Klipper Hotel Västerås

... fun tour, moved fast enough so that it didn't get boring but not fast enough so that you didn't get to see anything. The one really interesting part was that we managed to get into one of the ruins that is usually not open to the public.

We did a quick lunch and then ran to catch the boat next to Nynäshamn. A quick three hour ride later we ran off the boat to catch the first bus back to Stockholm. It we could get on this ...

Sen frukost och förmiddagspromenad genom Falun i ny jakt på iPhoneladdare till bilen - samma nesliga resultat som tidigare. Tyvärr var även det utmärkta antikvariatet stängt så vi fick alla trösta oss på Bagarstugan brevid Falu koppargruva (v ...

... point) and each one is more beautiful than the next. I can't complain and we have a great conversation as well as a few more drinks... see the trend? We all head over to a rooftop bar/club and dance a bit before heading back to Malin's boyfriend's apartment. It is at her boyfriend's place that I run back into the guys from the boat and marina that are ALL THERE!!! They are even drunker than earlier in the day ...

... work party was at, only this time the live band has changed and the crowd's average age has fallen from 50 to 25... A dance floor has now replaced the long 50-person tables that lined the bar earlier in the evening and the floor is absolutely packed. Everyone is way too nice to me and I wind up "relatively" intoxicated by the time I hit my bed at, let's say, 5 am, to be nice... oh and the sun is up already at this point!

... dancing, lunch, dancing until 7pm, when our group have the hot barrel booked (as Janne so cutely calls it). I walk out in the freezing cold in my bathers and climb in to the hot tub - an attendant comes out every now and then and feeds wood into the stove (and sells beer) and within minutes the water temperature soars, and we all alternately sit in the barrel and sit on the edge when we feel too hot - it's a very funny feeling having cold beer in your stomach while ...

Wanting to see more of Sweden, we planned a few days driving north of Stockholm, however the car decided to have a broken timebelt which we only fixed in the nick of time so we ended up with one day to drive. We decided to head for Västerås to see some viking stone ship settings. The weather wasn't great but it was very interesting and we managed to fit in a couple of caches. (www.geocaching.com)

... that the one thing that anguishes me most about traveling abroad is my automatic appointment as American diplomat and archetype, put forth upon this continent to challenge the stereotypes, assuage the anger, and mend the misgivings precipitated by our media and "moral" majority. To show them, hey not all of us are bad, hell, some of us even recycle and didn't vote for Bush. With this heavy job description, I often feel like I am far from the best candidate for ...

... this new-fangled, fancy-shmancy, hoity-toity, cool-kid-coalition "The Schengen" was never mentioned. So what does it all mean, the inquiring mind might further venture to query. Well, for one, my European Adventure is now an illicit one. However, I can probably travel undetected within the Schengen region given their open border policy. But, when I try to leave or re-enter the region I may be caught and potentially fined, deported and not allowed back for some years. Hmmmmm ...

... direction. Munso Kyrka (Church) was probably built in the 12th century and is one of the rounded, defensible churches. The round bit is the oldest part, with further additions throughout the Middle Ages plainly visible. It's surprising how old and well maintained these places are considering their remoteness and sparse populations in ...

... into another room as if real and when you would walk up to it you would have sworn you were standing right at the front of the class IN the classroom. We went to a large park for a cup of coffee (had a coke this time, sorry mom, I'm not 100% grown up yet I guess) Madelen met us there and we rode with her to meet her friend Anna who is renovating a house. We ended up at Mona's for the evening meal.Great meal, ....after the meal had ...