Our Morning Walk in Sweden! Sept 9, 2009

Harbor in downtown Stockholm.

Park in front of Nordiska Museet.

Bay with harbor in background.

Old building now a classy restaurant.

Walking through the lush green forest.

Stockholm Rowing Club across the water.

Cows in pasture where we walk.

Bridge that crosses bay just before entering
the archipelago.

Path and tree lined canal where we walk.

Path beside bay with Nordiska Museet in background.

Famous warrior with his prey statue.

Group of pre-school children feeding the ducks. Each child wears a little bright colored safety vest.

Beautiful cathedral by our apartment.

I thought you might enjoy seeing what we encounter each morning as we take our walk. It was a bit overcast and chilly, but such beautiful sites. I never tire of the beauty the Lord has created in this gorgeous country. One big disappointment was the picture of the King's horses pulling the carriage along. Just as it was beside me, I snapped the picture; but my hair blew over the lens and that is about all you see. So, in addition to what I am posting, imagine the king's horses (4 of them) pulling the carriage along here in the forest. Maybe another day I will get a chance to take another picture of the King's horses.

Helsinki, Finland Trip

Helsinki NDPA, Stake President, and committee with Gabi, Vicky and Rex.

Vicky with harbor in and marina in background, across from Kaivopuisto Park.

Suomenlinna maritime fortress as we sail into Helsinki.

Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral

Esplanade Park with Rex by statue

Presidential Palace with Vicky in front. Guards standing by doors.

Market Square - great fruit, vegetables, jewelry, clothing, etc.

Helsinki Cathedral and Senate Square, Vicky in front of statue.

In dedication for Rex, notice "Big Rex" establishment.

Temppeliaukio Church. Quarried out of the natural bedrock. Interior walls of the church are created naturally by the rock. Great acoustics.

Sibelius Monument found in Sibelius Park in honor of the composer Jean Sibelius.

Shopping center with escalators on interior.

Vicky and Irina from Russia in front of Helsinki, Finland Temple.

Rex and Vicky in front of Helsinki Temple.

Vicky in front of Parliament House.

Rex with luggage walking past Esplanade Park on our way to get the rental car.

Vicky in front of Market Square with Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral in background.

Sailing into port in Helsinki.

We had such a wonderful experience in Helsinki. It was a little rough getting started as we decided to walk, pulling our suitcases, to the Hertz car rental agency. Needless to say, it was not as close as it looked on the map. It took over an hour to get 2 plus miles. We asked for help along the way and finally made it. Rex hadn't driven since we arrived in Sweden, so he was most apprehensive about driving around Finland. We rented a GPS system which was a life saver. After picking up Gabriele Sirtl, our International Director at the airport, we headed to the hotel about 30 minutes away. So far, so good. Then we went to the Helsinki, Finland Temple to do a session. There we had one of those "tender mercy" experiences. I went up to one of the temple workers who I thought resembled the lady I had met in St. Petersburg, Russian 8 years ago. We stayed in her apartment while there with Kali, Kevin, and his parents. It was her!!! She didn't speak much English, but quickly got a Russian sister to translate for us. How exciting to meet again this dear sister and see her strong and active in the gospel. She married the year after we met her and now has a little 5 year old daughter. What a tender experience! I am attaching a picture with her.

Our training went well on Saturday with the NDPA and 12 committee members. What kind, wonderful people. We enacted a mock media interview with 3 of the people in attendance. It was video'd, critiqued, then we did a second interview. Rex and I got to be the reporters and that was fun. We could ask them anything we wanted about the church.

We attended church on Sunday and got to do some sight seeing on Monday before returning to Stockholm Monday night on the cruise ship. I have some photos of the sights we saw.

I would like to dispel a rumor -- most Swedish girls are blonde only because they bleach their hair. It isn't natural.

Our trip to Turku, Finland

Dinner together with some of the professors in Turku.

Turku Cathedral built in 1300's

Silja Cruise ship we sailed on to Turku, Finland.

