home again, home again

We made it home on Thursday and it is good to be back. It was an interesting trip and we covered a lot of ground. The weather stunk but the people were very friendly and helpful. The fjords were beautiful. Stockholm is fantastic. But, in the end, home is home.

Minnesota nice

We spent yesterday visiting many attractions in Stockholm. The city is easy to get around in with a multitude of public transit options. However, once I begin to try to locate something, it is a different story. I have never been so turned around before trying to get from point a to point b. I think it is a combination of the many islands that make up this city and the fact that no 2 streets go parallel or perpendicular to each other. Usually, I can adapt to the latter. However, for whatever reason, this city is very confusing. Having said that, the city is beautiful and interesting. The people are amazing. Aside from being fluent in English making communication easy, they are willing to help you find your destination if you look lost. We had 3 different people stop and ask us, in English, if we needed help while studying the map at various times during the day. I told one Swedish man I thought the Swedes were nicer in Sweden than in Minnesota:). He thought that was pretty funny. Anyway, a beautiful, friendly place.

The weather goes like this. No rain yesterday and temperatures crawling above 10C which for us Americans is 50F. Nothing to write home about, so to speak. I am ready for some warm weather. I hadn't thought of Minnesota as a warm destination.

More pictures to come later. I cannot post them from here.

Djurgarden is your garden

We spent the day today on one of Stockholm's 5 main islands called Djurgarden. It is a green space the city saved for its inhabitants to have some place to recreate. There are a couple of museums, one dedicated to Nordic lifestyle historically and then another to the 17th warship flop called Vasa. This massive, intricate warship was to be like no other. Indeed it was. It sunk after a whopping 20 minutes! It was resurrected from the bottom of the harbor in about 1960 and they built a museum to its futility around it. It really is quite interesting.

The Swedish people are fantastic and Stockholm is equally nice. Unfortunately, the weather is not great. In our entire 2 weeks to date, it has rarely exceeded 50 F and the only good thing is it doesn't rain all the time:(. From a weather perspective, I can't wait to get home. I didn't know Minnesota could look so warm.

Sorry, not able to upload pictures at this time. More tomorrow.

from the hinterland to the city

We spent the last few days in Dalsland, a province in SW Sweden. It was a lot like Minnesota farmlands. We visited many of Dave's distant relatives and they gave us the royal treatment. Amazingly, they all speak fluent English if they are younger than about 60. We are very fortunate as English speakers to have other people willing to do the work of learning our language. It makes traveling very easy. They were super gracious and fed us very well.

Today we travelled to Stockholm. It is a beautiful city situated on a group of islands. We are just getting the hang of things here now and look forward to a couple days sightseeing.

Eleanor has recovered from her mysterious leg ailment and appears to be ok.

I am unable to upload pictures at this time but will as soon as I can. More later...

looks like MN 7 may 2009

Well, after arriving in Trollhattan, Sweden yesterday morning, we found our rental house near Hogsater in Dahlsland. It is an old farmhouse in the middle of no-where. We are in the heart of where Dave's ancestors came from. Today we have already visited 3 churches that former relatives were members. I write this from Amal which is a pretty big town on Lake Vanern. The weather continues to be lousy. Thank goodness this was not intended to be a golfing vacation! Brenda found some fabric at a little store in Tosse. She will have fun making a memorable bag from it!
It has been interesting hearing the opinions of the locals on our current administration. They are universally approving of President Obama. It is nice to be able to travel and not be embarrased about the government.

light rains and night trains

I now know why so many Norwegians and Swedes ended up in MN. They were looking for warmer weather. Light rain and mid 40's yesterday. We took the night train and are now in Sweden. Met with some of Dave's relatives today. They met us at the train station. Had lunch with them. It was fun.

fjords

We took a trip on the Sognefjord yesterday. It was amazingly beautiful. The weather continues to be cool, in the upper 40's and lower 50's. The people are very nice and almost universally speak perfect English. We are very fortunate to speak a language understood by many. We leave Bergen tonight for SW Sweden. Dave has plans to meet with many people, relatives and not. Eleanor hurt her knee yesterday and is having difficulty getting around. We are hoping for a quick recovery.

Balestrand 4, May, 2009

I write this from Balestrand on the Sogneford in Norway. This is the longest and deepest fjord on the European continent. It is spectacular. Unfortunately, I don't yet know how to do the pictures. When (if) I do, I will do so. It is still winter per the Museum sign in Bergen. Apparently, winter hours do not end until May 15! I thought MN winters were long.

we've made it

Hi to all!

We are in Bergen and adjusting. It is quite chilly (40's) but the clouds have cleared and it is now sunny. I don't yet know how to upload any pictures. Once I figure that out, I'll post some. Regards to all.

Scott