Sunday, March 26, 2017
Monday, March 13, 2017
Valletta
Monday. First day of the week. Let us start it up with introducing our readers to Valletta, capital city of Malta. The surface of the heart of the ocean, Malta, is not a wide one. However, nonetheless it has a capital city like every other country in the world. Actually, Valletta is only 1 of 68 cities in the small island. I makes the country even more impressive.
Valletta was founded more than 500 years ago. Since then it has seen wars come and go, built incredible architecture, and become a capital city in the country of gaming business. It is hard to believe the city was bombed during second world war when you see the fantastic streets of cafes and architectural houses. Governmental and residential. It is hard to go to Valletta without envy of the inhabitants who may enjoy it every day.
However, you arrive in a small capital city. Only 6.300 residents and 0,8 square kilometers wide makes this something of a neighborhood in some peoples eyes. It is the commercial and administrative center of Malta but has lost a lot of citizens since the war. Many new tourist attractions are built in other parts of the island. Perhaps it might be a reason why the population has decreased?
The capital city is low of traffic compared to the rest of the island. The Maltese often drive wherever they go. If they don't, they use the public transport buses. However this is not the case in Valletta. It is basically only walking streets in the city. But then it is not a very big area, and it is obvious why it is this way!
Don't get me wrong. Valletta is probably one of the most incredible places you can discover if you like checking out architecture and learn about history. If you also like British traditions or are a religious person it will fascinate you even more. The spirit of Malta is a lot of relying on the British and having a catholic lifestyle. Some parts of the island more conservative than others, often based on where to find less expatriates from other cultures.
Well, that is some stuff about Valletta for now. I am sure there will be more time to tell about the capital city later on.
Valletta was founded more than 500 years ago. Since then it has seen wars come and go, built incredible architecture, and become a capital city in the country of gaming business. It is hard to believe the city was bombed during second world war when you see the fantastic streets of cafes and architectural houses. Governmental and residential. It is hard to go to Valletta without envy of the inhabitants who may enjoy it every day.
However, you arrive in a small capital city. Only 6.300 residents and 0,8 square kilometers wide makes this something of a neighborhood in some peoples eyes. It is the commercial and administrative center of Malta but has lost a lot of citizens since the war. Many new tourist attractions are built in other parts of the island. Perhaps it might be a reason why the population has decreased?
The capital city is low of traffic compared to the rest of the island. The Maltese often drive wherever they go. If they don't, they use the public transport buses. However this is not the case in Valletta. It is basically only walking streets in the city. But then it is not a very big area, and it is obvious why it is this way!
Don't get me wrong. Valletta is probably one of the most incredible places you can discover if you like checking out architecture and learn about history. If you also like British traditions or are a religious person it will fascinate you even more. The spirit of Malta is a lot of relying on the British and having a catholic lifestyle. Some parts of the island more conservative than others, often based on where to find less expatriates from other cultures.
Well, that is some stuff about Valletta for now. I am sure there will be more time to tell about the capital city later on.
Sunday, March 12, 2017
St Julian's
There are many stories to tell about the beautiful island Malta. The heart of the Mediterranean sea. But before we enter the deep stories within the island, old and modern, all of us need to know the island to understand it.
Malta is often regarded as the single city-state, with 68 local councils within the small island. We won't present every single one here, since it would be way to time consuming, but a few will be selected to give you some local knowledge about the island in the middle of the sea.
We will start telling a story about the 1,6 square kilometer city St Julian's a.k.a. San Gilijan, one of the more central regions of the island. It has become the most exclusive place to live within the last few years. Many expatriates and the more wealthy Maltese can be found living in this area. Still, even these might be the most wealthy parts of the island, it is not the capital city. The capital city is Valletta and we will bring that up in our next post.
St Julian's is also the business area of many successful gaming companies from Northern Europe and Scandinavia. However, this industry has spread over the island and made Malta the capital of gaming in the world. During the last ten years the gaming industry has allowed the Maltese economy to grow rapidly and many opportunities has made Swedish, Finnish, Germans, Norwegians, Danish etc. to relocate to Malta. Many of these can be found living in St Julian's.
