Team Free turn into Team Viking in Sweden

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Day 34 – Friday 20^th July to Day 38 – Tuesday 24^thJuly 2012.

Heading north and taking ‘Jeff’ home to Sweden

This blog is a far contrast to the previous blog of 4 countries in 7 days. This is a quick summary of just 1 country in 5 days.

We left Copenhagen last Friday and drove to Sweden. The changes are subtle once we drove over the 8km Oresund Bridge joining the two countries. The two biggest differences the boys noticed immediately were the number of Volvo’s and the number of Elk (Moose) signs. ‘Jeff the Volvo’ felt at home and the boys spent hours while driving to sight an Elk. It’s a bit like tourists coming to Australia and then expecting to see Kangaroos everywhere. However, we did manage to spot quite a few deer over the following days.

Our first night saw us stay in southern Sweden in a town called Kalmar. It seems to be quite popular for the Swedes as it was very busy and we were very lucky to actually find a place to stay. Kalmar has an amazing old fortified castle that saw plenty of action when the Danish invaded Sweden over 250 years ago. These days you can still see cannons imbedded into the castle walls as well as holding your own wedding there (if you book over 12 months in advance).

The next day saw us drive north along the coast from Kalmar to Valdemarsvik. This is where Anders and Inger Eriksson live on the weekends, so we managed to arrange a night there thanks to Emma (their daughter back on the Gold Coast). Emma and I do some cycling together. It was great to spend 24 hours there and the boys loved it. Anders and Inger took us (the boys) swimming in a lake that freezes over in winter and then the boys enjoyed playing football after dinner until the sun when down close to 11:00pm. Anders and Inger are a fantastic couple and gave us a great insight into the Swedish lifestyle. They actually lived in Australia for 3 years (20 years ago), so it explained to us why Emma loves living in Australia so much. It must be hard though to have your parents so far away.

We arrived in Stockholm on Sunday afternoon and even stopped at Ikea on the way for a look. Yep, as we thought. Just like ours, only half the price though!!! We stayed just out of the city and had a couple of days to explore before catching the ferry to Riga, Lativa.

Stockholm is another great city to explore on foot and by boat. We managed to see most of the main attractions in 2 days including the Vasa Museum. The Vasa is a 400 year old sailing ship that sank on its maiden voyage. It was raised to the surface after 333 years on the seabed around 50 years ago. It is the oldest ship in the world. Due to the low acidity of the Baltic Sea, much of it was preserved. The boys thought it was amazing, as it is by far the closest thing to a real pirate ship they will ever see.

Stockholm has very picturesque waterways, islands and cobble stoned streets with plenty of restaurant, bars, cafes and shops to explore among the old buildings.

Tuesday evening saw us drive Jeff onto the ferry headed to Latvia. We knew as soon as we drove on board that we are now heading into Eastern Europe. Even ‘Jeff’ looked new. The number of new Volvo’s, Saabs, Mercedes Benz’s etc. all reduced and number of cars as old as ‘Jeff’ increased dramatically.

We managed to squeeze into a 4 berth cabin (once I took my mattress from my cabin with 3 Russians next door) for Jackson to put on the floor. Well, it’s not the Queen Mary, but it was fine for the 17 hour crossing. They had a show on board consisting of Bulgarian and Estonian entertainment. It made Eurovision look like the Grammy’s. Even the boys thought it was amusing.

We arrived the next morning into Riga.

More to come soon from Latvia and Estonia…………….

(Don't forget there are more photos on the following pages - a few people have missed them)

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Comments

[Tracey]

Love Boat
Why no photos of your Russina cabin-mates? (before you stole the mattress and ran!)?? Looking forward to Estonia post! xxxx

[Julie]

Wow
Hi Team Free, All looks wonderful, & like so much fun, what a story for the boys. Jeff is doing well. Take care & travel safely. Cheers Julie

[Gail Napper]

We loved all the photos of Sweden!! It looks warm and sunny and like you were having a great time. Jaxon says \"A ball !!\" Tomorrow is our Carnival Day !! We have sunny weather and it is going to be a fun day !! We have tickets to all the fun rides and lots of games and stalls and of course lots and lots of lollies. Every single class has made a paper chain and we have linked them from the front of the school right to the High school !! It is amazing !!! We pray for you all every day and pray that you are well and enjoying your holiday. Lots of Love from Year 2 N and Mrs Napper xoxoxoxo

[Eric Hicks]

Brill updates
Hi Marcus Congrats on your update you all look like you are having a great time . Jeff ooked decidedly happy in Sweden. All the best for now keep all the news coming Eric