Well, I didn't quite cry all the way home ... but almost! We had a wonderful good-bye dinner with our "host family" - that is, the family of one of my colleagues at KTH, who were instrumental in our adjustment to and enjoyment of Stockholm. Aaric was there to meet and entertain their three children and, in spite of the age differences, they had a great time together! It was wonderful to get to know all of them better, and spend the evening comparing Sweden and Canada, from income tax to crime stats!
It is not hard to tell I am back in the craziness that is my life here in Okotoks. No time to blog, or call important friends and relatives (sister, brother, Janice, etc. - you know who you are!). Work is particularly burdensome, as the economic challenges have had a serious impact on education - we are struggling to do all we believe we have always done/should do with fewer and fewer resources.
Last pictures from Sweden coming soon but camera is MIA ;-(. I'm sure it is in the post-trip clutter here somewhere.
Hope you are all rested and well.
Blessings,
TPP
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
We are in the home stretch!
We are in the home stretch! We are ready to go home ... but will miss the people and the great sights we've come to enjoy. Tonight we met a young man from California who came to play baseball here 3 years ago - and never left! We can see why!
We've continued our castle hunting and museum hopping! Stockholm has a fabulous science technology museum - here are the guys standing by a motor that had them talking cars for a long time.
And Aaric by the newest bug ....
I am still the quiet one!
Stockholm is notably socially progressive; this museum has an entire exhibit paying tribute to women and tech innovation - hurray!
See that scarf? Don't leave home without one .... if you are ever headed this way.
Blessings,
TPP
We've continued our castle hunting and museum hopping! Stockholm has a fabulous science technology museum - here are the guys standing by a motor that had them talking cars for a long time.
And Aaric by the newest bug ....
I am still the quiet one!
Stockholm is notably socially progressive; this museum has an entire exhibit paying tribute to women and tech innovation - hurray!
See that scarf? Don't leave home without one .... if you are ever headed this way.
Blessings,
TPP
Saturday, April 7, 2012
A pleasant day enjoying Stockholm
Aaric was up in the early morning Sweden time ... talking via Facebook to special friend Becca, who is in Great Britain! By the time we got up, he was really ready to experience the breakfast banquet we enjoy every morning. I'm down to fruit, vegetables and half an egg (too many calories in a super-size breakfast everyday) but Aaric got to dig in. Breakfast of pancakes, cold cuts, eggs, yogurt, and multiple glasses of juice. It took about an hour and a half of eating and visiting to get through breakfast. We are reconnected!
We took a drive out in the country, enjoying the mountainous scenery that reminds us so much of home. This is complete with signs of 'moose crossing' and 'deer on road' like the highway to Banff! We stopped back at Skokloster Castle to have lunch again. A nice walk by a scenic lake - but a little chilly and windy to stroll for long.
Then the big event - we finally made it to Vasa Museum! Absolutely everyone has recommended it and they were so right - this is a mind-boggling overview of the building, sinking and restoration of a Swedish War Ship! See the whole story at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_%28ship%29 or http://www.vasamuseet.se/en/. Here is a photo of this famous ship - restored after 330 years in the ocean!
We walked around this monumental artifact of human error (which caused the ship to sink) and human expertise (that found it, got it off the ocean floor and pieced it back together). 12 cables, each 6 inches in diameter, were pushed under the ship after tunnels were blown out under the wreck. It was raised over 150 feet. 14,000 pieces of the ship were recovered from the ocean floor around the ship. These pieces, plus all the artifacts on the ship, were cleaned, repaired and restored!
I wanted to know about the human experience, who died and who got back to shore. There are no accurate records of this part of the event: 135-200 are estimated to have been on the ship. The skeletal remains of approximately 30 humans were found on the ship. Otherwise, this no record of who lived to tell the story of the ship's short and only voyage.
Here is Aaric by an anchor outside, and he and his dad in front of the ship.
Across from the Vasa Museum - the Noridska Museum (Swedish cultural archives) is across the road. The building is awestriking:
Guess what my guys are doing now? Napping .... Then it will be off to pizza for dinner - Aaric's pick!
Blessings,
TTP
We took a drive out in the country, enjoying the mountainous scenery that reminds us so much of home. This is complete with signs of 'moose crossing' and 'deer on road' like the highway to Banff! We stopped back at Skokloster Castle to have lunch again. A nice walk by a scenic lake - but a little chilly and windy to stroll for long.
