Paris then Sweden?

Between Paris and Stockholm there are flights on budget airlines Ryan Air (non stop) and Air Berlin (one stop in Vienna). But note that European budget airlines sometimes use out of the way airports and have additional luggage restrictions or other fees that might make a "cheap" fare not so cheap in the end. But with such a distance between Paris and Sweden would think that flight is probably what you need. Depending on where you are flight from consider an "open jaw" flight so that your flight out is USA-Paris and your flight back is Stockholm-USA. These are not typically more than a round trip to either location. Then you could book a one-way on a budget airline in between.

Enjoy planning your trip!

Some Swedish low cost carriers use Paris-Beauvais airport.

The most economical time to go would be before March 31.

That is when airline prices go way up (often doubling the first week in April).

Weather will be cold but not terrible - low to mid 30's F in Sweden and in the upper 40's in Paris. Nothing a good jacket won't fix.


I don't know how long the total trip is (how long is it?), but 2 days in Paris is VERY short. I would try for at least 3 nights in Paris. There are countless suggestions for inexpensive places to stay in Paris - here is a good resource for good, cheap (by Paris standars) hotels.

http://www.eurocheapo.com/paris/hoods/near-louvre.html
http://www.eurocheapo.com/paris/hoods/latin-quarter.html
http://www.eurocheapo.com/paris/hoods/marais.html

You will want to be close to the river for esasy access to the tourist sights on your short visit.

You should look into flying "open jaw" - that is from US to paris and then from Sweden back to US.

Where in the midwest are you coming from?

Last summer I used an open jaw ticket landing in Paris and leaving from Stockholm. Even with a cheap airline the price of a Stockholm-Paris flight would have eliminated any potential savings for using Paris as the arrival and departure point.

Anything other than flying is silly, so count on flying between Paris and Sweden.

If you must save money, then obviously the winter will be cheaper. Myself, I would much prefer June. July would be nice too, but that is vacation time in Sweden so prices are probably higher. August would see Paris on vacation and it might be a bit too hot in Paris anyway.

Thanks for all the replies. The open jaw flights sound best, and we may stay longer in Paris too. We're in Ohio, but also checking flights out of Chicago, NYC, and D.C. I'm thinking last two weeks of June or first two weeks of September.

Just adding my two cents as far as costs go. Airfares will definitely be higher in June than in March. Hotels in France are generally cheaper before March 31, but hotels in Sweden are actually cheaper in the summer months than winter, so it can be a toss up. For weather, June or July is definitely the best choice, and remember that the days are very long in Sweden in June (Sun "rises" around 3 AM and "sets" about 10:30 at Stockholm's latitude, longer sunshine in Lapland, so if you are able, you can cram a lot into a day.) Check the internet for hotel rates in Sweden. There are likely to be special summer rate deals. Scandic Hotels, for one, usually offers special summer rates for hotel bookings before March 31 or so. My family had good experiences with Scandic in 2008.

Thanks again,
and we've decided on mid-June, Paris first. We're looking for apartments for the week now in Paris. Then we will be staying with family on the high coast of Sweden, where my newly found cousin says, "The sun lasts forever at that time!" We are still totally flexible on what days of the week to fly, so checking that too.

sunny,

Here is a US based agency I (and many other Fodorites) have used and been very pleased with.

They mail you key to you in the the US before you leave - a very nice feature. Each apt. is very well and acurately described, including the exact location on a map. Again, try for something close to the river and/or islands - worth the extra $10 or so per night.

http://www.vacationinparis.com/

Just to say ..........

Ryanair use Skavska which is actually Nykoping - so not bad for South of Stockholm. They also use Vasteras which is a fair way inland from Stockholm.Others use Arlanda which is almost as far North of Stockholm as Nykoping is South. Bromma is best for central Stockholm but I think it only takes domestic STOL planes.

If you find you need Goteborg, Ryanair use the old city airport which is closer to the centre than Landvetter.





Peter

Thanks bardo1,
we went with your suggestion...
Now we have airline tickets held, leaving Pittsburgh nonstop to Paris, then to Stockholm nonstop, and finally from Stockholm, with layover at JFK back to Pittsburgh. Should we take the plunge or hold out for better price later? With tax and fees it's $1200.00 per ticket. Trip in middle of June. The itenenary times are excellent, anyone care to guess?

Does the $1200 include the Paris-Stockholm flight? If so, then I think this price is okay, as this route doesn't see much LCC competition. Yeah, Ryanair flies the route, but they pretty much suck and they fly from Beauvais, which isn't really close to Paris at all.

Unfortunately, there are only a couple of other airlines that fly the route and Air France does not (IME) offer competitive one-way fares, so you are stuck paying whatever SAS wants to charge you, or connecting, which is just too much hassle.

All in all, given the need to get from Paris to Stockholm, and the timing, I'd be moderately surprised if the total cost of this trip dropped much below $1000. And even if it did, there is no guarantee that it would be with such a good schedule.

Thanks travelgourmet,
Airfare does include the flight to Stockholm from Paris on Air France. We'll be staying 5 nights in an apartment on the Ile Saint Louis, and used the U.S. based agency that bardo1 suggested. After leaving Paris, we'll arrive in Stockholm just after noon, giving us plenty of daylight driving to make it to Ullånger, then back to Stockholm for our return trip.

Sunny

I think your airline price is pretty good. Mid-June is expensive.

of course, sunny, you can hang out for a cheaper flight. but what if it suddenly goes up?

as it includes the paris -stockholm route, that doesn't sound too bad.

well done for taking the excellent advice profferred here. 5 days in Paris is MUCH better than 2. have a great trip.

Thanks again to all!

We booked the airline tickets, no looking back! Enjoying the journey of life until we arrive.

Sunny

sunny - have a great trip.

Our trip is getting close, we're pretty well all set except a rental car in Stockholm. Any suggestions there? What insurance should we or need we take. Three adults from Arlanda airport to Ullanger about 5hrs, and back, with some sight seeing in between.

haven't heard about this issue, but I'm posting an interesting link about rental cars in Europe here, and on a new link.
http://www.gemut.com/Carrentalspecialreport7.pdf

Day 1, things learned. ALWAYS...double, triple check your international flight reservtions. I used a third party internet booking site, and thought we were all set. But lo and behold, I had dropped the "s" of james sundquist to read jame sundquist(just a typo!!) When we went to check-in at the airport, my ticket did not match my passport.

Lots of nail biting, and anxiety as no one wanted take authourity to help. It was even suggested at one point that I cancel my reservation, and make a new one under the correct name, pay a $150 fee, then more than likely be bumped from the flight that my fiancee & son were on for our first trip to Europe.

45 minutes and many hold phone calls later, someone at Air France, (who had the first leg of our trip) finally had the courage to type in the ill forgotten "s" in James, and we received the blessing to continue.

A lesser lesson learned, is that in France 4th floor, steps only, actually means 5 flights as 1st floor is zero. Not that big a deal, except we were loaded down with luggage, and went up 5 flights of the wrong wing first.

Better news on my next report, as it past midnight and I need to catch sone zzzz's

Vive la France!! Lessons learned were well outweighed by the good experience of Paris. The best was a foreign exchange student, named Clem, who met us at CDG and rode the RER to St Michel with us. She helped us find the apt on Ile St Louis. Just moments away from Notre Dame. We settled in and bought a few groceries, and just walked the Seine for a while.

The Paris symphony was that evening, Beethoven's 9th. As fate would have it, it was the last performance with conductor Christopher Esenbach. As my son, fiancee and I are all pianist/musicians, we were especially moved by the flawless performance. And moved by the French people's tumultous applause, and enthusiasm!!

The weather has been a cool break from the 80's we escaped from in Ohio. Good, because we are on the 5th floor, where it would be extremely hot.

My ideal travel takes me past tourist attractions, and immerses me in the way of life. The apartment stay, going to the grocery store, and the wonderful experience of the symphony, has put us on that track.

Tomorrow morning I make crepes!

If anyone is interested in blog and pictures, friend me on facebook "sunny sundquist" with a message about seeing this on foders. I couldn't figure some of the other blog sites soon enough.

For anyone interested that helped me with this trip, the following is a blog/note I posted on facebook. Many thanks to all who helped!!
This blog is about a trip to Paris, France and Sweden that I have planned for quite some time now. The first thoughts were probably planted about ten years ago when through the internet, I found relatives in Sweden. Sundquists (Sundqvist in Sweden) on both sides of the Atlantic knew nothing about the existence of the others. As I took an early retirement from the Postal Service, and the possibility of remarrying came to me, the trip started to become reality. Then, as my son was interested in going too, we added in the trip to Paris.
We began planning in earnest, checking fodors.com regularly, air flight websites, Paris and Sweden sites, and staying in email contact with my cousin in Sweden. We booked flights, an apartment on the Ile St. Louis in Paris, a rental car in Sweden, and as you'll see, decided on other things as well.
If you surf in, I hope you enjoy the view!
Day 1, Things learned:
ALWAYS...double, triple check your international flight reservations. I used a third party internet booking site, and thought we were all set. Lo and behold, I had dropped the "s" of James Sundquist to read Jame Sundquist (just a typo!!). When we went to check in at the airport, my ticket did not match my passport. Becky's and my son, Jimmy's, were OK, but I was in limbo.

Lots of nail biting and anxiety as no one wanted take authority. The check-in kiosk would only give me an error message. The Delta representative said she couldn't change a reservation made by a third part agency.
I made a call to the agency...
Oh yeah, “please listen carefully as our menu has changed.” Then that inevitable hold from hell, with music to match, as I waited for a “real person” to answer. Sympathetic, but unhelpful: “the airline needs to make the correction.” I was getting sick to my stomach. The clock was ticking... It was even suggested at one point that I cancel my reservation, and make a new one under the correct name, pay a $150 fee, then more than likely be bumped from the flight that my fiancee and my son were on for our first trip to Europe.
Not good options..

