Fairfax Gallants

Class of 2019 Graduation is how it all began...

Chloe and I took the day off and spent with Ashley and her family to celebrate her graduation.   It was like deja vu same place a year ago we were here for Isaac and next year we'll be here for Chloe. 

This trip has been a secret plan for many months (back in 2018).  Chloe's bestie Ashley was going to be graduating and her mom wanted to go on a cruise to celebrate.  On the day of Ashley's graduation she opened her gifts and found out her big surprise...we leave in a week for a cruise!  Myself, Chloe, Ashley and her mom Christina all got packed up and went on a girls getaway! 

CARNIVAL CARIBBEAN CRUISE 

DAY 1:  Christina picked us up early and we drove to Miami where the ship was leaving from.  Girls waiting patiently to get on the ship...

 For the last evening I watched Mary Poppins (the new version) by the pool outside on big screen

If you can see the dates almost ran together from my cruise to this trip... I got home at noon on the 31st and had to pack up and be ready to head to the airport in 20 hours plus get some sleep.  Scott had to travel for work to Stockholm so I decided to tag along and sightseeing.

Day 1:  Saturday  All Day Travel oh the joy of long hours on a plane and in airports.  We flew to Newark and from there straight to Sweden arriving on June 2nd @7am (1am our time back home) we got a little rest on the plane, but we are troopers and Scott only had one day to enjoy the sights with me then it was back to work so we took Sunday to enjoy and walk around.  

Day 2:  Sunday Scott and my adventures...  We don't know the language, but for the most part if you asked someone they spoke English (not always great, but good enough).  After we dropped bags at hotel and used the facilities which are man and woman not separated which is new to us.  We walked all over the city and took a short tour on a HOP on/off Bus.












Scott wanted to check out this spot and found a beautiful courtyard with a massive fountain
























The most visited museum in Scandinavia is the VASA Museet.  

 This museum is all about the ship Vasa that sank in Stockholm in 1628.  After 333 years of being underwater the huge warship was salvaged.  The museum shows you how it was erected and has many artifacts.  The funny thing about this ship is it was at the time the most powerfully armed warship in the world with 64 bronze cannons however it never went to war 20 minutes into the set sail it was hit by 2 strong winds and water overwhelmed it and it sank less than a mile away from it's starting point.

We walked around the old town area and ate at a mini vegan buffet outside seating which was bright and sunny!  The weather was not what I had expected much warmer and brighter.  After walking all over we ended up back at the Radisson Blu Waterfront Hotel for some much needed rest.

Day 3:  Monday  Scott set off to work ....FLAGS.....
It was my day to set out and explore.  I had purchased "Stockholm Pass" online which gave me for one price entry into 60 attractions I wasn't able to do it all (or wanted to do it all), but I had 5 days to explore my options.  I got a little lost walking around, but eventually found my way to where I intended to go.  I found a lovely square full of fresh fruits and veggies also trinkets.  Walking along the streets seeing all the old buildings. 

I spent the entire day after that on Drottningholm Island where one of The Royal Palaces is located.  To get there I had to take a 1 hour boat ride which was lovely!

 Drottningholm Castle

Library

4 Ceilings 

Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm

This was very fun to see... it was built 1753 originally, but had to be redone in 10 years due to weather and rotting.   A gift from the King to his Queen.

Items from China
The royalty loved it so much they wanted to recreate many of the Chinese arts at home in Sweden, but could never get it quite right.

Drottningholm Court Theatre

This was built in 1766 at the request of Queen Lovisa Ulrika and it's still in its original condition with decorations and wooden stage machinery, operated by hand as well.  It's still is in use today on occasion. 

Royal Gardens

In this photo you'll see a wall with water above it is a 'secret garden' entrance







I made the last boat back to where I started from and headed to my hotel.  Here's some of the sites from the boat ride...

















City Hall




I arrived at our hotel (below the windows of our hotel) and Scott showed up shortly after I did.  We went out for pizza and a fabulous salad bar.

Day 4:  Tuesday  I took the Hop on/off Boat around town and did more walking.  I enjoyed the boat tour it was a way to really see the city from a different angle.


Stockholm is FULL of tourists and rarely did I hear people speaking English.  I wish I knew more languages it was fascinating listing to people.


Electric Scooter you can rent

The Viking Museum  I was hoping this had more of the show VIKINGS in it, but it didn't.  It was very interesting really learning what you don't see on tv that many of them were gardeners and not violent.  There was also a 11 minute 'ride' inside that told a story as it went along.  

Skansen (aka Open Air Museum)  This is a 'living history' of Sweden through it's animals, buildings, farmsteads and period gardens.  It was almost like walking through time in small villages.  They also had a small zoo within it all.  I really enjoyed my time here spent hours wandering around.  

The view from this Garden...




Amazing View of the City


Lots of kids visiting for field trips

Day 5:  Wednesday  I got on the Hop on/off Boat again today and decided to see a few islands.  Wander around and take in some of the sites.

Nordiska Museet is the Nordic Museum the building was opened in 1907.  The exhibitions are from 16th century till most recently.  It's a great way to learn how times have changed there and what Sweden is all about.   I think you could spend an entire day there and not see it all.  I enjoyed talking with one of the workers there about everything modern from Sweden to USA it was a fun 30 minute chat.

