from stockholm to homeward bound

We have seen the future, and it is hot. It sounds like the United States has been on fire the last couple days. And Europe will be the same next week, as Paris is supposed to reach 106. Mon dieu! I cannot even imagine how people are going to get through that. Tomorrow we head back home and "normal" highs of 110 degrees. (That this number sounds manageable tells you all you need to know about the import of air conditioning.) Knowing it would be a couple months before we could venture outside, we spent Saturday enjoying the great Scandinavian weather. We have been extremely lucky post-Vienna, and our good streak continued to the end, as it was in the low 70's our entire time in Stockholm. So, what better way to round out our time here than a long walk through a different part of the city, this one with great views.

Taking a cue from our guide, Alex, we walked south from our hotel through Gamla stan and over the bridge to Sodermalm, the large island just south of the city center. From there, we made our way up to Skinnarviksberget, a rocky-hilltop area that provides wonderful views of the water and northern half of the city. Pictured here is me saying the name of the place three times fast. Or maybe I am dispensing some more invaluable life advice. Either way, Lauren and Owen are clearly hanging on my every word. Lucky kids.

We crossed the bridge to Kungsholmen Island. At the bottom of that bridge was a large park overlooking the water. Between the hundreds of sunbathing Swedes and the row of curry and felafel-based food trucks, it was yet another reminder of what an idyllic place this is in the summer. I have no doubt that the biting cold and seven hours of daylight make December miserable around here, but damn if this is not a good place to spend a summer.

At the east end of the island is the Stockholm City Hall, a 20th century building built to look several hundred years old. The building is most famous as the site for the annual Nobel Prize banquet. As a functioning city hall, it also serves as a wedding site. That is particularly true on a Saturday, as we saw more than ten couples who had just gotten married, posing in the courtyard or on the plaza overlooking the water.

This Does Not Add Up. Owen found a McDonalds two blocks from the hotel, so we agreed to allow him to go back without us, with only the fries and nuggets to protect him. (Again, do not tell Keri's mother.) The three of us continued our walk, only now in the city center, as we got Lauren her trip souvenir, a Fjallraven backpack for school. We also found a candy shop, where Keri and Lauren loaded up on lactose-free, gluten-free, sugar-full items for the trip home. Keri and Owen embarked on a similar venture in Prague and, somehow, managed to spend $30. Saturday's tab was only six dollars. That's quite a difference. As should be clear by now, Stockholm is not cheaper than Prague, so I am starting to think that Owen may have gotten an obscene amount of candy.

If it's Sunday, We Must Be Going to a History Museum. The Swedish History Museum is quite small. It reports to have tens of thousands of artifacts and, from what we saw, it does a really good job of hiding most of them. That said, the museum was worth a visit. It's telling of the last thousand years of Swedish history is broken down by century, each hundred years getting a separate area. Each area has a couple paragraphs of big-picture narratives, tens (or hundreds) of individual artifacts and a few multi-media exhibits. No individual section is overwhelming and, as there are only ten of them, you can get through all of them well under an hour.

The museum also has a very interesting in-depth exhibit on the Battle of Gottland (1361). The exhibit weaves together myth, the archaeological record (including human remains), and first-person narratives to tell the story of the Danish army's slaughter of 1,800 farmers who lived on this Baltic island. The story is a common one -- invading army in search of wealth and plunder -- but the well-preserved state of the human remains allows historians and museum-goers to get a unique appreciation for the brutality and violence that led to their deaths.

We also stopped by the Medieval Museum, built around some ruins, including the 16th Century city wall, that were uncovered when the city was attempting to build an underground garage. The museum tries to describe what life was like in Stockholm from its 1250 founding up to the Reformation. It accomplishes that goal adequately, but it is not worth a special trip.

Free A$AP Rocky, or At Least Let Him Pending Trial! Just outside the museum was a Free A$AP Rocky poster. There are a number of these around town. In case you have missed it, A$AP Rocky is an American hip-hop artist who was arrested in Stockholm a couple weeks ago on an assault charge. The Swedish criminal justice system does not employ bail (good), but apparently allows individuals to be held for some period of time while an investigation is ongoing (bad). In recent days, President Trump, at the behest of the First Lady or Kayne West, has involved himself in the situation, speaking directly with the Swedish prime minister about the case. He assured us by tweet this morning that the prime minister told him that A$AP Rocky would be treated fairly. I wish the president make such calls on behalf of my clients.

Final Thoughts on Stockholm. Another great city, and a wonderful place on which to end our seven week tour. Stockholm has natural beauty that matches any other place we have been. What it lacks in history, it makes up for in charm and general hospitality. Owen continued his love affair with Indian food, save the thumbs down on a mango lassi, and we found another decent burger place, Prime Burger, as well as a local ice cream place with excellent dark chocolate sorbet and caffe latte gelato, Stikki Nikki.

People want to live in Sweden, and it is not hard to see why -- at least in July. We did not venture out of Stockholm and we were only here four days, so there would be plenty to see if we were to come back to this part of the globe -- on the next sabbatical.

I will probably write a couple more entries, one documenting the trip home and the grand welcome we will get from our dogs, and another with some closing thoughts and observations. For now, I am both ready and sad to be ending this trip.