45 minutes and many hold phone calls later, someone at Air France, (who had the first leg of our trip) finally had the courage to type in the ill forgotten "s" in James, and we received the blessing to continue. Vive la France!! Who says the French are snobs? Not I!
Oh, by the way...do not try to carry on 2 jars of peanut butter from the U.S. It's classified as a paste, and will be confiscated!
Day 1, Things enjoyed:
We found 14 day parking for free, by reserving a hotel room at the end of our trip in Pittsburgh (we were going to stay anyway, because of arriving back near midnight.) Yay!
The flight from Pittsburgh was nonstop! Yay! Even though I was afraid we wouldn't even get to sit together because of the reservation fiasco, we had seats together in the emergency exit row. I quickly agreed that I met all the requirements to operate the emergency door. Wow, we had lots of legroom! Yay!
No extra charge to watch “Avatar” on the flight over. I got a little sleep. We had a fairly smooth flight, and arrived safely in Paris at 8:20 A.M. Yay!

We'll call it day 2 now.
We were met at the airport by a foreign exchange student that Becky's sister Barb had hosted. She was a life saver, by the name of Clem. I think we could have made it OK, but she made sure we got on the right RER train, helped us go up several flights of stairs with luggage, and guided us to our rented apartment much better than we could have done alone.
Now, one thing you must know about the nice 4th floor apartment we rented is that we had to go up 5 flights of stairs to get there. You see, the first floor is “zero”. The thing you didn't have to know is...we went up the wrong spiral staircase with all our luggage, then back down and up the correct spiral staircase, gasp, pant, sweat!
Lessons learned have been well outweighed by the good experience of Paris. We are just short footsteps away from Notre Dame. We settled in, then went out to buy a few groceries. Walking along the Seine we stopped at vendor and bought our first crepes. We saw lots of “smart cars” and other small European vehicles, and lots of people!
My favorite part about travel is feeling like a part of the local people...seeing how they live. It wouldn't take long for that to happen. Renting an apartment instead of hotel rooms has helped, and then...

We took Clem with us to the Paris symphony that evening...Beethoven's 9th. As fate would have it, it was the last performance with conductor Christoph Eschenbach. He has conducted there for the last ten years. (Even more fateful is that his successor is from the music staff at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where my son attends.) All of us we were especially moved by the flawless performance, and by the French people's tumultuous applause, and enthusiasm! I can't say I've ever seen anything quite like it in the U.S. We stayed through several curtain calls, and then listened to remarks by the conductor and board members of the symphony. (I think it was assumed that we were French, and with Jimmy and Clem's help we left it at that.)

The weather in Paris has been a cool break from the 80's we escaped from in Ohio. Good, because we are on the 5th floor, where it would be extremely hot.

My ideal travel takes me past tourist attractions, and immerses me in the way of life. The apartment stay, going to the grocery store, and the wonderful experience of the symphony, has put us on that track.

Day 3: Versailles by way of Notre Dame

We set out for the metro in the morning to head to Versailles, bit on the way we noticed there was no line to get into Notre Dame. Carpe diem! We entered without a wait, and soon we were in the expansive open cathedral supported by flying buttresses. I was surprised to find wicker seats instead of pews. We took many pictures, including one of me lighting a candle in memory of Dad. Soon afterward the great pipe organ could be heard. The organist was playing Widor's Toccata, one of Jimmy's favorites. By this time the cathedral was quite crowded, and I would dare say, “never were so many cameras flashing in one place.
He hurried on to the metro, and hopped on the RER Vicki(express train) toward Versailles.
How much opulence can you stand?
If you're not sure, come to Palace at Versailles, and you will be sorely tested. Guilded fence, marble, parquet floors, mirrored rooms, and every finery await you there. My favorite was a grandfather clock sized thermometer, with a built in barometer above it. The chapel, bigger than many churches I have been in, included it's own pipe organ. Only 10% of the palace is open to the public, but even that part dwarfs the Biltmore in North Carolina.
Outside, the expansive gardens and grounds contained a lake, a summer villa(enormous) to escape the drudgery of the palace, an escape from the villa for Marie Antoinette(a more regular mansion sized house) and a farm village to provide food staples.
We stayed pretty much until closing. I thought as we were leaving, everyone in the city of Versailles must worked at the palace to keep it going. To celebrate our kingly visit, we ate at a nearby McDonald's. I had the p'tit hamburger moutarde...I'm sure it will be in the U.S. Soon!