Then the big event - we finally made it to Vasa Museum! Absolutely everyone has recommended it and they were so right - this is a mind-boggling overview of the building, sinking and restoration of a Swedish War Ship! See the whole story at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_%28ship%29 or http://www.vasamuseet.se/en/. Here is a photo of this famous ship - restored after 330 years in the ocean!
We walked around this monumental artifact of human error (which caused the ship to sink) and human expertise (that found it, got it off the ocean floor and pieced it back together). 12 cables, each 6 inches in diameter, were pushed under the ship after tunnels were blown out under the wreck. It was raised over 150 feet. 14,000 pieces of the ship were recovered from the ocean floor around the ship. These pieces, plus all the artifacts on the ship, were cleaned, repaired and restored!
I wanted to know about the human experience, who died and who got back to shore. There are no accurate records of this part of the event: 135-200 are estimated to have been on the ship. The skeletal remains of approximately 30 humans were found on the ship. Otherwise, this no record of who lived to tell the story of the ship's short and only voyage.
Here is Aaric by an anchor outside, and he and his dad in front of the ship.
Across from the Vasa Museum - the Noridska Museum (Swedish cultural archives) is across the road. The building is awestriking:
Guess what my guys are doing now? Napping .... Then it will be off to pizza for dinner - Aaric's pick!
Blessings,
TTP
Friday, April 6, 2012
Aaric arrives!
It was another busy week of 'guest teaching', meetings to talk about research and writing research proposals. Outside of work Stuart and I continued our walking, visiting the stable, and began shopping for gifts to take home. We continue to be amazed at how much this feels like home; the weather never does what forecasters say it will, and it snows in April! And everyone complains about snow in Spring!
We had lunch with the professor who arranged for my stay - he is at home on 'required' paternity leave! Yes, you read it right! Swedish fathers must take 60 days off work and stay home with each child before he/she turns eight years old. Here is my now friend and colleague Stefan with 15 month old Vida:
Can't miss those Swedish blue eyes!
We could hardly sit still today waiting for Aaric to come - and he didn't come in till dinner time! But arrive he did - so the three traveling musketeers are together again! Aaric proudly displayed his stamp from customs that showed Sweden on it! "Soon I'll need a new passport" he said! I am so pleased we've been able to travel together to Spain (three times), England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Hungary, Brazil and Argentina! And sometimes we were able to convince Ashley to come - the four musketeers! In any case, we are so blessed.
We had lunch with the professor who arranged for my stay - he is at home on 'required' paternity leave! Yes, you read it right! Swedish fathers must take 60 days off work and stay home with each child before he/she turns eight years old. Here is my now friend and colleague Stefan with 15 month old Vida:
Can't miss those Swedish blue eyes!
We could hardly sit still today waiting for Aaric to come - and he didn't come in till dinner time! But arrive he did - so the three traveling musketeers are together again! Aaric proudly displayed his stamp from customs that showed Sweden on it! "Soon I'll need a new passport" he said! I am so pleased we've been able to travel together to Spain (three times), England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Hungary, Brazil and Argentina! And sometimes we were able to convince Ashley to come - the four musketeers! In any case, we are so blessed.
It is Easter week-end and Sweden celebrates! We plan to go driving in the country to count castles ;-), hunt for Swedish style painted Easter eggs, attend our 'English' church and have dinner with new-found friends who kindly invited us for Easter Sunday dinner. We will miss the rest of our family this sacred week-end but are ready to connect through Skype!
Blessings to you all this holy week-end of hope and renewal,
TPP
Sunday, April 1, 2012
the duke and duchess of Prila Oolsf
Well, we did it. We made an offer on a castle. We were out for a drive today and came across a small castle on an acre of land. It is quite large and quite run down. As a result no one wanted it. The Swedish folks feel like they are a bit of a burden as it is a historic site so there are a number of rules and regulation as to what changes you can make. It is really interesting! It has a courtyard with building on three sides. Tree lined gravel driveway. The center wing has been maintained and is in good shape, both side wings need to be refurbished.
The castle was built sometime in the 1700s and was owned by the Royal family in Sweden. The agent advised that because the property was owned by the Royal family there are obligations and privileges we would have to abide by. These are from the 17 th century so some of them don’t seem to be logical. Anything with the royal emblem on it cannot be removed or changed and there are numerous things, chandeliers, door handles, tiles on the floor etc. most of which we won’t want to change, however, we expect there will be times when this will be a pain. The most interesting part is because it is a royal property we get titles. The duke and duchess of Prila Oolsf. As owners our names will be in the Royal Registries in the Royal Palace here in Stockholm.
