From Museum to a lock out

We took a ferry over to another island to see sailing ships and happened upon the ABBA Museum.  We didn’t go in, but had some fun on the outside

This ship is a lighthouse ship that was in use in the past.  The lighthouse tender sat out in the sea and kept the light on.  Bad duty

For lunch today I had reindeer stew and God Lager.  Means good beer.  It was too.  Feel bad about eating one of Rudolph’s kin, but I gave up on Santa long ago

For supper tonight we got take out at a Thai restaurant and took it back to the garden of our building.  We sat out in the coolness and enjoyed our dinner.  When we were done eating and wanted to go back inside, we found that we were locked out.  Eric texted the owner while I watched through the door out to the street for someone to come in the other end of the building. Finally someone came and we got back into the building before anyone wet their pants.  It was about 9:30 pm. Before we realized we were locked out, we got some good pictures of Fiona

“People really live here”

Fiona was enthralled with Old Stockholm. She said people really live here.  It’s so beautiful.  A bit more character than Woodbury.  Eric went for run around our island this morning and when he returned I went for a walk.  Fiona had not slept at all on the way over so we let her catch up. After 13 hours of sleep eric woke her up

On my walk I came across this outside gym for adults. All the equipment was made with poles and logs.  The coolest part was that there were at least a dozen people working out independently.  In China people gathered for group exercise in the park.  Here they go to the park alone and work out.

Check out the weights these two are lifting. The poles are hinged at the other end and you can lift them up.  Want more weight, go to a bigger log.

We wandered quite a while in the old part of Stockholm.  It is a beautiful place.  Cobblestones and bricks in Beautiful shape.  All the buildings are colored in earth tones and make for a very colorful setting.

OK, Betsy,  this is for you.  We found the runestone you told us about.  It was a piece from an old ruin that had been used in a building in Stockholm.  A few of these have been uncovered.

Right in the midst of the old part of the city was the Nobel Museum.  In the year 2001 it was created I. This building which had been the Stockholm stock exchange. The Nobel prize was first awarded in 1901 so the museum followed it by 100 years.  Started with a 40 minute tour by an english speaking medical student.  Then we spent another 3hours looking around in the museum.

This quote below explains why it is not unusual for people of science to also be people of art.  It explains the difference between knowing science and doing science.

Above Eric’s head are plates on a revolving chain.  Each one tells of a Nobel laureate.  In another room the plates are separated as they pass overhead so you can see them individually. It takes 6 hours for them to do one rotation

We spent quite a bit of time in a reading room.  There were copies of dozens of books that had won the prize for literature.  You could read in the books, learn about the authors lives and make comments on papers they have left in each book for that purpose. I loved reading the comments others had left and vowed to read more of these books

At three in the afternoon we stopped for lunch.  Eric has been pretty happy with all the Eric references we have seen here.  Both Erik and Eric.  St. Erik’s beer is an IPA.

Day 1 in Stockholm

Eric, Fiona and I started this adventure at the MSP airport

We arrived in Stockholm via Amsterdam and were a bit weary.  We rode a bus into town and the. Got subway passes.  We rode the subway to our apartment.  Getting in was an adventure to figure out.  We had a mall card that opened the outside door.  Then the elevator confused us because the door doesn’t open, instead you grab a handle and pull it open.  When we found our apartment, there were two different keys necessary to open the locks.  After a brief respite we walked to the old part of town.

This guy was working in a jeans repair shop mit was quite a trendy spot.  They also have shops in LA and NYC. 

This meatball place was closed because the owner went fishing

Strolled through an old cemetery.  

But it was pretty warn so we neeeded a pick me up

Chimneys abound

Dinner was delicious. Meatballls, gravy, mashed potatoes, lingonberries and garlic bread with tapenade

Jordan’s graduation at the Hofburg Palace

I met Richard at the Klimt Cafe and we walked to the palace.  Quite a spiffy place for a ceremony.

Of course there was a lovely champagne reception after the ceremony

Jordan not only gave the valedictorian address, but he also received another award.  At the reception, I met part of his ‘fan  club’. 

We got Jordan’s stuff together and left the palace

We stopped at a cafe adjoining a butterfly park to have a drink and so that I could give jordan the cards I had brought from home from quite a collection of friends   The envelope held the cards.  Before my flight for Vienna Marama, jane and I spent a couple hours in the Panera in Yorkville decorating the envelope for the cards.  We started out with only a couple markers, but the waitress soon brought us a box of crayons

We then went to a rooftop restaurant for a celebratory dinner

To finish out the day, we went back to the Hofburg Palace to a different spot for a concert by the Hofburg symphony 

The lighting was adequate

Austrian horses and hotdogs

This morning Jordan and I went to the Hofburg palace stables to watch the Lipizzaner horses exercise. To watch them exercise only costs $10. To watch a performance can cost over $200. Their arena is quite fancy and well cared for.  The exercise period is 2 hours long and consists of 4 periods. Each horse is only exercised for 30 minutes. Each group had 6-7 horses. The last group was the younger horses.  It was easy to see that they were still learning.  My photos stopped when the exercising began.  No photos allowed.  I was busted late in the exercise trying to take a short video.   We weren’t kicked out, just asked to put the phone away. Guessing it had to with flashes

We ate a street lunch in stephensplatz. I learned about hot dogs here.  A roll is pushed on the hot metal spear. After it is toasted inside, condiments are added and the. Your sausage of choice is stuffed down the hole.  A no mess method of eating a hot dog 

Walked a bit and checked out the public library.  You need to be registered to actually walk around inside 

Lots of carriages hauling tourists around

Every horse wears a poop collector.  Gotta keep the streets clean.

Tomorrow is Jordan’s graduation in the Hofburg Palace.  Curious.

Meeting the landlord and way contemporary art

My landlord invited me to meet her for coffee.  Travel without technology would be so different.  She gave me the address of her favorite coffee shop.  It took me one tram and two subways to get there. I kick myself that I didn’t get a picture of the landlord.  She is delightful.  She had just dropped her children off at school and was going to work, as an accountant, an hour late so we could have coffee together.

I walked from there to Stephensplatz as I hadn’t yet been there in this trip.  I went into St Stephens cathedral again becaus I hadn’t done it in this trip. It is a magnificent place.  The most interesting thing that happened there was watching workmen installing microphones hanging from the ceiling which is way high.  They moved their equipment carefully so as to not damage anything in the cathedral

Outside the cathedral there was a bit of a festival going on.

This is my delicious lunch.

And my lovely lunch mates.  Our friendship only lasted one sausage long

This is the honey lady.  She was really proud of her bees and what they could accomplish

And this is her honey schnapps. 

Of course there had to be a cheese man.  His truffle cheese was the best.  The blue wheel is lavender cheese.  Good, but not as good as the truffle

I wanted to buy a cheese board here.  The wood was olive from Italy.  Gorgeous patterning 

I spent the rest of the afternoon at the extremely contemporary Mumok art museum. Some of the work made me laugh.  Some I really liked and some I just didn’t get.

So this piece is called Portrait of my father sleeping.

This piece you have to look at close up

You don’t have to like it all.

Jordan came to my place for dinner.  We made dinner with limited resources.