AND OUR TRIP BACK HOME--JULY 2ND, 2010
After we all enjoyed another Swedish breakfast of sandwiches or cinnamon buns at a small deli, we decided to do some sightseeing on our own. Judy and Dick wanted to see the outdoor market and just stroll around the city centre and visit a few of the shops. All we had to do was to find the subway station for the quick trip to the city square. Mass transit in Stockholm is so much more efficient than in many American cities, certainly than in Cincinnati.
Traveling by subway is like traveling through an exciting story that extends from the artistic pioneers of the 1950s to the art experiments of today. Over 90 of the 100 subway stations in Stockholm have been decorated with sculptures, mosaics, paintings, installations, engravings and reliefs by over 150 artists. The Stockholm subway system is said to be the world's longest art exhibit...110 kilometers long.
Hötorget is Stockholm's market square. Hötorget means "hay market," but now it feeds people instead of horses. During weekdays fruit, vegetables and flowers dominate the vibrant outdoor market. On Sundays it is transformed into a flea market. On the opposite side of the square is the recently renovated department store PUB where we did some window shopping. A luxury hotel occupies the top five floors of the PUB department store building.
Nearby we enjoyed watching the arching streams of the Sergels Torg fountain, a famous Stockholm landmark. In English it's Sergel's Square, named after 18th century sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel, whose workshop was once located north of the square. It's in this fountain that people celebrate every major victory by a Swedish sports team.
Note Dick's huge backpack in which he carried all of his belongings!!! Judy had one as well. After Judy's luggage was lost on the way to New Zealand, this seemed like the safest way to travel.
Our rooms in the hotel were on the ground floor, and Dugan and Sage found that they could climb right in the windows! There are never any screens on windows in Sweden. Sage and Maia were feeling pretty silly at that point in time.
On the flight to Amsterdam we were given a light breakfast--a sandwich and a sweet roll--so different from short flights in the U.S.A.
Bonnie and Sage were stopped at security in Amsterdam where the woman asked Sage, "Honey, do you have a bottle of beer in your backpack?" We all thought she was teasing her. When the woman asked to open Sage's backpack, she pulled out an empty brown soft drink bottle that had shown up in the X-ray! She let her keep it! Bonnie will use it for flowers.
While we all sat and waited to board our flight back home, Bonnie, Maia and Sage enjoyed a bar of Dutch chocolate.
Auntie Maia and Dugan and Sage were very special friends the entire two weeks. The same was certainly true for the kids and Tina.
What a spectacular scene as we soared above the grandeur of a Canadian mountain range!
It helped that we had daylight all the way back. Of course, it was an extra long day! Just before landing at O'Hare Airport in Chicago, Sage fell fast asleep.
Once our luggage was retrieved and we found the place to wait for the shuttle outside the international terminal, we looked across the road and noticed many people apparently taking advantage of time between flights to do some sunbathing. We've never seen that before at an airport.
Since Bonnie and family needed to drive Maia back to O'Hare, we worked it out to meet for lunch at a pancake house not too far from the airport. It was a fun last time for all seven of us to be together.
We've mentioned the good fortune of there being a Swedish-American Museum right in Chicago, not far from Bonnie and her family. The museum was started in 1976 by a group of Swedish-Americans, primarily to promote the rich heritage of Swedish culture to the new generations. As a measure of its success, it brought in 43,000 visitors last year alone. Not bad for a museum staffed mainly by volunteers.
Shortly after returning from Sweden, Dugan and Sage were able to participate in the museum's summer week-long day camp, Pioneer the World. The campers "travel" to a number of different countries, including a pretend trip to Sweden. After their two week real trip, they had a lot to share with the other kids. Bonnie made a kid-friendly video of the trip for Dugan and Sage to share on that day.
For Dugan and Sage, it was a wonderful way to start their summer vacation...traveling to Sweden and then experiencing world camp at the Swedish-American Museum.
It's exciting to think of all the places our grandchildren may travel to, both in the States and abroad, as the years go by. There's a fascinating world out there to explore, and many cultures to learn about. Within the last few years two books of many about travel have piqued my interest...the first (paraphrased) is titled 1,000 Places to See in Your Lifetime and the second is 500 Places to See Before They Disappear. We know that all of us have seen but the "tip of the iceberg."
Travel teaches so many things that can't be learned through TV or books or the internet. An appreciation of other cultures is an invaluable gift.
Imagine a family adventure created with three generations in mind--easy-paced, enjoyable and rejuvenating. In retrospect it turned out to be all of these and more.
This photo of our family was taken in the glow of the setting sun on Midsummer Eve in the town of Tallberg high above Siljan Lake.
It was all we hoped for, and more.
We send our sincere thanks on behalf of all seven of us to Tina and her family and to Birgit and her family. Our trip would not have been anything like it was without all of you helping us.
We can not thank you enough...This could not have happened without you.
Tack för läsning. Thanks for reading!
Judy and Dick
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