AIR

Everytime you take a breath its there, you take it for granted. Its there and you dont even think of it. 
AIR....
Imagine it had a distinct smell or taste, maybe strawberries, some perfume or some other smell that we usually appreciate. We would just go around and inhale and fill our bodies with good smelling air.


Water, air, and cleanness are the chief articles in my pharmacy.  Napoleon said it.  Most of us agree, yet we dont know how to appreciate it.  We just take it for granted.  Air is everything! Air is life!


Get out of town, find a nice quiet place, stand up an just inhale. Feel the fresh air fill up your body and feel the molecules rushing around in your body.... Sweet!

"Fresh air is good if you do not take too much of it; most of the achievements and pleasures of life are in bad air. "   Oliver Wendell Holmes     :Brainyquotes.com

Compressed Air

                 

Soup!

Beethoven once said that anyone who tells a lie has not a pure heart and cannot make a good soup!

Food is a very important feature in our everyday. One possibility is to just have some food and consumption are only to take away the feeling of hunger but, if you put just a little effort in your kitchen its easy to endure small culinary experiences at your own kitchen table.

Every now and then I cook some food that I appreciate a little extra and here is the recipe for a very good soup. It is actually very good even if it contains lentils....

What you need is:

2     Carrots

1     Red Onion

1/2   Leek

2     Garlic cloves

1     Red chili 

2     tbs of fresh Ginger

2     Lime leaves

1     tsp Fennel

2     tsp Coriander

1     Can of Coconut milk (400 ml)

1     l bouillon

1     dl Red lentils

2     tsp Thai fishsauce

2     tbs Fresh lime juice

1     dl of fresh coriander or thai basil

      Some curry or chilli paste (optional)

Peel and grate the carrots or slice it into pieces if you want a chunkier soup. Slice red onion, cut the leek and chop the garlic and the chilli. If you want it less spicy, remove  the seeds and finely chop the chilli flesh.

 
Fry the onions, carrots, chilli and ginger in oil for a few minutes. Stir in the lime leaves, the spices and dilute with coconut milk and add the bouillon. Add the lentils and cook until the lentils are ready. The lentils can be cooked seperately, if you want the veggies to be more crispy.

 
Season with fish sauce and lime. Serve with coriander or Thai basil on top.

Enjoy!

The sun is always shining in Karlstad

In between the dark mysterious forest of Värmland and the biggest lake in North Europe, Vänern, is a city were the sun always shines: KARLSTAD (karlstad.se)

The City of Karlstad, the heart of Värmland, is the largest city in Värmland. It is also the only real city, even if people in the surrounding towns probably will frown on this statement.

The Sun

In Karlstad, there is an expression that the sun always shines in Karlstad, it has the origin from a roumor about a waitress who worked at one of the taverns. She was always happy and spread joy around her.  You can find a statue of her outside "Stadshotellet"

Karlstad was founded 1584 by Karl IX and has grown into a modern and urban city with a variety of malls, cafés, restaurants, shops, bars and all other activities you expect from a modern city. Since 1999 Karlstad has its own university with more than 10000  students. (www.kau.se)

The great river of Klara runs through the whole city and forms a great delta, before it runs on into Vänern. The water system is taken advantage of, and has helped to shape the citys character. Moats, sluices, marinas, taxi/bus boats and the many bridges.

Karlstad is  almost completely surrounded by wilderness, just a twenty minute drive in any direction from the city core you will experience almost untouched and unexplored places. Everything from small fishing ponds to canals where its perfect to launch a canoe. And if you're lucky or unlucky, depending on how you see it, you might spot a wolf or a moose.
If wilderness and nature experiences do not appeal to you, there are other ways to be entertained, for instance a visit in the opera house or in the theater.

