This post is a bit en retard as they in French. And, no, that has nothing to do with my state of mind. It's just a bit late. After the fact. Tardy. Moving right along.
A few weeks ago, we visited Stockholm along with our friend Peter. What a difference a year makes. Last year, we went to Stockholm at Easter and it was bitterly cold. And then some. This time around, it was North of 30C (that's mid-80F). And so, everywhere we went, TJ took time out to recline in the sun. In fact, most of the few pix I did take on this trip consist of TJ reclining. Note: The images in this post link to my Picasa photo album with all trip photos.
We stayed in Gamla Stan (old town) which is right in the heart of the city. The Stockholm Marathon was being run on Sunday. So, lots of activity. I took a fascinating solo tour of the Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet). The Vasa is a preserved 17th ship that sailed 1500 meters out of Stockholm and sank. Now, if you are asking why I toured the museum alone, it has to do with Peter having been there already. And TJ being a bit "under the weather."
Um, yep. We had gone out the night before to two clubs (Paradise and Torget) and had a fun time. As usual, TJ befriended women and danced with them. And did his little jiggly dance (sans bottle on the head). There was a schlager cover band that performed most of the hits from this year's Eurovision finals. Oh, speaking of, some twink from Norway won this year's contest. Cute, the song, that is.
What trip would be complete without an animal adventure. This one involved Barnacle Geese. We took a ferry out to Fjäderholmarna in the Stockholm archipelago. A rather small island. And there were nesting geese everywhere. As usual, TJ wanted to pet whatever animals were in closets proximity. Now, Barnacle Geese are nice to look at. But, when they are agitated, they stick out their tongue which looks like a giant worm. Scary and gross. We had an encounter with one goose near a small path that went out to an outcropping of rocks on the shore. Needless to say, it didn't end well, but was quite comical.
All in all, it was a wonderful return to Stockholm. Such a beautiful, livable city. Retracing some of our steps from the last visit and exploring new parts of the city. Who could ask for more? On the way back to Göteborg, we had to stop outside of Borås and pick up the dogs. They were enjoying their stay at a kennel in the country. Just past Rude. Who knew it was a destination?
For more photos of our trip to Stockholm, click here.
Our weekender was a northern Germany rewind. The original destination was Lüneburg, but hotels were filled up, so we headed back to Lübeck. Both cities retain a charming medieval look with old buildings and narrow streets.
We arrived in Lübeck on a Thursday afternoon and were informed that a special Father's Day celebration was going on in the city. This celebration seemed to involve lots of drinking. People were pulling around small carts and wagons filled with beer. At this point in the day, it was mainly empty beer bottles. Most people were headed home.
Stores were closed as we wandered around old town (innenstadt). So no window shopping opportunities. We stopped at Paulaner's pub and had a pint of the namesake beer. Then on to dinner at a great Turkish restaurant, Ali Baba. We had been to both back in December and heartily recommend them. Note: The images in this post link to my Picasa photo album with all trip photos.
Lüneburg was suggested by a German traveler, Martina, that we met on New Year's Eve in Tenerife. She insisted that we visit Lüneburg rather than go back to Lübeck. And so, I put the city name on a list of places to visit. Five months later and here we are. A most excellent suggestion it was.
TJ is standing in front of the Fish Market (Am Stint) which is also known as the longest pub mile in Lüneburg. I think I elicited one of TJ's best smiles in this photo. Wish I could tell you what I was saying to him to get that reaction. It was something gross...but not dirty.
Kind of odd to have the statue of a creature with horns outside of a church. But, there it was butting right up against St. Mary's Church (Marienkirche) in Lübeck. Naturally, I had TJ take my picture with it. At first, I proclaimed it to be a devil. But looking at it now, it seems more like a satyr. Kinship, nonetheless.
And, finally, this: an advert for a gym in Lübeck. With a photo of some "women" doing step aerobics. Lady Men Fitness. Sounds like a old comedy routine from Saturday Night Live. Pump you up!
For more photos of our trip to Lübeck and Lüneburg, click here.
