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Sunday, September 26, 2010

Tourists

Ok, so the weekend before last my SO and I headed off to do some more tourist stuff...  We've done some since we've been in Stockholm - trying to get out while the weather's still (sort of) decent...

We went on a hop on hop off tourist boat ride (yep, just like the buses - but on a boat!) after we'd done a lap of the sights, we decided to hop off at the Vasa Museet (Vasa Museum) to go check out another boat...

This one is a 17th century man of war boat, it was commissioned by one of Sweden's kings and took years and years to complete the building.  Then it toppled over about 20 minutes into it's maiden voyage!  Yep, the incredibly clever design of this thing meant that it was too top heavy, with not enough space below for ballast...  And apparently if they had used all the ballast they could have (which may have helped) the gun holes would have been sitting in the water - cluey, cluey people...

So we wandered around this huge (dark) ship for a while - and looking at it, it really isn't all that surprising that the thing fell over it just doesn't look quite right!  My SO was reading some of the information there - and one of the shipbuilders had 30 men stand on the boat once it was complete, stood them all on one side of the boat and then had them run to the other side.  Once they'd got there he made them run back to the other side, then he made them get off - because they were going to sink the ship if they kept that up!  So, it's not like no one knew that this was going to happen - they just chose to ignore it...  Not so clever!

And so, twenty minutes into her maiden voyage the ship turned a little - and you guessed it, tipped right over! It was something like 333 years before the Vasa was pulled out of the sea, but now it's quite a cool (if very dark) museum...  With a ship looking like something out of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies (or so I've been assured!

Here's what it looks like today:


Saturday, September 18, 2010

Observations of Sweden

Last entry my SO and I were enjoying the Sting with the Royal Philharmonic concert...  We bopped, clapped, yelled, laughed, sung and danced our way through the concert - as we would have with any other concert we've attended...

The Swedes, well they were sort of a different story - they're a very staid people, not a lot of emotion tends to be expressed in public...  And yet, it was a concert - surely a different story, or not...

At one point my SO and I in synch both pointed at the rows and rows of stationery heads in front of us - amazed that no one was moving, not swaying in their seats, not bopping up and down and certainly not out of their seats...  And then suddenly in the midst of all the stillness, two heads bopping - we again observed this in the same moment and then went to pieces at the contrast of say a bunch of Aussies at a concert where you are more often in fear for your life from a stray limb flying in your direction from your dancing neighbour!

It was certainly an interesting look at the culture from an unexpected point...

And here finally for those who have been asking a photo from the concert (if I can make it work!)...

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Sting and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

AH-MAZE-ZING, what can I say?!!  Amazing...

A brilliant night was had at the Ericsson Globe - a giant white ball of an arena here in Stockholm...  Carried away by the sounds of a full orchestra and soothed by Sting's smooth tones - at the same time!

Some of the songs sounded like they should always have been played that way like Roxanne, with the hear wrenching tones of the violins, cello and double bass...

And the most unbelievable version of Russians, and such a moving version of Fields of Gold...  Well, I could name them all one by one - the whole concert was a fabulous experience.  I spent half the night with goosebumps and the other half holding back tears at the beauty of it...

Thank goodness, because getting the tickets was a trial - you can't order them here with our Australian credit cards over the net or phone - but have to front up to an outlet for purchase, so after work on Tuesday after a few failed attempts over phone and net, I left work to run into the city to make it to the outlet and then back out near home before our fantastic yoga class... 

Let me assure you, it was well worth the effort!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

My adventure has begun...

Well, here I am...  a real live blogger, welcome to my adventure!

I have always wondered about it, and whether anything that happens in my life, or how I express it would be interesting enough for people to read...

Well, life over the last 12 months has certainly been interesting enough, with 5 months spent in South America, 4 months at 'home' in Melbourne where my Significant Other (SO) and I moved in together, and now SO and I living and working in Stockholm, Sweden...

It has certainly been a year!  The adventure certainly has begun...

So, now to see whether I can manage not to bore people silly with my ramblings...  Thanks for popping by..

