Made it safely here today- it was insane pulling our 1,000 lbs. of luggage (which the SAS employee so nicely winked at us and said he'd cover his eyes to not charge extra for) up the steps of the tube stop where they had no lift or escalator. Holy crap. But we made it. Staying in the center of everything in picadilly. Got upgraded to a king size bed too!! Hotel is really nice. Heated towel rack - I like.
Made it already to the london eye with a clear blue sky to see for miles and then had a locals-recommeded (thx Julia!) fish and chips at the oldest locale for it in England. It was called rock and sole plaice in Covent garden. Excellent! Then we had the best ice cream we've both ever eaten (also we've eaten ice cream at least the last 4-5 days. Srsly) it was to die for. Italian luxury gelato at a place called scoop. We had vanilla with chocalte in it mixed with pistachio. It tasted like it was whipped. The owner gets there at 5am daily to make it ready to open at 1130am.
Now were so tired. This town is awesome. Happy to be here.
S. You wouldve been so stoked on all of this.
Home tuesday-whoa how the time flies.
K
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Hey da Stockholm
Our last few days in Stockholm have been a whirlwind. We spent the afternoon of our second to last day on a boat cruising through the Archipelago. It is always an adventure physically getting to these activities as well. But if I do say so myself, I think we are fairing pretty well for two blonde American girls in a foreign country. In the interest of time, Mona had recommended an island to us, Fjaderholmarna, which is the closest island to the Stockholm harbor. Once we got down to the port though we realized we would rather go further out into the Archipelago to see more. We paid for a tour boat that would take us out almost as far as Vaxholm. (For those who are interested, Lauren’s research tells us that Vaxholm is the island where Tiger’s soontobe-x-wife Elin recently bought a summer home.) We spent 2 ½ hours on the water and as they promised, the weather is always better out in the Archipelago. We saw lots of beautiful summer homes that looked like dollhouses, little red cottages, and spent the afternoon wrapped in blankets with the wind in our hair. It was very relaxing and a must-see for anyone who visits Sweden. We had met 4 American backpackers the night before while we scarfed down our burgers and of course we also ran into them on the boat. Lots of the islands in the archipelago have only several houses, no commercial business, and use solar power to create electricity.
After the boat docked, we headed into the old city of Gamla Stan. It was very interesting to walk through the cobblestone streets and see the oldest and quaintest parts of Stockholm. We enjoyed a pizza, sent back a Caesar salad that reeked of anchovies, and headed back after a few hours to rest at the Kimbel Olson flat.
As became our custom, we cozied up in Mona’s kitchen and had coffee and wine while the sun set around 9-10pm. It was such a nice little tradition we developed and a surprising part of our travels we didn’t even realize we’d get to have. We’d sit around the table and talk about everything under the sun including our day, our likes and dislikes and our love for Swedish customs, and then we’d watch Stephan vacillate between being “absolutely stoked about going out tonight” and coughing with sickness admitting he “didn’t really need to do anything more today.” Well on this night, Friday, his wild side won. Lauren stayed in to rest but Steph and I headed to a local bar, Bara Vi, to see some of his friends. We sat in a funky, well decorated bar basement enjoying some drinks and then headed to a local bar with a club scene basement to prolong the night. The club in Snap’s basement was for only 23-year-old’s or beyond but the bouncer seemed to be fine with Steph and his friend’s 20-year-old identifications. (The drinking age is 18 in Sweden but many bars have a higher age limit for entrance. Often they just use that to deny certain people’s entrance and don’t really stick to it strictly otherwise.) This was like a kickball scene with worse music. Song 1: “I was I was a little bit taller, I was I was a baller… if I had a girl then I would call her….” We laughed pretty hard at the scene and then started dancing and bumping into people spilling our drinks to fit in. At one point the lady security guard approaches Stephan and says “Can you just chill out and not dance so hard? We’re getting complaints.” Hahaha. I was surprised to see a card table in the bar too but was told that was common.
The night was coming to an end and as we stood outside chatting and saying goodnight to friends we were approached by a man with a solid American accent. I think he came over when he heard us speaking English but I can’t be sure. It was probably 3am at this point. Peter was actually Swedish but had spent time living in Colorado and really was loving our US connection. He sells very expensive beds. While I talked with Stephan’s friends, Stephan spoke with Peter some more. Eventually Stephan turned to us and said, “Alright, we have to try this. He says he has a limo picking us up.” He told me later he had said to Peter, “Okay fine, I’ll go with you but only if it is a Lincoln towncar” (as if we can be picky with what kinds of limos we will get in….)
