Our trip to Stockholm, the city on the lakes, has been long-awaited. It has been 2 years since Kristian and Oskar left New Zealand… Time has flown…
Monday at work went very quickly and I didn’t get much done. Met Millie at the train station and we set off on our journey from Gatwick Airport. We arrived around 10pm in Stockholm. Walking out of the airport, I looked to my left, and there was Oskar!! They still look the same! We spent the trip from Arlanda Airport to Oskar’s dad’s house trying to get used to driving on the right-hand side. There we met their
dad, Mats, step-mum, Anneke, younger sister, Jessica, and cat, Nisse.
Tuesday we set off into the city to meet Kristian and his girlfriend, Johanna. It was so good seeing the boys again after so long! It went right back to normal, making fun of each other and cracking naughty jokes about Oskar’s cat porn (eh Oskar!).
We walked the medieval streets of
Gamla Stan – the old town, where buildings date back to the 13th Century. We saw the Royal
Palace, an old church, and the many lakes and islands that make up Stockholm and the surrounding archipelago. We visited Mats at work in the city and took in the views from the top of his building… Amazing!!
We saw the government buildings, a march on unlawful killings in Iran, tasted liquorice ice cream… Scandinavians love their liquorice!! Then in the afternoon, the four of us – Millie, myself, Oskar, and Kristian, hired bicycles and rode all over the city. The boys being boys, doing big skids and trying to ride up stairs... We
rode around Djugården, one of the islands in central Stockholm; saw Trivoli the theme park, and more lakes and inlets, beautiful boats, bars, cafés and restaurants, and the stunning grand hotel. What an amazing way to see the city! And what a beautiful, clean and friendly city it is!! I would recommend hiring bicycles to anyone travelling to Stockholm!!
Wednesday we took a ferry tour around the waterways of Stockholm. We got to see some amazing sites from the water as we covered pretty much the entire area that Stockholm covers,
from the city centre right out to the new suburbs. We also learnt more about Stockholm’s history which was really interesting!
Next we took a look at the museum of the creator of Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Långstrump) –
Astrid Lindgren. I had no idea Pippi was Swedish… Then it was inside the
Vasa Museum… Yes, there are a LOT of museums in Stockholm. The Vasa was a Swedish ship built for King Gustavus Adolphus, from 1626-1628. It was made of oak and boasted very beautiful carvings to make the king appear more superior. The ship sunk on its maiden voyage due to an error in weighting
in the base of the ship. Over 300 years later the ship was found and resurfaced. The ship was then repaired and the surviving artefacts salvaged. This is what stands in the Vasa Museum today – a stunning ship!
On the way home we stumbled across a lovely little café, tucked away down an alley, below street level in Gamla Stan – a real old-town building. Then off to a great bar along Götgatan, where lots of great bars and restaurants lie.
Thursday we explored
City Hall where they hold the Nobel Prize banquets, among other events. The building really is magnificent! Every
piece of material in every room is impeccably thought out. The building consists of 8 million red bricks. The Blue Room is the most famous, though is brick, not blue, because the architect, Ragnar Östberg, thought it looked more beautiful that way. This is where the Nobel banquet is held on the 10th of December every year, the date of Alfred Nobel’s death. They host 1300 people for the dinner, and waiters serve them all in just three minutes. The room is not symmetrical, being wider at one end than the other, as Östberg wanted it to feel more natural. The short end boasts the graceful Else Stairs. Else was Östberg’s wife, whom he used to make the stairs perfect for
women to walk up and down in high heels and ball dresses.
The Swedish council chamber is also housed here, in a room whose roof was made to look like a ship. They say it may be based on the fact that the Vikings, when having meetings, would turn their boats upside down to create sheltered dens. The ceiling is painted to look like openings to the sky, which the Vikings called “wind eyes” (translated to English).
There are other rooms such as the Wedding room, where couples are married in either a “long”
ceremony taking a mere three minutes, or a short ceremony taking only one. Also, the ‘Man and Woman’ room, which is used for stately dinners and luncheons. But the most magnificent of all is the famous Golden Room where the guests of the banquets go to dance the night away… The room contains more than 18 million mosaic pieces made of glass and real gold. All over the walls are pictures in the mosaic depicting important Swedish people throughout history, the main feature of which is a woman representing world peace, ‘Queen of the Lake Mälaren’.
