27th February 2011
It's "Vinterferie," or winter break (end of February), and one of the scheduled temple weeks for our ward. So, we packed the kids in the car and made the 6-8 hour trek to Stockholm, Sweden! We got to see the temple, Stockholm, and inner Sweden for the first time. Of course, the climate and scenery were much like Norway, but grocery prices cheaper, so we took the advice of our friends and bought some meat to stock our freezer. :)
Wednesday was spent traveling. We were surprised to see many McDonalds restaurants, a Pizza Hut, and even a Best Western along the road. Plus cool Swedish chains like IKEA and Biltema. The roads were snowy and kinda slow. We lamented the lack of fast interstate freeways.
Arrived at the temple Guest House in the late evening. Ours was a large room with bunk beds and a private bathroom. The kids loved it! It was almost like a hotel, but not so expensive (hooray). Downstairs was a big kitchen area plus tables, a play room for the kids, and a small Distribution center. Friends from church all around and inspiring paintings on the walls. It was great!
Thursday Carl and I took turns watching the kids and doing Endowment sessions in the temple. Stockholm is a beautiful temple--but much smaller than the Utah temples we're accustomed to. :) It was nice to be in the temple again. (You friends and family with temples nearby should count your blessings!) The kids played outside in the snow.
Friday we took a train into the city! We walked around old, historic buildings and through what I termed "Harry Potter" alleyways. Took a tour of the castle: museum, treasury, and some of the fancy rooms inside. It was exciting! Totally European. We then took the kids to a museum of science and technology where they had a NASA space exhibit. The boys ate it up! They love anything and everything space-related. Ended the day at a little pizza cafe. It was a fun and full day! We did a lot of walking in the cold. The kids were troopers--and so were the birds we saw hanging out in the icy river. :)
Saturday we traveled home. We were glad to arrive in safety with some new experiences under our belts!!
