And we are off!

Ellie and I were very excited to wake up early this morning and head off to the airport.  I was up at 4 and Ellie at 5 so we could catch the flybuss to the airport.  The bus is a dedicated line to the airport and picks up 2 blocks from our house!  David walked us down to help with luggage.  Ellie was very sad to say bye to Daddy.  The airport was extremely crazy with the bombing happening several days ago.  There was an extra layer of security to get through and the lines were backed up.  We made it to the gate with just 30 minutes until take off.  Luckily, the flight had been delayed by 30 minutes so we had some time to collect ourselves and get a drink before boarding. 

I could not have asked for a better co-traveller.  Ellie did great on both planes and the layover in Atlanta.  She even took a 2 hour nap on the long flight during “nap time”.   After takeoff from Newark, she fell asleep after the beverage service and awoke after we had pulled up to the gate.  All she wanted to do was sleep and not get off the plane(It was 1 am Stockholm time).  Thank goodness for the stroller or we wouldn’t have made it to baggage claim.   It was awesome to see Mom and Dad waiting for us at baggage claim.  It took Ellie a minute but she recognized them fairly quickly and woke right up.  After a stop at Cracker Barrel on the way home, we made it back to Cayce without any issues.

Waiting for the Flybus.

Getting ready to head to the States!

I can’t believe tomorrow is the big day!  What a to do list we have to get ready to fly out tomorrow.  First on the list was taking Ellie’s Christmas card picture.  I just finished her dress last night.  What drama this dress has been.  The pattern I started with I hated about 1/3 of the way through so I ripped it out and David helped me come with a “pattern” that would work.  Ellie had fun playing model out in the snow.  Paci baby even got in on the act.  We ran a few last minute errands, picking up food for David at the store and returning library books.  By bedtime we were all packed and crashed early to be ready for tomorrow.  So excited!

Not picture time again!

Okay I will try to be cute.

Mommy is silly.

Is it over yet?

Don't forget a picture of my baby.

Skansen Christmas Market

Today we were off to another Christmas Market.  This one was located at Skansen.  Skansen is an open air history museum located in Djurgården.  They have the typical blacksmith shops, leather shops, glass blowers etc.  There is also a beautiful church, barnyard with animals, and examples of typical Swedish buildings.  The vendors were set among the buildings.  There were some crafts but mostly food.  I think that most people attend these fairs to eat the food.  Of the three markets I have been too, Taxiage was my favorite. 

There is also a small amusement park with rides.  Ellie was excited to see the rides.  She asked to ride the swings.  It was her first “fair” ride by herself.  She loved it.  She also rode the merry-go-round with Daddy. Skansen was a really neat place to explore, we will have to go back when Christmas is over and the weather is better. 

Happy to be out and about with my baby!

The "outside" train that goes to Djurgarden.

Skansen

View of Stockholm from Skansen

David loved the fence.

Ellie rides the swing for the first time and loved it!

Fun in the snow!

It was another fun day at the park.  We went to Vasaparken.   Ellie had so much fun trying to climb the snowy hills and sliding back down again!

I made it!

Sledding

Today we were out shopping and found a small sled.   Ellie has seen some of the other kids sledding in the park and has wanted to try it.  It was a cheap sled so we decided to try it out.  After the shopping was done we headed to Rådmansgatan to a hill we have seen other kids use.  She never quite got the hang of how to do it, which was probably due to me teaching her.  I didn’t really know what I was doing.  She had a blast though and thought she was doing it which was all that mattered. 

Wipe out!

Fun in the snow!

Christmas Stars

Today we picked up a star for our window.  Placing a star – 5, 6 or 8 pointed – in the window is a Swedish custom.  They can be seen in most home and business window during the holiday season.  The stars are made of paper and fold flat for storage.  Add a light bulb and you have a Swedish decoration.

Christmas on Gamla Stan

Today we went to a Christmas Market on Gamla Stan.  The stalls were overflowing with all sorts of foods and craft items.  There was plenty of glögg and gingerbread cookies.  Glögg is a traditional drink in Sweden that is similar to a sweetened, spiced wine or grape juice served mainly in November and December.    It is traditionally served with peanuts and raisins thrown in the cup.  Ellie enjoyed a hotdog for lunch.  She really loves the hotdogs the stands serve here. Gamla  Stan was so pretty all dressed up for Christmas with the snow all around.

