I’ll See You in Stockholm – Aug 15-20, 2013

Back when we were living in Florence, Angie had an occasion to meet Laura Wandry.  She is a U.S. expatriate living in Sweden and is both a graphic art designer and a silver jewelry artisan.  She operates a jewelry workshop in Florence, living part time in Italy to make and sell jewelry.  http://www.laurawandry.com/

After we got to know her, Laura suggested we visit her and her family in Sweden.  As it worked out, Angie and I planned to stay 5 nights in Stockholm and we made arrangements to spend the Friday and Saturday with Laura (center), her husband Jana, their daughter Alex, and our friend Josslyn who was also visiting them.  Laura and Jana would show us around their nation’s wonderful capital city.  


Thursday 8/15 - 
Angie and I took the 7:30am three hour Ryanair flight from Pisa Italy to Skavsta Sweden, then caught the 80 minute bus ride to the Stockholm city center.  We stepped off the bus into bright sunshine and cool refreshing temperatures, and walked the short distance to the Radisson Blu Royal Viking Hotel.  Our initial impressions of Stockholm proved to be lasting ones; it is a magnificent city.

It is a city of islands crisscrossed with beautiful rivers and connected with bridges for pedestrian and motor traffic, its streets have bicycle only lanes (with their own traffic lights), and it is without a doubt the cleanest city I have ever seen in my life.

And it has some very good Swedish, British, and American style restaurants too!  :-P  For dinner we went to the Bishop Arms Pub for some excellent continental fare.  Angie and I love Italian food but this was a welcome change from what we’d been eating for the last 8 months – a theme we would repeat during our entire stay in Sweden.  Angie had broiled salmon with a glass of Riesling and I had fish & chips with a hearty German draft of Bitburger.  It was a long, relaxing, northern European meal, the likes of which we had not had in a very long time!  After dinner we retired to our room to enjoy our books and watch TV (with English language channels!!), before crawling into the soft comfortable bed in anticipation of tomorrow’s busy day.

Friday 8/16 - 
The next morning we met Laura, Jana, Alex and Josslyn, and timed our walk through the city to arrive just in time at the official Royal Palace for the Changing of the Guard.  With all the pageantry you might expect at Buckingham Palace, the horse soldiers and infantry exchange duties every day at 12:15.  

As a member of the National Guard, Jana has himself participated in the 45 minute ceremony on several occasions, and it was enlightening to hear him explain the aspects of guard responsibilities and duties.  

As we continued on through the “old city” of Gamla Stan, we paused at an outdoor café for lunch.  Here I had my first ever serving of authentic Swedish meatballs in a rich brown sauce with mashed potatoes, and Angie had an equally Swedish serving of halibut with boiled potatoes – both were outstanding.

Then it was onto one of the many harbor areas were we boarded a large sightseeing boat for the Bridges of Stockholm cruise.  

An hour and a half long, it was a wonderful way to see the city from the water; we toured the city’s fresh river waters and we even passed through two canal locks into the salty Baltic Sea and back.  

The tour really helped me understand how the city is composed of numerous islands, and served only to reinforce our original impressions of the elegance of Stockholm and what an remarkable city it truly is.

After the tour our hosts recommended we stop for a drink before dinner at the Ice Bar.  Located at the Nordic Sea Hotel, the Ice Bar is exactly what it sounds like; the entire bar including walls, tables and chairs is constructed completely from blocks of ice – right down to the chiseled ice “glasses” your drink comes in! Laura called ahead for a reservation and they gave us our time slot.  30-45 minutes is all you get because it’s really all you want – as you might image it’s cold in there, and is kept at a constant 19 degrees F. 

Since most people don’t walk around in a parka in August (even in Sweden), the Ice Bar gives you a hooded parka to keep you warm, and heavy gloves so you can hold onto your drink.   The bar is sponsored by the Swedish company Absolut Vodka, so its the only alcohol served.  I had Absolut Blue Label with cranberry and pineapple juice.

