CD store recommendations?

[sarbah77]

Hi all!

For our 10th anniversary this year, Jeremy and I are going on a Baltic Seas cruise. We're stopping in:
Copenhagen
Stockholm
Gothenburg
Helsinki
Tallinn
St. Petersburg

We were hoping that some of you might have recommendations for stores that you know of/have been to that are likely to carry metal CDs. Keep in mind that we'll pretty much be hoofing it, so we'd prefer it to not be in too out of a way location and IN the cities mentioned.

Also, if any of you have favorite things to do, please let me know! We're all set for St. Petersburg but we're still sorting out what to do in the other cities. We'll pretty much be in them during business hours and no nights (so, sadly, no shows).

Thanks!!

Sarah

 

[johan68]

Hi all!

For our 10th anniversary this year, Jeremy and I are going on a Baltic Seas cruise. We're stopping in:
Copenhagen
Stockholm
Gothenburg
Helsinki
Tallinn
St. Petersburg

We were hoping that some of you might have recommendations for stores that you know of/have been to that are likely to carry metal CDs. Keep in mind that we'll pretty much be hoofing it, so we'd prefer it to not be in too out of a way location and IN the cities mentioned.

Also, if any of you have favorite things to do, please let me know! We're all set for St. Petersburg but we're still sorting out what to do in the other cities. We'll pretty much be in them during business hours and no nights (so, sadly, no shows).

Thanks!!

Sarah

In Gothenburg you must visit Bengan's Skivor on Stigbergsplatsen. Absolutely awesome store.
I was in Copenhagen not to long ago and it seemed all my old cd stores were gone. Maybe Claus can give you a better idea.
If you venture over the sund towards Skåne you can visit Record Heaven in Skivarp. That place is great but make sure you call first as their opening hours are a bit weird.
I haven't been in Stockholm for so many years... There used to be a fantastic place called "Heavy Sounds" but I'm not sure if it's still there.

If you really want an adventure and see some great Swedish countryside as well you should take a drive to Sölvesborg and visit Sweden Rock's music store.

I'll check further on Stockholm.

 

[johan68]

It looks like Sound Pollution in Stockholm is still around.

 

[pollution]

That's awesome! Sarah please let me know when you're around in Helsinki and I'll be happy to show you around some stores (or if that doesn't work out then at least give you the names and addresses for the stores). There are a few stores to check out within walkable distance here in Helsinki (or at least can reach them by using the tram in a few of mins).

The two "main" stores I would recommend are Levykauppa Äx (Record shop X, http://www.recordshopx.com) and Keltainen Jäänsärkijä (http://www.kolumbus.fi/levykauppa/mita.html - they don't have their catalogue online but they have pretty good prog/power selection). Both are within like half a mile from each other too.

Then there's Music Hunter (http://www.musichunter.info/hunter3_0_engl.htm - also no catalogue online) who have some pretty cool and some hard-to-find stuff too, and somehow I like the atmosphere there as it's LOTS of stuff filled in a few very small rooms Then there are like 5 others with decent metal selection too, just let me know if you need more info!

 

[sarbah77]

Johan68 - wow, great! Thanks for the really quick reply. I've jotted down the stores you've mentioned! I think Gothenburg is going to be a fun city to visit for a day. Thoughts on Liesberg?

Aki - we'll be in Helsinki on Tuesday, June 29th. Will you be free? We'd love to see you!! (And, also, thanks for the links/recommendations)

 

[pollution]

Aki - we'll be in Helsinki on Tuesday, June 29th. Will you be free? We'd love to see you!! (And, also, thanks for the links/recommendations)

Cool, end of June is a good time to visit. Do you already know how many hours total are you in here then? If everything goes smoothly I'm on my summer vacation late June and should also be in Helsinki then. However I won't know my vacation time for sure probably until April or so.

