GUSTO WITH GUSTAF - MORE WALKING, MORE MUSEUMS

Readers:
  
To read the adventure in the order of the Day by Day Trip Report click HERE. 

To see all the photos of STOCKHOLM click HERE.

Reminiscing

Becky reminded us that we have not had a soft drink of any kind since we left. No toxins in these bodies!

Must be on the downhill slope of the trip as we have been talking about missing things; 

Up and Down, All Around

Today the sun is shinning again and we had a walking guide (Eva Johnnson) for Beth and Becky. She met us at 10:00ish and off we went walking...thank goodness we had walking shoes. We walked around the Navy base, saw many house boats (not like ours) that are working boats with many from the 1800's, beautiful Navy base which has been turned into state or private buildings with the navy moved off somewhere else further out of town. And finally on this small island we saw the Museum of Modern Art Sculpture Garden with a magnificent Calder at the entrance.

Orion, House Boat

Grace Kelly's Yacht

Wooden Boat Construction School

More Walking, More Museums

Eva took us off the island and around to the next island and the Storkyrkan Lutheran Cathedral built in 1279. We were able to enjoy part of a service while we were there. (No photos allowed).

Out that door and over to The Nobel Museum which brought us up to date on the latest nobel laureates and the history of the prize. Sweden takes great pride in their hosting of this event where the King of Sweden presents each prize. (No photos allowed again).

Zip, Zip, Zoom right next door is The Royal Palace built in the 1800's and serves as the official residence of the King of Sweden. In the cellar, otherwise known as the Treasury, are the crown jewels. Since the royal family serves in name only, they do not wear the jewels but leave them on display for their citizens. (NO I told you NO PHOTOS)!!!

Coffee with Eva

After all the walking and viewing we were ready to sit and visit. Eva negotiated a coffee spot at an outdoor table.  

One of three phone booths left in Stockholm

We learned a bit more about conservative Sweden, shared books we all liked to read, and relaxed our tired feet.  We had all agreed that Palaces and Museums require lots of staff to maintain; we were grateful for coffee shop staff to serve us at the midday rest. 

Today is our last real day in Stockholm. We have enjoyed it immensely, loved the buildings, the people and the prices. Tomorrow very early in the morning we head to the airport and Iceland.

ABBA AND THE 30 OTHER MUSEUMS OF STOCKHOLM

Readers:
  
To read the adventure in the order of the Day by Day Trip Report click HERE. 
To see all the photos of STOCKHOLM click HERE.


Alta to Stockholm

Three flights, three airports, an hour's delay for luggage to appear on "the belt," an hour on the airport bus and finally a room at the Radisson Blu Strand.  Right where we need to be to explore using our Stockholm card -- the plastic pre-paid that gets us on to canal boats and into museums.  

Radisson Blu on the Strand -- nice hotel, two great helpful service guys who helped us set up wifi and later gave us our own router when they found out we have 2 macs, 2 iPhones, and an ipad.  We didn't mention the two Kindle Paperwhites.

Steaks

Since our hotel is very close to the old city, we took an evening walk after a bit of unpacking.  You know, the "turn left, turn left, cross the bridge" thing.  Walked past the palace where no royalty still reside -- they have homes out of Stockholm.  (Factoid:  Crown Princess married her trainer Daniel and he became an instant Prince.)

Found a dinner spot down one of the side alleys -- a Texas Steak House.  Where does the wonderful steak come from?  Holland.  The lamb?  New Zealand.  Any way you bite into it, twas wonderful.  Ribeye steak for Becky; ribs for Beth.  Beers for both.

Royal Canal Boat

Becky doing verification that the left, right left was the way to go.

Stockholm card (for which we had already paid) gave us tickets for a 1 hour narrated boat ride around the big garden island.  We saw the tv towers, the homes of the rich and famous, the no-longer-in-use toll booth where in earlier days the farmers and merchants brought their goods into the city, the re-fit of manufacturing into upscale city living, the site of the sunken Vasa ship (more later.)

