Freddie and Bärnilla adventuring

18/1/2026 Sunday, Stockholm

Hello! It is Freddie with Bärnilla here in Stockholm Central. We are having our morning coffee with a lax wrap. This is something we do always when are traveling from Finland to the EU proper, that is Germany and further away from home. It is nice to have some recurring habits!

Soon we will take the Snälltåget to Copenhagen. Bärnilla af Snälltåget is from Snälltåget, so she is very excited to visit Krogen of the train. We shall fika there with coffee and some sweets! So lovely.

In the Viking ferry from Turku to Stockholm there were hundreds of rock’n’roll fans. It was a rock cruise with Kauko Röyhkä ja Kotiteollisuus among others. Everyone was dressed in black and were horribly unkempt. Is that mandatory for rock fans? 

And most of them were overweight, too. They should dance more!

Today, we will have share a pint and a laughter in the Nagel Kneipe in Hamburg. But it is still a long way there. Bis Abend!

18/1/2026 Sunday, Copenhagen

Hello! Here we are in the Jernbane Cafeen next to the Copenhagen main railway station. This is one of the lovely travelers’ watering holes, Kneipes, restaurants of Europe. Place for weary travelers, thirsty tourists, and well drunken locals. People passing through and people staying, for everyone but the angry, the dull.

Here they serve their own brew. It is light, refreshing, and gives one hope. Even though the journey is long, the destination may well be far away, nothing can be amiss after a pint of two.

Music, subdued, by Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits, gravely voices supporting the laughter and chitchat of customers, a bit melancholic but upbeat, measured. On the walls, pictures of past customers, railways, trains.

Soon, we will board our train to Hamburg. Another holy bar awaits us there, the Nagel Kneipe.

There is no hurry. Everything is perfect right here, right now. Why would it not?

18/1/2026 Sunday, Hamburg

Hello! We made it to the Nagel Kneipe in Hamburg. Maybe it is time for us to introduce ourselves.

The smaller one of us is Bärnilla Vibeke af Snälltåget. The taller one is Sir Alfred of the Museum, the British museum, also known as Freddie.

We both like to travel. Bärnilla is very fond of trains as she is originally from a train. Freddie is fond of all things museum, especially mummies, but also enjoys bars. We both like beer and healthy but hearty food. And we like mischief a lot, making trouble and causing mayhem of our size, quite small.

By the way, Nagelbräu, the local beer is very refreshing. We recommend this old Kneipe to everyone traveling through Hamburg. They do serve good German food here as well.

19/1/2026 Monday, Strasbourg

Hello! It is Bärnilla with Freddie here in Strasberg, France. This place looks like German towns Freddie visited in September. Fachwerkhäuser, he calls them. Even food is Sauerkraut und Wurst! So strange. Maybe there have been some Germans here.

The local cathedral from the 11th to 13th centuries is impressive. We shall visit it tomorrow. The sign by the door say that dogs are not welcome, we hope some furry teddies are.

It is very cold, zero degrees and high humidity. But locals are cycling with smiles and mittens. There is a large area without cars for cyclists, tourists and local pedestrians. So nice.

In the Gallimard bookstore we found an interesting book. It claims that not doing anything is good for the brain and increases creativity and may even cause longevity. Doing nothing is not easy for the big, red bearded traveler who carries us around. We hope he reads the book and learns how not to fiddle his mobile machine all the time.

20/1/2026 Tuesday, Strasbourg

Finally an Academy for simple small furry teddy bears like us. The large traveler has his degrees from MIT and University of Helsinki, so he does not really need another degree. But we do, we have only the Master of Mayhem from the University of Plushies.

Very delicious local beer. Relaxing reggae music. Perfect places to enjoy life and contemplate how people in the past had some idea of life further in the time than the next tweet by the orange idiot. The idea of transcendence, of future, chain of generations, of being able to leave the world a better place, is something we would like to get back.

But while the world is a mess, having a pint or two, in a place like this Academie, makes us enjoy life, and somehow gives us hope. As long as there are places like this, as long there is beer, there is hope.

Cheers!

21/1/2026 Wednesday, Milan

Wow! We made it all the way to Milan! And they served us espresso and sambuca as always when we arrive. Milan is as it was last time: very busy, very posh, with the famous cathedral and the infamous derelict subway. Even the formidable pickpockets are here, or so they say in the subway announcements.

It was a strange trip. The reservations were mandatory but since the the train from Frankfurt to Milan had already left when we decided to board it in Ringsheim, the systems did not sell us reservations. Luckily there were plenty empty seats in the train.

The train spend almost an hour underground in tunnels. Kind of pity as we did get to see beautiful Alps.

We did not use the mobile phone for many hours in Switzerland. Strange but liberating experience , just to read and watch the mountains. There was not much snow anywhere. The climate is getting warmer way too fast and much.

