From Gamla Uppsala we continued north, driving along the coast. When we hit Sundsvall we stopped for the night. This port city, chartered in 1621, sits at 62° north of the equator (Seattle is at 47°). What really drove home our location, though, was the view out our hotel window at 2AM
Sundsvall and fire? A little bit of a problem. The city has burned to the ground four times. After the last fire, in 1888, they decided that all buildings would be made of brick. Good idea. And lovely to look at
From Sundsvall we continued north into Sweden's Höga Kusten (High Coast), so named because the land is elevated. We entered the High Coast across the High Coast Bridge; at 6,000 feet long, it is itself a spectacular experience.
When we stopped on the far side to take pictures, we learned a little more about why the High Coast is, well, "high". Ever hear of "isostasy"? Me neither. Here's how it works:
1. Massive glaciers crush and grind and compress the land, flattening it.
2. Over tens of thousands of years, the ice melts.
3. As the ice melts, the land rises up to where it started.
Nowhere else on earth has the land risen up so far after the Ice Age as the High Coast, and it continues to rise. Walking around the hills, we could imagine the force of all that ice as we looked at the scarring on the boulders
The town of Docksta was recommended as a beautiful place to take a dip in a lake, so we headed towards it. We were not disappointed; it is quite tranquil and very relaxing.
We had covered an awful lot of ground, and needed to refuel the car. Stopping at a gas station in Örnsköldsvik, we couldn't help notice the gigantic ski jump coming down the hill and ending just a few feet from where we stood. It even goes underneath the train tracks
We had to investigate this further. I climbed onto the track, or course, or field, or whatever you call a ski jump landing area. It was covered with very thick, layered plastic; jumping up and down on it, I noticed it was very pliant. It turns out this surface is used in the summer for ski jump practice; in fact, the Swedish national team is training here for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Canada
From Örnsköldsvik we pushed on and landed in Umeå for the night. This is a two-university town, with an emphasis on medicine; even the concierge at our hotel was just finishing up med school. There is a lively square in the middle of the city, where you can sit and eat a little something, whether it's korv and mashed potatos, fine baked goods, or even...ice cream
We were impressed by this, the biggest city in the province of Norrland. Even the parking garage was charming, having been painted to look like the outdoors
We packed up the car and heading to the hotel dining room where, once again, we were reminded what we like about Swedish breakfast: everything!
Next up: the drive north continues...
Each day I say to John, "Thank you for taking me to Sweden today." As memories accumulate, I see that I will continue this practice for as long as we live...
On this particular day, I felt acutely aware of this "as long as we live" sentiment. In the setting of Gamla Uppsala, the concept of time was curious, confounding and moving. The history of this place, with origins as a pagan cult center in the 3rd century A.D., can give a person pause. We are here on earth for such a very short time - only the blink of an eye in the larger scheme of things. We were struck by this thought as we stood on the same rotating/orbiting piece of land as this poignant archeological "belief" site.
The sun was strong and the scent of lilacs was everywhere. John and I walked hand-in-hand along and between a few of the massive, ancient burial mounds.
As we wound our way along a crunchy path, the sheer scale of things astounded me. These gigantic mounds engulfed and embraced us, while dwarfing the figures picnicking on their highest reaches.
Breezes lifted and scattered dandelion seeds above the flowers, and caused birch leaves to shimmer and shine through optical waves of heat.
On such a pleasant day, the harsh history of Gamla Uppsala seemed inconceivable. We looked out over a field thought to be where brutal pagan rituals occurred at nine-year intervals: one male of every living creature, including humans, was killed and hung in the trees as a scarifice to the Norse Gods Thor, Odin and Frey.
While under my feet lay deep history, all around me swirled the details of the present day. As we finished our trek, the sound of bells thundered from the church, built in the 11th century, announcing the marriage of some happy pair beginning a life together.
My shirt was damp with sweat, a busload of cranky German tourists pulled out of the parking lot, my dear mate made me laugh as he sat on a birch pole, a child dropped a pacifier in the dirt.
I closed my eyes, took a slow sip of water and smiled. In that moment in time, I felt alive, alive, alive...
In the US, gasoline prices are reaching record highs. The same is true in Sweden, although their gas has always been more expensive than ours. Headlines abound: "Gasoline will cost even more this summer"
Maybe the cost disparity has to do with the quality of the roads. Monika and I have noticed with wonder just how good the highways are in Sweden. Given the very, very remote places the roads lead, this is especially remarkable.
No matter how far afield we've driven, the roads are smooth and the signage is clear; in fact, the quality of the signs in Sweden makes it very difficult to get lost (once you figure out what the signs actually mean, of course)
We've rented two cars so far, both of them manual transmission. I'd like to say that this is because I know that manual cars are more efficient, or that I'm a super-badass stick driver, or something. Sadly, neither of these is the case. It seems that the majority of rental cars in Sweden are manual. Fine by Monika and I; we do well enough
As for gas, here's the breakdown in Sweden. I'll spare you the anguish of converting from liters to gallons, Swedish crowns to dollars. Simple math, I know, but my head still hurts.
