|
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Stockholm
Hello People,
It seems to me as if it has been a quite week or
two in Stockholm since we went to Paris, but we are off
on trail tomorrow and so I better get in a short report
right now.
On July 4th Kristina flew off to a conference in Italy
and the rest of us had an "Independence Day" picnic in the
courtyard in front of our apartment. Will's friend understood
the event - he had lived in Connecticut for a few years, but
it was a mysterious holiday to Robin's friends - but they all
enjoyed the burgers anyhow.
I was walking by the harbor the next day and went by a
boat building school which had a class on the water's edge
finishing kayaks. There were Greenland kayaks, which is
the same style as the one I build two years ago. We talked
about wood, cloth and lashing vs. pegs for awhile. Kayaks
here are called Kanoes, and canoes are call "Kanadian kanoes".
It rained a lot that weekend. Still, I went our daily for
my walks. Saturday to Djurgården and north along the water
into a wooded area which was new to me. The blueberries are
almost ready. On Sunday I rode the commuter train southeast
to the town of Saltsjöbaden ("The Salt Sea Bath"). Out at the
end of a point is a old (Victorian?) bathing house sticking out
into the sea. I can imagine young men diving from the upper
balcony into the salty waters. On the mainland, in front of the
Grand Hotel is a sculpture in bronze of such a young man -
read to dive in.
Kristina arrived home that evening.
On Thursday (July 12) there was a "Metallica" concert at
the old Olympic Stadium in Stockholm. Will had wanted to go,
but the tickets had sold out within minutes of being available.
So he stood across the street and listened. He said that since
the Stadium has a large arching entrance way he could actually
see the stage about 200 meters away. He tells be it was
great - but I expect you will need to read his blog to know
more.
Kristina's parents, Kris and Charlie, arrived July 13
and we did our best to keep them awake that day, to get
them past jet lag. The next day was bright and sunny so we
took the boat out to Fjäderholmarna, a small island with
boats and ice cream and art/craft studios. We had a picinic
and a good time. The islands around Stockholm continue to
remind us of Maine.
That evening the boys went to see the newest "Harry Potter"
movie and the rest of us went to the "J" restaurant, a "yachty"
restaurant. It involved boat rides across the harbor in the
dark and in the rain.
Sunday (July 15) Kristina's brother and family (Charlie III,
Kristen and Owen) arrived. In the afternoon Will took Kris
to the "Museum of Modern Art", Kristina took Charlie to the
"Båthaus II" (small boat museum), and Robin and I took
Charlie (III), Kristen and Owen to Gamala Stan. (Is that all
clear?). We finally converged at the Riddarholmen cafe for
"fika". I think "fika" might be the one word of Swedish which
Owen takes homes. "Fika" literal translates as "coffee", but
is often used to refer to the mid afternoon coffee-break, and
we take it to mean "desert in the afternoon", much like an
English 4 o'clock "tea". We all like fika.
Back home we had a picnic by the lake and then later a
"Princess Cake" for Kristen and Charlie's seventh anniversary.
Monday Kristina, Charlie II, Kris, Kristen, Charlie III and
Owen took the boat out to Vaxholm for the day. They were on
one of the beautiful old steamers which ply the waters here.
I told it was a great day.
I walked to a cafe on a dock in Lake Mälaren beyond
Karlberg Slott (palace). I am trying to walk a lot to
get ready for this hike - so about 10 km today. Then I
was home and getting boots for Robin and doing other hike
preparations. That evening we all went to a Swedish restaurant
in Odeplan. I had "Pale Roe" on potato pancakes - which was
very tasty. A lot of us had Swedish meatballs.
Tuesday we walked to the "Bergianska trädgården" (Bergianska
Botanical Gardens) and the "växthus" (literally "plant house", a
greenhouse). We, of course, had fica. The whole place was
beautiful with flowers in formal gardens, rock gardens and
Japanese gardens. That evening we had a cookout - even in a
light rain. We also celebrated Charlie's (II) birthday.
Wednesday, Kris and Charlie (II) flew off to Greece,
Kristen, Owen and Charlie (III) went off on their own to
Skensen - the open air museum. Will, Robin and I met with
the other three from our hiking crew (Markus, Gustav and Per-Oskar
Lithell) to finalize plans. And then it was time for
some food shopping. That evening the boys went with Charlie,
Kristen and Owen to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, and Kristina
had some quite time at home.
Tim
|