Too bad you won't be around for a few days since that's actually the same week the Tuska metal festival will be (Tuska will be Friday-Saturday that week, maybe some pre-show kinda stuff on Wed and Thursday too).

 

[sarbah77]

Cool, end of June is a good time to visit. Do you already know how many hours total are you in here then? If everything goes smoothly I'm on my summer vacation late June and should also be in Helsinki then. However I won't know my vacation time for sure probably until April or so.

Too bad you won't be around for a few days since that's actually the same week the Tuska metal festival will be (Tuska will be Friday-Saturday that week, maybe some pre-show kinda stuff on Wed and Thursday too).

Yeah, figures! But the boat was the easiest way to get around to many different places (so we can figure where we'd want to go back). Our scheduled time in Helsinki is 10am to 6pm.

Since Jeremy and I will definitely be there, we'll all just have to wait and see how your vacation time ends up working out!

 

[johan68]

I used to love Liseberg but haven't been there for years. It's probably still good though.
Hell, if you guys are going to be in Göteborg in June I might even be there. I try to get over to Sweden every June for a few weeks. Midsummer is on or around June 21 and that is the mother of all parties...

Also in Göteborg, check out the club "Trädgårn". A lot of great metal acts play there all year around.

 

[pollution]

Yeah, figures! But the boat was the easiest way to get around to many different places (so we can figure where we'd want to go back). Our scheduled time in Helsinki is 10am to 6pm.

Since Jeremy and I will definitely be there, we'll all just have to wait and see how your vacation time ends up working out!

Ah nice, so at least you have a few hours to wander around. Hopefully your knee is okay for a little bit of walking since walking in combination with the tram really is a rather convenient way to see things downtown Helsinki Dunno which of the two possible harbours your boat will use, but option #1 is pretty much downtown and option #2 is only like one mile from downtown anyway - so you don't really have to sacrifice a whole lot of your valuable CD shopping time for transport from the harbour

 

[sarbah77]

I used to love Liseberg but haven't been there for years. It's probably still good though.
Hell, if you guys are going to be in Göteborg in June I might even be there. I try to get over to Sweden every June for a few weeks. Midsummer is on or around June 21 and that is the mother of all parties...

Well, let me know... our day is actually July 4 so you might be gone by then. We just couldn't time it to be anywhere on June 21, so being there a little later was the best we could do. I know it's not going to be warm but the daylight should be pretty fantastic.

Ah nice, so at least you have a few hours to wander around. Hopefully your knee is okay for a little bit of walking since walking in combination with the tram really is a rather convenient way to see things downtown Helsinki Dunno which of the two possible harbours your boat will use, but option #1 is pretty much downtown and option #2 is only like one mile from downtown anyway - so you don't really have to sacrifice a whole lot of your valuable CD shopping time for transport from the harbour

That's good to know. I know which harbour we'll be in at, already, though it doesn't mean a lot to me just looking at a map. I'm really hoping to do a lot of walking, just to get a better feel for the cities we're visiting!! It would be really great if you have the time to see us, even briefly!

As for my knee, I'm recovering from some really massive knee surgery (16 weeks on crutches, 6 weeks off work, knee brace for awhile still) which has helped take care of the pain. I timed it so I'd be as healthy as possible for this trip! (Let me tell you: intentionally being on crutches in the winter/snow is pretty miserable) *insert long story of surgery/recovery here, with the short part being "oh god so much less pain than I've ever had in my life."

 

[pollution]

Tallinn

Also, if any of you have favorite things to do, please let me know! We're all set for St. Petersburg but we're still sorting out what to do in the other cities. We'll pretty much be in them during business hours and no nights (so, sadly, no shows).

As for Tallinn, I think "the" thing to do there is just walking around the Old Town - well, for Finns THE ultimate reason to go to Tallinn is to buy tons of very cheap booze but somehow I doubt that interests you as much The Old Town is pretty cool and as it's not that big it can be checked out quite thoroughly in something like 3 hours.