Regular gas works out to about $8.70 per gallon in Sweden. Still feel bad about driving to the beach this weekend?...
Fortunately for us, we learned something very interesting when we rented our second car. Some vehicles can take E85 (Ethanol) fuel as well as regular gas. Not only that, but E85-capable cars are exempt from many municipal road tolls, like those across some of the bridges in Stockholm.
The cost of E85? $5.23 per gallon. Much better than the cost of regular, especially if you plan to drive the whole length of Sweden...
Our last full day in Stockholm was spent further exploring the neighborhood our hotel was in, Södermalm.
Södermalm is a relaxed, laid back area, with lots of quirky little shops and coffee houses. We enjoyed winding our way through the streets and taking in the artsy vibe of the neighborhood
Even the corner shops had a unique quality that we enjoyed photographing
Then it happened. We stumbled upon Twang, a vintage guitar shop. Jörgen Wickholm is the owner, and he is a great guy. He graciously spent time with me, answering my questions about the difference between the vintage guitar markets in the US and Sweden. His shop is small, but it has great character, and the variety of guitars is choice.
Monika has been in an awful lot of small guitar shops with me, so she is very used to their character. But she was extra impressed with Twang's bathroom. "That must be the cleanest bathroom I've ever seen in a guitar shop!" she told Jörgen. "You're lucky," he replied, "we just cleaned it today." We all laughed, as he went on to joke that they clean the restroom every few weeks, whether it needs it or not. At least, I think he was joking...
Before going on our way, I gave Jörgen a rock sticker, which he stuck on the wall near the front window. Excellent...
We ambled along some more side streets, with only a general sense of where we wanted to go. We examined this mail carrier's bike for a few minutes, and took a few pictures. Question: how do you know you're a tourist in Stockholm? Answer: you're the only one who looks twice at a mail carrier's bicycle
Monika decided to poke around on her own for a few minutes while I looked into another guitar shop. Halkan's is the oldest vintage guitar shop in Stockholm, and their walls were packed with guitars. They also have a thriving repair business; the guys in the shop didn't stop working the whole time I spoke with them
One of these guys, Jan Hallquisth, told me something interesting. He said that vintage guitars may actually be easier to find in Sweden than many other European countries, as it was a relatively rich nation after WWII and could perhaps better afford things like American guitars. He then pointed me around the corner to Hellstone Music, and continued working on a guitar.
Sven Hellsten is the proprietor of Hellstone Music, and he and I enjoyed a great conversation. Sven is very friendly; here he is with a rock sticker, which he then stuck on his back wall, which is made of sparkly green vinyl
Before hooking back up with Monika, I went up the street to the last guitar shop I was to see in Stockholm
I don't recall the name of the shop, but it is owned by The Cardigans Peter Svensson & The Hives Vigilante Carlstroem. I had a great talk with Andre, who was behind the counter, and he was kind enough to give me one of his CDs
By this time, the shadows were getting longer, so we headed back to the hotel to gather our things and head out. But not before we noticed these little creatures sitting in the shade
And with their glowing eyes still fresh in our minds, we moved on.
Next up, the land of the midnight sun...
This is Cousin Hannes. He has just graduated from high school ("gymnasium") in Nacka, a suburb of Stockholm. I was pleased to attend. Here's how a Swedish high school graduation ("studenten") works:
First, all the families gather in a massive common area. Each group sports a sign with a photo of their graduate as a child. The graduate does not usually know what photo their family has chosen.
I am with Cousin Bitte and Per, who are Hannes' parents. Per eagerly awaits his son
Swedish high schools are divided into classes, each class having specialized in a subject. There are all the subjects you might expect, like science, art, math. As well, there are vocational studies. Each class runs onto an elevated stage, where they jump up and down, scream, sing, shout and wave to the assembled crowd for about a minute.
No speeches, no diplomas, no teachers shaking hands. The class leaves the stage and makes their way through the crowd to their families, as the next class takes the stage. about 30 classes in 30 minutes, and it's over.
It's a proud day for Cousin Bitte, Per and sister Felicia
Moster Gerd is especially happy to have been here for her grandson's studenten
The hat each graduate wears is the equivalent of a mortarboard in the US; it is embroidered with their name and their class. Class mates will also write inside each other's hats. Cousin Tommy, up from Lund for the occasion, wore his cap from his college days; his daughter Caroline, down from Luleå, wore hers, as well.
Next, the graduates move to an enormous parking lot, where they have rented heavy-duty industrial trucks to drive through the streets of Stockholm, while they spray each other with beer, dance, shout, whoop, holler and - you get the picture.
