Finnhamn

On our way to Vaxholm

We had a very nice night in Utö, in the Hostel, though apparently I have regained my ability to snore.  Becky admitted she woke up once during the night to hear my snoring, but was able to get back to sleep.  The morning was bright, sunny, with a fairly good wind. 

We walked down to the local bakery, which was now open, and had breakfast.  Becky had one of a series of cardamom rolls (she is doing a comparative study to find the best one) and I had a smorgås and a raspberry smoothie.  

We then checked out of our room and caught the boat to the nearest port (about a 45 minute ride) then got the bus to the train station, then on to the subway, then another bus put to Vaxholm, where we were to stay in another hostel.  When we arrived in Vaxholm, we were hungry, and it started to rain, so wwe had a nice lunch at the old Waxholm hotel.  We knew we needed to take another bus to the hostel, which we discovered only ran occasionally .  The next bus was not for a couple of hours, it was continuing to rain, and things looked a little grim.  We tried to get a taxi, but that was going to take at least 30 minutes, so we began a walking tour of Vaxholm, including a stop at the tourist information

Center.  We called the hostel to see if they had any suggestions about transportation (no) and they reminded us that there was no food available near the hostel, and that we should bring what we wanted to eat.  So, we made a stop at Co-op, got sandwich materials, and waited for the bus.  When the bus came, we were the only passengers.  The driver stopped at the road/path to the hostel, and gave us instructions on how to get there.  It is adjacent to a huge restored castle in a really pastoral setting, surrounded by a farm with horses and sheep.  We had to walk about a quarter mile along a very wet gravel road to get there, but what a nice setting.  There were 30 or 40 young children, with parents, in the reception area, but we were assured they were staying in another building, so by 8:00, they were gone, and the rooms were quiet.  Tomorrow we will travel by boat further north to Finnhamn, where we will stay for two Nights.

Utö Island

We arrived on utö right after noon, got checked in to the hostel, then wandered around the "town" to see what was there.  It is a very small collection of cabins, cottages, hotel,restaurants and shops. We had lunch in the one nice restaurant down by the harbor, and had a really nice meal.  It began to rain,so we went to our room, took a short snooze, then wandered a bit more. The island is the site of some of the earliest iron mines in Sweden, starting in the 12th century, but no longer active. There s a large windmill which ground the grain, and overlooks the harbor.  The iron mine is now a big open pit,filled with water.  

Mid-summer in Stockholm

Mid-summer eve in Sweden is a major event .  Most people leave Stockholm and nearly all the stores and most restaurants close.  Becky and I had to try several places to find something open after I got settled at the apartment.  Mid-summer day is basically a holiday as well, though a few more things were open.  We  walked around Gamla Stan (old town) and parts of the main downtown area, tried to get fish soup at Hötorghallen, but it was stängt (closed).  We picked up our passes for the island hopping boats, then took a break.  We met one of Becky's fellow writers for dinner at a wonderful outdoor cafe on the water (the bar part is actually floating on the water), and while there got a call that my bag had arrived at the airport.  I took the fast train out to the airport, found my bag, and got back to the apartment about 11:30.  As we went to bed, reggae music (very loud) began just across the street.  Took a while to get to sleep, and then the sun started coming through the window.  We had a very short night.  Today we are on our way to Utö to spend the afternoon and night there.  It is a 4 hour boat trip through the islands.  Pictures to folow.

Stockholm at last

We arrived at Heathrow about three hours late,so I missed my connection to Stockholm.  The United reps arranged a later flight to Stockholm, but I discovered a flight several hours earlier than they had booked, so I got instructions about what to do, got on the shuttle bus from Terminal 2 to Terminal 5 (about a 10 minute ride), got my booking changed, and was on my way to Stockholm.  When I arrived, about 8:30 at night, my Baggage was not on the plane, and was not expected that evening, so I went on the Arlanda Express train to downtown Stockholm (traveling at more than 100 mph), arriving in about 20 minutes.  Becky met me at the station, and off we went to our apartment . The apartment is in a very convenient location, has a great view out over the skyline of the city, and has just enough room for sleeping and eating.  

Air travel

Just as I thought we were in good shape for the departure to London, things went wrong.  We were all on board, seated and ready to go,when theilot announced that we had a minor glitch, should take 10 minutes or so to straighten out.  Then, 20 minutes later, the pilot announced that it was a bit more complicated, but we should be on our way in 20 to 30 minutes.  Very shortly, he announced that in fact it was going to take one a danalf to two hours!  We were all asked to get off the plane, and they would announce when they were ready to re-board.  An hour later, we were re-boarded, and two and a half hours late, we were ready to leave.  But wait, we got pushed back, moved to the taxi-way, and sat, for another hour, because apparently one person had not gotten back on board, yet the ground crew was "certain" we should have a full plane.  The one hour delay was to try to determine what the discrepancy was between the actual occupants on the plane and the ground crew's count.  

The pilot has apologized profusely, and promised to try to make up time as best he can, but clearly I will miss my connection to Stockholm.  They have promised to re-book all those who miss connections, so we will see.  Meanwhile we are having a very late dinner ,then it is time for some sleep.

Starting the journey

I am in the Colorado Springs airport waiting for my plane, which has been delayed half an hour due to weather in Chicago.  The rest of the trip looks ok, based on weather reports.  It was a bit strange being dropped at the airport by Christina, who is usually the one leaving for Sweden, but she was excited for me and Becky.  The weather in Stockholm seems to have improved a bit, just cool, not so much rain, so the trip through the archipelago should be great.  

My travel to Stockholm is a little more complicated than usual, going from Colorado Springs to Houston to London Heathrow to Stockholm, but the connections seem to have enough time.  Hope I don't have to run!

More later.