Northern City Nights

The New York Times recently ran two articles in their Travel section highlighting two cities in European countries that I consider to be in the Far North.

Most go there places. In summer of course!

Stockholm in Sweden  see 36 Hours in Stockholm

"STOCKHOLMERS revel in the long days of summer when the sun rises as early as 3:30 a.m. and doesn’t set until after 10 p.m. Many locals escape to their country houses, but those who remain in the city spend as much time as possible outdoors — an easy feat since water and parkland make up almost two-thirds of Stockholm."

And in St Petersburg in Russia see White Nights of St. Petersburg, Russia 

"In St. Petersburg, the grand city of the czars, they call them the “White Nights”: those 80 or so evenings, running from May to the end of July, when the city emerges from long months of cold and darkness and celebrates the brief return of nearly round-the-clock daylight."

The Happiness Index: Top and Bottom's Rule!

The Economist's widely quotes index, at least in the Australian press, shows a curious fact: the happiest countries are all either at the top of the world or the bottom of the world.

At the Top:       Canada and Sweden
At the Bottom:  Australia and New Zealand

What does that mean?

Being further away from the centre means you get less spin, perhaps?

And yes I know Chile is down there with the 'Bottom's'. But hey, that's the exception the proves the rule, right?

Julian Assange extradited to Sweden

Image via WikipediaNow why I am not surprised...?

"WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who rocked the U.S. government by publishing thousands of secret diplomatic memos, must be extradited to Sweden to face sex crimes allegations, a British judge ruled on Thursday."

This story link from Reuters


UK court agrees Assange extradition to Sweden