Sweden - day 3

June 16th

Okay, sorry about the typos- Jack pointed out that there were mistakes. I fixed them all- I think...
So, the resolution after two hours of phone calls and discussion was that the dealer would install the GPS in the car and we would take a loaner until Friday. We would then come back to get it. At first this wasn't an option, but we decided it was either go with the car we ordered no matter what.
The day started off late so we decided to drive up north of Trolhatten and ended up having lunch in a small town called Mullenrud which is right next to the second largest lake in Sweden.
The weather here is very strange, the sun is burning hot, but the breeze is cold. At night, which doesn't come until about midnight, it is cold. We have been wearing our fleece jackets. Since the sun does not set at a resonable hour, it's easy to forget it's late. Our bedtimes are so screwed up. The boys have been staying up until 11 and 12 pm. (That's 23:00 or 0:00 to the locals. -jj)
Our new hotel we checked into is very nice- and it's attached to the largest mall in this part of Sweden. John and Jacob are crazed about shopping there, but it closes at 7 pm and we have been too busy to shop!

June 15th

The boys had to be dragged out of bed on their birthdays, despite the fact they have been napping anytime we get into a moving vehicle. We got a citypass for Göteburg and decided to try and squeeze in as much as we could in the 24 hours the pass is good. We started with the art museum- that was John's choice. He stood in a room full of paintings and told me "this is what I want to do when I grow up". He meant be a painter. Jacob on the other hand couldn't get out of the place quick enough. He decided Jack could pick what he will be when he grows up.
They have an impressive collection of Swedish art and a couple of Picasso, Monet, and Rubens. We didn't spend a ton of time there- the guards seemed to be following us on each floor. They were nice and explained a lot about the art, but I think they were watching the boys more than anything.
We then went to the Universeum which is like the Shedd Aquarium and a children's museum put together. The interesting thing is the sign in the bathroom that explains how they take your pee from the toilet and filter it. You can actually visit the exhibit that shows exactly how that happens. They have a kid's room with a climbing wall and a lot of other things- some things that would be a lawsuit waiting to happen in America.
While we have been here Jack has developed an irrational fear of crossing the street (The fear is not so much when you walk the streets as when you attempt to drive them. - jj). The only way you can describe it is like spaghetti noodles crossing over ten different ways. You have to be on the lookout for trams, buses, people, bikes and cars- all at the same time. And the streets are all cobblestones of the same color, so it's really hard to figure out what is crossing where and when. Luckily a large part of the city is for pedestrians only. (Unfortunately the international signage doesn't quite clarify things as much as you'd like. - jj)
For the boys' birthday we also took a boat ride through the canals, went to the botanic gardens and finished up with a trip to Liseberg Park. This is like Great America with less rides. And they definitely have strict rules about height. All the roller coasters and bigger rides were off limits to the boys. We did do a cheap knock-off of Disney Peter Pan. Very amusing. (Many of the storybook references were to Swedish folktales, go figure. - jj)
Another fun thing that is big in the park is called Wheel of Fortune. All over the park you can bet 5Kronar or about 75 cents (no cents key here) on a number. They spin the wheel and if your number comes up you can win a giant candy bar, or a microwave, or a giant bag of chips. I don't know how we would have packed a coffee maker or deep fryer in our luggage.
This was the night Sweden had their big soccer match against Uraguay (I thought it was Albania? - jj). The bars were packed with people as were giant parks and squares with big screen TVs.
The Swedes won in the last minutes of the game and you could here the crowd cheering throughout the city. Some people came out on their balcony to scream and startled Jacob so much he ran back into the restaurant we were leaving.

June 16th

We made the decision to try and hit two more tourist attractions before our passes ran out (This would be at noon for those of you keeping track of such things. - jj). This morning we took a ferry to an island near the city called Elsborg. It was a military fortress and then a prison. On the ferry over there were about 75 preschoolers riding with us. They could be kids in America until they start talking. Very cute!
It is a big celebration this week on the island so they were there to see a kid's show and have a picnic. We took a tour that was led by a group of actors that portrayed different people on the island. One women was the preacher's wife and she kept yelling at us and telling us what to do. It was all in fun, but the boys were startled and their big brown eyes were as wide as they get. We told them she was just acting, but it still freaked them out. Especially when she sent us to "jail" and told us we were being held there for 20 more years.
Our next stop was the Maritime museum. They have about 10-12 boats that you can tour on your own. We went through a giant destroyer (and couldn't find our way out). John was starting to panic a little on that ship. You can literally climb down all the ladders and into the engine room and all the little cubbies. The boys had fun pressing all the buttons and pulling all the handles. I kept being startled when turning corners and seeing mannequins in weird places. It was creepy. We also climbed around a U-boat and a fishing boat. By that time both kids had had enough. We were running late so to make things easy we ate at McDonald's- the bill was 30 dollars for the 4 of us. This city is not cheap! (Technically you can eat quite well for $30 but when you're in a hurry you pay the price. - jj)
We returned to Trolhatten to pick up the CORRECT car this time. It wasn't as dramatic as the first time, but at least they got everything right. Nicolas did tell us that they were missing a part, so they had to order it for today. It just got finished about two hours before we arrived. He's still puzzled as to how Saab could make a mistake. The people here are very nice, but very stoic in attitude. They will help you if you ask, but they do not make useless conversation like at home. The driver in Chicago that took us to the airport was a Polish guy that talked the whole way. Our two drivers we had here did not say a word. I thought maybe they didn't speak English- but that was not the case. They just don't waste time talking about nothing. The other funny thing is when you leave a place they say, " Welcome back"- you haven't even left!
After four days we are starting to recognize words and phrases in print, but the verbal part is beyond me. The alphabet is really hard to figure out pronunciation wise. I think I will stick to the Romance languages. (Fortunately, it seems that every employee of a public company is at least bi-lingual. Although on the prison tour, the actors seemed stumped by the presence of Japanese tourists/prisoners. - jj)
Tomorrow we leave for Kiel, Germany on an overnight ferry. The boys should be getting back from the pool with Jack anytime now. We're having a blast- and the beer is really good here!
Jack is having fun trying to remember how to drive stick shift and we couldn't figure out how to put the car in reverse. Finally I pulled out the owner's manual. You have to push down a ring (actually, you have to pull it up - jj) around the stick to put it in reverse- some sort of safety measure I guess....
Love you lots,
Lisa
(Lisa is getting a big thrill knowing that people are bothering to read these rambling stories. Leave her a comment and she's bound to keep on writing. - jj)