Each vendor had a stall to display their products.

Daddy and Ellie enjoy the Market

The market with Gamla Stan in the background.

Special Bread

Ellie has found her new favorite food in Sweden  - the saffron bun – or as Ellie calls it “special bread”.   In other areas of the world they are flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg and currants.  The Swedish version leaves out the cinnamon and nutmeg and replaces the currents with raisins.  They are baked in a reverse S shape.  They are sweeter than bread but not sweet enough to be sweet bread.  I think they are perfect for breakfast.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffron_bun

St Lucia

Ellie and I set out today to buy an early Christmas present for David.  We were looking for a St. Lucia decoration that he had seen and loved.  It is a wooden depiction of the St. Lucia parade that is celebrated here in Sweden.  A procession of girls enters carrying candles and singing songs.  The lead girl wears a wreath on her head of candles.   I love learning about the local traditions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy's_Day

Home Again

Finally, we are back in Stockholm.  I think I have officially had my longest trip ever.  David got back in line at 4am to try to get us rebooked for the trip from Frankfurt to Stockholm.  At 5:50, he had us flying through security to try to make it to the gate because we were flying standby on the 7:15 flight.   We were all starving but wanted on a plane more than we wanted food.  At the gate we ran into Daniel, David’s coworker that we flew out with on Friday.  They were also standby passengers.  When we checked the list, Ellie was 23rd, Dava 24^th and David was 25^th.   David and I joked that if they made it to 23 we were going to send Ellie and have a very pleasant 9:15 flight. 

Everything was in complete chaos at the gate.  The staff told us that they really had no clue how many people were booked for the flight and if they were in the airport or not.  After the initial boarding, they started paging booked passengers.  Many must not have made it back from their hotels.  The airline was putting passengers in hotels as far as two hours away.  Amazingly, all three of us made that first flight.   We had to be bussed out to our plane since there were planes parked all over the place. David was across the aisle and Ellie and I were one seat apart.  The person we were sitting beside gladly switched with Ellie so we could sit together.  

While we were still waiting for clearance to take off, Ellie wanted to color.  I got her set up but she got frustrated that I wouldn’t color with her.  Having a (quiet) drama moment she flopped back in her seat.  It must have felt really good to lay back because she stuck her thumb in her mouth and two sucks later she was fast asleep.   She woke up after we had landed and her first question was, “Are we ever going to take off?”  Sadly our luggage did not make the plane.  The airport staff said that 6000 pieces of Stockholm luggage were currently in Germany. 

Heading home we took the Flybus.  It picks up right at the airport and has a stop two blocks from our house.  It was so much easier that dragging luggage through T-Centralan and cheaper too.  It was so great to get home and just crash.  What a trip!

Venice - Day 3

It is our last day in Venice.  We headed out of the hotel with the goal of doing a little shopping and exploring.  Passing by a gondola station, we decided to take a ride.  I think we would have regretted not going for a gondola ride.  It was a great experience.  The gondola went through the smaller canals that we had only seen from bridges.  We passed our hotel from the canal side and could pick out our room since we had left the shutters open.  The skill the gondoliers have is incredible.  They got under bridges I would have said were impossible.  Venice is slowly sinking so the bridges keep getting lower and lower.  It is also the season of high water.  During December and January the water level is so high that the gondoliers are unable to work.  The high water also hinders the firefighters, police officers and ambulance crews, all who use boats to move around the city. 

We then did a little shopping and walked through St. Marks Church again.  It is just amazing the craftsmanship that has gone into the building.  The museum was open so we went through it.  It had amazing tapestries, mosaic fragments and sculptures. 

On the boat ride back to the airport, we discovered our flight had been cancelled.  At first they were unable to book us on another flight and we were waiting for hotel information.  Then, they discovered a plane was still on the ground headed for Frankfort and we were booked to that flight.  Arriving in Frankfort, there was no plane parking.  After waiting on the runway for about 30 minutes we were transferred to a paved lot and rode a bus into the terminal.  We ran for our Stockholm flight which they had announced as “on time” only to find out it was cancelled.  After David waited in line for 5 hours, they closed the ticket counters before he got there.  They had long since run out of hotel rooms within a two hour drive of the airport.  They did give us a juice, water, and snack mix called “happy mix”.  I wonder if it was supposed to improve our mood. It was a little frustrating to spend the night in the airport not knowing a plan for the next day.  Thankfully while David waited, I have found a cart they used to move people around the airport.  Ellie was able to lie down on the seat with her blanket and music box and sleep for about 4 hours.  David and I were able to catch a couple of catnaps but it was a long night. 

