NORMAL LIFE: Country Ditching

The last year has seen me travel to many places. Normally, I am very willing to revisit places, hoping to find hidden treasures off the beaten track. Here and now, however, I have started 'ditching' countries. Read on to find out which ones.

First on my list is Norway. Perhaps one of the most visually stunning countries I have ever visited, it is disapointingly expensive (€35 for hamburger and chips) and everything is so far away. I have been there three times so I guess the time has come to burn some money elsewhere.

Next comes Sweden, land of Abba, Volvo and not much else. I have driven a bit in Sweden, from Stockholm to Sundsvall to Åre, on my way to Norway. Most of my time has been spent in Stockholm, however, where the weather has always been fantastic, but the place has been lacking newness. After Gamla Stan, what else is there?

Denmark is another bloody expensive country with very little to see. The whole country is pretty flat and featurless, with a lot of art and design going on. Once you have done Copenhagen, whose most famous tourist attraction is, apparently, a life-size statue of Hans Christian's Andersson's Little Mermaid, there's little reason to go back. I have been three times so why bother?

Spain. I have done the cheap and cheerful islands, and a recent visit to Barcelona and Sitges on the mainland left me unimpressed. The food is the same everwhere you go and the Spanish have a more-than-obvious resentment towards tourists. By the way, I really think they should knock down the Sagrada de Familia church because the last thing Spain needs is another church that takes more than a couple of centuries to build!

I can't say that I would write off Portugal completely. Madeira was fantastic and I yearn to visit the Azores. The mainland, however, can shove off. Poor compared to it's Spanish neighbours, I find Portugal to be very similar to both Spain and Italy. In fact, I find them too similar to warrant further visits, but then I think that's the mediterranean for you, isn't it?

Click here to visit my Travelog!