The Land of the Midnight Sun - Sweden. First stop: Koping

So, in the interest of full disclosure, I'm now home (arrived in PA on August 26), but I'm going to finish my story (or at least work towards finishing it).  I'd like to have a written journal of our travels so that I can remember this amazing journey...plus, our trip would just seem unfinished without it.

From Eckernforde, we drove to Luebeck where we caught a 4pm flight to Stockholm.  This was on Monday, August 9.  We flew Ryan Air for a mere $38 per person...but, there's a catch.  Ryan Air is super low budget so amenities like checked luggage, seat assignments, and priority boarding are all extras.  Plus, they are very strict about their weight restrictions on luggage.  So, whether you're carrying on your luggage or checking, you must stay within a certain weight requirement or you are charged.  Well, as you can imagine, we had been collecting a few items during our journey and were a bit worried about the weight of our luggage.  Karsten had a handy tool that weighed each bag, so after some adjusting and shifting of some items from one bag to another, we managed to get all seven of our bags under (some by a hair) the 15 kilogram weight limit.

Ryan Air flies into a small airport south of Stockholm (Skavsta) near a town called Nykoping.  Johanna Zetterlund and her mother Christina (Stina, for short) were so kind to meet us at the airport (a good 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive from their town of Koping) even though we were renting a car.  It was great to see Johanna again...for the first time in maybe three years.

The Swedish coast was beautiful from above - dotted with many, many small islands.

More tiny islands as we approached Stockholm.

We drove to Johanna's home where her father, Bjorn (sorry to all my Swedish friends -- I don't have a Swedish keyboard to make all your special letters!) had champagne and dinner ready for us.  As had become the norm with the boys (not so much for Hannah), they were very shy during the first day or so, and our first night in Koping was no exception.  Bjorn, however, was terrific with the boys and did his best to draw them out a bit.

The Zetterlund home in Koping.  If a Swedish home isn't red (see photo of cottage at lake below), it is this color yellow.

We enjoyed a champagne toast upon our arrival. Yes, the non-Swedes in the photo are the really short people!

Johanna and Hannah - happy to be together again.

Daniel and Bjorn were goofing around and exchanged glasses.  They both look pretty good!

After a good night's sleep, we left late in the morning for Stockholm.  I was very excited to see this city - I had heard so many wonderful things about it.  Stockholm is about 1 1/2 hours east of Koping.  Stina drove with Terry and my mom and Johanna drove with me and the kids.

Johanna and Dan after arriving in Stockholm.  We stopped to get a drink and a small snack.

Our first stop (after getting a coffee and a snack for the kids) was the Vasa Museum (click here for website for Vasa Museum).  The Vasa is a huge ship built by King Gustav II Adolph and sailed for a mere 20 minutes before sinking on August 10, 1628 (coincidentally 382 years to the day of our visit).  The ship was pulled from the sea off the coast of Stockholm in 1961 and now sits in a museum.  You can view the ship from several levels, see personal items found in the ship, walk inside a replica of the inside of the ship (very tight quarters!), AND view skeletons of some of those who perished (my boys' personal favorite).  We had planned to stop for an hour tops, but the kids absolutely LOVED the museum, and I ended up pulling them out after 2 plus hours so that we could see more of Stockholm.  Definitely worth another visit!

The Vasa.  This photo was taken from one of the many open "loft-like" levels surrounding the ship.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat at a "hotdog" stand outside the museum before walking along the Strandvagen (a main street along the waterfront) and made our way to the old city -- Gamla Stan.

Dan found a comfy spot along the Strandvagen -- perfect place for a happy hour drink!

A view from the Strandvagen to another area of the city.  Stockholm is many areas of land surrounded by water.

We passed the royal palace enroute to the old city -- by the way, the kids were on their scooters once again, so the walking was absolutely no problem.

Once we entered the old city, which was incredibly cute with small, narrow streets lined with shops, I was forced to stop at the first souvenir shop on the street -- only feet after entering.  The kids were determined to purchase items from just about every place we visited.  If it weren't for Terry and my mom, who offered to help the kids navigate their purchases, I wouldn't have seen anything more than two tourist shops.  I had ten minutes to myself to stroll through the streets, stop into a few shops here and there, and enjoy the ambiance of the city.

A lovely little street in the Gamla Stan - the old city.

Our gang with Johanna and Stina in the old city of Stockholm.

The building behind Hannah is representative of architecture in Stockholm - onion-shaped domes
and light colored (often yellow or cream - sometimes sienna or burnt orange) buildings.

The scooters were key!

Stina and Johanna along the water in Stockholm.

...speaking of mothers and daughters...my mom and me.

Several houseboats are docked along the Strandvagen in Stockholm.  If you look closely,
you'll see this one is equipped with a grill.

Johanna and the kids.  The bridge behind them goes to the Vasa Museum.

A view of the Nordiska Museum - the Swedish cultural history museum - from the Strandvagen.  It's across from the Vasa Museum.

We didn't see nearly what we wanted to see -- again, I need to return to Stockholm someday -- but it was time to work our way back to the car and return to Koping for dinner.

The next day I celebrated my birthday -- Swedish style!  When I came downstairs in the morning, I was greeted by Johanna, Stina, and Bjorn who began to sing at least three different versions of "Happy Birthday" to me in Swedish.  It seems the Swedes don't stick to one song -- they have an entire playlist!  Also, in Swedish tradition, the breakfast table was set with a napkin that had a tulip printed on it.  In Sweden (and perhaps other countries), tulips are a sign of good luck and are often given (either fresh or in the form of a picture) on one's birthday.