Day 4: Yankee crepes and the flea market
Clem passed on Versailles, but returned the next morning to enjoy crepes by moi, and to take in the Paris Flea Market with us. The Hungarian name for crepes is “palcsinta” and my grandmother passed on the recipe to the Sundquist side of the family. Whatever you call them, Clem assured me they were excellent, so I accept that French opinion. We fill them with jam and cottage or cream cheese.
Braced with breakfast, we headed to the seedier side of Paris to find the flea market. A flea market in the U.S. is where you go to buy bargain junk. There was plenty of junk to buy here, but bargains were harder to find. It was easy to find the market,...just wade past the 20 or 30 dudes walking about hocking sunglasses. They got thicker the closer we got. You would have thought they were drug dealers, as they offered their wares with a hushed sales pitch.
We knew we were there when we found rows and rows or tents, and beyond that, several alleys dedicated to the vendors. Everything from postcards to grand pianos. Jimmy was the only one to buy anything, especially proud of bargaining an old stereo-vision card to 1 euro. An old poster of the Normandie was priced over his head at 250 euro.
We escaped with our lives and our wallets intact. Yay!
Afterward, we headed toward Basilique du Sacré-Cœur. Off the metro stop, and on up the hill we feasted on a nice French duet of crepes and pizza(ya just hadda be there) and then said goodbye to Clem as she was going home for Fathers Day.
We had Paris Visite passes for zones 1-6. This allowed us on all the different metro transportation, including the unique funiqulare. It's basically an elevator that goes up the side of a hill. In Pittsburgh they're called an incline. At the top of this hill is Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. For 5 euro you can walk the 301 steps to the dome. Circular enclosed stairways(not for the clostrophobic) reach to the roof, then it's outside following the rest of the steps and walkways across the roof. What a fabulous 360 degree view of Paris! I'm thinking with the hill we may be as high as the Eiffel Tower(I was wrong), but maybe we didn't need to go up the tower. It would save that long wait in line.
A visit to the Cite du musique was less frutifull, as these places closed sooner than we liked. We instead walked past the Moulin Rouge(shows there were too exorbitant) saw the famous Red Windmills, ducked into a nearby Starbucks and gawked for a while before heading to our home away from home on Ile St Louis.
Not far from home, we detoured to St. Chapelle, where we waited in a short line that seemed to last very long. Once inside, I could hardly believe the expanse of stained glass that extended almost floor to ceiling, and wondered how it withstood the passing of generations. It was built by patron Saint Louis, then King Louis IX in the 13th century. Curiously, we live in Gallipolis, Ohio, literally “land of the Gauls, and St. Louis Catholic church is just around the corner from our house.
Day 5: Let's not go to the Eiffel tower
Our original intent was to buy tickets on-line for the Eiffel tower, and save the waiting in line, but you had to print out the ticket, and we did not bring a printer to Paris. So, we headed out Sunday morning to check it out. Forget that! The line and the gypsies were swarming. Don't ask...I did however find that learning a little Swedish was coming in handy, as the best deterrent when a gypsy asked, “Do you speak English”, was “Nej, förstår du Svenska?
To the opera house and beyond!! We couldn't see an opera, but a tour of the building, built in the time of Napolean was second best. They were working on stage lighting cues for the next performance, so the auditorium light was limited but still gorgeous. We came in the entrance that was meant for Napolean 3rd, except he was dethroned before he ever had a chance to use it. Poor monarch!
Once again, marble and gold played, a big part in the architecture of the opera house. We took pictures on the sweeping staircase to the min level. My only scare on the Paris trip though, took place as we got separated for a while due to miscommunication about meeting in a round room. There are several round rooms at the opera house. I finally waited in a hall where I could see three directions, until Jimmy came in view.
Next at the Musée d'Orsay, we enjoyed artwork, but were not permitted to take pictures. It's so much more difficult to remember without pictures! I especially liked cut-away displays of the opera house we had just visited, and paintings by Van Gogh. Lots of walking happens in these Paris museums!
That evening, Jimmy took some much needed rest as Becky and I went in search of a boat tour. We walked up along the river Seine, and stopped at the very first offer of a tour. It was a dinner tour, but as we had already eaten they gave us a reduced rate of 17 euro, including glass of champagne. This was one of my favorite parts of our Paris visit. We sailed at 9:30 pm, just in time to see the lights of Paris start to shine.
The boat had an enclosed dining room, but we went outside as the Eiffel tower came into view. We helped another couple out by using their camera to take a picture of both of them. The man returned the favor by taking a picture of us, when I said, “wait, one more!” Then I took Becky in my arms, and with the lighted Eiffel tower in the background, I recreated the kissing scene I have seen so often in Paris, which is on my facebook profile now.
Day 6: Ahh, Paris! How do I love thee? Let me count the steps!
91 steps up to our apartment(oh, and 91 down)usually 3 times a day...at least 43 steps every time we took the metro, most times double or triple that, and three times a day...301 stairs to the top of Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, 2 to 3 levels of stairs at most museums...671 stairs down from the second level of the Eiffel tower(no, were not stupid enough to walk up them)...40 to 50 stairs down and up from the Seine...and countless stairs I didn't even track. Yes, the are a few escalators and elevators, but darn few! When you visit Paris, expect to walk a lot, and climb many stairs!
Our last full day in Paris was scheduled for the Louvre, but we took one last stab at the Eiffel tower, and...Voila! At 9:15 am, there was little queue. Even the vendors and gypsies were not to be seen. In less than an hour, we had bought tickets, rode the elevators up, took countless pictures, browsed the gift shop, and walked down the stairs from the second level. By the way, as I said earlier, the Eiffel tower is much taller than the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur...
On to the Louvre, which is made famous by the “Mona Lisa”, which is made more famous today by the “DaVinci Code”, which must be famous because I have read it at least 4 times and seen the movie twice, although I am not famous at all...The English translation of “the Louvre” is... “if I have to look at one more painting, I'm going to vomit!” I'm sorry, that's the male English translation, the female English translation is, “cute and fussy!” Seriously, it's pretty interesting, and if you're not interested in the paintings and other artwork, there are also numerous stairs you can climb up and down. This will make you very hungry for the very expensive food they sell at the Louvre. I knew there was mastermind behind all of this.
My advice on viewing the “Mona Lisa” is to buy one of the cheap souvenir posters, some of which are bigger than the “Mona Lisa” itself. Then follow the obvious signs to the “Mona Lisa” at the Louvre. Walk past the entrance to the “Mona Lisa” room, and just wave. This will save you from being trampled by the wall of human flesh in that room, and keep you from being blinded by the reflections of camera flashes on the shiny glass that protects her. Better yet, enter from the back side of the room and view the unprotected masterpieces that hang directly behind her.
Wow! Little did we realize our final night in Paris was the Fête de la Musique F Clems' mother and father(Clem or Cecile please enter the correct spellings in your comments!) treated us to a truly French menu style dinner at 8:30 pm. Red wine, meat and pate appetizer, bread, entree(mine was broiled Salmon in a wonderful sauce, with rice), and crème brulee for dessert. We were entertained by a fist fight outside our window, police sirens, parades of revelers, and much, much music. At 11:30 pm we joined the revelers on the streets, and made our way to the Bastille, where at times I could hear a choir singing in between the sounds of boom, boom, music.
Fun was had by all! Then with Jimmy's inherent sense of direction, all of us made it back to the Ile St. Louis, where we bid the Pleux family adieu, to pack for our flight to Sweden.
Day 7: Three deer in the headlights: yes, there is a God
We packed the night before, and prepared for one more set of 91 stairs out of the apartment and 43 stairs down to the metro RER with luggage. At the metro office we paid for the final trip to CDG and hauled our luggage through the turn-styles. There was hardly anyone there, as I assume most were sleeping off the festivities from last night. About that time, a man exiting the metro started speaking excitedly in French to me. I thought, “oh gawd, one more scam beggar before we go”...then as he started pointing to the metro office, I thought, “My God, he's asking me for directions...do I even look a little French?” I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!!!
Then, I think we all three looked up at the metro office at the same time, and saw the computer case sitting there with both our laptops, and the ticket confirmations for our flight. I'd set it down to pay for the tickets. He must have been thinking, “Stupid Americans!” But, he exited, picked up the laptop case, and handed it over the gates to us.
The RER B had several trains that didn't go to the airport, but Jimmy had us covered again and got us on the correct one again. There was one last set of stairs at the airport, which should have been omen of things to come. At check-in, my name was missing from the flight list... Even though the Delta clerk had assured me in Pittsburgh that the reservation snafu was fixed, there was no James Sundquist. Now I'm thinking, “ah, since Jame didn't take the first part of the flight, they canceled the rest of his flights! But no, my old nemesis Jame had a seat, just not me.
Once again, thank Air France that they go more by the last name and first initial, than any misspellings of the first names. It was soon fixed, and off we flew! Vive l'Air France! The snack, that on U.S. flights would be pretzels and pop, started with smoked salmon, then chicken with couscous, and a chocolate filled cake. But what was the brie cheese and butter for? Ahh, oui, dinner rolls were brought by soon, and tomato juice....would you like lemon and ice with that, Monsieur?
The landing in Stockholm was well cushioned, but not so the 25% VAT tax on everything. I had to buy a new power converter, and it was a big part of the car rental. However, surprise! There were no small cars with automatic (most rentals are standard shifts). They upgraded us no charge to a Skoda Supra, diesel. This car was big enough to fit most of the cars we saw in France - in the trunk!
One highway, the E4, took us all the way from Stockholm to Ullånger. Never mind that we didn't know the round yellow and red signs were speed limit signs. We made it all the way without incident. Well, unless you count not having 5 SEK to use a toalet. We soon found a McDonald's, where the toaletter were no cost, and they directed us to an ATM to withdraw some Kronor. By the way, this was the first McDonald's I've ever seen with recycling...separate containers for paper, plastic lids and straws, drink cups, and food garbage. I wonder if this will ever work in the States?
We stopped again in Härnösand, not realizing this is the town in which Anneli Sundqvist lives and works. On to Ullånger, where we met up with cousin of my Dad's, Curt Sundqvist, at the gas station next to the giant coat hanger. Hmm, maybe the language barrier was more than I thought it was going to be? Sure enough though, there was a giant gold coat hanger, next to a gas station. In fact it's in the Guinness book of records!
There is no family more gracious than this Sundqvist family, as we were greeted by them at the ample cottage where we stay. Waiting for us is Smörgastartor, the like of which I have never seen, and more tasty than can be believed. (Swedish bread, made to look like cake, filled with meat, covered in cream cheese icing, and shrimp, roe, flowers, carrots). This High Coast area is a pristine part of the Sea of Bothnia, and we are right at the water's edge. For our part, we have brought them Sunny weather...warm sunny days, and cool clear nights. (Well, a cool part of the day anyway, as the sun just barely hides behind the hills for a couple hours, and there is no darkness.)
Day 8: Swedes have bureaucrats too
I woke at 5:30 am, because the sun was so bright shining in our room. So I sat on the porch and took in the lovely view of Ullånger Fjarden.(longest and deepest fjord in Sweden) Gulls, geese, ducks and swans visit here along with many small birds I wasn't familiar with. Then to my surprise, a red fox pranced to and fro coveting the birds, unaware that I had seen him. Unfortunately he darted away as I was picking my camera up again.
A little later, we set out for the town of Kramfors (Vi är väg till Kramfors idag), to find the skatteverket office. This is the place that scatters money from the Swedes to their government, but also scatters some back by the way of services. Our goal was to get a marriage license there.
Becky and I had done some work back in the U.S., getting certified birth certificates, certified divorce decrees, record of no records, and filling out their form that says we are not brother and sister, or ½ brother and sister. Then, we must show up in person to sign their forms. These would have to be faxed to Stockholm, and would have to receive an answer to them, so off we went to explore.
Curt and Iris drove us to Sundstat, a place where we believe my great grandfather was born, and where the name Sundqvist was first taken by the family. Before that, ancestry is so much harder to follow as surnames changed every generation by first name of the father. My last name would be then Johnsson, and my son's last name would be Jamesson. A daughter of mine would have been Jamesdotter. Very confusing as the population expanded.
So we arrived at the farmland where there is a house left, that we think was my great, great, grandfather's. We hope it is so, and took many pictures. If not, it sits at least on the land of some of my forefathers, and was a very humbling and moving experience. We took pictures of a very old sled, which maybe it carried my great grand father at one time? The road to the house had waist high grass growing on it, but Curt's 4 wheel drive Volvo got us pretty close.
A call from the tax office revealed we were not quite up to snuff on our marriage documents. Our record of no record was not enough to prove there were no impediments! Mostly I think the woman in Stockholm was too rule oriented. Or maybe I should say “rude oriented”? Did she think we were up to no good? I think I did not like her. I thought...“What a slut!!”
I'm being mean here...”slut” pronounced “sloot” means “the end, or ending” in Swedish. We left it at that I would call the American embassy tomorrow at 9 am.
So we said, “c'est la vie”, and we moved on to the important task of eating again. This time we stopped at a restaurant where Curt & Iris had their wedding reception...a few years ago. I had meatballs..Swedish...I reckon? And there was local hard bread dipped in chocolate with mint and orange...very light! So the tax office would have to wait until 9 am tomorrow anyway.
At home, we went up to Curt's house, where we attempted to tune his Steinway upright piano. Jimmy played some music written by Swedish born composer Peterson Berger, and it was very beautiful. At 12:30 am it was still light, but we called it a night.
Day 9: Skatteverket woes continued; tack till Linda (thanks to Linda)
Another beautiful continuation of the Sunny day we've had since we arrived in Ullånger. I'm going to call the American embassy today, just like I'm in a movie...how exciting! Maybe they can get the ball rolling for us.
“American embassy, press 3 to continue in English.” I press 3...
”American embassy”
“American services, please...
“I'll connect you...”
“You've reached American services...our hours are from 9am-3pm, telephone hours are from 1pm to 2pm.”
What? I want that job! A one hour work day! So, I wait and call later from my laptop computer using “Skype” . The call goes through just seconds past 1pm, and once again the operator at the embassy connects me. It starts ringing...20 rings later I hang up and call back. The operator says if I didn't get voice mail, and it just rings, I am next in the queue. Arrgggh! She connects me again. Ahh, Ok, it's ringing again, I just have to be patient. I can do that!
35 minutes later it's still ringing. Wow, that first caller must have had even bigger problems than me! The ringing stops and I am hearing hold music...some Mozart. Uh oh...but 10 minutes later, it starts ringing again. A real person, and I have almost 15 minutes before they close.
“Sorry for your wait, we've been hammered today.”
“OF COURSE YOU'VE BEEN HAMMERED.!! YOU'RE ONLY TAKING CALLS FOR ONE HOUR YOU IDIOT? I DON'T EVEN THINK YOU STARTED UNTIL 1:30!!!!”
That's what I was thinking...
What I said was, “Thanks for the Mozart while I was waiting.”
I asked him if he could intervene in my situation...if he knew someone in the tax office...could his mom take down the girl in the tax office?...could he talk the King of Sweden into making one tiny phone call for me?
“Blah, blah, blah, blah, no, no, no, could you hold please? Here...here's the number for your local courthouse in Gallipolis. You need to call them and see if they can help you. Have a good day!”
“NO SHIT, SHERLOCK? YOU DON'T THINK I HAVEN'T ALREADY EXHAUSTED ALL THOSE AVENUES!! I AM IN FRICKING SWEDEN NOW!! I KNOW WHAT THE NUMBER IS IN GALLIPOLIS...I CAN GOOGLE FASTER THAN YOU, WITH MY HANDS TIED BEHIND MY BACK!!!!
Again, that's what I was thinking...
What I said was...”umm, yeah, you have a nice day, too” click...
Day 9, part two:History will be written by the winners (or pinch hitters Curt & Becky up to bat, and enter Linda)
Curt called back the tax office 10 minutes before the time “our girl” said to call, but she had left for the day....An angel by the name of Linda, felt bad for the way we had been treated, and started to help us. All she wanted was for us to have a simple paper drawn up by anyone at the courthouse saying basically these are the impediments to marriage in Ohio, USA:
You must be at least 18 years old
You can not be more closely related than ½ brother or sister
You can not be the same sex (Note here that it is allowed in Sweden for Swedish citizens, but they will not break laws for citizens of other countries)
You can not be currently married
Luckily, Becky has friends by the way of barristers who knew her father, Bernard Fultz, and this little paper was drawn up by none other than Judge Thomas Moulton Jr. of Gallia county. As Murphy's law would demand, it was still held up to the last “nick of time” by the vagaries of electronic mediums, but in the end the emails came through and the fax machines functioned.
It must be noted here that this was a miracle in Sweden. Linda, in the tax office, should have gone home at 4pm, and the next day was a holiday..and then they were closed for the weekend. Our first call went in at 10 minutes til 4pm, and she ended up staying until almost 8pm!!
We celebrated with crepes and left-over Smörgastartor. A little wine vi ochso drickja!
Day 10: Midsommarafton
This is a big holiday in Sweden. Think maypoles, flower crowns for young girls, and singing of traditional songs. We are here during the time of endless days, but in winter there is endless night, and the longest day of the year is therefore a cause for celebration.
Curt and Iris took us to their other dock, where the smaller ship Ronja goes to a rock of an island, with a solitary light house. It is a favorite for youth, as there is a hostel there as well as a ski type lift that takes luggage and cases of beer up the steep side to the top. This leaves hikers with free hands to climb to the top. We would have tried, but we were going to a Midsommarafton picnic, to meet Anneli and her mother Astrid. (That sounds like a pretty good excuse to be lazy, doesn't it?) So we went just for the boat ride.
The picnic we attended was a big public celebration at the top of a hill behind Ullånger. Of course we ate! It was native flatbread ham sandwiches and local baked goodies. But, you could even buy a hot dog if you wanted. We watched the traditional maypole dances, and then hiked up to the peak where a community cabin is available to all. Terrific views of the forest and the Fjarden and Ullånger below!! We signed a guest book, and I figured we were the only Americans here.
Once again I was wrong... Back at the picnic area, Curt heard someone speaking English, and it turns out that a couple was visiting from around Salt Lake City, Utah. He was a displaced Swede, and she American. I was pleasantly surprised that I seemed to know more Swedish than her. He has a summer cottage just 10 km up the road from Curt's near Docksta.
After returning home and resting a bit, it was once again time to eat. Tonight we would have traditional Swedish food in honor of Midsommarafton...sill (all kinds of pickled herring, not the fermented Surströmming, which my brother calls rotten fish), sour cream for the sill, new potatoes, flatbreads and cheeses, and snaps, with a beer chaser.
I entertained by attempting to read in Swedish: Tre Små Grisar (Three Little Pigs). By the third snaps, it was agreed I was pretty good, and getting better at every snaps. Dessert was a traditional iced cake with strawberry jam and creme in the middle, and garnished on top with many fresh strawberries.
After we had walked the snaps off, Curt and I strolled down to his boathouse and contemplated a little boat trip. The artificial owl he had hung to scare off birds only served to make a nice resting place for them to poop. Out came the pressure hose, and since the boat was now clean, we decided it must be a sign to take a trip. We collected Iris, Becky, and Jimmy, then off we went toward Docksta to explore the fjarden a little. The smidgen of rain we met drew back in time to reveal the low sun in the sky. I stepped outside the heated cabin to take pictures, and video.
Time for a little sleep, and maybe catch up time with this blog I have gotten behind on in the morning.
Day 11: Yes, I'm finally caught up here...now, if I can get caught up with pictures...
Today's eat blog: I finished the last piece of Smörgastartor, and am promised rotten fish later.
Curt's big boat, the KUSTRAFIK, has gone past our cottage everyday, but we've somehow missed it, as it is very quiet. Today, I was not going to let that happen. Or so I thought. By 9:35am there was no sign of the boat, and I thought I had missed her. I quickly went back in to check the website, and sure enough, it was gone form the dock. But as I went back outside I saw it in the distance through the trees. I ran back down to our little dock, and got some very nice pictures.
Inside, Becky has been working on the jigsaw puzzle “one hundred dogs and one cat” that we brought for Curt's granddaughters. Ahem...Maybe Isabella worked on it a little, but also Jimmy, Anneli, Astrid, Becky and me. Becky and Jimmy just let me share in putting the last piece in, and now it's off to the auction. Eat your hearts out John, Pat, Barb, Martinez, and other flea market aficionados!
Well, we were wrong about the auctions...they are Sunday. Now we will have to choose between the wedding or going to auction tomorrow. We'll have to sleep on it, and get back to you. So, today we headed to a museum, with all sorts of displays...boats, airplanes, trains, bicycles, churches, tools, and dare I say junk? I did see a sled very much like the one from the homestead. So, now I know the metal parts I had were part of the sled runners, with wood in between them to reinforce them. All this museum walking had us hungry again and we ate at a restaurang just near the water. They were so busy it took us an hour and a half to get food. I finally bought some coffee and ice cream to tide us over. You know the old adage, “life is unceratin, eat dessert first!”
See you tomorrow!
Day 12, man overboard
Becky's son, Bernie, who was in Stockholm, took the bus up to Ullånger to join us. And seeing how it was such a beautiful day for a wedding, we decided to nix the auctions today.
What can I say, but that everyone in the Sundqvist family, sambor, and friends went overboard to make our wedding day amazing! Of course it was a beautiful, cool Sunny day in Ullånger, as it has been 95% of our time here. Our paperwork was finally in order, and we arrived in plenty of time to board the Kusttrafik, along with 60 or so guests and family. They had a fantastic cake, champagne, chocolate, strawberries, garlands, coffee, and pastries prepared for us. Joakim took some fabulous pictures, which is much appreciated. The Kusttrafic makes two stops along it's route to Ulvön, the “Pearl of Bothnia”. That was the destination for the festivities, and you can judge by the pictures what a paradise it is.
I decided to try to write some wedding thoughts that I would speak in Swedish. Google translate helped a little, but I emailed them to Curt for some Swedish input. He helped change some words to make it more understandable and here is what came up:

