Day #6 in Sweden: Relaxation & Mall of Scandinavia
[Photos from Saturday 16 July 2016, posted online 4 August 2016. Sitting on the sofa around midnight, and it’s dark outside, although the sky is still dark blue rather than black.]
After so many days of ‘doing stuff’, we tried to take it easy for one day. Since it was a weekend, I in particular feared crowds in Stockholm proper, so we just hung around the house for the most part.
Towards the end of the day, me and Anna took off to check out the Mall of Scandinavia, which was a 20 minute drive away from us.
Most of the images below are screenshots from Anna going on a snapchatting-spree! (11 images total)
How’s that for luxury? Getting your cup filled with water from a water-gun?
Day #5 in Sweden: National Museum of Science and Technology (Tekniska Museet)
[Photos from Friday 15 July 2016, posted online 23 28 July 2016. At a cafe with the bestest Adda, who lets me be anti-social in peace, while our kids Pokemon! And uh, five days later, at another cafe, while the kids Pokemon.]
Bjarki really really really wanted to go back to the Tivoli, but we wanted to see something different. Evil parents!
After much searching, we found something that was not right next to the Tivoli (which is right next to the Vasa ship Museum), and off we went.
Our destination was the National Museum of Science and Technology, aka the Tekniska Museet. Unfortunately it took us too long to decide what to do, so we arrived really late. We could have stayed there for quite a bit longer, but oh well… (30 images total)
After reading tips about this place, we knew to race through the traditional exhibits in the front of the museum, and go to the back, where they had this fun obstacle course room, and various cool things in the other direction.
Day #4 in Sweden: Tivoli!
[Photos from Thursday 14 July 2016, posted online 22 July 2016. Back at the cafe downtown, while the kids are out walking and playing Pokemon Go!]
[UPDATE on 23 July: Added two photos of Finnur and Bjarki on a roller-coaster towards the bottom of the post.]
The kids began the day with a water battle, and then we drove back to town and visited the local Tivoli (amusement park). We ate a snack beforehand, and had dinner afterwards, which I believe represent the only proper restaurants we visited on the whole trip! (30 images total)
The kids discovered a water-gun, which attached to regular plastic bottles. A water battle ensued!
Day #3 in Sweden: The Beach and a Jazz Concert
[Photos from Wednesday 13 July 2016, posted online 22 July 2016. Holidays are nice.]
After our ship museum excursion the day before, we decided to have a quiet-ish day, and not drive anywhere far.
The highlights were me jogging to a nearby public beach, where Finnur and the kids met me. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t nice enough for us to hand around for long, but Bjarki gave it his best.
In the evening, I took Anna on an adventure trip into Stockholm, via a drive to a nearby train-station, and a 30 minute train-trip, to see a friend of mine, Stina, sing jazz in a converted vine-cellar of a bar! Good stuff! (17 images total, 1 video)
My friend, Stina, singing jazz, with pianist, Anna Gréta, and the house base player. Stina and Anna Greta form the duo 23/8.
Day #2 in Sweden: Water/Play and Ship Museum
[Photos from 12 July 2016, posted online 21 July 2016. I did manage to sort through the photos every night during the trip. Makes writing faster.]
I suck at planning vacations. I never manage to plan what to do until we’ve actually arrived where we’re going, and even then, I can only decide what we’re doing on the day we’re supposed to be doing it.
I keep telling myself this is planning!Me trying to be on vacation, but still, I can never decide if this planless-ness makes things more relaxed or more stressful!?!
But, thank goodness for TripAdvisor, my bestest planning friend in the whole entire world when we’re traveling!
One neat thing I read on TripAdvisor, is that a lot of Stockholm tourists are there on day-trips via ferries, and that most of the ferries leave by 4 pm. Thus, we were advised to show up late in the day to do our thing.