Back at Bitte and Per's house, a large group of family and well-wishers has assembled and the champagne glasses are ready. So, we ate and drank and visited for a while.
Soon enough, and in a fresh black suit, the man of the hour showed up. A good day with great people. Congratulations, Hannes!
Djurgården is another one of Stockholm's neighborhoods. A short walk across a scenic bridge gets you to this small island on which sits an assortment of museums, parks and zoos.
We had come to see the Vasa Museum, in which is housed The Vasa, a Swedish warship from 1628 that sank in the harbor on its maiden voyage. It was raised in the 1960s, repaired and put on display. Here is a model of the ship as it would have looked, with the actual ship looming behind it
The Vasa was amazingly intact when it was raised from the harbor, because of a combination of the cold water in the harbor and the historically polluted condition of the water, which prevented the growth of bacteria that would have destroyed the wood.
Once conservation began, the ship's wood was sprayed with polyethylene glycol for 17 years, and allowed to dry for 9. This is what gives the ship its waxy look.
When The Vasa was built, the intention was for it to be the most fearsome, intimidating warship on the seas. To this end, the entire ship was ornamented with incredibly detailed carvings, all of which would have originally been painted in bright colors
Experts were brought in to oversee every aspect of The Vasa's historical restoration. Most impressive was the rigging, which is very complicated, and was done with handmade hemp rope
Despite shipbuilding conventions of the time, King Gustavus Adolphus insisted on two gun decks and twice the number of cannon than was practical. The Vasa did not have room for enough ballast to counter the top-heaviness these cannon gave it; the ship simply could not stay upright, and toppled in a light breeze in the harbor. None of the king's men had the courage to warn him against this engineering mistake. Maybe this is why an offical inquest ultimately placed no blame on anyone...
Several people went down with the ship, and their bodies were recovered when the vessel was raised. From these persons, the museum was able to determine more about Swedish life in the 17th century. Clothing and shoes were found intact, board games, even some butter remained.
What made quite an impression on Monika and I, however, was the osteological work done by the museum. Based on measurements taken from skulls found in the ship, several faces were reconstructed. Clues gathered by analyzing the entire skeleton provided information about age, gender and diet. The results were startlingly life-like
Before we knew it, half a day had gone by. Truly, The Vasa Museum was fascinating. Make sure to look at their website to read more about The Vasa, including the incredible work that was done to get her out of the water after more than 300 years.
We took Stockholm's subway, the T-Bana, into the city's center. This area is called "City". Go figure. All buses, trains, light rail and subway lines go to City, and converge at Centralen. This is perhaps the most dense area in all of Stockholm.
While most of City is perfectly picturesque, we found Centralen to be a shopping mall on steroids. There were shopping malls across the street from shopping malls. In fact, entire blocks were filled with nothing but malls and department stores. So, we went into Nordiska Kompaniet, one of the oldest department stores in Stockholm. And what did I do? I bought a new suit. I guess I was hypnotized by the trendy Euro-styling, or something. Anyway, Christopher at Tiger of Sweden was very helpful; he got me all set up. Now I can retire my worn out black suit at home.
Once you leave the shopping hell of Centralen, there are lots of quieter little side streets to walk down and squares to sit in. And of course there is plenty of sculpture to look at, although it does seem that some Stockholm citizens take a more whimsical view of their historical figures:
Monika and I quite enjoyed winding our way through these streets, taking note of the small things that make up the character of any city one visits.
For lunch, we found Östermalms Saluhall, an indoor market built in 1888. What an amazing place to buy a sandwich!
And if you like baked goods, some of the best you'll find are at the Saluhall
After lunch, we continued to walk City, impressed as ever by the sculpture and the architecture
Of course, by this time fika was upon us, and we wanted to try one of the fancier places. We found the Wienerkonditoriet, and were not disappointed. Coffee in a glass did seem a little strange, however...
After fika, we wound our way back to Centralen, where we caught a train back to Södermalm and our hotel.
Stay tuned...
Getting off the train in the center of Stockholm, you immediately get that "big city" feel, even though there are only about 800,000 people living there. Still, this makes it Sweden's largest city.
We took a cab to the Columbus Hotel in the Södermalm section of Stockholm. The hotel has tons of character, perhaps because of its colorful history.
Once we were settled in, we took a short walk across the bridge into Stockholm's Gamla Stan or "Old City". This is where Stockholm began in the 13th century, and many of its buildings and alleys have remained unchanged. We were intrigued by Mårten Trotzigs gränd, the narrowest street in Stockholm, at just under 3 feet wide
With this in mind, we decided to poke around in all the alleys and stairways we could find. When we got to Västerlånggatan and looked down one particular staircase, we were curious about the few tables at the bottom, and decided to take look. here's the view from the bottom:
What we had discovered was the Von Der Lindeska Valvet, a restaurant housed in a building built in 1631 and once owned by Queen Kristina
We sat outside and enjoyed the atmosphere, considerably enhanced by the herring and aquavit we ordered with our meal, which was superb.