The Lincoln towncar limo pulled up and we got in. Johnny, the driver, apologized profusely for not having clean champagne glasses ready for us and started popping bottles of champy from the trunk. Peter also started apologizing in the form of a speech for the fact that “we haven’t f-ing left yet.” I think I laughed for the better part of the next hour. We spent the time cruising around Stockholm with music blaring drinking bubbly. It was pretty freakin awesome. We were stoked and every time Stephan and I made eye contact in the limo he would just mouth “WHAT THE F***?” and smile. Johnny then stopped the limo for a toast on an upper cliff of the city with an absurdly beautiful view. He even provided me with some toilet paper from the trunk to relieve myself. Who was this guy? Peter started to make a speech but Stephan interrupted it asking about a picture in front of the limo. Peter, slightly annoyed, said, “I’m trying to make a toast” to which S. replied “Sorry, its just these kinds of things don’t really happen to me so I’d really like a picture with the car.” :) We took photos while they toasted. No problemo. Johnny walked around filling up our glasses. It is extremely light at 4am at this time of year, so there was a bizarre feeling of energy flowing through all of us. (energy, alcohol, whatever…) Peter then headed off with his friends to a club on a boat, but the 23-age limit finally kept our group from entering. Like we really needed that at the time… We headed for home on the tunnelbana but S. saw the train to his gf, Julia’s, house first and SPRINTED to the train while yelling out directions for how I could get home. It was super easy and I got home quickly. Walking down the street a few blocks in the bright light was surreal. I felt on top of the world and debated funny things like calling Charlie, starting my day, and skipping the whole night of sleep altogether.
Then I got to S.’s building. Oddly the key fob to get in the building wasn’t working. Hmmm. Immediately I pictured myself sleeping on a park bench. Oh, duh! I can just use the key that will also open the door. Bingo! I’m in. Headed up the steps to the 2nd floor and realized it was not S.’s door. What??? Oh, I obviously was deep-in-thought/sleep and walked up one too many floors. Um, nope. That wasn’t it either. Okay, what is wrong with me? Back to the 2nd floor. No sign for the Kimbel Olson flat and when did those flowerpots get in the windowsill? I guess Lauren could have decorated while I was clubbing. (kidding I did NOT think that.) Okay, let’s try the elevator; this is just WEIRD. Got in the elevator, hit floor 2. The doors open right back up. The elevator all but yells at me “YOU ARE ON 2!” Okay, this is f-ed up. I’m starting over. I go outside and realize I had walked in the other entrance to his building, right next door. One door too soon. 36 and not 38. Now I laugh out loud. How stupid was that? I think to myself I can’t wait to tell them this story in the morning.
I get in to bed, stirring Lauren, and she contact-less looks at the clock and accuses me of getting home at 7:30am. “No!” I defend myself seriously, “it’s only 4:30.” Like that is so incredibly reasonable.
I’m laughing typing this.
Anyhow, I slept in and then sat with Mona and Lauren in the kitchen having coffee recalling the details of our random adventure from mid-morning. Mona was upset with S. for daring to let me travel home by myself and I think the story about my building mix-up, although funny, did not help. S. told us later how he woke up with anxiety out the ass feeling like all the women in his life were mad at him (his gf was annoyed, he had awoken her mom upon coming to her house, his own mom, and he assumed L & I). Maybe he’s a feeler : )
After we spent several hours at the spa Centralbadet, we met him for Thai for lunch. I assured him I was not upset with him and that these things and types of decisions happen when people drink into the wee hours of the morning. After all, it has created a great story for home, right? I still love you, Steph.
The spa was a different experience than in the states, it was not quiet and relaxing in that sense but more of a group outing and still really nice. We sat in the thermal pool, whirlpool, sauna, steam sauna, and the indoor heated pool. I loved swimming around and also sweating out that hangover of mine.
We spent the rest of the day at home relaxing, packing up, and sharing feelings with Mona and Stephan about how lovely this trip has been and how much we would miss each other. Mona, we are thinking about you on your upcoming journey today too. We’ll be looking forward to hearing how it goes.
For the first night in many, we agreed not to go out to club on Saturday night. We’ve got to be rested for London after all. We did watch the Eurovision Song contest with S. though. Now that was funny. Germany won, but man there were some horrible performances. Made me appreciate my American idol ;) So sad saying bye to our Swedish family (and having them and the cab driver laugh at the amount of luggle we have), but hopeful for the next time we’ll see each other. On the plane to London now… excited to help show Lauren another fantastic city. xoxo
Oh sorry for the cuss words everyone, just trying to keep the stories honest O:)
After the boat docked, we headed into the old city of Gamla Stan. It was very interesting to walk through the cobblestone streets and see the oldest and quaintest parts of Stockholm. We enjoyed a pizza, sent back a Caesar salad that reeked of anchovies, and headed back after a few hours to rest at the Kimbel Olson flat.