I feel like someone's mother when I admonish TJ with "Do not feed the animals." I guess if he actually listened to me this wouldn't be an issue. But, he doesn't. There is some deep satisfaction that he seems to get when interacting with wildlife. And by wildlife, I mean birds and, occasionally, sheep. And by interacting, I mean feeding, petting, and chasing.
The history of TJ's behavior is documented. Here he is in New Zealand (2007) trying to make friends with a Kea. Actually, it looks more like he is trying to birdnap it.
And, here are some seagulls that needed feeding. Also in New Zealand.
And, here he is trying to goose a goose in London (2008)? Really? Really.
But, this time, he really takes the cake. It starts with a joke. Or what sounds like the beginning of a joke. A duck walks down the street. In this case, we were in Kalmar, Sweden, loading up the car for the trip home. The dogs had just been loaded into the car when I noticed a duck walking down the middle of the street towards us. TJ tempted it with a banana. Then, wondered aloud if he had to wash the banana now that the duck tried to bite it. Duck germs!
Next, TJ enticed the duck with some lowfat potato chips. The duck seemed to like this quite a bit. A dieting duck? TJ had made a new friend. However, I saw some potential problems with their relationship. I captured the events on video. So, as they say, on with the show....
The epilogue is that the duck walked into the convenience store, spooked a customer, and stood around the entrance until TJ came out. Luckily, the duck got distracted when TJ came out. And so, we made our escape. Lest we have a duck trailing us back to the car and flying alongside us on our way out of town. We drove by the convenience store and saw the duck standing out front eating crumbs on the sidewalk. He seemed happy enough. But, a nervous pigeon stood nearby and gave him the side-eye. There was now unexpected competition. TJ had reset the balance of survival of the fittest in Kalmar. Do not feed the animals!
When TJ and I first heard that there was an area in Sweden where most of the country's glassblowers were located, we put it on our list of places to visit. The region is called the Kingdom of Crystal (glasriket, or glass realm, in Swedish). The home of glass royalty! How regal. If that weren't reason enough, TJ likes collecting glass objects. Hmmm, this may be a bit of an understatement. And I like one glass brand in particular - Kosta Boda. Besides, we smelled bargains. Glass factory outlets. How can you not find a deal there? So, a weekender to an area in southwestern Sweden called Småland. We brought the dogs along for added fun. Note: The images below link to my Picasa photo album with all trip photos.
Our first stop was the Boda glassworks and showroom. Boda was once a separate entity, but merged with Kosta-Boda. The factory was closed so we wandered through the showroom. No bargains to be found there. Luckily, this was not the main Kosta-Boda site. In an empty pasture, we exercised (read: wore out) the dogs. This way, they couldn't complain as we continued our tour of the Kingdom of Crystal.
The next stop was the Orrefors glassworks. The glassware here is a bit stuffier. Lots of stemware. And glass bowls that look like fancy ashtrays. Kinda pricey. Orrefors merged with Kosta-Boda in 1990. So, there was a Kosta-Boda store at Orrefors where this wonderful display was found.
These are my favorite Kosta-Boda glasses, called Mine. The Mine Collection includes glasses, tumblers, shot glasses, plates and bowls. We found some shot glasses in deep cobalt blue on sale. The purchase was prompted by a comment at a recent dinner party that we lacked a sufficient number of shot glasses. That situation has been remedied.
We eventually ended up at the Kosta glassworks. Kosta is Sweden's oldest glassworks and was founded in 1742. After wandering through the showrooms (TJ bought a small bowl), we entered the factory and watched a demonstration. Fascinating. But, it has to be a little monotonous to produce the same item with only slight variation.
One of our last stops was Transjö Hytta, a small glassworks with two Master glassmakers and two apprentices. When we arrived, the gallery appeared to be closed. We noticed an old barn next to a small stream and noticed movement. Upon closer inspection, there were two people inside rocking out to loud heavy metal music. As we approached, the music was turned way down. The two apprentices inside were in the middle of making a bowl. One, opened the gallery once he had delivered some color to the other artist at the prescribed time. TJ and I liked the work, but the signed pieces were expensive. TJ was leaning toward buying one of these despite the price. At that moment, one of the Masters came inside with a bowl that had a slight blemish. He priced it at nearly one-third the price for a similar bowl. In fact, he had only made three of these bowls; one of which was broken. That was good enough for TJ. Sold.