When we finished our drinks and photo ops it was time for an American style meal – and as it turned out (being Friday) we went to TGIF.  Almost everyone got hamburgers except Angie and I – she got a small salad and split my chicken fajitas with me, which I washed down with the excellent Swedish lager, Pripps.  Thank God It was Friday!! 
Long Live American Food!! 
(and Swedish beer!!)

Saturday 8/17 – Today we were prepared for what turned out to be our only rainy day of the week - we spent it indoors as Jana gave us a private tour of the Riksdag, the government building of the Swedish Parliament.  

 

Jana shared the history of the building, how the government functions, and the differences between the multiple political parties and the alliances they forge within Sweden’s multi-party system. 

After some dinner we all walked back towards our hotel, then we said our goodbyes to Laura, Jana, Alex and Joss.  It had been great to tour around Stockholm with them, and we knew we’d see them all again when they next returned to Florence.

Sunday 8/18 - After hitting the gym and pool and having some breakfast, we walked to Djurgarden, one of the island city neighborhoods just east of Gamla Stan.  Our first stop was at the Vasa museum.  

The Vasa was a mighty ship of war built by the Swedish government in 1628 to establish Sweden as a naval superpower.  Unfortunately it was poorly designed, and the brand new fully laden warship sailed scarcely a mile on its maiden voyage when it capsized and sank in 90 feet of water just outside the harbor.   

Except for some salvaged cannons it was a total loss.  330 years later is was raised and after years of restoration and reassembly using original pieces dredged from the bottom of the river, it was put on display in a custom designed museum devoted entirely to the  ship. 

We moved on to the Nordiska, the Nordic museum which housed an eclectic collection of art, photos, clothes, and other items.

My favorite exhibit was a beautifully restored 1946 Swedish Husqvarna motorcycle.  Among their many successes, Husqvarna’s greatest claim to fame is their dozens of motocross and enduro racing Word Championship titles. 

Monday 8/19/2013  HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! 

Today Angie and I celebrated 35 years of marriage!! (wow, what a journey it has been).  We were resolved to do something special (well, other than just hanging out in the very cool city of Stockholm Sweden) so we walked down to the river and caught the 45 minute boat ride to Drottningholm Palace, the permanent home of King Karl Gustav XVI and Queen Silvia Renate Sommerlath.  

Although there is an “official” palace in Gamla Stan, the Royal Monarchy of Sweden has resided at Drottningholm since 1981.  I was unable to connect with the King to ask if he and the Queen wanted to join us on our anniversary :-) so we joined up with an English speaking tour guide who gave us a great education on the history of the Palace. 

It was during the day's excursion that I began to fully appreciate how friendly and helpful Swedish people are; people who helped us with directions, or didn’t charge full price if we lacked exact change, or in any number of ways, not the least of which was the cordiality shown us by Jana as he toured us around the city.  And every person we spoke to spoke back to us in English – some better than some Americans do.

That evening we celebrated with a special dinner out in the cool evening air at Mr. French, located at the east end of Gamla Stan overlooking the river and city neighborhoods that line it shores.  I had an outstanding fillet (every piece of beef I ate in Stockholm was outstanding) and Angie had genuine Maine lobster so good it made her feel like she was back home.  

Tuesday 8/20/2013 - We spent our last day in Sweden enjoying the amenities of the hotel – the gym, the pool, and the quiet of our room as we finished up our books.  Afterwards we walked down to Gamla Stan’s south end for a hot lunch at the pub Engelen Kolingen, where we enjoyed outdoor dining in the bright sunshine and cool breezes rolling in off the river.  Back at the hotel we collected our bags and walked the 5 minutes to the FlyBuss station for the 80 minute ride back to the Skavsta airport.  It all came off without a hitch we arrived on time in Pisa Italy.  We grabbed our 2 carry-on bags and loaded up the Saturn for the hour and a half ride home to Casa la Vite

It had been an extraordinary trip to Sweden – visiting with friends, exploring a new city in a new country and culture, and celebrating our 35^th wedding anniversary in the most memorable way imaginable!  Not knowing exactly what to expect, our trip to Stockholm turned out to be unexpectedly outstanding.  We saw and did so much, yet we barely scratched the surface of this enchanting country.  So; if you are planning a trip to Sweden and are looking for a traveling companion, give me a ring.  

