Linda WhittakerTo:Linda Olsvig-Whittaker ~ Email: olsvig2000@yahoo.com
Linda Olsvig-Whittaker ~ Email: linda.whittaker@npa.org.il
Hi everyone,
Whew, finally settled back home after two weeks in Sweden. There has been a big change in the weather
here; it was 30oC when I left, and it's less than 20oC right now. Moving from cooling to heating very shortly,
and the forecast is for rain tonight. The first rain since April, so autumn has begun in earnest. I finally got
unpacked, got the house in order, doctored the critters that needed doctoring, passed through my office to
see what brush-fires had started, and did some grocery shopping, among other chores. At this point I just
thank God I don't have to do any more international traveling for a year, and only plan on day trips until then.
Getting old for this; if I had a spouse or maid service it wouldn't be so bad but putting order in the house
after a long absence is a major pain in the posterior. Sweden was interesting, although I don't feel particularly
inclined to make another trip to Stockholm.
Too quiet, grey, expensive and boring. But such as it was, here are some pictures.
The public transport system is outstanding in Sweden. Clean, efficient, on time and relatively cheap. In
Stockholm, the public buses run on bio-fuels (I would guess that means byproducts of the timber industry,
which is huge there.)
The air is remarkably clean and fresh compared to other port cities I know, although I understand that a
century ago it was really horrible. Something like a third of all Swedes own a boat, and are out on the
water either in the sea or on lakes (the country is littered with lakes almost every kilometer). Everything
from kayaks to schooners is out on the water on the weekend.
Stockholm is actually built on an archipelago, like Venice. And also like Venice, the outer islands provide
a shelter for the harbor and main body of the city. At one time the outer islands were very poor and
deserted, when boats had to get to central Stockholm by oar or sail. This all changed in the 1800's when
steamboats became available, and suddenly the outer islands became easily accessible by ferry. During
the Victorian era, wealthy families built summer homes on the islands, many still in use, so a cruise in the
outer islands now is a delightful survey of late nineteenth century gingerbread houses with huge windows
and pergolas (not the sort of thing you would want in a Swedish winter, but great for their "white nights"
of summer).
The happiest hours I spent in Sweden either on a boat or in the forest. The forest is true boreal, with
reindeer lichen, mosses and mushrooms under endless conifer forests, with moose and wolves and all
sorts of groovy critters like that.
I was surprised to learn that moose are common in Sweden, the same species as in Minnesota. No
wonder the Scandinavians settled in Minnesota; it looks just like the Olde Countrie.
But in the city I was rather at a loss. Saw a couple museums (including one devoted to piggy banks, of
all things). But one can only spend so much time walking around, and by four in the afternoon I was tired,
my feet hurt and I didn't feel like spending money on either shopping or a nice restaurant. Stockholm is
geared to people with an income about three times what I earn, and the prices of things made me gasp.
So I parceled out my kroner very carefully, and I guess to good effect since I still had some left when I
came home.
I was amused to watch the people at the airport. In Stockholm, they all looked identically "dressed for
success" in grey suits, ladies in black leggings and fashionable sweaters or coats, all with their little grey
carry-on suitcases going tikky tikky behind them, all very cool and elegant. I then flew to Prague as my
transit airport, changed to El Al and life got real again. After the Swedes, the Israelis looked like a bunch
of refugees, all sweatsuits and rumpled clothing, loaded with bags, even carrying sacks of sandwiches and
bottles of water in their knapsacks. (I didn't see any knapsacks at Stockholm, how weird....) They sounded
like refugees too; at security an argument broke out between a Russian-accented Hebrew speaker and a
security guard, that carried on in three languages and high decibels, with the surrounding travelers lending
their advice to both sides.....now would a Swede ever argue loudly with a security guard? I doubt it.
Anyway, I grinned; already I was "home".
And glad of it too. On the way, Czech Air mislaid one of my bags, but the El Al security staff have to check
all transit bags when the transit passenger goes through security, so two of them went chasing down my
errant suitcase and found it, swearing about the Czechs in the process.... At least this way I knew all my
stuff would get to Tel Aviv along with me. Even better, since the flight was overbooked, not a spare seat,
they bumped me up to business class where I thoroughly enjoyed being fed and pampered and petting,
feeling sorry for the peasants squeezed in economy class....
After security got my luggage sorted, the rest was smooth all the way home.
Of course my animals panic when I go on a trip, get sick, and cause havoc in the house, so I had to spend
a day sorting that out. The blind cats in particular wouldn't let me out of their "sight" and followed me
around all the time. One poor cat had a hemotoma of the ear, swollen up like a balloon, and had to have
surgery today. He's groggy but he's be okay. My CRF cat is thinner, but still eating, so I need to figure out
a diet to put some weight on him. And the rest were just sort of normal, but really glad to see me home;
now they are all piling on the bed for touch and reassurance.
I guess that is about all to mention. It was sorta nice to go, and even better to come home to the crazy
Middle East. Truth to tell, I was bored in Sweden, and I'm never bored in Israel!
shabbat shalom,
Linda
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://shabbat-shalom-jerusalem.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment