Backing Up to Catch Up

Ryan deigned to allow me another post on his sacred blog. It is "Holy Embers of Dreams," after all!

There are a couple of days in Sweden that we simply didn't have the opportunity to share while in Sweden and before arriving in and writing about Helsinki. So, here we are backing up a bit so everyone is caught up with just how awesome our trip really is. In case you were doubting.

I'll pick up with the two museums that we saw on Tuesday--that seems like a long time ago now--and then finish up our Swedish trip before Ryan comes in with a new post about recent adventures in Finland.

Tuesday was rainy, a perfect day for museums. After another wonderful breakfast, armed with a borrowed umbrella, we wandered out of Gamla Stan, through Norrmalm, and over to Ostermalm in search of the Historical Museum. The icon for this museum was quite fitting for our trip: Odin All-Father, on his eight-legged steed Sleippnir. We entered the museum to discover that it was free for summer visitors--another great freebie for us. our guidebooks had recommended the Stockholm Card to save money on museum entry fees. I'm glad that we followed our instict to not get one, as museums were largely free because of Sweden's interest in boosting both domestic and international tourism.

Anyway, aside from the many economic benefits, the museum had a wonderful exhibit on the Viking age as well as a prehistory exhibit that gave the history from the earliest migratory communities up to the Viking age. Both were really fascinating. The only down side is that most of the information was available in Swedish only--such as the specific labels to the artifacts--but the major writing was available in two or three languages including English.

One of the biggest things that we drew from looking at all of these amazing artifacts were the underlying impulses in design and functionality that inform todays Scandinavian designs. It was quite powerful, for example, to see a number of glass flasks used for drinking wine, that had to be held up in iron or some form of holder because they had no bottom. You can find similar shapes in your Ikea or Pottery Barn catelogues, now being sold as vases to hang on the wall. In Pär and Anne's shop, there were cognac glasses that didn't have stems or vases, but were shaped so that they could be full, and yet set on a table. They were quite beautiful and evocative of that Viking era--whether the artist or the shopkeeper recognized it. It really is amazing how sophisticated and beautiful their objects were.

And, I can't forget my favorite part of the Viking museum, learning about the women of the age. gender roles were pretty divided, but women were given an equal say in the society as a whole. Women who wore keys identified themselves to others as women who owned and ran the farm or region. So, although she would be expected to maintain most of the domestic role, unlike other societies where only men could own or run farms, women had an equal right and were equally respected in doing so. They also had a voice in councel meetings and related. And, extremely nice jewelry.

I also learned about the Völlur, Staff-bearer. She was the wise woman, the high priestess. She had a short staff--more like a scepter at 80 cm long, made of iron with bronze tips on both ends. The upper end had a decorated tip, but i can't find words to describe it. Unfortunately, we were not able to take pictures of the artifacts. The collection of her objects included bronze bowls for various ritual purposes, a profusion of jewlery with sacred imagery, and a great deal of indications of her power, wealth, and knowledge of herbs, the natural and spirit worlds. It was quite impressive.

After the Viking exhibit, we went to the prehistory one--because even Vikings had a history. It was fascinating, but mostly in Swedish so we didn't catch much of it. My overall feeling was "Peter Jackson did a really good job with The Lord of the Rings." The Rohirrim really evoke this pre-Viking era in the design that was used to depict their society and culture. Many of the shapes in the weaponry, the armor, even the buildings and designs within can be seen in these pre-Viking (around 600 CE) artifacts.

Following this museum visit, we headed back toward the canal for lunch at the swanky Strandbrygge restaurant, which was literally on the water on floating platforms. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was great as well. We were under an awning, as it was raining, and they had little heaters running. One of the neatest things about cafes and restaurants in Stockholm was the presence of blankets. In this swanky place, there was a blanket for each chair in a lovely sky blue, the shock of color against their otherwise dark-brown and beige furnishings (from comfy sofas to trendy tables and high-backed wicker chairs).

After a satisfying lunch, we went to the Nordic museum where we looked at Scandinavian folk art and furnishings and design throughout the years starting in the 18th century and ending in the present. It was really interesting, and one can definately see the past influences on the present designs in both response and reaction, as well as honoring the tradition.

After this museum, we hoofed it back to Gamla Stan for dinner, an evening at a cafe, and then back home to prep for our next excursion--Birka.

We got up bright and early and headed into Norrmalm to catch the ferry to Birka on wednesday morning. Birka is the site of the oldest Swedish Viking settlement. We had expected a sort of reinactment sight, but we actually got something more like a battle field site in the US: open fields with a general sense, due to the rises, of where the original wall of the community would have been. The brochures boast of learning various Viking skills--black smithing, ship building and sailing, archery, etc--but we didn't see any places around that offered these experiences. As it turns out, from midsummer until July, everyone is pretty much on holiday, so only a few tours of the site are run and the vistor's center museum is open. There was a lot of great information in the museum, including a replica of a Vössur's staff, so that was a cool.

It was rainy that day, but it held off for the first part of our walk toward the site, where we got a little lost, wandered a bit, and as it started to rain, took refuge in a small chapel--Ansgar's chapel. Unfortunately, no restrooms, but a bit of forest nearby so my problem was easily solved. Ryan decided to journey while in the chapel, I kept watch. When he was finished, the rain had stopped and we headed back toward the visitor's center--prepping for the ferry which would leave at 3. There was only one ferry out, so we wanted to make sure that we were on it! On the way back to the ferry, we got a bit turned around, found our way back to the chapel, cut across a few wheat fields and then finally found our way back with time to spare. So, I had dessert--raspberry pie with vanilla sauce (like vanilla pudding)--while Ryan tried mead. I tried mead and it was horrid.

Our trip back was nice, a bit uneventful, and we were tired! Back to Gamla Stan for dinner, and then we were in bed relatively early.

Our last day in Stockholm was really nice, with a trip through Skansen after a morning of shopping. And as Ryan said, we spent most of the afternoon-evening with Pär, Anne, and Sophie--and a few minutes with Gustav (he and ryan had quite a conversation about beer, cars, and other 'guy stuff') while Sophie, Anne, and I did some yoga. I was wearing a dress at the time--as everything else was in the laundry--so it was kinda tough for me!

And so, this brings us to the late night and early morning, bringing us to Helsinki.

On Pluck

Ryan again. The rain has come to Stockholm (though we expect the Mediterranean heat to arrive tomorrow) and with it relief from incessant sneezing. After Sunday's beautiful journey through the Stockholm archipelago, and having had a taste of Stockholm itself, on Monday we headed to Uppsala to meet with world-class swordsmith Peter Johnsson, whose expert recreations of archeological finds can be found at Albion Swords (www.albion-swords.com).

Uppsala has been called the Swedish Oxford, and in a past age was an important Scandinavian spiritual site (that is, folks tended to be sacrificed every nine years). These days it's pretty much what you'd expect in a university town, except that a central cathedral dominates the landscape. We bought a bottle of cloudberry preserves from a young lad at a stand just outside the cathedral (the one in Roskilde is more impressive), stopped in at the local tourist office, and then caught the Number 6 to Eriksberg, a suburb 20 minutes away.

We disembarked at our stop and quickly located the apartment complex where we believed the master to live. We prevailed upon a middle-aged gentleman trying to stuff a series of wooden chairs into his characteristically small European car to help us make sense of the address and get in the correct building (with no concern for security). We mounted the steps to the fourth floor and found the door. I rang the bell.

No answer.

I rang it again.

Nothing. And so the journey of 4,000 miles was met with silence. The door was closed. Why, I do not know. True, the agreement I had with Peter was somewhat loose and had been made months ago. Subsequent inquiries had not been acknowledged, and I had learned through a third party that he and his wife had recently had a child. I'm sure he had his reasons.

Still, it was disappointing. And yet, waiting for the bus back to Uppsala (and all the while scanning passersby for someone who might be good with hammer and tongs), my thoughts returned our discussion with the Norwegian couple Sunday night.

Kjell had asked me what about Americans I liked best -- this after Jenifer and I had shared at length our discontent with much of American culture. After some thought, we hit upon the word "pluck." Kjell and Rita ran this word through several Nordic languages and determined that an equivalent term was "guts." That worked for us. Forging ahead without worrying overmuch about consequences, dashing in without proper preparation, a reliance on cleverness, and a certain bravado. Persistence. This was our definition of pluck, and it seemed to fit my approach with Peter.

I had taken the matter as far as I could -- short of waiting outside the door. I had gone, as McKee would say, "to the end of the line." Perhaps further down the road Peter and I would meet. Or perhaps an aspiring screenwriter or filmmaker would approach me for help with his project. Would I listen?

On Tuesday we found greater tangible success, primarily in the form of rewarding visits to the Historical Museum and the Nordic Museum. The former especially was a treasure trove, with the thousands of artifacts in the Viking and pre-history exhibits reminding us just how sophisticated a people the Norse were a thousand years ago.

But more on that later. It's late, and it's time to get some rest before the sun stays up.

First Post from Sweden: Stockholm

Hello, everyone! Jenifer here; Ryan's "allergical" to Sweden, it appears, so I'm writing the first post!

Aside from the abundance of pollen (oak and birch), the beauty and easygoing attitude of Stockholm is amazing! After essentially pulling an "all-nighter" between the flights and time-zone changes, Ryan and I wandered our way into Old Town (Gamla Stan) Stockholm to find our bed and breakfast for this leg of the trip: Bacchus B & B, an eleventh-century warehouse that has been converted into a comfortable home for our hosts, Pär and Anne and their 6 children (only some of whom are home at any given time).

