A big part of our
impetus to travel to Sweden was to visit friends we had made in
both Kuala Lumpur and at the Beach Village in Thailand, and to
get a taste of what life was like in their home country.
We spent the majority of our time with Lotta Hellman and
Bo Matsson (neighbors at the Beach Village), first in Stockholm
and then in Öland, and had the chance to visit Morag and Martin
Sjolin (both of us worked at ISKL with Morag) at
the end of our trip. The photo to the left show Bo and Lotta
when they visited us in Kuala Lumpur, while the photo to the
right is of Morag, Martin, and daughter Melissa when we visited
them Stockholm.
The first portion of our Sweden
visit was with Bo, Lotta, and Lotta's younger son, Elias,
in their house in Kungsholmen,
central Stockholm. It was a beautiful airy apartment,
impeccably decorated, and just a short bike ride from many of
the city's attractions. While visiting there we toured the
island on foot, and biked to Gamla Stan, and took in some local
theater in the park! Nights were spent savouring delicious
Swedish cuisine, and adjusting to the nearly constant daylight.
We also got to meet Lotta's older son, his wife, and young
son when they came over for Sunday night dinner. Lotta took us
to her favorite shops and, when Lotta and Bo left for Öland, we
got to sample living in Stockholm on our own for a few days.
Tracy also fixed a dinner for Elias and Petra Brask's son
Erik. Petra is a good friend of Lotta's whom we met when
their family stayed at Lotta's and Bo's unit at the Beach
Village. Elias and Erik are shown in the photo to the lower
left.
After our introduction to Stockholm, we took
the bus south to Öland,
where Bo and Lotta have a summer house. We learned from our
various Swedish friends at the Beach Village that many Swedes
have houses on this southern island and spend a good deal of
their summer holiday there. We were honored to be invited to
share this slice of Swedish life, and our hosts really rolled
out the red carpet. The photo to the left shows an aerial view
of the property, while the panorama below offers a more complete
view, identifying the buildings.
Our first night
there was memorable, as our hosts prepared a sumptuous dinner of
grilled lamb and vegetables, served on their outdoor patio. With
Bo as the grill master we were treated to the best lamb we have
ever tasted, complemented with fresh vegetables and a hardy red
wine. Prior to the repast, we had drinks and nibbles by the barn
in the bright Swedish summer light. (photo to the left) The
dinner consisted of not only the fresh lamb chops, but also two
varieties of salad, grilled aubergene, potatoes, and peppers.
The photo to the right shows Bo hard at work expertly grilling
the lamb and veggies. The meal is shown in the photo at
the bottom left, while a closeup of our meal plate may be seen
in the photo at the bottom right. It was clearly a meal to
remember.
After the meal we headed to the coast. Tracy
wanted Bo to take some photos of us, as she was impressed by the
quality of photos that he posts on his Facebook page. So, after
sipping champagne and snacking on chocolate, Bo treated us to a
masterclass in photography, even making Dale look good! The
photo to the left shows some of Bo's handiwork. Other highlights
of our stay are captured on our Öland page. In addition
to visiting with Bo and Lotta, Gören and Agneta Strnberg (also
friends from the Beach Village) dropped by to say hello. They
have a house on the northern part of the island.
Upon our return to Stockholm, we met up with
Morag, who hosted us for our last few days in Sweden. Meeting us
at Stockholm Central Station, we took a train to her house in
the suburbs, where we reconnected with husband Martin and
daughter Melissa, who was packing for a holiday in Scotland. We
had several lovely dinners on their patio, and Morag took us to
Djurgården to visit the Vasa
Museum and lunch along the river. On
the way home we stopped at a wonderful market in central
Stockholm to get the goodies for a last sunwashed dinner on the
patio. The photo to the left shows us with Martin and Morag in
their kitchen, while the photo to the right shows the market. We
said goodbye the next morning with Morag heading to Scotland and
her parents and we began our journey home, flying to Helsinki.
We thank our friends for their wonderful Swedish
hospitality--you made the trip truly memorable.
A big part of our
impetus to travel to Sweden was to visit friends we had made in
both Kuala Lumpur and at the Beach Village in Thailand, and to
get a taste of what life was like in their home country.
We spent the majority of our time with Lotta Hellman and
Bo Matsson (neighbors at the Beach Village), first in Stockholm
and then in Öland, and had the chance to visit Morag and Martin
Sjolin (both of us worked at ISKL with Morag) at
the end of our trip. The photo to the left show Bo and Lotta
when they visited us in Kuala Lumpur, while the photo to the
right is of Morag, Martin, and daughter Melissa when we visited
them Stockholm.
The first portion of our Sweden
visit was with Bo, Lotta, and Lotta's younger son, Elias,
in their house in Kungsholmen,
central Stockholm. It was a beautiful airy apartment,
impeccably decorated, and just a short bike ride from many of
the city's attractions. While visiting there we toured the
island on foot, and biked to Gamla Stan, and took in some local
theater in the park! Nights were spent savouring delicious
Swedish cuisine, and adjusting to the nearly constant daylight.
We also got to meet Lotta's older son, his wife, and young
son when they came over for Sunday night dinner. Lotta took us
to her favorite shops and, when Lotta and Bo left for Öland, we
got to sample living in Stockholm on our own for a few days.
Tracy also fixed a dinner for Elias and Petra Brask's son
Erik. Petra is a good friend of Lotta's whom we met when
their family stayed at Lotta's and Bo's unit at the Beach
Village. Elias and Erik are shown in the photo to the lower
left.
After our introduction to Stockholm, we took
the bus south to Öland,
where Bo and Lotta have a summer house. We learned from our
various Swedish friends at the Beach Village that many Swedes
have houses on this southern island and spend a good deal of
their summer holiday there. We were honored to be invited to
share this slice of Swedish life, and our hosts really rolled
out the red carpet. The photo to the left shows an aerial view
of the property, while the panorama below offers a more complete
view, identifying the buildings.
Our first night
there was memorable, as our hosts prepared a sumptuous dinner of
grilled lamb and vegetables, served on their outdoor patio. With
Bo as the grill master we were treated to the best lamb we have
ever tasted, complemented with fresh vegetables and a hardy red
wine. Prior to the repast, we had drinks and nibbles by the barn
in the bright Swedish summer light. (photo to the left) The
dinner consisted of not only the fresh lamb chops, but also two
varieties of salad, grilled aubergene, potatoes, and peppers.
The photo to the right shows Bo hard at work expertly grilling
the lamb and veggies. The meal is shown in the photo at
the bottom left, while a closeup of our meal plate may be seen
in the photo at the bottom right. It was clearly a meal to
remember.
After the meal we headed to the coast. Tracy
wanted Bo to take some photos of us, as she was impressed by the
quality of photos that he posts on his Facebook page. So, after
sipping champagne and snacking on chocolate, Bo treated us to a
masterclass in photography, even making Dale look good! The
photo to the left shows some of Bo's handiwork. Other highlights
of our stay are captured on our Öland page. In addition
to visiting with Bo and Lotta, Gören and Agneta Strnberg (also
friends from the Beach Village) dropped by to say hello. They
have a house on the northern part of the island.
Upon our return to Stockholm, we met up with
Morag, who hosted us for our last few days in Sweden. Meeting us
at Stockholm Central Station, we took a train to her house in
the suburbs, where we reconnected with husband Martin and
daughter Melissa, who was packing for a holiday in Scotland. We
had several lovely dinners on their patio, and Morag took us to
Djurgården to visit the 