Here are some pictures of my trip to Sweden:
During the summer of 2001 I took a trip to Sweden and Denmark with my grandmother. My uncle Rodger had been an exchange student in Sweden for a year when he was in high school. When my grandmother and I went there, we stayed with the parents of Rodger's Swedish friend.
Clicking on the pics will, hopefully, show you the full-size version. ;-)
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Me next to a Runestone
There were runestones all over Europe, the largest ones by the castles or on top of big hills. (not to mention all the ones in museums we saw...)
this picture is of the swedish couple we stayed with. Their names are Ingaborg and Juachim. Yes, I did figure out how to pronounce these names by the time we left Sweden... This couple was from Germany originally but fleed the War in the forties.
The history in Europe is absolutely amazing... everyone that we talked to was very current with world events as well as very knowledgable as far as their country's history goes.
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A huge green tree next to a castle
This tree took my breath away when I first saw it. Its bark is nearly black and the leaves are a vivid green. It is a perfect example of the beautiful landscape of Scandinavia. |
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My first castle ever
... as well as my first swedish dinner. I believe I had some sort of fetticine-type of noodles and a salad... In Sweden a salad is served with every (every) meal. |
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An example of the MANY churches
There were old old OLD churches to tour in every town that we visited in Europe. This one was our first and I was surprised with all its splendor that it is a Lutheran church (since Catholics are normally the ones that have the ornamented churches and cathedrals).
I found out that Lutheranism, the religion i had been brought up with, was basically spread all throughout Sweden when Martin Luther, the man who founded it, moved there to flee the Catholic Germanic oppression. Because of this, the oldest Lutheran churches can be found still used in Sweden more than anywhere else in the world.
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Me, Berndt, and Ingaborg
We were standing in front of Ingaborg and Juachim's house. Berndt is their son, my uncle Rodger's friend.
Swedish houses are all connected, like condos, but much smaller. Also, each house does not have its own garage or driveway. There is a one lane street going through the whole neighborhoods but the community garage is at the front of the neighborhood.
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Me trying to look proper
I think here I was eating some raw salmon, which is considered a delicacy over in Northern Europe. Europeans typically eat with both a knife and fork in their hands at all times. They observe very good table manners. Most of the waiters are immigrants that don't speak Swedish very well, much less English. |
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This is my favorite tour guide.
In the picture you can see a readhead with her hair blowing around... she was my tourguide. She was the only person at this park that spoke english, and she was from Ireland. She incorporated jokes that were actually funny (what a shocker) into her speeches. The cross behind her is a monmunent to all the people killed by the native Vikings for possession of the island. |
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