Really?

so I was running outside today (a great concept to run in the summer without getting beaten down by excessive heat) and was thinking to myself, my gosh do I really live here.? it's such a beautiful place, like living in a postcard. Took this picture with my phone so doesn't quite do it justice but you get the idea.

Saturnas!!!

I finally got to take Carly to one of my favorite places for fika (see definition below), Saturnas. In my humble opinion, they make the best cinnamon or cardamom buns in town. And they're the size of Sputnik.

** Fika is a Swedish verb that roughly means "to drink coffee", usually accompanied by something sweet on the side.

The Booze Cruise (as it's referred to)

We decided that we should take the ferry to Helsinki. Carly had gone when she was a young girl and had good memories of it and thought it would be fun to take Tom to Helsinki as well. It was interesting for her to see it and experience it from an adult perspective.

sense of humor

In one of the city's popular gathering place, Kungstragarden (don't quote me on the spelling), there was an exhibit of funny signs that actually exist somewhere in this world. I took a few pictures of them. The Swedish sense of humor isn't something I've quite figured out yet. To me these signs were funny and I was kind of surprised to see them on display as I didn't think Swedes had quite the same sense of humor. Goes to show you what I know about this place.

Vasa Vasa Vasa

A little behind posting pics or thoughts for that matter. Went and did the Vasa tour. I always love to watch people's faces when they first walk into the place for the first time. Their initial reaction is one of "wow that's a big ship". Took this one of Carly in the diving bell. She's a goober. A lovely goober though.

Doing the tourist thing

Went to a few places today. Mostly palace-themed.

Carly and Tom arrive on Sunday

Carly and Tom are my first visitors! They arrived early morning and I dragged them around to keep them awake as much as possible the first day. Here they are having "breakfast" at one of my favorite places, Vurma. Another shot of mom and Carly.

First Entry

So I decided what better way to journal my time in Sweden than start a blog not only to share with friends and family but for something to look back on. I started my two year stint here in Stockholm at the best time of year, summer. This picture is from a park (Humlegarden) that's close to my favorite spot for lunch which is Saturnas.