08.57 Good morning. A new day waits outside our accommodation, Fabrizzios Terrace in Barcelona, a day with new experiences. In the distance we hear a bell strike. The night's sleep has been good.

10.48 A breakfast buffet is not a bad start on the day. We have, with just such breakfast in our stomachs left our accommodation and started walking along the main avenue Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes. We have passed the spot there the architect Antoni Gaudí's life ended in 1926. He was hit by a tram. Now we take a bench break on our way towards his unfinished work.

11.15 Someone has written KeNS on the bench where I sit and write this. Behind me is the park Plaça Gaudí. In the park there is a small pond and a small waterfall. To my left are cranes and scaffolding. Behind them is Antoni Gaudi's last project, Expiatori Temple de la Sagrada Familia (Expiatory Church of the Holy Family), or in a shorter version, the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. It is a powerful and remarkable church, quite unlike any other church I've seen. The amount of tourists here means that we will only see it from the outside.

11.46 We read about how the metro works, bought a ticket and went away from the station Sagrada Família to Universitat. We got up above ground and treated us not a bench rest. Instead it was a chair break. A number of chairs stand here on the pavement instead of benches. They are of course secured to the ground. We can’t remain here at the Plaça de Universitat. There is much more to see.

11.58 The bright blue sky is not as blue as you might think. There are white lines in different directions there. All these vapour trails indicate intense air traffic.

Our hostel, Fabrizzios Terrace is inside this building.

La Monumental, not used as a bullring anymore. It´s illegal here.

Peter looks interested.

Christer is standing in front of the cathedral "La Sagrada Familia".

Signs in two languages (catalan, spanish) here in Barcelona.

12.24 We are getting hungry and have thought about where, what and when to eat and if so, whether it is a snack or an early lunch. We have finally made a stop at Otto Sylt, both for food and partly for the name's sake. Here we indulged ourselves flaute and coffee. Flaute is a small, high-fiber and warm baguette. It was good and the place is really nice. As soon as we're done, we will carry on.

12.49 We walk further towards the center of Barcelona. It's a really hot day today. The sun is shining and it feels more like July than January. We now have navigated to Plaça Catalunya.

12.55 After being in a big white tent where they played disco music and watched ice skaters skate, skate disco, we have now finally arrived at La Rambla, a 1200-meter long pedestrian and shopping street which is one of Barcelona's most famous locations. It is plenty of people here. Fortunately, there is room for us too.

13.20 There were certainly plenty of people and all kinds of stalls that offered both the one and the other. Now we've made it down to the seafront. Behind me is a pillar, Monument a Colom (Monumento a Colón), on top of which one can see Christopher Columbus. It was built to Exposició Universal de Barcelona 1888. We then headed out on the Rambla de Mar, a large pedestrian bridge, sidewalk leading to the mall Maremàgnum at the waterfront in Port Vell. We are now sitting in front of the city's aquarium, L'Aquarium de Barcelona. Now, plans for the afternoon are made. What do we do and where we do it?

We stopped at Otto Sylt to grab a light meal.

La Rambla

The catalan flag can be seen everywhere.

Columbus is standing on his pillar looking down on Barcelona.

Boats in Barcelona harbour.

A circus is visiting Barcelona.

14.14 In front of me is a row of palm trees. Behind this the band ”Los Made in Barcelona" play live music. They offer a little Afro Latin rhythms with congas, trumpets and more. It is still sunny and it feels like a real summer day today.

14.32 We walked along Calle de Maquinista in the cozy neighborhood of La Barceloneta and have a bench break. In front of us is the Mediterranean and Platja de Barceloneta. It is a small sandy beach quite easily reached from the city center.

14.52 We walked along the promenade Passeig Maritim and eventually entered the Mar Brava, an Indian/Pakistani restaurant. Here we have ordered the daily special, which are actually two dishes each. We begin with shish kebab and chicken curry. At the table next to us there are two girls who are travelling from Morocco to France. They have now reached Barcelona just like us.