I can also recommend you the medieval restaurant which every tour guide will recommend too called Olde Hansa (weblink) - Very central location, cool atmosphere (inside at least, in the summer it's possible to eat outside too but it's not as atmospheric there imo), very good food and since you'll be there during business hours it might not be overcrowded either (this refers to the fact that it's actually the most popular restaurant in the whole Estonia, but don't let this scare you!).

I know it's not going to be warm but the daylight should be pretty fantastic.

That's good to know. I know which harbour we'll be in at, already, though it doesn't mean a lot to me just looking at a map. I'm really hoping to do a lot of walking, just to get a better feel for the cities we're visiting!! It would be really great if you have the time to see us, even briefly!

As for my knee, I'm recovering from some really massive knee surgery (16 weeks on crutches, 6 weeks off work, knee brace for awhile still) which has helped take care of the pain. I timed it so I'd be as healthy as possible for this trip! (Let me tell you: intentionally being on crutches in the winter/snow is pretty miserable) *insert long story of surgery/recovery here, with the short part being "oh god so much less pain than I've ever had in my life."

If the map doesn't have a name for the harbour you'll use care to point a couple of things right next to it? I'm also a bit curious what sort of a boat are you taking?

The chances for it being warm at any of those places you visit are pretty decent. But yeah it's certainly a good idea to be prepared for the not-so-warm days too - I would estimate it can be anything between 15 to 30C here at least, which is 60-85F in your language And that guesstimation is for Helsinki, the northernmost location out of the cities you visit. Like you said plenty of daylight available then for sure, won't get totally dark at all here late June.

That does sound like a BIG knee surgery - great news that the pain is gone and I'm sure you'll be all good for lots of walking in the summer!

 

[sarbah77]

I can also recommend you the medieval restaurant which every tour guide will recommend too called Olde Hansa (weblink) - Very central location, cool atmosphere (inside at least, in the summer it's possible to eat outside too but it's not as atmospheric there imo), very good food and since you'll be there during business hours it might not be overcrowded either (this refers to the fact that it's actually the most popular restaurant in the whole Estonia, but don't let this scare you!).

We're also unlucky enough to be one of FOUR cruise ships in Tallinn on the same day. It ought to be interesting, to say the least. I'd heard that Olde Hansa takes reservations, so I might do that, with the chance of 6-8000 more people in that town that day! Have you heard about/seen the tunnels that exist there? It does look like a very easy town to get around!

If the map doesn't have a name for the harbour you'll use care to point a couple of things right next to it? I'm also a bit curious what sort of a boat are you taking?

It looks like we're going to be at the West Harbor region. The terminal is called Hernesaari at berth LHC. The following link is a giant but blurry map: http://www.portofhelsinki.fi/conten...nne/risteilykartta.jpg?from=19237930158422355

We're on a mass market cruise ship, so us and 2000 other people will be on our boat (the actual sailing capacity is listed as 2112, which I thought was apt for a ship for us in Scandinavia!). It's Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas: http://preview.tinyurl.com/yzs7yxz (So, in the end, it's a ship that caters pretty much to Americans!)

The chances for it being warm at any of those places you visit are pretty decent. But yeah it's certainly a good idea to be prepared for the not-so-warm days too - I would estimate it can be anything between 15 to 30C here at least, which is 60-85F in your language And that guesstimation is for Helsinki, the northernmost location out of the cities you visit. Like you said plenty of daylight available then for sure, won't get totally dark at all here late June.

That's warm enough for us! We went to Alaska in June, a few years ago, which was glorious (it was surprisingly sunny, with lots of daylight and temperatures in that same range). We were actually in Alaska during the solstice, so there was very little darkness at night. Looking forward to that again. Is there a high likelihood for rain? (I realize there's always a chance, but Alaska, for example, was mainly rain forest!)

