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devohoneybee at 09:13pm on 19/06/2007
devohoneybee at 09:13pm on 19/06/2007Today my sister and I went to the Nobel Museum where we saw some short films on a select group of Nobel winners and learned a bit about the history of the prize. From there, we took a short walk to one of the (many) royal palaces and saw an incredible (and very sparkly!) exhibit of crowns and regalia. Oh my god, one of them, from the 1600's, had details so intricate I nearly needed a magnifier to see them -- tiny tiny shapes in gold and enamel --faces, people, dogs, flowers -- all in the spaces between the most opulant pearls and gems. It was very, very splendid! From there, lunch in a somewhat soup-nazi-ish cafe (by the time we sat down, we realized that only a variety of quiches were served there, but we felt to intimidated to leave. Still, for quiche, they were good. We just hadn't been sure,you know, that we WANTED quiche).
A long walk to a shopping area, where we took photos of the gorgeous and endlessly diverse Stockholm architecture. Back to the area where we are staying, and to a spa where we spent an hour amoung pools and steam getting totally relaxed, followed by massages. Naturally the thing to do in Sweden would have been to get a Swedish massage, but only one was available, so my sister took that, and I had a lovely massage, beginning with 'a few minutes of meditation' with an elegantly stunning man from Thailand. Though my sister later remarked that she should have whipped out her camera and photographed her massage therapist. Which reminds me: Swedish men? Elves. Of the Legolas variety. Seriously. Long-limbed, serene, many of them blond, a decent number with longish hair.... At least, I've seen enough very pleasant examples. Oh and the women are gorgeous too, in a very natural beauty. I've seen almost no one with overdone make-up or hair, for example. Other than a few punkers and goth kids, most wear easygoing styles with comfortable shoes, and have a healthy, easy look.
All of which, of course, is Sweden in SUMMER. Land of proverbial midnight sun. We don't precisely have the sun in the sky at midnight here, as mid-summer approaches (more on that in a moment), but the sky never gets entirely dark, and by 2 am, it starts to look like dawn again. Midsummer is celebrated as a much bigger deal than I've ever experienced, and it makes so much sense in a land of such striking contrasts to the seasonal light. I'd be very curious as to how it feels to be here in the darktime. It's no wonder the old gods liked plenty of sacrifice... they could really hold that return of the sun thing hostage, if their worshippers didn't play right...
A long walk to a shopping area, where we took photos of the gorgeous and endlessly diverse Stockholm architecture. Back to the area where we are staying, and to a spa where we spent an hour amoung pools and steam getting totally relaxed, followed by massages. Naturally the thing to do in Sweden would have been to get a Swedish massage, but only one was available, so my sister took that, and I had a lovely massage, beginning with 'a few minutes of meditation' with an elegantly stunning man from Thailand. Though my sister later remarked that she should have whipped out her camera and photographed her massage therapist. Which reminds me: Swedish men? Elves. Of the Legolas variety. Seriously. Long-limbed, serene, many of them blond, a decent number with longish hair.... At least, I've seen enough very pleasant examples. Oh and the women are gorgeous too, in a very natural beauty. I've seen almost no one with overdone make-up or hair, for example. Other than a few punkers and goth kids, most wear easygoing styles with comfortable shoes, and have a healthy, easy look.
All of which, of course, is Sweden in SUMMER. Land of proverbial midnight sun. We don't precisely have the sun in the sky at midnight here, as mid-summer approaches (more on that in a moment), but the sky never gets entirely dark, and by 2 am, it starts to look like dawn again. Midsummer is celebrated as a much bigger deal than I've ever experienced, and it makes so much sense in a land of such striking contrasts to the seasonal light. I'd be very curious as to how it feels to be here in the darktime. It's no wonder the old gods liked plenty of sacrifice... they could really hold that return of the sun thing hostage, if their worshippers didn't play right...