15.18 The other dishes as well as new plates and cutlery were brought in while a call to prayer was heard somewhere, probably from a radio or a television.

15.51 It was very good food, here we should go again. Now we have started to walk back. We have looked at a curious tower on the beach and seen the cable car Transbordador Aeri Del Port which can transport people up to Montjuic across the harbor and downtown. It´s expensive though.

16.25 We are sitting on a bench. We are gaining power and try to find a good direction. In front of us grow some bottle-/vase like trees. They have thorny stems and cucumber-like fruits. They remind us of some trees we saw in Nicaragua.

16.43 Now we're back in the car- and people chaos. We've walked along the street Via Laietana and now sit on a bench in front of the Capella Reial de Santa Agata near the La Ribera district. The small square we sit on is called Plaza de Ramon Berenguer El Gran. Ramon Berenguer sits on horseback beside us. The lower part of the church in front of us is a part of the old Roman wall built in the 3rd and 4th centuries as a protection against the Teutons. On the way here we saw a man with a mate mug. It has not been seen since the trip to South America in 2010.

A small shop in the La Barceloneta district.

La Barceloneta, the first planned resedential area in Barcelona.

Not every big city has a beach in such a central location.

Restaurant in La Barceloneta. Dining outdoors in January is nice.

Interesting building at the beach Platja Barceloneta.

We found an excellent lunch restaurant, Mar Brava.

A very good temperature considering it´s January.

17.11 The beautiful Cathedral of Santa Eulalia has been seen and photographed. In front of it many old things were on sale and a boy band played on the steps of the cathedral. Now we are on the Plaça de Sant Jaume, Barcelona's political center. From this square are both the City of Barcelona and the Catalonia region controlled, run, governed. The square was a central location during the Roman period. Here you see the buildings, the town hall and regional government building. Here protested it just today against cruelty to animals.

17.25 Dusk falls and we pass squares at the same rate as a child who has found hidden treats. Now we are on the next square, Plaça Reial located near La Rambla. Here is a dormant fountain and right with people. Furthermore, we see about twenty palms.

18.09 It is nice to sit down and let the legs rest and moistens the throat. We started walking back toward Fabrizzios Terrace and are now at Plaça d' Urquinaona. We sit down and drink some newly bought drinks.

18.41 We’re back in our room. Now we mostly take it easy and let the hunger to come crawling. A little later we'll hit the streets again in search of a dinner restaurant.

Catedral de Barcelona.

We are walking through the Barri Gòtic part of Barcelona.

Animal rights protests on Plaça de Sant Jaume.

Placa de Sant Jaume, the political heart of Barcelona.

Plaça Reial.

20.35 Over the past two hours, we have a little of everything done. I have finally managed to arrange for transportation from Sundsvall on Monday. Moreover, we have checked the biathlon results from races in Oberhof, Germany. Peppe Femling and Mona Brorsson became the worst of the Swedish participants in the men's and women's side. I have also been in the living room and arranged for coffee and muffins.

21.28 Today the simple won over the culinary. We are at Burger King for a dinner of the simpler kind. You can not always take advantage of the local cuisine delights. We simply thought that the prices of the restaurants here in L’Eixample were way too high based on what was offered.

22.39 On the way home we took some cool photos of Eglésia de la Purissima Concepció in Assumpció they nostra Senyora. It is a church from the 1300´s which was moved here, brick by brick, between 1871 and 1888. After this stop for short, it was a brief stop at the Open Cor for the purchase of a little good. Almost home, we found a restaurant in the same building where we stay that had meals for half price. Here we hunted around town for burgers and then there's this great offer right next to where we live. We have concluded that we´ll go there tomorrow night when we’re meeting Haydee for dinner. She and her friends have also come to Barcelona now.

A few curious pedestrians are looking into the church Eglésia de la puríssima concepció i assumpció de nostra senyora.

