Ljusne to Stockholm

We get up promptly at 8 AM. Katie texted us at 4 AM so I am sleepy. It was hard to go back to sleep after that. I was afraid it was bad news so I had to find my glasses, read it, etc. It was fine, no worries. We pack up and have breakfast. Solveig has bought yogurt for us. So sweet of her. We take Karli to Elisabeths so she can finish her paper and send it to Sabine. We check our email too.


These are some amazing antique musical instruments at Elisabeths house.

We try to figure out where to stay. Scandic or Pensionat Oden where we have stay a couple of times before. We are not sure we can get Internet at the Pensionat so we try to get an online reservation at a Scandic. It is not working for some reason.

We leave Elisabeths and try to decide what to do after Stockholm. We decide to take the ferry to Helsinki and back. We did this in 1988 when Karli was a baby and Katie was with us. The ferry was fun and I am sure it has changed a lot 20 years later! Arvid goes to a tourist bureau and gets the phone number of the Viking and the Silja Ferries. We call and after a long phone discussion book the night ferry on the 5th, a night in Helsinki on the 6th and the night ferry on the 7th to return on the 8th.

We cannot get our card to be accepted for the reservations. So the clerk tells us to go to a tobac shop with an ATG on it and pay.

We go back to Solveigs and she has a beautiful smörgås torta waiting for us! Wow! OOOO AAAHHHH! What a treat. Elisabeth is here too. The 6 of us have a wonderful meal. I keep thinking that we are leaving today. It is so very sad. I hate saying good bye. Solveig has been so wonderful and Elisabeth too. Birger is wonderful and happy and joking. This place is home.

We go to the neighbors house to make some last minute plans on the internet. We make a reservation at a Scandic. We are not sure exactly where it is but we will find it!

I say my tearful good bye and we are on our way. As we back out of the driveway, they push Birger out on the porch in this sub zero weather so they can all wave good bye. This is kind of a ritual with them that I remember each time we have been here. But today is in the winter!!!

We drive and hit snow for most of the drive. While it is still light we marvel again at the sparkling snow. It is absolutely amazing. It gets dark soon after we leave. It is so cold the snow just blows across the road. We finally get to Stockholm. The city seems to go on and on forever. We are using a map but keep getting on tunnels. We ask the directions a couple of times. We get to where it is supposed to be and we cannot find it! I mean we are on the exact 4 way stop and we cannot see the hotel anywhere! Scandic Hotels are known for their big signs on the top of the building that can be seen from all over the city. But we are on the right corner and cannot find it. We see a building where the front is under construction with tarps draping down for the entrance. Arvid goes in and sure enough, that is it.

We find our room is quite small but fine. It has a queen bed and a twin bed that pulls down from the wall (Murphy Bed) for Karli.

We walk out again and find the Carmen Restaurant and eat there. It is like a pub with what looks like every single young person in Stockholm coming in to meet friends. Karli comments... and I am here with my parents!!! We have a wonderful meal here and it is great fun people watching.

We go back and go to bed. First we discover that our bed is loose or something and squeaks with every movement. I swear it squeaked when we breathed! We get to sleep but Karli and I awaken at 11 PM. There is smoke in the room! No, not fire smoke, cigarette smoke. Disgusting. I call the front desk and complain. This is a non smoking floor. They say they will check it. We cannot get to sleep because it is very strong and continuous. I call again at 12:00 and get mad this time. They come up and start knocking on doors and find the guilty people. I stuff towels in the cracks of the door and spray the room with hair spray. Now it smells like a smoky hair salon....