May
14 - July 5, 2006: Glueckstadt to Motala/Goetakanal
Here
are the pictures of our Isensee/Schuettdamm visit. They are mostly
family pictures which reflect our experience, the kindness
and warmth with which we have been welcome.
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
|
At
Guenter and Waltraut's House in Schuettdamm/Isensee
|
In
their Kitchen
|
The
Dinner Table
|
|
|
|
Juergen
and Johanna - playing
|
Sunrise
|
The
Driveway Preparation...
|
|
|
|
Marie-Josefine...
|
Marion
with her little Daughter
|
|
|
|
Susanne
- Johanna
|
Barbecue
|
|
|
|
Taming
Winnetou
|
Little
Cowgirl at Work
|
At
"private" Beach
|
|
|
|
The
"final" good-bye
|
On
the ferry to Glueckstadt
|
And
alongside Impromptu as we get ready to leave
|
The
next ten days, we stayed at Juergen's brother's new house but pretty
much worked on getting Impromptu ready for our sailing trip into
the Baltic, shopping both boat equipment and, on the last day, food,
wine, other beverages. It was amazing to realize that though we
had ordered a lot of work to be done during the winter, almost nothing
was done and that with an April 1 deadline though we knew that we
would never make it by then - purposely giving the yard an additional
month time. Our presence of course got things moving - still, the
arrangement of different legal entities under one umbrella with
no one taking responsibility for the entire project, annoyed me
greatly and certainly did not make Juergen too happy. Still, in
the end, most of the things got done, some are still outstanding
and will be shipped to us (the parts were not available in time
- huh??? - after an entire winter of time to order them??? - this
is just one story). Juergen polished the sides, I painted the bottom,
as usual. You should see the rollers they are using here. They are
at most 4 inches long and very skinny. I must say, painting with
them looks very nice, but it takes for ever. It is almost impossible
to find larger ones though two people, Hannes, our friend who lives
in Glueckstadt, and a "boat neighbor" who was working on his boat
while I was painting, had pity with me and found some slightly larger
rollers for me to paint with. The yard's response to my complaint,
the paint job looks so much better with these small rollers... -
I must admit it is true, still, I did not want to paint till next
Christmas, as someone suggested it would take me if I only painted
with these rollers.
Enough
of the complaints. We watched the launch of the boat, the stepping
of the mast - a first for us. We even videotaped most of the event.
Guenter and Waltraud were with us that day and had a good time as
well watching all this happen. We also spent a couple of days with
the family and certainly most evenings with Guenter and Waltraud
and many of them with the larger family. We went to Michi and Uschi's
house as well. Michi is Guenter and Waltraut's oldest son. They
already have two grown kids. All were there to spend some time with
us - it was a very nice evening and a very warm reception. Johanna
keeps impressing us with her choice of words, her knowledge, and
her presentation. At the proud age of barely 6 1/2 years, she sure
seems very mature. She is taking riding lessons and thinks that
she can already handle her own horse Winnetou, an appalousa pony,
very beautiful but young and full of energy. On our last day, before
we had to leave for Glueckstadt, she showed us how she can hold
Winnetou on a line (I don't know the English term for this, sorry)
and make him trot in a circle. Thank God her father, Hannes, was
there to ensure that the horse was under his control as well. It
was a beautiful sight, particularly since their two other horses,
tall black and gorgeous Fresians, were standing by.
Frank
and Marion (Frank is the youngest son in the family) had their first
baby in January this year. Marie-Josefine is a cute little girl.
It was amazing to watch her grow during those weeks of our presence.
On the last day, she smiled at my camera as if she already knew
that this was "expected". They are all very happy about the baby,
even Johanna who had superpriority in the enlarged family until
Marie-Josefine was born.
Everyone
had come for a last joint meal, breakfast, then they all accompanied
us to Glueckstadt. This meant all had to take the ferry across the
river Elbe and then they stood and waited for more than an hour
before the lock at Glueckstadt was opened and we could depart. The
good-bye was semi-sweet because they all know that we will be back
in late August, this time, in Cuxhaven, to ready the boat for our
trip either to France for the Dockwise trip to Martinique or, for
our sailing trip to St. Lucia via the Canary Islands. Yes, you read
correctly, we still have not decided which way to get the boat back.
We know we will have to make that decision very soon (early June
at the very latest). We are torn between what Juergen wants and
his mother's upcoming 100th birthday which would prevent us from
sailing. Of course, I still have my doubts about myself in terms
of the ocean crossing though all of those who have taken the trip
say that it is not that bad weatherwise, but then, with my luck....
We will keep you posted.
May
14, 2006, Sunday
Today
is May 14, mother's day. We spent our first night on Impromptu this
season. We motored down the Elbe to the Brunsbuettel locks - had
to wait for quite a while before we were permitted to enter the
lock. By that time, it was 6 p.m. (pleasure craft are permitted
only to pass through the Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee Kanal) until approx.
8 p.m. It also had gotten quite a bit colder, and there are not
very many places where we would stop on the way. So we decided to
go through the lock and tie up to the same dock we tied up in the
Fall before going to Glueckstadt. It was a nice peaceful night.
We played Backgammon for the first time since last September, had
a glass of wine in the cockpit - it got too cold very soon and we
continued down below, had our first meal on the boat in a long time
- German shrimp, remember, I tried to describe them last year, the
very tiny, slightly brownish looking "Nordseekrabben"
which we both love so much. Guenter and Waltraud had ensured that
we would have a very generous portion thereof, just as they also
had given us some of the wonderful cold cuts, bread, etc. We were
very tired. The days had been very hectic, the evenings always very
pleasant but long, and because the sun rises so early here in the
North, we also woke up very early every morning. I mostly woke before
5 a.m. and watched the sun rise (see my photo as an example). We
had a very long and peaceful rest and were awakened by the harbor
master of Brunsbuettel who charged us Euro 8.70 for the night, approx.
$ 11.50 or so.
This
morning, we finally unpacked the two large suitcases we had taken
aboard (I had unpacked our carry-ons already while the family had
been waiting for our departure). We separated things that we want
to take back to the US when we fly over for Andrea's wedding in
August and those that should stay on Impromptu. It took us way over
one hour to accomplish this and to try to put the suitcases together
in such a fashion that they use up as little space as possible -
it is sort of funny having two large suitcases and a carry-on on
a sailboat.... well, not for too long. Thank God, we do not really
need the V-berth so this is not a big problem. Still, we will be
very happy when we come back just with our two carry-ons, leaving
the large suit cases at home in New York.
The
weather has turned much colder. Therefore, we only drove to Rendsburg
rather than passing the entire canal. We spoke to our friend Sigi,
remember him from last year's description? We will meet up with
him tomorrow night for dinner. He will also reserve a spot for us
in Schilksee, the same harbor we had stayed at last year when we
visited with he and his wife Biene (really Sabine). We filled our
diesel tank here in Rendsburg where the Diesel price is a "low"
Euro 1.27 per litre and are staying at the same dock as last year.
