Visit from the Nilsson family

Mattias and Charlotta (with the familiar sounding name Nilsson) and their 9 months old daughter Rebecka visited us in Båstad and Lund during the weekend. We went sightseeing on the Bjäre peninsula outside of Båstad and took an afternoon stroll in the inner parts of Lund. Tara and Kim learned about the ins and outs of Bugaboo baby strollers. (1. They're expensive. 2. They're expensive. 3. They can be quite useful if you know how to re-arrange the wheels.) Rebecka was a little sunbeam most of the time and seemed to like our cats alot. Unfortunately, our cats did not share her enthusiasm.


Btw - Mattias and Charlotta - if you see this, we have a pink little baby dress that was left in our apartment!

Wedding/Blessing information

5 May 2007 Wedding
Lund, Sweden

4 PM (..)
Dalby Heligkorskyrka
(Dalby Holy Cross Church) (pictures and trivia)

6 PM
Reception @
Svaneholm Castle













12 May 2007 Blessing of Marriage
Amarillo, Texas

4 PM
Polk Street United Methodist Church

5.30 PM
Reception @
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum

Sightseeing in Amarillo

For the foreign visitors who would like to experience a little bit of what the region has to offer before the blessing we use this post to recommend a few places in and around Amarillo.

Since you are probably going to spend a lot of your time in a car anyway, we suggest that you take a trip on Historic Route 66 and experience the legend of a road filled with hopes that will make you take a trip back in time to the Steinbeck years of the American depression. You can drive into the sunset or just take a quick turn around the block. Route 66 runs straight through Amarillo.

While you are out on the roads you might as well go by the Cadillac Ranch (picture on the left) and view this contemporary monument of American culture.

When you are getting hungry, there is no place more that can bring you more authentic Texas cooking than The Big Texan. They serve everything from traditional barbecue dishes to deep fried rattle snake! Or try the 72 oz. steak - it's free (if you can eat it all in an hour)!

For the ones who are looking for a great outdoor experience we recommend Palo Duro Canyon. It is the second largest canyon in the US, and the views are sure to make you breathless. The scenery is very beautiful! Here you can go horseback riding, walk through the badlands or visit the museum in the park.

(Do you feel that Palo Duro is too much of an effort if you just want to look at beautiful flowers? Then we suggest that you visit the Botanical Garden instead.)

If you have not had enough of this Western culture you should try to catch a rodeo show in the area. The best way is to go to Working Ranch Cowboys Association to look for dates. If you haven't had enough of caddle after that experience, you will have to check out the Amarillo Livestock Auction - one of the largest privately owned cattle auctions. More than 100.000 head of cattle sold in the auction ring each year. The auction is open on Tuesdays.

To experience the best of the old west - be sure to visit the Kiva Indian Museum. Here you find both exhibitions and live performances!

Another great All-American event is the Dirt Car Racing - just pure mud and lots of action!

For the visitor who feels a little bit more sophisticated, or culturally inclined in a more refined way, you should pay a visit to the Amarillo Symphony or the Amarillo Opera or The Lone Star Ballet.

For further tourist information, together with maps and suggestions, visit the Amarillo tourist info page.

Travel directions to Lund, Sweden

The easiest way to travel to the south of Sweden is to fly to Copenhagen (Kastrup) Airport in Denmark. The SAS airline has direct flights (approximately 8-9 hours) from both Washington D.C. and New York City.

Airport coach trains from Copenhagen Airport will get you directly to Lund Central Station in 50 minutes.

Trivia:

Sweden is located in the UTC +2 time zone which means that it is eight hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

The temperature in Sweden during springtime varies a lot but usually stays between 45-80 degrees in the daytime. Please beware that it often gets very cold in the evenings, with temperatures sometime dropping below freezing point. Showers and rain are also frequently occurring throughout the spring/summer.

The currency in Sweden is “krona” (current exchange rate 7-8 krona/US dollar).

