Week With My Parents

Wednesday
On Wednesday we went to the Vasa Museum! It's a large museum that houses an entire viking ship that sunk 20 minutes on it's maiden voyage. The boat was built too narrow with insufficient balasts. When it set sail the wind tilted the boat, the balasts shifted, and water started pouring into the cannon windows. The ship sailed for 20 minutes and it took only 20 more minutes for it to sink! The ship was excavated and housed for the world to see. It was really amazing standing in front of the vessal! If anyone goes to Stockholm, you must go see the Vasa ship!
After the museum we went to Skansen, the worlds oldest outdoor museum! It included a reconstructed town from the 18th century and a zoo! We went to see a woman create a glass ornament, we went to an old fashioned bakery where we had pasties, and we toured a soldiers home. There were so many animals to see. I also went with the kids to the aquarium where we got to touch a snake and a tarantula! It was another great day!

Depictions of the men and women who died from the sinking of the ship.

Skeletons of the men and women who died with the sinking of the ship.

At Skansen

She's making a glass ornament

Thursday
On Thursday we all took the ferry to Birka, which is a very historical town on an island that's called Björkö. On the island there was a museum and a guided tour. The island is so famous because it was a viking village. There was a reconstructed village with boats you could go on and there were "vikings" with booths that you could buy handmade items like jewelry and clothing. It was such a nice day, and it was really interesting to hear all of the history behind the island.

On the ferry boat.

<3

On the tour in Birka. We had to look down when we walked to avoid all of the animal droppings! haha

On the highest point of the island. So pretty!

Viking ships

We had some time to spare waiting for the ferry boat to pick us up, so Assar showed Dad some of the things he has learned in his Aikido class!

The stick was the pretend knife.

Friday
On Friday we went to the lake! We bathed in the sun and took a rest from all of the walking we had done the days before. The water was really nice so all of us went in (except, of course, for the Moms). When we got back from the lake we went to IKEA! We had never been in an IKEA before so we were pleased with ourselves for going to a genuine Swedish IKEA for the first time! It was such a cool store. Micke was making fun of me the entire time because I was taking photos and exploring all of the rooms! Mom ended up buying me a blanket that I really liked from one of the rooms! I'm definitely going to have to find the nearest IKEA when I get home!
After IKEA we went to see some viking runestones in Västerås. There was a large viking grave mound and runestones in the shapes of boats. There's so much history in Sweden; it's amaing!

I love IKEA!!

Sitting down for dinner!

Viking Ship Runestones

We walked up a really large grave mound to get a better look at the runestones. As we were climbing the side of the really steep mound I told Micke that they should really invest in some stairs. When we got to the top he told me not to look to the left where there was a set of stairs.

Ingrid, Mom, and Dad at the top of the grave mound

Dad tried to lift the runestone...it wouldn't budge.

Saturday
Yesderday we went to Stockholm again. We walked around Old Town, saw the changing of the guards at the Royal Palace, and finally we went to the Armoury Museum where there were artifacts from a long time ago! We toured the museum by ourselves and we walked around with audio devices that gave descriptions of various displays. It was so interesting! After the museum we went to visit Ingrid's mom who lives just outside Stockholm central. She made us a really nice meal and then we walked around her garden. It was so beautiful; Dad was taking a bunch of pictures and each one you could imagine being in a garden magazine. Her flowers were so beautiful! It was another wonderful day!

Stockholm; walking into Old Town.

Old Town

Changing of the guard at the Royal Palace.

Dad with a giant Marabou chocolate bar! yummy!

At the Armoury Museum

hehe, can you tell that we're tourists?!

Later we went to visit Ingrid's mom. These are some of the pictures I took of her amazing garden. 

Sunday
Today Ingrid, Mom, and I did some shopping in the Stockholm outlets. I got a bathingsuit for 100 Kroner (about $16 US dollars). Mom got a T-shirt for Sean, Ingrid got some shirts, and Assar bought some shorts, a shirt, and tent, which he is sleeping in tonight! It was a great day at practice; we did outfield and hitting! The girls are progressing so much and Dad is helping us out so much! I'm able to pitch live batting practice while he analyzes their swings. I have a feeling that they will be a little dissapointed when he's not at practice on Wednesday!