Ellie and Daddy are happy to be on the water!

Our gondolier

Ellie is one happy traveler!

Sorry about your flight - have some happy mix!

I have my blankie, music box and a flat surface - night night.

Venice - Day 2

We woke up to rain.  At least we came prepared.  After a quick breakfast downstairs, we headed out to explore.  We returned to St. Mark’s Squares to look around.  We did a little shopping.  We had lunch at a cafeteria.  It was great because it was really easy to get everyone something they liked.  Ellie had grilled vegies and fruit salad.  David had roasted chicken and potatoes.  I had tortellini soup and salad.

After lunch we made our way to the boat docks to start our boat tour of three islands.  The first island was Murano, the glass making island.  We watched a glass maker make an ornament and a horse.  Ellie was fascinated with the process.  They had a gallery filled with all sorts of beautiful glassware.  We managed to look at everything and escape without breaking anything. 

The second island was Torcello.  It had a beautiful old church.  There were also so shops and restaurants but most were closed due to the weather and it being the end of season.   The third island was Burano.  The island is famous for its handmade lace.  This was Ellie’s and my favorite island.  She loved watching the lady make the lace and exploring the shop.  She like the pure lace items better than the ones that also had embroidery or crochet on them. 

Since we were part of a group tour, we only had about 30-40 minutes on each island.  I wish we would have had more time to explore but there is never enough time.  Back at the dock, we were all starving.  We found a little café for dinner.  David had wonderful spaghetti with meat sauce.  I had tortellini in cream sauce and Ellie had pizza.  We were all exhausted from the last two days, so it was back to the hotel.  We were all in bed by 7pm.  Ellie and I slept straight through to 8am.  Sleep is wonderful!

Fun in the rain!

St Marks from the back.

Making of a glass horse

Ellie with the finished horse.

Beautiful church on the island of Torcello.

Making lace

A sample of a few of the beautiful products.

Venice - Day 1

We are here!  After our late night, we decided we would sleep until 9am.  Our first tour started at 11:30, so we didn’t have to push ourselves.  We woke up to a surprise.  We could hear boats.  The room we had was canal side.  What an amazing view to wake up too. The weather was perfect - bright blue sky, warm sunshine and not a drop of rain to be seen. We had a good breakfast downstairs at the hotel and then set off to try to find the start of our tour.  Thankfully, David sense of direction had kicked in overnight and we found our destination with very little difficulty.  Venice is such a beautiful city but all the little alley ways and bridges make it a challenge to navigate.  We had a wonderful tour guide.  She was a native Venician and her love for her city was evident. 

The tour covered the major highlights of the city St Mark’s Square and basilica.  The basilica was simply amazing.  The pictures do not capture the beauty of the basilica.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside but they would not have shown what we saw.  Ellie’s favorite part of the church was the floor.  It was all marble mosaics.  She loved looking at the pretty colors and patterns.  The ceiling was also amazing.  The mosaics were all down on a back ground of gold.  They turn the lights on for one hour each day and thankfully we were able to be there during that time frame.  The glitter and shine was amazing. 

After St. Mark’s Square, we headed off the beaten path to see other parts of the city.  Some of the alley ways were so narrow; two people couldn’t stand across them.  We were able to see the city hospital and a school.  Maro Polo’s family home was also on the tour.  At the end of the tour, we had just enough time to grab a quick lunch before heading to our next tour.  We stopped at a café.  David and Ellie had pizza (a recurring theme of the trip for Ellie).  I had the best cannelloni I have ever had.  Yummy.

Our boat tour covered the Grande Canal that divides Venice into two sections.  It is just amazing to see all the entrances to building from the water.  Many building in Venice have two entrances: one from an alley and one from the canal.  Ellie can’t quite get her mind around a town without any cars.  It has been a source of many questions.  But she loves seeing and riding on all the boats.  Most of the buildings along the Grande Canal were built when Venice was a huge merchant center.  The buildings are large and impressive with lots of decoration.  Today, many function as government building or museums.  There are still a few that are private and can be rented out for weddings and events.  The fee for one of the buildings is 20,000 euros for one evening.  We got to go under the Rialto Bridge.  It is quite an impressive bridge that also holds 24 shops.  After the tour we made a quick stop for Ellie's favorite part of Italy - gelato.