They don’t actually give the Nobel Prizes here - that is done in Stockholm’s Concert Hall.
Later that day we took a trip to
Skansen, the zoo and open air museum showing old-style shops, a machine workshop and glass blowing workshop. Sweden is very famous for its glassware. We watched them make a vase and I bought a beautiful cracked glass bottle with an old Swedish coin on the cork. However, the main reason for the zoo was for Millie and me to see a moose, as we weren’t going to see one in the wild.
In the evening the boys took us to meet their mum, Eva in Södertälje, south of Stockholm, and
elder brother, Johan. We also got to meet their lovely grandfather, Åke, on Tuesday.
Friday was a busy day. The morning was spent doing more tourist shopping and climbing the
Gondolen, where a cheeky lift (‘hiss’ in Swedish) attendant charged us 10SEK (Swedish Kronor) each to ride it to the top. (£0.76 or NZ$2.15). We had a really yummy lunch in their café though! From the top you get such beautiful views of the city and lakes, where very mild salt water meets what they call “sweet” water (fresh). There are locks dividing the two.
The afternoon took us to the famed
Ice Bar in the lobby of the Nordic Sea Hotel. It is a very small bar, equipped to hold 30 people at one time. Inside is -5°C and everything is made from ice – the bar, seats, tables, walls, even the cups. The ice was brought down from the north where the Ice Hotel lies in the freezing winter months. We got our cloaks and our Absolut cocktails, popped our thick gloves on and relaxed on the fur-lined ice couch. A definite must-see in Stockholm.
That evening we drove north with Oskar and his dad, Mats, to their batch on an island in Vettershaga. The island is called Lindholmen. They own half of the island, which was handed down through their family from 1895. They have the main homestead, plus a smaller cottage on the waterfront, then another building by the jetty containing another bedroom, tool shed and long-drop. They have electricity on the island, but no running water. Instead they use a well for drinking water. You can only get there by boat, which makes it a perfect holiday spot – you have your own space, can explore by boat the surrounding inlets, yet there are plenty of other holiday home owners
on the mainland close by. The buildings are all painted brick-red, typical of Swedish architecture. The paint is made from copper powder, is inexpensive, and lasts a very long time.
The water surrounding Lindholmen leads out to the Baltic Sea where we saw cruise boats heading to Finland.
We left the batch the following afternoon so Oskar could show us a town he is very fond of, Norrtälje. We strolled around the town, looking at all the old buildings and decided to have desert on the Norrtälje boat on the canal.
Delicious mum’s ship made creamy chocolate cake. Oskar and my favourite!! Then it was home to chill out with a couple of movies and a cider…
These ciders I discovered are called Xide. You can’t really tell they’re alcoholic, but they’re so yummy, with flavours such as mandarin & chilli, pomegranate & rhubarb, lime & cactus, and wasabi & lemon… Yum!!
Sunday we all got psyched to cheer for the boys’ favourite football team,
AIK, a team from Stockholm. Myself, Millie, Oskar, Kristian, and Johanna, all kitted out in AIK gear, drove just
over 2 hours in their eco-friendly Ford, to Örebro where they were playing a team of the same name. We were stood with the AIK supporters who were all cheering and chanting for their team. It was an excellent atmosphere, though a fight broke out among the hard-out fans belonging to the AIK firm (football hooligans). Apart from that, AIK won 4-1, so everyone was in a pretty great mood! We’ll have to learn more Swedish to chant with them next time.
Monday was our last day in Stockholm with the boys and we ate lunch together to say goodbye. Now we’re back in gloomy-weathered London…
We had such a great time catching up with Kristian and Oskar and meeting their family. We saw a lot of the city, but there’s still so much there to explore! From the beautiful, friendly, laid-back people, to their delicious food, such as liquorice ice cream – Pepe, cloudberry ice cream, lingonberries, crisp bread (knäckebröd), and the interesting caviar in a tube that I couldn’t quite bring myself to try. This country has a lot to offer!!
I learnt my vowels; å, ä, ö, as well as some basic words to work my way through menus and
some shops, and ‘tack’ to say thank you. It’s such an amazing place, with almost more cyclists than cars. I will certainly be back in the winter when all the lakes freeze over, to skate and ski.
Thank you so much to Mats, Anneke, Jessica, and Oskar for looking after us so well! And Kristian for being co-tour guide. We’ll see you all soon. See my pictures and videos
here.