Jag kan inte lova dej stjärnorna och månen.
men, en man som går vid din sida.
Och jag ska ge dej hopp att hitta allt liv som du har inom dej.
Jag kan inte lova dej stjärnorna och månen,
men, att alltid vara med Dej på vägen eller på fjärden under våra fötter
Jag lovar Dej dagar fulla av drömmar, och en sommar som inte går att återuppleva,
nätter full av passion och dagars fulla av äventyr
jag kan inte lova att det aldrig kommer att bli några tårar,
men, jag ska torkar bort dem från dina ögon.
Och om Du vill bli min fru,
kommer stjärnorna och månen att alltid följa oss I hela vårt liv.

If you're interested, go to Google translate and play around with it a bit.

In honor of Sweden, Becky and I both wore the blue color of the flag, and I wore also a yellow tie. Becky wore a necklace borrowed and blue from Iris, and blue suede heels also borrowed and blue from her niece Mary. There's a rumor that she slept with 7 flowers under her pillow the night before. And that a few pieces of cake were served upright on the wedding day. You know who you are...

We were presented with champagne glasses, etched with our names and date. A strawberry topped each glass, and we were given chocolates to compliment the bubbly. Afterward, we disembarked to the restaurant, and splurged with a buffet that displayed all the fish you might want, breads, soups, and raspberry cobbler for dessert. OK, there was whipped cream for the cobbler. We went on to explore Ulvön a bit, when Curt had another surprise waiting for us.

Before our trip, my brother John and family had made the trip to Ullånger, and he warned me about trying the rotten fish. It's called Surströmming, and it's fermented herring. Ulvön is famous for this food, that history says fed a starving Swedish army during WW1. Today it is a delicacy that the production of is pretty much isolated to this island.

Today we did not have just any Surströmming, but the Surströmming of Ruben Clown. He came to the island 13 years ago by Curt's ship as a novice, and today he is the chairman of board, for the production of fermented herring. Ruben is half businessman and half entertainer, and he put on quite a show as he played accordion, bells, and weaved stories as he prepared the open face sandwich.

Now when a can of Surströmming is opened, be prepared for a smell that assaults the senses. I knew when the flies began to gather this was going to be something. As my son says about me, “He'll try anything!” ...and I tasted it. It wasn't too bad, but I'd hate to live on it. Later that evening, I was tasting it again. Jimmy and Becky passed, and Bernie was the only other one brave enough to try. I maintain that it doesn't count as much, since he has no sense of smell, but brave none the less.

I hear it is much better with company and plenty of schnapps!

We piled back onto the Kusttrafik, and enjoyed the extraordinary wedding cake and coffee on the way back to Ullånger. The weather was still perfect, and we passed our stuga(cabin/cottage) one more time on this final night. Then we enjoyed ice cream, and the company of Curt and Iris, and Joakim, Ingela, and Moa as we made plans to leave for Stockholm the next day.

Day 13 Stockholm

Our plans changed from leaving Sunday night to the wee hours of Monday morning, but finally settled on “no earlier than 7 in the morning.” After goodbyes to Curt & Iris we headed south just after 8. We didn't get too far though, before stopping near the High Coast Bridge for a traditional Swedish breakfast buffet.

The thoughts of Stockholm were exciting, but they became tempered by missing the High Coast of Sweden. Then soon enough, we were in bumper to bumper traffic on E4.

We had reservations at the Mälardrottningen in Stockholm, This was a yacht once owned by Barbara Hutton, given as a birthday present by her father along with a nice check for $1,000,000.00 under her pillow. She was heiress to the Woolworth family, and claimed Cary Grant as one of her husbands. Now the yacht is permanently harbored in the very center of old Stockholm. So, as in Paris, we would be staying on an island.
.
The slight problem was that I had not printed out directions. We stopped at a 7/11(yes they have those in Sweden too) and purchased a map. This was a good thing, because not much further down the E4, we were in bumper to bumper parking lot. So Jimmy navigated us through downtown Stockholm, where it was just bumper to bumper traffic.

Now some of you may know that Stockholm is like the Venice of Scandinavia. There are many bridges, and levels. So even though the map shows nice roads, sometimes you can't get there from here.
At one point I thought we were in San Francisco, as we climbed up steep narrow hills, trying to get to “our little island”. I then turned left on to one of those narrow streets. Unfortunately, it was a one-way street, and we were going in the wrong direction! Just one near miss, but true to Swedish good manners I think the guy I missed was just shouting helpful directions. I'm pretty sure he was shouting in Swedish, but phonetically it sounded something like, “GO HOME YOU CRAZY FRICKIN AMERICAN TOURIST!!!”

Well we made it to the island, and the traffic settled down...that or I was driving on the sidewalk, as everything was cobblestones now. The yacht/hotel finally came into view, and it was worth it. Fancy hotels have their place, but we love the historic places, even if they're not updated to 20th century standards. The rooms had portals for windows, and shapes that followed the lines of the ship. The bathrooms had showers that were just a continuation of the sink, and the staterooms had bunk beds. It was wonderful!