The harbor master claimed that he remembered us from last year.
Well, there are not that many boats from the US passing through.
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
Rendsburg
Church at sunset
|
A
field near Kiel
|
May
25, 2006
It
is Sid's, Silvi's, and Sofia's birthday today. We talked to the
adults already and are getting ready to call Sofia as well. What
a coincidence for three family members to be born on the same day,
just different years. We are in Stralsund, a beautifully restored
harbor town in the Baltic, part of the former East Germany. We arrived
yesterday after a rather interesting trip. More about this later.
I will start my report in consecutive order. Otherwise, it gets
too confusing.
As
you know, we left Glueckstadt on May 13 and only went through the
first lock in the Kiel Canal. The next day, the weather was anything
but great. So we took our time to unpack all four suitcases and
to re-pack whatever needs to go back to the US and packed whatever
needed to stay on Impromptu. Around 11 a.m. we finally went on our
way and decided already then that we would again stop in Rendsburg,
the town we had stopped in on our very first canal crossing last
year in August. It was very windy, rainy and freezing. We had a
leisurely dinner on the boat, enjoyed the warmth of our WEBASTO
heater - which meanwhile decided not to work any more. We hope to
get it fixed tomorrow. Juergen just found an address here in Stralsund...
On
May 15, we took the relatively short trip to Kiel - Schilksee,
where we met with Sigi around 5 p.m. He invited us to his house,
cooked white asparagus - we were in seventh heaven as this is more
than a delicacy which only is available in a very short period of
time, i.e., from around mid May to around June 20th, if I remember
exactly. Hannah joined as well. We had a great evening with terrific
food, wine and conversation. Sigi also showed us wonderful pictures
of his 10-day hike through the Sahara - what an experience! We are
intrigued to do this ourselves at some point. On Tuesday, we took
it very easy. The weather was terrible, cold, windy, rainy. In the
afternoon, Sigi drove us to the farm where he had bought the asparagus.
We loaded up with 3 kg, bought some smoked ham, potatoes, etc. so
we could have another such wonderful meal on the boat. Sigi's wife
Biene came back from a trip to one of the "...stans" (Uzbekistan
or so, I cannot remember. Sorry, Biene). We saw her briefly the
next morning, and we left Schilksee around noontime to go to Fehmarn,
our favorite harbor of Lemkenhafen. We had made a dock reservation
there, confirmed in the morning. Finally, the sky decided to be
kind to us. The sun came out and it was a beautiful day albeit without
any wind to speak of. We called Hannes Kraef (I had mentioned him
last year. He is a childhood friend of Juergen's and lives in Glueckstadt
with his wife Maren) to check where they were with their boat. It
turned out they were in a different harbor on the same island and
were enjoying lunch in town. When we arrived, they had been waiting
for us for almost two hours. We spent the evening - I cooked the
asparagus. We had a great time.
On
May 18, it was rainy, cold and very windy. We met up with
Hannes and Maren on their boat, took a walk around the beach / harbor
area, had dinner in a restaurant and took the 20 minute cab ride
back to Impromptu. May 19 still had the same weather and a pretty
miserable forecast. We met our friends in the picturesque town of
Burg (you might remember my discussion thereof from last year -
over 1000 years old) and decided to buy folding bikes. Most sailors
have them and all we spoke to highly recommended having them. We
got a good deal and happily biked the 8 km back to Impromptu. Hannes
and Maren came along, and we had dinner on the boat again. This
time, they did not bike back but put their bikes into the trunk
of the taxicab.
May
20, we all had enough of sitting on our boats, watching the
clouds rush over us. The forecast was such that, downwind, we could
expect a decent run to Warnemuende, our first visit by boat to a
former East German harbor. We had briefly visited this down by car
a few weeks back. So we knew that it had a gorgeous brandnew harbor
facility. We even managed to dock alongside, rather than in a "box".
While the wind was howling, the sun came out and we could enjoy
dinner in an Italian restaurant within the harbor complex (it also
has three hotels, one 5-star and 2 others), and even watched a beautiful
sunset. From this vantage point we also observed the many large
ferries entering the harbor which actually continues into the town
of Rostock (we had visited that by car very briefly as well).
We
spent a lot of time with our friends, walking through town - we
needed to take a private ferry from the hotel complex into town,
a barely ten minute affair, crossing this rather busy channel. Warnemuende
has beautiful little shops, many restaurants. It is gorgeously restored
with houses from the 1700s. View the pictures below.
On
May 24, we took off early in the morning (9 a.m.) with relatively
low winds. It was a slow but nice downwind ride along the coast.
We had agreed to stop at the port of Barhoeft, a quaint little harbor
about 45 nm away. The weather changed to strong winds, rain, but
it was not bad. What was bad was that we did not check the charts
properly and bumped aground a few times in a heavy swell before
we reached the very narrow channel leading us to our port of destination.
We turned around and went to the first entry buoy which then permitted
us safe passage through the channel. Here, the charts do not have
color-coded depth lines. It is imperative that one really checks
the entire course for shallows. We had not done that but relied
on the "line" - clearly a mistake as we had to learn the
hard way. Thank God, the bottom was soft wand, so we got away with
just a faint heart during each "bump".
Before
we could even make it to the buoy, Hannes called in distress, his
engine seemed not to work, and he feared to be running aground if
we did not come fast to tow him. We told him to pull out his genoa
sail a bit just to maintain steerage. We then tried to speed up
as much as we could. Well, after we finally made it passed the first
buoy, I started putting fenders out, pulling lines out. We then
instructed Hannes to do the same. We were quickly alongside, tied
the two boats together and slowly moved through the very narrow
channel. We then decided not to go to Barhoeft but to Stralsund
instead. While this was a longer trip, we had a better chance to
find a mechanic for Hannes engine trouble and for our WEBASTO heating
system problems. While we were making way, Hannes checked his engine,
found a impeller and replaced it with a new one. His engine sprang
back to life. We separated the boats and went the extra 7 or 8 nm
to Stralsund.
Here
are our photos to date:
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
|
Warnemuende
|
Fountain
|
Rostock,
city hall
|
|
|
|
Hannes/Maren
tied up to Impromptu in our rescue mission (their engine had
trouble)
|
Stralsund,
market place
|
Town
Hall Old Building
|
|
|
|
And
13th century church
|
|
|
June
3, 2006
A bunch
of things have happened since I wrote last. Astrid and Dirk got
married (yesterday). We wished we had been there. But it was our
decision not to make the long trip and, instead, keep on moving.
Remember, we had initially accepted their invitation to their near-Paris
wedding because, last year, we were still toying with the idea of
sailing into the Mediterranean. In such a case, we easily could
have left the boat somewhere to drive a few (relatively speaking)
miles to the wedding. Now that we are so much further North and
East, this had become an almost impossible venture. Therefore, our
decision not to join. We still hope that they had a great ceremony
and festivities, and we of course wish them lots of happiness for
the lest of their lives.