The home is amazing and the hosts are even more amazing. Upon arriving nearly unexpectedly (early), Pär and Anne welcomed us into their home immediately, and we spent 3 hours chatting and getting to know each other. We're their third guests; they have just started opening their home to travellers. The house is incredible with modern Scandinavia style and sensibility--every useful object is also an object of great beauty. They have a wonderful philosophy of living that mirrors Ryan's and mine--to say the least we get along wonderfully!

After spending the morning chatting with our hosts, Ryan and I did an easy walking tour of the city--from Gamla Stan across one bridge into the main and modern part of the city (where you will find many Radisson hotels, if that's more to your liking), Norremalm, followed the waterfront into Ostermalm--which is apparently where rich old ladies live with incredibly small and pampered dogs--and crossed another bridge over to Djurgarden which has a large outdoor museum of all things Swedish called Skansen. We actually walked around it, because we were too tired to enjoy it at that point. After walking around the island, we walked back toward Gamla Stan, but decided that we felt "up" enough to continue our city tour, so we headed across a bridge to the south of Gamla Stan into the "hip and funky" Sodermalm.

Of course, Sunday was the big day for Sweden vs. Germany, and many people--young and old--congregated at outdoor cafes, pubs, and just public parks to watch the game on big screens. Everyone was decked out in yellow and blue, hopeful for another victory. Sodermalm was particularly active with so many excited young people cheering and jeering as the game started. But, by this point we'd walked about 8 miles and were completely exhausted. We got Chinese take-away and headed two miles back home.

After eating, we slept for 14 hours.

Upon awaking, we went downstairs to a wonderful breakfast. It was simple and abundant. We ate our fill, and during breakfast our hosts informed us that they were going to spend the morning and lunch on their boat, harbored outside of the city. Anne needed to come back into the city to open their small home-decor shop for the afternoon, so Pär offered to pick us up at her drop-off point on Skeppsholmen, a small island between Gamla Stan and Djurgarden (Stockholm is a series of 14 islands). After breakfast, we headed out to soak in some mid-summer ambiance on Skeppsholmen, where a number of locals were picnicking, overlooking the archipelago and the amusement park on Djurgarden (something that may tempt a few friends to Stockholm!).

We wandered the island a bit longer, and then went to the dock where we would meet Pär, Anne, Pär's son Michael, and Anne's daughter Sophie. Ryan managed to get hungry and decided to partake in the rare Swedish delight: a hot dog from a street vender. I took pictures.

In short order, our hosts arrived, dropping off Anne and Sophie and picking up two eager American tourists. They took us on a private cruise of the canals, leading through the archipelago and into part of the Baltic, and then headed back to their marina. It was a wonderful ride.

Just the prior morning, Pär had explained to us how "trustable" Swedes are, and of course we believed him! So far, everyone we have met have been exceptionally welcoming and helpful, fluent in English (even young children). And then, that boat ride, well, we might have begun to think otherwise. There was a strong current in the channels and a lot of traffic. Midsummer is a major Swedish holiday, and the warm weather and bright skies had everyone with a boat--from grand sailboat to small rubber rowboat--out on the water.

This traffic caused a lot of wakes, which after Pär encouraged us to move to the front of the boat for a better ride, as well as a dry one, a wake came over and well, you can imagine. Michael joked: "I can't believe they fell for it!" We all had such a laugh and it was only a matter of a couple of minutes before we were dry again under that bright sun. It was a beautiful day to be on the water, and for part of the journey-- once we were out in the open--we were able to go about 30 knots, which was quite a thrill.

Once arriving at the marina, Pär drove us back to Gamla Stan in his convertible VW bug--it was truly a beautiful day.

But wait, there's more!

You see, we went to dinner.

Our hosts recommended a small cafe on the main square where they served traditional Swedish food. They made me a plate of root veggies--turnip, parsnip, beets, carrots, and new potatoes with a lingonberry sauce and two nice blocks of cheese--and Ryan had traditional Swedish meatballs. The owner of the shop brought out a couple of shots of homemade schnapps, and of course, as it's midsummer, I had to partake. After a joyous 'Sköl!' i downed that sucker. First shot ever. When in Stockholm, go on boat trips and convertable rides and drink schnapps!

We met an American couple and a Norwegian couple, basicly talking the night away, with a few special breaks to visit the toilet, which is against the 11th-century fortification of Gamla Stan--the wall that protected the Swedes from those horrible Danes. Our waiter was thrilled to tell us the history, and he said "around here, the walls speak history to us."

So far, we're having a fabulous time as both the walls and the people tell us their stories.