All the picture postcards scenes of Stockholm were within walking distance, and even though we didn't have much time, we still got plenty of pictures. Back at the ship, we went topdeck, where we had invited Bernie's Stockholm friend, Amanda, to join us for the last bottle of champagne from our wedding. As I loosened the metal wire around the cap...POW!!! Since the champagne had ridden in the trunk of the car, it shot the cap sky high, and we never saw it again!
Day 14: How much vacation can you fit in to 2 weeks

There was much discussion about dropping the car off yesterday and taking the train to the airport. After all, the traffic was terrible getting into the city. But I thought, “what the heck, the worse that could happen is we get stuck in Sweden a little longer. We surely didn't want to miss the breakfast buffet that was included with the rooms. The morning desk clerk confirmed that our google map directions were good and in no time, we had navigated the circuitous route off the island, and were headed North on the E4 to Arlanda airport.

As you might imagine, I was a little antsy if I was going to have trouble with my ticketing again. So I was on pins and needles as we went through the various checkpoints. I held my breath as the clerk scanned my passport. They asked us all more questions than any other airport.

“When did you pack your bags?”
“How long have you been here?”
“Why were you here?”
“What kind of electrical equipment are you carrying?
“Has anyone touched your bags since you packed them?”
“What is the speed of a pigeon in flight?”

Apparently, we got all the questions right, as we moved on to the next check point.

Now the next clerk frowned as she was unable to print out our boarding passes. I thought, OMG, the tax office called about our marriage and Becky's name doesn't match her passport anymore. She asked where our green tickets were. (It was not showing that these were etickets) After a phone call, she got it straightened out, but could not print boarding passes for the next leg from JFK, because this was more than a 6 hour flight. Next there was a problem boarding, as our tickets didn't scan. This was preceded by yet another set of questions about who hand handled our luggage. But finally, “Jame” Sundquist and family were seated and headed to America.

Since we had a layover at JFK, and we were on an international flight, we had to pick up all our luggage in case they didn't believe our customs declaration. This went pretty smoothly for us, as we were well under the $800 limit. Now, we had a 5 hour layover. What a coincidence that Becky's sister Barb was in New York City, to see off some foreign exchange students! We took a cab into Manhattan, and met Barb and her daughter, Grace, at the Algonquin Hotel for champagne. We were just short blocks from Times Square, and walked around the Theater District. How much more could we cram into this vacation?

The cab drive back to JFK was probably the scariest part of the trip, as the driver's skills were a little questionable. It seemed like either the gas or brake pedal was pushed to the floor at all times, and he switched lanes like some pinball machine going berserk. We did make it back to the airport, but kissed the ground after we got out of the cab.

Delta finally got our ticketing down, and we were amazed that we were able to print our boarding passes at one of the kiosks and waited in no lines to speak of. Our flight back to Pittsburgh however, was our least favorite part of flying. I'm sure that part of the problem was our exhaustion, and we missed the nonstop flight that we had enjoyed on the first leg of our journey. But, we had seats in the back of the regional jet, and on take-off a small piece of the overhead luggage bracing fell down. After that, it seemed like we heard every little noise loudly, including the ka-chunk as the landing gear came down.

On arrival in Pittsburgh, we connected easily with the Embassy Suites shuttle, and were whisked away to comfortable beds. In the morning, we were treated to a full breakfast, which included omelets, waffles, bacon, sausage, juices, bagels, and coffee. What a deal!

Reflections on the trip:

All the hassles we encountered were nothing compared to the good times we've had. My advice is, “Even though death is inevitable, always plan for life. Take chances. Get your hands dirty.”
Life is a journey. This has been just one fantastic part of it! Vi ses!


This blog is about a trip to Paris, France and Sweden that I have planned for quite some time now. The first thoughts were probably planted about ten years ago when through the internet, I found relatives in Sweden. Sundquists (Sundqvist in Sweden) on both sides of the Atlantic knew nothing about the existence of the others. As I took an early retirement from the Postal Service, and the possibility of remarrying came to me, the trip started to become reality. Then, as my son was interested in going too, we added in the trip to Paris.
We began planning in earnest, checking fodors.com regularly, air flight websites, Paris and Sweden sites, and staying in email contact with my cousin in Sweden. We booked flights, an apartment on the Ile St. Louis in Paris, a rental car in Sweden, and as you'll see, decided on other things as well.

If you surf in, I hope you enjoy the view!

Day 1, things learned:

ALWAYS...double, triple check your international flight reservations. I used a third party internet booking site, and thought we were all set. Lo and behold, I had dropped the "s" of James Sundquist to read Jame Sundquist (just a typo!!). When we went to check in at the airport, my ticket did not match my passport. Becky's and my son, Jimmy's, were OK, but I was in limbo.

Lots of nail biting and anxiety as no one wanted take authority. The check-in kiosk would only give me an error message. The Delta representative said she couldn't change a reservation made by a third party agency. I made a call to the agency...

Oh yeah, “please listen carefully as our menu has changed.” Then that inevitable hold from hell, with music to match, as I waited for a “real person” to answer. Sympathetic, but unhelpful: “the airline needs to make the correction.” I was getting sick to my stomach. The clock was ticking... It was even suggested at one point that I cancel my reservation, and make a new one under the correct name, pay a $150 fee, then more than likely be bumped from the flight that my fiancee and my son were on for our first trip to Europe.

Not good options..

45 minutes and many hold phone calls later, someone at Air France, (who had the first leg of our trip) finally had the courage to type in the ill forgotten "s" in James, and we received the blessing to continue. Vive la France!! Who says the French are snobs? Not I!

Oh, by the way...do not try to carry on 2 jars of peanut butter from the U.S. It's classified as a paste, and will be confiscated!

Day 1, things enjoyed:

We found 14 day parking for free, by reserving a hotel room at the end of our trip in Pittsburgh (we were going to stay anyway, because of arriving back near midnight.) Yay!
The flight from Pittsburgh was nonstop! Yay! Even though I was afraid we wouldn't even get to sit together because of the reservation fiasco, we had seats together in the emergency exit row. I quickly agreed that I met all the requirements to operate the emergency door. Wow, we had lots of legroom! Yay!
No extra charge to watch “Avatar” on the flight over. I got a little sleep. We had a fairly smooth flight, and arrived safely in Paris at 8:20 A.M. Yay!

We'll call it day 2 now:

We were met at the airport by a foreign exchange student that Becky's sister Barb had hosted. She was a life saver, by the name of Clem. I think we could have made it OK, but she made sure we got on the right RER train, helped us go up several flights of stairs with luggage, and guided us to our rented apartment much better than we could have done alone.

Now, one thing you must know about the nice 4th floor apartment we rented is that it was actually the 5th floor by U.S. standards . You see, the first floor here is “zero”. The thing I didn't have to tell is...we went up the wrong spiral staircase with all our luggage, then back down and up the correct spiral staircase, gasp, pant, sweat!

Lessons learned have been well outweighed by the good experience of Paris. We are just short footsteps away from Notre Dame. We settled in, then went out to buy a few groceries. Walking along the Seine we stopped at vendor and bought our first crepes. We saw lots of “smart cars” and other small European vehicles, and lots of people!

My favorite part about travel is feeling like a part of the local people...seeing how they live. It wouldn't take long for that to happen. Renting an apartment instead of hotel rooms has helped, and then...

We took Clem with us to the Paris symphony that evening...Beethoven's 9th. As fate would have it, it was the last performance with conductor Christoph Eschenbach. He has conducted there for the last ten years. (Even more fateful is that his successor is from the music staff at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where my son attends.) All of us were especially moved by the flawless performance, and by the French people's tumultuous applause, and enthusiasm! I can't say I've ever seen anything quite like it in the U.S. We stayed through several curtain calls, and then listened to remarks by the conductor and board members of the symphony. (I think it was assumed that we were French, and with Jimmy and Clem's help we left it at that.)

The weather in Paris has been a cool break from the 80's we escaped from in Ohio. Good, because we are on the 5th floor, where it would be extremely hot.

My ideal travel takes me past tourist attractions, and immerses me in the way of life. The apartment stay, going to the grocery store, and the wonderful experience of the symphony, has put us on that track.

Day 3, Versailles by way of Notre Dame

We set out for the metro in the morning to head to Versailles, bit on the way we noticed there was no line to get into Notre Dame. Carpe diem! We entered without a wait, and soon we were in the expansive open cathedral supported by flying buttresses. I was surprised to find wicker seats instead of pews. We took many pictures, including one of me lighting a candle in memory of Dad. Soon afterward the great pipe organ could be heard. The organist was playing Widor's Toccata, one of Jimmy's favorites. By this time, the cathedral was quite crowded, and I would dare say, “never were so many cameras flashing in one place.
He hurried on to the metro, and hopped on the RER Vicki(express train) toward Versailles.

How much opulence can you stand?

If you're not sure, come to Palace at Versailles, and you will be sorely tested. Guilded fence, marble, parquet floors, mirrored rooms, and every finery await you there. My favorite was a grandfather clock sized thermometer, with a built in barometer above it. The chapel, bigger than many churches I have been in, included it's own pipe organ. Only 10% of the palace is open to the public, but even that part dwarfs the Biltmore in North Carolina.

Outside, the extensive gardens and grounds contained a lake, a summer villa(enormous) to escape the drudgery of the palace, an escape from the villa for Marie Antoinette(a more regular mansion sized house) and a farm village to provide food staples.

We stayed pretty much until closing. I thought as we were leaving, everyone in the city of Versailles must worked at the palace to keep it going. To celebrate our kingly visit, we ate at a nearby McDonald's. I had the p'tit hamburger moutarde...I'm sure it will be in the U.S. Soon!

Day 4, yankee crepes and the flea market

Clem passed on Versailles, but returned the next morning to enjoy crepes by moi, and to take in the Paris Flea Market with us. The Hungarian name for crepes is “palcsinta” and my grandmother passed on the recipe to the Sundquist side of the family. Whatever you call them, Clem assured me they were excellent, so I accept that French opinion. We fill them with jam and cottage or cream cheese.
Braced with breakfast, we headed to the seedier side of Paris to find the flea market. A flea market in the U.S. is where you go to buy bargain junk. There was plenty of junk to buy here, but bargains were harder to find. It was easy to find the market,...just wade past the 20 or 30 dudes walking about hocking sunglasses. They got thicker the closer we got. You would have thought they were drug dealers, as they offered their wares with a hushed sales pitch.