Museums

Walking the famous Strand, with buildings from an earlier and more decorative era, built to mimic the French and other European capital richness.  This is the walking area along the waterfront and we loved it:  houseboats, 2-masted sailing boats, even a small cruise boat. 


By now we're hungry and waterfronts always offer food, if not of the gourmet variety at least of the 'feed me now' style.  A hot dog in a bun that was actually a sealed tube, with mustard squeezed into the tube before the hot dog was inserted.  Important detail:  no dripping mustard!

Then a stroll to the Swedish National Museum( Nordiska Museet), originally designed to represent all of the Nordic regions, but later re-fitted to show Swedish daily life thru the centuries.  Quite fun:  clothing, textiles, furniture, dishes, snuff boxes, pen nibs, doll clothees, toys, etc.  You get the idea.

Rest please

Coffee.  Very special for the following reasons:
As many refills as we wanted;
Stay as long as we like.
Outdoors, with a breeze, in the shade.

Vasa -- sunken ship

"Between four and five o'clock, the great new warship VASA keeled over and sank." (in the Stockholm Harbor August 10, 1628) The king built it to show Europe he was capable, strong, and stylish.  It sank on the day of its launching while the entire town watched.  It stayed in the harbor for 300 years until it was resurrected.  It is now the Vasa Museum fully restored. It truly is a fascinating story.

CLICK FOR MORE ON THE VASA

Tonight we go looking for a quick and quiet and close dinner. Then to rest our little feets from the many steps we climbed and the many steps we took! More tomorrow...

ON THE ROAD AGAIN - GOODBYE NORWAY - HELLO SWEDEN

Readers:  

To read the adventure in the order of the Day by Day Trip Report click HERE. 
To see MORE photos click HERE.

Hitting the Road.

Up at dawn (since it has been dawn all night.) Remember Midnight sun. We have spent all this week above the Arctic Circle enjoying continuous daylight. Today at 7:30am, we leave Alta and head for Tromso, Oslo and the Glorious Sweden. We said goodbye to Inger and Vikki with a celebratory dinner at the Rica Hotel in Alta. Today and for the rest of the trip we will be on our own while missing them as they have fun in other places.


As we got into the clouds we saw how really beautiful Alta is. Located on the fjord/lake it offers cross-country skiing with beautiful lodges along the way, Gene says it has some of the greatest powder skiing anywhere, and golfer, Anika Sorenstamm.

Lutheran Northern Lights Cathedral

New walking downtown Alta, Norway

Celebrating Stockholm

We have three days and loads of activities to complete. We are in our first Radisson Blu Hotel (Iceland will be also). This hotel is right on the Strand. We overlook the water, boats, and beautiful buildings. Stockholm at first glance is huge. Well we have been in villages of 3K - 6K folks in the High North Norway so any city is going to be overwhelming.

The city has been preserved as there was no bombing during the war (they stayed neutral) and the tops of the buildings are mostly mansard roofs with a French twist. Cobbled stone narrow streets and tiny shops are along the way. The churches are marvelous and soar into the sky. Be prepared for loads of photos.

The Strand

The Strand

The Old Town

The Old Town

We are looking forward to a few hours of dark for sleeping.  The 24/7 daylight is so seductive, tempting you to awaken at 2:15 am for yet another adventure.  We are a bit sleep deprived so tonight's 5 hours between sun down at 10 and sun rise at 4 promise to be hours of delightful serious sleep.

We hope that wherever you are your dreams are sweet and your rest is peaceful.

ON THE ROAD TO ALTA

Readers:  

To read the adventure in the order of the Day by Day Trip Report click HERE. To see MORE photos click HERE.

FYI All is good, we found this on the shelf as we crossed from Finland back to Norway. Just a little touch of home:)

A great location for a picnic on a quiet lake.

So we did and it was great!