On Monday I will have been in the UK a year... It's gone very quickly, as years tend to do the older you get. It's been an interesting and exciting one!
Glen Hammond and Regan Tate came to London this week for a few days before their contiki started in France. I took a few days off work to play tour guide and hit the town with them. We stayed in a hotel in Hammersmith - well I snuck in. Hammersmith, I found, is quite a fun little town, with great tube connections and a pretty good atmosphere! 
Millie and I tubed up to Wembley Arena on Friday night to see the legend, Gwen Stefani! She is amazing!! She looks fantastic, performed really well, singing from her Sweet Escape & Love.Angel.Music.Baby records, as well as a more recent No Doubt song. She was so entertaining, talking to the crowd, even running from the stage and diving into the crowd, joining us all with a big sing-along. She's the best performer I've seen so far!! I totally rate her concert and would recommend her to everyone!! (Photos & vids coming soon as Millie emails them to me).
Saturday was a LONG day, myself, Millie, and her friend Amy, waiting around central London until 3am when our coach finally left Victoria Station heading for Edinburgh to see the 2007 Rugby World Cup match between Scotland and New Zealand. With a coach full of Kiwis, the excitement was building for the match. After getting about 3hrs sleep that night, we finally arrived at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh at 11.30am Sunday morning.
printed the day before), silver ferns in our hair (which went down a treat with everyone), face paint, and NZ scarves. Then we spent the rest of the morning through to the start of the match exploring the stadium side of the city and getting acquainted with the thousands of other Kiwis there for the game.
atmosphere was electric, everyone just having the time of their lives. The Scots were fantastic hosts and great sports, everyone getting on so well before and after the match. It was great seeing all the Scottish men in their kilts... And as we later found out, they really DON'T wear anything under them... 
Edinburgh and the locals were amazing and I'll be back soon, for sure!! Click here to see the rest of my photos. The game was awesome!! GO ALL BLACKS!!!
Prince is a legend! We took ourselves back up to London on Sunday for Prince's Earth tour. He certainly lived up to his status! What an absolute legend!! He played a bunch of covers and some of his new stuff. He also played some of his most famous oldies, but shorter versions of them, including Raspberry Beret, Purple Rain, Alphabet Street, and my favourite, When Doves Cry! The funniest part was him getting people from the crowd on stage to dance, and one guy having the time of his life, despite not being the greatest dancer. They put the spotlight on him and he got to sing a couple of lines with Prince, whose stage was the shape of his symbol...
We've been in our new house in Portsmouth for two weeks now. Russ is getting back into study mode with his journalism course and I'm getting settled into my new job, working in planning for Hampshire Cosmetics, who make things for the Body Shop, among other things. The first week was a bit stressful, but now I'm starting on my own projects, things are settling down slowly. This is the lounge...
no outside space which has made it feel like a bit closed in, but I guess we'll get used to that. It's nice having the extra space for ourselves here, but the house was VERY VERY dirty when we moved in, so spent the whole first week cleaning. Not impressed! It's just courtesy to clean for new people about to move in!!
more realistic about wha we can afford, etc as Russ isn't working while he studies his full-time course.
On Friday (Aug 31st) Russell, some friends and a bunch of other people set out to break the world record of playing indoor hockey. They started at 2.30pm Friday, playing through the night to finish at 4.52pm Saturday. They broke the world record by 22 minutes, playing for 26hrs 22mins.
goodbye to people you've got to know and like. I seem to spend my life saying goodbye to people. That night I went out in Balham for 2 for 1 cocktails with the two guys in my "team" at work, Arif and Phil. It was just the three of us doing our particular job.
Gothic. Also a mixture of hand-crafted jewellery, art, photography, clothes and food. It really is an amazingly vibrant, energetic place!!
and I'm sure he's a familiar face in Camden. He had piercings and tattoos everywhere. His face is covered. He also has things on his teeth. I couldn't tell whether his face was painted or they were tattoos....he really is amazing to look at, besides his lack of clothing on the bottom half....
dad, Mats, step-mum, Anneke, younger sister, Jessica, and cat, Nisse.
rode around Djugården, one of the islands in central Stockholm; saw Trivoli the theme park, and more lakes and inlets, beautiful boats, bars, cafés and restaurants, and the stunning grand hotel. What an amazing way to see the city! And what a beautiful, clean and friendly city it is!! I would recommend hiring bicycles to anyone travelling to Stockholm!!