We knew we were there when we found rows and rows or tents, and beyond that, several alleys dedicated to the vendors. Everything from postcards to grand pianos. Jimmy was the only one to buy anything, especially proud of bargaining an old stereo-vision card to 1 euro. An old poster of the Normandie was priced over his head at 250 euro. We escaped with our lives and our wallets intact. Yay!

Afterward, we headed toward Basilique du Sacré-Cœur. Off the metro stop, and on up the hill we feasted on a nice French duet of crepes and pizza(ya just hadda be there) and then said goodbye to Clem as she was going home for Fathers Day.

We had Paris Visite passes for zones 1-6. This allowed us on all the different metro transportation, including the unique funiqulare. It's basically an elevator that goes up the side of a hill. In Pittsburgh they're called an incline. At the top of this hill is Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. For 5 euro you can walk the 301 steps to the dome. Circular enclosed stairways(not for the clostrophobic) reach to the roof, then it's outside following the rest of the steps and walkways across the roof. What a fabulous 360 degree view of Paris! I'm thinking with the hill we may be as high as the Eiffel Tower(I was wrong), but maybe we didn't need to go up the tower. It would save that long wait in line.

A visit to the Cite du musique was less frutifull, as these places closed sooner than we liked. We instead walked past the Moulin Rouge(shows there were too exorbitant) saw the famous Red Windmills, ducked into a nearby Starbucks and gawked for a while before heading to our home away from home on Ile St Louis.

Not far from home, we detoured to St. Chapelle, where we waited in a short line that seemed to last very long. Once inside, I could hardly believe the expanse of stained glass that extended almost floor to ceiling, and wondered how it withstood the passing of generations. It was built by patron Saint Louis, then King Louis IX in the 13th century. Curiously, we live in Gallipolis, Ohio, literally “land of the Gauls, and St. Louis Catholic church is just around the corner from our house.

Day 5 Let's not go to the Eiffel tower.

Our original intent was to buy tickets on-line for the Eiffel tower, and save the waiting in line, but you had to print out the ticket, and we did not bring a printer to Paris. So, we headed out Sunday morning to check it out. Forget that! The line and the gypsies were swarming. Don't ask...I did however find that learning a little Swedish was coming in handy, as the best deterrent when a gypsy asked, “Do you speak English”, was “Nej, förstår du Svenska?

To the opera house and beyond!! We couldn't see an opera, but a tour of the building, built in the time of Napolean was second best. They were working on stage lighting cues for the next performance, so the auditorium light was limited but still gorgeous. We came in the entrance that was meant for Napolean 3rd, except he was dethroned before he ever had a chance to use it. Poor monarch!

Once again, marble and gold played a big part in the architecture of the opera house. We took pictures on the sweeping staircase to the main level. My only scare on the Paris trip though, took place as we got separated for a while due to miscommunication about meeting in a round room. There are several round rooms at the opera house. I finally waited in a hall where I could see three directions, until Jimmy came in view.

Next at the Musée d'Orsay, we enjoyed artwork, but were not permitted to take pictures. It's so much more difficult to remember without pictures! I especially liked cut-away displays of the opera house we had just visited, and paintings by Van Gogh. Lots of walking happens in these Paris museums!

That evening, Jimmy took some much needed rest as Becky and I went in search of a boat tour. We walked up along the river Seine, and stopped at the very first offer of a tour. It was a dinner tour, but as we had already eaten they gave us a reduced rate of 17 euro, including glass of champagne. This was one of my favorite parts of our Paris visit. We sailed at 9:30 pm, just in time to see the lights of Paris start to shine.
The boat had an enclosed dining room, but we went outside as the Eiffel tower came into view. We helped another couple out by using their camera to take a picture of both of them. The man returned the favor by taking a picture of us, when I said, “wait, one more!” Then I took Becky in my arms, and with the lighted Eiffel tower in the background, I recreated the kissing scene I have seen so often in Paris, which is in my France album now.

Day 6 Ahh, Paris! How do I love thee? Let me count the steps!

91 steps up to our apartment(oh, and 91 down)usually 3 times a day...at least 43 steps every time we took the metro, most times double or triple that, and three times a day...301 stairs to the top of Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, 2 to 3 levels of stairs at most museums...671 stairs down from the second level of the Eiffel tower(no, were not stupid enough to walk up them)...40 to 50 stairs down and up from the Seine...and countless stairs I didn't even track. Yes, the are a few escalators and elevators, but darn few! When you visit Paris, expect to walk a lot, and climb many stairs!

Our last full day in Paris was scheduled for the Louvre, but we took one last stab at the Eiffel tower, and...Voila! At 9:15 am, there was little queue. Even the vendors and gypsies were not to be seen. In less than an hour, we had bought tickets, rode the elevators up, took countless pictures, browsed the gift shop, and walked down the stairs from the second level. By the way, as I said earlier, the Eiffel tower is much taller than the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur...

On to the Louvre, which is made famous by the “Mona Lisa”, which is made more famous today by the “DaVinci Code”, which must be famous because I have read it at least 4 times and seen the movie twice, although I am not famous at all...The English translation of “the Louvre” is... “if I have to look at one more painting, I'm going to vomit!” I'm sorry, that's the male English translation, the female English translation is, “cute and fussy!” Seriously, it's pretty interesting, and if you're not interested in the paintings and other artwork, there are also numerous stairs you can climb up and down. This will make you very hungry for the very expensive food they sell at the Louvre. I knew there was mastermind behind all of this!

My advice on viewing the “Mona Lisa” is to buy one of the cheap souvenir posters, some of which are bigger than the “Mona Lisa” itself. Then follow the obvious signs to the “Mona Lisa” at the Louvre. Walk past the entrance to the “Mona Lisa” room, and just wave. This will save you from being trampled by the wall of human flesh in that room, and keep you from being blinded by the reflections of camera flashes on the shiny glass that protects her. Better yet, enter from the back side of the room and view the unprotected masterpieces that hang directly behind her.

Wow! Little did we realize our final night in Paris was the Fête de la Musique... Clems' mother and father treated us to a truly French menu style dinner at 8:30 pm. Red wine, meat and pate appetizer, bread, entree(mine was broiled Salmon in a wonderful sauce, with rice), and crème brulee for dessert. We were entertained by a fist fight outside our window, police sirens, parades of revelers, and much, much music. At 11:30 pm we joined the revelers on the streets, and made our way to the Bastille, where at times I could hear a choir singing in between the sounds of boom, boom, music.

Fun was had by all! Then with Jimmy's inherent sense of direction, all of us made it back to the Ile St. Louis, where we bid the Pleux family adieu, to pack for our flight to Sweden.

Day 7: Three deer in the headlights, yes, there is a God

We packed the night before, and prepared for one more set of 91 stairs out of the apartment and 43 stairs down to the metro RER with luggage. At the metro office we paid for the final trip to CDG and hauled our luggage through the turn-styles. There was hardly anyone there, as I assume most were sleeping off the festivities from last night. About that time, a man exiting the metro started speaking excitedly in French to me. I thought, “oh gawd, one more scam beggar before we go”...then as he started pointing to the metro office, I thought, “My God, he's asking me for directions...do I even look a little French?” I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!!!

Then, I think we all three looked up at the metro office at the same time, and saw the computer case sitting there with both our laptops, and the ticket confirmations for our flight. I'd set it down to pay for the tickets. He must have been thinking, “Stupid Americans!” But, he exited, picked up the laptop case, and handed it over the gates to us.

The RER B had several trains that didn't go to the airport, but Jimmy had us covered again and got us on the correct one again. There was one last set of stairs at the airport, which should have been omen of things to come. At check-in, my name was missing from the flight list... Even though the Delta clerk had assured me in Pittsburgh that the reservation snafu was fixed, there was no James Sundquist. Now I'm thinking, “ah, since Jame didn't take the first part of the flight, they canceled the rest of his flights! But no, my old nemesis Jame had a seat, just not me.

Once again, thank Air France that they go more by the last name and first initial, than any misspellings of the first names. It was soon fixed, and off we flew! Vive l'Air France! The snack, that on U.S. flights would be pretzels and pop, started with smoked salmon, then chicken with couscous, and a chocolate filled cake. But what was the brie cheese and butter for? Ahh, oui, dinner rolls were brought by soon, and tomato juice....would you like lemon and ice with that, Monsieur?

The landing in Stockholm was well cushioned, but not so the 25% VAT tax on everything. I had to buy a new power converter, and the tax was a big part of the car rental. However, surprise! There were no small cars with automatic (most rentals are standard shifts). They upgraded us no charge to a Skoda Supra, diesel. This car was big enough to fit most of the cars we saw in France - in the trunk!

One highway, the E4, took us all the way from Stockholm to Ullånger. Never mind that we didn't know the round yellow and red signs were speed limit signs. We made it all the way without incident. Well, unless you count not having 5 SEK to use a toalet. We soon found a McDonald's, where the toaletter were no cost, and they directed us to an ATM to withdraw some Kronor. By the way, this was the first McDonald's I've ever seen with recycling...separate containers for paper, plastic lids and straws, drink cups, and food garbage. I wonder if this will ever work in the States?

We stopped again in Härnösand, not realizing this is the town in which Anneli Sundqvist lives and works. On to Ullånger, where we met up with cousin of my Dad's, Curt Sundqvist. He said he would meet us at the gas station next to the giant gold coat hanger? Hmm, maybe the language barrier was more than I thought it was going to be? Sure enough though, there was a giant gold coat hanger, next to a gas station. In fact it's in the Guinness book of records!

There is no family more gracious than this Sundqvist family, as we were greeted by them at the ample cottage where we stay. Waiting for us is Smörgastartor, the like of which I have never seen, and more tasty than can be believed. (Swedish bread, made to look like cake, filled with meat, covered in cream cheese icing, and shrimp, roe, flowers, carrots). This High Coast area is a pristine part of the Sea of Bothnia, and we are right at the water's edge. For our part, we have brought them Sunny weather...warm sunny days, and cool clear nights. (Well, a cool part of the day anyway, as the sun just barely hides behind the hills for a couple hours, and there is no darkness.)