FAREWELL TO MAGIC ENGHOLM AND THE DOGS

Today we head north to Alta as our final driving destination. We are sad to be leaving Engholm Lodge and the poochies. However, the dogs are also packing off to move to the lake and enjoy swimming and playing and escaping the mosquitos. 

Vikki having a soft boiled egg held in a raindeer horn eggcup.

This is the workshop of Sven Engholm. Cool huh? He designs and builds all of the pieces that enhance each of the cabins. We wish we knew more about the people responsible for the overall concept, the fabrics, the furniture, etc.

As we leave, we are again reminded that Robert Service had a love of the High North Country. One of our Arizona friends, Gene, sent this comment early today;

"THIS IS ALL i REMEMBER: (It's been 70 some years ago ya know)   

I'm Sam McGee from Tennessee where the cotton blooms and grows

Why I left my home in the South to roam in the North God only knows

It was always cold but the land of gold seems to hold me like a spell

Though I often say in my homey way I'd sooner live in hell."

 The Road to Alta 

Inger drove off toward Kautokeino for about two hours, including a picnic lunch in a Sami park. We ate surrounded by old Sami housing that was not destroyed in the German razing of Finnmarken as they retreated toward Russia.

  In Kautokeino is a large silver artisans' (18 designers) design studio. Now I mean to tell you this is in the middle of nowhere Finnmarken. Here is this beautiful facility with cars parked everywhere (we saw none on the road to there). Marvelous design items, including loads of great silver jewels. Sami Joik singing was being played in the entire facility. Smashing!

We learned earlier that Joik singing is simply tones, no words.  Each Sami child is gifted a personal joik by his/her parents.  Later, the songs are sung as a personal expression, an appreciation of nature, or as a prayer for meditation.  Remember -- no words.

Another two hours with Becky driving us around the mountains, up and down along the river we arrived in Alta where we have checked into the Rica Hotel. We are so grateful for our two drivers, Inger and Becky. Terrific in all ways.

We have a "sort of" view looking out onto the construction site of the Northern Lights Cathedral of Alta. Tomorrow we say a fond farewell to the others, Inger and Vikki, as we split and go our separate ways.

We've learned and shared.  We've laughed and giggled.  We've enjoyed every precious moment.  Vikki was our museum expert in whom we never were disappointed whether is was the Polar Museum in Tromso or the many Sami exhibits. Inger will have a challenge in planning our next trip to Norway -- with every event/location she has offered incredible experiences.  

Gratitude is our attitude.

THE SAMI NATION

Readers:  
To read the adventure in the order of the Day by Day Trip Report click HERE. To see all the Sami photos click HERE.

Dinner in situ

A quick comment about dinner last night! Lamb from some upcountry farm and great veggies. Look closely at the kitchen makeup. Each thing is unique and fun!

L to R:  Vikki, Inger, Becky, Beth

A Bit of Robert Service in Context

Last night we had a bit of Robert Service; "The Call of the Yukon". We had prepared the poem for when we were here but expecting it to be cold and a little more in the mood. However being here at Engholm Lodge is as perfect a location for Robert Service as anywhere. We shall select another one for tonight.

The Squaw Man

The cow-moose comes to water, and the beaver's overbold,
The net is in the eddy of the stream;
The teepee stars the vivid sward with russet, red and gold,
And in the velvet gloom the fire's a-gleam.
The night is ripe with quiet, rich with incense of the pine;
From sanctuary lake I hear the loon;
The peaks are bright against the blue, and drenched with sunset wine,
And like a silver bubble is the moon.
Cloud-high I climbed but yesterday; a hundred miles around
I looked to see a rival fire a-gleam.
As in a crystal lens it lay, a land without a bound,
All lure, and virgin vastitude, and dream.
The great sky soared exultantly, the great earth bared its breast,
All river-veined and patterned with the pine;
The heedless hordes of caribou were streaming to the West,
A land of lustrous mystery -- and mine.

