Stockholm Part II Video

Here's part II of our Stockholm adventures, video style. :)



**Also, be sure to check out the Stockholm Day 4 post again--we finished the video of our time in Skansen, so I added it to that post. :)

Stockholm: Day 4, April 14

Monday was our last day in Stockholm, and we decided to do something Henry would enjoy. So, we headed to Skansen, "the world's first open-air museum and zoo." It's a pretty impressive collection of historic buildings gathered from all over Sweden. From a 14th century home to a full replica of a typical 19th-century town, Skansen is the perfect place to learn what life would have been like in Sweden a hundred or so years ago. We were lucky enough to have a beautiful sunny day, perfect for running about the old buildings and the children's zoo.

Our first stop, was a beautiful demonstration of glass blowing. We saw a man create a glass tumbler right before our eyes (no photography, darn). A 19th-century furniture making factory was next door, with some of the original tools and machinery. Henry toddled down the cobblestone pathway to the bakery, where we purchased a sugary roll and a sweet cinnamon roll. Ahh---so delicious! Once Henry had a bite, he wanted the whole thing. Sweet things go very quickly with our family--and even faster now that Henry is helping eat.

 After our delicious pastries, we headed to the zoo section. We saw reindeer, wolves, lynx, wild pigs, European Bison, grey owls, seals, and even an adorable otter, fast asleep. Our favorite was definitely the family of brown bears. A mama and three cubs! We arrived just after they had been fed and they were running around playing. We stood and watched the cubs eat, play, and pester their mother for about ten minutes. Henry wanted to climb in the pit and cuddle them, and I couldn't blame him--they looked so fuzzy and sweet.

After our lunch (PBJs and grapes, go figure), we let Henry run around and play for a few minutes on the cobblestones, his favorite. Derek and I enjoyed looking at the old buildings, an old wooden chapel, a pair of windmills, and the tallest belfry in Sweden were our favorites. I wish Henry had been about three years older, because I know Skansen would have been even more fun for him. As our sweet little baby, he was happy to eat his pastries and run down the cobblestone paths holding his daddy's hand. But he did get tired. Thank goodness Daddy was there to lift him up on his shoulders, where Henry could rest his chin on Daddy's head and see the world.

Isn't this horse a beauty? :) Henry and I sure adored him!

We spent the majority of the day at Skansen before one last walk around Gamla Stan. We were planning on finding a restaurant and eating meatballs, but then we checked out the prices--yeah, it didn't happen. Once Henry decided he was just too tired to keep looking for an inexpensive place to eat, we headed back to the apartment and had dinner there. We called it an early night in anticipation for our travels home the next day--a good call, I think.

I couldn't believe how amazing Henry was throughout the whole trip. We didn't have a cot for him in the apartment, so we put a spare mattress behind the couch and used a cushion to barricade him in (you know, just in case he decided to go clubbing in the middle of the night). He slept the whole night through and wasn't upset at all when he awoke to the sun shining on his face in a strange place. He was that easy going the whole time (except for a bit of hyperness and exhaustion, expected of a one year old). He learned how to be careful when stepping over the raised thresholds in the apartment, took naps in his buggy while we were out, and was good and patient with all our wanderings.

So---my assessment of Stockholm. A gorgeous city, with dozens of museums to explore and history to discover. I think Derek and I could have spent weeks exploring the museums, wandering the streets, and immersing ourselves in the city. I am really glad we went! We had a wonderful time relaxing as a family. We didn't do any homework, I didn't have to work, and we spent every minute together making memories. And isn't that what really matters about a vacation?

Stockholm: Day 3, April 13

One of the challenges we faced in Sweden was looking like natives. I can't tell you how many times we had people start speaking to us in Swedish--and we just looked at each other and then said "sorry--we only speak English." At one point, I held the door for four women leaving a cafe, each with a buggy and a baby. Every single one of them spoke to me, a sentence or two in Swedish, and I just nodded and smiled--feeling like an idiot. It got to the point when someone walked up to my, the first thing I thought was "please, please don't speak to me in Swedish!"

When we joined the Stockholm Ward on Sunday, we had several members come up to us and introduce themselves in Swedish. I did feel bad when a few asked us excitedly (in English, once we let them know we had no clue what they were saying) if we had just moved to Stockholm and would be joining the ward. It's quite a small ward--no more than 50 were in Sacrament meeting--so I felt bad disappointing them. 

Church was wonderful, and I hardly understood a word. It felt so wonderful to join our fellow members of the church. Everything was familiar, just as our Sacrament meetings in English. We understood a word or two here or there, thanks to cognates and repetition. Behind us, sat a wonderful family with three young boys. Their youngest had so much fun entertaining Henry. He let Henry play with his stuffed monkey, gave him colored pencils to play with, and made him laugh. Henry is at a stage where sitting still is out of the question--let alone still and quiet for an hour and ten minutes. I'm so glad this family was there to help us through the meeting!