Day 8: Swedes have bureaucrats too

I woke at 5:30 am, because the sun was so bright shining in our room. So I sat on the porch and took in the lovely view of Ullånger Fjarden.(longest and deepest fjord in Sweden) Gulls, geese, ducks and swans visit here along with many small birds I wasn't familiar with. Then to my surprise, a red fox pranced to and fro coveting the birds, unaware that I had seen him. Unfortunately he darted away as I was picking my camera up again.

A little later, we set out for the town of Kramfors (Vi är väg till Kramfors idag), to find the skatteverket office. This is the place that scatters money from the Swedes to their government, but also scatters some back by the way of services. Our goal was to get a marriage license there.

Becky and I had done some work back in the U.S., getting certified birth certificates, certified divorce decrees, record of no records, and filling out their form that says we are not brother and sister, or ½ brother and sister. Then, we must show up in person to sign their forms. These would have to be faxed to Stockholm, and would have to receive an answer to them, so off we went to explore.

Curt and Iris drove us to Sundstat, a place where we believe my great grandfather was born, and where the name Sundqvist was first taken by the family. Before that, ancestry is so much harder to follow as surnames changed every generation by first name of the father. My last name would be then Johnsson, and my son's last name would be Jamesson. A daughter of mine would have been Jamesdotter. Very confusing as the population expanded.

So we arrived at the farmland where there is a house left, that we think was my great, great, grandfather's. We hope it is so, and took many pictures. If not, it sits at least on the land of some of my forefathers, and was a very humbling and moving experience. We took pictures of a very old sled, which maybe it carried my great grand father at one time? The road to the house had waist high grass growing on it, but Curt's 4 wheel drive Volvo got us pretty close.

A call from the tax office revealed we were not quite up to snuff on our marriage documents. Our record of no record was not enough to prove there were no impediments! Mostly I think the woman in Stockholm was too rule oriented. Or maybe I should say, “rude oriented”? Did she think we were up to no good? I think I did not like her. I thought...“What a slut!!”

I'm not being mean here...”slut” pronounced “sloot” means “the end, or ending” in Swedish. We left it at I would call the American embassy tomorrow at 9 am.

So we said, “c'est la vie”, and we moved on to the important task of eating again. This time we stopped at a restaurant where Curt & Iris had their wedding reception...a few years ago. I had meatballs..Swedish...I reckon? And there was local hard bread dipped in chocolate with mint and orange...very lite! So the tax office would have to wait until 9 am tomorrow anyway.

At home, we went up to Curt's house, where we attempted to tune his Steinway upright piano. Jimmy played some music written by Swedish born, Peterson Berger, and it was very beautiful. It was still light at 12:30 am it was still light, but we called it a night.

Day 9: skatteverket woes continued, tack till Linda (thanks to Linda)

Another beautiful continuation of the Sunny day we've had since we arrived in Ullånger. I'm going to call the American embassy today, just like I'm in a movie...how exciting! Maybe they can get the ball rolling for us.
“American embassy, press 3 to continue in English.” I press 3...
”American embassy”
“American services, please...
“I'll connect you...”
“You've reached American services...our hours are from 9am-3pm, telephone hours are from 1pm to 2pm.”

What? I want that job! A one hour work day! So, I wait and call later from my laptop computer using “Skype” . The call goes through just seconds past 1pm, and once again the operator at the embassy connects me. It starts ringing...20 rings later I hang up and call back. The operator says if I didn't get voice mail, and it just rings, I am next in the queue. Arrgggh! She connects me again. Ahh, Ok, it's ringing again, I just have to be patient. I can do that!

35 minutes later it's still ringing. Wow, that first caller must have had even bigger problems than me! The ringing stops and I am hearing hold music...some Mozart. Uh, oh...but 10 minutes later, it starts ringing again. A real person, and I have almost 15 minutes before they close.

“Sorry for your wait, we've been hammered today.”
“OF COURSE YOU'VE BEEN HAMMERED.!! YOU'RE ONLY TAKING CALLS FOR ONE HOUR YOU IDIOT? I DON'T EVEN THINK YOU STARTED UNTIL 1:30!!!!”
That's what I was thinking...
What I said was, “Thanks for the Mozart while I was waiting.”

I asked him if the could intervene in my situation...if he knew someone in the tax office...could his mom take down the girl in the tax office?...could he talk the King of Sweden into making one tiny phone call for me?
“Blah, blah, blah, blah, no, no, no, could you hold please? Here...here's the number for your local courthouse in Gallipolis. You need to call them and see if they can help you. Have a good day!”

“NO SHIT, SHERLOCK? YOU DON'T THINK I HAVEN'T ALREADY EXHAUSTED ALL THOSE AVENUES!! I AM IN FRICKING SWEDEN NOW!! I KNOW WHAT THE NUMBER IS IN GALLIPOLIS...I CAN GOOGLE FASTER THAN YOU, WITH MY HANDS TIED BEHIND MY BACK!!!!

Again, that's what I was thinking...What I said was...”umm, yeah, you have a nice day too” click...

Day 9, part two, history will be written by the winners(or pinch hitters Curt & Becky up to bat, and enter Linda)

Curt called back the tax office 10 minutes before the time “our girl” said to call, but she had left for the day....An angel by the name of Linda, felt bad for the way we had been treated, and started to help us. All she wanted was for us to have a simple paper drawn up by anyone at the courthouse saying basically these are the impediments to marriage in Ohio, USA:

You must be at least 18 years old
You can not be closer related than ½ brother or sister
You can not be the same sex(Note here, that it is allowed in Sweden by Swedish citizens, but they will not break laws for citizens of other countries)
You can not be currently married

Luckily, Becky has friends by the way of barristers who knew her father, Bernard Fultz, and this little paper was drawn up by none other than Judge Thomas Moulton Jr. of Gallia county. As Murphy's law would demand, it was still held up to the last “niche of time” by the vagaries of electronic mediums, but in the end the emails came through and the fax machines functioned.

It must be noted here that this was a miracle in Sweden. Linda, in the tax office, should have also gone home at 4pm, and the next day was a holiday..and then closed for the weekend. Our first call went in at 10 minutes til 4pm, and she ended up staying until almost 8pm!!

We celebrated with crepes and left over Smörgastartor. A little wine vi ochso drickja!

Day 10: Midsommarafton

This is a big holiday in Sweden. Think maypoles, flower crowns for young girls, and singing of traditional songs. We are here during endless day, but in winter there is endless night, and the longest day is therefore a cause for celebration.

Curt and Iris took us to their other dock, where the smaller ship Ronja goes to a rock of an island, with a solitary light house. It is a favorite for youth, as there is a hostel there, and a ski type lift that takes luggage and case of beer up the steep side to the top, while hikers get free hands to climb to the top. We would have tried, but we were going to a Midsommarafton picnic, to meet Anneli and her mother Astrid. (That sounds like a pretty good excuse to be lazy, doesn't it?) So we went just for the boat ride.

The picnic we attended was a big public celebration at the top of hill behind Ullånger. Of course we ate! It was native flatbread ham sandwiches and local baked goodies. But, you could even buy a hot dog if you wanted. We watched the traditional maypole dances, and then hiked up to the peak where a community cabin is available to all. Terrific views of the forest and the Fjarden and Ullånger below!! We signed a guest book, and I figured we were the only Americans here.

Once again I was wrong... Back at the picnic area, Curt heard someone speaking English, and it turns out that a couple was from near Salt Lake City, Utah. He was a displaced Swede, and she American. I was pleasantly surprised that I seemed to know more Swedish than her. He has a summer cottage just 10 km up the road from Curt's near Docksta.

Returning home and resting a bit, once again it was time to eat. Tonight we would have traditional Swedish food in honor of Midsommarafton...sill(all kinds of pickled herring, not the fermented Surströmming, which my brother calls rotten fish) sour cream for the sill, new potatoes, flatbreads and cheeses, and snaps, with a beer chaser.

I entertained by attempting to read in Swedish, Tre Små Grisar, (Three Little Pigs). By the third snaps, it was agreed I was pretty good, and getting better at every snaps. Dessert was a traditional iced cake with strawberry jam and creme in the middle, and garnished on top with many fresh strawberries.
After we had walked the snaps off, Curt and I walked down to his boathouse and contemplated a little boat trip. The artificial owl he had hung to scare off birds, only served to make a nice resting place for them to poop. Out came the pressure hose, and since the boat was now clean, we decided it must be a sign to take a trip. We collected Iris, Becky, and Jimmy, then off we went toward Docksta to explore the Fjarden a little. The smidgen of rain we met drew back in time to reveal the low sun in the sky. I stepped outside the heated cabin to take pictures, and video.

Time for a little sleep, and maybe catch up with this blog I have gotten behind on, in the morning.

Day 11: Yes, I'm finally caught up here...now, if I can get caught up with pictures...

Today's eat blog: I finished the last piece of Smörgastartor, and am promised rotten fish later.

Curt's big boat, the KUSTRAFIK, has gone past our cottage everyday, but we've somehow missed it, as it is very quiet. Today, I was not going to let that happen. Or so I thought. By 9:35am there was no sign of the boat, and I thought I had missed her. I quickly went back in to check the website, and sure enough, it was gone form the dock. But as I went back outside I saw it in the distance through the trees. I ran back down to our little dock, and got some very nice pictures.

Inside, Becky has been working on the jigsaw puzzle “one hundred dogs and one cat” that we brought for Curt's granddaughters, ahem...Maybe Moa worked on it a little, but also Jimmy, Anneli, Astrid, Becky and me. Becky and Jimmy just let me share in putting the last piece in, and now it's off to the auction. Eat your hearts out John, Pat, Barb, Martinez's and other flea market aficionados!

Well, we were wrong about the auctions...they are Sunday. Now we will have to choose between the wedding or going to auction tomorrow. We'll have to sleep on it, and get back to you.

So instead we headed to a museum, with all sorts of displays...boats, airplanes, trains, bicycles, churches, tools, and dare I say junk? I did see a sled very much like the one from the homestead. So, now I know the metal parts I had were part of the sled runners, with wood in between them to reinforce them. All this museum walking had us hungry again and we ate at a restaurang just near the water. They were so busy it took us an hour and a half to get food. I finally bought some coffee and ice cream to tide us over. You know the old adage, “life is uncertain, eat dessert first!”
See you tomorrow!

