10.06 The coffee is just ready. Soon there will be breakfast with finger sausages and meatballs from yesterday´s New Year dinner. Today we will once again lift our packs. It is a new year. It is a new journey. Starting point one more time is Christer´s place in Sundsvall. The goal this time is Malta. Malta was visited by us in June 2004 but it is a new country for our friend Roberth who will join us in Nyköping. It is also one of few places in Europe with a decent climate this time of the year.

11.50 It is snowing outside (where else?) and soon we will head for the bus station for the first bus trip this year.

13.00 The time has come to leave Sundsvall. We are going south with the company Y-buss (Y bus).

17.54 We have reached a rainy Stockholm and we will continue in another 40 minutes. We will go with a Swebus-bus the final kilometres to Nyköping. Our flight to Malta with Ryanair leaves early tomorrow morning.

19.56 The first person we saw as we rolled into Nyköping was an acquaintance. Roberth came walking from the railway station to the bus station. The next thing we will do is to find a place to eat.

20.13 It is once again time to eat at Pizzeria Olympia. (8/3 2007)

21.07 We have checked in at the hostel Railway (http://www.railway.nu) by the railway station here in Nyköping. After some attempts we managed to open the door to our room. Now we will head out again for a little stroll.

22.09 We have returned to room number 7 again. We brought with us a little to eat and some breakfast from a petrol station nearby.

Wednesday 2nd of January

04.33 It is earlier than early. Roberth has stepped down from his bed. He has grabbed his camera cell phone and started to document the trip. We will go with a bus to Skavsta Airport in half an hour.

05.11 The bus has started taking us to Skavsta airport.

Early, very early at Railway hostel in Nyköping.

05.53 Me, like my computer back home needs java to run smoothly. This is the reason why Roberth and I are having a cup of coffee. This might be the last cup of Swedish coffee for a while. I guess all that Ryanair serves is Irish coffee?

06.18 Today it was my turn to get caught in the security. I had forgotten to put my wallet on the conveyor. I got frisked by a young lady, thank you.

06.56 We have boarded flight FR 1682. We are seated on seats 18 A-C. In the queue we spoke to a man from Luleå. His name was Nyström and he travelled with his two teenage kids. They had spent the night on the same hostel as us. He thought that we had nerves of steel having dared to go to Azerbaijan (Why is this country considered lethal?) and told us some other stories. He also got Usama bin Laden mixed up with Ali Baba.

10.16 After almost four hours flying we´ve begun yet another descent on Malta. Soon Christer and I will be back (26/6 2004). It is a premier for Roberth and therefore a new scalp in his belt.

MALTA

11.50 We had some coffee and muffins and checked the internet at the airport. Now it is time to enter a bus and go to Valletta. We are on bus number 8.

12.54 We got to Valletta and slowly walked towards our booked place at British Hotel (http://www.britishhotel.com). Now Christer is in the shower and Roberth and I are on our built-in balcony with a view over Grand Harbour.

Roberth keeping in touch with the world. The girl is unknown.

Travel team reached Valletta.

Christer on St Ursula Street (Triq Sant´ Ursula) in Valletta.

Beautiful view from our room at Hotel British.

13.32 We have just started exploring Valletta. We are having a bench break in Lower Barrakka Gardens. Hansom cabs are passing and we can hear a cat. I have switched to shorts and got bare feet in my sandals.

14.11 The time has come for lunch at Eddie’s Café Regina. It is the same place where Christer and I had our lunch in 2004 (27/6). We have ordered pasta and rabbit. The rabbit is for Roberth. We have ordered a large beer each to drink, a Maltese beer of course. The name is Cisk Lager.

14.27 Our large beers have arrived. We have got a pitcher, each! It is at least a litre each of the golden beverage. We were stubborn and wanted a LARGE beer. All we can do is to accept the fact and drink it down.

Christer behind our beers at Eddie´s Café. Well, we wanted a large beer each...

The staff at Eddie´s Café, delighted to be on http://www.resedagboken.cc

The pedestrian street Triq ir Repubblika (Republic Street) in Valletta.

15.25 We have finished it all and also handed out some of our cards to the staff here at Eddie’s. We spoke with our waiter Kenneth who told us that he bets on Swedish soccer games and that he had just begun a vegetable diet. Roberth managed to arrange the staff for a group photo. All he did was to tell them that we were in "the travel business". And that’s the truth, isn’t it?

16.31 We went home and out again. We are having a bench break in that park above the ferry to Sliema where Christer and I rested on our last visit here. I have switched clothes again, back to jeans, socks and shoes. Roberth has left us for a little stroll and Hansom cabs called "karozzin" here on Malta are passing by.

Roberth and Peter are the main characters in this special photo.

Bieb il-Belt means city gate in Malti (Maltese)

Another narrow beautiful street in Valletta.

16.43 We have entered the ferry to Sliema. The last ferry had already left as we tried to go there in 2004. Some old memories have been brought back to life today. One happens to forget a lot during 3½ years.

