Best Beer in The World - Ølfabrikken Porter

Ølfabrikken Porter is the best beer in the world.

There is no beer I know of that tastes as good or costs so little.
This costs 8 DKK from the shop next to my office, a wonderful bargin (considering a bottle of water costs 10DKK).

I wish all breweries were as good as Ølfabrikken.

Here is the description from the company (google translated from Danish):

Ølfabrikken Porter is a dark and strong porter, which is roasted without being burnt or bitter.
In the glass Ølfabrikken Porter is viscous and black with a creamy cafe au lait-colored foam. The aroma is intense with dried fruit, smoke and wine notes, leading to a sharp taste of coffee and bitter, dark chocolate, complemented by a large caramel flavor from brown sugar. There is added smoke malt, and it makes the beer decidedly smoky, and adds depth and complexity.
Ølfabrikken Porter was in 2006 awarded the year ølnyhed of the Danish Ølentusiaster by voting among its 11,000 members. That year was chosen on Ratebeer.com as one of 11 best beers in the world, out of more than 50,000 rated and thus the best porter in the world. The significant residual sweetness and fruit flavor makes this beer an ideal companion to desserts, which included chocolate, prunes and roasted figs, if served slightly chilled, that is about 8-10 degrees.

Trains

There is something nice about travelling by train, something civilised.

I was once a great fan of trains, buffet cars, ample leg room, red wine journeys on a Friday night. I loved them. They are even quite good for the environment. I once spent 5 days on a train through Russia and I had a good time. This was how much I liked trains.

However, all of these nice things do not exist if you are using trains to get to work.

If this is the case then trains are death. Slow, frustrating, agonising death.
I now hate them.
I like to think that in every country, even bloody Switzerland, my fellow train commuters hate them as much as I do.

May DSB, Skånetrafiken and any other person working on the Öresund train network fall into hell.

My favourite places in Lund

I have been in Lund for a while now and I feel the need to let everyone know what the best places are. In no order:


The Cathedral - Very big medieval church. Nice. The clock inside is interesting, particularly around 3pm.

Pub Vildanden - This is my local and it has one of the best beer selections I have ever known. It's a bit expensive but so are all pubs in Sweden.
They also sell tasty thin pizzas, which cost around 60SEK.
This is in the west of the city, about 15mins walk from the train station (4mins by bus, no.4).
Here's a map

The Library - A really nice library wih an excellent cafe. Read most of Europe's best newspapers and have a cup of tea and a cake. Makes most of the other cafes in Lund seem cramped and over priced.

Mui Gong Chinese/Vietnamese Restaurant, Kyrkogatan 21 - Great Dim Sum on the weekends. Really nice tea. Friendly service.
Here's a map

Kulturen - Great museum. Big, lots of stuff, interesting buildings, nice grounds. A tranquil haven in the heart of busy Lund. Well worth a visit. Free for students, children and old people.

Learning Swedish

I thought I would write a blog post for all those people out there who wish to learn Swedish. When I first decided to move to Sweden I didn't know where to start or where to look. I hope this post is useful to someone.

If you are a native English speaker Swedish isn't the hardest language to learn but, nevertheless, it is a new language and there is a long way to go.

If you move to Sweden you can enrol in a course for foreigners who want to study Swedish (to find out more go to your local library in Sweden). It helps if you have studied a bit of Swedish before, you might get to go into a more advanced class and pass quicker.

Below are some links that might help you learn Swedish:

For new beginners I recommend the Rosetta Stone course. This will give you a quick step into Swedish that isn't difficult. This is an expensive thing to buy but it is worth it if you have the money to spare. If you are broke I have heard you can download it with pirates or torrents or something.

If you already know a bit of Swedish you can try to use the Safir course. This course is very good but is takes a bit of effort and practice. This course is very useful for SFI students.

There is a good online dictionary to use:
Lexin

When you have searched a word be sure to scroll down the list and see the different contexts.

The Lexin company also have online pictures and animations. These are great if you print them off and stick them around the house.

Photoshop

I'm not very good at using photoshop. It seems to take ages to do the smallest of things, but there are a number of places on the internet where you can learn.

I found these video tutorials very helpful.