Saturday 4th of January

08.15 The last full day on foreign soil has dawned. Once everything is ready, we will bring with us the coffee cups from last night and go out and eat breakfast.

10.14 We take it generally nice and easy. It's raining this morning and we are waiting in the hope that it will cease. It would be great if it wished to pass before we go out. Right now Christer is checking his mobile phone and looking at what football games are played today. He has also discovered that Gibraltar has its own football league. The top division has eight teams.

11.22 The rain went away but we have with umbrellas anyway. Now we go along the outrageously long street Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes. We are slowly moving towards what the entire world's attention was directed to 1992.

11.39 There has been an unplanned stop. We are at Plaça Espanya and have made it to the top of Las Arenas. It's an old bullfight arena from 1900. It has been converted into a shopping mall. We made our way up to the top floor with the help of a newly built elevator that costs 1 euro return. The view of the city is impressive. In the distance we see La Sagrada Família and below are the Parc de Joan Miró, The Miró Park.

11.54 We have returned to solid ground and a solid bench. In front of us we have the two Venetian towers.

12.21 We have ridden an escalator up to the city's art museum, the Catalan National Museum of the Palau Nacional. Once again there was graffiti/tag KeNS. Below the museum there is an artificial stair step waterfall. Now we continue soon with new targets.

12.50 We first went the wrong path and ended up in a dead end at a gate. After some thinking, and mapping studies, we found the right and the first target is reached. We're at the Olympic Stadium from the Summer Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. It was built, however, in 1929. It's free to go in and look and get things can feel as desolate as a large sports arena that is completely empty.

Xurros (churros), popular snacks in Barcelona.

Las Arenas used to be a bullring. Now it´s a shopping mall and a viewing point.

View from "Las Arenas".

Waterfall at Palau Nacional.

13.11 We have looked at and walked around the impressive Olympic Stadium. A remarkable thing is that the clock on the short side below where the fire burned is going backwards. Here, Montserrat Caballé and Freddie Mercury should have sung at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in July 1992. However, he was called on another mission on the 24th of November 1991. An assignment that was not for life, but well after his lifetime.

13.24 The stadium was left and we passed the Olympic Museum. On the sidewalk outside, famous athletes had left shoe and footprints along the ”Walk of Fame”. Some of the contributors were Sergei Bubka, Michael Johnson, Pete Sampras, Mark Spitz, Nadia Comaneci and Martina Navratilova. Now we are thinking about which way we go back down to the city center again.

14.01 We walked through the picturesque neighborhood of Poble-Sec in search of suitable restaurant. The one we picked out in Laribal gardens were not open during the winter. It is time to locate where we are. We know from a sign that we are at the Parc de les Tres Xemeneies. Where is it on the map?

14.14 Sometimes things do not turn out as planned. We have arrived at the little restaurant El Rincón de Manolo. Here we will have various kebab dishes and a pint of draft beer. Now they came, it says Ambar on our glasses. The address here is Paral-lel 36 and if you want to call so the number is, 933292016. We are on the outskirts of the district of El Raval, a part of Barcelona with a somewhat dubious reputation. Fantastic nightlife is one of the highlights. Drugs and prostitution are the downside.

14.48 The meal was ended with an espresso with a sting. I’ve really got the taste for espresso on this trip. The wind makes the paper mats to flutter. On them is enjoy your meal written in different languages. A phrase is "On Egin”. Is it Elvish or Basque?

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys was used during the summer olympic games in 1992..

Barcelona on a sunny winter day.

Today´s lunch is at El Rincón de Manolo in El Raval.

Avinguda de Les Drassanes, Barcelona.

You can´t avoid this cat if you visit Rambla del Raval.

15.28 We wandered through El Raval, on this walk we saw many things, including some boys of Indian/Pakistani origin playing cricket, an elderly drunk woman sitting half naked on the asphalt, the big cat statue on Rambla del Raval Square and some Swedish tourists.

