Where in the World?

Stockholm, of course!

It was a really great trip, Sweden seems to be an immensely enjoyable country so long as you can deal with the weather and diurnal madness.

First, here are my favorite things about Stockholm:

1. The Food: Given that Sweden has about 2,000 miles of coastline (more than twice as much as the United States, relative to total area), seafood takes a particularly important position in the Swedish diet. The favorites seem to be shrimp, mussels, langoustes, salmon (smoked and fresh) and, much to my pleasure, herring of all sorts.
2. The Cars: Unlike the French, the Swedes seem to have a true appreciation of American cars. Sure, you'll see the occasional Chrysler 300 taxi in Paris, but you can be sure that it's a CRD version. In Stockholm I saw not only several 300s, but an 300 SRT8, two C6 Corvettes (one sounding like it was under forced induction) and a Grand Cherokee SRT8. I would attribute a stronger car culture in the country to the fact that many people live in rural areas or smaller cities without strong public transit, and wider, more car-friendly roads in the major cities. That said, Stockholm has an amazing public transport system, especially given its relatively small size.
3. Dagens Lunch: Though technically a food subject, this lunch feast deserves it's own point. On weekdays, you can go to most cafes and restaurants and get a fantastic spread for about ten dollars. I had a hearty seafood stew with garlic bread, a salmon filet with bulgar wheat and a roasted fennel, a salad bar, soft drink, coffee and cake. For ten dollars! And it was excellent quality, no fast food here! It was a bit complicated to order, but it was well worth the fit of miscommunication.

I took about 800 pictures so the law of averages guarantees that there be some good ones. Here are some of my favorites:


























Here are the links to the full albums (as of yet uncaptioned, sorry for that):

Travels - Stockholm 1

Travels - Stockholm 2

Travels - Stockholm 3

There you have it, the conclusion to the two-week old mystery. Enjoy the photos!

Where We Were

Before the "Where in the World" post, that is. I'm going to jump back to the weekend before that post to get caught up. Over that weekend we went to Normandy with Oded, Esther's cousin. It was overcast and rainy most days, but the "Cloudy" white balance setting on the Nikon does wonders in those settings. That, combined with Adobe Lightroom, yielded some decent results.

Here are some samples:







And here is the whole kit and kaboodle:

Normandy with Oded

Don't worry, more to come soon, including the answer to the long-standing question, "Where in the world?"

Where in the world are Kurt and Esther?

Suffice it to say, not Paris! Esther's here on work and I'm here as her executive assistant (not a bad gig if you can get it) and we're staying until Sunday. It's in Europe, but not the euro zone. If you already know the answer, don't go posting it in the comments. For the others, here are a couple of photographic clues:

Looks like an airport...



Something familiar, but not quite...



Seems like they have a metro...



Look! It says Manhattan! But I don't think that they dress like that in Manhattan...



Cloudy, with some industry in the back...



A circular public library, how Asplund-like...



That's a big hint. A Volvo limousine. There can only be so many countries where that would be considered a good idea.



A sampler plate of herring with boiled dill potatoes on the side. Another sizable hint...



Massive quantities of salmon. Enough said...



A happy guy wearing a crown? The royal logo? Hard to say...



A duck! But maybe that's just a canard...



That's what the youth looks like in these parts. Note the skinny jeans and blond hair...



Mmmm... Dagens Lunch, a gift from on high...