Our
friend Hannes' grandmother passed away. We met up with Axel and
Renate who we had met in Gedser last year and who we had stayed
in contact with over the winter. We also had a terrific trip to
Bornholm, a most gorgeous Danish island just South of the Swedish
coast and, as I read last night, further East and the most Western
part of Poland, if that gives you an idea...
In
sequence: We left Stralsund on Saturday, May 27 after someone
actually fixed our WEBASTO heating system at 7 a.m. that morning,
just to ensure that we could "catch" the 0920 bridge (the
next opening would have been at 1720 only, too late to make the
"run" to Lauterbach, our next destination, located on
the island of Ruegen). It was rainy and not very pleasant, but we
decided to make way because the weather forecast for the following
two or three days was terrible, lots of rain, lots of wind (8 and
9 Beaufort with gusts of 10). We felt we had spent enough time in
Stralsund, a gorgeous gown with beautiful churches, a wonderful
historic market square, city hall, and a maritime museum well-worth
visiting. We motored to Lauterbach and made it into the yacht harbor,
getting into a "box" without any problems. It is a quaint
little harbor town. The commercial harbor is partly filled with
commercial fishing boats and some rescue / coast guard type boats.
Lauterbach is the end station of a historic train called the "Rasender
Roland" to be translated roughly into "racing Roland".
We took that train the following day which brought a mix of rain
and sunshine. We went to Binz, a beach town, nicely restored, with
little shops, restaurants, lots of hotels and a very long boardwalk.
It was too cold to walk around much, so we had some coffee, when
Hannes' phone rang. His grandmother took for the worst. She had
repeatedly refused to be admitted to a hospital or hospiz. Even
the doctor went to visit her and confirmed what Hannes had been
experiencing for the past few months. He ensured that the grandmother
was taken to a hospital by ambulance after she had fallen and was
not too coherent. He rented a car to drive and see her, an approx.
350 km (250 m) ride one way. Juergen accompanied him so he would
not have to drive alone. He also could run some errands which he
had been trying to run for a while but which was not possible wherever
we had been. Maren and I took care of laundry (I tried to update
the website - unsuccessfully, as you might have noticed. Juergen's
computer will not let me get into the internet). Then, Maren and
I played Backgammon, talked, had some supper. It was howling outside,
our boats were healing in their respective boxes, and the rain was
coming down in buckets. Our spouses arrived at Hannes' house around
2200, too late for Juergen to catch the 2145 ferry to Wischhafen
from where he wanted to visit Guenter and Waltraud and where he
wanted to spend the night while Hannes was taking care of his grandmother...
The two had a quick dinner at the famous Italian restaurant in Glueckstadt
before Juergen finally took the 2315 ferry. He arrived at Guenter's
around midnight.
The
next day, we did not hear from Hannes until around noonish. His
grandmother had passed away. He took care of the necessary, met
up with Juergen. The two men returned around 1800, just in time
to relax for a little while before we had dinner on our boat. Since
Hannes still had the rental car, we went food and wine shopping,
did a little bit of sightseeing, returned the car after loading
up our boats. Then we finally took the stroll we had wanted to take
on Sunday, this Tuesday, May 30. It was sunny and a lot warmer (though
cool in the wind and shade), and it was fun walking around this
quaint town of Binz. Juergen had his hair cut, Maren and I did some
shopping (I even found a bikini - don't worry, only to wear when
Juergen and I are on the boat alone). We had lunch outside - though
that was a little on the chilly side - at an Italian restaurant.
We walked all the way back to the train station for Racing Roland
(we had purchased roundtrip tickets on Sunday when we drove back
to the boat by rental car). It was pleasant and fun.
On
May 31st, we departed from Lauterbach and went, partly sailing,
mostly motoring, to Sassnitz, our last port on the island of Ruegen.
While the weather was not great, it was reasonably fine (at least
there was no rain, but it was quite cold). After we tied up our
boats (in boxes with no issue for us), the sun came out. We took
a stroll along the docks and had dinner in a restaurant up the hill
- the coast is generally steep and Ruegen is famous for its lymestone
cliffs) - from which we could overlook the entire bay including
the harbor and our boats as well as the town of Binz we had visited
by Racing Roland just a day before, some islands in the distance.
It was magnificent. We had what might have been our last dinner
of white asparagus - it is not as well known in Denmark and Sweden.
We stayed one more day as it again was pouring, blustery and highly
unpleasant. We did computer and photo "work" - I was still
not able to access the internet... and decided only late in the
afternoon to take the bus to the cliffs. It was too late to do so.
We ere not too disappointed because we would see some of the cliffs
the next morning as we had decided to depart for the Danish island
of Bornholm.
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
|
Hannes/Maren under Sail
|
"Der
Rasende Roland" (Racing Roland, a historic train running
on the island of Ruegen (former East Germany)
|
Sassnitz
Harbor, from a restaurant "above"
|
June
2nd was an almost perfect day. It was sunny and beautiful already
when we woke up, and it did not turn bad, rainy, or too windy any
time during the day. We had called immigration letting them know
of our intended departure. Two officers came to Impromptu at 0630,
checked our passports while we were getting ready for breakfast
and our departure. By around 0730 / 0745 we and Hannes and Maren
left our boxes and motored into this glorious day. It became so
nice that we even were able to shed some of our many sweaters and
long pants and donned shorts and a T-shirt (for a while). The trip
was about 53 nm long, and since we tried to stay together and had
to motor the entire way (it seems, there is either too little or
too much wind in the Baltic at this time of year) we arrived around
1600, tied up our boats and were greeted by Renate and Axel who
awaited our arrival and helped us tie up. As is typical for them,
they brought us brochures and other information about the island
of Bornholm and invited all of us to a welcome drink on their boat
(Lucky Star). Later, we all had dinner on our boat.
Today,
June 3rd, we were awakened by horrible rain, wind and very
cold temperatures and decided to do laundry and later on take a
bus (instead of the bikes) to Hammershus, a very impressive ruin
of a castle. All six of us went. We had a great time walking through
the ruins. The landscape was wonderful, reminding us of parts of
the Western coast of Sweden. We also could see the rugged coast
of the island from the castle. We took a 3+ km walk through the
woods to the next town, tried to find a restaurant (they were either
too crowded or closed) so we ended up at a fast food place, sitting
outside by the harbor. We were glad when the bus arrived to take
us back to Ronne, back to our boats. Axel and Renate are planning
on departing for another Danish island. We hope to stay here for
another day, see some more of Bornholm, before we continue on our
way.
We
took a bicycle tour from Ronne to the village of Hasle, about 10
km away. Most of the way took us through the woods and part along
the water. We visited a smoke house where we had a wonderful lunch
of smoked fish and potatoe salad. Maren and I went to the harbor.
I took some pictures - surprise..., the men continued for another
5 km or so to visit two other villages. Since I am not the perfect
biker and was afraid not to make the return trip if I continued
also, Maren kept me company. We enjoyed ourselves sitting in the
sun which was warm, to the extent we could stay out of the wind.