As became our custom, we cozied up in Mona’s kitchen and had coffee and wine while the sun set around 9-10pm. It was such a nice little tradition we developed and a surprising part of our travels we didn’t even realize we’d get to have. We’d sit around the table and talk about everything under the sun including our day, our likes and dislikes and our love for Swedish customs, and then we’d watch Stephan vacillate between being “absolutely stoked about going out tonight” and coughing with sickness admitting he “didn’t really need to do anything more today.” Well on this night, Friday, his wild side won. Lauren stayed in to rest but Steph and I headed to a local bar, Bara Vi, to see some of his friends. We sat in a funky, well decorated bar basement enjoying some drinks and then headed to a local bar with a club scene basement to prolong the night. The club in Snap’s basement was for only 23-year-old’s or beyond but the bouncer seemed to be fine with Steph and his friend’s 20-year-old identifications. (The drinking age is 18 in Sweden but many bars have a higher age limit for entrance. Often they just use that to deny certain people’s entrance and don’t really stick to it strictly otherwise.) This was like a kickball scene with worse music. Song 1: “I was I was a little bit taller, I was I was a baller… if I had a girl then I would call her….” We laughed pretty hard at the scene and then started dancing and bumping into people spilling our drinks to fit in. At one point the lady security guard approaches Stephan and says “Can you just chill out and not dance so hard? We’re getting complaints.” Hahaha. I was surprised to see a card table in the bar too but was told that was common.
The night was coming to an end and as we stood outside chatting and saying goodnight to friends we were approached by a man with a solid American accent. I think he came over when he heard us speaking English but I can’t be sure. It was probably 3am at this point. Peter was actually Swedish but had spent time living in Colorado and really was loving our US connection. He sells very expensive beds. While I talked with Stephan’s friends, Stephan spoke with Peter some more. Eventually Stephan turned to us and said, “Alright, we have to try this. He says he has a limo picking us up.” He told me later he had said to Peter, “Okay fine, I’ll go with you but only if it is a Lincoln towncar” (as if we can be picky with what kinds of limos we will get in….)
The Lincoln towncar limo pulled up and we got in. Johnny, the driver, apologized profusely for not having clean champagne glasses ready for us and started popping bottles of champy from the trunk. Peter also started apologizing in the form of a speech for the fact that “we haven’t f-ing left yet.” I think I laughed for the better part of the next hour. We spent the time cruising around Stockholm with music blaring drinking bubbly. It was pretty freakin awesome. We were stoked and every time Stephan and I made eye contact in the limo he would just mouth “WHAT THE F***?” and smile. Johnny then stopped the limo for a toast on an upper cliff of the city with an absurdly beautiful view. He even provided me with some toilet paper from the trunk to relieve myself. Who was this guy? Peter started to make a speech but Stephan interrupted it asking about a picture in front of the limo. Peter, slightly annoyed, said, “I’m trying to make a toast” to which S. replied “Sorry, its just these kinds of things don’t really happen to me so I’d really like a picture with the car.” :) We took photos while they toasted. No problemo. Johnny walked around filling up our glasses. It is extremely light at 4am at this time of year, so there was a bizarre feeling of energy flowing through all of us. (energy, alcohol, whatever…) Peter then headed off with his friends to a club on a boat, but the 23-age limit finally kept our group from entering. Like we really needed that at the time… We headed for home on the tunnelbana but S. saw the train to his gf, Julia’s, house first and SPRINTED to the train while yelling out directions for how I could get home. It was super easy and I got home quickly. Walking down the street a few blocks in the bright light was surreal. I felt on top of the world and debated funny things like calling Charlie, starting my day, and skipping the whole night of sleep altogether.
Then I got to S.’s building. Oddly the key fob to get in the building wasn’t working. Hmmm. Immediately I pictured myself sleeping on a park bench. Oh, duh! I can just use the key that will also open the door. Bingo! I’m in. Headed up the steps to the 2nd floor and realized it was not S.’s door. What??? Oh, I obviously was deep-in-thought/sleep and walked up one too many floors. Um, nope. That wasn’t it either. Okay, what is wrong with me? Back to the 2nd floor. No sign for the Kimbel Olson flat and when did those flowerpots get in the windowsill? I guess Lauren could have decorated while I was clubbing. (kidding I did NOT think that.) Okay, let’s try the elevator; this is just WEIRD. Got in the elevator, hit floor 2. The doors open right back up. The elevator all but yells at me “YOU ARE ON 2!” Okay, this is f-ed up. I’m starting over. I go outside and realize I had walked in the other entrance to his building, right next door. One door too soon. 36 and not 38. Now I laugh out loud. How stupid was that? I think to myself I can’t wait to tell them this story in the morning.
