Still in Sweden

Hej! (that's hello in Swedish, it's pronounced "hey")

We have met up with Julie and Miles, and we spent the day sightseeing yesterday with Nancy, and Braden. Bonnie was unable to make the trip...

The hotel serves a huge breakfast (included with the hotel stay). They even have smoked reindeer.

I had my first "real" Swedish meatballs for dinner last night. Yummy!

I think I am communicating very well. Most of the people here speak "Engelska" very well.

We went to the Vasa museum yesterday, and it was fascinating. The Vasa was a galleon that was built over 300 years ago. It was a huge warship, and it sank in the harbor here in Stockholm on its maiden voyage. Someone didn't do their math! Once the wind hit the sails, it just tipped over and started taking in water through the gun windows. And it sank, sails and flags flying. It sat in the water for 333 years. In the late 1950s, this man made a homemade device that he would throw into the water and it would bore into material at the bottom of the bay. He searched and searched, until his little bore-er turned up some old oak. They were able to hydrojet tunnels beneath the ship, and push cables beneath the ship and then they were able to pull the Vasa up into more and more shallow water until it finally broke the surface. They have completely restored it and it is inside its own museum. It was a very throrough exhibit.

We walked around Gamla Stan yesterday. That is old town Stockholm. Stockholm is built on and around water, so some of the very old building are actually built on wood pilings that are driven into the water. I feel kind of bad that places like Disneyland and Universal Studios have ruined my ability to truly appreciate the architecture here. Being in Gamla Stan is like being on a movie set. Kind of like the pinocchio area of Disneyland.

Well, the group is gathering here in the lobby, so I'd better sign off for now. Love, Lisa.