Stugan (The cottage)

Google says that more than 50% of Sweden have access to a summer house through family or friends.  When you fly into Arlanda (Stockholm's airport), you are surprised that there is enough land for people to live on as there are lakes everywhere separated by mere ribbons of land.  In a country which still values outdoor life and activities, it has been and remains an ingrained Swedish tradition.  So, it is no surprise that Richard and Jennie have gone native in this facet also, and bought a stugan on an island.  The positively wonderful part of it is that, unlike Southern Ontario which spends hours and hours on highway 400 going north on Friday nights and back south on Sunday night, their cottage is just south of Sandviken, which is 21 km from their house.  The total trip to the marina takes 25 minutes and then it is a short boat ride to the cottage.

You are greeted by a large permanent deck (sunk 11 m into the bedrock and thus does not need to be lifted in winter) and the main cottage with its decks right above the edge of the water.  There are two bunkies and a tool/equipment shed with an outhouse behind it.  Various levels on the property are joined by paths and/or stairs and there is enough flat space for TvE to play her version of football -- with a racquet.

The main building has two decks separated by a sunroom with a large table and wicker chairs.  The sink for the kitchen is in the sunroom which, thanks to a heater will be usable for 3 seasons.  The inside part of the cottage has the pantry, frig and stove area, a living space with sofas and a TV and the main bedroom with an adjoining full bathroom.  It came fully furnished and well maintained so it will need only a bit of minor work before winter.

It is a delightful spot.  Congratulations Jennie and Richard! Hurray for Swedish tradition!

Baby Rowan

When Tova Elise's teacher asked what she called her sister, she said 'Baby Rowan' and that name certainly suits her.

Baby Rowan started independent life a touch bigger than TvE -- 3.346 kg and same length, but her face is quite different from her big sister's.  She loves being bumped along any path or through any store, in the Baby Bjorn snuggly.  With her cold, that position makes breathing much easier than being flat.  We all hope that she gets over the cold soon and with the nasal mist that Jenn started today, it is already much better.

I had finished Baby Rowan's sweater by the time I got here, except for sewing on the hand made wooden buttons from Opa.  I was fairly sure that Jenn would like it, in fact, she liked it so much that she had already made one for TvE a year ago in the same pattern.  So Baby Rowan can now grow through the 3-6 month size and into the 18 month version of the same sweater.  I have an extra skein of yarn and hope to make the matching hat, if the suitcase with the yarn and the pattern arrives.

The online tracking says the suitcase has arrived from Munich and we hope that it gets delivered by the time we want to go to the cottage tomorrow afternoon.

AAAAAH!

After the respite in Munich from the 'excitement' of Toronto, my bag did not arrive in Stockholm.  So, partner that with a loooong taxi in the plane to the gate and the filling out of the necessary paperwork, I had to run through the airport (thankfully I know where to go by now) to get to the train.  Arrived at the kiosk for the 11:46 train at 11:45 and a half.  Dashed down the two flights of stairs to the train level -- it was still there but the doors were already closed and just before the controller blew the whistle to leave, he saw me waving my hands and running (with the 8 kg. backpack) -- he opened the doors and I hopped on, changed trains nicely in Uppsala and made it to Gavle as scheduled.

Little Rowan Leonie Jens is a dear little sweetie who, at the moment, is getting over a cold (daycare everywhere is a germ incubator).  Although she has already gained a kilo in her three short weeks, she still seems so tiny. But she is already a lovely snuggler.

We picked up Tova Elise at daycare.  What a thrill to have her excited to see me and rush over for a hug!  Oma's heart can certainly grow for as many grandchildren as come along!  We played in the park; she rode her bike; we dug in the sandbox.  In the back yard she played in her little pool -- doing an under-doggie in the pool involves her dumping water on her head.  She digs for worms, watches bees and butterflies, helps harvest potatoes and arugala.  I was really amazed by her speech which has developed so much since I saw her in June.  I understand about 50% of what she says, which is remarkable since there is a healthy sprinkling of Swedish words in her chatter.

Thank you, ICA Maxi for groceries as well as clothing basics to get me over the next day or two when, I hope, the suitcase will arrive.  The tracking system says that it is flying from Munich to Stockholm this afternoon, so I hope it will arrive before we want to go to the cottage tomorrow.

Hemlingby  is a lovely outdoor area within the city limits that features a ski hill, lots of trails for biking and walking, an animal observation area with sheep, bunnies, bees in a hive and a horse); and a lodge-type restaurant.  Today it was filled with kids from the Jr. English school (Richard teaches at the Sr. school) doing team-building activities.  TvE was fascinated by the big kids on the obstacle course, flying balloons, and around the parachute.  But she also walked along the discovery path where models of swedish animals and plants teach the kids what to stay away from (poisonous snake, poisonous mushroom) and what animals they might encounter in the woods.  We enjoyed the delicious soup buffet --fish never tasted so good, and also indulged in the sweets at the end of the table.  Yes, TvE loves chocolate too.

It is a glorious day with sunshine and about 24 degrees.  Lovely spot and wonderful company.

Definitely an adventure

This was supposed to be a 'make use of the time at the airport' blog about closing of chapters in one's life, etc.  Instead, I find myself sitting here in the airport waiting for a phone call from my dear friend Irene who is, I hope, looking through my husband's dresser to find my passport because I have arrived at the airport with his passport.  NEVER EVEN BOTHERED TO CHECK that it was my passport in the folder, after my booking of tickets to the Azores for February.  And I obviously mixed them up.  Ian just dropped me off here, after we noted what good time we had made getting here but that extra time at the airport was no problem.  Waiting 3:02 pm.  Last time for check-in is 4:45 as the flight is scheduled for 5:45.