from the city centre right out to the new suburbs. We also learnt more about Stockholm’s history which was really interesting!
in the base of the ship. Over 300 years later the ship was found and resurfaced. The ship was then repaired and the surviving artefacts salvaged. This is what stands in the Vasa Museum today – a stunning ship!
piece of material in every room is impeccably thought out. The building consists of 8 million red bricks. The Blue Room is the most famous, though is brick, not blue, because the architect, Ragnar Östberg, thought it looked more beautiful that way. This is where the Nobel banquet is held on the 10th of December every year, the date of Alfred Nobel’s death. They host 1300 people for the dinner, and waiters serve them all in just three minutes. The room is not symmetrical, being wider at one end than the other, as Östberg wanted it to feel more natural. The short end boasts the graceful Else Stairs. Else was Östberg’s wife, whom he used to make the stairs perfect for 
women to walk up and down in high heels and ball dresses.
ceremony taking a mere three minutes, or a short ceremony taking only one. Also, the ‘Man and Woman’ room, which is used for stately dinners and luncheons. But the most magnificent of all is the famous Golden Room where the guests of the banquets go to dance the night away… The room contains more than 18 million mosaic pieces made of glass and real gold. All over the walls are pictures in the mosaic depicting important Swedish people throughout history, the main feature of which is a woman representing world peace, ‘Queen of the Lake Mälaren’.
elder brother, Johan. We also got to meet their lovely grandfather, Åke, on Tuesday.
That evening we drove north with Oskar and his dad, Mats, to their batch on an island in Vettershaga. The island is called Lindholmen. They own half of the island, which was handed down through their family from 1895. They have the main homestead, plus a smaller cottage on the waterfront, then another building by the jetty containing another bedroom, tool shed and long-drop. They have electricity on the island, but no running water. Instead they use a well for drinking water. You can only get there by boat, which makes it a perfect holiday spot – you have your own space, can explore by boat the surrounding inlets, yet there are plenty of other holiday home owners 
on the mainland close by. The buildings are all painted brick-red, typical of Swedish architecture. The paint is made from copper powder, is inexpensive, and lasts a very long time.
Delicious mum’s ship made creamy chocolate cake. Oskar and my favourite!! Then it was home to chill out with a couple of movies and a cider…
over 2 hours in their eco-friendly Ford, to Örebro where they were playing a team of the same name. We were stood with the AIK supporters who were all cheering and chanting for their team. It was an excellent atmosphere, though a fight broke out among the hard-out fans belonging to the AIK firm (football hooligans). Apart from that, AIK won 4-1, so everyone was in a pretty great mood! We’ll have to learn more Swedish to chant with them next time.
some shops, and ‘tack’ to say thank you. It’s such an amazing place, with almost more cyclists than cars. I will certainly be back in the winter when all the lakes freeze over, to skate and ski.
Here are some pictures of Russ and I checking out Greenwich and stepping on either side of the meridian line. I've just finished reading a book by Liz Jensen, My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time, which had a lot to do with this meridian line, which made visiting it even better.
We’re just back from a weekend away at a hockey festival, based at Russ’ hockey club, Yateley. They do it every year, and have a bunch of teams from various parts of the country coming to play in lots of half hour games of ‘for fun’ hockey. However there’s always much more drinking involved than there is hockey playing. We all camped out and had plenty of BBQs, making the most of there being no rain.
back. Russ’ was Russident Evil… I like it! Millie and I didn’t have one as we weren’t playing – we’re just along for the ride!
Live Earth 7.7.07, if you hadn't already heard of it, was a series of concerts all over the world, running for 24hrs combined, to promote awareness of climate change and the problems associated with it, and what we can all do to help. They had a bunch of bands at each concert, as well as other influential people to promote the idea, which was first brought about by Al Gore, and his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. If you haven’t already seen this film, then you really should. It’s quite amazing. I have no idea how Al Gore didn’t make presidency over George Bush. The world would certainly be different now if he was elected. 
Eyed Peas, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and the FooFighters, who were by far the best band of the night and totally owned the night!! They were amazing!! Famous people such as Geri Helliwell, Neve Campbell, Dr. Who, Eddie Izzard, and Chris Rock presented the artists. The concert finished at 10.30pm.
the message was taken in by everyone.