15.51 Through alleys, along the small streets and through the Gothic Quarter, we have walked back to Plaza de Ramon Berenguer El Gran. Here Ramon Berenguer remains seated on his horse and we sit on a bench and rest our legs. It feels really nice.

16.24 We walked a bit further on Via Laietana and into a Starbucks. Here we relax before the last stage of the day's wandering begins.

16.46 Starbucks is popular in Spain and it is an eternal struggle to find seating. This we succeeded this time. At the next table sat a homeless man and looked empty in front of him. When he felt warm, he disappeared into the street again.

17.32 It's getting dark and the last phase is underway. We are in the beautiful Parc de Ciutadella. Here dogs and joggers are running around.

17.54 After having immortalized Font de la Cascada, an artificial waterfall, a fountain and El Arco de Triunfo de Barcelona, a triumphal arch with unclear purpose, we will now get back home. It strikes me that we've seen a lot of triumphal arches on our travels.

18.19 It went smoothly getting home. We are here in time for the upcoming and planned dinner with Haydee. We were supposed to dine at the neighboring restaurant that we saw yesterday. Now it looks like they are closed. Boring! We need to change plans.

18.40 On Egin is not Elvish, it is Basque and our new plan is that we should walk to Haydee´s apartment on Carrer de Calders and from there, find a place to eat. Out there a bell is ringing and now we hear dripping, correction, rain can be heard.

No, he is not real.

What does this mean?

A spectacular street entertainer had a big audience.

Christer is waiting to order coffee at Starbucks.

During the last hour of daylight we visited Parc de la Ciutadella.

El Arco de Triunfo.

20.11 It's time to collect necessary belongings, get at us sensible clothes and going out.

20.57 We have walked through new neighborhoods, photographed and even managed to check where we are. We are in a neighborhood called La Ribera. It's been easy to find two possible restaurants near the church of Santa Maria del Mar and to the street and the gate where we should be seen. Now we just have to wait.

21.18 We are reunited with Haydee. Her friends have other plans so we get three people to have dinner together tonight. Now we order food at Bar Rodrigo on Carrer de l' Argenteria 67. The waiter took it for granted that I wanted beer. He was right.

21.33 On the TV, it's football derby in Valencia between Valencia and Levante. At the restaurant, the atmosphere is good. So too is the food even if it is of the simple kind. Christer's chosen starter was not available and he had to quickly switch to black paella, paella made of squid ink.

23.00 A three-course meal each was ordered and eaten, the deal that lured us here. The dishes were not as advanced as we ordered them individually. Now we sit and talk about a little of everything.

23.27 Now, our and Haydee’s paths get separated again. She went up to the rented apartment and we'll begin a trek through Barcelona before going to bed.

Christer ordered black paella, the black colour comes from squid ink.

We had dinner together with Haydee this evening. Next time will be in Mexico perhaps?

Sunday 5th of January

00.02 We’re at home to round up the day. We have received a notice from the upcoming accommodation in Stockholm. The code for the door is 7090 and an envelope will wait for us at the reception. In the final of the World Junior Hockey played in Malmo Sweden will face Finland.

07.18 A new day has begun. It is time to tie everything together, pack everything and get it all home. The day when we travel home is here and I'm not alert.

09.07 All we want is for one of the three common toilets to be less occupied. We want to visit one more attraction before the journey home begins later today.

09.28 Everything became vacant and things were dealt with. Now we are soon on the way to the last place we should visit here in Barcelona.

09.42 We have stepped down into the underworld via the nearest metro station Girona. A long journey westward waits.

10.16 So, we finally arrived at FC Barcelona's home stadium, Camp Nou. The Stadium, the team and the fans are preparing for tonight's game against Elche. Camp Nou is a truly powerful arena. It’s a pity that there is not time to take a closer look. The stadium is located in the west of Barcelona, in the University district.

Christer is taking photos of Camp Nou, the football stadium of Barcelona FC.

