Swiss Holiday

We have some dear friends who live in Lugano, Switzerland and when they offered us the opportunity to come and see them in October, we jumped.  Lugano is in the Italian part of Switzerland and reminds me of my native California in climate and foliage.  The combination of a lake, mountains and fall foliage was stunning!  Towering Cypress, majestic Eucalyptus and flowers of all varieties dotted our every step.  It can be mild in the winter and even warm and sunny in the autumn.  It was a bit on the chilly side when we arrived but the sun was shining brightly and we enjoyed walking around without big coats, gloves and hats! The first afternoon we wandered down the hill from their beautiful apartment alongside the lakefront and into charming Lugano.  
We popped into a lovely church that sports a replica of Da Vinci's Last Supper.  The three men that were with us decided to replicate the replica.
What a gorgeous town with beautiful shops, outdoor markets, giant salamis and tantalizing Gelatos.  The sights were a feast for the senses, the walk good for our spirit and the company encouraging.    We are excited to experience a new part of the world.  

An Early Halloween

With the gorgeous harvest moon glimmering over the world right now, perhaps it seems appropriate that we went to an early Halloween Party Friday night.  Swedes have imported Halloween from the US, unfortunately at times, much of what is icky about the holiday, but they love an excuse to dress up in costumes just like the rest of us.  Trick or Treating is strictly taboo however as it is culturally completely inappropriate to walk up to a stranger's door, ring the bell and then ask for something!  Come to think of it, that sounds pretty weird in any place, but for some reason in the US we've said, yes it's weird, but on the 31st of October we're going to do it anyway!  Alas, I digress.
No matter how long you've lived somewhere else, I think for most foreigners, there a place in your psyche that wants to do things that resonate with your homeland.  So every year in October Americans get a little hankering for dressing up and eating sweets!  So when The American Women's Club announced that they would be having a party this year, we said, "Let's Go!" 
We decided to go as animals...Doug a lion and me a monkey.  We had the monkey suit from our Children's program at church two summers ago and some good friends casually mentioned their lion suit.  Turns out the Lion suit was an exact replica of the Lion from the Wizard of Oz and Doug looked just like Bert Lahr! He wore shades to try to seem less cowardly! And his cowardly lion imitation is priceless!  Doug helped me put on a good monkey face and we were ready to party!  Some friends had invited us to their place beforehand and they live about a 10 minute walk from us.  So off we went, the lion and the monkey walking down the street through central Stockholm.  True to form, the Swedes did not flinch.  No eye contact, no giggle, nothing...seriously?  C'mon, two adults dressed like wild animals were strolling down your street on a Friday evening.  I expected at least a little chuckle or a nod with a smile from someone.  Once safely in the confines of Peggy and Magnus' apartment, we got a good laugh out of their get up.  Peggy looked amazing as the Black Swan, complete with red eyes.  Magnus was a good counterpart, the White Trash Swan, complete with white tutu and blonde wig! 
Peggy's one of my tennis buddies.  I wonder if we look this fierce on the court.  She should definitely wear those red lenses sometime!. 
We took a taxi to the party spot just to avoid too much excitement on the subway!
A good time was had by all.  Peggy won for best costume and we won a prize but we are not sure for what...I think most crazy twosome or something like that!  Our tails were a big hit and we had fun dancing around like fools.  Here's Doug, the cool cat that he is, holding his tail, making sure no one stepped on it! The only down side of the evening was that during a rousing game of musical chairs, my monkey foot slipped and I cracked my knee on the concrete floor.  Ouch.  Skinned knee and achy body to prove it this morning!
     But it was a good time of cutting lose, seeing what everyone wore, eating some sweet treats and just enjoying a good laugh with good friends.  So Happy Halloween to you all, even though you have to wait a couple of weeks for the fullness of the holiday!

