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Stockholms’s Gamla Stan

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This trip was taken between May 22, 2014 to June 10, 2014.

Gamla Stan Street

Gamla Stan Street

Well day 2 started off as any other day with a trip on the T-Bana from Sickla Kaj but today we stop at Gamla Stan (link), the Old Town.
This well-preserved living medieval pedestrian city was founded in 1252 and has about 3,000 population at this time. A little island full of sites, museums, restaurants, cafes, bars and stores along narrow winding alleys that are perfect for a day of exploring the cobbled streets. You cannot get lost as sooner or later you will find the water and then you can just follow the waters edge and end back the Gamla Stan T-Bana Station.

Most of the buildings today are from the 17-1800’s in an area of charming cobbled streets, alleyways, faded mustard and rust colored town houses and meeting squares reflecting a north German architecture heritage. Consisting of the main square, Stortorget, that is considered the centre of Old Town which the baroque style Royal Palace (link) (Kungliga Slottet) fronts, and The Royal Chapel (link) (Storkyrkan) which is around the corner. 

Just wander and enjoy the ambiance of this little piece of heaven. Get lost enjoying the stores, shops and eateries. This makes for a fun afternoon and evening stroll while partaking in a some great places to snack and eat a filling lunch and dinner.

 

Vasa Museet, the colossal ship that sank shortly on it’s maiden voyage.

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After a brief rest at Skansen Outdoor Museum (link) off we go to finish our tour of the 75 acre museum then grab the T-Bana back to the Vasa Museet (link). Going 2 stops we get off the T-Bana cross the street and walk the short distance to the museum. Inside we are greeted by a massive wooden ship that was built between 1626 to 1628 and sank only 1,400 yards into her maiden voyage. It sat on the bottom of the bay until it was raised in 1961 and placed in the museum.

Vasa Sailing Ship

Vasa Sailing Ship

A colossal ship that was to hold 450 men of whom 300 were soldiers, 48 – 24 # cannon, 8 – 5# cannon and 2 – 1# cannon on 2 decks. It sank as the tall, top heavy ship caught a crosswind in its sails and capsized very quickly as the gun ports were open to show how mighty the ship was to the citizens of Stockholm. 100 crew including wives and children were lost in the sinking as the citizens of Stockholm watch in horror.

Grona Land Amusement Park

Grona Land Amusement Park

After walking all 4 floors of the Vasa  Museet we decided to walk over and visit Grona Lund (link), an amusement park with roller coasters, thrill rides, games, concerts and restaurants, that is also located on the Island. Being part of the Stockholm Card with free admission was a plus for us so we were able to walk through and see what the park has to offer. We walked most of the park and it looks like a fun place to spend some time at as it is along the same lines as the old pier amusement parks in America in the 50’s and 60’s, Blackpool (link) in England and Prater Park (link) in Vienna, Austria. We had a great time seeing the park but we are tired from our day’s walking and the 9 hour time change is starting to take it’s toll so we head back to our room for a stop at the market for more goodies and drinks, stop by a restaurant for something to eat and to rest for the next days adventure.

Skansen Outdoor Architectural Museum, Stockhom

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T-Bana

T-Bana

Stockholm is the most populous city in the Nordic region and is spread over 14 islands. We board our T-Bana to head to Gullmarsplan to catch the train to Stockholm Central Station and then walk over a few blocks to jump on another T-Bana to the Island of Djurgaden. As we wait for the T-Bana a group of school children arrive with their teacher to get on the same T-Bana we are on. We wonder where they are going on a school day and soon discover that today is a day the schools are having a field trip to Skansen. WOW, I wish we had field trips like this when I was in school, the best one we had was visiting a Wonder Bread Bakery to see bread being made and packaged. What a history experience these kids get over in Europe really amazing.Skansen Sign Continue reading →

Oradour-sur-Glane, a town lost in WW II

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Written by Jodi Pickens

So traveling on an equal mix of small country roads and highways we make our way to the town of Oradour-sur-Glane. Driving into the new town of Oradour we buy a sandwich and eat outside the entrance in a park area before touring WW II martyred town of Oradour-sur-Glane.

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June 2016 Alaska – Days 8 and 9

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Today we have a cruise to Victoria and will not dock until 6:00 PM. So after getting up early for breakfast the buffet and aft decks are empty as everyone on the ship sleeps in. It is wonderful to be out here on the last day of breakfast with my son, peaceful, relaxing and enjoying the early morning with pastries and hot chocolate. It is so empty when breakfast finally opens, there must be about only a dozen of us in the buffet area, so I take out my pocket camera and start getting photos of the food service and dining areas while they are empty (these were shared in a previous blog post).