Camp Nou.

10.34 There were at least strong winds with a touch of storm winds as we walked to Maria Cristina Metro Station. Before the wind, we met some happy Elche fans who walked towards the Camp Nou. How strong was the wind then? It was strong enough to make it hard for us to move forwards. Enough about the wind, now we'll go home so that we can go home.

11.18 We took the metro to the home area. We got off at Passeig de Gràcia, where we found out how to get to the airport later. We walked along Gran Via and took a photo of a Christmas tree outside the Gran Hotel Havana. Havana seems like a nice connection to the summer's upcoming adventure.

11.33 Some late breakfast eaters wipe their table here at Fabrizzios Terrace. We sit at another table with some coffee and muffins. We were, upon checkout, told by the girl at the front desk that the train we planned to take to the airport goes to Terminal 2. We are flying from Terminal 1. However, there is a free shuttle service between the terminals,

12.16 On our way to the final land transport in Barcelona, we noted with satisfaction how smooth things have gone and what speed in our steps we had compared to the beginning of the trip. That's when things went wrong. The railroad entrance we had intended to use was closed. We had to walk on to a temporary entrance. Now we are ready to carry on. We are on the platform here at Passeig de Gràcia. All that is missing now is a train that we can go with.

Peter is at the platform on the Passeig de Gràcia station.

12.29 Our train arrived on time and it rolls on through the flat landscape just outside Barcelona. We wonder about how long it might take to get us out to the airport.

12.53 Now a man started to play an accordion. He fingers on and pumps the bellows. Christer has been and checked on a route map of the train. He just announced that we are on the wrong train. Apparently there are two versions of the trains on this line. We are on the move that does not go to the airport. Damn! What do we do now?

12.59 We got off the train at an unknown station, there was a dead stop for me in the turnstile, I switched to another opening, out of the station for both two and into a taxi. It's absolutely brilliant this! Where are we?

13.18 It was a quick ride in a taxi from the town Castelldefels to Terminal 2 at Barcelona's El Prat Airport. The trip cost us 24 Euros but now we are ready to check in. Technically, we were on the right train. However, it has two different final destinations, the airport, and where we were going. You have to keep track of which train that goes where.

13.28 The self check-in via a machine went wrong. Something was wrong. The check-in queue we are has come to a standstill. There appears to be something trouble with the computers. What a great day we have today!

A light meal at Cerveceria Gambrinus.

14.36 We were checked in after some more waiting, slow system? We went to the departure hall. Here we have a sandwich, a flautin with ham and cheese and drank a juice. We are at Cerveceria Gambrinus.

15.13 We are about to fly with a, for me, new company, Brussels Airlines. Soon, we lift to Brussels for the first of two flights today.

16.13 We just let the refreshment cart pass. The stuff they offer cost money. Schwimmweste unter Ihrem Sitz says the text on my tray table. It's good to know where the life vest is.

17.13 The approach towards Brussels has begun. At 19:15 we fly on. Now it remains to see what we are doing until then.

BELGIUM

18.13 It was good to land. As usual the passengers couldn’t, despite requests, avoid using their phones. Moreover, they absolute must get up and bring things down from shelves. How clear must the information be? Maybe the staff should confiscate the cell phones? Now we have got some food at Quick Burger. It’s a pity that the food will be so expensive at airports.

18.26 Something happened before we left Quick Burger’s. A girl would throw her trash. She shoved the door on the big recycle bin and got punched in the face by the handle of the door. She did not flinch, did not shed a tear, throw the garbage and went to her parents. When she had come to them, she began to cry, got consolation and was once again satisfied. It is now time for coffee at Starbucks. As usual, they asked for our names on the orders. Christer was kind and shortened down his to Chris to avoid confusion. The whole thing did not help much. On the cups it says, Fit and Ed. I firmly believe that we should do the writing ourselves. For those interested I can say that this is the 23rd country that we are at Starbucks during our travels.

