Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Grinda - An Archipelago Trip With Jake's Parents

Jake's parents got back from Småland on Friday, June 13th and we hung out in Stockholm for the evening.

Janet and I went shopping and to Gamla Stan while the boys went to look at tools and work pants.  We met up for dinner at an Italian restaurant in Gamla Stan that we went to last summer when we were here visiting.



On Saturday morning we headed to downtown Stockholm to catch a ferry to Grinda.  The ferry was very full and it was a pretty cold day which meant most people stood on the sunny side of the ferry and we stayed on the side in the shade.  We had some sandwiches on the ferry before getting off at Grinda.  There are 30,000 islands in the archipelago.  Some of the bigger ones have hotels, hostels and places to camp.  Other islands are privately owned and some are uninhabited.  In the summer Swedes flock to the archipelago for weeks during the summer.  We went camping in the archipelago last year and you can read about that here if you'd like.  This time we are staying on a different island and in a hotel instead of a tent.

The Royal Palace on Gamla Stan as seen from our ferry as we were leaving the city.

Gröna Lund - an amusement park

Windy and cold on this side of the boat.



We stopped to have some fruit before heading to our rooms.


We finally found a warm spot in the sun with minimal wind.
While we were on this dock soaking up the sun we saw a guy in a dingy, a small boat, pull up to the dock.  The closer he got the more it looked like he was naked.  Once he stood up we noticed that he wasn't naked but he wasn't wearing much.  He was wearing a lime green mankini, feel free to google that but maybe not if you are at work :).  If you don't want to google it just picture a thong that goes around your neck instead of your waist.  As he ran past he said "Förlåt" which is sorry in Swedish and we were all in shock.  I've definitely seen shorter swim trunks on guys but this brought it to a whole new level.

We had fika and walked around the island on a trail after checking into our rooms.

This helicopter landed while we were having fika.  I guess that is one way to get to the island.


Soaking up some sun or catching up on sleep?






Hanging out at dinner


We had a great view at dinner and our table had the most sun which was great because it was a little bit chilly.
Here are some of the names we have on Coke bottles over here.
We woke up the next morning and had breakfast at the same table as dinner the night before.  A typical Swedish breakfast includes bread, butter, sliced meat and cheese, cucumbers and sometimes other veggies.  They usually also have yogurt, nuts, granola, muesli, cereal and fruit.
We went on another hike on the other side of the island.








Hanging out on the beach waiting for the ferry.


Some of the houses in the archipelago

We stopped for fika before heading back to our apartment.
We had popcorn, cheese and raisins that night for dinner like we do every Sunday night.  Jake did that while growing up and his parents still do it so it was fun to have a typical Sunday dinner with them before they flew back home.  They flew home on Monday, June 16th.  We had a great time with them and were so thankful to spend so much time with them while they were here.

Read about our first weekend in Stockholm with Jake's parents here and our trip to Uppsala and Carl Larsson's house here.

*When I started blogging I just put up single pictures then I found a way to make collages.  Just wondering what you guys prefer while reading the blog.  Bigger single pictures that make the blog post longer or collages? If you wouldn't mind leaving a comment to let me know if you have a preference that would be great.  Just kind of curious.

2 comments:

  1. Okay so I have no real say in this, but I do love to read about your adventures Kara. I'm always a fan of big photos because, if I click on them, I can see them extra large. Some things (ie. your Harry Potter adventure) are fun to see all the cool details on.
    Either way... blog on :)

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  2. bigger single pictures work better for me but either way is great I love all your explanations and observations, Kara

    ReplyDelete

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