For a non-Anglophone country, Sweden has a very high percentage of citizens with a good understanding of spoken English. Although these figures may decline if you venture out on the countryside, it is very easy to communicate with citizens in the university town area of Lund.

Detailed map of the Copenhagen-Malmö-Lund region

(click on image to enlarge)

A = Dalby Holy Cross Church

B = Svaneholm Castle

Accomodation in Lund

1. Grand Hotel

Grand Hotel is located in the center of Lund, conveniently close to the train station, where the airport coach train from Copenhagen arrives.

(Price range: Single: $129-$207, Double $296-377, Suite $546. Rates include breakfast.)

[Frommer's Review says: This château-style hotel, the most prestigious in town, overlooks the fountains and flowers of a city park. The marble lobby is grand. Rooms in the hotel's conical corner tower are the most desirable. All the guest rooms are decorated in old-fashioned style. The bathrooms are moderate in size, with tub/showers.]

Homepage: www.grandilund.se

2. Hotel Concordia
Located just a block away from the train station and surrounded by picturesque houses and gardens Hotel Concordia is one of Lund’s most famous hotels with its very special atmosphere and history.

(Price range $170 - $234. Rates include breakfast.)

[Frommer's Review says: Next door to the brick house where August Strindberg lived in 1897, this charming, ornate building was constructed in 1882 as a private home. It served as a student hotel for some time and was then upgraded to serve a broader clientele. The modernized rooms are moderate in size and sedate, with good beds. The bathrooms are a bit small, but equipped with neatly kept showers. Housekeeping here is among the finest in town. The hotel is a 5-minute walk south of the railroad station.]

Homepage: www.concordia.se

3. Scandic Star Lund Hotel
Modern hotel outside of Lund. Located along the highway that stretches between Lund and Dalby.

(Price range $114 - $507. Rates include breakfast.)

[Frommer's Review says: This hotel, a 20-minute walk from the town center, is the most comfortable in Lund. Built in 1991, it attracts lots of business conventions, as well as rock stars and movie actors known throughout Sweden. Each of the hotel's double rooms is configured as a minisuite, with a separate sitting area and traditional, conservative furnishings that would fit into a well-appointed upper-middle-class Swedish home. The public areas are more international and contemporary than the bedrooms and have lots of potted or hanging plants, wicker furniture, and well-maintained bathrooms with tub/showers.]

Homepage: www.scandic-hotels.com

4. The Train Hostel
Parked on a blind track next to the central station this hostel is a budget alternative for the traveler who is looking for the genuine experience of living in a Swedish train compartment.

(price range $15 - $30)

Homepage: www.trainhostel.com

Maps over the central parts of Lund and the Lund township. (Click on images to enlarge.) The rectangle on the township map indicates the enlarged area on the map to the right. The encircled (*) is the location of the church service.

Sightseeing in Sweden

For the foreign visitors who would like to experience a little bit of what the region has to offer before the wedding we use this post to recommend a few places in Sweden/Denmark.

Skåne

The Swedish side of the region presents you with a great variety of sightseeing activities. The southern region of Sweden - Skåne (pronounced [Scawnai] - is a lowland area with a strong farming culture.

If you want to stay in Lund, the town - although fairly small - has a lot to offer. The Lund Cathedral is the major landmark. It was constructed in the 11th century and is Scandinavia's foremost example of Romanesque architecture. The cathedral is almost perfectly preserved. One of its many admired objects is the 14th-century astronomical clock that plays daily at 12 and 3 PM. We also recommend a visit to the Heritage Park - Kulturen, in the middle of the town.

On the Skåne countryside you will find plenty of castles (Widtsköfle castle to the right), viking settlements and rune stones (top picture: Ale stones).

One hour north west of Lund you will find beautiful coastal communities on the peninsulas (Arild, Mölle, Torekov and Båstad). A truly magnificent scenery awaits the visitor and we can only hope that you find the time to visit at least one of these little villages.

