Day 16 - Stockholm Sweden - Friday, June 29th

We decided to go separate ways today, with Daddy leaving early to take a day-long boat ride along the archipelago. He had a delightful time, stopping at a little island to have lunch in a cafe overlooking the water, and trying to rest his knee by not walking too much. Birgita had even given him a ride downtown to the boat, so he wouldn't have to walk.

The girls and I left the house around 10:30, going at an easy pace and not rushing. One thing they wanted to do that we were always in too much of a hurry to do before was look in one of the stores downtown, to see the children's section. They were curious to see if toys, clothes, and books for kids were different from what they knew.

The Altens City Department store had a big children's section that featured a whole area of Pippi things, unfortunately all sized for preschoolers and toddlers. Aubrietta still loves Pippi and would have bought a shirt or costume if it came in her size.

Standing room only on the bus. Note the three babies lined up in their baby carriages parked in the midsection of the bus. They had the best seats on the bus!

 

When we transferred downtown, we discovered the Hemcoop grocery store in the basement of Altens City Department store, where we bought canned cold coffee, juice, and bread/pastry for lunch. They had everything, even Swedish Pancakes to go, and really yummy looking olive bread.

 

The girls wanted to visit the Technical Museum, which had a special exhibition on the top 100 inventions of all time, as voted on by the Swedish citizenry. Everything from the engine to the bed was featured, and each showed examples of early versions through modern, with in-depth descriptions in both Swedish and English.

 

My favorite was of course the baby carriage, originally invented as a portable bed for sickly babies and young children, so they could be set outdoors to sleep in the fresh air, which was considered the best cure for whatever ailed them. Soon carriages were used as a preventative, with babies taking their daytime naps outdoors year-round.

This "cow massage brush" was featured as an invention that could revolutionize the dairy industry. It spins and rotates, and the cows go to it on their own and enjoy a massage. I took this photo from a video that was demonstrating it, and the cows looked like they were in ecstasy. Supposedly cows that receive massage from this brush give more milk and have less health problems.

My nephew would love this backhoe that you could sit and control, picking things up and moving them.

 

The museum looked small from the outside, but it's collections were vast, spanning 4 floors and a multitude of buildings attached to the back. There was a whole building of active games and challenges, an exhibit of inventions by women, and a whole floor devoted to the history of the telephone and radio. It was an afternoon very well spent.

 

 

On the way back to Bromma the girls and I stopped back at that huge grocery store, Hemcoop, that we found in the basement of the Altens City department store. We stocked up on pear juice, yogurt, cold cuts, and more.

When we arrived home we found Daddy, Birgita, and a sleeping Filippa on the back deck, enjoying the sunshine.

A snack of swedish pancakes for the kids at 18:00, before we head over to Anna's for drinks.

There are some really beautiful houses in the Bromma neighborhood where we are staying.

I was surprised by how rocky Stockholm is. Many gardens are filled with giant rocks. Here one is made into a patio.

The plan was to go for "drinks" to Birgita and Gunnar's daughter Anna's house (pictured above), which was just a few streets away. There we'd be joined by son Carl-Frederick and granddaughter Filippa, Anna's husband, and 2 year old grandson Nils. I had bought a bunch of "snack foods" to go with the alcohol. Birgita has also packed some cut veggies and home-made avocado dip.

The food was well received and disappeared quickly.

The kids played, the adults "Skol"-ed, and I took photos. We stayed a little over an hour, then headed home, where we ate again while watching football.

Gunnar is a real clown with the kids. Daddy says he should start a second career as a circus clown, since he has a great sense of humor and a very expressive face.

Again, I stayed down at the kitchen table to catch up on the journal. I felt guilty not "socializing," but sports really bored me, and there was so much I wanted to write down about our adventures before I forgot. Waiting until everyone went to bed after 23:00 to start writing made me a zombie the next day.

NEXT:  Day 17 - Off to the Swedish Countryside - Saturday, June 30th

>>>>>>Click Here to go to the Index<<<<<<