Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Sun sun Sunday
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Mellow
Saturday, September 17, 2011
2200 bikes
Friday, September 16, 2011
Roseburg
Sweet Home
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Leaving already
Recap: Outings
We tried just to hang out at the summerhouse but did get out and about a bit. The last photo here is in Ystad where we went on a rainy day. Great city for walking, cobble streets, and old houses and now famous for Kurt Wallender (who isn't even a real person). On our last day at the summerhouse we went to a nearby Viking Museum--which recreated life in Viking times--the wind was blowing fiercely. And yes, we had to go to IKEA. The first photo is one of my favorites --a door in the nearby town of Skanor where we walked one evening to see the old houses.
Recap: Denmark
On Saturday Johan took us over the bridge to Denmark. We of course had to stop at the Italian food store. They had free tastings of apertifs (strong liquor) as well as wine--and bread. Johan is big into Italian food. We also went into central Copenhagen to the big department stores and fancy shops. The purpose of our visit was to attend an opening at a modern art museum called Arken. The exhibit was Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiot. We had a wonderful meal at the musuem. Kit posted a photo earlier but here is the view from the deck where we were eating.
the Summerhouse
We were so lucky to get to spend most of a week at the family summer house in Ljunghausen.
We had the family over for a barbecue on Sunday. Johan is here with his brothers Lars and Per and Per's girlfriend Johanna (and Kit). Kit was helping Roland build a bike shed in the back yard but they didn't get far. (It was a big job--Kit is trying out a cool digging tool that Roland bought). The third photo is coffee and cake mid afternoon on the porch. (When Kit and I were alone it was beer and chips).
In Lund
We spent 2 days with Johan at the beginning of our stay in Skane and 2 days at the end. We did some wandering in the rain in the old city of Lund. We were entranced with a museum which consists of old houses from many time periods. Johan cooked for the family on the last night. He still has the Awesome Chef apron made by my mom in 80. Here in his apartment are Harry (his son) and Roland and Ann-Marie (his parents).
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Recap: Road Trip 3
We traveled down the west coast where there are many idyllic harbors like this one. In the summer this area is bustling with tourists but by this time of year many shops and restaurants have closed. We took a free ferry to head east to the interstate. After a visit to Trollhatten to see some locks which were empty of water and full of construction, and after nearly getting lost in Goteburg--we found the best hotel ever in the town of Warburg (again it was something we stumbled upon). In this photo of our room you can see some of the posters but not all of the books. There are thousands of books in the hotel. We thought it was really expensive but the price covered not only breakfast--but dinner, and the use of the Lenin Spa (including a loan . I can't begin to describe the lovely spa designed after one frequented by Lenin in St. Petersburg. We didn't take the camera to the hot tub. We regretfully left the next morning. The weather was horrid. We went to the Fortress (castle) next to the beach. Luckily there was an awesome museum indoors. The exhibit on the bog man was fascinating. Here I am dressing up like him. But the instant photo/e-mail computer didn't work for me.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Recap: Road Trip 2
On a long rainy drive south from Dalarna we stopped a park called Rottneros which was an old estate with lovely gardens and statues. Here I am with Swedish childrens author Selma Lagerlof. The fountain is by Carl Milles. There is a whole park of his work in Stockholm but we skipped it because of rain. We spend the night or my birthday in the town of Amal. On the way to the west coast and the region of Bohuslan the next day we found this wonderful "museum" site of Bronze Age rock art.Ended up that night in the tiniest hotel room you can imagine--but one of the most beautiful of harbor towns.
Recap: Road Trip 1
After leaving Uppsala, we headed north to visit the home of Carl Larsson (famous Swedish artist). The photos are backwards as usual so this home is the last photo. We weren't allowed to take any photos in this beautifully decorated home--the tour we took was in Swedish. From here we went looking for a hotel in a "chain" of countryside hotels a friend had recommended. Thus we discovered the wonderful little tourist town of Tallberg on Lake Silyan and had a wonderful room and meal at Tallbergsgarden. (Hotels in Sweden are not cheap but most are delightful. The bike photo was in a yard in this scenic village. From there we headed to Mora where we really enjoyed visiting a forestry museum (open air). This is where the first photo was taken. I was especially interested because I come from a family of Swedish loggers. That night we stayed in what we call Motel 3. Kit posted a photo earlier. This part of Sweden is Dalarna, a place I love. We saw many camper vans and more campgrounds than hotels.
