Just kidding.Earlier in the year, after my Dad visited Linköping, I took advantage of the simply summarized weekend to show off on Linköpinglivin the results of my months of Swedish language class. However, this time around, especially as my self-imposed weekly deadline of Monday night approaches, I think English will do just fine.
Since I was successfully able to wrestle my blog back from my brother this week, I can share that a much-anticipated visit from my Mom took place over the last ten days. Arriving all the way from Southern California in time for “Påsk” (Easter) and traveling from Sweden to Prague, Mom made quite the effort and her time included a little bit of everything Sweden and the surroundings has to offer.
After a long flight here and with virtually no sleep, Mom arrived to Stockholm early in the morning, thus only just beginning her day that included a walk around Skansen Outdoor Museum, witnessing the spectacular Vasa preserved ship museum up close and walking the cobblestone and tourist-ridden streets of Gamla Stan. At least the bright arctic spring sun helped keep her awake until that jet-lag reducing goal of 9:00 p.m.
We were welcomed to Linköping with a fantastic Swedish “Påskbord” (Easter table) provided by friends Andreas and Sara. Soon after this, our delightful Swedish spring reverted about six weeks and a Swedish snowfall became a memorable part of Mom’s Linköping experience. Being from Southern California, this was one of the coldest climates she had ever been in, and it was "only" 0 degrees Celsius (32 Farenheit). Finally, among other Linköping adventures, Mom was delighted by Gamla Linköping and even tried a little Swedish at “min svenskakurs.”
Eventually, we were off to meet multiple family members in Prague for a mini-reunion including my Dad and cousins, the Filipek family (Mike, Julie, Ashley and Devin). In addition to the stunning Baroque and Gothic architecture of Prague, this trip included the discovery of Prague in warm weather. This city only improves as the temperature increases as I discovered Mala Strana and the natural beauty of Prague previously overlooked during cold weather visits. Great Czech dinners, National Theater opera, multiple-course European breakfasts, breathtaking views, reading about the incredibly tragic and triumphant history of the people of Prague, all this made for a memorable birthday weekend, in a most unexpected place.
This morning, Mom’s latest European escapade came to a conclusion. While she is currently in the air (probably somewhere over the Midwestern United States at this point), her trip will never be forgotten (especially now that it’s captured forever in blog lore). Thanks for coming all this way, Mom. See you in July!
Pictures above:
1. Mom (Dianne), Dad (John) and I sharing in Prague's best version of a "French" breakfast.
2. Prague Castle across the Vltava River at night.
3. Cousin Devin enjoying the Mala Strana Park view over the old city.
4. Mom and I in Gamla Stan with the wind whipping through the narrow streets.
5. The "Dancing Building" structure in Prague.
4 comments:
Looks like you had a wonderful birthday. Think of us (Makis/Fields/Whitings) next week on Hunter's birthday in Orlando at Disneyworld! 87 degrees F ... and a big 3 years old!
Wait a minute...Mom went to Sweden...then you both went to Prague to meet up with Dad...then you all had a family reunion?
Why wasn't I invited? Taking these blog comments a little personally, Sean.
Yes, indeed, it was a wonderful 10 days. Met many great friends in Linkoping (thank you to our hosts for meals and Fika and sharing); loved the sun in Stockholm and the snow in Linkoping, bike riding, the city and the countryside; walked all over Prague, magnificent views as on the blog, and old city with so much history. So great to see where you live, Sean. Thanks for wonderful memories. Missed you, Todd, very much.
Love,
Mom
There are not many places in the world, about which I can say I love them. I have to confess, that Prague is ONE of those. I recently visited the City of Prague, also known as “the golden city of spires” on Vltava River. I found Prague very attractive, and the thousand-year history was visible particularly in the architecture. The touristy Old Town, the Prague Castle, the Little Quarter and the Jewish Town made a deep impression on me with beautiful medieval, gothic- and baroque-style churches and renaissance residential buildings, museums, cafes and theaters. One could wander through the meandering streets of Prague for days in a row and continuously discover hidden alleyways and unique views.
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