|
StockholmFrom Narvik, Norway (which sits above the Arctic Circle at a higher latitude than Iceland) we boarded a train at 3:50pm and, roughly 19 hours later, we were in Stockholm. We were there to enjoy the beautiful city of course, but also to spend time with our friend, Robert Karjel, and his beautiful family.
Stockholm is beautiful, particularly when the weather cooperates and the sun shines. This is a picture of Gamla Stan, or Old Town, taken from the tower of the Stadshuset, or Town Hall.
As we arrived in Stockholm, the sun was shining and the weather warm. So we immediately headed out into the city to check out the changing of the guard and performance of the Army Band at the Royal Palace.
After the military ceremony of the changing of the guard, the Army Band entertained the crowd with lively, popular, tunes. No staid performance here--which is what you would expect from a military band--but rather a crowd pleasing, highly-skilled, display. Our favorite was when the Band kicked into a classic--"Momma Mia"-- from Sweden's great musical export, Abba. They was grooving, and the crowd loved it.
We knew that we were all forever destined to be friends as soon as we realized that we all wore matching coats. Ingela and Kelly look luminous in yellow, while Robert and Rich sport the blue. Coincidence? We think not.
We originally met Robert in Egypt where he was traveling with his 6 year old daughter, Josephine. Robert was in Egypt doing research for his upcoming, and third, novel. Robert happens to be a best-selling novelist, having written 2 novels. Here, Robert reluctantly poses in his library with copies of his books. Robert is holding the original hardcover editions. Rich is holding the paper-back edition of Robert's second novel, as well as the re-released, hardcover edition of his second novel which was issued with a new cover when it was made a Book-of-the Month selection.
One of the features that makes Stockholm so beautiful and so enticing is all the water. With wonderful harbors and canals, and with green parks everywhere, it is a very attractive city. In some ways it reminded us of another beautiful city by the water, San Francisco.
Robert and his lovely wife, Ingela, made us feel so very at home and were wonderful hosts. While Ingela had to rise each morning before 5:30am, she still stayed up with us late into each night talking with us, showing us photos, and keeping us entertained. Ingela's parents live in Raleigh, North Carolina (her father works for the Swedish mobile phone company Ericcson), so we look forward to seeing them in Atlanta the next time they are State-side so that we may show them the same hospitality and great time that they showed us.
|
|
2 Go Maps / 2 Go Actual Itinerary / 2 Go Photos / 2 Go Home Page
PLEASE E-MAIL US. . . WE WOULD LOVE 2 HEAR FROM YOU!
©1999-2001 Kelly and Rich Willis. All rights reserved. |
Even
though Robert was extremely busy writing his novel, taking care of his family,
cooking wonderful meals, and flying combat/rescue helicopters at night, he still
made the time to show us around Stockholm. Oh yeah, the helicopter
thing. Robert is a former jet fighter pilot in the Swedish Air
Force. These days, he has given up the jets and the Air Force for the Navy
and helicopters, where he actually gets to put his skills to use with some
frequency (unlike fighter pilots who train and train but never, we hope, use
those skills in war) in rescue missions at sea and fighting fires. 
