I'll start our summer reflections by recording some of the highlights of my trip to Europe. This will be difficult, since I spent three weeks touring and seeing friends and family, and taking about 1200 pictures (and I was being very conservative with this endeavor). I'm not discouraged. Knowing that my memories will always be with me in my mind and heart, I'll try to share some of the flavor with all of you.
The idea of me going to Europe started when my brother moved from Washington D.C to Stockholm, Sweden to live there for a year. I thought it would be fun to go and visit him for a little while, and with that occasion see Sweden as well. And then, I decided to go and visit one of our childhood friends in Gratz, Austria. Since I was already in Europe, I felt it would be nice to visit Paris and stay with my cousin, whom I hadn't seen in a while. If Elijah had accompanied me, we would have definitely stayed in nice hotels and visited my family for a day or two. I think that's the best way to spend a vacation, but since I was going by myself, I felt it would make sense to stay with family.
A soon as we finished celebrating the 4th of July, the children and I said a tearful good-bye to Elijah and headed to Georgia. The children were spending their vacation with Elijah's family, and they didn't care if I were staying or not, they were just happy to be with their grand-parents and uncles, and playing with dogs and pigs and running for miles undisturbed by cars or people.
Abel had just had a back surgery, so I was a bit worried that my children would make too much noise and bother him since they absolutely adore him and want to be with him every second, but knowing that Elijah's mother would care for them with kindness and Elijah's father with firmness, I didn't let my mind linger on that point. Needless to say it was hard for me to say "good-bye" to my children, but I did it nonetheless, and boarded my plane for Sweden the next day.
Having had very few opportunities to fly by myself these past 10 years, I made sure I had a good time while on board. I read a lot, I wrote a little, and I watched a bunch of movies that were offered during my flight. The one thing I didn't do that I should have was sleep. As I learned later, that was a big mistake.Upon my arrival at the Stockholm airport, I'm greeted by my brother. He and I are very funny with each other. Even if we haven't seen one another in a while, we pick up conversation where we have left off as if it were yesterday. After greeting each other, that's what we did. We delved right into a discussion about our families, interests, politics, religion, art, books, and many more. Another fun fact about my brother and me is that both of us like to waste no time and try to be very effective whether we are working or sightseeing. Whether I had just arrived from a 12 hour journey or not, we were going to do some sightseeing for sure! And that's where my sleep in the plane would have come in handy. Who needs sleep though, when I have energy galore.
But the first stop wasn't going to be sightseeing; it was going to be visiting my nephews, Luca and Marcel at their preschool, saying "hello' to my mother, who is staying with my brother for a few months, and chatting with my sister-in-law, who is as sweet as can be.
After a delicious dinner, my brother and I started our tour of Stockholm. Let me stop here from the narration of my experiences, and tell you a bit about Stockholm and what I thought and learned about this pretty city. I call it the city of islands since it is comprised of fourteen islands and a breathtaking archipelago. Lake Malaren surrounds all the islands and joins the Baltic Sea after it passes the archipelago. To pass from one part of town to another, we would walk from one bridge to another. It felt as if you were in a fairy tale, walking from one island to another. The city was very clean; there were bike and pedestrian lanes as big as car ones, done in an effort to reduce pollution. The buildings were well maintained, and there seem to be an effort to remove factory and industrial buildings away from the city. The people were very kind and low key. I don't know if I was expecting Viking passions displayed for me or what, but that side of the Scandinavian people surprised and delighted me. In many instances that we were out during the evenings and late at night, I witnessed lots of night bars with young people inside, but never did I see or hear rowdiness or fights.
There were restaurant boats everywhere you looked and they were attended till the late hours of the morning. That was another thing with Stockholm. If during the winter the day was done by four in the afternoon, during the summer the day was never done. The sun actually set at three in the morning and rose at four, and if there was no night, you just didn't feel like sleeping. During the whole week I was with my brother and his family, I remember going to sleep every night at three or four in the morning after long and exciting conversations about every topic under the sun. We didn't solve any world crisis, but it sure was an intellectual feast for me.
Another interesting fact about Stockholm was the idea that the whole society was geared toward caring for the children. There were social incentives to have children and to stay home with them for the first few months. There were parking lots just for strollers. If you boarded a bus or train and you had a child in a stroller with you, you traveled for free. There were little playgrounds in every each corner. The children's libraries were as big as the adults, and there were indoor play structure for the younger siblings. All the museums that I saw and entered were very child friendly. Walking through Stockholm, you had a feeling that this was a nice city to raise a family.