After a full day of glass perusing, it was time to head for Kalmar. We stayed in the Old Town area of this coastal city of 35,000. The building were old and charming. The town squares were reminiscent of grander European cities. For the rest of the evening we walked around with the dogs and explored the facades and cobblestone streets of the medieval town.
Back at the hotel, the dogs enjoyed playing hotel guest for a night. Zoey thought the beds were extremely comfortable.
The next day, we visited Kalmar Castle (slott, Swedish). Built in the 12th century, the castle underwent many structural improvements over the centuries. The well-preserved site includes cannons which used to protect its walls. Luckily, they don't work anymore (plugged with wood).
After our tour of the castle, we took the longest bridge in Sweden over to Öland, the second biggest island in Sweden. We headed South for a bit down the center of the island. Which was also the highest point on the island. And, it was here that we saw quite a few old windmills.
The island was long, so instead of driving all the way North or South, we opted to head East. There, we reached the Baltic Sea. And found an abundance of fossils in the rock formations on the shore. I brought a few back, including a partial Trilobite fossil. Yes, Geology Geek strikes again!
For more photos of our trip to Småland and The Kingdom of Crystal, click here.
Here are some of the items we purchased on our trip to the Kingdom of Crystal. Cobalt blue Mine shot glasses from Kosta-Boda.
More like a Romanian excursion. Bucharest. An old world Eastern European city. Really old world. Where architectural gems are scattered amongst abandoned buildings and vacant lots. Where Communist era buildings dominate the sky and offer a reminder of the not too distant past.
Sometimes, it's enough to make you lie down, close your eyes, and reflect on it all. Until you informed by a stern-looking policeman to move along. Note: The images below link to my Picasa photo album with all trip photos.
Former Eastern Bloc country. Check. May 1st. Check. May Day Celebration. Of course. Well actually, we weren't quite so certain that any events were planned. But after wandering around the massive Palatul Parlamentului, we came across some festivities in a park. This was the mici si bere (grill and beer) party. The Social Democratic Party sponsored the party and provided music, beer, and traditional grilled meat to the assembled crowd; the beer and meat were free). Entertainment was a Romanian rap singer with four young female dancers dressed in short shorts and hoodies. Good for a giggle or two.
In one of the pocket guides we read, it stated that for a genuine local experience you could feed a few stray dogs. Um, no. I had never been to a large city with so many strays wandering around; they were everywhere. And seemed to know how to cross the streets and navigate traffic quite well. They seemed wary of people. Probably for the best. We were told that a few years ago, the city rounded up and killed up to 75% of the stray dog population. I cannot even imagine what it was like before they culled the population.
Just some harmless graffiti folks. Nothing to see. Move along.
There was a large police presence in the city. Quite noticeable. On our way to the airport, our taxi driver remarked that the number of policeman was unusual even for Bucharest. He guessed that the President was probably heading into town. Sure enough, a heavily guarded motorcade passed by a few minutes later.
To see more images from our trip to Bucharest, click here.
Finally, a little video. On our first night in Bucharest, we ate at a fun beerhall/restaurant called Caru' cu Bere. I had it on my recommended list. And, when we walked by it in the afternoon, TJ put in on our "must go" list. We were seated right next to the bar and staircase. Which, at first, we thought was not a good place. Then, the floorshow started. Dancers came out and started moving around the open space. High-kicking and twirling in and around waiters and customers. Awesome! We met up with some guys (Mike and Francesco) from London the next day. And decided to meet them at Caru' cu Bere (again) for a late dinner. And another floorshow.
This post is a bit en retard as they in French. And, no, that has nothing to do with my state of mind. It's just a bit late. After the fact. Tardy. Moving right along.
Posts
