Month August 2015
Sunday was our very last day in Sweden but because we had several hours before our plane left we decided to make one last excursion in Stockholm. To make the most of it we left the hotel a bit earlier than normal and took the tram to Stockholm’s big outdoor museum Skansen.
We spent the morning and early afternoon walking around among the various old houses, farms and churches. There is even a small zoo with a few moose, seals, and Yinis favourite, brown bears.
Old house with thatched roof 
This old cart is pretty cool 
Yini’s parents posing in
Saturday was our last whole day in Sweden, so we planned to go to the archipelago. Our goal was to use the Hop On Hop Off bus to get to the pier where we could take the boat, but after waiting at the bus stop for a good thirty five minutes we found out the buses weren’t running properly, so we changed to the metro instead. When we got to the pier there was already a long queue so the boat got pretty crowded but still not too bad. We had a pleasant enough journey out to Vaxholm, the most … Read the rest
On Friday we took the Hop On Hop Off tour bus, hoping to see the city in leisure. This turned out to be a bit of a failure because the bus was exceedingly full. None the less, we got to old town around mid morning, and spent the rest of the morning walking around old town. Perhaps a bit too much walking for Yini’s dad but otherwise nice.
Random street in old town 
Another street view 
One of the churches 
Another church 
Old town central square
We also made a visit to the royal palace, I’ve never been inside before, … Read the rest
Thursday morning was spent preparing for our departure at a leisurely pace. We also rowed out to the little island nearby, and as we were landing I told Yini to take the bow line and jump ashore. From where I was sitting I didn’t see how far it was but apparently it was too far because poor Yini lost her balance trying to get over and fell in the water. Luckily neither her camera or her phone were damaged.
After lunch we packed up the last things, got in the car and drove to Västerås. There we split up, my … Read the rest
On Wednesday we didn’t make any longer excursions. Instead we stayed at the cottage making a few shorter outings in the nearby area. In the morning, Yini, her parents, my mother and I went out in the forest picking mushrooms. Despite the recent dry weather we found quite a lot. Yini and her parents really enjoyed it.
Cleaning the mushrooms
After lunch the Yini and I joined my brother to row across the lake to the golf course. We anchored the boat then got in the water and went snorkeling for golf balls. It … Read the rest
On Tuesday we left our idyllic little cottage and made a small excursion to the city of Falun. We started by going to the former home of Carl Larsson, a famous painter from the late nineteenth century who lived up here with his wife.
Both he and his wife Karin seem to have been very creative people because the house was pretty special with his paintings and her tapestries all over the walls and furniture.
After lunch we went to Falun copper mine, a world heritage site that used to be the major provider of copper for the entire world. … Read the rest
On Monday morning my dad and my brother went to pick up the van that we rented. We loaded up our stuff then headed north, with a short stop at the city water tower to look at the view. Around lunch we arrived at our cottage at the lake Haggen in southern Dalecarlia county.
The cottage is right on the lake and Yini’s parents seemed to fall in love with the view as we took a tour round the house while my mom prepared some lunch. After lunch the women went grocery shopping while I and Yini’s dad went fishing. … Read the rest
Perhaps I had a little too much fun on Friday night because I wasn’t feeling too good on Saturday morning. So, instead of going out sightseeing again, Yini took her mom shopping in the big shopping center Nordstan while I and her dad relaxed on the sun deck of the hotel.
When Yini and here mom were finished with shopping, we took our bags to the train station and got some lunch before we got going. However, because we had lunch at the station instead of bringing on to the train we missed the one we planned to take and … Read the rest
We spent Friday exploring Gothenburg city, following the suggestions my friend Sofie gave us the night before. We started with the sightseeing boat Paddan that took us around the various canals and rivers of the city. Yini’s parents really enjoyed it, and thanks to a great guide so did I.
After that we went to the small market selling food from different countries, but I was the only one who was hungry so we didn’t try as many foods as I thought we would. Instead we went to Kronhuset, one of the oldest buildings in the city, and looked around … Read the rest
On Thursday we had already shown Yinis parents most of the places we wanted to show, but we took a short drive to the meadows at the far end of the village, and just strolled around taking in the view and breathing in the fresh air. There is a special kind of enjoyment in these simple pleasures.
After some lunch in the sun, we packed up our stuff and took the train north to my old hometown Göteborg. We found our hotel, an old ship that had been converted into living quarters, then went downtown to meet up my friends … Read the rest