I get in to bed, stirring Lauren, and she contact-less looks at the clock and accuses me of getting home at 7:30am. “No!” I defend myself seriously, “it’s only 4:30.” Like that is so incredibly reasonable.
I’m laughing typing this.
Anyhow, I slept in and then sat with Mona and Lauren in the kitchen having coffee recalling the details of our random adventure from mid-morning. Mona was upset with S. for daring to let me travel home by myself and I think the story about my building mix-up, although funny, did not help. S. told us later how he woke up with anxiety out the ass feeling like all the women in his life were mad at him (his gf was annoyed, he had awoken her mom upon coming to her house, his own mom, and he assumed L & I). Maybe he’s a feeler : )
After we spent several hours at the spa Centralbadet, we met him for Thai for lunch. I assured him I was not upset with him and that these things and types of decisions happen when people drink into the wee hours of the morning. After all, it has created a great story for home, right? I still love you, Steph.
The spa was a different experience than in the states, it was not quiet and relaxing in that sense but more of a group outing and still really nice. We sat in the thermal pool, whirlpool, sauna, steam sauna, and the indoor heated pool. I loved swimming around and also sweating out that hangover of mine.
We spent the rest of the day at home relaxing, packing up, and sharing feelings with Mona and Stephan about how lovely this trip has been and how much we would miss each other. Mona, we are thinking about you on your upcoming journey today too. We’ll be looking forward to hearing how it goes.
For the first night in many, we agreed not to go out to club on Saturday night. We’ve got to be rested for London after all. We did watch the Eurovision Song contest with S. though. Now that was funny. Germany won, but man there were some horrible performances. Made me appreciate my American idol ;) So sad saying bye to our Swedish family (and having them and the cab driver laugh at the amount of luggle we have), but hopeful for the next time we’ll see each other. On the plane to London now… excited to help show Lauren another fantastic city. xoxo
Oh sorry for the cuss words everyone, just trying to keep the stories honest O:)
Love to mommy
Heard yesterday that Mom fell down during her tennis match and broke her wrist. She’ll have to have surgery this coming Wednesday to have a pin or plate put in to straighten her bones back out. I know she is in a lot of pain so I want her to know that we are sending our love and positive thoughts to her from Europe. Love you, Mom. Your girls will be home soon!
Friday, May 28, 2010
finding a hair in your organic sausage and potato salad
is really not that bad of a thing in sweden. actually, i was absolutely disgusted because i am totally hair-phobic so i dramatically threw down my fork and pushed away my plate in a 3 year-old's "i'm done with this!" kind of way ... but then my lunch turned into complimentary coffee and a cinnamon pastry. not that bad at all. we spent yesterday in mariefred, about an hour outside of stockholm in the countryside. it was a beautiful little town and we toured the city's royal castle and meandered through the city streets. my cameras (yes that is plural) have both died and the lady in the electronic store basically made up a law that Sweden has that you cannot buy an electric converter within the whole country. wtf? So I can't show pictures of all this right now. Please use your imagination :) Our tourguide in the castle was horrible; we even videotaped some of the tour to remember it. Her english was laughable -- Stephan said she was directly translating the swedish words to english and you know how funny that can sound (and how little sense it can make). For instance, she said "look at this chandelier, it looks to be gold but it is made of wood and painted to look gold. so it is not as heavy as you can say." then she'd mumble "now on to the next room, yeah." and she'd walk away. we could NOT stop laughing. I'm sure everyone loved us there. pause. not.
Then last night we went to a boat restaurant bar which was very chic and fancy and we loved. We had the car with us though so we contrived a genius plan where Stephan would drive back and return the car before drinks and then use one of our seasonal bike rental passes to rent a bike next to his house and ride it back across the river to where we were and use one of the docking stations on that side to ditch it. Worked out beautifully!! He came back sporting bright red pants "maxxing out" laughing so hard about how fun his swervy, fast, out of control bike ride was (which he also had a roadie of red wine on---> he is such an olson, lol). After too much wine on the boat, we headed in search of a cheap burger joint completely starved for food. We found one named Texas Longhorns and it couldn't have been a more perfect place. Soooo american it was funny. Julia was even convinced to eat a second dinner. :-P We got huge burgers with tons of toppings (jalapenos for me), fries, and pitchers of beer. No surprise the night didn't last much longer than that. Bellys' full and livers' aching, we headed back home around midnight. It was another really great day and today we are tired.
