests. My stepdad found it pathetic because of its space. I agree. A little bit more space and maybe an air-conditioning unit might do the trick. Rating? 4 out of 10. Funnest part of this attraction? The small, approximately twelve meter Sewage Area that was literally underground.

Me Inside The Manhole Leading To The "Sewage Area" of the Attraction 

On an ending note, I leave you this picture that I took whilst strolling across the fifth floor of the Vasa Museum. It was on the floor. 

Is There Some Kind Of Demonic Ritual Up In Here? 

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Singapore 2011

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS SINGAPORE (Singapore - Part 2)

Pardon me if I can't explain this trip in full detail, but this trip happened in 2011, but I'll give it a try. 

I remember that it was night when our plane touched down the airport from Manila to Singapore. Nothing fancy with the airplane, it was just a normal economy-class cabin. 

I also remember that I was really scared when going to immigration, because I always imagine them being authoritative and ask questions (that I don't know the answers to). Turns out they were very friendly. After my passport was stamped, I took some mints from the immigration table and walked off. True Story. 

We arrived to our hotel via taxi from the Singapore Changi Airport's Budget Terminal to Fragrance Hotel-Crystal. It wasn't a large hotel, but it was very fine nonetheless. 

Us At Fragrance Hotel-Crystal 

The next morning, we got up and took a bus to the Marina Bay Sands Shopping Mall. There was a pathway covered in trees and flowers, and we decided to stroll down their for the day. 

Me Outside The Marina Bay Sands Shopping Mall

We then walked along the pathway and took lots of pictures about the Arts and Sciences Museum of Singapore and the Singapore River Cruise (which we did not ride) and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. 

Us And The Marina Bay Sands

And we also visited the most iconic Singaporean Landmark! The Merlion Fountain. 

Finally, our trip to Singapore was done, and this was just half of our 5-Day Vacation. We booked ourselves a six hour bus ride to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Before we end the trip, my mom caught the final picture from Singapore. The Singapore Flyer. 

That's it for our 2011 Trip to Singapore (and for this blog post). I shall talk about our experiences in Malaysia next. 'Till next time!

READ MORE: Singapore 2011, Part 2
SHOUTOUTS:  Leah L. Suarez* | Pauline Evangelista |
* = My mom took all of the photos shown. 

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