Thursday, April 19, 2007

Sea legs...

Life Lesson for Nat #36,642
Sealegs are not intended for ice.

It all started with a visit from my friend Grace (from my Beloit days). Then she met my friend Leah (from my Williams-Mystic days) who is living here in Stockholm. They seemed to think that part of a true Scandinavian experience lay in donning a pair of ice-skates. I was not so sure that was where the essence of Scandinavian living was to be found...

As I was outnumbered on the skating issue I gave in and we headed for the skating rink in Kungsträdgården, one of downtown Stockholm's grand garden squares. The rink itself is an octagonal death-trap around a statue, it is smothered in schmultzy Swedish pop music, and packed with reckless dare-devil skaters all day long. Honestly it was hardly the place to go for a nice evening skate--especially for a re-beginner like myself. The last time I was on skates I was six years-old. It was a kamikaze mission.

The whole way to the rink Grace and Leah were talking excitedly about the majestic joy of skating in the city's grand old park...

...while I was having visions of my near future....


...the pain...

...the chaos...

You see, I belong on the water...liquid water. Not this frozen solid stuff. For all my comfort and stability on a rolling deck, I am worthless as a two-legged creature on ice. Sea legs just are not intended for ice. Look it up in your Bowditch!

But for all my slipping and sliding, I dutifully put on a pair of skates and inched out onto the ice. Oddly enough, once I put on a pair of skates and began to scuffle my way around the rink in a cold sweat, it wasn't so bad. I think I like skating Sam-I-am!

THWACK!!

I went home with only a few major bruises...

Monday, April 09, 2007

Greenpeace

Greenpeace was in town again a little while ago, docking their ship Arctic Summer along the main quay in Stockholm's historic district. She is a tubby little ship of limited aesthetic beauty but she is certainly eye-catching with that brilliant green hull, lively writing on her sides, and the multi-colored rainbow painted across her bow.

She is also of a more decent size than most (namely the mega cruise ships) and fits nicely into the skyline of the Old Town and the classic passenger ship, Birger Jarl.

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Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Boaty-Hokey-Pokey

The lovley Swedish-flagged brig Gerda Gefle...

...swinging her bow in...

...swinging her bow out...

...and sailing all about...

...and that's how she comes about!


(Please excuse the blatent idiocy of the commentary about this lovely ship that kindly graced Stockholm with a visit last week)


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Sunday, April 01, 2007

Sankt Erik by night...

A lovely shot of my old floating home, the icebreaker Sankt Erik, under a moonlit sky on a still night.

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