Today we go to the archipelago. We had to be at the ferry by 9 am so got an early start. We arrived we thought in plenty of time but about 150 people showed up first. With an unrelenting heat wave, more Swedes than ever have been hitting the beaches. We were lucky to find a seat near the front of the boat. It was crowded but tolerable. We made several stops to pick up passengers on our way to the furthest out island, Sandhamn, our final destination. People tended to gravitate towards the front and back decks, to enjoy the scenery and the nice breezes.
One of the nice things that happened was we shared a space with a very nice couple from Norway, Tone and Tore. They were very interesting and have done a lot of traveling, so we had a long and fun conversation with them. It took almost two hours to finally get to Sandhamn. It was crazy. This is one of the busiest islands in the group. There were about four ferries disgorging passengers at one time. Our plan was to grab a bite to eat but seeing all of the people hitting the ground at the same time, we knew we needed to hustle to get a seat. The Norwegian couple was headed to the same restaurant as us, so we got a table for six and got seated immediately. Good start. We ordered our food and drinks and then waited… and waited… and waited. It took about an hour to finally get our food. It was definitely worth it. I got salted salmon with an amazing potato salad. Susan had a “seafood casserole”, a big bowl of soup with chunks of fish and vegetables. Clay had a beautiful halibut steak. We are never going to get better or fresher fish than we are on this trip, so we had to enjoy it one more day.
Afterwards we headed for the beach. Since we had never been there before, we asked one of the waiters where the beach was. She directed us about ten minutes up the shore. It was an easy walk but seemed kind of crowded compared to the pictures on the internet and for sure a lot closer than it had been described. I jumped in the water and had a nice swim. I hear that on a typical summer, the water is almost too cold to swim in. But with this year’s weather it was quite pleasant. Clay unfortunately forgot his suit so didn’t get to take a dip. I had a couple of long, leisurely swims, air dried, and then too soon it was time to head back to the dock to meet our 3:15 ride. It was only after we were on the boat heading back that I found out from a fellow passenger that the beach we went to wasn’t the right beach! That sucked, but as it turned out, due to our limited time on the island, going to the bigger beach probably wouldn’t have worked out.
We took a meandering route back to the dock through a few random city streets. Sandhamn is a very cool town. The houses tend to be small and homely but appear to be lovingly cared for. Most are red, and the story is that in the old days, red paint was the cheapest so that is what people used. There were nice gardens and trees everywhere. It was quaint and comfortable looking.
The trip back to town was uneventful. We made the trip in reverse so at each stop we let off a number of passengers which was more comfortable for everyone. There were a number of small children on board and I couldn’t help noticing how well-behaved and content they all seemed. Parents and children in Norway and Sweden have a unique bond. With liberal family leave policies and family-friendly work rules, the parents and children are encouraged to spend a lot of time together. Parents dote on their children and children go everywhere. These kids are going to grow up to be confident, creative kids and eventually role models just like their own parents. Too bad other countries don’t take their cue. The cost savings and the benefits to society would be immeasurable.
Susan's Note: In Norway, parents are entitled to parental leave; 46 weeks at full salary, or 56 weeks at 80 percent pay.
We arrived back at the dock in Stockholm and caught the bus back to our car. We decided to grab a pizza at a local bar. We then headed back to the cabin. We showered, cleaned the house and packed up. Now we have nothing to do for six hours until we leave for the airport at 3:30 am. Counting down the minutes…
Susan's note: I got to visit Scandinavia in 2013. After seeing the amazing natural beauty of these counties I really wanted Jim to be able to see and experience it as well. Plus I didn't get to see as much as I wanted to, I knew there was so much more to explore. I feel so fortunate to have been able to come back here and have Jim and the Harmons explore Scandinavia with me. We all now know that there are more parts of these countries we want to visit! Let's hope we can come back again!
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