We decided just to stay for Sacrament meeting since everything was in Swedish, but I was reminded of the love our Heavenly Father has for all of his children. We can go almost anywhere in the world, and meet with a congregation that believes what we believes, has the authority of the Priesthood, and welcomes us as family. And we really did feel like we had walked into our home as we opened the doors of the chapel in Stockholm. 

After church, we got back on the metro and headed towards central Stockholm. The metro is HUGE. Each station feels like walking into a gym: wide open with tall ceilings, making it feel three times as open as the Tube--makes sense, as the Stockholm metro was built before the majority of the city was built. Plus, the crew only had to blast through stone, not the clay found beneath London. The stations were beautiful, and each one was unique. It was fun to see the decor of each one as we passed through.

We snapped this photo after coming out of the metro. Isn't Stockholm beautiful?!

We walked straight to the Nordiska Museet (Nordic Museum). We enjoyed PBJs, a bag of grapes, and some delicious chocolate covered nuts for lunch. After perusing the museum plan and visiting a few exhibits, Derek and I decided it is the equivalent of the Victoria and Albert Museum for Stockholm. It had just a bit of everything: art, history, culture, toys, design--so much! My favorite gallery was definitely the toys. There was a hallway lined with dollhouses, each unique with a story about the owner posted next to it. My favorite had a little elevator for the dolls! They also had a beautiful temporary exhibit devoted to stripes. Thousands of Swedish artifacts (clothing, food, art, furniture, and a non-Swedish zebra) that were striped. It was a beautiful display and done so well! Henry liked running through the exhibit, stopping to check out the lines painted to look like a street. He also felt the need to flop in the middle of the floor...don't know where that came from, but it was hilarious.

While this museum had lots of nooks and crannies that I wanted to explore, Henry was just not having it. He wanted to run, run, run, and go up and down every flight of stairs in sight. Derek and I took turns enjoying the exhibit or chasing down our toddler. Finally, exhaustion set in and screams began. We decided it was time to go.

The museum was amazing from the outside! Gorgeous Scandinavian architecture. 

I loved the traditional nativity set! One of the dollhouses (bottom right)

Hiss=Lift in Swedish. Derek and I had a great time saying: want to take the hiss?

We  tried to get our little guy to fall asleep in his buggy, but he wasn't having that either. A screaming buggy ride home and a nap at the apartment were the order of the day. I'm not going to lie--it was a welcome break for Mama and Daddy, too! We were both tired. 

When Henry woke up, he and I shared a large bag of chocolate covered raisins. What can I say--we're a pair of happy fat kids. :)

Re-energized from the sleep and the chocolate, we put our shoes on and headed back out. Our plan was simply to take some fun pictures and enjoy the beautiful city--we were not disappointed. Henry chatted away, ate biscuits and some delicious little cookies with raspberry gel (not sure how to describe them, similar to Jammy Dodgers, but different).

We walked up a hill or two, and found a beautiful view of Gamla Stan.

I really love the architecture of Stockholm. The roof lines are so unique, and the colors distinct. My favorite bit is all the copper roofs and spires, green with age. We had a lovely walk Sunday evening, a quiet time in such a beautiful European city.

I just ADORE this picture of Derek smiling at Henry. True Daddy love, right there. :)

Stockholm: Part 1 Video

This is a video from our first two days in Stockholm, April 11 and 12. Enjoy. :)


 

Stockholm: Day 2, April 12

On Saturday, our second day in Stockholm, we decided to take the morning easy. It was vacation, after all! Henry did wake us up early, thanks to the sun rising at an unbelievable hour, but we kicked around the apartment and then let him take his nap on his makeshift bed.

We left the apartment around 11 and headed straight for the Vasamuseet (or Vasa Museum in English). The Vasa was a Swedish Warship that sank, just 1,300 meters into its maiden voyage in 1628. How embarrassing! Over 300 years later, with modern technology and some really big chains, they lifted the Vasa off the bottom of the harbor, caulked the holes, and it sailed on its own into the dry dock.

Right when you walk into the museum, the huge warship fills your view. I honestly felt like I had walked in on The Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean--a ghost ship risen from the dead. The condition of the Vasa was incredible--much of the detail remains even beautiful carvings of lions on the gun doors. Believe it or not, even one of the sails survived 300 years under water. Though not complete, the remaining fabric is intact enough to see the shape and size of the sail. The museum is beautiful, with the story of the Vasa's building all the way to its resurrection from the bottom of Stockholm's harbor.