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Tourists

Ok, so the weekend before last my SO and I headed off to do some more tourist stuff...  We've done some since we've been in Stockholm - trying to get out while the weather's still (sort of) decent...

We went on a hop on hop off tourist boat ride (yep, just like the buses - but on a boat!) after we'd done a lap of the sights, we decided to hop off at the Vasa Museet (Vasa Museum) to go check out another boat...

This one is a 17th century man of war boat, it was commissioned by one of Sweden's kings and took years and years to complete the building.  Then it toppled over about 20 minutes into it's maiden voyage!  Yep, the incredibly clever design of this thing meant that it was too top heavy, with not enough space below for ballast...  And apparently if they had used all the ballast they could have (which may have helped) the gun holes would have been sitting in the water - cluey, cluey people...

So we wandered around this huge (dark) ship for a while - and looking at it, it really isn't all that surprising that the thing fell over it just doesn't look quite right!  My SO was reading some of the information there - and one of the shipbuilders had 30 men stand on the boat once it was complete, stood them all on one side of the boat and then had them run to the other side.  Once they'd got there he made them run back to the other side, then he made them get off - because they were going to sink the ship if they kept that up!  So, it's not like no one knew that this was going to happen - they just chose to ignore it...  Not so clever!

And so, twenty minutes into her maiden voyage the ship turned a little - and you guessed it, tipped right over! It was something like 333 years before the Vasa was pulled out of the sea, but now it's quite a cool (if very dark) museum...  With a ship looking like something out of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies (or so I've been assured!

Here's what it looks like today:


Saturday, September 18, 2010

Observations of Sweden

Last entry my SO and I were enjoying the Sting with the Royal Philharmonic concert...  We bopped, clapped, yelled, laughed, sung and danced our way through the concert - as we would have with any other concert we've attended...

The Swedes, well they were sort of a different story - they're a very staid people, not a lot of emotion tends to be expressed in public...  And yet, it was a concert - surely a different story, or not...

At one point my SO and I in synch both pointed at the rows and rows of stationery heads in front of us - amazed that no one was moving, not swaying in their seats, not bopping up and down and certainly not out of their seats...  And then suddenly in the midst of all the stillness, two heads bopping - we again observed this in the same moment and then went to pieces at the contrast of say a bunch of Aussies at a concert where you are more often in fear for your life from a stray limb flying in your direction from your dancing neighbour!

It was certainly an interesting look at the culture from an unexpected point...

And here finally for those who have been asking a photo from the concert (if I can make it work!)...

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Sting and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

AH-MAZE-ZING, what can I say?!!  Amazing...

A brilliant night was had at the Ericsson Globe - a giant white ball of an arena here in Stockholm...  Carried away by the sounds of a full orchestra and soothed by Sting's smooth tones - at the same time!

Some of the songs sounded like they should always have been played that way like Roxanne, with the hear wrenching tones of the violins, cello and double bass...

And the most unbelievable version of Russians, and such a moving version of Fields of Gold...  Well, I could name them all one by one - the whole concert was a fabulous experience.  I spent half the night with goosebumps and the other half holding back tears at the beauty of it...

Thank goodness, because getting the tickets was a trial - you can't order them here with our Australian credit cards over the net or phone - but have to front up to an outlet for purchase, so after work on Tuesday after a few failed attempts over phone and net, I left work to run into the city to make it to the outlet and then back out near home before our fantastic yoga class... 

Let me assure you, it was well worth the effort!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

My adventure has begun...

Well, here I am...  a real live blogger, welcome to my adventure!

I have always wondered about it, and whether anything that happens in my life, or how I express it would be interesting enough for people to read...

Well, life over the last 12 months has certainly been interesting enough, with 5 months spent in South America, 4 months at 'home' in Melbourne where my Significant Other (SO) and I moved in together, and now SO and I living and working in Stockholm, Sweden...

It has certainly been a year!  The adventure certainly has begun...

So, now to see whether I can manage not to bore people silly with my ramblings...  Thanks for popping by..

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