Recap 4 Uppsala
After the wedding we spent one night in a hotel and 2 nights with the parents of the groom. We spent one day exploring the city in the rain. It being a Monday all the museums were closed. We went up to the castle where the original bits of the castle were open. I love the photo of the cannons from the castle aimed right at the cathedral. Apparently there were church/state issues. Across from the castle were the botanical gardens and in that yellow building there was a wonderful art exhibit which was also open. We found the Subway quite near our hotel and because it was so cheap we ate lunch there. (McDonalds and Burger King are everywhere but didn't see many Subways.) The final photo here is of the mushrooms we picked in the park just across the street from where we were staying with Bengt and Kristina. Luckily they know about mushrooms. We had them for dinner on toast along with a soup made of mussels, fennel, and gooseberries. Amazingly delicious.
Recap #3 The Wedding
The wedding was on the idyllic island of Finnhamn in the Swedish archipelago. The big yellow building is the main hostel building in which we ate meals. The little red house is where we slept (basic bunkbeds). I didn't take photos at the wedding but caught this of Lars and Emma after the ceremony. (Kit posted a wedding shot from his phone earlier). The ceremony and speeches were mostly in Swedish but we got the gist. The dinner started at 6pm and concluded at 11:30. (There were a lot of speeches and antics) Also because there was crayfish for starter we had to drink schnapps and sing songs.
Labels: Wedding in Sweden
Recap 2: Stockholm
I have already written about our stay in Stockholm. I was surprised to see in the photos that we even had one sunny day. We had a lovely studio apartment in a hotel closer to the ferry terminals (to Finland, Estonia) than to the city but we walked everywhere--and enjoyed being able to cook our own meals. These photos were taken on a walking outing and a boat trip.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Recap 1: Going and Coming
I envy people who can sleep on airplanes. How do they do it? I can think of nothing more uncomfortable than an airplane seat. Our flights went smoothly enough but in the best of circumstances 9 hours sitting is not fun. There are no more check in people at the airport--you have to deal with a machine to get your boarding passes. Luckily it's not too difficult. You still need to stand in line for a real person to check in your bags. Coming home there were only 3 people ahead of us in line but the 2 Mexican ladies with too much luggage took about 20 minutes. Luckily we were VERY early. The security lines weren't TOO long--either in Seattle or again in Amsterdam. It is always a surprise getting off the plane in Sweden, collecting your baggage and walking out into the real world. It's much more hassle getting back to the US. Double passport control and security in Amsterdam. Passport control and customs again in Seattle. But the lines were so unbelievably short we only missed the 5 pm shuttle by 2 minutes. (We were booked on the 7pm shuttle, got to the ferry at 9:30 and home at 10:30). We flew into Stockholm and home from Copenhagen. We vote the Copenhagen airport (Kastrup) one of our least favorites for a long wait. It is mostly one giant duty free shop. When you do get to the gates there is NO where to sit. You can't get into the waiting room until you are checked in a few minutes before your flight. On the other hand. Amsterdam (Schilpol) is among our favorites. There are plenty of places to sit and wait--including some really nice comfortable spots. If you are inclined--there is a machine for water massage. There is also the art gallery (Kit sent a photo) and a few scattered shops and restaurants to spend your Euros. This trip we only had to wait a few minutes to get through the US interviewers and security to our gate.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Finally the SUN
We arrived in Seattle yesterday at 4:30pm and it was 83 degrees. Today at home we are wearing shorts and T's. The first really warm weather in forever. Wish we could send it to our friends in Sweden. We were in transit for 26 hours from the time we left Johan's on Friday morning until the time we arrived at our house. A lot of waiting in airports. A lot of sitting on planes.
As soon as I find time to look at all the photos I will do a better summary of our trip than were were able to do at the time.
Friday, September 09, 2011
Airports
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Summer house in Ljunghusen
Lunch in Denmark
Ljunghusen
Back in Lund
We have had a wonderful week at the summerhouse. We even saw some sun briefly. Had an outing to,Ystad in,the rain, now we are back at Johan's and fly on Friday.