After the tour, we headed back to our room for a quick nap.   The events of last night were catching up with us.  After a short nap we were back up and off in search of dinner so that we could make the ghost tour.  The ghost tour met on top of the Rialto Bridge.  It was so neat to wander around Venice at night.  The ghost stories were fun to hear and mixed in with the stories were lots of actual facts about Venice. 

Water near St. Mark's Square

St Mark's Church with flooding in the square

Some of the detail on the outside of the church

Ellie with one of the many wells.

The Realto Bridge

David and Ellie enjoy a gelato!

View from our hotel window

Wow this alley's are narrow!

Out on the Grande Canal.

Off to Italy!

We are so excited and ready for our Italian adventure today.  David went into work for half a day.  We left the house at 1:30pm to head for the airport which is Ellie’s usual nap time.  About noon, she asked if she could go lay down and sleep.  She must have known what was coming.  After an hour of sleep, I got her up and we headed to T-Centralan to meet David.  We took the Arlanda express to the airport.  It is the only train that goes to the airport but is not part of the SL system.  It is a little pricy but we had gotten two free vouchers from David’s trip in January.  Ellie rides free.  Santa had a house at T-Centralan but Ellie did not want to go talk to Santa.  She has decided just to send a letter in hopes Santa will read it. 

At the airport, checking went smoothly and we headed on to security.  While David and I were getting everything up on the belt, Ellie was anxious to get going.  As soon as she saw her Dora backpack hit the belt, she went on through the metal detector.  As soon as we realized Ellie wasn’t right beside us, we had a moment of panic.  As we started looking for her, I heard a voice from the other side asking, “Could someone please hand me my backpack?”  I hurried on through and we I got to Ellie asked why she had left without us.  Her reply was that she didn’t want to lose her backpack.  She may be getting a little too comfortable flying.   After making it through security, I found Starbucks on my way to the gate.  I paid way too much but that was the most delicious, Chai Tea Latte I have ever had.  As the time for our flight rolled around, they announced the first delay.  An hour later the second delay was announced, both due to snow in Frankfurt. 

After making it to Frankfurt, we had another delay but lots of flights had been grounded so we were just glad to make it out of the airport.  We arrived at the Veince Airport well after 1 am.  After collecting our luggage we made the short walk to the water taxis.  Unfortunately, the public water taxi had stopped running at 2 am.  The private company was still running but took cash only.  Thankfully we had a wonderful taxi driver who was will to give us a ride over and then find us a bank so we could pay him.  He dropped us close to our hotel and gave us directions to the hotel.  However, we were unable to find the hotel with so many winding passageways.  Ellie and I finally stopped with the luggage in one of the squares while David wandered off down various pathways.  Two calls to the hotel later, the clerk came out to find us and led us back.  I am loving the Venician people – they have been so kind and helpful.  It was 3 am when we finally were able to crash in bed.  For all the crazy things that happened today and all the changes in plans, Ellie did an awesome job.  She is such a great traveller. 

Waiting for a water taxi at 2:30 AM!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our first Thanksgiving in Sweden!  It was a little strange to have David head to work as ususal and not start the morning without at least a glimpse of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  However, it is my first white Thanksgiving so I will take the trade off.   Angie came over early to help us get all the food prepared.  Our menu consisted of crockpot glazed ham, dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and carrots.  John made some yummy stuffed mushrooms that are a tradition at his house.  It was great to have company to celebrate the holiday and make it feel more special.  We were also able to do a web cam with both Grandma and Papa Bowers and Grandma and Papa House.  Betty and Woody were visiting them for the day and so we got to see lots of family also.

Our Thanksgiving Crew - to hungry to smile for the camera!

I love winter clothes!