The best way to enjoy these sights is to rent a car. (Avis, Hertz and Europcar have car rental agencies in the Lund area.) Be sure to choose a fuel efficient car, since gas is expensive in Sweden = $7 per gallon. (Please observe that it might be hard to find a car with an automatic transmission – stick shifts are still standard in Europe.)

Even without a car it is easy to get around. At least if you want to stay in the urban areas. Skåne has a lot of commuter trains running between all the cities and most of the villages. A nice day to Helsingborg (about 45 minutes to the north of Lund) gives you the ability to both visit The Keep of Helsingborg, and take the 20 minute ferry ride over to Danish Helsingør where you can visit the Kronborg's castle - mostly famous for being the backdrop of Hamlet.

For the nature freak we recommend a hiking experience in Sweden. Although there are no grand mountains in Skåne there are still lots of beautiful paths and hiking trails. A day trip on one of the Skåneleden trails along Söderåsen (pdf file map in English at homepage) (just north of Lund) or Skrylleskogen (to the east of Lund) is sure to give you a wonderful experience of the Swedish forests.

More tourist information about the above mentioned sights along with useful maps can be found at the Skåne tourist information site (with a complete English translation).

Copenhagen

Like any big European city, Copenhagen has a lot to offer in every possible area of shopping, culture and so on.

More tourist information about Copenhagen can be found here. For a virtual guided tour of the central parts of Copenhagen - click here.

From the airport it only takes a five minute train ride to the Copenhagen central station.

Most of the things to see in Copenhagen can be reached by walking. Within a few miles you will find Nyhavn (the old harbor), Amalienborg (the Royal Palace), Tivoli (entertainment park with many quaint restaurants) and Strøget (shopping street).

Nyhavn is the perfect place to look for restaurants with great dishes of seafood (their lobster is very cheap and delicious).

For lunch we recommend the National dish of Denmark - smørrebrød - at the Royal Family's own lunch chef Ida Davidsen's restaurant (Store Kongensgade 70).

The writer H.C. Andersen (The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling etc.) is synonymous with Copenhagen and you will find that his children stories have left lots of imprints on the city today. A trip along the shoreline will get you to the Mermaid-statue overlooking the harbor. A bronze statue of H.C. Anderson himself sits on the main square right next to the Tivoli garden.

Other famous citizens of Copenhagen are Søren Kierkegaard (for the pious and philosophy interested visitor) and the Carlsberg family (for the beer interested visitor).

If you want to spend an evening in the city we recommend that you get tickets to the newly built opera house or the old Renaissance opera house (where we have enjoyed both chamber concerts and ballet).

Copenhagen, for the younger visitors only:

For the more daring young ones we recommend this museum.
(NOT SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE – DO NOT CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH LIBERAL EUROPEANS)

The bar/restaurant Kruts Karport (on Øster Farimagsgade 12 - every cab driver in town knows where it is...) is famous for their own production of Absinth (which is legal in Denmark). It's a great waterhole if you want to enjoy Copenhagen by night.

Another sight of interest is the freetown of Christiania where the autonomous collective has ruled the day since the late 1960ies. Please observe - If you are approached by people who want to offer you brown cakes wrapped in tin foil, please note that it is not a Betty Crocker brownie they are trying to sell you.

Accomodation in Amarillo

The church service will be held in Amarillo, but the reception will take place in Canyon, about a 20-minute drive from the church (click on the map to enlarge).

Sleeping accommodations are found in both Canyon and Amarillo to suit your needs.

Some families in the Canyon area have graciously offered to house some foreign visitors. Please contact us as soon as possible if you are interested!

Accommodations in Canyon

Canyon is a ‘bedroom community’ of Amarillo, meaning it serves as a residential area more than a commercial area. Amarillo may be where you choose to stay, but some may choose to stay closer to the reception area. Check out the two hotels in Canyon at

Best Western Palo Duro

Homepage for prices and reservation.

Holiday Inn Express

Homepage for prices and reservation.

