2008 06-15. Montreal. Random graffiti in a random bar in Montreal. Probably Foufones Electriques. We, the bike courier community, would gather there after we finished the week’s work. 2beers for 5bucks. We were known for our double-fisted drinking habits. Friday nights after 5…there should still be a few of them around. Go say hi, if you are in the area. http://www.foufounes.qc.ca/

H.M. 2008 05-05 Montreal.

This is the view I had on the many days I would standby at the Old Port with my chocolate milk. That’s not just a run down old building. That’s the Farine Five Roses building. http://www.farinefiveroses.ca/a-brief-history-of-the-sign

2008 04-29. Montreal. This is in an alleyway at the bottom of Rue McGill St. in the Old Port of Montreal, up against the Federal Court building. I was working as a bike messenger there, and the old port is a fairly pleasant place to standby waiting for work. Next to the federal courts, there was a little shop that had over-priced ‘gourmet’ items, but they also had one litre of chocolate milk for 1.99$. Score!!!!!

By the way. Yes, this is almost May in Montreal, and yes, that is snow. The last remnants of the season, but snow nonetheless.

2008 03-30. Bucharest, Romania.

The new Schengen expansion of Dec.31 2007 brought Hungary and Czech, as well as several other countries, into the European conglomerate of borderless nations. For Europeans, it’s great for travelling. For non-Europeans, not so much. So, as part of my dismantling of my life in Europe, I made a last ditch attempt to see old friends. Bucharest is an interesting town. As of my last visit, it still has a bit of the old ‘Wild, wild, east’ feel to it, that both Budapest and Prague seem to have lost. Both of those cities now seem to me like a pair of scrappy old bums who came into a few dollars, bought a cheap suit, and are trying to pass themselves off as respectable, thought the stench and the mumbling still belie their origins. Bucharest, on the other hand, remains a bit of a street urchin.

H.M. 2008 01-12. Stockholm.

You see, I had just taken the ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm. I left the ferry at about 5pm, and the bus for the airport to catch my flight to Berlin left at 5am. So, my dilemma was what to do? It didn’t make sense to get a room for the night, and I didn’t want to just sit in the bus station and wait, so I walked…and walked…and walked. I spent a couple hours in a rockabilly bar on Folkungagatan in Sodermalm, just to warm up, but other than that, I just wandered. Oh, back to the picture. This was the same night as the other two, and some poor girl couldn’t hold it together. I’ve been there. Someone has pictures of it somewhere…now it’s my turn.

H.M. 2008 01-12. Stockholm. I had such a good time when I was there in 2008, I went looking for the same bar when I was there this January. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, I had literally walked the length and breadth of Stockholm, from the ferry depot in Ostermalm, through the centre, down through Sodermalm, and back up and over to Fridhemsplan.

By the time I got to my destination, I guess I was colder than I realized. The bouncer didn’t want to let me in, because he thought I was too drunk. I tried to speak in protest, but my mouth was numb from cold, and any words I had in my head just came out in a painful mumble. I realised the futility of defending my sobriety, and just kept walking. Ah well, maybe next time.

H.M. (Honorable Mention = Once in a while, there will be some shots in which I wasn’t pissing, but I feel they  deserve to be included)

01-12-2008. Stockholm. So, Stockholm is also a freakin’ expensive place to be, but after Oslo, it was a relief. With that in mind, I took to the streets with beer on my mind. By the end of the evening, I was stumbling aimlessly down Fleminggatan, near Fridehemsplan, with some people I met that night and never saw again. Stockholm is a surprisingly uninhibited place to go out. The next three shots will illustrate that point.

2008 01-11. Stockholm. I mean, I presume it’s Stockholm. This must have been taken near the end of the night, because I have no memory of taking it. Yay beer!

2008 01-11 Oslo, Norway. Some random bar.

Continuing in the outrageously expensive vein, Norway is probably the most expensive place I’ve ever been. Debilitatingly so. It was almost impossible to have a good time if I mentally converted the prices, which is why I tried not to. Anyways, Scandinavians love their snus, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snus So, instead of seeing ashtrays filled with cigarette butts, this is a much more common sight.

2008-01-04 Helsinki. On Fredrikinkatu/Frederiksgatan between the two Jarnsvagsgatan/Rautiekatu. Continuing my Scandinavian trip. Finland, like all the other countries up here, is prohibitively expensive. I think it was at least 5euros for a beer in some bar I went to, and it wasn’t even a ‘fancy’ bar. Most of my friends and drinking buddies get annoyed (read:cold) after spending an extended amount of time outside, so I tend to be on my own in cases like this. I hate being cold, but fortunately,  I tend not to ‘get cold’ until about -15.