The first thing that we got to see was the Royal Palace. The Swedish government resembles that of England. They have a king and a queen (the princess scored big with the Swedish people when she broke tradition and married her own personal trainer instead of someone from the royal line-up). However, the policies and laws are established by the parliament and its Prime Minister. The king has very little power, but he is still the head of the state. Therefore, the Royal Palace is an important governmental building and is still in use today. The architectural style is Baroque, and is made of bricks and sandstone. After having seen the grandiose Royal Palace in Spain a couple of years ago, I try to have low expectations for the rest of Europe. So, I wasn't disappointed when I didn't see too much of marble, gold, and amazing paintings in every corner. The building style in Sweden is a mix between baroque architecture with its highly decorative facades and ornaments, curvy roofs, and beautifully painted ceilings and that of the symmetrical and plain look of the socialist period. Regardless of the lack of the extravagant wealth you see displayed in most Royal Palaces, the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden demonstrated its beauty in simplicity and its history in art.
I was getting pretty tired by now going through from one room to another, so we decided to stroll around the town. The weather was just perfect, neither cold nor hot, and the uniqueness of this city made an impression on me. I love art and whenever I see art throughout town, it takes me a while to move from it. In Stockholm, most sculptures I saw outside either told of their Scandinavian heritage, or as it was the case with most of them, the story was taken from mythology with the specific purpose of representing a national idea. And sometimes those mythological stories were just used for art.
Day two took us to the famous City Hall. This building is famous for its Renaissance architecture full of outdoor and indoor courtyards, but especially for its usage. Beside being used for administrative offices, it is well-known for the Nobel Prize Banquet that takes place in one of the indoor courtyard, or specifically in the Blue Hall (which isn't actually blue, but red; the initial planning was to be decorated with blue tiles, and then the architect changed his mind to red bricks instead, but the name had stuck) and in the Golden Hall.
The Blue Hall
The Golden Hall (decorated with gold leaf and tiny tile mosaic displaying the Swedish history since early on to our modern times)
The parliament meets in this building as well. 
The ceiling of the Parliamentary room is built as an upside down Viking ship decorated in fresco displaying events from the past.
Here are gorgeous views of the outside courtyards:
However, my favorite spot in this whole buidling was its bell tower. It was breathtaking to see all of the islands that made up this pretty city from above.
Next, we embarked into discovering the religious side of the Swedish people. Nowadays, most people don't believe much, but those who believe are for the most part Lutheran.
The first religious building we visit was actually a medieval abbey built in the late 1200s, the Riddarholmen Church. It is the last resting place of the Swedish monarchs and aristocracy. We sat here for a while listening to a concert of medieval music and songs.
Next was the Storkyrkan Cathedral, built in the mid-13th century, with additions made throughout the 14th and 15th century. Later adornment were added towards the 17th century with the arrival of the highly decorative style of Baroque period. The Stockholm Cathedral is used as a locak church as well as a cathedral where the Bishop of Stockholm ordains new priests and decons. Concerts are held regularly and we were able to hear the sound of the organ while carousing around. It was here that the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel Westling took place last summer. In Sweden, the royalty has a cool rule: the next in line is the oldest child, whether a son or daughter regardless of having any sons following the daughter. So Crown Princess Victoria is next in line even though she has a younger brother, a male heir, so desirous during the reign of the British King Henry the 8th.
The Cathedral is also home of a very unique sculpture ensemble, St. George and the Dragon. The story goes that it was commissioned by Sten Sture the Elder after he had defeated King Christian of Denmark, thereby rescuing Stockholm from the Danish invaders. Sten Sture saw himself as the knight who saved the princess (Stockholm) from the dragon (Danish army). It was placed as an altar piece to remind the people of St. George's deed as he converted the princess' village into Christianity. Today, this awesome monument is said to stand as an inspiration to have enough courage to fight against evil. It is carved out of oak, with details made out of elk antlers and horsehair. It stands life size and it is truly beautiful.
Another singular artistic and religious representation that caught my eye was the Candle Globe, where individuals could place candles to represent all of us that live in this world. It was amazing how such a simple thing could mean so much, peace and love and kindness toward all of us who occupy this earth that God created for us.