I am pretty excited by the idea that I'm no longer going to be limited in what I can do because of my knee. I won't be the absolute best this summer, but I'll be better than I was last summer, so that's good enough for me! I fully expect to be able to out-do anything of the majority of the people on our cruise ship (the old saying goes that cruises are for "the overfed, the newlywed and the nearly dead" and, these days, with Americans, it's mainly the overfed!).

You've given me so much wonderful information so far!

 

[pollution]

We're also unlucky enough to be one of FOUR cruise ships in Tallinn on the same day. It ought to be interesting, to say the least. I'd heard that Olde Hansa takes reservations, so I might do that, with the chance of 6-8000 more people in that town that day! Have you heard about/seen the tunnels that exist there? It does look like a very easy town to get around!

Every single day there are at least 3 big cruise ships in Tallinn just from Helsinki and especially summer time it's a pretty popular thing to do. Roundtrip cruises from Helsinki to Tallinn can be as cheap as 8 euros (11 USD) and it only takes a couple of hours to get there from Helsinki (the distance between the cities is only 50 miles or so). And yeah, Olde Hansa does take reservations, can do it online easily. There's another nice restaurant almost next to Olde Hansa called Peppersack (http://www.peppersack.ee, should have English menu online too) and the food there should be good too. I was there once for breakfast and it was good stuff.

It looks like we're going to be at the West Harbor region. The terminal is called Hernesaari at berth LHC. The following link is a giant but blurry map: http://www.portofhelsinki.fi/conten...nne/risteilykartta.jpg?from=19237930158422355

Ah okay, so it's Hernesaari. I would say that's around 1 - 1.5 mile walk from downtown area. The area right where the harbour is typical harbour area so it's grey and boring, but half a mile east towards where you see those small islands on the map there's a nice little park area (Kaivopuisto) for chillaxing on sunny days. If I do have the day off who knows maybe I'll even come to the harbour to welcome you guys in town The closest tram connection to downtown from Hernesaari is close to where it says Punavuori on that very pixellated map, maybe 10 min walk from the boat.

That's warm enough for us! We went to Alaska in June, a few years ago, which was glorious (it was surprisingly sunny, with lots of daylight and temperatures in that same range). We were actually in Alaska during the solstice, so there was very little darkness at night. Looking forward to that again. Is there a high likelihood for rain? (I realize there's always a chance, but Alaska, for example, was mainly rain forest!)

Well I wouldn't say there's specifically a high likelihood for rain.. but still it's highly possible BUT since I plan to take at least part of my summer vacation then you should be all set for sunny weather (at least that worked for me last year! hehe).

 

[sarbah77]

Every single day there are at least 3 big cruise ships in Tallinn just from Helsinki and especially summer time it's a pretty popular thing to do. Roundtrip cruises from Helsinki to Tallinn can be as cheap as 8 euros (11 USD) and it only takes a couple of hours to get there from Helsinki (the distance between the cities is only 50 miles or so).

So we'll see you in Tallinn, too? ha!! Sounds like it'll be crowded, because these are the mass-market cruise ships, in addition to the more normal passenger ferries. But that's what I get for going on a mass market cruise line!

Ah okay, so it's Hernesaari. I would say that's around 1 - 1.5 mile walk from downtown area. The area right where the harbour is typical harbour area so it's grey and boring, but half a mile east towards where you see those small islands on the map there's a nice little park area (Kaivopuisto) for chillaxing on sunny days. If I do have the day off who knows maybe I'll even come to the harbour to welcome you guys in town

That's it? Man, people make it sound like it's this impossibly long walk from the ship to the city. A mile and a half is kind of nothing! And it would be pretty awesome if you were there when our ship docked. (I can see the conversation now...!)

We're getting our first real snowfall of the season. I'm pretending it's not happening and thinking about summer vacation.

 

[pollution]

So we'll see you in Tallinn, too? ha!! Sounds like it'll be crowded, because these are the mass-market cruise ships, in addition to the more normal passenger ferries. But that's what I get for going on a mass market cruise line!