BUT we only have 2 days left in stockholm so we are full charge ahead to see a few things that we wanted to catch before london. today lauren and i will visit the archipelago (i am dying to see it) and stroll through the old city of gamla stan. we also really want to visit this spa in the center of the city that is supposed to be completely sick.
we miss home too (and all of you) and a special shout out to cady for her bachlorette weekend that starts today and i am sad to miss (and austin's in new orleans that charlie will surely enjoy) and amo who is celebrating her brother's wedding in cali. wow! team olson recommends full face for that one. hhahaha.
Thanks for all the emails and notes about the blog, I'm happy people are actually enjoying the silly things I'm writing.
love,
K-somethingBlonde
(i'll have to write about that nickname too one day for those of you who haven't heard the story)
Then last night we went to a boat restaurant bar which was very chic and fancy and we loved. We had the car with us though so we contrived a genius plan where Stephan would drive back and return the car before drinks and then use one of our seasonal bike rental passes to rent a bike next to his house and ride it back across the river to where we were and use one of the docking stations on that side to ditch it. Worked out beautifully!! He came back sporting bright red pants "maxxing out" laughing so hard about how fun his swervy, fast, out of control bike ride was (which he also had a roadie of red wine on---> he is such an olson, lol). After too much wine on the boat, we headed in search of a cheap burger joint completely starved for food. We found one named Texas Longhorns and it couldn't have been a more perfect place. Soooo american it was funny. Julia was even convinced to eat a second dinner. :-P We got huge burgers with tons of toppings (jalapenos for me), fries, and pitchers of beer. No surprise the night didn't last much longer than that. Bellys' full and livers' aching, we headed back home around midnight. It was another really great day and today we are tired.
BUT we only have 2 days left in stockholm so we are full charge ahead to see a few things that we wanted to catch before london. today lauren and i will visit the archipelago (i am dying to see it) and stroll through the old city of gamla stan. we also really want to visit this spa in the center of the city that is supposed to be completely sick.
we miss home too (and all of you) and a special shout out to cady for her bachlorette weekend that starts today and i am sad to miss (and austin's in new orleans that charlie will surely enjoy) and amo who is celebrating her brother's wedding in cali. wow! team olson recommends full face for that one. hhahaha.
Thanks for all the emails and notes about the blog, I'm happy people are actually enjoying the silly things I'm writing.
love,
K-somethingBlonde
(i'll have to write about that nickname too one day for those of you who haven't heard the story)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Vasa Museet
It rained Tuesday (yesterday) so it was perfect to spend the mid-afternoon exploring the Vasa Museum. The Vasa ship left Stockholm on its maiden voyage on August 10, 1628. It was a royal event where everyone came to watch the war ship take to the sea. The ship was going to sail to Danzig, Poland and it was supposed to create some kind of a bottleneck in their harbor so that their battle ships could not get out. The ship sounded like it was a sight-to-be-seen at the time (even if it was today it would have been quite a spectacle.) 
It was built with 5% of the Swedish budget -- an absolutely amazing amount of money even by today's standard. (For context, today about 1% of the budget in Sweden is for defense and back then 5% was spent solely on this ship. Yes, Lauren, I am writing a report, so shhh I need these details :-) The picture on right and below are from a model built on a 1:10 scale but it gives you an idea of how ornate the details were on the ship. Can you seriously imagine seeing it in real life? Ridiculous.
The ship took off and within minutes a gust of wind blew and spectators could see the sails of the ship tilt to one side. What a disaster! Everyone is town is here watching the ship set sail and all of a sudden it starts to tilt over?? It hasn't even really gotten out of the harbor yet.The Vasa was one of the first ships of its time to have two floors of canons. For effect they were set off. With the ship tilted to the side, water started pouring into the
gun holes and the ship began its fateful journey to the bottom of the sea. It immediately sank and would sit there for the next 300 years until 1961. When you hear the story like this, it is hard to understand why they couldn't "find" the Vasa ship for so long to bring it out of the water. Stephan likened it to "losing a toy in the bathtub" ... how exactly does that work? :) Our tourguide clearly missed a few critical details, but the main point was that after 333 years under the sea, in 1961, the wreck was salvaged. It has been reconstructed with 95% of the original ship remaining. The amount of money going into rebuilding it too is insane. The museum that Stephan remembered as quite "boring" as a child was actually quite interesting for us all.
