Bumping over cobblestone streets in Stockholm

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  Stockholm, Sweden
Sunday, April 6, 2008

We're just waking up from our first night in Stockholm. We scored on the hostel, a building first built in the 1600s that is surrounded by other buildings built in the 1600s in the winding, cobblestone streets of Gamla Stan, or Old Town. The town has an island to itself that it shares with the Royal Palace and the Parliament building. It is preserved completely intact, including a virtual ban on cars and not even very many piles of horse manure.

To back up a bit: Friday was a free day, the first day with no basketball game for six straight. We trained into Oslo and went various ways, many visiting the Kon Tiki museum, the Fram museum, the Nobel peace prize exhibit and generally wandering around. We departed Oslo (actually Asker) on Saturday, meeting in the early morning at the Asker Train station, the kids getting dropped off in twos and threes by their host parents, and there were some tears shed on both sides. These families completely absorbed us for four days and nights, and took exceptional care of everyone. We left well-fed and rested. I think the chaperones were glad to have the group together again, however, as we were scattered all over the place in the Asker homes.It's nice to check in with each other and we were glad to be headed to a group stay.

A beautiful train ride got us quickly into Sweden, along rivers through rolling countryside much like the Northwest, mostly birch and pine. Six hours later we are in Stockholm, where we roll our bouncing bags across the cobblestone streets to Gamla Stan and to our very quaint hostel, squeezed in like everything else in this part of town that seems like it should still have blacksmiths and scribes. The evening offered a warm and endless sunset with the rays reflecting off of golds and reds and salmon-colored buildings, their lines twisting and settling after lo these several hundred years. Stockholm was left untouched during World War II -- the Swedes remained neutral, something the Norwegians and Danes have not forgotten. Every departure comment in Norway was capped with: 'Beat the Swedes!'

We'll try to. We meet an American ex-pat basketball coach and some of his friends today at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, then this evening head to our first game against Djursholm (just north of Stockholm) this evening. After the games this group, led by Per Malmqvist, also plans to feed us. Tomorrow we have a tour of the considerably fortified U.S.Embassy, ,then play Taby. The following day it's off to the ancient capital of Sweden, beautiful little Uppsala (home of one of the best clubs in Sweden), where we play and have one more home stay. Then it's off to the airport and home. We'll be there before you know it.

Everyone is doing great. The players are mixing up well, all are in good health although a little cold is going around. But after two days off they are ready to play again. Ellen Thomas just got on her train back to the airport, she will be the first of us to arrive home.

More later.

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