Here
are pictures of Bornholm:
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
|
Hammershus,
the ruin of an ancient castle
|
A
Church Wedding
|
A
fast food lunch with Maren, Hannes, Axel, Renate
|
|
|
|
A
round church, typical for the island
|
Picnic
at the smokehouse in Hasle
|
A
meal at the smokehouse after a long bike ride
|
|
|
|
The
smokehouse
|
|
|
June
5 arriving in Swedish waters (from Bornholm)
Pictures
of Simrishamn:
|
|
|
House
in Simrishamn
|
Swedish
Boy
|
Juergen
and Hannes, resting....
|
|
|
|
Swan
with very young signets
|
|
|
Pictures
of Hano:
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
|
Entering
Sweden
|
Hano
Rocks
|
|
|
|
Hano
Island
|
|
|
June
7, 2006
We
are on our way to Karlskrona, our third Swedish port. We left the
tiny island of Hano this morning after having arrived yesterday,
taking a walking tour of the rather rocky and remote island (remote
in the sense of population and activity, not distance from the mainland
which is only a few miles. The day before, we had left Bornholm
in rainy and cool conditions and motored the entire way to Simrishamn.
This was our first Swedish port, very picturesque. We took a walk
through town, inspected the harbor, were delighted by a swan couple
with their four or five - we did not see them all - signets - very
young and as small as we have never seen before - see pictures below:
Karlskrona
is supposed to be the fourth largest city in Sweden, with lots of
history, a beautiful harbor. It is also supposed to have internet
access. Let's see whether this is true. We plan on staying there
for at least two nights so we will have enough time to visit most
if not all of the famous places. It will also hopefully provide
us with the possibility of purchasing a Swedish cell phone so that
we can reduce our exorbitant phone costs and expenses.
Pictures
of Karlskrona:
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
The
bridge
|
Fried
herring...
|
June
11, 2006
Karlskrona
was a pretty little town, filled with students who were celebrating
the end of their school year - noisily - all dressed the same, the
men in the same type of dark suit with the same tie, the women in
white summer dresses. All were wearing white hats with black rims
- sort of sailor-like but not really. They started drinking champagne,
beer, wine around 1000 already and did not stop until late in the
night.
They
drove around in large groups in open cars/hangers, etc., decorated
with fresh greenery - an odd sight for us foreigners. We walked
around town, visited the maritime museum - access is free to anyone
who wants to visit. Not too many people did while we were there.
We also had lunch in the museum cafeteria, sitting outside right
next to a WWII war ship, eating fried herring, mashed potatoes,
decorated with some vegetables and lingonberries (smaller version
of cranberries, at least in the same family). We decided against
the purchase of a Swedish cell phone as the costs to Germany and
the US were very similar if not higher than those we are already
paying. So what's the point???
We
had internet access at the marina, to the extent I was sitting in
front of the harbor master's office. Otherwise, the signal was too
weak. For some reason, Juergen even managed to access the internet,
except we ran out of time, thinking that all our computer problems
were solved and we would easily get into the web in the next harbor.
How on earth could we think that? We have not been able to get into
the web with Juergen's computer and so I still have not been able
to update our website. I feel pretty stupid to say the least.
We
left Karlskrona two days ago - Hannes and Maren took a shortcut
through a bridge that was too low for our mast, we went an approximately
9 nm longer way. For that matter, navigation was not too difficult.
We were passed at high speed by three Swedish navy vessels which
seemed to be off to training. The weather improved greatly, even
more so compared to the forecast. The sun came out, it got nice
and warm and comfortable. The wind was minimal. Hannes who we had
almost caught up with as we were motoring faster than he was, decided
to set his spinnaker. Of course, Juergen wanted to follow suit.
What really happened, I don't want to describe but will. We spent
over two hours, trying to get our gennaker up. The gennaker sock
lines were tangled with the sail. It was impossible. We tried to
twist and turn the sail to get the lines to move freely - to no
avail. In the end, we took the sail out of the sock, ensured that
the lines were totally straight and only to one side of the sail,
and fed the sail back into the sock over Juergen's arm, while I
was hoisting the sail in the sock - very slowly and very carefully.
By that time, we were so exhausted, hot and upset that we only folded
the sock carefully into the sail bag, hoping that, the next time
we have very little wind and want to set the gennaker, we can do
so without all this hassle and frustration.
Kalmar,
our present harbor, is located on the East coast of Sweden. It is
a lively little town with lots of restaurants, a few three star???
hotels, lots of shopping, lots of historic buildings, a beautiful
cathedral and a very impressive castle originating from the 13th
century. We visited the castle today and learned quite a bit about
Sweden's history and life at court all the way to the 18th century.
Maren served a very nice lunch on their boat afterwards. I had done
all our laundry early in the morning and went to access the web
after lunch - as I said, a frustrating and totally unsuccessful
venture. Juergen is preparing the navigation to our next port of
call, just about 17 nm away. It is called Borgholm and is located
on the West coast of the Swedish island of Oland. We have another
six to eight ports to visit before we lay up the boat for about
week to fly to New York for Claudia and Ruben's wedding. We decided
in Karlskrona to purchase tickets for the event. Hannes and Maren
are planning on going home for about 10 days as well so that we
will all rejoin in Nykoping, the harbor we plan on leaving our boats,
before we continue on our passage to and through the Gota Canal.
Pictures
of Kalmar:
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
Kalmar:
the castle
|
The
market place
|
June
19, 2006
I cannot
believe that I have not updated the website since Simrishamn. Let
me write in sequence, otherwise I get lost in remembering all the
events. We did not sail to Borgholm on the island of Oland. Instead,
we went to Sandvik, also on the island of Oland. It is a very small
fishing harbor with stern mooring buoys. Of course, it started breezing
up as we approached the harbor. We had sailed under gennaker for
quite a while and decided to pack it up before the wind would pipe
up too much for us to handle - good thinking .... We entered this
very tiny harbor, tiny in that there is limited water depth for
our boat. The wind pushed us sideways as we had tied up the stern
buoy, but we managed... Hannes and Maren followed suit. We helped
them tie up their boat, took a walk to the harbor master's office
to pay for the night. Maren and I went grocery shopping, and we
all walked back to the boat. A bunch of other boats had meanwhile
arrived, one squeezed in between our two boats - o well....
We
left the next day for another small fishing harbor, Byxelkrok, approximately
35 nm away, still on the island of Oland. Same story had meanwhile
tied up, one in between "Amelie", Maren and Hannes' boat
and Impromptu. Others had the same problems we did when we arrived.
We were drifting as the one buoy really did not hold us very well.