Even he admitted how sick it was. "The Vasa is such an important and fascinating part of our history, and I am just so glad that the Olson sisters were able to experience it while they were visiting," he said. Hahhahahaha just kidding. I made that crap up. He isn't even paying attention to me. But he is cooking Swedish meatballs for dinner. mmmm.Check out how tall and thin the stern of the ship is and all of those crazy looking figures built into it. For those curious (Dad), it sank because it didn't have enough ballast since they were counting on the weight of the 400 soldiers and their supplies (mainly beer it sounded like) that they would pick up 2-3 days into the journey.
Sorry if that part was boring for you avid followers (ha!) but the museum wouldn't make sense if you didn't know the story. The museum is a huge tourist attraction in Stockholm and I could see why.
After that we went to another lovely cafe (seriously are they all amazing?) that Mona used to go as a teenager and had lunch. Here's some spontaneous footage from lunch...
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
stoked about today and tonight
but too tired to give the details now.
will update tomorrow on the vasa museum and tonight's festivities... including some raw video footage.
stephan and i facebooked some tonight after the bar. we're happy to see everyone else is just so incredibly happy. lol.
will update tomorrow on the vasa museum and tonight's festivities... including some raw video footage.
stephan and i facebooked some tonight after the bar. we're happy to see everyone else is just so incredibly happy. lol.
Monday, May 24, 2010
vampire lounge
Running in Stephan's crowd, we always seem to run into just the right place. Lauren was dying for a dessert, as usual, and the rest of the group, including darling Julia, was up for one more drink. We tried several places that weren't open or happening enough for us on a Monday night and then happened upon the Vampire Lounge. Stephan had been there once when he was 18. We walked down some stairs into a basement turned into a cave for blood-suckers. It was amazing. Lauren and I ordered from the 10+ page menu section called "ice cream drinks." I didn't even want a sweet drink but after trying Lauren's, I had to have one. It was like a Barbara Fritchie's milkshake with a buzz. Absolutely amazing.
It gets dark here somewhere past 10pm. I love it and am also so glad I didn't have to put up with the dark winter to get this treat for the summer. 8-)
i feel like i'm in a movie
Today we had a Girl's Day with Mona in 
Djurgarden. We woke up with plans to go to the Vasa Musuem in the rain, but upon seeing the bright sun and blue sky, we changed our minds.
What a great idea.
Mona is absolutely lovely company and we are so happy to have her to spend time with.
Could you imagine just taking a book out to read with scenery like this? My gosh, I think even I could imagine writing a full book if I got to do it here :)
The closest thing to this place I can even compare that I've been in the states is Napa Valley, California. It was so beautiful here today though and it was nice to be outside. Mona said mostly Stockholmers come to this place as tourists may find it hard to get to or not even know about its existence. We also got to drive through Gamla Stan (the old city, original part of Stockholm) and see the Royal Castle. Stockholm is hosting a royal wedding this summer which is supposed to draw a huge crowd. The princess, Victoria, is getting married. It is very interesting to hear Stephan and Mona talk about it all.
Last night we went out to celebrate Stephan graduating
number 1 in his high school class. Yes, it may have been 2 years ago, but we did not have a chance to celebrate with him about it yet :) We rode our bicycles through the pouring rain to get to the bar and then started an early happy hour at a ritzy hotel bar in the center of Sodermalm. If S was here right now I'd ask him the name, but for now those details will have to suffice. We met some nice Brits there and talked about our trip to London coming next weekend. After several beers, we headed to another bar called Pet Sounds. We were very surprised to see Flying Dog, a beer brewed in Frederick, on the menu. 
When you order beer in Sweden you say the English equivalent of big, strong. I liked saying that. After some beers, Lauren ordered french fries and rhubarb pie. Mmmm.
Tonight we'll surely go out again and get to meet Stephan's girfriend, Julia. We are really excited to meet her.
I have so many more pictures but not nearly as much energy to think of fun things to say. It has been an awesome trip so far. Tomorrow's plan is to go to the Vasa Museum while it rains.
Djurgarden. We woke up with plans to go to the Vasa Musuem in the rain, but upon seeing the bright sun and blue sky, we changed our minds.What a great idea.
Mona is absolutely lovely company and we are so happy to have her to spend time with.
Could you imagine just taking a book out to read with scenery like this? My gosh, I think even I could imagine writing a full book if I got to do it here :)
The closest thing to this place I can even compare that I've been in the states is Napa Valley, California. It was so beautiful here today though and it was nice to be outside. Mona said mostly Stockholmers come to this place as tourists may find it hard to get to or not even know about its existence. We also got to drive through Gamla Stan (the old city, original part of Stockholm) and see the Royal Castle. Stockholm is hosting a royal wedding this summer which is supposed to draw a huge crowd. The princess, Victoria, is getting married. It is very interesting to hear Stephan and Mona talk about it all.
