A Visit from Family: Skansen

On our final morning in Stockholm almost ended in disaster. We had packed our bags and started lugging them down to the parking garage under the hotel when I discovered that my car remote didn't work to unlock the doors. "Hmm. I must need new batteries in the remote", I thought, "No big deal." We just used the key. Then the button to unlock the doors didn't work. That's when I suspected that something was wrong. Very, very wrong. I climbed into the driver's seat to try to start the car, and it was as dead as a fly at a spider convention. My morning suddenly looked very bleak. Until someone drove into the garage to fix something. A light sparked in my head, and I approached them to beg for a jump. My wonderful hubby had left our jumper cables in our car, and God had cleared spaces on either side of my car, so getting a jump was easy. Relief washed over me like rain as I realized my hopes for the day were not lost.

Once we finished loading up the car and checking out, we journeyed over to Skansen, an open-air museum that includes dozens of buildings, animals, shops, and more.

We started off in the direction of the bears, only stopping a few times along the way.




The kids looking and the (goat) kids.



The Soldier's Cottage, known as a Säldefall.

This little bison kept harassing the older one. "Come on, let's play!"



Then these two were head-butting. The little one seemed to be rooting for both.

 After viewing several other animals and stopping for a snack (my boys and I were hungry), we finally reached the bears, which were located at the far end of the park.

My three on the bear carving.

Hello, bears



Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?

 We journeyed on past other Scandinavian animals as we headed back into the park.



A moose



This was one of several reindeer, but this fellow had the largest horns by far. The others seemed to follow him around.



In the forground, there was an old hut of sorts. They call it the "Sami Camp." In the background, Stockholm

  Shortly after this, we split up. I wanted to look at more of the buildings, and the others wanted to go see the lemurs.


A peacock wandering around one of the buildings.




An old spinning wheel in one of the farmstead buildings.

  After viewing some old farmstead buildings, H and I happened across a playplace.



I thought these sheep were so cute. H liked them, too.




H sitting on top of a mushroom




Playing in the sand and oven/fireplace.

 After a short while, we left the playplace to continue our journey toward the entrance, where we had agreed to meet. I came across some old stores, where I started to take pictures before H began pilfering garden tools.


Some interesting old pots, pans, pitchers, and more on display behind the counter.




H playing with a watering can in front of an old heating stove.

We left the store, leaving everything in its place, despite H's protests, and we headed toward some other buildings in the "Town Quarter." We visited a bakery, a pottery store, and a couple of other places before I realized we needed to move it to get back in time to meet the rest of our gang.

A woman making a bowl at the pottery store. They had some beautiful items for sale. Too bad we are moving.

I found myself at the edge of the park, so I took a picture of the view across the way.

H and I headed down an escalator which brought us near the entrance. I even beat everyone else there. H and I walked to the Skansenbutiken to browse while we waited, then we walked toward the entrance again. Everyone was there this time, so we walked to the car, loaded up, and headed home.

A Visit from Family: Gamla Stan

While Timo and AJ were learning about space, the rest of us hopped on a boat to visit Gamla Stan, a very touristy old part of Stockholm.

Timo had the camera, so I relied on my brother-in-law to take pictures for posterity. Unfortunately, he shoots in raw format, and my computer didn't like that. So, the narration of our time there will have to do.

We started our day at the Nobel Museum, which held some interesting exhibits about various prize-winners, some more deserving than others. We then walked toward the palace, only to encounter a parade of sorts. There was a brass band playing near the palace, then it marched a short ways and continued to play. I don't know what was going on, but it was fun to see.

We chose to visit the palace treasury first, a small museum that holds the royal crowns, robes, annointing horns, swords, and more from past kings and queens. It was there that we learned that the first king of Sweden was the great-grandson of Noah. My comment to my sister was that everyone his age was the great-grandchild of Noah, but I think the point was that he wasn't that far down the line when established as King of Sweden.
H and K were hungry before the guided tour was over, so we headed outside with Edith to dine in the palace courtyard. We were soon joined by the rest of our crew, and we made plans for the afternoon as we finished our lunch. We had walked out of the palace grounds when Timo called, announcing that they were done at the science museum. We tried to figure out how to meet since Timo had to drive home and leave AJ with us. While waiting for a return phone-call, we looked around the beautiful Royal Chapel. Anyone can attend the services, and I wondered if the Sunday-morning services matched the splendor of the building.
Meanwhile, Timo and I decided that he would drive AJ over.
We then decided to walk over to the Grand Hotel, since my sister wanted to see the lobby. I had stayed there before, and, while there are some beautiful parts of the building, I don't think the hotel deserves all the hype. Maybe if you spring for a royal suite. After making use of the cleaner facilities and comfy couches, Jaime and company went for a walk, while I paced in front of the building with H, watching for Timo and AJ to appear. Once Timo dropped AJ off, we joined everyone else, and made use of the rest of our afternoon, exploring the royal apartments. Thanks to H and his impatience, I saw more than I would have if I had perused the palace at my own pace. We stayed until closing time, and Edith was a darling to run through the rain for our stroller and umbrellas, which we had left at the entrance.
The rain let up a bit as we headed toward the main street that runs through Gamla Stan. On our way, we encountered a restaurant serving Swedish fare, and I decided we should eat there to allow my family to experience to culinary traditions of Sweden. I opted for a planksteak, which was wonderful, and there were plenty of Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberries served around the table.
After dinner, we continued our quest to explore the main streets and stores of this area. I had wanted to stop in a certain store to buy the new baby a stuffed animal, but we found it was closed. I was disappointed, but we continued to shop, finding a fun clothing store where Ellie bought an uber-cute dress.