3:12 just talked to Irene who has found the passport and is willing to make the journey, though she sometimes gets lost going to the airport.  I have given her the best directions I can think of and we both have phones.  Pinching thumbs, crossing fingers -- whatever!

3:49 am sitting here still and deleting emails -- started with almost 2000 and am down to about 900.  Actually this is what I was planning to do here -- but on the other side of the check-in.

So I went outside at about an hour after Irene called and she called back to say that she had given the passport to a taxi who promised it in a few minutes.  Indeed, cab 437 arrived about 4:35 and after the exchange (passport for $30), I ran to the counter which was just in the process of closing, but I did get in.  I hate this drama stuff.

So I made the flight.  Ian had said that this could not be called an adventure as I was now doing it so many times -- rather just a commute.  WELL, this was an adventure, but not the kind I hope to ever repeat.

Now sitting in Munich airport at the gate for my next flight to Arlanda.  As the connection time was short, I did not get the cinnamon roll which I had hoped to have with a lovely coffee for breakfast -- just happy to be here.

To my friend Irene, so many thanks and I shall make it up to you.

Sitting on the dock

Ok, it might be classified as a bay, but it is a man-made dock here in Copenhagen -- again.

Since my last post we have been to Germany, Sweden's west coast, and two places in Norway.  I guess I should have not been so cheap and paid the $0.75 per minute for internet, but I did log on a few times just to get email.  Posting a blog takes a lot longer, so now I am sitting on the dock,  just off the Eurodam gangway, like many other people who take advantage of the free wifi provided by the port.  Other ports do it as well, but sometimes I found it impossible to log on, and was not prepared to spend too much time trying.

Goteburg is definitely worth another visit as is Oslo.  In both cities we did a very brief overview in a bus of a few hours.  But there were museums, galleries, etc. worthy of exploration that we did not get to see, so this is great to know and plan to come back sometime .

As tomorrow is a very busy day -- off the ship by 4:15 am and catching a flight at 6:45 to connect in Brussels at 10 and be home in Toronto by 12:30, Joan and I elected to stay on board and relax.  It is fascinating to watch all the things that need to be done on the ship.  Today I watched the refueling for the next week and painting on some of the decks.  Also, some of the little life rafts were being checked and having maintenance done.  The logistics on this ship have been remarkable.  I would travel with these people again.  I shake my head when I hear people sitting and complaining.  I don't know what kind of mansion they must live in or the mind-reading staff they must have, but it's not the world that I live in.  I think that everything from the room, to the food, to the service and the entertainment have been great.

Family moment

So, thank you SJ for free internet on the train again.  Public transport in Sweden is so commuter and irregular -traveller friendly.  For non-Swedes, most of the signage is in English as well as Swedish and, of course, everyone can help you in both languages.  The train is on time and well organized -- right down to telling you the order of the cars on the train before it comes into the station.  This one even has a bistro on board, so I think I will avail myself of a coffee later.

So it was about 22 hours with Richard and Tova Elise.  What a darling!  She is talking up a storm and at this point a majority seems to be in Swedish.  I say 'seems to be' because there were some phrases/sentences that neither Rich nor I recognized.  We played outside and inside both days -- playdo, indoor cycling and outdoor riding.  We were at the park up the path and she certainly remembered Underdoggies.  Of course it would be nicer to see her more regularly, but these found opportunities are wonderful and she is at the stage where she remembers who I am from one visit to the next.  Thanks so much, Richard and Jennie for the opportunity to spend time with you and your little sweetie.

Back to the ship and the remaining ports of call. The night life of Stockholm may be great as well as the 300th voyage celebration that happened on board last evening, but for me -- a certain two-year old trumps them all!

Eurodam

The ship is huge.  She is 290 m long and on this trip, she has just under 2,000 guests, plus about 900 crew.  And aside from the mayhem at disembark this morning, the organization has been great.

One can only tell it is a ship (and not a hotel) when you sit still and feel the rumble under your seat, lie in your bed and be gently rocked to sleep, or sit at a table and watch the slight quiver of the orchids.

Since embarking on Monday afternoon, we have spent a morning on tour in Kiel (highlight was the naval memorial and the walk through the U995 submarine), and afternoon poking around through Kiel (WMF store!).

Wednesday was a sea day.  I had hoped to swim for some exercise (no, not in the Baltic) but the pools are not set up for that, so it was walking the deck or spend time in the gym.  I would rather walk the deck and on level 3, you can make circuits around the ship -- 3 loops equal 1 mile and over the day I strolled for 15 loops.  There was almost always another boat to be seen somewhere on the horizon and it is quite amazing how quickly they pass.

Thursday was our day in Helsinki.  The Finnish capital is wonderfully clean with many modern and old elements.  We walked through the Lutheran cathedral (stark Lutherans), a fabulous modern church built inside the rock (lots of granite here) and checked out the Sibelius monument.  I opted to walk back to the ship and spent a few very pleasant hours strolling by the water.

So today is Friday.  We are anchored off the docks and had to be tendered to the shore.  Mass chaos this morning about how to get the tickets to indicate which boat you will be on.  I started waiting early and got on the first one -- lots of time to catch this train and now I am speeding north through countryside green on both sides to Gavle.