(May 2020) Still stuck at home. Still can't leave the house, still can't go surfing. Wondering if we'll ever be allowed to travel internationally again. So the only thing to do is continue to relive past adventures. So for this post, we head back to Scandinavia, a place that had been on my bucket list for ages. We went there in August 2017.
The first stop was Sweden, and naturally, Stockholm. I love the contrasts of this city - neat, historical, with a good dose of quirky thrown in.
We visited the Vasa museum, which houses a full size 17th century warship. It was launched on its maiden voyage with much fanfare and excitement, only to promptly sink. Everyone forgot about it until the 1950s, when it was rediscovered and carefully salvaged and preserved.
Another worthwhile stop was the Skansen open-air museum. As its name suggests, it's an outdoor museum featuring full-size replicas of traditional 19th century (and earlier) wooden houses from around Sweden. It's also home to typical Scandinavian animals, including moose, brown bears and reindeer.
We also made a trip to Uppsala, a university town and the ancient capital of Sweden. While there, we enjoyed the Swedish ritual of Fika - an opportunity to sit down, have a cup of coffee and some little pastries, and just enjoy being in the company of other people.
