Beautiful Basel

The fun continued with Erik and Erin! We spent almost a full week together and the whole time was packed with activity. We visited Germany and France, as well as exploring Switzerland. I want to thank them so much for being such great hosts! Erik provided me with an e-bike so that I could keep up with Erin on our daily treks. How was I so lucky?

One weekday Erik was scheduled to take the train to Freiburg, Germany to meet with some folks. Erin and I decided to ride along with him and explore this old historic city while he worked. The German trains are super clean and modern and super quiet. Erik was picked up at the train station. Walking, Erin and I easily found ourselves in the middle of this wonderful cobblestone city. The city was preparing for a wine festival that was beginning that night so there was a bustle of activity. Go to Erin's blog for some really great pictures of Freiburg. I loved the little rivulets that ran down the small streets. Freiburg is considered one of the most bike friendly cities in Germany and you can get a small glimpse of that through the video I took of bicycles parked outside of the train station. And this was just a fraction of all that were there.

One day we decided to drive to Alsace, France to visit their vineyards and lovely landscape. The wine was lovely and we enjoyed a relaxing meal sitting outside a very parisian restaurant.

On a quiet Sunday we drove to Lake Lucerne, Switzerland for some swimming and picnicking. This has got to be one of Switzerland's most beautiful cities. Erin said that it is her favorite. The flowers (and pillars of flowers) were breathtaking as was the loooooonnnng Chapel Bridge. It seemed to go on for ever.

But I have got to say my FAVORITE thing to do while in Switzerland is swimming (floating) down the Rhein followed by a good old fashioned picnic. After a hot ninety degree day, jumping into the icy cold water of the Rhein and floating for a good mile (?), one can't help but be rejuvenated for the rest of the day! Folks walk upstream as far as they desire, take off their clothes and tuck them into a waterproof bag, jump in and proceed to float down the river. When you have had enough, you begin to work your way back to shore, open your bag, dry off, dress and rendezvous with friends. I saw young men in dress suits, apparently on lunch break go through this procedure. When they were done, they stripped down, put their suits back on and went back to work without skipping a beat. So cool! And refreshing! I am so glad that I had a chance to experience this. Thanks again Erin and Erik for a memorable time!

Thank you Sweden!

(Kris took this pic at midnight from hotel room.)

I can't believe that it has been more than a week since we left Sweden. The last two days we returned to Stockholm and stayed on Gamla Stan the oldest part of the city. I think that all of us felt a little overwhelmed by the commercial side of this area and weren't prepared for that after spending two weeks in the more rural and less populated areas of Sweden.

Gamla Stan has narrow cobblestone streets and some buildings dating back to pre-16th century. On one of the narrowest streets you can touch both buildings as you walk down the street. The old square Stortoget (video above) was where Christin II beheaded eighty political adversaries in 1520. Gruesome! It is hard to believe such an event took place in such a quaint setting. The event is fittingly referred to as the "Stockholm Blood Bath".

The three of us felt compelled to visit Skansen Outdoor Museum one more time. We were so glad we did because it put together some of the pieces and answered some questions that we had while visiting. The interpreters at Skansen are so helpful and knowledge about Swedish history.

One of the incredible things we learned (at least to me it seems incredible) was about the traditional dress of the woman in the Darlarna province. The woman of this area would walk to Russia to do trading. I know, can you imagine walking to Russia from the central part of Sweden???? Boggles my mind! There they would trade for these beautiful scarves (among other things), like the one in the picture below. The scarf became somewhat of a status symbol showing others that you had been to Russia. Eventually the scarf became an important part of the traditional costume of this region.

We heard many stories like this that impressed me with the resourcefulness and hardy spirit of our ancestors. They had to eke out a living in some pretty rugged conditions. On Oland, there was not much but limestone rocks, scrub and wind....lots of wind from the Baltic and the little island was always vulnerable to attack from other countries. In the southern region the population became too great to be sustained by the land and as a result twenty-five percent of the population emigrated. In the central part of Sweden, the industry was iron and copper mining and timber-cutting, a difficult way to make a living. In addition, long winters and rocky soil added to the challenge.......but so so beautiful with lots of water and pines. All parts of Sweden are scenic and the people warm and friendly. It was hard to leave but all three of us feel as though we'd like to return someday.

The three of us parted at the Stockholm airport. I'd say we were a pretty good traveling team! Mom and Kris returned to the states loaded with stories and pictures of our journey. I went on to Erik and Erin's in Basel, Switzerland.