So how was it with the secret island? I’ll tell you the story from the beginning…

The bad start of the secret island day

Earlier this week, we did announce that we were taking a boat trip to a secret island. Thursday I posted that Follow Lifecruiser 13 Secret Steps, making you all very curious without doubt! *giggles*

It was ordered tickets for Wednesday, since the weather forecast were sooo good for this day. Then. Remember my weather curse…? *giggles*

We woke up, bearly, on Wednesday morning since we both had a real bad sleep that night. Not in the good mood and shape we wanted to be. You know, the kind of day when everything feels wrong and does go wrong? *giggles*

Taking a look out from the windows: NO SUN! They promised! No, it was clouds and windy. We wanted the photos to get as good as possible, it’s no fun to watch grey, grey and grey photos is it…? Already here, the thoughts of cancel the trip showed up in our minds. Butt no, we had ordered tickets and activated my sister Susan too.

We started to get ready (hard work when everything goes wrong!) to leave when we suddenly got a phone call. The secret confusing phone call that told us that they had changed boats for the trip and the replacing boat didn’t have any food aboard. Oh, no! As you know, for this hungry monster Captain, that is a big catastrophe! Can’t go out on the sea without food! *giggles*

We had to catch my sister Susan, who already had left home and tell her to at least change direction of where she was going. We didn’t know what we should do instead, only that we shouldn’t go to the Stockholm City Hall (Stadshuset) where the boats departure was. So I said: go to Kungsträdgården and I’ll phone you again…

By now, the secret island was so secret that not even we ourselves knew where it was! *giggles*

Taking the metro to Kungsträdgården

We had a brief discussion and couldn’t come up with something yet, tried to find something on the net, butt got so stressed by the clock ticking away that we said: we’ll go to Kungsträdgården to meet her up and decide from there. So we did. She sat on a bench and read the newspaper meanwhile… Luckily, no rain. Then.

Kungsträdgården is a cave metro station, blown in the parent rock 36 meter under ground level, constructed in 1977. The artist Ulf Samuelson is responsible for the art which has been complemented with sculptural details from the palace Makalös which stood above there at the 17th century, together with details from all over the old Stockholm.

Kungsträdgården – The Kings Garden

Kungsträdgården is also the center of Stockholm and used as a recreation area with a lot of activities arranged there. It were actually the king’s cabbage & kitchen garden until the end of 16th century, when it became a royal park. Today it’s a big gathering place for Stockholmers and in the winter they even go there to do some ice skating.

It has also, during one period between 1820-1870, being transformed to a sandy desert because the King Karl XIII:s adopted son Karl Johan from France wanted to exercise his troupes there. Now we did see the military represented there, butt only as a show. Also two police’s on the horse back, which is a very common sight in the summertime around Kungsträdgården.

The statue of the warrior King Karl XII, with his finger pointing to the east and the enemies Russia from the Great Northern War, were put up in 1868 – 150 years after his death by the artist Johan Peter Molin, who also did the fountain found here, decorated with figures from the Nordic mythology.

Stockholm Culture Festival Music

We went around in Kungsträdgården who had some sort of youth activities going on as a part of Stockholm Culture Festival. Quite nice actually. We also listened to a very young and very, very talented band, 12 Stitches. They plays punk, rock, metal and pop. To be so young, they were certainly sounding like a professional band! Outstanding performance that we enjoyed very much!

…and I TOTALLY FORGOT that I could have record them in a video clip for you!!!! Arrrggghh. This is getting in the same embarrassing way as with our always emptied food plates! *giggles*

Stockholm boat sightseeing

We went down to the tourist boats, thinking that we at least were going by boat somewhere today. We had a brief negotiation and decided to go on the Stockholm under The Bridges tour that promised us to go under at least 15 bridges around Stockholm. Butt of course we missed the boat with exactly 3 minutes… . So we had to wait for an hour.

Butt first, all this stress got the hungry monster unusually hungry… Captain just had to have something to calm the hungry beast in there. We located a hot dog stand and bought some hot dogs, bratwurst and chorizo to be more exact. And mine were not edible… Not done! YUK. All hour went to this food hunt for another stand.

It was actually on this hunt I stumbled. There were big, thick bundles with cables crossing the way that shouldn’t be there and weren’t marked out enough, so I did stumble. As usual, I might add, I’ve never stumbled so much in my entire life as I do nowadays – that’s because I really shouldn’t because it’ so bad for my back…. *giggles* Luckily no fall, butt with this already bad back a stumble is enough to make it in really bad shape. Oooouuuch x millions.

So at last, boarded the boat, the limping way, managed to not stumble down the stairs…(!) And did not get any good seats for taking photos. I thought that these sightseeing boats were supposed to have good sight out, butt no. I had to sit backwards taking photos out of the wide open (dirty) window to get any good photos. Which did get me splashed all over, butt hey, what wouldn’t I do to report back to you? *giggles*

Then we went out to see Stockholm from the seaside. Remember that Stockholm’s 14 islands is combined by 53 bridges. Quite small bridges comparing to other places, more like roads.

The main thing I always hear from tourists is how beautiful Stockholm is, so fresh, so green and sooo much water!!! The first photo is Stockholm city area seen from the water. You can really see how it’s an island.

No wonder so many Stockholmer’s have boats!

Stockholm City Hall (Stockholms Stadshus) is one of the more strong silhouettes you see from everywhere – no wonder because the tower is 106 meter high. The three crowns in the top is an old symbol for Sweden – remember our hockey team named Tre Kronor? The building is designed by architect Ragnar Östberg and completed 1923 with 8 millions of red bricks. It’s here the Nobel Prize ceremony is held.

During this trip we have to pass several islands and two of the locks or sluices which is dividing the Baltic Sea with it’s salt water and the lake Mälaren. There is also a difference in sea levels between those two which make those locks a bit challenging sometimes.

The old Karl Johan lock was completed in 1935 and is 75 meters long, 10 meters wide, 3.90 meters deep with a maximum height of 3.8 meters. Look how close our (red painted) boat is to the lock wall….

Now after seeing it maybe you can understand why it’s commonly called “skilsmässodiket” which means the divorce ditches – because of the quarrels it sometimes starts between the boat couples going through there, when one of them isn’t ready to let go of the ropes in time, so the boat get hanging there when the water level is getting lower… *giggles*

I also thought that you should be able to hear what the guide in the headphones said… No… *giggles* We had to listen in English, because in the Swedish version you couldn’t hear at all what he said. I’m glad that I am a Stockholm’er because that poor tourists can’t have got half of what the guide described, since we weren’t at the right place when the guide on the CD told the facts about it…

Just look at this concentrated look of Mr Lifecruiser!

And not much to offer when it came to food on the tourist boat so we volunteered on the white wine and olives. The olives though were not edible (!) and I did spill out almost the whole pickle for it on the table… No, not the wine – of course I protected that glass of wine! *giggles*

I tell you, going to the secret island is no easy business!!! Oboy Ahoy, how many things can be wrong? *giggles*

Going by foot Stockholm South

Afterwards we walked, sorry, limped, up to the city area, thinking of where to eat dinner…. And maybe taking a beer before dinner too. The weather wasn’t that bad, no rain. Yet, butt no nice weather either. Found out that there was no nice ones nearby Drottninggatan (main shopping street), so we took the train to Söder (South).

There we went into a nice pub to have a Guinness – Susan tasted it for her first time! Yes, therefor the telling mustacchio from that Follow Lifecruiser 13 Secret Steps post! *giggles*

From there we moved to Mosebacke (entertainment place since 18th century), butt by then the weather was beginning to be very windy (no surprise – I was coming there!) and to sit up there on the hill didn’t seem tempting somehow… *giggles*

So we walked over the Katarinahissens bridge with the loveliest view over Stockholm, to take the famous elevator called Katarinahissen, which is Stockholm’s only elevator with staff charging you for it. It goes from Slussen up to the heights of Södermalm, butt we took it down to Slussen. Constructed in 1881 and the current elevator is from 1935. In the bridge is the restaurant Gondolen which is very popular with it’s outstanding view.

The nearest area in the view is called Slussen, then you see the old part of town – Gamla Stan – and the city area more far away with the tower of Stockholm City Hall in view.

…and you wouldn’t have seen Stockholm properly if you didn’t get to see one of it’s oldest landmarks, the Stomatol sign! It’s from 1909 and was the first animated ad sign in Sweden – you one can see the toothpaste being squeezed out of the tube – and is made of 1361 (!) lightbulbs with 25W. Sorry that it wasn’t dark so you got to see it on!

The Old Town of Stockholm

Down on the charming streets of the old town (Gamla stan) to locate a dinner place and to just inhale the wonderful old atmosphere of the old town parts. As a Stockholmer – or tourist – you’ll just love the old town! The first photo is from the most narrow alley in town, Mårten Trotzig’s Gränd, which is only 90 cm on the most narrow place!

Dinner at restaurant Fem Små Hus

First checking the menus of the most famous places. Butt no, it wasn’t good enough alternatives today, so we went on to a place called Fem SmÃ¥ Hus (Five small houses) and by then this hungry monster refused to limp any further, the monster took control and went in…

The restaurant is situated in old houses, which is actually five small houses which have been connected to form a restaurant. The oldest of them is from 1651 and contains nine valved cellars. We sat in the one deep down in the dark and were almost alone in there, so we had our waiter by ourselves.

We ordered at once! Susan had the vegetarian Leek tortellini with beans and artichoke, Mr Lifecruiser the Grilled halibut with lobster coulis and a potatoe-, saffron- and garlic roll, I had Ovenbaked salmon with summer vegetables and a sauce of nettles. I think that I had the best dish this time, the salmon was so fresh, butt it was the nettles sauce that did it perfect, unbelievable enough!

Mr L who ordered the most delicious dish of us were disappointed, the grilled halibut were not as good as they use to be, sorry to say…

The Great Church (Storkyrkan)

Earlier on, when walking on the old towns streets, we were handed a leaflet about some performance and showing of the Storkyrkan (the great church beside the Royal Swedish Castle) at eight o’clock in the evening which we thought sounded interesting. It were a historical show of this old church, which is first mentioned in old scripts from the 13th century. So we went there.

At this time, we were quite marked by the days activities and despite the fact of a very nice performance, mixing acting performance to the priests speach about the historical events that has connection to the church, we begin to felt old and tired… *giggles*

Then suddenly – a cell phone ringing loud in this holy environment! Luckily it wasn’t mine. This time. Well, in some way it was, because it was my old cell phone that Susan had inherited from me! She went away in the church to take it while Mr L and me was deciding to leave the performance. We couldn’t stand any longer…

The phone call was important. It was our other sister Anne that called to say that they had called from the elderly home to inform us that our mother was ill with a bad urinal infection. Getting us worried of course, because the last time she got that, they didn’t recognize it in time so she ended up with a severe blood poising and under weight in the hospital. Laying there unconscious for almost a week, fighting this. We didn’t think she should make it. she is such an admirable strong woman!

When she had finished that call, she did get one more…. It was from her 3 years old grand child that was upset. My niece was working and the baby sitter had some problem with her. Phew!

So time to go home? YES!!!!! We really thought it was enough for one day now… *giggles*

Dragging ourselves home

…and finally, the rain came over us… no jacket, only sweater on me… I didn’t want to carry around a jacket all day and now I had to pay for that… *giggles*

The way home from the tunnelbana (metro, butt actually it means tunnel line) felt like it were miles and miles and miles, butt it really isn’t, only it’s ascending all the way, very little, butt never the less ascending… We were totally exhausted arriving home.

You have to be aware of the fact that we’re old worned out people… *giggles*

The day after

The day after we were supposed to visit my mother at the elderly home and since we got that phone call, there was no way I was going to cancel that if I so had to crawl there!!! Luckily she was doing better, butt it was nice to see that with my own eyes. She is so fragile that it doesn’t take much before she is near to be leaving us…

And Thursday I tried for many hours to get the post below with the 13 photos right, butt it didn’t matter how I poke around in the code, something got wrong. That’s why it was up too late. I’ve done this for hundreds of times by now, laying in photos in a post, butt I tell you: it was f’*cking impossible!

I’ve never ever been experiencing so much fuss about it! It moved my code, it didn’t show some of the photos even though the code was there and it was the same as the other photos – and as in other functioning posts! I still have no idea what happened, I just did throw in a slideshow instead to work around the problem. It will be very interesting to see if I ever get the same problem again or if it was this dooomed day… *giggles*

Update: This post is created by linking to photos on Flickr which seem to work, butt not putting in several photos hosted on my webserver obviously.

We do have an offer from Miss Ass. Lifecruiser to go on a 24h cruise with her to the island Åland, on the most common cruise ship going there, butt I really don’t know… It’s rather windy nowadays and with my weather curse I better stay at home…. Remember the first trip Mr L and I did together? She deserves to have some fun for once, since she use to have even more bad luck than me. *giggles*

So what secret island where we supposed to have gone to?

Well, since it’s not Stockholm that is our secret island, you have to continue to be curious about that, since I might make another try to go there! *giggles*

See also all our photos from Lifecruiser at Stockholm Aug 2007 here in larger format. Or as a Lifecruiser at Stockholm Aug 2007 slideshow here. (Click in the middle of the picture to get the Info about it)

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