The family trickles in slowly and we enjoy our last full morning together.

Today I am going to take it easy, in the morning while everyone else on the ship are still resting I walk to get photos of the different areas of the ship, watch a documentary on the Alaskan Gold Rush in the Theater then just mosey around enjoying people watching.

Last Day Food-6At lunch they are having a Bavarian BBQ by the pool and that sounds pretty good to me. Everyone else is doing their own thing at lunch so I gorge myself on pulled pork, pork sausage, breads, sides and wonderful Bavarian desert cakes.

 

When we finally dock in Victoria at 6:30 PM I am exhausted, I was going to walk the couple of miles to downtown but just decide to stay on the ship, find a quiet spot to relax to do some reading and writing. Boy am I getting old, but I am missing Jodi so much today. It has been a difficult but very enjoyable trip and a real re-learning experience on how to take a vacation alone.

I decide to go to the room early to pack my bags as we will be docking and leaving the ship early tomorrow morning.

Up early one last morning to grab breakfast and enjoy my last day of sitting on the Aft Deck with my son enjoying the cruise into Seattle. We dock and leave the ship at around 7:30 AM and I say my goodbyes to the family and make my way to the Light Rail Station about ¾’s of a mile away.

After the 40-minute ride to the airport I exit the train for the long walk to the terminal through the parking garage. Going inside the terminal I head for the announcement board to determine which gate my plane will be in, but my flight is not until 3:15 PM and does not show up yet for the gate location. I see which gates Delta flies out of then head to the crazy long security line. Boy this makes Disneyland’s lines look short but at least it keeps moving and is well organized. About an hour later finally through security I walk the Main Terminal looking for an interesting establishment for lunch. Finding one or two that interest me I find an empty gate to relax and do some more reading until I am hungry.

Early afternoon and I am finally hungry so I head for a gourmet Hot Dog stand and get a dog, fries, candy bar and drink. Not good for you but it sure hit the spot and tasted real good and I have eaten bad all week so what is one more day. I’ll worry about good nutrition next week.

Boarding the plane at 2:30 PM I settle into my seat at the rear of the plane, read, gaze out the window and think about the week I have just had and what to do for my future adventures while just trying to keep my mind busy and not wander.

This would have been a vacation Jodi would have loved but hated at the same time as it would have been very difficult for her to walk and use the wheelchair with all the hilly terrain and crowds in the towns.

Well I am rethinking the BUCKET LIST and will be posting it presently along with a some of the past adventures I have been on.

STAY TUNED THIS RIDE IS NOT OVER YET!

June 2016 Alaska – Day 3

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Alaska trip 6-13-2016

It is Monday and a cruise day so not much going on except for exploring the ship. There was a time change last night but I did not catch it so I was up at 4AM showering, doing laundry and getting ready for pre-breakfast with my son.

Yes I said pre-breakfast. Up to the buffet for fruit, bread and hot chocolate we sit on the aft deck watching the scenery pass by in quiet solitude. I do not get to see my son much, as he lives in Washington, so we catch up on life and family. At about 7AM the full buffet opens for breakfast so we head in for our full breakfast courses with the family joining us shortly after we sit down with our meals.

My son, his wife, his son and I start walking the Decks 12 and 13 after breakfast and notice some whales spouting close to the ship. This makes it a great day seeing these majestic creatures in the wild.

After a while I start exploring the the interior of the ship and then get ready for lunch. Yes the theme of the cruise is eating, walking, exploring and then eat some more. I walked a total of 6¾ miles, 17,500 steps and climbed 48 floors on my exploration of the ship today.

Well enough of the day, here are some photos of the ship for you to enjoy as tomorrow we visit the capitol of Alaska, Juneau.

Tears in Heaven – Eric Clapton

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My Love

Taken at Mount St Helens, WA 2013

Just back from my vacation to Alaska and on the last day of the cruise as I walked into the buffet at 5AM for pre-breakfast and to sit on the quiet aft deck, this was song was playing. I have many favorite artists I can listen to all of their songs – The Beatles, Marc Cohan, Bob Seager, Eric Clapton, The Eagles and others.

But this hit my heart hard on Fathers Day and my granddaughters birthday. Losing Jodi has been a hard blow and this is how I feel. I hope to see her again in another life. We were meant to be together and I hope the power lets me be with her again even though I feel not worthy.

I cried as I was eating that breakfast, listening to it in the airport, listening to it now and cannot get it out of my mind. I want to thank Eric for writing this piece, it will make me stronger.

Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton

Would you know my name

If I saw you in heaven?

Would it be the same

If I saw you in heaven?

I must be strong and carry on

‘Cause I know I don’t belong here in heaven

Would you hold my hand

If I saw you in heaven?