I want to share with you pictures from one more church. As you can see these are not churches and cathedrals that carry a lot of wealth, but each of them made an impression on me with one or two unique things that they had to offer. We didn't plan to visit this particular church, but I felt I wanted to see it since it was on our way to the rest of our tour. This was a German Lutheran Church, and it had its usual elements of any church, the beautifully decorated sacrament table, the adorned pulpit, and its high bell tower. What attracted me, however, were its stained glass windows and their subject matter. Beside showing the Savior and his life, they also portrayed our daily life as we strive to live the gospel.
We walked some more and passed through the city delighted to be out on a such a beautiful day. My brother, Medlir, is so interesting and would talk to me about everything relating to what we were seeing. He was the best tour guide ever. Here are some more fun pictures of the city.
Our last stop for this day was a historical museum that houses one of the biggest Viking warships to date, the world's only surviving 17th century ship, the Vasa Museum. The Vasa warship was built to fight but because of the heavy weight or some other undiscovered reason, it didn't have good balance and sank not more than 400 feet from where it sailed. It remained under the water for centuries until some fifty years ago when they were able to salvage it. Because it remained under the water untouched, 95% of its original parts and ornaments were preserved. Its raw size is overpowering, and its art is amazing. There are statues and carvings throughout the ship. This was supposed to be the king's pride and glory, with which he would defeat the Danish, the enemy they were fighting at that time. Although the ship was huge, it took only a few minutes to sink. Some fifty people died,and the king was outraged. The war wasn't lost, but his pride was.
After dinner, Medlir, Aubrie and I walked alongside the water, and I was able to capture a bit of Stockholm at night with my camera.
On Sunday, Day three, we went to church. I had just missed seeing the previous Branch President, a friend of mine from Virginia, but I was able to see and visit with two of the Swedish Sister Missionaries that served with me in Temple Square. They told me I had gotten younger not older and were surprised to hear I had four children. They themselves seemed unchanged as well and happily married with children of their own. It was so fun seeing them and catching up with each other's life.
After church, Medlir and I went to visit this wonderful garden and museum, Millesgarden, home of the great artist Carl Milles and his wife Olga. This was a spectacular park built on terraces filled with Carl Milles most famous sculptures. The artist's home was converted into a museum that displayed Carl Milles work, original castings and tools as well as his most precious personal collections of art. We had a picnic, talked, and then we discussed this master's work. As you may notice from his work, there is a Rodin influence portrayed in them. That is because Milles work under Rodin while he lived in Paris. I love his style. As we were talking about art and sculpture in particular, my brother made the remark that a sculture is a true work of art when it surprises you with unique things in different angles. Milles sculptures gave you something different in every direction, either the way sunlight caught on, or a new perspective on the character of the sculpture, or a different kind of muscle emphasized. And they all seem as if they were in constant flux. Here are some of my favorite ones:
Posiedon
Man and Pegasus
Europe and the Bull
Angels playing music
The Hand of God
Jonah and the whale (I really liked this piece. Every time you threw a look at it, it seemed it was moving, as if the whale was just throwing Jonah just that moment you were looking and at any minute you expected Jonah to fall into the water.)
The sunsinger (This was my brother's favorite. I can honestly tell you that regardless of having no head, this statue had so much presence and it was one of the most beautiful pieces of art I had ever seen. The human body up on a pedestal as part of the heavens seemed to tell me that God is the greatest artist of them all for creating such amazing masterpieces such as his children are, body and soul. That was the thing with this statue; it had soul and it spoke to you.)
This was a very relaxing place where we were able to sit, eat, talk about art, and see Stockholm from above. I have to say this was one of my favorite spots of Sweden so far.
After we finished our picnic, we decided to go and visit the Stockholm Temple. It was a bit far, about a couple of hours from the city center, but I really wanted to see it, even though being Sunday, I wouldn't be able to visit it inside. The temple grounds were amazingly clean and well maintained and as soon as you entered that area you felt a commanding peace and you knew without a doubt that that was a special place. The temple itself seemed small, but its presence was beyond words. We sat there and talked for hours, undisturbed by anybody or anything, pondering and discussing the words of God and the teachings of His Son. This was the best way to spend a Sunday.
To be continued...