Every Drawer was filled with textiles
The drawers keep them from damaging lights

Fargfabriken this was a photograph museum.  I didn't spend much time here since it was closing soon, but it was interesting seeing different works of art from photography.  

Saw many swans in the ocean


 Viking Dinner...

Day 6:  Thursday  Spending my day in the ROYALS... The Royal Palace is not only a palace/castle, but also it holds many other buildings in it's area.

The Royal Guard:  Changing of the Guards

The Royal Apartments

Statues on ceiling with the paintings!


Ceiling


wall carvings all through this room above

Museum TRE KRONOR

The Stockholm Cathedral

floor graves


Royal Pews are used only by members of the royal family when attending official ceremonies in the cathedral.  They were designed in 1684.


Painting on the wall the Last Judgement from 1696


St. George and the Dragon is a sculptural ensemble, of oak, elk antlers and horsehair.  It was consecrated in 1489 as an alter monument for the shrine to St. George. 


Nobel Piece Prize Museum

Lunch at Vegan Food Truck

Seriously the BEST falafel I've ever had in my life

Museum of Spirits:  Spirits, Art and Culture
Grona Lund Tivoli

This place is like a massive fair.  It has shows, rides, games, etc

Last Walking around town snapping photos

Day 7:  Friday  Travel Day...Scott only had to work a few hours so I took the time to pack up the bags and get ready for our next adventure...ICELAND!

We headed for the airport via taxi and had plenty of time to relax.  It was so exciting because now it's not just me going out and exploring Scott gets to join me!  Time for him to enjoy a little vacation time as well.  We arrived in Iceland and it wasn't as cold as we had expected.  Come to find out later in the trip they had record breaking month of June for no rain, sunny all day (and I mean ALL DAY and NIGHT)!  We rented a car and headed to our hotel to check in it was a bit late.  Got a bite to eat and got some rest for our full day of adventures.

Day 8:  Saturday Reykjavik, Iceland  

Hallgrimskirkja

Lutheran parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland. At 244 feet high, it is the largest church in Iceland and among the tallest structures in the country. The church is named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrímur Pétursson, author of the Passion Hymns.  Opened in 1986.






We spent most of the day downtown walking around the shops and churches. 



Many of the homes have small artistic touches here is a sample of one garden wall as you can see it's made of stones and designed into small houses.






Painting on a garden wall






Paying for Parking
Below is our little white car her name is AMY (it was on her license plate)


Reykjavik Cathedral
Cathedral church in Reykjavík, Iceland, the seat of the Bishop of Iceland and mother church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, as well as the parish church of the old city centre and environs. It is located at Austurvöllur, and next to it is Alþingishúsið.  This opened in 1787



Christmas Shop

Christ the King Cathedral 

Right next to the church was a teenage boy kicking a soccer ball and Scott asked to play goalie.  The boy was very nice and spoke Icelandic and English he was from Connecticut and visited Iceland about 8 times a year.  His name was Finn.

Back to walking around...









THOR Shop in Town







Black Sand



Small Town Drive



CAMP BOUTIQUE:  GLAMPING (aka Glamours Camping)  this was a little out of my comfort zone, but I was so HAPPY we did it and I didn't want to leave.  We stayed here 2 nights, but during the day we were out and about.
 View from our bed out the tent

The beach was visible from the campsite, but about a 15 minute walk to get to it and enjoy the birds, black sand and shells.

Dinner in Selfoss at Kafee Krus



Sleeping was wonderful...it was extremely bright b/c the daylight is always out.  They said from about midnight to 3am it was 'night time' well we got up at that time and it looked like our normal dinner time...so still bright.  The beds had heat pads on them and a heater in the tent although it was still chilly.  I'd do it all again!  We stayed for 2 nights.
2am photo from Scott's phone...




BLUE LAGOON
It is a geothermal spa located in a lava field






A common sight throughout much of Iceland is large fields of vibrant purple nootka, or Alaskan lupine. The flower looks at home in this landscape, but was actually introduced in 1945 to lowland areas in the southwest as a means to add nitrogen to the soil and also to function as an anchor for organic matter.





Most tectonic plate boundaries are underwater, but there's one special place in Iceland where you can actually see two different tectonic plates from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge above ground.






The bridge makes it so you can be on both sides of the plates.  There is no water running through so we are able to walk in between them


A spot where they have the Geothermal activity
Just driving down the road you'll see steam spots and it's best just to stay clear



In this photo you can see where they once had a bridge that went over the spot, but got to big and kinda swallowed it up!


Yes, I was a bit scared...



On these massive rocks are birds nesting
I tried to zoom in a bit so you could see the birds

Today we ate breakfast right here...


Golden Circle Geysir Hot Spring Area and Strokkur



Strokkur goes off every few minutes and shoots water 100 feet into the air




Seriously the Sun is so BRIGHT








 






Time for a lunch break..Veggie Subs on the mountain side



 





Iceland was a wonderful Adventure and seemed like it was not on Earth.