It is still snowing.  This morning I told Ellie to go look out of the window since we had a little accumulation overnight.  The roads and sidewalks were covered.  After looking, she said in a bored voice, “oh more snow” and wandered off.  Guess the excitement is gone.  We haven’t had enough stick to really be able to go and play in it so maybe when we get a really good accumulation she will enjoy it more.  The plan for the day was to walk to Prius Xtra(about 5 blocks away down the hill) and do our Thanksgiving shopping.  Neither of us was really excited about getting out into the weather.  But we bundled up and I put my shoes spikes on and we were off.  It was not nearly as bad as I thought.    Since I am not use to walking in the snow and ice and my center of balance is changing, I am a little nervous about the bad weather. I love my shoe spikes.  They go on the bottom of whatever shoes I am wearing to help give me traction. Hopefully I will avoid a tumble.  Having the right clothing and shoes really makes winter an enjoyable season. 

Sleet

Gone are the beautiful fluffy flakes of yesterday.  Today the weather was cold and windy with a mix of snow and sleet.  Five steps out of the apartment and Ellie was ready to call it a day.  I got her tucked down in the stroller as best I could and off we went.  As slick as everything was I didn’t feel safe using the ramps on the stairs so Ellie and I braved the elevator.  I feel like I could be in a Hefty commercial.  Stinky, Stinky, Stinky.  Oh well, at least it doesn’t automatically stimulate my gag reflex anymore. 

Today we were in search of a ham.  I have given up on Turkey for Thanksgiving Day.  Instead we are going to try a ham.  I haven’t seen a whole ham at our three local stores so I decided to head off to Radmansgatan.  The store there is a lot like an Aldi in that the stock seems to constantly change but they always seem to have a good meat selection.  We were able to find a ham about 7 lbs.  It was labeled “God Skinka” translation – good ham.  Hopefully it will be good.  Back at the apartment, the movers were there packing up Paul.  We don’t know him that well but it is sad to see him go since he is one of the few people we know here. 

More Fabric

We woke up to snow today.  There was just a light dusting when we got up but between 9 and 12 the snow was coming down fast.  The flakes were big and fluffy.  I showed Ellie how to catch them on her tongue.  She thought that was the neatest idea.  We both walked to the train station with our tongues out and the Swedes looking at us like we had lost our mind. 

Ellie and I set off in search of a new pet store today.  We need to get an automatic feeder for her fish tank in preparation for our trip this week.  We didn’t buy it when we bought the fish because it was 500 SEK (about $70 dollars) and we were trying to spread out the cost.  This weekend we got a flyer in the mail advertising the same feeder for 198 SEK ($30 US dollars).   So we were off to find this other pet store.  After wandering around and not finding it at one of the listed addresses, Ellie and I stopped for a quick lunch.  During lunch I discovered I had the address wrong.  On our way back to the train station, Ellie and I stumbled upon a hobby shop.  What a great find!  Cotton fabric, yarn and knitting supplies, scrapbooking supplies, and kids’ crafts -what more could we ask for in one store. It reminded me of a Jo-Ann’s or Michaels without the decorating items.   

After browsing that store, we headed to the fish store.  Ellie loved that they had green, pink and blue gravel in the tanks.  Now she is on a campaign to be able to change her gravel color out occasionally.  We were able to find the feeder at the cheaper price and the store is much closer to the apartment. 

Nordic Museum

After lots of time spent shopping the last few weekends and being sick, Ellie was ready to do something fun.  She asked to go to a museum.  We decided on the Nordic museum.  It was originally founded on the principle that it would house items from all of the Nordic countries but currently focuses only on Sweden.  The building itself is amazing.  It is huge with lots of marble and four story columns in the grand hall.  The rotating exhibit was about the history of plastics.  One floor focused on living spaces and furniture.  Ellie loved seeing the scale models of rooms.  She thought of them as doll houses.  There were also exhibits that focused on tableware and meal time traditions, fabric, and clothing. Her favorite exhibit by far was of dollhouses from the last two hundred years.  In the clothing exhibit, there was a movie showing a rich woman, a rich man and a peasant woman getting dresses.  She was fascinated by the different clothing and the different way of dressing (especially using a ribbon to tie stockings up).  She watched the whole 25 minute movie and would have watched it again.  There was so much to see that we didn’t see all the areas and I know we missed ½ of what we walked through.  I can’t wait to go back again.

The Nordic Museum

The painting on the ceiling was origanlly planned for the whole ceiling but funds were low.





Ellie's favorite dollhouse

Baptismal Font from the 12th Century