We saw a beautiful double-rainbow while waiting for our second bus

 We stayed downtown so long that we missed the last boat back. We found a bus stop, where we tried to figure out which route to take to our hotel. Thankfully, there was a man who helped us. Two busses and a tram later, we were in front of our hotel, ready to call it a night. 

A Visit from Family: NASA and The Museum of Science and Technology

On Timo's last morning with us in Stockholm, he took AJ to the NASA exhibit at the Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm. My space-loving boy was in heaven as the two of them explored the exhibits. I wasn't there, so I will let the pictures do the talking.

Legos and Space. Who could ask for anything more?



This was a scale that showed how much a person weighs on the sun and various planets. AJ was on the sun.



After the space exhibit, they ventured off to explore the rest of the museum.



A pedal plane.





Setting off explosives.



It looks like they had a lot of fun, and I am glad AJ was able to get some alone time with Timo. It is a rare and precious thing with multiple kids.

A Visit from Family: Tivoli

After a full day of museums, we debated about where to dine. Since our Stockholm cards would provide free-entry into Tivoli, we opted to enter the amusement park in search of nourishment. We dined on just-average Swedish fare, but the rides we had passed on the way in convinced us to explore more than the parks' eateries. Jaime and family headed their own way to delve into the larger rides while we headed to the area of the park more suitable for our kids.

Because it was late, we purchased the ride tickets instead of the passes. Our kids rode a ladybug rollercoaster, the carousel, teacups, the ferris wheel (just H), and a mild train roller coaster.



AJ and K on the ladybug rollercoaster. They lifted one hand, cautiously trying to enter into the fun.

 

H and I on the carousel



AJ loving his giraffe on the carousel



AJ and K on the teacup ride.



H and I on the train.

 After the rides, we headed to an ice cream stand to enjoy some delicious Swedish soft serve. I will never enjoy soft serve in the US again. That is, unless they figure out how to make it right. My palate has been forever spoiled.

After tantalizing my taste-buds, we headed to the hotel to rest-up for another full day.

A Visit from Family: The Vasa Museum

Our first full day in Stockholm, we decided to explore the museums close to our hotel. We started with the must-see Vasa Museum, home to a 17th-century warship that sunk on it's maiden voyage.

I had visited this museum four years ago on my first visit to Sweden, but K and AJ were only 2 years and 7 months. They didn't remember much, and I didn't get to all the exhibits. I also learned how to take better pictures with the limited lighting this time around.

The Vasa Ship

 

Replicas of some of the carved figures and how they were painted



K and I in the replica of the diving hood they used when salvaging the cannons.



K and a wooden lady looking up at another wooden woman in the window



Ellie and K by a map of Scandinavia at the time of the Vasa



Timo and the boys looking at a model of the Vasa before it capsized



H on a cannon



AJ behind the cannon.



Timo and H with the Vasa in the background



Replica of the cannon holders




One of the original cannon holders



AJ in the replica of the ships' crow's nest. The kids had a lot of fun on this.



A view of the Vasa from the top



The front of the ship



AJ in the room that replicated a cannon deck.

 The kids enjoyed the museum for the most part. The very bottom floor holds the skeletons of some of the people who died when the ship sunk. Based on scientific evaluation, where the bones were located on the ship, and the posessions they had on them when they were found, they have created stories of who these people probably were. AJ was really interested in this part of the exhibit, and we went from the bones of each person (they named them) to the story on the wall close by to read about that person. Since this was one of the last parts of the museum we visited (and a part I had not seen before), I was relieved that he was so interested.

After browsing through everything, we headed to the gift shop, where I bought the kids the promised T-shirts that K had asked for. AJ and H got matching blue shirts, and K chose a pink one. We then headed outside for a picnic lunch before walking to the next museum.