First we visited Kalmar Castle.
The history of this legendary castle stretches back over 800 years. During the 12th century a defense tower was erected to protect against pirates and other sea-faring enemies. A harbour was constructed and in the course of time a castle grew around the original tower. Kalmar Castle soon became “The Key to the Kingdom”, a significant defensive fortification on the Danish border with an essential part in international, political life.
It took about an hour to get there, but the scenery on the way was great. We couldn't take pictures inside the castle so here are some pictures from the outside and in the courtyard.
Ron had to work on Monday and Tuesday, so while he was at work I walked around the downtown area of Karlskrona with his parents ( Nancy and Mike ). They belong to a photo club and take amazing pictures ... here are some pictures they took. =)
After a long day of walking around we stopped at the local ice cream parlor ... you would not believe the serving size at this place = enormous! Well there was an abandoned ice cream cone and these birds would take turns swooping down to get a bite ! It was really cute.
Also while they were here we took a drive over to Vaxjo to visit the immigration museum and see the glass museum. The immigration museum was really interesting.We didnt actually walk through the glass museum but there were a few art pieces that were really cool.
Okay, so Vaxjo is a much larger city than Karlskrona and had a big downtown area with lots of restaurants and shops to choose from ... so when it was time for lunch we thought it was just a matter of where - not how.Unfortunately Sweden has not mastered the art of the restaurant. Literally you walk into a restaurant and there is no proto call! No one acknowledges you and it is unclear whether a waitress will come to your table .... it's just a complete disaster. We think if we opened a restaurant here and did it right - we would make a fortune. And its not just that we are American and thats why we don't understand what to do, because we ask Swedish friends of ours and they don't know what to do either! Its just a wild guessing game. Anyways, this particular day we went into a few different restaurants and depending on how ignored we were and how confusing it was - we would move onto the next place. We ended up eating at this Greek restaurant. It was a good experience for his parents because we have trouble explaining the food here .... it looks right, but the taste is just a little off. Not bad tasting - just off.
Most all the pictures taken in this blog are taken by Nancy and Mike. One morning Mike woke up early and took some pictures outside looking across the water from where we live. I look at these pictures and they look so surreal and amazing. I really don't have any spring photos of Karlskrona so these are great because it really has warmed up here and its so pretty outside. We had nice weather the entire time they were visiting and we think that they brought the California sunshine with them! =)
Alright, well I hope you enjoyed this blog. We had a really great time with Nancy and Mike and we were so excited to have them here !!
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