There is something about StrudelMonkey’s photos of food and beverage that always seem to draw me to them. Perhaps it is my insatiable appetite to experience new bits, nibbles, sips and guzzles in exotic areas. In this most recent addition to the Gadling Flickr pool we are lured into the Absolut Ice Bar in Stockholm, Sweden by two drinks on ice. And when I say on ice I really mean in ice – ice glasses. According to the photographer everything is made ice which means you’ll have to throw back the vodka extremely fast or wear some mittens while babysitting your glass. As wimpy as I am about the cold I wouldn’t mind chilling out at this cool spot on a frosty Saturday night.
Sweden Opens Official Embassy…In Second Life
I still haven’t got into Second Life, the Internet-based virtual world in which players, or “residents,” can socialize, make purchases, and generally inhabit as if it were a real place. But “SL” had 2 million registered users as of December 14, 2006, so I suppose it’s no surprise that the game is about to house its first official foreign embassy: Sweden.
The embassy won’t provide passports or visas, but according to Olle Wästberg, director of the Swedish Institute, “Second Life allows us to inform people about Sweden and broaden the opportunity for contact with Sweden easily and cheaply.”
Though this would be the first officially sanctioned embassy, there have previously been individuals in Second Life who referred to themselves as the “Canadian Ambassador” and “The United States Embassy to Second Life.” Many real-world companies, including car manufactures and clothing makers, have also created 3-D stores within the fantasy world.
This place is sounding more and more like it warrants a little exploration. Are you a Second Life user? What’s your experience been like?
[via Boing Boing]
A City on the Move. Literally.
Countries sometimes have to make unusual decisions to preserve their cultural heritage. Sweden’s northernmost town of Kiruna, for example, will move its city center a few miles away. It needs to save it from sinking into the ground because of some underground cracks created by iron ore mining.
Moving some buildings is harder than others. The city hall, for one thing, needs to be cut it into six pieces and then moved. The biggest problem the town is facing now is finding a new location for their downtown.
Adventures for Adrenaline Junkies
Do you feel the need? The need for speed? Do you watch too many Tom Cruise movies? We thought so. Well get off your flabby backside and launch yourself into new adventures that require your full and immediate attention and a bit of physical exertion to boot. I’m not talking about wandering the stale halls of a museum. I’m talking about Alpha Male adventures, the kind of adrenal gland squeezing stuff that will either get you fired up or, quite possibly, get you killed.
This piece over at MSNBC tells you how to do it and with whom (sound provocative ,does it not?). With companies like Sarasota, Florida-based Incredible Adventures, you can fly supersonic jets or reach the stratosphere. Or, if you haven’t worn your chaps in a while, there is West Virginia-based Z Bulls, whose day-long programs will have you riding bulls like…um…some famous bull rider, none of who’s names I can think of. Or, become a polar explorer for a day and try your paw at dog sledding in the Swedish Lapland.
Or, you can just stay at home and do nothing, playing with your new Sony video game console, eat potato chips get fat and die the easy way. It’s up to you.
Northern Lights in Sweden
We’ve posted here about the wonder and majesty o the Northern Lights a few times. Well, I’m gonna do so again. Here’s a great little piece over at greatoutdoors.com about seeing the Northern Lights from Arctic Sweden.
The writer heads into the wilds of Lappland and hikes some of the most remote backcountry routes in northern Europe. He heads up to the well-known Abisko Mountain Station out of the city of Kiruna, (apparently home to the original Ice Hotel) and snaps some of the best photos I’ve ever seen of the lights. Check this stuff out.