Rex as we were sailin through the archipelago.

Rex as we were sitting down for supper on the cruise ship.

Vicky standing on one of the bridges in Turku.

Rex at a park in Turku, with one of many statues.

A statue in the river that runs through Turku, with Vicky.

A knight acting at the old Turku Castle.

Old Turku Castle built in the 14th century.

We had a cruise through the archipelago among the thousands of island on our way to Mariehamn and on to Turku. Our reason for going was to attend the European Mormon Studies Conference. There were professors from around the world who presented papers about how Europeans perceive Mormons. It is so unfortunate that most of what they know is through anit-Mormon literature and shows like "Big Love" that are so wrong. We have a responsibility to define who we are as member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have such a strong testimony of Jesus Christ. He is our Savior and He loves each of us. His atonement provided a way for us to return to our Father in Heaven. How blessed we are for that truth that has been restored.

In Turku we saw an old cathedral and castle that were built in the 1300's. We saw a couple of weddings. A river runs through Turku with boats docked along the sides as cafes and restaurants. The town is a typical Nordic town with many apartment buildings, statues, and trees. There are two universities in Turku. It is quite expensive in Turku. A one scoop ice cream cone costs $3.00 and a banana was 75 cents.

City Hall and shopping

Rex standing between two guards at City Hall.

Greek dancers at the "Big Fat Greek Wedding" at City Hall in Stockholm.

Vicky in front of City Hall in Stockholm

Vicky on steps of City Hall in Stockholm, Sweden.

More of City Hall in Stockholm.

Rex in front of Willy's with our little red grocery cart and grocery bags.

Since everyone must eat, I thought you might enjoy a picture of Rex with our little red grocery cart and bags which we take shopping. We have to ride the tunnelbana, then the Lidingobana, then walk to Willy's to shop. Coming home is just the reverse. It is quite the process and we do it about every 10 days.

Our Key City Meeting was this past week. We love the people on the council and have such fun with them. During our meeting this week, I received a call on my cell phone from Ed Blaser, BYU Performing Arts Management Director and the man bringing BYU Young Ambassadors to the Nordic countries next year. I had emailed him some important questions and needed answers. He called from his cabin in Idaho and I was so grateful for the answers as they helped in our meeting and in email I needed to respond to the next day.

I got really brave and had Rex cut my hair about one and a half inches this week. He actually did a fine job. We have had lots of rain all week, which makes it difficult to get out. However, on Saturday it was sunny so we went to see City Hall. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in Stockholm. There were about 6 weddings as we sat around in the courtyard watching. We saw a Japanese, Greek, Spanish, etc. weddings. I got pictures of the group of Greeks dancing like in "Our Big Fat Greek Wedding". It was really quite entertaining.

Drottningholm - The Royal Palace

Rex and Vicky in front of Drottningholm.

Rex and Vicky in the gardens with the palace in the background,

Vicky and Rex at one of the gates to the palace.

One of the guards in front of the palace.

Rex in front of the palace.

Looking out at the lake from the front of the palace.

Vicky in front of the palace.

The palace gardens from the 2nd floor of the palace.

The weeks keep flying by for us. We continue to enjoy every opportunity to go to the temple. On Saturday we visited the Royal Palace - Drottningholm with E/S Watts. The palace was built in the 17th Century and the Royal Family has lived there since 1981 in one of the wings. We are only allowed to tour a small portion of the 218 rooms. There a numerous portraits of kings, queens, etc., as well as a countless number of tapestries given as gifts to the royal family from leaders of other countries, and the furniture is exquisite and antique. The gardens are a maze of bushes in exquisite designs. We encountered children chasing each other throughout. Flowers adorn many areas of the palace grounds. The theatre was the same as it was in 1761 when it was built. Plays and operas are currently and regularly running at the theatre. All the stage props operate as they did over 300 years ago. I will include pictures of the outside as photos were prohibited inside.

We also went out for a delicious supper afterwards and enjoyed a wonderful Saturday.