Stockholm, Tallinn, & Norway

I couldn't think of a better time to blog...I'm sitting in an apartment-style hotel in a very small town in Norway called Flan (the a has that little circle over it). The small town is surrounded by high mountains, streams of water, and lush green everywhere.

Back to where I left off...Monday was quite a day with the test, registration, and departure to Stockholm. We arrived in Stockholm very late at night at went to stay at a nice little hotel called Queens. It was located on a pedestrian walk with a lot of shops nearby. I was pretty hungry so I went to get a snack at McDonald's...kinda lame, but it was the only thing nearby that was open. On Tuesday we found out that Sen. Kennedy had died which was a sad way to start the day...I've been watching the ceremonies ever since. What a gifted politician and kind person! He'll be missed. We went to see the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace which was pretty amazing...much more interesting than the same thing in Denmark. Here in Stockholm, they had a whole ceremony with a marching band. After this, we checked out some museums within the palace where the Royal Family used to live. Also saw armory and carriages used back in the day. Later we walked around the city and took a bus tour that showed us all the highlights. We later went to an area called Stansen but it was closed for the day, so we had dinner and eventually went back.

On Wednesday we went to the Vasa Museum which told the story of the Vasa ship which sank back in the 1600s after the first 20 minutes of its life. Almost 300 years later the ship was rescued and today has been preserved quite well since it had sunk in an area of little salt and shallow water. From here we went to Stansen again which is a small town nearby with arts and crafts stores and animals. After getting a few baked goods I left to check out one of the main shopping and tourist streets in Stockholm. Later, I met back up with my mom and her friend and we took a taxi to the ferry that would take us to Tallinn, Estonia.

The ferry was awesome! Right when we got on we had an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet while being able to look out into the Baltic Sea. Our room was small but nice. The corridors and all felt as if you were in an actual hotel. They even had a nightclub and disco! Later in the evening my mom and her friend Kathy watched TV and discovered that in Europe "Adult" TV isn't that uncommon... The ferry lasted over night and we got into Estonia around 10AM Thursday morning. We walked around the city and saw a lot of the historic part of the city and could see the Russian influence in a lot of the architecture. There was a nice mix of old and new in Tallinn which was awesome. After seeing the "old town" we saw the modern part of the city as well as the well-known "sweater wall" where they sell a bunch of sweaters. The day went quick and by 5PM we were back on the ferry to head back to Stockholm. We had a later buffet dinner, but it was just as good. We arrived back in Stockholm around 10AM Friday and waited a couple hours at the train station before heading to Norway!

We got into Oslo, the capital, late Friday night and stayed at a really nice hotel called the Continental right in the center of the city. It was quite a happening place as all the bars n' pubs were pretty busy. My mom and I went out and walked around a bit and I got a late night dinner, at Burger King =/ We woke up early Saturday to a terrific buffet and then took a train through Norway to Flan...where I am right now. Our train ride had the best views I've seen so far. Streaming water down the sides of the mountains, green pastures everywhere, and occasional spectacular waterfalls. Later this morning (since it is technically Sunday) we are going out in a ferry to see the famous "Fjords of Norway". I'll be sure to write about those later. Then it's back to Oslo for the night and then Lund Monday morning!