THE DOGS!!!!

Oh My Gosh! This morning after breakfast we had the privilege to help feed the dogs who were just outside the dining room waiting impatiently for us to finish breakfast so they could be fed. There are 58 dogs, all except one are chained. The lead dog goes around keeping all dogs in their place. It is terrific.

This is how we felt this morning as we were eating breakfast with the dogs waiting and howling for their food!

Regular dog house for each dog.

Lead dog with house pet dog waiting for food. They get theirs first!

Below is a video of the dogs in their habitat at Engholm.  Click on the "play" arrow even if you don't see the picture.

The best of the best....the dogs knowing breakfast is on the way.

All the dog names ready to be harnessed. 

Remember these dogs have run some mighty great races.

 Becky volunteered to assist in the doggie breakfast. She was assigned a pooper scooper and a scoop. She then went around scooping poop while the dogs ate and prepared to p... some more!

Becky finished with a "Moods of Norway" design on her jeans and shirt from the dogs paw prints. Both of which had to be washed asap!! What fun fun fun!!!!

The Sami

We are staying in the Sampii area at the Engholm Design Husky Lodge which is right in the middle of where the Sami people live. They have a Parliament of their own but function under the Norwegian government. We visited their Parliament, visited their museums and have learned so much about these indigenous people. They have preserved their culture and language but function well within the Norwegian society. Many Sami still ranch with reindeer and we had a great time taking photos of the reindeer up close.

The Sami Parliament

Two Sami men

The famous white reindeer and the shedding of winter fur.

Our dinner location at the Rica Hotel near the Sami museum. A sod restaurant. 

A meal of reindeer costs about 60$ US.

KARASJOK - ENGHOLM HUSKY DESIGN LODGE

Readers:  
To read the adventure in the order of the Day by Day Trip Report click HERE. To see all the Husky photos click HERE.

Private Driver and Portage

Road trip -- need a car.
Road trip -- need a car for four women and luggage.
Inger and Hertz/Kirkenes have provided:  a VW Passat wagon.  

Great Thon hotel in Kirkenes, great room, great view

Road trip -- car delivered to Thon Hotel and we're off by 10:15 am.  Down the road and thru town to a gas station to buy a map, tho car rental man provided directions in Norwegian to Inger.  We drove thru Finland -- a short cut.  (More later.)

Go this far to a bridge but not over it.  Turn left.  Go to a K-name town and take the road to the right/north.  Go to the second K-name town and find tourist info.   So fun, Vikki insisted we stop at each shop opportunity in Finland to see if there is something for us to purchase. We ended up having a great picnic in Finnland beside a great lake.

Nothing until we found a grocery where we loaded up on snacks. Vikki got some of the great dark chocolate with pear and almond, Karl Fraser.

 Inger called our lodging place and after another couple of "go here's" and "turn there's" we are at 

Engholm Husky Lodge

Here's the link so you can learn more.  Here.

You will see that everything is natural -- floors, shelves, brackets, sink, even the shower mat is inlaid stone.  Furniture made from logs, sod on the roof, bear skin on the wall, mink hanging in the corner, fish eagle feather lamp.  This is how the northwest should look! Luscious, luscious, luscious. We are in awe of the talent and the design.  We met Sven Engholm who is an 11 times winner of Europe's longest sled dog race, the "Finnmarksløpet - 1000 km.-- and his husky dogs. Sven completed the Iditarod 4 times in 1996-1999, once finishing in the top ten!

The home of Willis/Bianco, and on the other side Jacobsen/Kingslien

Dinner here tonight.  Probably a walk to the Karasjok River if the elephant-sized mosquitos are forgiving. The folks here don't swim, they jump in the river for a dip!!! Usually mornings...tomorrow we shall join them! 

Our bedroom

Our Kitchen

Becky and Inger toasting the beautiful site

Wait until we tell you about the  dogs.