Hehe nope, the day you're in Tallinn I will be enjoying the first day of the Tuska festival Sorry, I have my prioritities! Too bad they haven't announced the lineup yet so I could tease you more about it (big bunch of the lineup will be revealed in one week though)! But it does look like at least Kamelot will play on that day.

That's it? Man, people make it sound like it's this impossibly long walk from the ship to the city. A mile and a half is kind of nothing! And it would be pretty awesome if you were there when our ship docked. (I can see the conversation now...!)

We're getting our first real snowfall of the season. I'm pretending it's not happening and thinking about summer vacation.

Yup, that's it It may not be the coolest walk ever but it's nice enough and you'll see parts of an unfamiliar-to-you city and at least I consider that to be always fun.

I keep thinking about summer vacation too, especially yesterday I did since we have two feet of snow here and yesterday Google finally opened their Streetview service for all of Finland (including lots of real small towns, which I didn't expect). Most of those days the pictures are from are of course shot on very nice sunny days so I spent some good time yesterday viewing some cool summer places. So now you can decide whether you want to "spoil" some of your Helsinki wandering fun with Google first

 

[Claus / Intromental]

I was in Copenhagen not to long ago and it seemed all my old cd stores were gone. Maybe Claus can give you a better idea.

Yeah, all the good CD stores in Copenhagen has disappeared.

I worked at the Metalized record store for a lot of years, but back in 1998 or so that one closed down, the year or two after that Powerhouse Records closed, and since then there hasn't really been much going on for "metal fans" to get excited over when it comes to CD shopping in Copenhagen ... it's sad that for more than 10 years metal fans haven't really had a place to go for their music fix in such a big city as Copenhagen

The only place left that has an "okay" selection of metal titles is FONA 2000 on Strøget, Østergade 47, 1100 København K.

 

[sarbah77]

Yeah, all the good CD stores in Copenhagen has disappeared.

I worked at the Metalized record store for a lot of years, but back in 1998 or so that one closed down, the year or two after that Powerhouse Records closed, and since then there hasn't really been much going on for "metal fans" to get excited over when it comes to CD shopping in Copenhagen ... it's sad that for more than 10 years metal fans haven't really had a place to go for their music fix in such a big city as Copenhagen

The only place left that has an "okay" selection of metal titles is FONA 2000 on Strøget, Østergade 47, 1100 København K.

Thanks! At least we have plenty of other places to look, too.

 

[sarbah77]

Hehe nope, the day you're in Tallinn I will be enjoying the first day of the Tuska festival Sorry, I have my prioritities! Too bad they haven't announced the lineup yet so I could tease you more about it (big bunch of the lineup will be revealed in one week though)! But it does look like at least Kamelot will play on that day.

Jeremy said "aw, maaaan. Think we can get off the ship?" Hehe. On the upside, Kamelot will be in Atlanta for ProgPower, sooo.

Yup, that's it It may not be the coolest walk ever but it's nice enough and you'll see parts of an unfamiliar-to-you city and at least I consider that to be always fun.

We tend to walk all over cities more than, say, taking cabs, so this is definitely our speed!

I keep thinking about summer vacation too, especially yesterday I did since we have two feet of snow here and yesterday Google finally opened their Streetview service for all of Finland (including lots of real small towns, which I didn't expect). Most of those days the pictures are from are of course shot on very nice sunny days so I spent some good time yesterday viewing some cool summer places. So now you can decide whether you want to "spoil" some of your Helsinki wandering fun with Google first

Hahah. It's not REALLY spoiling. It's pictures and helps give me an "ooh yeah, I recognize this" but ... mostly it helps me figure out where I am! We only have 8 inches of snow (but since I'm still re-learning how to walk, it's about 9 inches more than I want to deal with right now!) but winters here are just grey.

A little more than 4 months! Woohoo!