Last night we went out to celebrate Stephan graduating
number 1 in his high school class. Yes, it may have been 2 years ago, but we did not have a chance to celebrate with him about it yet :) We rode our bicycles through the pouring rain to get to the bar and then started an early happy hour at a ritzy hotel bar in the center of Sodermalm. If S was here right now I'd ask him the name, but for now those details will have to suffice. We met some nice Brits there and talked about our trip to London coming next weekend. After several beers, we headed to another bar called Pet Sounds. We were very surprised to see Flying Dog, a beer brewed in Frederick, on the menu. 
When you order beer in Sweden you say the English equivalent of big, strong. I liked saying that. After some beers, Lauren ordered french fries and rhubarb pie. Mmmm.Tonight we'll surely go out again and get to meet Stephan's girfriend, Julia. We are really excited to meet her.
I have so many more pictures but not nearly as much energy to think of fun things to say. It has been an awesome trip so far. Tomorrow's plan is to go to the Vasa Museum while it rains.
how many pairs of shoes do you need for a 2 week trip?
i won't actually reveal the number of shoes we brought here... but just know we will not be going barefoot anywhere. :)
oh, and we'll be buying more any day now.
all the boys and girls here where converse high tops. they are way cooler than us.
Lauren's Daily Affirmation
Have you all seen this video?
Charlie shared it with me the evening before i left for Sweden and i could NOT get enough. I think I watched it like 5 or 6 times. It is incredible the self-confidence and acting ability this little girl has.
Anyhow, we brought it with us to Sweden and now we've adapted it into our own... You won't be the least bit surprised at who the star of this video is. Stephan starts it off by using his mock-American voice and then the real showstopper shines....
Charlie shared it with me the evening before i left for Sweden and i could NOT get enough. I think I watched it like 5 or 6 times. It is incredible the self-confidence and acting ability this little girl has.
Anyhow, we brought it with us to Sweden and now we've adapted it into our own... You won't be the least bit surprised at who the star of this video is. Stephan starts it off by using his mock-American voice and then the real showstopper shines....
i must issue a correction
Stephan laughed so hard that I had written about the werewolf we saw at Skansen.
It was actually a wolverine.
hahahahha.
Apologies to those who were confused (probably none of you actually noticed that except for you, Eric.) :)
I guess I've read one too many Twilight books ;)
By the way, here is his picture. I was directed to take a picture considering how rare this event was.
It was actually a wolverine.
hahahahha.
Apologies to those who were confused (probably none of you actually noticed that except for you, Eric.) :)
I guess I've read one too many Twilight books ;)
By the way, here is his picture. I was directed to take a picture considering how rare this event was.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
saturday in the city
we took it easy last night after our long day out and about yesterday at the zoo/park/chill location. Calling it a zoo doesn't quite do it justice. We took a boat to this 'zoo' Skansen and luckily had Stephan as our personal tourguide. As we arrived he told us there was a whole facebook group devoted to how the Werewolf at Skansen doesn't really exist b/c it is so hard to see. Guess what? We saw it. He couldn't believe it. He has laughing so hard about how much we didn't even care about it and everyone in Stockholm would die to see this thing. We also saw the lynx, bears, bison, pigs, and owls and more that I'm forgetting right now. It was quite an adventure. The bears were wrestling and playing which was really entertaining and funny.
Swedes are sooo much quieter than Americans. That's what really makes us stick out. So we'll have to work on our library voices ;)
Stephan said there weren't many (any really) great Mexican restaurants in Stockholm so we decided to make burritos and guacamole for him. It turned out great. We had a blast cooking together, the three of us, and then we spent the night trading stories of our young adult lives on the balcony over a box of red wine. (Mom, box wine is much classier over here than it is there, don't worry!)