Thank God for another sailor, a Dane who we had seen in a prior
harbor. He took a bow line and held the boat so that we could properly
tie up to the dock. Hannes and Maren came shortly after us. They
had sailed a little longer (we turned on the engine as we also needed
warm water and the water heater is again broken due to the fact
that we used the transformer - you might remember the story (same
as last year's)... It was yet another gorgeous day, the sun was
shining but the wind became increasingly stronger. As we were sitting
in the cockpit, Hannes commented that we should really use a second
stern buoy to tie up to. We had no way of getting there (the dinghy
was still packed up - who needs a dinghy when one ties up in harbors
every night?). Hannes took one of our lines, stripped into his bathing
trunks and jumped in to the frigid waters, pulled our line through
the buoy hook and returned it to us. Now we were more secure though
both buoys were fully below water due to the pressure the wind put
on our Impromptu and thus the buoys. Also Hannes' buoy was totally
under water. We were wondering how secure these things really were...
In the end, all was well.
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
|
Sandvik
harbor
|
Byxelkrok
|
Amelie
w Spinnaker
|
|
|
|
Impromptu
w Gennaker - it was an ordeal to get it flying as the lines
of the sock got tangled time and again
|
|
|
On
June 14 we left Byxelkrook around 0900 to take the roughly
45 nm trip to Visby on the island of Gotland. Visby is a Hanseatic
City with lots of history dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries.
Its actual history is older yet, namely about 10,000 years when
its site was used for sacrificial ceremonies (this is where the
name Visby - Vis = sacrificial site - came from). We had the most
wonderful sail under main and genoa. The wind was around 18plus
knots, and we were flying. Navigation was easy with only two waypoints,
one from the harbor of Byxelkrok to the Northern tip of the island
and then in a straight shot over to Visby. We saw a number of large
ships passing the coast of Gotland on their North-South routes,
just a handfull of sailboats and a bunch of large ferries that were
going between Stockholm and Visby and Oskarshamn and Visby. These
same ferries made entering the harbor of Visby difficult as they
seemed to cover the entrance. In the end, it all was easier than
it seemed from the sea, and we had no problem getting in. Tying
up in Visby would almost have cost our marriage. Again, the wind
was such that we had a very difficult time properly tying the stern
mooring buoy to Impromptu, difficult because most of these buoys
are set for much smaller boats. Thus, one such mooring buoy usually
does not hold us back from the dock - certainly not in stronger
winds - a la Byxelkrok - we needed two such mooring buoys. Our boat
neighbor gave us good advice. Juergen was nervous and embarrassed
because we had these problems so he yelled a little more than "normal"
at me as "I was acting like some imbecile" - he later
on apologized and we are friends again, but for a while, it sure
did not look too good for our relationship.
With
Hannes' help - after they tied up their boat - all was put back
to "normal", we were properly fastened bow and stern and
things improved. The weather continued to be gorgeous, the days
seem endless as even around 2300 there is still daylight, and around
0230 it is light again - we had experienced this already in Antarctica,
but it amazed us every day. It is almost a problem as we never realize
that it is dinner time, or time to go to bed. So we all are staying
up late and wake up very early. I sometimes feel quite sleep deprived....
We
spent three full days in Visby, walking around the old town wall,
enjoying nice meals in street cafes, watching tourists and locals,
visiting 12th and 13th century churches, unbelievable ruins, etc.
We also rented a car and drove around the island - though the landscape
was interesting, there was no harbor that we felt was worth moving
our boats to. Visby was it, all four of us loved the town and enjoyed
the time we stayed there.
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
|
Picture
of Impromptu, sailing downwind to Gotland (photo taken by
Brit)
|
Visby:
12th Century Church
|
Town
Wall
|
|
|
|
View
over Town and Baltic
|
The
sticks are used for drying fish
|
Church
on Gotland
|
Yesterday,
June 18, 2006, we left Visby at 0700 as the trip was close
to 60 nm - a little long for Maren who does not enjoy being on the
seas for such a long time. Nevertheless, the weather remained wonderful
though it was a little cooler than the prior days, the wind was
sufficient for them to sail - it was a little weak for us so we
motor-sailed the entire way. Fyrudden, our present harbor - tiny
with nothing but a ship store and a restaurant that will only open
on June 24 - for the midsummer festival which simultaneously depicts
the beginning of the summer season, sort of like Memorial Day does
for us in the US, has limited dock space and pontons for very small
boats only. We were glad to arrive around 1430 and managed to get
the last open dockspace. This way, we secured room for "Amelie"
(Hannes and Maren's boat) also as they tie up to us in situations
like that. We already had to defend Amelie's spot as a German couple
on their boat were getting ready to tie up to us. We informed them
of the fact that we were expecting friends to tie up to us. You
might remember that, last year, people tied up to our boat without
asking. Juergen claims that these Germans did ask, but I think it
is ridiculous that people have a tendency to want to tie up to the
largest sailboat in the harbor, though there were plenty of other
boats to tie up to - even others with German flags - why us??? I
still have not gotten used to this custom and most likely never
will.
Click
on foto to expand!
|
Fyrudden
Harbor taken from Impromptu
|
We
had enjoyed moving into the archipelago (looks very much like the
Thimbles - for those who know this island group in Connecticut -
though of course, it is a much larger area and most of the granite
islands are forested) though I was concerned about our navigation.
So many rocks, so many tiny islands, not very many clear navigationsl
signs... We had made it perfectly with Juergen's navigation though.
When Hannes and Maren arrived around 1600 we shared some fruit salad
and coffee as a "welcome drink" and later had dinner together,
as we always do. We continue enjoying our friendship and the time
we are spending together, still leaving each other sufficient private
time and space. So far, it has worked really well. After dinner
(meatloaf, zucchini and fried potatoes), we showed part of our Antarctica
video and went to bed around 2300.
This
morning, June 19, 2006, it was very foggy. We could barely
see all the many little islands outside the harbor. Still, we had
breakfast in the cockpit and then decided to take our bicycles for
a ride to a nearby harbor some Swede had recommended to Juergen.
Unfortunately, Hannes had to fix Maren's flat first. The two gentlemen
helped each other out while Maren and I took care of the down below
of our respective boats. Eventually we went on our way. It was rather
hilly but we managed for about 8 km. We took a 2 km detour to get
to a coffee shop near a camp ground. We hoped for nice scenery and
a little rest. The coffee was excellent. On our way there, Maren
and I had sighted a "shortcut" through the woods to get
back to our harbor, Fyrudden. Our husbands followed. Well, it sure
was an adventure. We bicycled through the woods, through huge meadows,
then we had to partly push, partly carry our bikes over boulders,
roots of huge trees, some steps up a huge rock until we decided
to turn back - to try another route. While it was fun, it was hard
work and exhausting. Maren even fell as the path through the woods
became very steep but short - she is ok but a couple of small scrapes
and bruises. Nevertheless, we were all glad to be back on our boats.
The bicycles are packed up for another harbor - we still need to
find transport bags - Hannes and Maren have them for their bikes
- a terrific convenience. The bicycle store where we bought ours
had run out, and to date, we have not managed to find them anywhere...
