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Published: October 15th 2008
Hmmm....
..pictures are always more interesting with people in them, right?I've often heard about the wonders of Paris in the Springtime, but never once have heard of Stockholm in the Fall. So, I'm here to tell you about the wonders of Stockholm in the fall.
Before I get into the whirlwind trip to Stockholm, I want to take a minute to tell you about the great travel director I've got here. I haven't given Jeff much credit since we arrived...mostly, I've just given him grief. He's done a remarkable job getting us where we need/want to go. I get overwhelmed with the language, the options, all the details and have a tendency to just "log out". When we talked about going to Stockholm last week, I just couldn't wrap my brain around it...train schedules, where to stay, what to see, what to eat? I went to bed frustrated and woke up to both train and hotel confirmations in my inbox. Good man. Jeff also has a great deal more patience with naughty kids that I've got. It is NOT easy traveling with oil (Signe) and water (Jorgen). So there, I've said it, I'm lucky to have Jeff on this incredible journey with me.
I've found that most pictures we
Gamla Stan
The narrow, cobblestone streets of Gamla Stan take don't do the skyline or monument justice. We take lots of pictures of our family at the places we travel, for point of reference, but to see the actual place it's best to "google" and find an actual professional's rendition.
We left our place early Saturday morning by car, parked at a bus stop and hopped a bus to the train in Gothenburg...so much easier going Saturday morning with anticipation than coming home late on Sunday night when everyone was tired and crabby! The train ride was really fun, but long - 5 hours. It was an overcast day, but the fall colors were still apparent...not nearly as many reds as MN, but lots of yellows. Initially, we had the train car to ourselves, but the closer we got to Stockholm, the more it filled. About an hour out of Stockholm we made room across from us for two men. It appeared they had been out and about the previous night. In spite of his bleary, bloodshot eyes, the one who reminded me of my brother, Tim, started talking to us when he heard the English. The kids, who happened to be misbehaving at this point, were sitting
Future guard?
Jorgen practicing his Royal Palace Guard pose...he needs to tidy up a bit. in the seats across the aisle I told him where we were from...he looked at the kids, I shook my head and said, "we don't know who's children these are, but they've been following us all over Europe.". My initial assumption of their hung over state was correct. They both got calls from their wives checking on their arrival...they were told to get a cab, as the babies were sleeping. Neither was thrilled that they would be in charge of the awakened babies when they got home. I pointed out to them that revenge appears to work the same in Sweden as in the US.
We arrived in Stockholm and made our way to our cool, Swedish hotel. It's a new hotel, completely clean Swedish design. We had a great view of a park in full fall color, as well as some of the Stockholm skyline. Since we snuck the kids in (not really, but sort of, since no one allows 5 people in a room - 4 is max...and who would we leave to sleep in the lobby?), they had to sleep on the floor. We dropped our bags and headed out to the "Gamla Stan" area, which
Massacre...
...at the Royal Palace? is the "old town". We wandered up and down the cobblestone streets, peeking into the many shops where beautiful, traditional Swedish crafts competed for your tourist dollar/kroner/euro with cheesy Swedish knick knacks. We made our way to The Royal Palace and watched the guards do their thing...Jorgen thought their guns were pretty impressive. The kids danced in the courtyard and recreated their own "Massacre at The Royal Palace". We noted the many "three crowns" on different buildings...again, hard to get a good photo. We also stopped by the Nobel Museum, but it was near closing time, so didn't go in.
Jeff and I got the kids settled in to the room with a movie and headed down to the lobby for a drink. Our first "date" in Sweden. We sat in the sleek lobby and did my favorite thing, we people watched. If the beer hadn't cost so much, I would have been a cheap date!
Sunday arrived as it's name suggests, sunny! We ate a huge breakfast at the hotel (included...and they didn't even question the kids!). I've seen a lot of breakfast buffets in my life, but never one like this. Along with the standard
Vikings?
A Viking/troll mutant? breakfast fare, there was a whole section dedicated to sliced meats and cheeses, a fish table with salmon, herring and all the toppings and a huge section of breads and pastries. It was fantastic.
We visited Skansen, an open air folk museum. It reminded both Jeff and I of going to Como Zoo in St. Paul. It's much larger and has Scandinavian animals, but the same family friendly, go at your own pace feeling. The girls were able to ride a Scandinavian horse along a gorgeous, leaf strewn path. Jorgen was able to run, climb and jump on things like crazy...just what he needed. We ended our day in Stockholm with a quick trip to the Vasa Museum. I won't go into details, as you can google Vasa and see the awesome pictures, but it was a great way to end the trip. A huge wooden, warship that sunk on it's maiden voyage, then sat at the bottom of the sea for 300 years. It was raised in the 60's and refurbished. Jeff and I both agreed that when we return to Stockholm in May for the marathon, we'll leave the kids home and will have more time to
Jeff
Travel coordinator extrordinaire take it all in. It's a beautiful city.
The return trip was rather uneventful, once we got on the train. Getting there, however, put me into a high state of anxiety. Anytime there's a crowd, I get nervous....having trains whipping by and my kids not listening surely didn't help that state. Picture hundreds of people packed on the loading deck waiting for a train that's 20 minutes late...then they change tracks - and that's all announced in Swedish! We are relying on the kindness of strangers quite often these days.
Just a few final things to mention. Yesterday I was invited to speak "American English" for a class of pensioners (retirees) in Gothenburg. A lady at our church teaches the course and suggested that it would be good for her class to have conversation with an American English speaking person rather that to just hear her British English. It was a fun change of pace for me, and I mostly got to talk about home. I very nice group of people.
Our church is having Må bra vecka, which translates to "feel good week". There are all kinds of special events that are simply fun. Last night
Riding
An actual Swedish horse! I participated in an art class. We were given a mirror, lead and paper and had to look in the mirror and draw our face without looking...drawing the details in "forms". We got three tries and then chose our favorite of those three to transfer to canvas to paint. Our background was to be our favorite color, our face form to be our "temperment" and the eyes the vision of our soul. We were given red, blue, yellow and white to work with. Wow. I was feeling pretty bad about myself when I started looking like Homer Simpson with a collagen injection gone bad. However, we finished with marking pens and I felt much better once I got hair and eyebrows. The girls think it's the coolest thing ever and Emma wants me to make more for her room at home. My kids are easily impressed. It was a such a fun evening. This is really an incredible church community...I doubt there's any other like it in Sweden. I truly feel like God put us next door for a reason, the people there are keeping me afloat.
Speaking of next door, I saw the neighbor guy in his undies
Stockholm in the Fall
Who needs Paris in the Spring time!? this morning. I wasn't TRYING to see him in his skivvies, but when he's standing right there in the window am I not supposed to look? My days just got a little more exciting! That probably isn't appropriate following a paragraph about church and God, but there you have it.
Mary arrives tomorrow, you can't even imagine the excitement level in this house, it's totally off the charts! Whooooooohooooooooo!!!!!!
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Mary J
non-member comment
Holy Cow !!??
the photos are really nice, but your first masterpiece is awesome!!! looks like Picasso!!!