This was our first night in Stockholm together, and we already didn't want it to end. We walked back across the bridge just as the sun had set (at around 10:30PM), and I snapped a look back at where we had just been, the buildings silhouetted against the sky.
While Monika caught up with her relatives just outside the city, I used the day to wander Göteborg and orient myself. I found myself looking up quite a bit, as the old apartment buildings are very regal.
I soon found out that looking up too much in Göteborg is not always a good idea. There are bike paths, pedestrian paths, bus lanes and tram lines, all mixed together with the regular street traffic. Knowing when to cross a street is difficult enough; I'm not used to second-guessing myself on a sidewalk...
Once I had that figured out, though, I was able to make quick work of my solo scouting mission. When Monika returned we set out anew to see what we could see.
Göteborg is Sweden's second-largest city, after Stockholm. It was founded in 1621, and sits at the mouth of the Göta Älv river, which feeds into the North Sea, making Göteborg the largest shipping port in Scandinavia.
Our hotel was located just off Kungsportsavenyn, also known as "Avenyn" (The Avenue). At the south end of this street sits the Konstmuseum, in front of which is a huge sculpture of Poseidon, the symbol of Göteborg:
The Konstmuseum is currently under renovation; many of the exhibits were closed, but the Hasselblad Photo Centre was open, which was very worthwhile. Outside, there is a statue of Victor Hasselblad with one of the cameras he invented:
A nice touch is the astronaut footprint at his feet; an homage to the fact that the camera that took the first pictures on the moon was a Hasselblad. In fact, there are a total of 13 Hasselblad cameras still in space. They were considered too heavy to bring back...
Climbing to the top of the Konstmuseum steps affords a lovely view of Avenyn, looking north. We decided to walk that way next. A quick stop at the hotel to grab a jacket and we were on our way.
While in Göteborg, we stayed at City Hotel.
We chose this hotel because of its central location and reasonable price. There is a bar in its basement, which also serves breakfast every morning. The accomodations were clean and comfortable, if not spacious and luxurious, and everyone was quite friendly. The showers and bathrooms are at the end of the hall, but I would nonetheless recommend City Hotel to anyone.
A traveling light tip from Monika: wash your clothes in the shower and hang them on a string in your room to dry.
We already knew Europeans take soccer very very seriously. What we found out at the City Hotel, however, was exactly how much. Apparently the hotel was hosting a gaggle of Brits, visiting on some sort of cooking school exchange. Well, this coincided with the Manchester United v. Chelsea soccer championship. Between the shouting coming from the room next door, and the hollering coming from the bar in the basement, it was a long, funny night.
At the north end of Avenyn are beautiful views of Göteborg's canals. This a great place to soak up the sun and people watch, and looking up in any direction, you will see lots of great sculpture.
While in Göteborg we were invited to Cousin Ted's house for dinner with his family. Ted was born and raised in Göteborg, which was fortunate for us, because we got kinda lost looking for his house and he had to come get us.
Ted and Johanna were so very gracious, and their daughters Klara and Magdalena were so happy and alive; the laughing was contagious. Our great thanks for opening your home to us.
One thing we've done often in Sweden is to go to the grocery store and grab a little something to nibble on in our room. As we prepared to leave Göteborg we went is search of candy
One thing that struck us about Swedish candy is the variety of shapes their gummy candy comes in. In the states we've got gummy worms and the like, but this?
The name of these lovely treats (yes, we bought some) is "Grandma's Dentures". And they're actually pretty good.
Before catching our train, Cousin Per and Nina invited us to their house in the countryside, on Orust Island, just a bit north of Göteborg and off the coast. It was a lovely respite from the busy city.
In fact, sitting on their deck with a beer, we could easily chat across the fence with the neighbors:
I also got to meet the German Sheppards that accompanied Monika on her ancestral trip north. It turns out that Per and Nina train them for obedience, tracking and security. This prepares them for use as police/seeing-eye dogs. Per broke out a hurdle and demonstrated how a German Sheppard can jump an impressive height from a standstill
One ferry ride back to the mainland, a short drive to the city, and we were back on the X2000 train.
Next up - Stockholm
After I made the observation that Swedes seem to eat an awful lot of ice cream, Cousin Tommy was nice enough to send me some statistics. It turns out that Americans actually consume considerably more ice cream than Swedes.
What we may be witnessing, Tommy guesses, is the difference between consumer habits in each country: "Perhaps Swedes consume most of their ice cream outdoors, while Americans consume their ice cream at home in front of the TV..."
Touché, Cousin Tommy. Touché.
