Mr. Bichler: May 26 & 27 "The Elitloppet"

Yesterday we arose to a beautiful blue sky with sunshine everywhere! Trish and Chad headed out to the race track as today was the final day of the Eliteloppet. The rest of us had a day planned that included a church service at the oldest church in Stockholm, shopping in Gamla Stan and a smorgasbord at the Grand Hotel. However, when we attempted to make reservations we learned that there were no smorgasbords until June 1 and everyone slept in past 9 o'clock which knocked out the church service as well. Peg also wanted to go to the outlet stores near our hotel so we began a new itinerary which included the IKEA store, and a ferry ride in downtown Stockholm around the archipelagos. So much for best laid plans. When we came out of the IKEA store it was pouring down rain. We went back to the hotel and just hung out watching the horse races on TV and got some well needed relaxation time. We did however, kind of get a smorgasbord at IKEA, well at least they did have Swedish meatballs on the buffet table. Last evening when Trish and Chad got back to the hotel we rode the bus to the Pizza Hut but it was closed.(it closed at 19:00 and we got there at 20:04) We ate at McDonald's instead. So much for the cultural experience!

International cuisine at it's best

The IKEA store in Barkarby

The wheels on the bus go round and round!

The bus and train stop near our hotel. Public transportation is really good here.

Today we fly out to Dublin, Ireland. Not sure how the internet will be but I will post if possible!
May 27
I wrote this on the plane on our way to Dublin and am just now adding it to this post. (6/10/13)
Luke slept in our room last night. Trish and I had breakfast this morning at 8:30 and decided to go back into Stockholm this morning before checking out. Trish, Ed, Sharon, Luke and I hopped the train to Stockholm Central and walked to Gamla Stan. This time we walked through the Parliament building on the way. We saw several street entertainers along the way and Luke enjoyed dropping a kronor in their buckets to see them perform. We went into several gift shops and bought some souvenirs to take home. As we were about to head back to the hotel, I noticed a gift shop in the cathedral garden. We stopped in and I purchased some post cards. Somehow when I came out of the shop I walked past Trish, Luke and Sharon without seeing them. I thought they must have gone in the church since I had heard Sharon ask where the entrance was. Ed and I entered the church but no Trish or Sharon. I hurriedly snapped a few photos of the beautiful 700 year old sanctuary and headed out the side exit. What Ed and I didn't know was that they were just then entering as we exited. Out on the street we searched but could not catch a glimpse of any of them. Ed and I assumed that they must have headed back towards the train station since we needed to be back at the hotel by 12:30. Thinking they were ahead of us, we set a brisk pace hoping to over take them along the way. We got all the way to the train terminal and still no sight of them. The next train to Balsta was in 14 minutes so we felt certain we would see them but we ended up boarding the train still not knowing if they were ahead or behind us. We got off at our Barkarby stop and went to the hotel. My heart sank when Peg said they were not there. I knew we were in trouble when Lily asked me "Grandma, where's Wooky?" 5 minutes later Trish and Luke walked in and they had been on the same train but near the front and Ed and I were in the back. Sharon had stayed on the platform to see if we were on the next train. We gathered all our luggage and walked back down to the train. We had 4 minutes to catch our train to Karlberg. We made it with 2 minutes to spare. We transferred trains, rode to Marsta and then boarded Bus 58 to the Arlanda Airport. We had made it and it looked like we could now relax. We checked in and walked down to security. My bag was pulled and much to my dismay, I was forced to throw my jar of Jiffy Peanut Butter away. (I guess it is considered a liquid.?) Ed's bag was also pulled aside but he didn't realize it until we had walked away from security. He frantically began back tracking until he found it but somehow in the hubbub he misplaced his boarding pass. Let's just say this was not one of Ed's better days. We all boarded Aer Lingus together and are flying over Norway and Scotland on our way to Dublin, Ireland. Little did we know then about the adventures that were in store for us once we landed in Ireland.