Day 12, man overboard

Becky's son, Bernie, who was in Stockholm, took the bus up to Ullånger to join us. And seeing how it was such a beautiful day for a wedding, we decided to nix the auctions today.

What can I say, but that everyone in the Sundqvist family, sambor, and friends went overboard to make our wedding day amazing! Of course it was a beautiful, cool Sunny day in Ullånger, as it has been 95% of our time here. Our paperwork was finally in order, and we arrived in plenty of time to board the Kusttrafik, along with 60 or so guests and family. They had a fantastic cake, champagne, chocolate, strawberries, garlands, coffee, and pastries prepared for us. Joachim took some fabulous pictures, which is much appreciated.

The Kusttrafic makes two stops along it's route to Ulvön, the “Pearl of Bothnia”. That was the destination for the festivities, and you can judge by the pictures what a paradise it is.

I decided to try to write some wedding thoughts that I would speak in Swedish. Google translate helped a little, but I emailed them to Curt for some Swedish input. He helped change some words to make it more understandable and here is what came up:

Jag kan inte lova dej stjärnorna och månen.
men, en man som går vid din sida.
Och jag ska ge dej hopp att hitta allt liv som du har inom dej.
Jag kan inte lova dej stjärnorna och månen,
men, att alltid vara med Dej på vägen eller på fjärden under våra fötter
Jag lovar Dej dagar fulla av drömmar, och en sommar som inte går att återuppleva,
nätter full av passion och dagars fulla av äventyr
jag kan inte lova att det aldrig kommer att bli några tårar,
men, jag ska torkar bort dem från dina ögon.
Och om Du vill bli min fru,
kommer stjärnorna och månen att alltid följa oss I hela vårt liv.

If you're interested, go to google translate and play around with it a bit.

In honor of Sweden, Becky and I both wore the blue color of the flag, and I wore also a yellow tie. Becky wore a necklace borrowed and blue from Iris, and blue suede heels also borrowed and blue from her niece Mary. There's a rumor that she slept with 7 flowers under her pillow the night before. And that a few pieces of cake were served upright on the wedding day. You know who you are...

We were presented with champagne glasses, etched with our names and date. A strawberry topped each glass, and we were given chocolates to compliment the bubbly. Afterward, we disembarked to the restaurant, and splurged with a buffet that displayed all the fish you might want, breads, soups, and raspberry cobbler for dessert. OK, there was whipped cream for the cobbler. We went on to explore Ulvön a bit, when Curt had another surprise waiting for us.

Before our trip, my brother John and family had made the trip to Ullånger, and he warned me about trying the rotten fish. It's called Surströmming, and it's fermented herring. Ulvön is famous for this food, that history says fed a starving Swedish army during WW1. Today it is a delicacy that the production of is pretty much isolated to this island.

Today we did not have just any Surströmming, but the Surströmming of Ruben Madsen former clown of international renown. He came to the island 13 years ago by Curt's ship as a novice, and today he is the chairman of board, for the production of fermented herring. Ruben is half businessman and half entertainer, and he put on quite a show as he played accordion, bells, and weaved stories as he prepared the open face sandwich.

Now when a can of Surströmming is opened, be prepared for a smell that assaults the senses. I knew when the flies began to gather this was going to be something. As my son says about me, “He'll try anything!” ...and I tasted it. It wasn't too bad, but I'd hate to live on it. Later that evening, I was tasting it again. Jimmy and Becky passed, and Bernie was the only other one brave enough to try. I maintain that it doesn't count as much, since he has no sense of smell, but brave none the less.

I hear it is much better with company and plenty of schnapps!

We piled back onto the Kusttrafik, and enjoyed the extraordinary wedding cake and coffee on the way back to Ullånger. The weather was still perfect, and we passed our stuga(cabin/cottage) one more time on this final night. Then we enjoyed ice cream, and the company of Curt and Iris, and Joakim, Ingela, and Moa as we made plans to leave for Stockholm the next day.

Day 13 Stockholm

Our plans changed from leaving Sunday night to the wee hours of Monday morning, but finally settled on “no earlier than 7 in the morning.” After goodbyes to Curt & Iris we headed south just after 8. We didn't get too far though, before stopping near the High Coast Bridge for a traditional Swedish breakfast buffet.

The thoughts of Stockholm were exciting, but they became tempered by missing the High Coast of Sweden. Then soon enough, we were in bumper to bumper traffic on E4.

We had reservations at the Mälardrottningen in Stockholm, This was a yacht once owned by Barbara Hutton, given as a birthday present by her father along with a nice check for $1,000,000.00 under her pillow. She was heiress to the Woolworth family, and claimed Cary Grant as one of her husbands. Now the yacht is permanently harbored in the very center of old Stockholm. So, as in Paris, we would be staying on an island.
.
The slight problem was that I had not printed out directions. We stopped at a 7/11(yes they have those in Sweden too) and purchased a map. This was a good thing, because not much further down the E4, we were in bumper to bumper parking lot. So Jimmy navigated us through downtown Stockholm, where it was just bumper to bumper traffic.

Now some of you may know that Stockholm is like the Venice of Scandinavia. There are many bridges, and levels. So even though the map shows nice roads, sometimes you can't get there from here.
At one point I thought we were in San Francisco, as we climbed up steep narrow hills, trying to get to “our little island”. I then turned left on to one of those narrow streets. Unfortunately, it was a one-way street, and we were going in the wrong direction! Just one near miss, but true to Swedish good manners I think the guy I missed was just shouting helpful directions. I'm pretty sure he was shouting in Swedish, but phonetically it sounded something like, “GO HOME YOU CRAZY FRICKIN AMERICAN TOURIST!!!”

Well we made it to the island, and the traffic settled down...that or I was driving on the sidewalk, as everything was cobblestones now. The yacht/hotel finally came into view, and it was worth it. Fancy hotels have their place, but we love the historic places, even if they're not updated to 20th century standards. The rooms had portals for windows, and shapes that followed the lines of the ship. The bathrooms had showers that were just a continuation of the sink, and the staterooms had bunk beds. It was wonderful!

All the picture postcards scenes of Stockholm were within walking distance, and even though we didn't have much time, we still got plenty of pictures. Back at the ship, we went topdeck, where we had invited Bernie's Stockholm friend, Amanda, to join us for the last bottle of champagne from our wedding. As I loosened the metal wire around the cap...POW!!! Since the champagne had ridden in the trunk of the car, it shot the cap sky high, and we never saw it again!

Day 14: How much vacation can you fit in to 2 weeks

There was much discussion about dropping the car off yesterday and taking the train to the airport. After all, the traffic was terrible getting into the city. But I thought, “what the heck, the worse that could happen is we get stuck in Sweden a little longer. We surely didn't want to miss the breakfast buffet that was included with the rooms. The morning desk clerk confirmed that our google map directions were good and in no time, we had navigated the circuitous route off the island, and were headed North on the E4 to Arlanda airport.

As you might imagine, I was a little antsy if I was going to have trouble with my ticketing again. So I was on pins and needles as we went through the various checkpoints. I held my breath as the clerk scanned my passport. They asked us all more questions than any other airport.

“When did you pack your bags?”
“How long have you been here?”
“Why were you here?”
“What kind of electrical equipment are you carrying?
“Has anyone touched your bags since you packed them?”
“What is the speed of a pigeon in flight?”

Apparently, we got all the questions right, as we moved on to the next check point.

Now the next clerk frowned as she was unable to print out our boarding passes. I thought, OMG, the tax office called about our marriage and Becky's name doesn't match her passport anymore. She asked where our green tickets were. (It was not showing that these were etickets) After a phone call, she got it straightened out, but could not print boarding passes for the next leg from JFK, because this was more than a 6 hour flight. Next there was a problem boarding, as our tickets didn't scan. This was preceded by yet another set of questions about who hand handled our luggage. But finally, “Jame” Sundquist and family were seated and headed to America.

Since we had a layover at JFK, and we were on an international flight, we had to pick up all our luggage in case they didn't believe our customs declaration. This went pretty smoothly for us, as we were well under the $800 limit. Now, we had a 5 hour layover. What a coincidence that Becky's sister Barb was in New York City, to see off some foreign exchange students! We took a cab into Manhattan, and met Barb and her daughter, Grace, at the Algonquin Hotel for champagne. We were just short blocks from Times Square, and walked around the Theater District. How much more could we cram into this vacation?

The cab drive back to JFK was probably the scariest part of the trip, as the driver's skills were a little questionable. It seemed like either the gas or brake pedal was pushed to the floor at all times, and he switched lanes like some pinball machine going berserk. We did make it back to the airport, but kissed the ground after we got out of the cab.

Delta finally got our ticketing down, and we were amazed that we were able to print our boarding passes at one of the kiosks and waited in no lines to speak of. Our flight back to Pittsburgh however, was our least favorite part of flying. I'm sure that part of the problem was our exhaustion, and we missed the nonstop flight that we had enjoyed on the first leg of our journey. But, we had seats in the back of the regional jet, and on take-off a small piece of the overhead luggage bracing fell down. After that, it seemed like we heard every little noise loudly, including the ka-chunk as the landing gear came down.

On arrival in Pittsburgh, we connected easily with the Embassy Suites shuttle, and were whisked away to comfortable beds. In the morning, we were treated to a full breakfast, which included omelets, waffles, bacon, sausage, juices, bagels, and coffee. What a deal!

Reflections on the trip:

All the hassles we encountered were nothing compared to the good times we've had. My advice is, “Even though death is inevitable, always plan for life. Take chances. Get your hands dirty.”
Life is a journey. This has been just one fantastic part of it! Vi ses!

I thought as we were leaving, everyone in the city of Versailles must worked at the palace to keep it going.

It is estimated that 10,000 people were in Versailles during the day (the term "lived" is usually used, but I have difficulty imagining that that many staying overnight) under the French kings.

Sunny,
I can't believe I stumbled on your blog of going to Ullanger.
We are cousins. Curt emailed that you were married on his boat last summer. He even sent us a picture! He was thrilled to meet the three of you. We are planning our trip there this summer (2011), so your blog will be very helpful. If you still go to this site, please email me. I would like to talk with you in person.

Underwatersunshine

UWS - thanks for topping it. i missed it first time too.

suuny - great report. thanks for sharing your experiences with us.

ttt

Just now reading what might just be the longest thread ever on Fodors! Sounds great in spite of the bumps!