Young adults from Northern Europe are often traveling to Malta, taking their chance to have a good time in St Julian's and all it's night clubs, bars and night life. Also, spending time at the beach and just having a good time has made the expatriates in St Julian's a young generation. However, this does not go for the whole island.
However, even though the population is no larger than just above 10 000 residents in the city, there are many extraordinary things to discover when you visit. It is here you find the one and only skyscraper of Malta, Portomasso, many casinos, night life center Paceville, the beautiful harbour areas of Spinola Bay, Balluta Bay and St Julian's Bay, and much more.
There is no doubt a visit to Malta is a need to see St Julian's. And I am sure there will be plenty of time to get back to it in the future while this blog is up and running.
Malta is often regarded as the single city-state, with 68 local councils within the small island. We won't present every single one here, since it would be way to time consuming, but a few will be selected to give you some local knowledge about the island in the middle of the sea.
We will start telling a story about the 1,6 square kilometer city St Julian's a.k.a. San Gilijan, one of the more central regions of the island. It has become the most exclusive place to live within the last few years. Many expatriates and the more wealthy Maltese can be found living in this area. Still, even these might be the most wealthy parts of the island, it is not the capital city. The capital city is Valletta and we will bring that up in our next post.
St Julian's is also the business area of many successful gaming companies from Northern Europe and Scandinavia. However, this industry has spread over the island and made Malta the capital of gaming in the world. During the last ten years the gaming industry has allowed the Maltese economy to grow rapidly and many opportunities has made Swedish, Finnish, Germans, Norwegians, Danish etc. to relocate to Malta. Many of these can be found living in St Julian's.
Young adults from Northern Europe are often traveling to Malta, taking their chance to have a good time in St Julian's and all it's night clubs, bars and night life. Also, spending time at the beach and just having a good time has made the expatriates in St Julian's a young generation. However, this does not go for the whole island.
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| Balluta Bay. Photo: Rasmus Orsén |
However, even though the population is no larger than just above 10 000 residents in the city, there are many extraordinary things to discover when you visit. It is here you find the one and only skyscraper of Malta, Portomasso, many casinos, night life center Paceville, the beautiful harbour areas of Spinola Bay, Balluta Bay and St Julian's Bay, and much more.
There is no doubt a visit to Malta is a need to see St Julian's. And I am sure there will be plenty of time to get back to it in the future while this blog is up and running.
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
The First Time
There is a first time of everything they say.
When I am writing this blog post I will not only be writing my first blog post at Malta Identity, I will also write the first blog post ever of the blog. No pressure they say, well I hope you will enjoy reading it anyway!
It is hard to know how personal you should get in a blog like this one. I want to be open with my readers, but not at the expense of nagging too much either. Please comment when you feel it is getting too much.
Just about 6 months experience is what I got and now I start writing at Malta Identity. I will try to tell my story of these months as a summary and let many other upcoming stories to come.
With some bureaucracy moving from Sweden to Malta with my wife it was of course a challenge for a start. But everything is possible as long as you want it to be, and the Maltese are very friendly and helpful. They gave us a warm welcome when we arrived. We still have not met one single rude Maltese, they are so friendly!
Today we have permanent residence in this wonderful country. We live in the lovely St Julian's, hoping to do so for many years to come. But who knows what the future has in store for us. The opportunities on the island and being the neighbour of Spinola bay is fantastic.
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| Spinola bay. Photo: Rasmus Orsen. |
Being close to the water, feeling the fresh wind in my hair is arousing. Living close to the sea is something besides of what we would call normal. It is so much better.
However, I remember when we first came to Malta. The feeling of something new to begin and something old to be closed behind us. The wonderful feeling you don't get to feel to often in a lifetime. When something feels perfect, maybe like being reborn.
Malta has allowed me to stress down. I started Yoga and became a more relaxed person. Thank you my new home country for giving me all of this. How can I repay? I will do my very best to play out my role as a permanent resident in Malta of course, providing the rest of the world with blog posts about our beautiful island.
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