Friday, 30th of September:
I had booked a flight from Oslo Gardermoen to Stockholm Arlanda airport at 18:00. Thus I left the office just half an hour before the end of the office hours and rushed to the airport. After only one hour of flight I landed in Stockholm where I took the Arlanda Express train to the city centre where Mike and the older daughter Amelie picked me up.
After some things to do on the way home I was then later welcomed also by Gerlinde and the younger daughter Milou who had already prepared some delicious dinner.
And before we could even start eating I already received some homemade presents from the two kids for my birthday some days before :-) So sweet!
Well, at one point the girls had to go to bed and we three stayed still a while awake chatting and having a cup of tea.
Saturday, 1st of October:
The weekend was split between Gerlinde and Mike. In the end both ended up with some commitments so that one day I was with Gerlinde and the other one with Mike.
Saturday I had the pleasure to spend with Gerlinde and the girls. I was asked if I had any preferences for activities this weekend, but I was open for everything and so we ended up in the local swimming pool where Amelie and Milou absolutely wanted to go to show me their progresses. We just went for a couple of hours in the morning and finished it with a short sauna session.
Right before leaving the sports venue, we sneaked into the gym where a local handball match was taking place. We just sat down and watched for about 15 minutes. It might not have been a high level match, but it so much reminded me of my time when I was playing volleyball and participating in regular volleyball matches. The atmosphere was just like I got to know it.
After our sporty morning programme we headed to a place called "4 H gård". The initial idea was to go to the famous folkloristic open air museum "Skansen", but with the kids it wasn't easily realisable and so we opted for this one. It was an open air farm with a lot of animals and hands-on activities for kids.
After 15 years I realised I'm still able to walk on these stilts; I used doing that as a child...
In the caféteria we indulged in some super delicious homemade cakes and some ice-cream while enjoying the warm sun.
My super yummy rhubarb-raspberry-tart with vanilla custard.
On the way home we picked up Mike and shortly after Gerlinde, Milou and I were dropped off to walk part of the way back home by foot along the nearby Kottlasjön lake.
After only a short break at home, we left again. We decided to take the boat in the late afternoon to the island Vaxholm. We took the little train from their home to Gåshage terminus...
...where we waited for our boat to come.
Eventually the boat came and it took us to Vaxholm, a popular island and town in the Stockholm archipelago.
Vaxholm's Fortress - constructed on this island in 1549 by King Gustav Vasa for defense purposes.
When arriving in Vaxholm I actually remembered having been there already some 15/16 years ago. It was when we had visited my aunt Herad and uncle Jan which some time in the 90s lived in Stockolm for some years. It was fantastic holidays during which we discovered so much of Stockholm and the natural surroundings... among others this island of Vaxholm.
Not until 1912 was it allowed to build houses from materials other than wood, giving the town a distinctive character.
We were just strolling a bit...
"Oftast öppet?"
...before ending up in a sports bar for dinner.
After dinner, at around 8.30 pm we took the boat back to Lidingö, the suburb of Stockholm where Gerlinde and Mike live.
Sunday, 2nd of October:
Today I had the honour to spend the day with Mike. While Gerlinde had some handicrafts commitment in church with Amelie and Milou, Mike and I took the boat out to Drottningholm Castle, the private residence of the Swedish Royal Family.
We started our trip at the quai next to Stockholm's City Hall, not only a famous tourist attaction, but also venue for the annual Nobel Prize banquet.
The boat arrived and it took us during a one-hour excursion through the Lake Mälar to the Drottningholm Castle on the island of Lovön.
After about an hour we arrive at Drottningholm Palace. It was originally built in the late 16th century and served as a residence of the Swedish royal court for most of the 18th century. Apart from being the private residence of the Swedish royal family, the palace is a popular tourist attraction. In 1991 it was added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Gerlinde and Mike actually got married here in this Palace Church 10 years ago.
We started with a stroll through the gardens and park areas surrounding the castle and its buildings. They have been established in stages since the castle was built, resulting in different styles of parks and gardens, the English garden and the baroque garden.
The Chinese Pavillion
Later on we joined a guided tour through the palace, but of course we weren't allowed to take any pictures.
After the interesting tour we rushed back to the boat which brought us back to Stockholm city.
This great day ended with yet another tasty dinner and some chatting while enjoying some tea.
However, we all went to bed pretty early as the alarm clocks would ring early in the morning.
Monday, 3rd of October:
As said, I was woken up by the alarm clock early in the morning - at somewhat around 5 am. I had to get up to get my flight back to Oslo at 8 am going straight to the office.
It was a really nice weekend! Thanks a lot, Gerlind and Mike!
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