There are surprisingly many cyclists here in Milan. The city has reserved space for cycling and so cyclists have appeared. Maybe they were moped riders earlier.

So, nothing much happened today. Just travel, walking. It is just as well.

22/1/2026 Thursday, Milan

Good morning from Milan! It will be a long travel day for small plushies Freddie and Bärnilla. Since our travel companion, the one taking photos, did not books Frecciarossa high speed trains well in advance but only late last night, we did not get the early train to Bari. Instead we have time for lunch in Rome. And another transfer in Foggia. We will arrive in Bari at 8pm, just about dinner time.

Before boarding the red train, we had time to admire the magnificent Milano centrale. 

It is our all time favorite: impressive, massive, formidable with a hint of Mussolini. The fascists really did know how to show the power of state and party. The building is from 1860s, so there was something for the fascists to improve.

Ok. Now it is time enjoy the speed (300+km/h) and scenery.

23/1/2026 Friday, Bari

Good morning from Bari! It is Freddie and Bärnilla here in our small home away from home. We have a bed, kitchen in a cupboard, a washing machine and even drawings of naked women. All this for less than 50€ a day! So nice.

Yesterday we took trains from Milan to Rome to Foggia and then to Bari. The first one was Frecciarossa ETR500 with a new fast internet. Both were fast, one could download 1GB in a few minutes while traveling 250km/h. And then the train sped up to 300km/h. Then we took Frecciargento, it was slow ride through mountains. And finally an Intercity to Bari, an old and noisy machine. 11 hours with a long break in Rome. 

We have not paid attention to the Roma Termini station building before. Now we did and found it a nice example of its time. It is massive, with impressive concrete arcs. In the station square there were surprisingly many homeless and a strange graffiti. 

Today we will follow the footsteps of Lolita Lobosco, the fictional police chief from Bari. Maybe we will even find the small square where she lives in the old town. 

Have a nice Friday our followers! We will keep you posted for sure!   

23/1/2026 Friday, Bari 

 Good evening from Bari! It has been quite a day for us small plushies, Freddie and Bärnilla. After we had light breakfast in Prinz Zaum, a left wing bar, bookstore and concert venue, we tried to find the place where Lolita Lobosco lived. We did not find it, but we had a nice stroll Bari Vecchia, the old town.

We visited the Basilica of St Nikolas from the 12 century. There was something religious going on in the grottoes, so Freddie did not get to see the remains of the saint. We will try again tomorrow.

There are countless small alleys in the old town with many fruit mongers. We did not dare to approach them as they looked so serious.

In the evening there was an interesting concert in Prinz Zaum. It was loud and innovative with some political messages which we did not really understand. The locals did and appreciated the spoken word by Fabiana.

For dinner, we crossed the road to the restaurant Pamperi. It was full and the music was really loud. The louder the music got, the wilder the locals danced. At 90dB they left their tables and food and gathered in front of the DJ. We left at then as the sound was still getting louder. And the locals were getting really wild, especially middle aged ones.

Tomorrow we will try not to anything much at all. Let see how we manage.

24/1/2026 Saturday, Bari

Good evening from Bari! It is Freddie and Bärnilla here in the old town. We had such a lovely dinner with some local wine. The ear shaped pasta with some spinach like greens was delicious as was eggplant with cheese. So happy!! And the restaurant was in a quiet square but they played Macarena at 90Db. Oh my.

Earlier we explored the city. In the afternoon, it was quiet. In the evening, the pedestrian area was suddenly full of people. Old and young, families and couples.

We have been thinking about global politics. We think that European politicians should come up with some positive vision, not just react to the latest stupidity emanating from the USA. The US government has no vision, the just want to hurt everyone. And merely reacting to the stupidity is not enough. We need something more, something to strive for.

But that’s enough for politics. We wish you a restful Sunday. Do not read the news for one day.

25/1/2026 Sunday, Bari

Hello! Freddie and Bärnilla here in Bari. How are you, my dear friend? We are fine, thanks for asking.

Even though it is rainy dark evening, we got out and about. We found a castle! There are no bears in the moat. What is this? So careless people living in the castle. 

Earlier today we have seen cormorants and great crested grebes. Both of them as beautiful and always trying catch their next fishy meal. Diving, swimming and flying, entertaining to observe. 

We also walked by a bicycle service run by some old toothless men. They were having fun with their or their customers’ bicycle. But then again, bicycles and cycling are pure fun, 100%. We are too small to pedal, instead we travel in a handlebar bag. Maybe soon? 

The old Bari was dead quiet today, most restaurants were closed. Not many people were out there walking, mainly some tourists. 

We have spent time writing and doing laundry. Both necessary and useful activity during an adventure. Clean clothes and thoughts feel nice. 

Tomorrow it is sunny again. We will visit museums if they are open on Mondays.