Got there in the end

The drive to Karlstad today wasn't going to take more than three or four hours and so we decided we'd go and take a look at that Carl Larsson exhibition on our way.  We packed up, ate breakfast and retrieved our hire car to drive to the museum where we had difficulty parking.

By the time we finally reached the entrance to the museum, we were amused to see a huge crowd of ladies gathering there too - like a flock of starlings, they chattered and busied themselves then, as soon as the door opened, they swarmed inside to take off coats and get themselves together.

We joined a different queue, paid our entrance fee and snooked in ahead of the posse and enjoyed the exhibition immensely. Not only was the Larsson work breathtakingly beautiful, the Prince Eugen house adjoining the gallery was superb. In the spring sunshine, the light on the water made for a spectacular view and the immaculate fresh flower displays in every room brought the whole building to life.

The textile exhibit didn't quite do it for either of us, suprisingly, but we left feeling more than happy to have been able to see everything else.

The journey to Karlstad was uneventful and took us through a rather greyer landscape than we'd imagined.  Much snow lay alongside the road in places and there is little green to be seen in the countryside just yet.  In sharp contrast, the shop windows in town are full of yellow, green and pink Easter displays.  We imagine that everyone here must be longing for a little brightness after a long winter.

Tomorrow we plan to explore a little of the eastern side of Lake Vanern, so we hope for fine weather.

Good Evening

Our dinner at Den Gyldene Freden was terrific.  Though we were tempted by the set menu, we decided to make our own choices a la carte and cliche or no, my meatballs were superb and were served with delicious lingonberries (of course). Mark opted for something a little less obvious: Herring three ways followed by breaded pigstrotter and ham hock served with lentils.  I'd substituted a champagne cocktail for a starter... ;-)

We loved both our desserts.  He chose rhubarb jelly with various rhubarby accompaniments; I chose a similar raspberry assortment.  Yummy - and beautifully presented.

A good job we had a bit of a walk back to the hotel to work off some of that full tummy feeling!

Off to Karlstad tomorrow.

Good day

It's been a fine day here and we've enjoyed looking around the city.  Our plans for a visit to the Carl Larsson exhibition were thwarted however- Monday isn't a good day to visit a museum in Stockholm, sadly.

 

Since it was a fine morning, we headed for Skansen, a long established open air museum on a neighbouring island.  We enjoyed the walk over there (via a bridge!)but found it deserted, spending most of our time watching a family of brown bears playing in a muddy puddle in which some very thick ice had formed.

This little one hadn't quite worked out that you can't move a piece of ice that you're sitting on!  Very cute.

The rest of the day, we've spent enjoying the atmosphere of the city.  We're very fond of Stockholm and like the fresh air and the fine architecture in between the more brutal concrete structures.  There are some beautiful buildings with very interesting roof shapes, some topped off with a tower or two and maybe a decorative weathervane.

A blue sky provides the perfect backdrop, don't you think?

Out to dinner tonight, at a restaurant recommended by the concierge here since our favourite Prinsen was booked for a private party.  We enjoyed a fine dinner last night as guests of Mark's Swedish colleague Bo and his wife Mette, at the Grand Hotel - one thing about Swedish cuisine is that we never go hungry!

Role reversal

Leaving Terminal 5 this morning en route to Stockholm, we waited patiently as the plane was prepared and watched the crew board some fifteen or twenty minutes late.  Though we said nothing, there was something familiar about the First Officer...

As the Captain introduced himself and the crew (in a jovial, Radio 2 fashion which brought a smile to quite a few faces around us) we immediately recognised the name of his colleague in the driving seat.  The last time we'd been in his company, I'd been driving and he'd been in the back, for he was one of Edward's old schoolfriends.  This time, the roles were reversed and I'm pleased to say that he and his Captain did a grand job of getting us here safely and comfortably.

During the flight, he came back to see us and it was great to see another fine young man doing well in his career.  Sorry, Richard, we could see beyond that smart British Airways uniform -  you haven't really changed at all from the impish eleven year old who sat in the back of my car giggling on the way home!

Mothering Sunday

Fourth Sunday in Lent and therefore Mothering Sunday here.  I was lucky to spend much of yesterday in Edward's company and brought home a box of something sweet to enjoy later.  Bettine is coming to lunch and she and I will enjoy a cooking free day as Mark's got the oven gloves on today.

In the background of all of that, someone else will be remembered too.