I’ll see you in Stockholm.

Cortina d’Ampezzo – August 2-5 2013

Back in February I traveled north for my first ski adventure ever in the Italian Alps (see blog post, “Have Ski Boots, Will Travel” Feb-10, 2013).  I wanted to ski the majestic Dolomiti (a.k.a “Dolomites”), the most savagely beautiful Alps in the world.  Although there were a number of towns I could have selected for that trip, I chose to go to Cortina d’Ampezzo, in the heart of some of the most scenic skiing Italy has to offer.  I was so impressed and inspired during my time there that I resolved I would return in the summer with Angie to see the town and hike the mountains.

On Friday we drove 5 hours north up into the Italian Alps in search of some relief from the region now being thoroughly fried to a crisp under the Tuscan Sun.  Far from being a backwater town lost in the shadows of the massive Dolomiti, Cortina is a thriving, bustling community whose restaurants, hotels, and upscale shops trade heavily on the influx of tourists, both winter and summer.  
 Yet you need look no further than the edge of town to understand exactly what this part of Italy is all about. 

On Saturday we awoke to reasonable temperatures, a welcome relief from the broiler our town at home has become the last several weeks.  We rented bikes and rode the path leading out of town and up into the mountains.  

Although mostly uphill, we rode for hours and the trail took us to some pretty interesting places, including old tunnels that had been repurposed for public use.  Our ride back was mostly downhill and decidedly faster than our ride up!

Glacier at Marmolada

When you are feeling wilted from the oppressive heat of summer, simply trek over to your local glacier for some cool, refreshing hiking.  On Sunday we took a drive to the glacier at Marmolada.














The glacier at Marmolada lies at 10,000 feet, high in the Dolomiti just an hour southwest of Cortina.  From the base area we took 3 cable trams up to the foot of the glacier and to the peaks that rise above it. 

Even under the withering July sun the glacier is frigid and expansive.  The cool, thin air mixes with the powerful radiant energy of the Italian sun overhead, and with the frosty chill of snow underfoot, providing us a much needed revitalization from the dog days of Tuscany.

Beautiful vistas abound in every direction.  From this vantage you actually look down on some of the alpine peaks.  





Beautiful though it may be, sliding off the edge of the glacier is considered bad form is not recommended…. 

Monday was our day to checkout and drive home, but not without first getting in some morning hiking.  After packing the car we hoofed over to the north end of town and caught the two cable trams up to Faloria.  It’s always a treat for me to hike through a ski area that has been wrapped up and put away for summer, and to see the exposed undulation of the mountains and trails.  It was also great to be exploring the peaks on the opposite side of the valley, from where I had previously skied the Pomedes and Col Druscie areas in February.

We hiked ski trails and narrow paths through quiet forests, crossing streams as we encountered them.  When the long trail down finally played out at the bottom of the ski area, we picked up another for the last 4 miles back to town, at times trekking across open meadows where at any moment I expected Julie Andrews to pop out from behind a tree and start singing.

Our trip to Cortina was an immersion into a different type of Italian picture postcard than the one in which we currently live.  The town proudly wears it’s Olympic and World Cup heritage on its sleeve; its an edgy town that takes more pride in physical achievement than in knowing which artist is buried in which church.  It is home to the towering peaks of the mighty Dolomiti, whose thin air and gravity will challenge you and test you at every turn.  Its northern Italian culture is shaped by these challenges, and by it's proximity to Austria and Switzerland as well.  It is reflected in the dialects you hear in the restaurants, and by the fare that is offered on the menus.  The raw, wild beauty that surrounds Cortina is its soul, and it’s spirit resonates with you, winter or summer.

Ciao for now.
  - Doug