Maren
and Juergen are playing Backgammon. Hannes is enjoying the scenery.
I am updating the website, except for pictures. For those, I need
to be able to e-mail them to Juergen. When in NY in about 2plus
weeks, I will bring a memory stick with me so that, in the future,
the picture transfer can be managed more appropriately. I will also
bring my external hard drive not to run out of back-up space on
my computer again.
Click
on foto to expand!
June
20, 2006
This
morning, the weather looked a lot more promising, though the clouds
were still somewhat threatening. We left Fyrudden after a lot of
navigation work (both Maren and I. Hannes has a chart plotter and
does not have to do anything but just follow the line on the plotter).
We mostly followed Hannes and Maren through the archipelago of rocks
and islands, all forested, with just a house here and there - very
picturesque, except the light was too dull and the photos all look
rather dull as well. At some point, it began to rain so that we
decided to just go to Arkosund, a very small area with tiny harbors.
We managed to tie up bow-to with the help of a Swedish woman of
the next boat. Hannes and Maren tied up next to us, and so we finally
could dry out and share a meal. We mostly share the major meal be
it lunch or dinner. Hannes and Maren don't like to eat too late,
thus, we often eat at very late lunch hours or very early dinner
hours. It seems to be good for us as we don't gain too much weight
despite the full meals, the desserts (in the form of German candy,
licorice, and Swiss chocolates and lots of wine).
I took
a little walk around the rocky islands - there are beautiful walkways
built to enjoy the scenery. Juergen wanted to rest his hip which
had flared up with all the bicycling/walking and pushing our bikes
in Fyrudden and with climbing the bow ladder to get on and off the
boat. Hannes and Maren went shopping. She wanted to prepare dinner
for that night - and what a dinner she prepared!!! It was delic....
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
|
Arkosund
|
...at
sunset (photo by Hannes) |
Impromptu
sailing in the archipelago (pictures taken by Hannes) |
|
|
|
Mem:
Entrance to the Goeta Kanal |
One
of the many locks we took in the first few days |
Impromptu
in lock |
|
(the last 3
photos taken by Hannes)
|
Impromptu
under 22m bridge |
|
|
June
21, 2006
We
left after a nice breakfast and sailed most of the way through the
archipelago up to Mem, a tiny place, the beginning of the Goeta
canal. The canal is 210 nm long and reaches from Mem on the East
Coast of mainland Sweden to Gothenberg on the West Coast. It has
37 locks that will take us 92 m up from sea level, the balance will
take us back down. The "upward" locks are more difficult
to deal with because of the enormous pressure with which the water
is rushed into the locks (see picture above). These locks also require
special rigging of lines (bow and stern) over turning blocks - please
read below. I jumped off the boat shortly before these locks, bow
line in hand, ran uphill to where I could fasten it. Juergen then
had to tighten the bow line, then throw the stern line, also on
a turning block up to me so that I could again fasten it while he
then had to tighten it as the water was rising. It was hard work
and very tense most of the time though we did get better at it after
a while. Maren helped a lot as she took care of Amelie's lines and
then often ran over to help me. The "downward" locks are
supposed to be easier as no one has to jump off the boat and each
of us just holds one of the two lines as the boat slowly "sinks"
within the locks. We will see as we progress...
We
checked in, paid our dues (Swedish Krona 5,700) which not only include
all the locks and passage of the canal, all the docking (up to 5
days in each harbor, showers and free use of laundromat and discounts
in certain restaurants and shops). In the end, this is not even
too outrageous. It had begun to rain and was getting worse by the
minute. Maren and I went to the first lock so I could get a glimpse.
They were to enter first, we to follow. It was rather difficult
to get off the pier as the wind was pushing us against it, and there
were other boats in the way. In the end, we managed. Our line set
up - bow line had to be on a turning block and lead up (to tie up)
and go all the way to the cockpit from where Juergen was to shorten
it as the water level came up, stern line, over a turning block,
leading up and also into the cockpit for Juergen to handle - was
not perfect as we did not have the proper blocks. This was corrected
in the first town we stopped over in the Goeta canal, i.e., Soderkoping.
We went through two locks, then a stretch of canal, very narrow
with meadows lying below us, another lock, and we tied up, bow-to,
with stern mooring ball. Initially, Hannes and Maren had tied up
elsewhere, but before evening, they decided to move Amelie right
next to us. This way, we all had access to shore power - which was
about 70 meters away from us and even further from their initial
space - and an easier way of visiting and talking.
We
exchanged our soaked clothes for dry ones and went into the restaurant
right across from our boat - we had a terrific lunch and a good
time watching the rain fall as we were sitting dry.
For
pictures of Linkoping and the Midsummer festival - see below
June
22, 2006
The
weather had still not improved though the sun came out occasionally.
We had lunch in the same restaurant - the food and the Capuccino
were too good... while Maren and I were doing loads of laundry -
and suffered in the overheated laundry room. The rain became so
terrible that we moved location within the restaurant from outside,
under an awning, to upstairs under a firm roof, walls and a window.
It was some spectacle as everyone fled from the diluge. We decided
to stay until June 24 because the Swedes celebrated midsummer on
Friday, June 23rd, and we wanted to be part of the scene. Hannes
and Maren took a walk while we played Backgammon. Later, we visited
the incredible church again from the 13th century, with a clock
tower made of wood, adjacent to the church. Inside the church, there
were beautiful ornate paintings and a gorgeous sailboat model, typical
for Nordic churches near the sea. We walked around town and just
enjoyed the scenery.
June
23rd, 2006
The
weather was mixed but the rain seemed to have subsided. Around 1230,
we went toward the festivities and observed how they built and decorated
what we would call a May pole, except the Swedes do so for midsummer.
The women were decorating two large wreaths with fresh greens and
lots of flower petals, girls and women and even a couple of dogs
were wearing flower wreaths on their heads - see pictures. There
was singing, music performed by a small military band wearing uniforms
from 1886, and then people in traditional costumes (those that had
built the "May pole") paraded onto the stage making music
with harmonicas, a violin, an accordeon, etc. They were all wearing
folklore costumes. One of them talked with me for quite some time
- he is on one of the pictures... A group of young women and men
sang a few songs - we had observed them practicing on the market
square the day before. Little kids were dressed up and wore lots
of flowers in / on their heads - all very beautiful.
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
|
A
12th century church
|
Flower
decorations on animals
|
...and
people for the Midsummer Festival
|
|
|
|
Winding
the Swedish colors with a separate wooden steeple around the
Midsummer Pole
|
Soderkoping
from above (photo by Hannes)
|
|
June
24, 2006
It
was time for us to leave. Around 0830, we tried to depart, but the
water in the canal was so low that we were stuck in the mud. So
was Amelie. Eventually, Juergen got us free and we moved a little
further in the canal to the dock for the railroad bridge. Juergen
took his bike to ride back to Soderkoping, just about 1/2 mile,
to see whether Amelie had gotten off. They were on their way, and
so we all managed to get to the railroad bridge which opened shortly
thereafter. Other boats had followed so that we were four boats,
ready for the first lock. We arranged to go as follows, a relatively
small boat first, onto the starboard side of the lock, Amelie first
on the port side, then we with Impromptu on the starboard side,
and a very narrow boat next to us on the port side. Believe me,
there was not much room between our two boats and the lock walls.