Autumn's Arrival

After a gloriously long 'brittsommar' Stockholm's version of Indian Summer, I think perhaps we are settling into the autumn season. The weekend was warm and sunny and I took full advantage of the opportunity to enjoy it. Because of work and other social commitments we didn't have enough time to go on the boat.  I missed being out on the water but I have to admit it was pretty fun exploring the island of Djurgården on foot.  It had been a long time since we wandered around here since we usually take every warm day and head out on the boat.  I had forgotten what a lovely part of the city this beautiful park is.  We walked for a long time and then sat on chairs that were still out at a closed restaurant.  It was peaceful and lovely and warm and beautiful.  I was amazed at how prolific the flowers were and felt resonance with the sunflowers as they stretched their big faces towards the waning sunshine. The apple trees are heaving with gorgeous fruit. I was happy to enjoy these last warm days of the "warm and light"season wandering around beautiful Stockholm.
We walked by the restaurant where we went on the weekend we came here to interview, 13 years ago.  We wandered by the outside of the residence of the American ambassador.  We soaked in the warmth and beauty of autumn with a taste of summer thrown in!
It's gray today and leaves are strewn about the sidewalk.  The air is not so cold but the grayness of the day, the falling leaves, the emerging colors of autumn breaking forth from various trees along with it now being October makes me feel like we are definitely into a new season.  As I was walking around today I was laughing to myself because today would've been deemed a pretty cold autumn day in southern California where I grew up. I remember hoping that it might get cold enough to actually wear a sweater!   I also remember watching the trees trying so hard to change color.  The most we'd ever get would be a pale yellow.  The leaves would fall off the trees but the deep colors of this beautiful season never came into view for me in California.  I still appreciate the beauty of autumn and the dazzling display that nature likes to put forth.  Today smelled like autumn, even the anemic autumns of my childhood in California.
I love the fall.  My favorite sports are played in the autumn season (American football, baseball playoffs and volleyball), my birthday is in October, the cooler temperatures were always a welcome respite from the hot summer in California and by cooler I mean in the 60's instead of the 70's (in centigrade, that's 10's instead of 20's) and all in all I just loved the change of season.  It's not that I mind the change of season here it's just that now autumn means that winter follows and winter in Stockholm is well, slightly different than winter in southern California!  But life moves through seasons as well and the best part of autumn turning into winter is that winter turns into spring!
 

Autumn in the Stockholm Archipelago

It was sunny and reasonably warm this morning so we decided to go on a boat ride with our dog Tanner and our friend Chris.  I optimistically wore shorts and tennis shoes with no socks.  It started off to be a fine decision.  It was sunny, with some clouds and quite a lovely day.  We wanted to get into the heart of the archipelago since we know our days are numbered out there for this season so we headed for the island of Ekskär, which our boat club partially owns.
I slept on the back seat of the boat on the way out.  I loved the fresh air and cool breeze.  There was scarcely anyone else on the island when we arrived so Tanner ran free, swam like a fish, and enjoyed being his crazy Labrador self.  We sat in the sun on the rocks, ate a lovely picnic lunch whilst taking in the views that I never grow weary of. The ride back in was chillier as a low cloud cover had moved in and it almost foggy, like a bit of a mist had drifted over the water.  Brrr.  I was wishing I had thrown in long pants and some warm socks!  It is late September afterall.  What was I thinking?  Perhaps that summer isn't really over.
Still, the beauty of the archipelago, the good company, the walk in the woods, the fresh air left me feeling renewed and relaxed.
We came home and I made fajitas for dinner. Yum.  What a great day. 

Up on the Roofs

Stockholm makes available an opportunity to explore the Gamla Stan area via the rooftops!  Doug gave me this as a gift two Christmases ago and we finally used it last night.  Located on the island of Riddarholm, it was a nice experience.  We began in the square where the large Riddarholm Church is located, the church where the Royals are buried in a square called Birger Jarl Torget.  Birger Jarl is the founder of Stockholm and he watches over this beautiful yet sadly underdeveloped area of the city.  The light was gorgeous in that special Stockholm kind of way that always takes your breath away.
On the tour, you do learn a lot about Stockholm.  Unfortunately we were unable to book a tour in English and the wind was pretty strong so hearing  and understanding everything was a little tough.  Even so, it was fun to see our beautiful city from way up high! And the light did not disappoint!You get a good panoramic look at the whole of downtown and we saw the intensive work that is going on in Lake Mälaren where they are building an underwater subway tunnel.  Of course, it is perfectly safe as you are equipped with climbing equipment.  The Swedes have done a very efficient job of building catwalks and a pulley system that is quite secure.  The entire walk is only about 300 meters long and takes about an hour with stopping for the commentary and to soak in the views.  We were lucky that it didn't rain as it had been forecast and they do the walk no matter the weather re-enforcing the Swedish notion that there is no bad weather, only bad clothing. I was thrilled for how beautiful an evening it was and watching the sun coming down over Lake Mälaren was certainly a joy from our vantage point.
As far as experiences go however, I would say it is only OK.  Too much talking, not enough climbing, too confined of an area.  I would save my money and go for the hot air balloon ride which was much more fun and a much better view of the entire Stockholm area.  That said, seeing the city from the heights of the rooftops was a lot of fun.  Afterwards we ventured into the heart of Gamla Stan and enjoyed a coffee at a coffee house where a friend works.  The evening was beautiful, warm enough to sit outside and enjoy the walk home.  Gamla Stan remains a beautiful treasure of our home town from any vantage point.