Ghost Walk

On a walk through Old Town. Went on the oldest street in Stockholm dating back to the 1200's. A friend of mine worked in the building next to where our tour started and he and his coworkers were reluctant to go to the basement for their company sponsored massages because it was haunted- I learned this 2 days after our tour while I was walking with him.

This is the smallest statue ever gifted to the city of Stockholm. It is outside the Finnish Church in Old Town. It is said that if you leave it something with meaning to you, you will receive good luck. There is a woman who makes it clothes regularly- it was wearing a handmade baseball hat when we arrived, but I removed it for the photo.

City Hall and Tower

View of Gamla Stan from the City Hall Tower.

In the Gold Hall of City Hall. Sweden is represented in the mosaic by the large person in the throne. The west is represented to the left (sky scrapers of New York, Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower, etc.). To the right of Sweden is the East (Asian and Muslim countries). Sweden is said to be the neutral/peaceful country that connects the two parts of the world that are known to not always get along.

Some of the gang listening to Johanna in the great hall. One of the mosaics depicted the Blood Bath (the day a Danish king murdered 80 Swedes), one of the sites on our Ghost Walk.

Where the politicians meet. Area was set up for a meeting taking place at 4. There are 2 viewing booths. One is set aside for media, the other for citizens who wish to watch. None of the kids wanted to come back to watch the meeting.

Inner courtyard at at City Hall. The building was built in the early 1900's. It took more than 8,000,000 bricks to complete. We later hiked 365 steps to reach the top of the tower, which is 106 meters tall, topping the biggest building in Denmark by 1 meter (on purpose).

Skanson

They have bison too. The naturalist told us that there's max out at about 900 kg and ours grow to about 1200 kg.

Once again, they say that the moose in America grow to be larger than the moose in Sweden. This cow, however, is a little larger than normal. She is pregnant.

Isaiah trying to grab the pig by the tail.

4/24-4/25 Stockholm Archipelago

On our way to the Stockholm Archipelago. Boat ride took about 1.5 hours. Thanks to Mikaela's family for hosting.

Swedish military tent that kids and Eric (Mikaela's dad) "slept" in. In years past, all men had to spend one year in the service where they got used to sleeping 20 in a tent. Now, it is by choice to put the time in.

Speed boat tour. Boat traveled at 60 knots. We needed to hold on to stay in.

You can tell its going to be fast and cold when the company shows up and everyone has to wear snowmobile type suits, hats with ear flaps, down mittens, and ski goggles!

Evening sun on Saturday. The birds start to chirp at about 3:30 am and it gets light at about 4 am. Not sunny bright, but still bright.

Sara taking in sun and relaxing on Sunday morning.

Getting Ready

Our Swedish exchangers leave tomorrow. We had a great time last night at Stout's, but it felt bitter sweet. It doesn't seem like anyone is quite ready for the American portion of the exchange to be over. To the Swedes- we will miss you and look forward to seeing you in four weeks!