18.02 We have walked around in Sliema and looked at our old home from 2004, Soleado Guest House. We have returned to the waterfront and sat down at Magic Kiosk Café for some coffee.

Christmas decorations like this is to be seen all over Malta. This one was in Sliema.

19.21 We are having a bench break in, well I don’t know which town but it´s got to be one. Soon we will continue our walk home to Valletta. I was just informed that we are in Ta’xbiex and we look out over Lazzaretto Creek and Manoel Island. Between here and Sliema is Gzira. These towns/communities are easily and quickly passed.

19.46 There are boats here, both large and small. We are in Msida. Msida is believe it or not yet another town on our evening walk.

20.07 After we´ve been touching the town of Pieta we looked on the map before we carried on. Roberth just got a phone call from his daughter Alva who was about to go to sleep back home in Sweden.

The small boat "Bimbo" in Msida marina.

Going through yet another town.

20.29 We are back in Valletta. We also managed to walk through Floriana before getting here. There are plenty of towns after each other here on Malta.

20.42 Finally! We are back in our room, number 115. All we can hear is the swish and the screech from our ceiling fan. Why have we started it?

21.14 It is time for dinner at the restaurant San Giovanni at St. John´s Square. We are seated by table number 38 and we´re waiting for pizzas and a burger.

22.20 We paid for it all by a counter and have returned to the hotel to check the internet.

22.29 It is time to think about what has happened. It is time to plan the day that will come. We will not order large beers tomorrow.

Thursday 3rd of January

07.36 The Valletta morning is here. I am sitting out on our balcony. Outside the newly awaken sun is fighting its way up through the clouds of the horizon.

09.15 We are getting ready to get outside. We had breakfast here at the hotel and we will now lay out the last plan before we go out for new adventures.

Roberth says good morning!

Peter in the street outside of our hotel.

The bus terminus on Malta, a busy place!

09.55 We are standing looking out over the bus station. We are above the city gate into Valletta. I wonder how we can get down there.

10.17 We got down and finally inside a bus. There are loads of buses here from different years. It is hard to write as the winds blows the page as the bus is running.

10.42 We went to the end of the line to Bormla which is the Maltese name of the town here. It is also known as Copiscua. Here we will have a short bench break before we carry on.

10.59 We have just been inside the Saint Joseph Oratory in Vittoriosa and looked at Grandmaster La Valette´s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Parisot_de_la_Valette) sunhat and sword which he left there as a thank you for the spiritual support during the Great Siege in 1565. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Malta_%281565%29). We listened to a man in a tie who told us some interesting facts. The town of Vittoriosa is by the way one of the cities in "Tri-cities" and it is also known as Birgu. The third member of the three cities is Senglea.

11.31 We are having a coffee break at Café do Brasil here in Vittoriosa.

A coffee break by the square in Vittoriosa.

11.52 We are back on a bus again. It is surprise surprise, yellow! It´s also without a door. We are on busline number 4 on our way back to Valletta.

12.28 We are relaxing by the fountain near the bus station. We are waiting for bus 38 or 138. One of them will take us to the Stone Age remains by Hagar Qim on southern Malta.

12.35 We are on bus 138. Now all we need is for it to start.

On the bus towards southern Malta and Hagar Qim.

Hagar Qim

13.36 We passed through different towns and finally passed through Qrendi. The trip made me feel like a Bond drink, shaken not stirred. The bus was stopped by pulling on a string. We met a sign by the 5000 year old temples of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra. A sign that said closed. We couldn’t get inside. It is due to some European Union project here making the area better equipped. We can though see a dog inside the fence. I think it sneaked in. Here comes a whole gang of dogs.

14.03 It was open at Hagar Qim Restaurant. We sat down there and are about to place our orders. Before we got here we looked at some strange huts that might be hideouts for people shooting birds. We also looked at the little cliff Filfla which is the most southernly point of the Maltese archipelago.

The coast on southern Malta and the small island (cliff) Filfla.

14.53 We were during our meal accompanied by some cats. Now we are looking for a suitable bus stop to get back from here.

15.25 We are on our way back in the same bus that took us here.

16.59 We´re back in Valletta. We have bought postcards and Christer and I have without any luck searched for a grocery store while Roberth surfed and updated news on our webpage.

17.40 It is time to get some rest before we go out for more fun.

18.42 We have slept some and wonder what we will do next?

19.39 We have walked around in Valletta and just sat down at Blue Room, a Chinese restaurant (http://www.starwebmalta.com/homepage.asp?blueroom.htm&core) The only other customers here is a Swedish family.

20.45 We sure didn’t get plenty of food. It was expensive as well. We are now heading for a movie at the cinema in The Embassy mall.

22.11 It is an intermission in the movie "I am legend" starring Will Smith. It´s the first time we´ve experienced a stop in the middle of a movie at the cinema, a new tradition for us.

23.13 Christer and I are back in the room and making up plans for tomorrow’s trip to Gozo. Roberth is updating our webpage.

"I am Legend", a decent "virus-movie"!