Month: January 2008

Last weekend, we took our first trip to Scandinavia. In particular, to visit the Swedish capital of Stockholm and the unofficial capital of Scandinavia. Interestingly, Stockholm is nearly the same latitude as both St Petersburg, Russia and Anchorage, Alaska. While the days are short (right now the sun rises at about 8:00 AM and sets at 3:30 PM), it wasn’t as bad as we expected.
Although the temperature and wind were very chilly, we didn’t see much actual ice.

One of our favorite things to do when it’s rainy outside is visit museums. Fortunately, for us, Stockholm had plenty on the first day. In fact, there are about 70 and all of the ones we visited were fascinating.
The first was the Vasa Museum. Although the museum really only has one subject … a seventeenth century warship, it provided hours of entertainment and history lessons. When it was launched in 1628 to aid the Swedish King, Gustavus Adolphus, he was embroiled in a war with Poland. The Thirty Years War didn’t seem to be going very well for the Protestants. Since Sweden was very protestant by this time, the King pressured the ship builders to complete the ship quickly and with two gun decks. Unfortunately, this made the ship very top heavy. On its maiden voyage with only a small crew (and visitors) on board, the ship tested the guns with two barrages to salute the king. Soon after it let out the sail in open water, it encountered stability problems. With the gun ports open it couldn’t right itself and sunk to the bottom in a matter of minutes. It stayed at the bottom for the next 333 years. In 1961 to much international fanfare it was raised to the surface. Over the next two decades, it was painstakingly restored. Amazingly, it is 95% original and to preserve the wood it was covered in polyethylene glycol (which is very similar to ethylene glycol used to deice aircraft).

Here you can see where the 64 guns were placed.



This rather macabre display was also a fascinating look at the life of 17th century sailors.

The Swedish Royal Palace is guarded by troop of soldiers who perform a daily ceremony to rotate in a fresh crew.


These soldiers are serving their compulsory military service. An interesting idea … compulsory military service.



The band provided great music to accompany the ceremony.


Here are a couple images of the Old Town, Gamla Stan.



Although it was campy and ultra-touristy, we stopped by the Ice Bar. We would have preferred to stay in the Ice Hotel, but that was a long way to the north in Lapland. So, this had to do.

Sweden’s famous vodka was flowing freely at the bar.

Although the floor and ceiling are not ice, virtually everything else was … including the cups (the word glass just doesn’t work).

This is what happens if you lean on the table for too long in an ice bar.

They are kind enough to provide parkas to keep everyone warm in the chilly bar.

Another great museum we toured was the Skansen Open-Air Museum. This was founded in 1891 and was the first of its kind. The idea was to show what life was like throughout Sweden. So, houses and buildings were brought in from all over the country, filled with people in period costumes who are eager to answer any question visitors have and
many animals from the country. Unfortunately, the day we were there it was very overcast and bleak. So, we don’t have any pictures of the dwellings, but below are a few images of the native inhabitants of Sweden.
This wolf is very handsome in his winter coat.

It seems I have an affinity for cats and this lynx is no exception.

This Great Gray Owl seemed to be watching everything all at once.


The moose is a favorite of ours from Canada as well.

Beside the local fauna, there was another museum that had a number of more exotic inhabitants. This first image is of Green Boa.


This Bamboo Lemur from Madagascar was non-stop motion.

This is a Red Titi Monkey from South America.

Another transplant from South America, the notoriously slow moving Two Toed Sloth.

A dragon-like Variable Bush Viper from West Africa.

So, that concludes our first foray into Scandinavia. We loved everything we saw and wish for another week to really get to know the city. Perhaps we’ll come back through on our way to the Ice Hotel next year. Or, a trip in the summer to better appreciate the natural beauty of the many islands that are a part of and surround the city.
So, until then…
–Jim

Happy New Year!
Anna, Julie, Michael and I went up to Amsterdam to ring in the New Year. It was quite a party. The main square (Dam Square … as in the device to hold back water), which was the epicenter of a massive party.
We arrived with only minutes left in 2007.

