'Hej' from she who just returned from the land that gave us Swedish meatballs, Ikea and my personal favorite, Swedish Fish -- although over there they are just fish.
Picture, if you will, over 120 members of my company's Legal Departments from around the world discussing legal issues which, at best, are only interesting to those who have to deal with them, and even then it's a stretch.
However, notwithstanding the foregoing (pun intended), I actually had a great time. We had some social events after our 10 hour seminars and let me tell you, the Swedes can party and still look fabulous the next morning after only 4 hours of sleep. I will not go into the details because what happens in Stockholm, stays in Stockholm.
As I do for most foreign trips, I learn to say "hello", "goodbye" and "thank you" in the native language. I guess with my Norwegian heritage it must have seemed pretty authentic as I was mistaken for Swedish three different times. No loud, American tourist here.
Here are some photos of the trip for your enjoyment. The first photo is of two buildings in Gamla Stan (Old Town) which is the medieval part of the city, 13th century I believe. Very quaint part of the city and great shopping.
The next photo is just of a large ship that was nearby when I was taking a ferry to visit the Vasa Museum. The Vasa is a ship that sunk as soon as it was launched in the water because it wasn't balanced correctly. It sunk in the early 1600's and sat at the bottom of the Baltic Sea for over 300 years. Then some folks decided to find it, raise it and restore it. Due to low salt quantities in the Baltic, the ship was in very good shape. It is now in it's own museum, and in order to fully comprehend what would have been required to build it, you have to see it. For a lack of better words (and the fact that I am currently brain dead) the ship is HUGE.
The last one is the medieval museum, which unfortunately I did not have time to tour. When you only have two days, you've got to hit the highlights.
I figure that my company will probably never have another reason to send me to HQ in Stockholm, but if I do go back, I hear the train trip to Copenhagen is worth it.
Welcome home Julie, and glad you enjoyed your trip! It looks like a cool place to visit.
Posted by: Ding | June 07, 2006 at 06:26 AM
I'd always wondered about the Swedish Fish thing. What about Swedish Berries?
I suspected those buildings were not 13th century at first... architecture from that period tended towards the squat wood hovel or grandiose stone castle, and the former rarely survived. A quick bit of research put that doubt to rest. Amazing! I bet they assembled the damn things with allan wrenches, too!
It looks really lovely there. Big blue skies, and the like.
Glad to hear you had a good time!
Posted by: deadlytoque | June 07, 2006 at 02:44 PM
D'oh! A bit more reading of a site I was about to close down says those particular buildings were 18th century, which is more what I had originally suspected. They are nonetheless lovely.
Posted by: deadlytoque | June 07, 2006 at 02:48 PM
I would agree that those particular buildings do not appear to be medieval. I've had a few drinks in an English pub (The Swan with Two Niches) that dates from the 12th century and even I had to duck to get through the doorway. I just thought that those particular buildings were cool. The info we had about this particular part of the city indicates that it was started around 1252.
Cool city, but gettin gused to the sun being in full shine mode at 3:30 in the morning takes some getting used to.
Posted by: Julie | June 07, 2006 at 08:08 PM
Sweden! Your work sends you to Sweden? I really choose the wrong profession. That makes the eight hour round trip bus rides to St. Louis my work used to send me on look like a KFC Famous Bowl.
Posted by: Library Cat | June 08, 2006 at 11:16 AM
Yes - work sent me to Sweden for a week. A Swedish-based company bought out the British-based company who bought out the local Pittsburgh company I originally worked for.
However, this was probably the one and only time for me to go over there. Carpe Diem.
Posted by: Julie | June 08, 2006 at 01:54 PM
Perhaps, my inability to choose the correct verb form had more influence on my chosen profession than a conscious decision. Glad you had a good time!
Posted by: Library Cat | June 08, 2006 at 04:05 PM
"...the land that gave us Swedish meatballs, Ikea and my personal favorite, Swedish Fish -- although over there they are just fish."
So do they call Swedish meatballs "Swedish meatballs"?
Posted by: Anthony | June 08, 2006 at 10:47 PM
My dear intellectually curious Anthony...I believe those would just be meatballs.
Smart Ass
Posted by: Julie | June 09, 2006 at 02:03 PM
The Vasa! I knew that sounded familiar. In 10th grade, once a month we had to do a mini report of something "science related" from news media. I found an article about the Vasa and its startlingly good preservation. The information has apparently taking up valuable brain cell space ever since. What a waste. No wonder I can't remember anything useful.
Posted by: Sarah | June 11, 2006 at 03:00 PM