GSE
District 5580 GSE Sweden Joined: April 8th 2008
Logged in: October 31st 2008
Logged in: October 31st 2008
We're the 2008 GSE team from Rotary District 5580 (USA & Canada) touring District 2400 in southern Sweden! We're having a fabulous time thus far and are amazed at the opportunities we're given! Thank you for checking in on us!
Our fearless leader:
Dennis - Lawyer, Perham, Minnesota from Perham Rotary Club
Team members:
Beth - Music Teacher, Bismarck, North Dakota on behalf of Bismarck Rotary Club
Carol - Professor, Fargo, North Dakota on behalf of Fargo-Moorhead AM Rotary Club
Jamie - Court Reporter, Two Harbors, Minnesota on behalf of North Shore Rotary Club
Peter - Psychologist, Thunder Bay, Canada on behalf of Rotary Club of Thunder Bay (Fort William)
Shana - Physiotherapist, Thunder Bay, Canada on behalf of Rotary Club of Thunder Bay (Lakehead)
Travel Blog Posts
A final farewell at the station
Just thought we'd let you know we made it safely to Stockholm! We have an extensive list of places to visit, museums to see, and things to do, so we'll surely keep busy these next few days!... read more
The scene of the final farewell dinner
I write with just a few minutes left until we head to the train station. Today we are en route to Stockholm. The time has come to transition from the wonder of the program to being on our own while enjoying Sweden's capital city. It should be a nice opportunity for the team to segue into our return to "real" life...however abrupt it'll be. After having spent the day enjoying Karlskrona's shops and sunshine, we had a lovely final farewell party in the country. I can't really describe the myriad of emotions we're all feeling as this life changing experience concludes (but, as one wise man said, this is NOT the end...) The dinner, as always, was wonderful. We heard some loving words from Joran and Karin, and we will forever sparkle with the memory of ... read more
Stars of the screen
Another monumental day for the Super Six. It commenced with a visit to the community building and a discussion of Telecom City and the city of Karlskrona in general. Truly a progressive and innovative town, Karlskrona's strategic location for cooperation with European nations makes it a strong force in the world of communication and technology. The team had its final formal presentation, number 15 I believe, at high noon. After a minor hiccup to its beginning, the presentation was superb. We are now taking offers now to start a world tour! After the presentation, we had a nice lunch, a walking tour of the city and a visit at the Marine Museum. Our evening found us at the home of coordinator, Lillian Bjerstrom, and Swedish Chef extraordinaire, Richard Liden, for another dinner party. A gorgeous house ... read more
In Karlshamn
Well, folks, we've officially made it to the last page of our itinerary! I remember when I first laid eyes on it and felt somehow separated from it, like it wasn't real, a myth, a fairy tale. (Actually, it quite resembled one!) Now, as we look through it, it's an instant diary of our tours, visits, meetings, lunches, and families! I cannot start expounding upon today though before writing about the wonderful get together party we had yesterday evening! Sabine and Christer Stromberg hosted a party for the team, host families, and close friends in Rotary with a lovely barbecue on the lawn complete with accordions, dancing, singing, and laughing (the laughing at this point is a given). We had a lovely time, and it was a fabulous exclamation point on our stay in Ronneby! Today ... read more
Heliga Kors Kyrka
It's amazing to think that we have less than a week left of our tour! We appreciate you, our groupies, reading about our madcap shenanigans! It's difficult to express how truly awesome this trip is with just words and pictures. Our group is bonded for life through all the shared minutae of experiences...through our attempts to retain composure while eating unpalatable dishes (some of us are better at this than others), as we share personal stories of sadness and joys, discuss our indiosyncracies, fears, passions, and weaknesses...as we bravely risk 60 meter heights, water logged boats, fermented herring, and climbing through dragon mouths...and as we compare daily details of our home experiences...I think not one of us could ever truly, adequately answer the question: "How was the trip?" with words. Boy. Those were some deep thoughts...all ... read more
Swedish National Day
Hej hej loyal blog followers, Thanks to Jamie for doing such a good job with the blog. Today proved to be another exciting day. We never know what the day will hold for us when we start out, despite having a schedule. Peter, Carol, Dennis and I (Shana) are staying in Kallinge across the street from one another. Jamie and Beth are staying outside of Kallinge. This morning we set out on a boat tour of the Blekinge (the name of the county) archipelago on the Baltic sea. The team was enjoying the beautiful weather and the lovely boat ride. Unfortunately our tour was cut short by a cloud of smoke and being towed back to shore by the Swedish Sea Rescue. No worries, we are all safe and all agree that it was one of ... read more
The sun is bright!
What's a blog entry without a reference to Gilligan's Island!? Today we lived the dream, folks! The eight stranded castaways (well, we weren't really castaways...more like....floating on a boat-aways) were rescued by the Swedish version of the Coast Guard. These seafaring saviors hooked us up to their tug and towed us safely back to port. It was for sure a memorable experience! Many thanks to Skippers Hans X and Hans XI for a beautfiul venture into the Baltic and a scenic tour of the Bronze Age ruins. We also found a moment for team building in the dry, dry grass and somehow managed to build a pyramid even the Egyptians would admire! After the Ship Trip and Viking Hiking, we went on an audio guided excursion through Eriksberg, a fenced wildlife safari for your Volvo and ... read more
Dinner on the lake
A walk in the wetlands and a day in the city....a perfect example of what the Skane region has to offer, and what better way than this to fill our day?! Let me get you up to speed....a salmon dinner on the water, a nice chilly boat ride (but we're loving that the Swedes ALWAYS have blankets!), a presentation on Skane goverment and politics, an Absolut afternoon, an evening performance (to a very receptive audience), a morning walk and birding excursion in the wetlands, a lunch time performance in the city (only 2 more left!), an afternoon in the city (love the ice cream and shoe shopping), and a night for relaxation... Ok. Did I mention yet that our days are fully diverse and complete!? I could blather on about the beautiful boat ride in the ... read more
More eel please!
Well, you have been hearing quite often from my trusty teamates, but today, I finally have internet access. So it is my turn. As I am sure all of you have seen, we are having a wonderful time. Rotary District 2400 has been treating us very well and showing us the best that Sweden has to offer. We have had so many once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I think we are beginning to believe that it can't all be real. Some of our favourite experiences have been with food. At least mine have - no suprise to those that know me. We have had great BBQs, awesome Chinese food, and fantastic fish. I would personally like to thank the GSE 2000 team for our preparation . I think you did a wonderful job of preparing us for Sweden, ... read more
The castle at Wanås
Hello my friends around the world! I'd first like to thank Shana for posting some fine text yesterday about our beautiful day in Osby! I recognize the fact that each of us in the team is having different experiences, so from time to time they check in with you as well! I missed you all though, so I thought I'd report back to you this evening! It's another fine evening in Sweden, and the team members are now situated in Kristianstad or the sea city of Åhus. We began our morning with a trip to Broby, near Osby, at Wanås, a castle, and toured the modern art sculpture garden on the its grounds. It was a beautiful garden that offered interactive (well, some of them we MADE interactive) and thought provoking displays. We collected our thoughts ... read more
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