ice cream

We eat ice cream so often here that it is no longer a "special treat." It also may be losing its usefulness as a bribe/reward. Today's ice cream was enjoyed at an outdoor cafe at the nearby observatory.

library revisited

The interior of the library across the street is quite striking. The other picture, taken from our living room shows Observatory Hill (note the familiar figures on the hill.)

sightseeing

One of the advantages of staying here for two months is that we can take in the sights at a leisurely pace. Here are some places we have visited recently:

• Hagaparken (pictured): a large nature area just a few bus stops from our apartment.
• Nordiska Museet (Nordic Museum): illustrates Swedish life through displays of everyday objects (an exhibit of footwear in the fashion wing, for example, includes everything from clogs and 19th century farm boots to Birkenstocks and tube socks).
• Tekniska Museet (Museum of Science and Technology): we met up with our Berkeley friends on a rainy day last week to go to this hands-on science museum similar to the Exploratorium in SF.

more on playgrounds

We have been able to while away many happy hours in nearby parks and playgrounds. In addition to the usual sandboxes, swings and slides, some of the playgrounds have climbing walls, trampolines, pedal-powered merry-go-rounds and a variety of tricycles. The bigger playgrounds have a building with a bathroom, an indoor playroom, and a small kitchen that has a refrigerator and a microwave. They even provide, for a small fee, coffee for parents and caregivers. There seems to be an on-site staff person who keeps an eye on the playground, brings in the toys at the end of the day and replenishes the coffee.

getting around

Mostly we get around on foot. Other means of transportation include:

• Bus: there is a stop right outside our building and we rarely need to wait more than about five minutes for a bus to show up. Kids ride free with a paying adult.
• Subway (or Tunnelbana as it's called): the Rådmansgatan stop is "our" stop. We don't really ride the subway that much. I prefer to see what's going on outside.
• Train: of course, we have to take the train to get out of Stockholm proper.
• Taxi: we took a taxi when we first arrived and once again when it was late and Leah was exhausted. Funny to see taxis that are Volvos and Saabs; we even saw a Prius taxi.
• Trams: there is a historic tram line that has been restored. We can pick it up right outside Keith's office. Probably -- like the SF cable cars -- only tourists ride it.
• Ferry boats: We took a 10-minute ferry ride from Gamla Stan (Old Town) to Gröna Lunds Tivoli amusement park on Djurgården Island. Stockholm sits on an archepeligo and sometime before we leave, I'd like to take one of those touristy cruises that goes along the Stockholm waterfront and the nearby islands.
• Bike: then, of course, there's Stockholm City Bikes (see our July 9 entry).

movies

Tried to go see the Simpsons movie yesterday but -- much to the kids' disappointment (and the parents' too) -- it was sold out. The megaplex we went to could have been plucked out of any suburb in the US complete with roving gangs of loud teenagers.

oslo scenes

We are back from Norway. We loved Oslo -- easy to understand why it was one of my dad's favorite cities. Here are some random pictures of our visit: outside our apartment at 15 Damplassan; the library at the University of Oslo (known as the "Black Pearl"); a ferry ride on the Oslo fjord; outside the Rådus (Town Hall) which was designed by Arnstein Arneberg and Magnus Poulsson (often, apparently, featured in history of architecture textbooks); a statue known as "Factory Girls."