in retrospect

simple observations from an overwrought mind and an unusual sense of humor.

[heidijanetwright]

Church bells?

It’s straight up 9:00pm on a Friday night, and church bells are now a useful and lovely thing for me. What a handy thing. #mustileave

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[heidijanetwright]

Reflections.

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[heidijanetwright]

Taking a three-hour boat tour was a great call toward the near-end of our adventure. Once we found our bearings in the city a little bit and have felt like we’ve walked nearly everywhere, sitting on a boat and enjoying lunch was a treat.

Seeing the network of islands that make up this part of the world was amazing. Seeing the different aspects of Stockholm, then the summer houses to the east and north made us both want to figure out a way to come here every year somehow and enjoy the summer with the locals.

  24,000 islands. We saw a few from a boat. Taking a three-hour boat tour was a great call toward the near-end of our adventure. Once we found our bearings in the city a little bit and have felt like we've walked nearly everywhere, sitting on a boat and enjoying lunch was a treat.

[heidijanetwright]

“The elk, or alg, are the king of the animals in Sweden. In October, we cull the elk. Everyone knows “cull”…it means we shoot them.”

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[heidijanetwright]

Walked around. Bought trinktets. Ate herring.

It was an easy Swedish-pickled food day.

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[heidijanetwright]

Yet another castle waterfall. ​​

[heidijanetwright]

Drottinghalm Castle. Just a few.

[heidijanetwright]

Back on the island. Bicycles unchained.

[heidijanetwright]

Overheard in the Vasa Museum

Overheard in the Vasa Museum

“How could you know how the crew might have lived on the Vasa, if it sank in the first 30 minutes?” “Well, we mean in general.” [ahem]

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[heidijanetwright]

Increasingly tethered bicycles. But still.

Increasingly tethered bicycles. But still.

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[heidijanetwright]

The further from Gamla Stan we wander, the more tethered they become. But still not enough to make me marvel. After seeing the dismembered bicycle carcasses in NYC and SF, despite heavy chains, it remains fascinating to me.

Increasingly tethered bicycles. But still. The further from Gamla Stan we wander, the more tethered they become. But still not enough to make me marvel. After seeing the dismembered bicycle carcasses in NYC and SF, despite heavy chains, it remains fascinating to me.

[heidijanetwright]

We called a car this morning, not realizing that September 18th is the only day of the year that no cars are allowed in Old Town. It’s Sweden’s support of alternative travel–so naturally Uber snuck into Gamla Stan so my mother and I could have breakfast at the Grand Hotel.

Pickled everything. Who knew I’d love herring?

We tried to make up for it by walking to the Vasa Museum and Skansen–the world’s oldest open air museum.

The walk alone from the hotel to the museum was amazing, the weather and the light treated us beautifully.

Water.

colorful flags

Boats

Mother and a boat!

More boats.

The Vasa Museum was impressive, seeing the heft of a massive medieval warship is worth a gasp. However, less impressive, was the story of how the ship sank less than an hour after a two gusts of wind. Turns out they began the task of testing the stability of the ship, and halted a few attempts in as it listed and nearly sank, yet still set sail. Impressive carvings though.

Heading to Skansen, which is primarily an open air park for children complete with a petting zoo. What’s great is that it captures life in the middle of the 19th century, and because so many Swedes emigrated from Sweden during that time. Walking through farmhouses, bakeries, churches and manor houses felt like a little time travel.

Then we asked the Uber driver to get as close to Gamla Stan as we could, then we’d walk the rest of the way. Never say we didn’t do our part for the environment.

Mostly the day was made, when my mother said it was her favorite day ever.

To that I say, so far!

No cars. The Grand Hotel and a little time travel. We called a car this morning, not realizing that September 18th is the only day of the year that no cars are allowed in Old Town.

[heidijanetwright]

Legend of St. George and the dragon

Legend of St. George and the dragon

So it turns out this statue right near our flat is based on a story from the Golden Legend: [from wikipedia] “According to the Golden Legend, the narrative episode of Saint George and the Dragon took place somewhere he called “Silene”, in Libya; the Golden Legend is the first to place this story in Libya as a sufficiently exotic locale, where a dragon might be found. In the tenth-century Georgian…

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[heidijanetwright]

I lent my mother my Leica point and shoot for the trip…and she’s getting used to the framing. More amusing, she seems to grab the shot, and then my feet. Kind of accidentally artsy, really.

Mother likes to get a shot of my feet… I lent my mother my Leica point and shoot for the trip...and she's getting used to the framing. More amusing, she seems to grab the shot, and then my feet. Kind of accidentally artsy, really.

[heidijanetwright]

They’re everywhere. Fascinating.

Untethered bicycles. They're everywhere. Fascinating.

[heidijanetwright]

Morning excursion to the Palace

[heidijanetwright]

Overheard, unfortunately.

“Where is that noise coming from?”, mother asked. “From the street. Swedish folksingers belting out Chuck Berry and the Beatles is a new experience.” “So we can’t turn it off?” “Nej.”

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