Would you help me stand

If I saw you in heaven?

I’ll find my way through night and day

‘Cause I know I just can’t stay here in heaven

Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees

Time can break your heart, have you begging please, begging please

Beyond the door there’s peace I’m sure

And I know there’ll be no more tears in heaven

Would you know my name

If I saw you in heaven?

Would it be the same

If I saw you in heaven?

I must be strong and carry on

‘Cause I know I don’t belong here in heaven

2011 xmas Baking 2

Christmas Baking

2016-4 J&T People Mover_last picture of us together

2016 Disney World our last picture together on the People Mover

Vancouver, WA trip, April 2016

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This is a report of my short trip to Vancouver, WA to visit my son, daughter–in-law and grandson for my grandson’s 1-year birthday. This would be a car trip and to make it up there and back in the time I got off work would require a marathon drive, about 17 hours each way. Well off I went leaving about 5AM from SoCal to miss the traffic. Glad I did because I got all the way through LA doing at least the speed limit. The only stops along the way would be for food, gas and nature breaks.

One important stop would be at Redding, CA for the last In-N-Out burger stand in California where I picked up 2 double doubles and a chocolate shake. Please note one of the burgers went into the cooler to give to my son when I arrived as he misses In-N-Out so much since he moved to Washington.

I finally arrived at 9:45PM exhausted.  I unpacked only what I had to, talked a little while and fell into bed hoping to get some well deserved sleep.

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Lost in Technology

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On our way home from our last vacation at Walt Disney World I was lost in thought on the plane. It was early evening the sun was down and most everyone around me were lost in the glow of their computer screens, no conversation to be heard. We now live in an urbanized environment, manmade, false, straight, boxy, symmetrical, cubes, squares, rectangles, artificially conditioned, grid like street patterns, monotonous. But a human needs and relishes nature, curves, color, cold, hot, unplanned, random, fluid, meandering, flowing, asymmetrical.

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Day 6 – Off / Rest day to Disney Springs at Walt Disney Word, Florida

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Well not much happening today, we are tired and it is still on the cold side threatening to rain all day.

We have an 8:30 breakfast reservation at The Polynesian’s “Kona Café”, so we jump on the bus transportation to the Magic Kingdom and walk across the front of the park to gain access to the transportation for the resorts. It is too cold for the boat so we climb the ramp to the monorail for the trip around Seven Seas Lagoon. Although everyone raves about the Tonga Toast at the Kona Café it just looks too heavy and sweet for us so we both decide on the Big Kahuna breakfast platter. The platter consists of French Toast, Pancakes, Eggs, Home Fried Potatoes, Ham, Bacon, and Sausage. This is still a large filling breakfast and a lot of food but the large bread-roll smothered in a sweet topping would be a heavy gut buster for us. I asked to change my French Toast for additional pancakes and the ham for additional bacon, just perfect now. Filled up for the day we should only require a late lunch to keep our tummies happy for the rest of today.

We take the monorail back to catch our resort bus transportation and we hardly stop in the line to wait for the next bus when a private Disney van pulls up, the driver gets out opens the side door and say’s our ride is ready. What??? Our driver explains that due to the buses schedules of getting guests to the parks in the morning this van service is provided to return people to the Resorts if it is needed. Wow, a private van / limo ride back and a wonderful talk with our diver. Returning we start a load of laundry and do some packing as we are changing hotels tomorrow for our last two nights.

We start our walk to Disney Springs and proceed across the pedestrian bridge that provides access between Saratoga Springs Resort and the Disney Springs shopping area.

The bridge drops us off near the Transportation Stop and we visit The Art of Disney, Disney Days of Christmas, Spice and Tea Cooking shop, Once Upon a Toy Store, and The World of Disney Store.

A steady rain starts about 11:15 AM as we are in Once Upon a Time and by the time we leave the Disney Store it coming down  little harder and does not look like the rain will let up much at all today.

Wanting to go over to “Cookes of Dublin” for our only other meal today we decide to stay close to this side of Disney Springs as the rain is just coming down too much for us today and we head to “Earl of Sandwich” before we get drench in the rain. We to get our sandwiches to go and eat back at the Villa; the rain lets up into a drizzle as we start our walk back at 1:30 PM.

Back to get out of our wet clothes we walked 3.5 miles and 8,779 steps today. Sitting at our table to eat our sandwiches. I got the All American and Jodi got the Chipotle Chicken Avocado, as always-great sandwiches especially when we warm them in the oven.

Now it is time to finish our laundry and packing as the rain continues to fall outside. We then rest and complete our routine. We will have our luggage transferred to our new room at All-Star Music Resort in the morning as we go for our third and final day at the Magic Kingdom.