This fit our schedule nicely. Every morning the younger kids would wake up stupidly early, eat breakfast, and then be glued to screens for some three hours, while one adult sacrificed themselves to watch/sleep over them. Then we’d eat lunch, and try to keep Bjarki from going right back to the computer. Getting out of the house took a long time, but then we’d drive to do stuff, and usually get back around six or seven, at which point Finnur would whip up some dinner. After a little playtime it was the time for bed, rinse, repeat. (38 images total)
Our big destination of the day, the Vasa ship museum.
Day #1 in Sweden: Traveling and Evening Walk
[Photos from 11 July 2016, posted online 21 July 2016. Coffee houses are awesome!]
This summer we were looking for a change of scenery for the entire family, where it wasn’t too hot, and the flight-time reasonable. Since I’d never been to Sweden, Stockholm it was!
We rented a house on airbnb that looked kid-friendly, which it was. The only drawback was that I hadn’t realized that pretty much all the things-to-to were located on the far side of Stockholm, so we ended up driving the same road-with-a-thousand-round-abouts So. Many. Times.
Still, we had a lovely time, and just returned yesterday after hanging out there for ten days. I guess now it’s time to blog! (10 images total)
Our flight departed at 07:35 in the morning, which meant we had to be up ridiculously early. Grrrr, I hate morning flights!!
Horse Camp Helper
[Photos from Monday 04 to Friday 08 July 2016, posted online 26 August 2016. It weirdly warm outside still. ]
Anna was all sad because after two weeks at horse camp in June, there weren’t going to be any more horses until August. (Ah yes, such a hard life. Princess life problems!)
Anyway, towards the end of the June horse-stint, I approached the very friendly lady who runs the whole madhouse, and what came out of my mouth was “Uh… can Anna come, and just hang around the horses, and maybe help out for a bit at some point? Just, uh, instead of lying in bed all day with her tablet?” She got an affirmative for the first week of July, and it went pretty well, all though it was pretty tiring work, and very little horse riding happened. (15 images total)
Monday 4 July 2016
Anna riding bareback for the short ride up to the fields. That was her only ride of the day after walking kids on horseback around all day.
Bjarki’s 9th Birthday Celebration
[Photos from Monday 04 July 2016, posted online 23 August 2016. Truly.]
On this gorgeous US Independence Day, we hosted a family birthday celebration in honor of Bjarki turning 9 years old.
It was a pretty standard birthday party except there was a small interruption in the middle as everybody gathered in front of the television to watch the Icelandic national football team drive into downtown on a roofless bus, being greeted as heroes by thousands, after their 2016 Euro Cup performance! (17 images total)
Bjarki’s cake, and some extra items. The sword was there to raise the plate up, because the cake was a bit crooked. It sure tasted good though!
July 2016 Begins: Computer, Art, Jogging, and Football
[Photos from 01 July to 03 July 2016, posted online on 15 August 2016. Got a whiff of autumn weather.]
Cleaning up the backlog of pictures. Here’s how July 2016 started in 9 images!
Friday 01 July 2016
Finnur and the big kids assembling a Raspberry Pi computer. They got it running, but it hasn’t seen any action since then. What do we do with a raspberry pi computer?!
Bjarki’s 9th Birthday
[Photos from 28 June 2016, posted online shortly after midnight. Hopefully.]
Bjarki turned 9 years old today! Click here if you want to read up on the day of his and Reynir’s birth, also known as the best of times, and the worst of times.
But, Bjarki keeps thriving, and he was pretty excited to open his presents this morning. He then spent the day at a camp (námskeið) with the local scout group, before coming home in the afternoon, and spending pretty much the rest of the day on some computer or other. It was his birthday after all!
With Finnur slowly making his way back from Nice, France, via Vienna (!), and not expected to arrive until right now (30 minutes past midnight, technically on 29 June) I invited Adda, Halli, and their kids over for some hamburgers, ice cream, and muffins. Bjarki even got to blow out a candle!
Formal family celebrations will have to wait a bit, probably until next week, while Finnur recovers from his football adventure in France, and until the weather forecast gets its act together.
Some photos from the day! (9 images total)
The birthday boy!