Sites of Brussels

Views from around the beautiful town of Brussels.

Tribute to Michael Jackson

When we went to Grand Place we ran into an (I think) impromptu tribute to Michael Jackson. People were singing his songs and some were dressed up as him. At one point the whole square was filled with people holding hands and doing a minute of silence for the dead pop star.

Back in Brussels

We are back in the city where it all began. Showing the kids where their parents met 16 years ago! Time flies when you're having fun, right?:)

We rent an apartment close to Place Flagey and Rue Borrens where I used to live.

We took the train from Paris on Saturday morning and met up with our friend Ilse for frites and beer. Her friend Bruna also came and she later showed us around the EU district (she works as an interpreter and one of her languages is Swedish!)

We also walked over to see the building where I used to live which of course brought back memories. Brussels was a fun time in our lives but now we're happy to be just visiting.

Mona Lisa and more

Before we got to Paris we had two main things on the agenda, one was going up in the Eiffel Tower which we checked off yesterday and the other thing was seeing Mona LIsa which we did today. But we have done so much more in our two days here. We started out this morning with a false fire alarm which found us and all the other tourists at the hotel in our pj:s outside on the street in the morning. Nothing like an early wake up call:) Then coffee and croissants for breakfast.

Our first stop for the day was the very impressive Notre Dame cathedral. We walked through it and lit some candles and prayed.

After lunch at a little bistro we went to the Louvre which of course is huge but we did see the Mona Lisa among many, many other beautiful paintings.

Then we decided to split up. The girls and I were going to the Museum of Fashion and Bob and Nick were taking the sightseeing bus. Unfortunately the Fashion Museum was closed so we did some clothes shopping instead. That was almost better, Hanna said. Clara said it was a good thing we didn't have the boys with us because "Nick would have lasted 5 minutes and daddy maybe 20". Now we could spend all the time in the world and will come home with some real Paris fashion!

We met up for dinner at our favorite little brasserie. Bob and I had raw beef, I hope we don't have to regret that in the morning:)

See you in Brussels!

Paris

We arrived in Paris via airplane last night and are staying in a hotel close to Gare du Nord. It is very much in the middle of Paris.

After a good night's sleep we woke up this morning and walked over to a little brasserie where we had croissants for breakfast. Then we walked over to the Opera house where we caught a bus over to the Eiffel tower, had a picnic lunch and then went on a boat ride on the Seine. After that we took the elevator up to the top of the Eiffel tower - very impressive!

We had dinner at a little bistro close to our hotel. We celebrated Bob's mom's birthday by toasting in three languages. We met Sergei from Ukraine, very nice guy who told us when you toast in Ukraine you say "Budjmo" which means Let us be. So we end this post by saying: Happy Birthday Grandma! Skål, Cheers and Budjmo!

Odensåker

We are back in Stockholm after a great midsummer celebration in Odensåker. The house has been in my family for 6 generations counting my kids and it has been beautifully renovated by my dad over the past years. My grandmother's parents built the house but their parents lived with them. My grandmother grew up here. The house turns 100 years next year.

My sisters and cousins and I spent our summers here as did my mother and her siblings. Now it's great that our kids get to run around here as well. We did some yard work and Nick was very excited to be able to ride the tractor. Bob also brought a table hockey game and golf clubs so there were both hockey tournaments as well as Odensåker Open going on.

After a great dinner with Helena and Lasse last night we are now packing (yet again) to leave for Paris this afternoon. The summer weather is finally here and the adventure continues!

Hanna 7 years!

Hanna turned seven yesterday and was celebrated through the day. We started by waking her up with breakfast in bed, singing and presents, lots of them, both people singing and presents!

Later on we ate cake that she helped make, one with daim and strawberries and one with strawberries and candy - yummy!

It was a happy seven year old who went to bed that night!

Midsummer

Midsummer is a big holiday in Sweden and we spent it in Västergötland in my grandmother's family home that my parents have taken over. Some of my aunts, uncles and cousins are also here and we participated in the local dressing and raising of the maypole (midsommarstång).

For dinner we had a traditional menu of herring, salmon and aquavit of course!

We picked flowers for wreaths for the girls and before bed time we went outside and picked seven different flowers to put under our pillows. If you do you are supposed to dream about the person you are going to marry!

We went to bed late but it was still very light outside.

Gothenburg and Liseberg

After two days at Legoland we took the ferry from Grenaa, Denmark to Varberg, Sweden and from there we drove to Gothenburg where we visited Susan and Anders and their kids William and Sofie. They used to live in Seattle but moved back to Sweden two years ago. They live in a beautiful house in Örgryte that Anders grandfather built in 1938.

We also went to Liseberg with them. More roller coasters! Balder and Lisebergsbanan were favorites.

Legoland

Legoland was a given destination when in Denmark. The kids love legos and Denmark is the home of LEGOS. We left the Pedersens early this morning after a wonderful two days with them.

We have seen Miniland, gone on several rides. We have gone on roller coasters, kid friendly ones that even I could go on. At one point I was hesitating whether to go or nor but when I saw a mom bring her infant on the ride I thought it would be safe for me too:)

Nick and Clara got driving licenses and drove lego cars in "traffic".

We had a fun day and are now tired and relaxing in our hostel. We're winding down with pizza and Discovery Channel on TV. Then bed - goodnight!

On the Road Again - Denmark

We are in Denmark now, visiting our friends Rolf and Inge in Gilleleje. It's beautiful here and their house is right on the ocean. Bob and Rolf (admiral for the Norwegian Navy) used to work together in Brussels. So did Sigi who also came to visit from Germany with his wife Antje. We've had two very fun days and tomorrow we go to Legoland for more fun!