Sweden is bright and clean and green and crisp. The sunlight is strong and radiant and the air tastes fresh and cool. Morning comes early as the sun makes its appearance around 3AM. The Swedish people are friendly and beautiful and their language sounds like a series of smiles.
We spent about 24 hours in Sweden, staying at a sweet little hotel near Stockholm. On Saturday morning we woke up early and explored the downtown area, marveling at the beautiful architecture.
We also visited a Renaissance Fair type village called Skansen, recreating what life was like in Sweden in the 1800’s. We suddenly found ourselves immersed in Swedish culture, and I feel like Skansen gave us a good glimpse of true Sweden. There was even a small zoo, stocked with Swedish wildlife – fuzzy moose, seal, elk, and bears.
Timmy always keeps me entertained, and he had a blast climbing up buildings, posing for silly pictures, and attempting to use old fashioned stilts. He was, of course, a natural. (I, on the other hand, was not.)
Lunch was found at a Thai kitchen downtown and we did a little shopping to find a Swedish board book to bring home for Baby Love.
Sweden uses krona for their currency, and one US dollar is equal to about 6 krona. This means that something like a $30 meal will cost 180 krona, which tends to take you by surprise upon first glance. Their money is so colorful and whimsical. (See the little boy riding the goose?)
I was surprised to see that there are dandelions in Sweden. I love dandelions and seeing this cheery yellow fellow in the grass made me feel right at home.
We were in Sweden again a week later, but only to spend the night and then catch our flight home early the next morning. At 10PM it was still bright as daytime outside and I was once again awakened by an early sunrise. I left Sweden with an impression of nonstop sunshine, which isn’t too realistic as this phenomenon is completely reversed in the winter months.
But still, Sweden gets a five star rating from the O’Briens.
my twin brother just decided to randomly learn swedish in high school...and God gave him a burden for Sweden...and now he gets to live there this summer. I showed him your pictures on fb. i think it got him a bit excited. you two are so cute and look like you have the best of times traveling. he'll be in stockholm. any advice before he takes off? :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun day! I love reading your account of your time there - and I didn't realize they had so much sunshine/darkness for long hours. The photo of you and Tim in front of the church is my favorite!
ReplyDeleteWhat a GREAT time!! I could not believe that God gave us so much fun and love in such a small period of time!!
ReplyDeleteYou were my favorite part darling!!!