My table setting on the morning of my birthday.

My birthday was just perfect -- mostly because it was very relaxing.  I went for a walk, which felt great because I had some time to myself and I got a bit of exercise.  Then, we went to a nearby lake for a swim.  Sweden is dotted with thousands of lakes.  I can now understand why the Swedes settled in Minnesota -- land of 10,000 lakes! -- when they emigrated to the US!  It must have felt like home.  The kids swam while the adults relaxed with magazines, books, and some coffee (yes, it was cool - the kids didn't care, they swam anyway).

Swimming on a cloudy day in a COLD Swedish lake.

Johanna and Hannah sitting on the dock.  The red building in the background is very typical for a Swedish home.

Don't I look relaxed?

Hannah, Johanna, and Daniel enjoying the lake.

That evening the Zetterlunds treated me to a dinner that began with a seasonal specialty - crawfish.  We sat outside on their covered patio.  The Zetterlunds showed us how to open them (very similar to eating lobster, but much smaller.  Less meat than a lobster, but more than a crab).  We moved inside for dinner and dessert -- my birthday "cake!"  The cake was vanilla ice cream, meringues, and strawberries all piled on top of a plate. It was topped with little Swedish flags and a big candle (not 46, thank you!) -- so festive!

Johanna preparing my birthday dinner - THANK YOU Johanna!

The Zetterlund's back patio where we ate our crawfish.

The crawfish!

My mom and Terry dressed for a special birthday dinner.

Stina and Bjorn popped another bottle of champagne for me!

Sina and my mom at the dinner table.

My Swedish birthday cake!

I need to include one other story that is worth relaying, because I think it is good example of why this trip was so incredibly unique and special.  While the adults were busy cleaning crawfish and drinking champagne, the boys (and later Hannah) were outside playing.  The front of Johanna's home sits on a private circular road, and in the center of this road is a grassy area with a swing set and play area for kids.  The boys went outside to play on the swings and two little girls (ironically 8 and 10 years old - like the boys!) and a couple of boys came to play too.  Well, despite the huge language barrier -- the girls spoke very little English - they had just begun studying it in school -- they were able to communicate.  The girls own two pet rabbits that they brought to the playground.  It was remarkable watching the kids interact -- even without the benefit of spoken language.  For my kids, the experience was one that they probably would not have had if we had toured Sweden by staying in hotels.  Sadly, our schedule and the neighborhood kids' schedule did not coincide again during our stay.  But, Johanna told us after we left that the girls had been coming by her home looking for the boys.  They must have enjoyed meeting the Americans as much as my kids enjoyed meeting them.

Johanna and Hannah saying hello to the rabbits.

Adam showing one of the neighborhood girls a worm he found.

On our final full day with the Zetterlunds, we travelled to Uppsala, a university town located north of Stockholm and about an hour away from Koping.  After arriving in the city, which, by the way, is where Johanna's sister attends university, we went directly to the cathedral.  It's a large, impressive building that sits on a hill and towers over the city.  It is sort of Uppsala's beacon because one can see it as you approach the city, giving direction to the center of town.

Uppsala Cathedral sits high above the city.

Johanna and the kids walking (well, the kids were scooting!) up the hill to the Cathedral.

This cathedral is not a typical Swedish church (well, not typical for what we saw).  Many of the churches we saw in Sweden have rounded domes -- not pointed spires as seen here.

After seeing the cathedral and having a snack and coffee just outside at a little cafe, we walked to the pedestrian shopping area in town.  Hannah wanted to check out the H&M (which is a Swedish-based chain - if you don't know it, it's a low-priced but fashionable/trendy clothing store with locations throughout Europe and in some US cities) and the boys were interested in doing some souvenir shopping.  So, rather than touring the town, Johanna, my mom and I stayed with the kids and shopped while Terry and Stina went to find the university's main library.  From the limited view I had of the city, it seemed to be a lovely old university town -- definitely worth another visit.

A coffee break outside the Uppsala Cathedral.

A street in Uppsala.

Johanna and Hannah on our walk back to the car.

The kids and me -- and a scooter!

Another nice view of the Uppsala waterfront.

That evening the Zetterlunds treated us to another Swedish delicacy....pickled herring, or sill as it's called in Sweden, washed down with aquavit.  Sill is traditionally eaten at Christmas, Easter, and Midsummer (a celebration of the summer solstice in June).  We were offered about three different varieties of sill and at least as many varieties of aquavit.  I've had pickled herring before but only in a sour cream sauce.  This time I tried it in a clear pickling liquid -- sort of a sweet/sour flavor -- and one in a light red tomato sauce (plus one or two other varieties).  They were all tasty, and I think I liked it more this time than when I had eaten it before -- I think because I've come to enjoy sushi.  The idea of eating pickled fish was appealing to me.

As for the aquavit, each had a different flavor -- some of them herbal -- but they were all quite strong and burned going down...and kept on burning for some time!  Again, our Swedish hosts had several fun songs to sing for us -- songs traditionally sung when drinking aquavit.  I suspect the more one drinks, the more one sings.  It was a great way to spend our last night in Koping.

Our selection of Swedish sill.  It tastes better than it looks!

Bjorn serving the aquivit, which is served with beer as a chaser.

Hannah and Johanna with their matching (almost) H&M shirts!

The next morning we packed our bags -- amazing how our suitcases seemed to completely explode when we arrived somewhere and opened them -- and began the 4 1/2 hour drive to visit Asa in Gemla.

A group photo just before leaving Koping for Gemla.