So many interesting experiences here in Sweden.
The duke and duchess of Prila Oolsf, tuartS & artiM
The castle was built sometime in the 1700s and was owned by the Royal family in Sweden. The agent advised that because the property was owned by the Royal family there are obligations and privileges we would have to abide by. These are from the 17 th century so some of them don’t seem to be logical. Anything with the royal emblem on it cannot be removed or changed and there are numerous things, chandeliers, door handles, tiles on the floor etc. most of which we won’t want to change, however, we expect there will be times when this will be a pain. The most interesting part is because it is a royal property we get titles. The duke and duchess of Prila Oolsf. As owners our names will be in the Royal Registries in the Royal Palace here in Stockholm.
So many interesting experiences here in Sweden.
The duke and duchess of Prila Oolsf, tuartS & artiM
Friday, March 30, 2012
Anyone else have insomnia?
Wow - the end of a very busy week! I met with many interesting people this week, including two groups of students. It is really a treat to be in the same room with your students - just for a change. There are many things you can't do - surf the net for info when you need it, record what you are doing, text, blog, etc. But you can be silent for a moment ... and just connect. I discussed meaningful interaction with one group, and human presence with another. Clever, polite, engaged students. How lucky I am!
Stuart spends his time relaxing, walking reading. He looks so healthy! His knee was bothering him, so he had to take some of the meds the doc gave him .... better now.
It's almost one a.m. our time and sleep alludes me. Stuart, on the other hand, is quietly sleeping behind me! I'm sure there is ongoing benefit to having a Mom who put you to bed and treated you to a whack with a wooden spoon if you got up.
Tomorrow we can rest. We are invited for dinner at the home of one of the staff/PhD students at KTH. How kind they are to invite us. Sunday we have lunch with another staff member, after the service at our 'English Church.' So blessed we are, and so kind are the people we have met.
It's the halfway point! Amazing! It was raining today and I stood for a moment outside the university to breath in the moisture and the wonderful smell of rain. I also took a minute to look around and drink it all in as soon it will be a memory, almost a dream. I want to remember this experience - vividly!
Time will evaporate now as we try to get in everything we said we would do on this visit. Aaric comes one week from today - we will so glad to see him!
Blessings,
TPP
Stuart spends his time relaxing, walking reading. He looks so healthy! His knee was bothering him, so he had to take some of the meds the doc gave him .... better now.
It's almost one a.m. our time and sleep alludes me. Stuart, on the other hand, is quietly sleeping behind me! I'm sure there is ongoing benefit to having a Mom who put you to bed and treated you to a whack with a wooden spoon if you got up.
Tomorrow we can rest. We are invited for dinner at the home of one of the staff/PhD students at KTH. How kind they are to invite us. Sunday we have lunch with another staff member, after the service at our 'English Church.' So blessed we are, and so kind are the people we have met.
It's the halfway point! Amazing! It was raining today and I stood for a moment outside the university to breath in the moisture and the wonderful smell of rain. I also took a minute to look around and drink it all in as soon it will be a memory, almost a dream. I want to remember this experience - vividly!
Time will evaporate now as we try to get in everything we said we would do on this visit. Aaric comes one week from today - we will so glad to see him!
Blessings,
TPP
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Over the 1/3 mark!
This is day 12 of our 30 days here! Already! Let's see - we made friends at church, at the school and at the stable. We have an eating, sleeping, exercising routine established. We have plans for when our friend from Spain gets here and when Aaric arrives. We know the landscape and have favorite restaurants. Hmmm ... a productive, enjoyable 12 days.
We've been castle hopping! Amazing old buildings that speak to a long and noble history in Sweden. We can't see inside as they are closed until May 1st. But the grounds and the spirit around them is stunning! And we were able to go in far enough to patronize the restaurants that are open all year for lunch! Here are some photos to tease - more info later.
Off to bed as I have a terrible cold ;-( and Stu's knee is acting up! Have to rest as we've been invited out for lunch at one place, and dinner at another, on Sunday!
Blessings,
TPP
We've been castle hopping! Amazing old buildings that speak to a long and noble history in Sweden. We can't see inside as they are closed until May 1st. But the grounds and the spirit around them is stunning! And we were able to go in far enough to patronize the restaurants that are open all year for lunch! Here are some photos to tease - more info later.
Off to bed as I have a terrible cold ;-( and Stu's knee is acting up! Have to rest as we've been invited out for lunch at one place, and dinner at another, on Sunday!
Blessings,
TPP
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