Another Day in Sweden

Gamla Uppsala or Old Uppsala is where one can find lots of, well, old things, like Viking Mounds! And, old churches... This old church happens to be Anders Celsius's resting place.  That's pretty cool, no? The bellfry. Two things I love: the café culture in Sweden and when Scott moves in to pose for a picture when Sam is clearly not about it.  Ha! Nearby is a little beach area, Storvad, on River Fyrisån.  See the wheelchair accessible ramp?  Honestly, though, the river did not look all that clean, and this section is in the middle of an agricultural area, but it must be OK if they build this as a recreational spot...we did not go in. I think our favorite part of the visit was Disagården - the open air museum that shows how people would have lived in area during the 19th century.  We happened to be there on a day where they had children's activities, so, of course, I then got nostalgic for the days when the girls were little and thought about when we visited Hamp...

  On our second day we did some of the free stuff Helsinki has to offer, which means standing in front of buildings and taking pictures: the Kamppi Chapel (Chapel of Silence), the Uspenski Cathedral, Senate Square. Free stuff also means lots of walking - here we are at the water front or as Sam liked to call it, "the Canal Park of Helsinki." We went to the Helsinki Museum (free) where we learned, once again, how important the sauna is to Finns.  Scott got to check out Helsinki during different historical periods, so he was happy. We popped into the University of Helsinki library where Scott discovered that they have two of his books.  He then relaxed in one of their chairs feeling nice and smug, er, happy. We also made our way to the Old Market Hall where they have inside and outside vendors.  It was like mushroom heaven for Scott, and salmon heaven for Sam. Eventually we made our way to the Viking cruise ship to sail our way back to Stockholm.  Yes, we went on ...

  Sam had a three day weekend this past weekend, so we decided we'd spend a couple days in Helsinki.  It turns out we loved Helsinki!  Who knew?  This post covers Day One.  We did a lot in a couple days! Our first stop was at the Oodi Library - Helsinki's central library.  It did not disappoint.  Futuristic, yet practical.  Lots of different Finns of all different ages were using the library.  Our favorite part was the Urban Workshop area.  We could not take photos, but it was pretty amazing - need to sew something, want to play VR with friends, want to record a song on a borrowed instrument, want to try out a new recipe in a fully equipped kitchen - it's all there!  And, outdoor seating?  Helsinki makes libraries cool. We did a lot of walking and a lot of touristy things, including smoking sausages and having hot chocolate at the famous Cafe Regatta .  Charming, no? The Sibelius Monument.  Scott reminded us that the...