It was a really lovely night all in all and then we slept in today. Stephan isn't feeling too great so he is going to take it easy for a little while. Lauren and I got up today and made coffee, heated up cinnamon rolls, and hung out on the balcony. I went for a run down towards Stephan's bike shop. You just take this "alley" all the way down about 10 minutes and you are there. The alley is nothing like what you picture an alley in America. It's a gorgeous, quiet courtyard. The run was awesome, listening to music and taking in the normal weekend afternoon here. Lauren and I are going to go find a cafe now and grab some lunch.
k
Thursday, May 20, 2010
stockholm really is the venice of the north
we took a lovely walk tonight through the city and to see the city view on the coast of stockholm. We're staying in the sodermalms area, which roughly translates to south of the ore from the old ages. Lucky for us there was a clear sky and hot air balloons to create the perfect scene. Stephan has big plans for us tomorrow -- headed to the zoo at Sleonsen where supposedly there are moose, lynx, and areas to just "chill" -- those are his words. He dictated a map for us that starts with "the ranch" (his home), continues by "good shopping" and "a great photo op" and ends at the boat stop to get to the zoo. He knows us well. Sounds like a great Friday. We're going to rent bikes too to use for the rest of our visit. They have stations for them around the city like zipcar in DC. Now its time to try to get some rest and adjust to the time zone.... zzzzzz....
the weather here is better than at home
i love it here. We are here safe -- although there was no shortage of adventures along the way. It took 5 minutes in the air for the first emergency to occur -- an older man passenger went into diabetic shock and was completely disoriented and getting sick on the plane. The airplane staff had to call for doctors on the plane and attend to the situation for the better part of an hour. Lauren only got up once to try and see what was going on, but we were both dying to know what the situation was. I was thankful he was okay, and that we didn't have to land to get him to a hospital.
Then we realized we were flying across the ocean in a nursery. :-!
3 crying children were a lovely (awful) soundtrack to our trip. Luckily I could sleep standing up, so I didn't have much of a problem. Especially thanks to a sleepy pill -- thanks Dad :)
Lauren, however, was not so lucky. Here she is sleeping in Copenhagen.I also met my new Swedish boyfriend in the Copenhagen airport. Don't worry, Charlie, I think you'll find him quite adorable too. His young, blonde, pregnant mom looked like a mix between Anna Kornikova and Heidi Klum. People here are gorgeous.
Anyhow, Stephan picked us up at the airport in his Volvo (who is surprised?) and we headed into the city. We didn't really know anything about our sleeping arrangements or anything, but we trusted it would all work out. And it sure did; it is actually perfect.
Stephan looks so handsome and is as sweet as he ever was. We arrived to the split apartments of him and his Mom & her husband. Stephan lent us his entire side of the loft and Mona (his mom) had freshly made bread and HOMEMADE cinnamon rolls. oh my god. heavenly. he admitted he felt pretty damn lucky to have been cooked these his whole life. i think he's right.Since Lauren didn't get much sleep she settled into a nap after we enjoyed
cinnamon buns and some of the most delicious coffee I've ever had (with rasugar cubes... mmm...) and I walked 
Stephan to work through a nice courtyard. I explored around a bit on my own, had a cider beer at a local bar sitting on a picnic table people watching and writing in L&i's trip journal. The 60-year old Swede next to me saw me taking "artsy" pics and asked me something in Swedish. I had no clue what he said so I confessed I only spoke english. In his broken english, he asked whether my SLR was 'deeeegitall' and was very impressed that i only arrived in sweden this morning. He wanted to ask me all about the US, including what I thought of Obama, how the economics of the US were doing, and whether Washington was "exclusive." That one I had to ask for more info. on ... to which he spat out uncertainly "expeeensive??" Ahhh, expensive. Yup.We have such great plans in store
for us and I'll keep everyone statesideupdated as we go :)
K
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
"within 3 percent of perfect"
Gate B-40 at dulles is a cluster. Lauren is currently up at the desk asking whether we can get upgraded to first class (as if anyone is surprised). She has asked 5 people now if they have a USB charger for her iphone which died unexpectedly. No one has yet. I asked the guy in front of me how he was doing amid the chaos and he said "within 3% of perfect." He asked where we were from and we said "here." He then took out a business card that says "Thought of the day..." ... The back says "Don't share your pizza with a kangaroo!"
Normal.
Anyhow, Lauren ordered a salad to bring on the plane with us from Harry's Tap Room at the airport (am I still in Clarendon?) and they "forgot" to put chicken on it (read: she forgot to order chicken on it). She just asked me whether she should "run down to Potbelly to get some chicken."
Not normal.
Anyhow, not even sure if we get to sit together on the flight yet, but we're off..
Until Stockholm, xoxox
Normal.
Anyhow, Lauren ordered a salad to bring on the plane with us from Harry's Tap Room at the airport (am I still in Clarendon?) and they "forgot" to put chicken on it (read: she forgot to order chicken on it). She just asked me whether she should "run down to Potbelly to get some chicken."
Not normal.
Anyhow, not even sure if we get to sit together on the flight yet, but we're off..
Until Stockholm, xoxox
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)