Accommodations in Amarillo

The Ambassador Hotel and The Drury Inn (under construction, but ready in 2006) are two of the finer hotels in the area that provide easy access to several restaurants, shops, museums, and more. For more motel/hotel information in the Amarillo area, look at the Amarillo hotel guide homepage.

* Remember: If you choose to stay in Amarillo, a taxi can transport you from the reception and some of our Amarillo residents have volunteered to drive.

Inns/Bed & Breakfasts in Canyon and Amarillo

For those of you looking for something ‘a little more country’, two Bed and Breakfasts might do the trick. Auntie's House Bed and Breakfast, built in 1912, is located in downtown Amarillo, close to Route 66. This residence, as well as the entire neighborhood, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Mary Elizabeth Hudspeth House in an inn located in Canyon. If you’re interested in one of these, call early as space is limited.

Transportation

Many of the hotels in Amarillo will provide transportation from the Rick Husband International Airport (confirm this with your hotel), but travel around the city and to your destinations will demand that you use your own source of transportation. A 30-minute trip from downtown Amarillo to Canyon will cost approximately $45.00 using a taxi service (Airport Taxi Service, 806-358-8350). Renting a car is a more ideal way of getting around the area. Here is a list of Car Rental Services provided at the airport (Swedes have to dial 001 before the area code):

Hertz 806-335-2331
Avis 806-335-2313
Budget 806-335-2812
National 806-335-2311
Enterprise 806-372-5549
Advantage 806-335-1500

Travel directions to Amarillo

It takes a while to fly to Amarillo from Europe, since you will have to make a few stops on the way. A suggestion is that it might be easier to find a flight to Dallas/Fort Worth instead and then rent a car to go to Amarillo. (You will need a car to get around in the area anyways.) The car ride from Fort Worth (to Wichita Falls) and onwards to Amarillo takes approximately 6 hours.

Price example (Delta):
Copenhagen-Paris (CDG)-Houston-Amarillo (19 hours)
Amarillo-Houston-Atlanta-Copenhagen (15 hours)
Total price: 7.200 SEK ($1.000) with Ticket.se

(map of Texas - click on image to enlarge)

Polk Street United Methodist Church is located in the central parts of Amarillo (city map on the right - click to enlarge).

For more detailed maps, please visit Yahoo! maps or Mapquest.

Transportation

Many of the hotels in Amarillo will provide transportation from the Rick Husband International Airport (confirm this with your hotel), but travel around the city and to your destinations will demand that you use your own source of transportation. A 30-minute trip from downtown Amarillo to Canyon will cost approximately $45.00 using a taxi service (Airport Taxi Service, 806-358-8350). Renting a car is a more ideal way of getting around the area. Here is a list of Car Rental Services provided at the airport:

Hertz 806-335-2331
Avis 806-335-2313
Budget 806-335-2812
National 806-335-2311
Enterprise 806-372-5549
Advantage 806-335-1500

Church Location:

Polk Street United Methodist: 806-374-2891
1401 S Polk St, Amarillo, TX 79101

Reception Location:

Panhandle Plains Historical Museum: 806-651-2244

2503 4th Ave, Canyon, TX (0.13 miles away)

2503 4th Ave, Canyon, TX (0.13 miles away)

806-651-2244

Travel directions from church to reception site: Total Est. Time: 20 minutes

1: Start out going NORTH on S POLK ST toward E 14TH AVE. <0.1>

2: Turn RIGHT onto SE 13TH AVE. 0.2 miles

3: Take US-60 W / US-87 S. 13.7 miles (follow signs for I-27)

4: Merge onto US-87 S via EXIT 110 toward CANYON / HEREFORD. 3.2 miles

5: Turn LEFT onto TX-217 / 4TH AVE. 0.1 miles

6: End at Panhandle Plains Historical Museum

The West Coast Archipelago

The Swedish west coast offers a distinctly different form of an archipelago, not at all like the islands and peninsulas that can be found in the Stockholm archipelago on the east coast. On the west coast, the cliffs and the outer islands are bare, without a single tree on them.