The crazy thing about the party is that the fireworks display wasn’t organized … it was individuals lighting their own pyrotechnic displays.

The live music was nice too.

The countdown began…


Happy 2008!!!




It seems that the digital camera has become the new lighter.


Anna and Julie trying to stay warm.

Julie and Michael.

The streets were quite crowded.

A couple of revelers.

This is how many fireworks were set off. Neither champagne nor fireworks seemed to be lacking that night.



This is the only daytime image we have of the canals, but it was fun to wander around this laid-back city again.

The next day we went up to Brussels. This is the Grand Place, one of the most picturesque squares in Europe (that we’ve seen thus far).



Here is Belgium’s understated national monument again, the Manneken Pis.

I think they may have enjoyed the waffles more than the 17th century statue that used to distribute fresh water.

The last day of Julie and Michael’s visit, we showed them our favorite places in Luxembourg. One of the most poignant is of course the American Military Cemetery and Memorial that provides a final resting place for over 5,000 American servicemen from WWII.

That concluded our time on this trip. It was great to spend so much quality time with Julie and our soon to be newest member of our family.
So, until the next adventure…
–Jim

Last week, my sister Julie and her fiance, Michael arrived from Los Angeles. After a weather delay in New York city for a day they arrived on Christmas day. The weather was perfect for Christmas. A heavy frost coated the countryside in white. So, our afternoon walk was quite spectacular. Unfortunately, my camera didn’t accompany us, so I don’t have any images to share.
The next morning, I had to go back to work, but Julie and Michael borrowed our car and went to visit friends in Paris. When they returned, they agreed that Paris is an amazing city.
Next stop was to the Czech Republic’s capital city of Praha (also known as Prague). Although communism took hold of the country in 1948 and held on until the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989. Now, capitalism has firmly returned and the country (and Prague specifically) has become rather expensive. Nonetheless, the architecture is something to admire and the fact that the city was relatively untouched during WWII makes the city center remarkable.
We began our tour at the Prague Castle, or Prasky hrad. This is the most popular tourist attraction in the city. Also, according to the Guinness Book of World Records it is the largest ancient castle in the world. With a length of 570 meters and a width of about 128 meters, it is almost a city unto itself.
Here are a few images of the stoic guards at the entrance.



This is St Vitus cathedral. It looks very Gothic and was begun in 1344, but wasn’t completed until 1953, with the very modern touch of the artists carving sculptures of themselves over the triple doorway.

Among the many reliquaries housed in the cathedral is the tomb of St Wenceslas. He was the Duke of Bohemia in the 10th century, but is perhaps best known as the subject of the Christmas carol, Good King Wenceslas. Interestingly, the lyrics make no mention of Christmas, only the very Christian virtue of aiding the less fortunate and a saint’s feast on Dec 26th.

There were also blacksmiths outside the castle practicing their art. Julie and Michael picked up a very nice piece for their home.

The castle also afforded great views of the city.


Then, we wandered down to the Vlatava River.

This is the 500 meter long Charles Bridge. It was completed around 1400 and withstood the constant strain of wheeled traffic for 600 years when it was made pedestrian after WWII.

These are a few views from the bridge.

You can see the crush of people can be a bit much, and this wasn’t even the summer tourist season!

This perspective offers a nice view of the castle.


A clock tower in the Old Tower Square.

This is the astronomical clock. It dates from the 15th century and drew quite a crowd to watch the hourly parade of the 12 apostles.

These tasty rolls were sold at several places in the main square, which was teeming with the commercialism of a Holiday Market.

These are a few images from the market in the Old Town square. Although this particular market is relatively new, the square has been the center of Prague’s commerce since the 10th century.




This is the distinctive Gothic Church of Our Lady Before Tyn.




Tasty ham being served rotisserie style.

The music was very enjoyable.


Julie and Anna as the subway train passed.

The weekend went by very quickly, and was quite nice. However, we left with the feeling that commercialism has strongly taken root again (to its credit) and left the city VERY expensive for visitors and locals alike.
Next stop was Amsterdam for a huge New Year’s celebration. Until then…
–Jim