However, we all were well-fendered. Each lock meant for me to jump
off the boat with the bow line in my hand and taking the line up
the hill to cover the 3+ meters of difference that the water level
in the lock was to be heightened by. The bow line was then fastened
over a metal hook, covered with a metal ring. Then I had to run
back to catch the stern line which Juergen had to throw up to me.
That line, too, was then fastened on the metal hook and protected
with a metal ring. Juergen had to tighten the lines as the water
was rising to remain in place within the dock and not squash the
boat next to him or to fall back into the back door of our lock.
It all was a little challenging. Once the water level was sufficiently
high, the first two boats exited, then we loosened the bow line,
then the stern line, I had to jump back on board as Juergen was
slowly moving. The locks are very narrow, so are some of the bridge
areas and old locks that are no longer functional. One has to be
very careful to move right through the middle, as one otherwise
might scrape the granite walls that you see everywhere, the same
stone the archipelago is made of.
In
all, we did 11 locks yesterday, three on the first day when entering
the canal in Mem. After getting to Norsholm, we decided to move
a little further. It was another "sort of" lock, not really
a water height difference, but a "door" which was opened
and then closed after Amelie, Impromptu and one other boat. Then,
there was a railroad bridge which can take a long time to open.
It said 1616, and it was around 1605, so the wait did not seem too
long. Three very short trains passed, then the bridge opened, and
we all went through. In the lock, there was no way to jump off,
the water height difference is so minimal that ropes are strung
to hold on to, rather than using our own lines until we could move
out - a rather different approach. Once we went through the railroad
bridge, we passed a red buoy and went into lake Roxen - another
14.5 nm trip, with a few buoys to keep us off the rocks, beautifully
forested landscape, very few houses, a couple of farms and farm
land, and more forests to look at, more rocky islands to see, and
lots of birds killing trues, we think because of their guano. We
arrived in "lower Berg", Berg nedre, around 1830 and tied
up, bow to, with stern mooring ball - with no wind, no big issue
at all. We had dinner together, as usual, this time polenta with
mushrooms, and went to bed around 2200 as we were all tired from
the strain of the locks.
June
25, 2006
We
woke up around 0730 and had breakfast in the cockpit on a beautifully
sunny morning. We did not expect to check into the locks until around
1000 or so, but around 0855 there was a lot of commotion, boats
were getting ready, Amelie was moving out of its position. We quickly
got ready as well as Hannes told us that he had arranged the sequence
of entering with two other boats. Two motor boats which had been
tied up in Berg nedre decided not to take the "steps",
the seven locks that would bring us another 18 meters further up
to about 50 meters above sea level. It all worked fairly well, except
that our lines were not perfectly positioned. I just had not expected
all this to happen so fast. In the end, we managed all seven locks
- in three locks, the last three, the lock attendant took our stern
line while I handled the bow line, and so all went fairly well.
We tied up in the upper part of Berg, "Berg oevre", bow
to, with the usual stern mooring ball. We even have electricity
now and could charge cameras, computers, toothbrushes, etc. - what
luxury.
In
the early afternoon, the boat arrived that had been ahead of us
in the locks all day yesterday. It was Per, Ingrid and son Ole (37)
- boat name: Ecola. They live near Uppsala, a university town just
North of Stockholm. Ole had helped us greatly yesterday, particularly
when I did not manage to jump off. We wanted to thank them and,
therefore, invited them for a drink. They came and we had a great
conversation. Per and Ingrid had lived in New York in the early
sixties and still love the city. We exchanged lots of travel experiences,
sailing experiences. In all, it was a very nice three hours. They
will continue to Borensberg tomorrow, while we intend to stay here
for yet another day.
June
26, 2006
It
is Waltraut's birthday. We will call her today, just as we called
Luise and, this time, Silvi, yesterday. We also had spoken with
Christa who reported miserable weather and not much else.
We
bicycled to Linkoping [pronounced: Linshoeping], a town with lots
of history (3,000 years or more) and a very high dome steeple (100
m), its initial building dating back to the 1200s - very simple
inside but very impressive. We noticed a few times we visited churches
that people were playing the organ - making it an even more festive
visit... We drove and walked around town, had lunch on the market
square. It began to rain lightly, and I was not looking forward
to the approx. 12 km back, mostly up hill. So I pleaded for a taxi
which is easy to do with our small folding bikes. Maren was game
and accompanied me while Hannes and Juergen decided to bicycle back.
They arrived about 45 minutes after us - we were impressed.
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
|
Bicycling
Berg to Linkoping (photo by Hannes)
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
Cathedral: originally construction began in the 12th century.
The Church was much smaller then but "grew" over time as
Importance of Church and Rulers increased
|
June
27, 2006
As
it had been pouring the previous afternoon and all night, we made
our departure from Berg contingent upon that morning's weather.
Well, it was not exactly stellar but it was not pouring, and so
we decided to leave our "dock space" at 0800 and to tie
up right by the locks (4 doubles at the onset) so that we would
be the first being "taken up" at 0900. We had expected
lots of boats to want to move on that morning as many had arrived
the afternoon before, but it seemed that most - if not all others
- were deterred by the weather, and so we were in the lucky position
of being only our two boats in the locks. It all worked much smoother
and faster that way, and, all in all we made 15 locks that day and
I don't know how many bridges AND two aqueducts - it sure was weird
seeing the street cutting UNDER us - we were wondering how the drivers
in the cars and trucks felt seeing two sailboats move ABOVE them...
One of the locks was not electric but had to be "manhandled",
actually woman-handled as I was the lucky person on our side of
the lock to turn to close the lock behind us and to open it again
in front of us after the boats had been raised to the proper level.
There is no picture to show you here (as I could not take my own
photo) but Juergen did video-tape the event.
We
crossed two lakes that day as well and arrived in the capital of
the Goeta Kanal, Motala, pooped and hungry but glad that we had
gotten this far in just one day. We are 88.4m above sea level at
this stage - one more lock to go (but that one is approximately
4m). From there on, it will be "down hill".
We
checked with the harbor master whether we could leave our boats
here for our return to Germany and the US, respectively. He agreed,
subject to a minimal charge, for those days we exceed the five day
limit.
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
|
Pictures
of Motala: Impromptu at her initial "dock"
|
Part
of the Canal Mechanism ("Kurbelwelle" in German)
|
Our
last Bicycle Tour in Motala ended on this Sculpture...
|
|
|
|
Motor
Museum - a treasure for anyone who likes old cars, motorbikes,
radios, cameras - beautifully maintained, beautifully displayed
and definitely worth visiting - we spent quite some time in
this museum and actually can think of many among you who would
do the same
|
|
|
July
2nd, 2006
We
spent the first day just wandering around, relaxing, sleeping, eating,
and chatting. I tried to update the website and only managed once
I sat in front of the canal office where the antenna is located.