I don't know what Henry ate for lunch (ok, I do--PBJ and grapes), but he was a hyper case! He was running all over the museum, squealing and laughing and trying to touch everything. Luckily, there were quite a few interactive exhibits that kept him happy, as well as huge windows from floor to ceiling. I wish we could have spent several hours there, looking at all the beautiful artifacts and reading every plaque--but my sweet little one year old didn't feel like spending the whole day in a museum.

It was quite obvious our little man needed to go outside.

In vain, we looked all over for a playground. That is definitely my biggest complaint about Stockholm--even in the residential areas, we could not find a playground anywhere! Not a slide, not a set of swings--it was ridiculous! Thank goodness Henry doesn't mind running around on the cobblestone and exploring. We headed to Gamla Stan again and took him in and around the narrow streets for a few hours.

Derek and Henry found a pretty awesome water pump in the middle of one of the squares. Derek showed him how they used to pump water, which Henry was delighted with!

I think my favorite part of the entire day was our mini-photo shoot in one of the back streets of Gamla Stan. Henry has discovered "1-2-3 swing!" with Mummy and Daddy holding his hands, and we did that for several minutes. We also attempted our first jumping pictures as a family! They didn't turn out as great as some of the other jumping photos I've been in...but man, are they hilarious. Henry looks like he's flying and he did have a great time. He wanted to do it over and over again. The minute we landed from a jump, he squatted down and tried to jump again! He's the best.

Stockholm: Day 1, April 11

We woke Henry up at 3:30 in the morning to get in the taxi and head to Stanstead Airport. We were rather surprised at his exuberance: he jabbered away and bounced up and down on my lap the whole way. We made it through security and onto the air plane with little to no fuss. Sweet Henry slept most of the way to Stockholm but, as he did when we arrived in London, was quite ready to be off the plane when we landed.

A coach took us from Skavsta Airport into Stockholm City, through some of the most glorious countryside! Tall trees, huge rocks, very wild country. Even though it was still quite early, Henry was perfectly content to tell us about everything he saw out the window on our 1 1/2 hour journey. There were only six of us on the coach, and so we occupied the very front seat where Henry had lots of windows to look out.

We met Diego at the apartment we had arranged to stay in, which was about a mile outside of Gamla Stan (Old City). We dropped our things in the apartment, grabbed the camera, and headed out to find some lunch and explore.

There is something about Stockholm that makes it feel very "continental", for lack of a better word. The buildings are huge, beautiful, and, in their own way, regal. Stockholm is actually a series of islands connected by bridges. Narrow streets take you to delightful shops full of wooden horses, woollen mittens, and cozy sweaters. There are over 87 museums in Stockholm! We chose just a few to visit so we wouldn't be overwhelmed (and, let's face it, because we have a one year old!), which was a good idea in the end.

We found a little pizzeria just down the street from our apartment. Henry was DELIGHTED with the pizza and ate half of a huge one by himself. I was starving, too, and the hot margarita pizza was just what the doctor ordered.

Now that we were fed and watered, we loaded Henry back up in his buggy and started off towards Gamla Stan.

I was surprised at the lack of tourist traps in Stockholm. Gamla Stan had the potential to be nothing but kitchy little shops full of plastic horses and "wooden" clogs, but it wasn't. A mess of narrow streets with apartments, antique shops, and hotels, Gamla Stan was pleasantly, well...real. There is one street, considered the shopping area, that had dozens of the stereotypical tourist shops, but overall it was a nice representation of the Stockholm of centuries past. We did find a store full of beautiful sweaters, mittens, and woollen hats in traditional Swedish patterns. I just couldn't resist getting Little Brute a white hat, patterned after the traditional Lovikka mittens. Holy cow does he look adorable in it.

Our first stop was the Nobel Prize Museum in the old Stortorget square. The museum was an inspiring collection of artefacts, video, and explanations of past Nobel Prizes awarded. From penicillin, to Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, to Marie Curie's work on radioactivity, the Nobel Prize has been awarded to some of the most brilliant minds of the past century. There was even a Cambridge oar! Listed on the blade, were the names of some of the most notable Nobel Prize Laureates from Cambridge University including Watson and Crick (DNA!) and Rutherford (Chemist).

I loved walking about Stortorget Square. Brightly coloured buildings, several stories high but only two rooms wide, flanked the museum, which was once the Swedish Academy for Science. We discovered a beautiful old telephone booth around the back of the museum, which Henry was completely fascinated by. They look very different from our red telephone booths here in England!

After wandering around Gamla Stan for a while, Little Henry reminded us that he was quite tired and could use a bit of relaxing at home. We made our way back to the apartment, stopping at the Co-Op for some food (you know, peanut butter, jelly, animal crackers, and chocolate covered raisins. The basics).