Welcome to Sweden!

Kate and I shortly after arriving in Sweden

As requested, I've taken lots of photos already in our first two days to share with all of you back home... so much so it looks like there will most likely be a blog entry of just "outtakes" when the trip is finished. It's been an interesting trip so far. No problems with Hurricane Earl, but more interestingly we did sit near a group of dudes in the Newark airport who could have easily been "Jersey Shore" casting rejects.

Somewhere between Stockholm & Örebro

Somewhere between Stockholm & Örebro

St. Nicolai Kyrka

When we landed in Sweden it was a "brisk" 4 degrees celsius. We decided to take the scenic route between Stockholm and Örebro, where we spent our first night.  Luckily it warmed up to a comfortable 20 degrees or so (that's about 70 to you and me).  After walking around the town for a little while, stopping to take in St. Nicolai Kyrka, the Örebro Slott (Castle), and the beautiful surroundings, we decided to have a coctail, where we met a man who, once he found out we were from Ohio, had to share his obsession with OSU and all things American Football - a subject neither Kate nor I are particularly well-versed in.  We also had a fantastic dinner and decided to make it an early night in order to reset our internal clocks.

Örebro Slott

Örebro Slott

Örebro Slott

A bridge in Örebro

After sleeping about 11 hours (because I accidentally set my alarm for pm instead of am), we woke up around 10:00am ready to go.  We did a bit more in Örebro, including shopping, where I found a great new pair of Adidas and two wonderful hoodies at the WE/SC to help combat the chilly evenings.  We had breakfast  in the cafe atop Svampen, the Örebro water tower and departed for Oslo, Norway.  While there have been plenty of Moose Crossing signs, we have yet to see any Moose, much to Kate's chagrin. She's actually pretty obsessed and swears that she will, by God, see a Moose on this trip! Maybe if we walk into a forest at dusk we will stumble upon one... just hope it doesn't use us as a tree to mark with its antlers.

Pathway to Örebro neighborhood

Svampen - Örebro Water Tower

The drive into Oslo was not what I would consider fun, but definitely a learning experience.  We were on that G.D. E6/E18 circling the city for what seemed like 2 hours before Kate had the brilliant idea of just venturing through the city. So... if you're ever here and you can't seem to find your exit, here's a tip:  Get off the expressway and follow the "Sentrum" signs into mid-city and find your way from there. We finally got checked in to the hotel, got the car parked and ended up having dinner at "Mister India", whose logo, strangely enough, seemed to be an italian chef. Hmph. But it was a great Indian meal and the perfect ending to a long, tiring drive.  Tomorrow we'll get to the Vigeland Sculpture park and see where the streets take us. The water is beautiful, so maybe we'll venture down there as well to see some of the sailboats.  Until later, friends...