Otherwise, the signal was too weak for me to do anything. It was
not fun sitting crouched down and with the sun glaring at me, but
I was nevertheless happy finally to be able to share with all of
you whatever had been happening until then. We also visited the
Motor Museum (see above) - a real treasure, this building is stuffed
with a large number of well-maintained cars from inception to today,
cameras, radios, motor bikes, mopeds (some) and lots of other things
including gas station columns.
On
the third day, we decided to bicycle to Vadstena, a town about 15
km away - Juergen thought it was only 6 and manageable for me. I
was more than furious because we realized all of this only once
we had been on our way for about 4 or 5 km, i.e., I had the choice
of returning to the boat or continuing. Well, I continued and of
course everyone else also. The uncomfortable part was that huge
trucks zoomed by us - just there no bicycle path... Still we all
made it in good time and decided to stop bicycling for the time
being and to have lunch. We had wonderful food sitting under a sun
umbrella on a square in the midst of this midieval town - unbelievable.
We visited the church of Sta. Birgitta, yes she must have been some
sort of saint like person - the church was very impressive, and
people were rehearsing for a Shakespeare play outdoors for that
weekend - see pictures.
We
also visited Vadstena castle - dating back to the 13th century.
While it was highly impressive from the outside and people were
able to "dock" their boats right around the castle, it
was totally empty inside, and we all were quite disappointed about
that.
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
|
Vadstena
Castle with Yachtharbor
|
St.
Brigitta
|
Many women (even one or two men) were sitting in the shade
of trees or in the streets, making laces of all sorts ("Kloeppeln"
in German)
|
On
the fourth day at Motala, we bicycled along the Goeta canal, watched
people struggle through the five-step locks while we were licking
our icecream cones... then biked back, relaxed on our boats, shared
dinner as usual.
The
day before we departed by rental car we bicycled along Lake Vaettern,
bicycling through the woods, over meadows and some special bicycle
paths - all in perfect weather (hot, sunny, very light breeze).
Of course, we had our typical Hannes coffee breaks (with Capuccino
for Hannes and Juergen, Latte for Maren, Espresso or mineral water
for me) on each and every day we were "on land" and found
a place to sit and observe people.
July
3rd, 2006
Our
rental car was delivered at 0800 - i.e., on-time. We had moved our
boat to a better spot for our 10 day or so absence the night before.
We loaded our luggage, waited for Maren and Hannes to get ready,
and were on our way just about 0845. It was a nice car ride to Nykoeping
where we stopped for a tour of the harbor and the town, for a brief
and early lunch and then took Maren and Hannes to the Nykoeping
airport from where they were flying back home. We then continued
for another two and a half hours as the airport we needed to go
to was about 40 km North of Stockholm - we had not been aware of
that. It was very hard to find the hotel the travel agency in Karlskrona
had booked for us - eventually we managed and were more than upset
when we saw the room we were supposed to be in for three nights.
We demanded our money back and wanted to check into another hotel
when the owner overheard our complaint and showed us two other rooms
that were totally modern, reasonably attractive, with a decent bedroom,
a very nice bathroom, and internet access. He even drove with us
to the rental car office to return our car and to take us back to
the hotel - all was well again, and we settled in, took care of
e-mails and other things and got ready for July 4th, our first day
of sightseeing in Stockholm itself.
Click
on foto to expand!
The
hotel van took us to the airport from where we took the high-speed
train to Stockholm (18 minutes of high comfort) at a cost - for
"pensioners" at 200 Swedish Krona or roughly $ 30 round-trip
- a rather terrific deal. We took one of those hop-on-hop-off buses
to get a better feel for this incredibly beautiful city. We stopped
at the Vasa museum first. The Vasa was a warship in Sweden in the
early 1600s. It sank for then unknown reasons - it is assumed that
the ballast was insufficient for the tall rig it carried - in the
Stockholm harbor. This ship was recovered after 333 years under
water and mudd, in very good condition, with many of the original
carvings, equipment, loads and bodies onboard. It was lifted around
1972 after an approximately 10 year process. After it was cleaned
and put back together - some parts had fallen into each other, it
was moved into this museum. Only very few boards had to be replaced.
In order to identify those and contrast them to the originals, the
new ones were kept smooth-surfaced while the old ones were uneven
and coarse - photographing was very difficult as they are keeping
the museum light very low. I apologize for the lack of quality of
these photos. We spent a few hours in the museum's 7 floors and
also watched a movie that depicted the history of the Vasa - highly
recommendable!
We
decided on a very late lunch / very early dinner in town, sitting
in the sun on a beautiful square in the old town (gamle stan) and
had to observe a demonstration against President Bush, Guantanamo
prison, Israel, pro-Hamas, pro-Chavez and whatever else these people
had dreamed up - it was amazing to to watch. Unfortunately - or
maybe fortunately, we could not understand anything of the Swedish
speeches, except we realized the support or disagreement with the
respective individuals or their politics. We took the train back
around 1900.
Of
course, we watched the soccer match between Germany and Italy -
what an exciting game - what disappointment for all those Germans
who had hoped for a World Cup 1st place.
July
5, 2006
After
a few phone calls (our generator needs repair - we fried the panel,
our hot water heater needs repair - who knows if and when that happens,
our bicycle has some issues - we are trying to deal with those and
get them corrected while we are in the US) we again took the high-speed
train to Stockholm and immediately went to the castle which is still
today the royal family's residence. We toured some of the living
quarters that are generally left as a museum but are on occasion
used for special events - we were asking ourselves whether we would
like to stay in any of those rooms and decided that even our present
luxury hotel is better than those lavish but outdated rooms. We
visited the Treasury, the exhibit of the Antiquities of the King
and the royal family's own "Chapel", a rather large church
located within the castle compound. We also saw the parliament room
which is still being used on special occasions. Other than that,
all "normal" activities have been moved to other governmental
buildings.
We
enjoyed a very nice seafood platter, sitting in a side street cafe
in the gamle stan and then walked to the harbor, enjoying its activities,
watched ships and boats coming and going, had our meanwhile "usual"
coffee break, wandered around a bit more, visited yet another church
as it looked so beautiful from the outside, even visited a department
store - unbelievably beautiful, very much comparable to Bloomies
and Saks Fifth Avenue and still different - see some of their exhibits...
Click
on foto to expand!
|
|
|
Stockholm:
High-speed Arlanda Station
|
Street
Scenes
|
|
|
|
Kosta
Boda Sculpture - yes it is glass!!!
|
The
Royal Palace
|
The
Vasa
|
|
|
|
Our
Lunch today (7/5/06)
|
|
|
Now,
we are saying good-bye until we return from Claudia and Ruben's
wedding on Saturday and visiting with friends and family.
Up
|