In Search of Snow - north to Sweden

November 17th - and we were off to Sweden - one of the lovely perks of research - you get to go where you never thought you might.  As with any good adventure, it began with a bit of adrenalin and no shortage of probabilities.  We left for CDG airport in 'lots' of time, taking the metro.  First twist - the stop we were to change lines at was closed, so we backtracked.  We made it to Gare du nord where we were to catch the RER (train) for the final leg to the airport - second twist - trains were delayed....and the 5 minute delay kept repeating itself.  Just as we were contemplating how Air France might respond to our delemna, a train arrived.  Just as we thought we would make our flight, the train stopped in the middle of nowhere, waiting for who know what....We knew we were toast -  then - it slowly started moving....finally getting to the airport about 30 minutes prior to our flight leaving.  Next twist - our flight was not on the departures board.  We found an Air France agent who sent us in one direction where we got our tickets....only to discover our gate was at the opposite side of a very large airport.  Net result? - no problem, we are used to hiking - so we made it ust as boarding was commencing.



Two and a half hours later ( Sweden is a long way away!) we arrived at Arlanda Airport (  half way between Stockholm and Uppsala).  It looked like we were landing in Regina....snow, some bush, some open field, hoar frost on the trees....  The most notable difference from Paris? The quiet - absolute quiet - and that was in the airport.  Oh, also, no garbage or dog droppings on the sidewalks...

Off to Uppsala.  Uppsala is about 170,000 but feels like a small prairie town; friendly people, a bingo hall ( full of seniors), wide clean streets, oh, but no trucks.  In fact, almost no cars....the bike is the primary mode of transportation.  Bikes were everywhere. Beyond that, public transportation seems to be the way to get anywhere...and things run on time.

Walking seems to be a common mode of transportation as well.  No wonder those Swedes are so healthy!
Rich got some work done, Joan wandered around and even did a bit of shopping for the two  royal treasures back home, and then, off to Stockholm.
  We took the train - everything is efficient - it was exactly on time and ran at 205 km.  We were in Stockholm in about 40 minutes and found our hotel quickly.  Supper with friends ( Shaun & Josephin, and Giannis). 

We spent Saturday and Sunday morning wandering about the 'old city'.  The architecture is amazing ( we use that word a lot don't we....must just like the old stuff).  Again a different style from what we have seen.  It was evident that Sweden had gone thorugh some very wealthy times in the previous centruies.






 

Christmas was out and about.  There were all sorts of 'market stalls' with Christmas decorations, foods, and gifts.  since we only travel with 'carry-on', this limited our investment.

 We managed to find the Nobel museum and spent an interesting few hours learning a bit more about Nobel, the awards, and various recipients over the years.

We think Stockholm would be beautiful most of the year, but a driving wind and slush limited our view, and enthusiasm somewhat.  Ah well, one can always find grogg to warm the soul. 

Stockholm is somewhat pricy - we paid more for meals and hotel than you would in Paris, but we were glad to be there for a short time and would love to go back during a slightly warmer season...I bet they say that a lot about Saskatoon or Regina...

Next....time to get some work done for both of us, though we will try not to let that get in the way of some further adventures.