It´s time to fly north with Brussels Airlines.

It´s dark in Belgium.

18.55 We are on location at the gate. It's time for the flight to Bromma airport.

19.03 It feels good to sit on an airplane again. In front of us there is a little unusual for aircraft row 13. My window has two lids, a "regular" top to a bottom.

21.04 The only thing visible outside is darkness. We are wondering about how we shall act as we reach the ground. The landing will be at an airport which I have not visited in over 30 years.

SWEDEN

21.22 We're at Bromma airport. This is the airport number 100 on our small adventures. Now that we are here, we want to quickly move on.

21.48 Today, things are not going as planned. We had intended to take the local bus 112 at 22.33 and then the metro from Alvik at 22.58. There will be none of that. Instead, we now go to the airport bus directly to the City Terminal, an airport shuttle that should not be here according to the schedule. Hooray! In addition, the bus has free Wi-Fi. Hooray again!

21.59 Now there will be some news from the world of sports through Christer's cell phone. Barcelona won at home against Elche tonight 4-0, Finland won the Junior World Championship final in hockey, 3-2 after extra time and in the Tour de Ski cross-country Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Therese Johaug won the total.

22.10 We´ve now come to the City Terminal. This went well. Now it's off to purchase and housing.

22.38 A brisk walk took us first to 7 Eleven to purchase supper and then to the City Hostel (http://www.cityhostel.se). There we used our code to get in and we picked the envelope at the front desk. After that it was easy to get into the room.

23.49 It's time to sleep on Swedish soil again. Tomorrow we´ll move on the last road home.

Monday 6th of January

08.15 I'm now older than I've ever been. I am currently younger than I will ever be. These are thoughts that come to my mind this last day of traveling for fun.

09.32 The check-out from City Hostel went well for us. It didn’t go that well for the woman who did the check-out. When asked by us if it was ok to check out and pay she replied, don’t you have a receipt? The cost was 640 kronor, Christer paid 500 and I 150. The lady took the money and said that we were 10 kronor short. The punch line came with the receipt or as she said, the sheet. She noted that there probably would be an early night tonight. Now we are at the City Terminal and have indulged us with a breakfast offer at Sidewalk Express.

10.27 The doors of the gate 16 opened and we went to the bus. I said Johansson, two people. The man replied, Peter, Sundsvall. The sequel was that he said that he wanted us up front on the other side of the bus. We avoided asking where we should put our backpacks. He probably did not mean that we should be in the trunk.

We spent a night in this room at City Hostel.

A cheap breakfast for once in this expensive city.

10.45 The last joint trip for this time is underway. We go with the Y-buss to the north. Around us is fog and mist, no snow in sight. Will we see snow today? If so, where and how much of it?

11.33 We leave Uppsala in haze, with no snow, and where a liter of diesel costs 14,14 kronor, US$2. The clouds and haze gives a feeling that it is rather evening than at midday.

13.14 Now we're south of Söderhamn and little, very little snow can be seen in shady woodlands.

14.20 It's time to stop, let people out and change of driver in Gnarp. It's a bit more fog and snow here, but not in a disturbing amount. Hm, that's plenty of people on the move in the bus. The new driver seems to have problems starting the bus and people take the opportunity to step out for shopping and other things.

15.28 The bus started and we were off. Now Christer's and my paths have separated in Sundsvall which is poor on snow and has a temperature of +4°C. He is on the way to his home and I sit on a bench at the railway station. In about half an hour, I will sit on the train to Örnsköldsvik.

15.58 Just as suspected, I have sat down on the train to my hometown. At the station, my mom will pick me up.

18.08 Everything flows, both with travel and even around me. Mom was there and now she drives me home. From the sky falls rain on the snowless ground. I have, as far as I can remember, never experienced a snowless 6th of January before.

18.24 I'm at home. Now everything will be unpacked. The Iberian trip is over and when Easter come there will be a Nordic trip.