Like in many other cities, you have a selection of places where you can be served a good meal. Everything from a classic swedish home cooked meal to an excotic thai menu can be found in Karlstad. Most of the restaurants and the bars are located down town by the town square. Tom Yam (Thai) is a must visit place for anyone who knows to appreciate a good thai meal, the food and the atmosphere here is outstanding. For a home cooked meals (Trad. Swedish) in very convival enviroment you should visit Munken.(www.restaurangmunken.se) Via Appia is a good choice where you will find a selection of typical mediterranean food with a Swedish touch. In the summer, the roof terrace of Via Appia is outstanding!(www.nyaviaappia.se) Along the bar street by the town square you have a choices of diffeerent bars who are also serving food like hamburgers and sallads. For fashionable drinks or nightcaps I strongly recommend Koriander wich turns into a night club at late hours. (www.korianderkarlstad.se)

So check out the hotels/hostel and plan your trip to Karlstad, or simply bring your tent or your caravan. 

Enjoy and have a good time :-) !(www.svenskaturistforeningen.se)

Coffeeeee!!!

Imagine waking up after having slept just a little to long, the sun is shining, you can barely see its beams over the rooftops... Hmm what a great morning !!  You take out some coffee beans, and the smell smoothen your nostril the moment you open the bag. 
The beans goes into the grinder and the smell of fresh coffee spreads like a mystic mist all over your flat... While you wait for the urn to do its job you close your eyes and inhale. 

The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce.  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., "Over the Teacups," 1891

I believe humans get a lot done, not because we're smart, but because we have thumbs so we can make coffee.  ~Flash Rosenberg   : Source :  http://www.quotegarden.com

The coffee is now ready. Enjoy and appreciate it, think of it like one of the little things that may enhance your well being for this day.

Red Mountain B.C

One of the greater things in life, I must say is travelling the globe. I have been around, seen places, met people, made connections, made good friends, endured pain, laught alot, expirenced great things, and learned alot about myself. Travelling makes me feel alive and are one of many things that gives me the feeling of joy.

One of my big passions in life is skiing. I just love to put my gear on, hit the mountain and just shred the fresh powder.

A couple of years ago I went to Rossland, British Colombia  Canada, to do a season of downhill skiing.
The nearby mountain, Red mountain, (redresort.com) is not one of the largest resorts, but theres a large  freeriding area around it. Just a 20 minute hike and you can get runs you´ve always dreamed about.
Since the resort is quite small, and theres not any large citys nearby its not excactly crowded there either, so you can go on and on for days in  untouched  powder. But dont get me wrong, theres is enough people there to have good time and make som new friends.

The town, Rossland (www.rossland.com) is located  between Vancouver and Calgary almost down at border to the US.
Its an old town established for those who chased fortune in gold, actually Red mountain is full of  mines and mining sites.

Danger- Deep pits . Mining site

The town is a genuine and cosy little town, which is big enough to room everything you need for enjoying an entire season, like a couple of bars, cafès, restaurants, ski and snowboard shops and a supermarked. Check one of them out, Rossvegas. (http://www.rossvegasboardshop.com)
The neighbour community is called Trail, its a larger town you can go to if you feel theres something missing, e.g if you wanna go swimming, or see a movie at the theatre, or if you are so unfortunate that you need a hospital.

How to get here:? We flew in to Vancouver, rented a car at the airport, wich is quite affordable if you are 3 persons or more. There is also the possibility to go by bus, the Greyhound  (greyhound.com), this is the cheapest and slowest alternativ. A third possibility is to fly in to Castlegar wich is about 40 km from Rossland, from here you take a local bus or a taxi. Keep in mind that Castlegar is known as Cancelgar due to the many flights that are cancelled from here.

Our season we spent in Rossland has given me alot of great memories that makes happy when I think of it and I can  watch the pictures we took over and over again even though its over 3000 pics...
It was a season with alot of snow, good times and a lot of nice people and I really recommend you all to go here for the ultimate skibum experience!"

Welcome -enjoyers of life!

Welcome enjoyers of life and all of you that wish to embrace life at an everyday basis. The purpouse of this blog will be to bring small, as well as big moments of joy into focus.

There will be inlays about everything that makes you happier. Small things, like the great feeling of slipping down in a hot bathtub a cold November evening or greater things like travel tips from all over the world and other unique experiences.

Food, drinks and entertainment are all elements I consider to be important for the everyday wellbeing meaning the there will be a mix of tips, recipes and reviews. I hope that I will recieve a lot of input on how I can increase my own satisfaction!