The Swedish islands included in the west coast archipelago can, with a few exceptions, be found in the regional district of Bohuslän, situated between the Swedish city of Gothenburg (Göteborg) in the south and the Svinessund border of Norway in the north.

Bohuslän also has the only fjord to be found in Sweden, Gullmjarsfjorden. (The fjords in Norway are both bigger and, of course, outnumbers the silly little one we have in Sweden.) More info about the Swedish archipelago can be found on this canoe homepage.



Tara overlooking the boats lined up at the gas station.

Tara with some fisherman "closets" down by the harbor.

(Above pictures from Havstenssund, point 5 on the map above)

The northern archipelago around the little fishing village of Havstenssund between Strömstad and Grebbestad is very fragmented with high, steep rocky islands and islets.


(Caroline, Tara and Patrik in the cute litte boating community of Grebbestad.)

We continued our trip to Fjällbacka, number 6 on the map above. The archipelago of Fjällbacka has probably the greatest number of islands and islets in Bohuslän. These are hilly and lie closely together, separated by a labyrint of narrow passages and inlets, which are fascinating to paddle around. Porsholmen, Hjärterön, Florön and Vedholmen together with Hamnholmarna are the names of some well-known islands worth visiting.

In the evening, when the sky cseemed to be a little bit too cloudy, we headed across the island of Orust (7) and ended up on Patrik's old home island of Tjörn (9) , and came just in time for a hot meal down in the Skärhamn marina where the guest boats were crammed together...

Marstrand

Smiling on the island...
After swimming in the Atlantic

View from the fortress at Marstrand

A Paris Hilton pose in the marina


Marstrand with its unique atmosphere... Caroline, Patrik and Tara smiling along in the posh bay area on the east coast of the island.

Rock carvings in Tanumshede

Last Saturday Tara and Joakim went to visit Caroline and Patrik in Gothenburg, and together we all went on a two-day excursion up the coast - to see the Gothenburg archipelago.


We started on Saturday by visiting Tanumshede and the World Heritage Museum in Vitlycke (homepage in English). Here we spent the morning and middle of the day studying rock carvings from the Bronze Age, some of the dating as far back as 1800 B.C. We also visited a few grave sites (big rocks piled up together as in picture above).


Carving above: Ceremonial war scene.


Carving above: Man with sword.


Carving above: Ceremonial death ritual ship, transporting the honored warriors on their final voyage to the kingdom of death.

Football in Helsingborg

20.000 people filled the stadium to its maximum (during this hot July evening), which is pretty good for a town that only has 120.000 inhabitants.


It was supposed to be Henrik "Henke" Larsson's great return. Fans filled the Olympia stadium in Helsingborg to greet Henrik Larsson who left the club 13 years ago for a very successful professional career in Europe. (He also had some less appreciated years when he first became a pro in Feynoord but most people , probably including himself, would like to forget that...)
He came back after being a celebrated striker all over Europe for the past decade - in Celtic, where he won the Scottish Premier League several times (and was celebrated as the most productive scorer in Europe) - and Barcelona where he finished his career by winning both the Spanish League and the Champions League two months ago, Henke finally came back to where it all started - Helsingborg, Sweden. (Top picture of Henke Larsson in a close encounter with Dioh Williams. Second picture taken from our seats.)

With 38 attempts on goal, many of them very demanding, the game was intense during the entire 90 minutes. Häcken's goalie Christoffer Källqvist made some remarkable saves and eventually set up the stability his team needed to win with the score 1-3, where the last goal was made only a few seconds before the final referee ended the game.
Helsingborg was anything but effective, and both their defensive players and their goalie need to take blame for the loss. But apart from the grief of my mother I think the rest of the family very much enjoyed the game.

(Tara and my parents by the sideline after the game has ended.)

Mom is the die hard fan here. Her grandfather, my great grandfather, played for Helsingborg in the Swedish league during the first decades of the 20th century.
(Tara and Joakim by the stands.)