31 AUGUST, 2006
Greetings
Välkommen tillbaka! Welcome back to our site. We hope you enjoyed your summer and that you are getting ready for school or fall or both. Erica and I have finished up our easygoing summer schedules and are preparing for fulltime research and classes respectively. The end of our summer was full of local tourism around Göteborg and some far-off travels to Scotland. Feel free to read more about our adventures and make sure to check out our favorite pictures from the last month in the Photo Album.
Playing Tourist Around Göteborg
Marstrand
At the beginning of August, Erica and I went with our Swedish language class to a nearby city named Marstrand. We took an old steam boat from Göteborg along the western coast to the city which took about 2-½ hours each way. Although the steamer was a fun historic touch, we decided that the 5 hours on the boat seemed a bit much since we could have taken a bus in a fraction of the time. Either way, Marstrand is a quaint, little seaside village with a colorful past and a pleasant touristy feel. The town has an old fortress, plenty of shoreline for swimming in the ocean, and a boardwalk with shops and summer homes.
Universeum
During the first week of August, Erica and I also visited Universeum—one of the major museums in Göteborg. Universeum combines a living rainforest, science center, and aquarium. We made our way through the dark rooms filled with 12-foot high walls of glass looking in on all kinds of underwater animals. Then came the tube that allowed you to walk beneath the largest tank with fish swimming overhead. Erica took this fairly well until a 6-foot shark swam over her head. She decided her horizons had been broadened enough for one day. Regardless, I was so proud of her!
European Championships
Our last big touristy adventure in Göteborg for this month was the city festival that coincided with the hosting of the European Track and Field Championships. The entire downtown was in party mode. There were activities for children during the day, multiple outdoor music venues at night, and lots of exhibits and food throughout. We spent an evening walking around the festivities and then a day at the track and field championships. They had the best athletes competing from all over Europe. The crowd was supportive of all the athletes, but they would go nuts for the competitors wearing Sweden’s yellow and blue. Erica and I enjoyed the announcing at the stadium when they would play rock music before every event and then proceed to talk about those who were favored to win the event as if the athletes couldn’t hear. We thought it was a bit intimidating for the athletes but entertaining nonetheless.
Scottish Travels
After finishing six weeks of intensive Swedish lessons, we celebrated by taking a trip to Scotland (a good use of our newly acquired Swedish language skills). The visit to an English speaking country was a nice respite from Swedish, but the Scottish accent provided its own difficulties at times. During the 8-day trip, we visited Glasgow, Edinburgh, and a little town called Lanark. We had a wonderful time learning about the rich Scottish history and seeing the sights of the city and countryside.
Glasgow
We spent two days in Glasgow—the old industrial city in the west of Scotland. Much like Göteborg, it was once well known for its shipyards and docks. Now, it has transitioned to more commercial businesses, but it still maintains much of its historic past. Erica and I enjoyed all of the old stone buildings including the neo-gothic Glasgow University and the red sandstone Kelvingrove Museum. This museum houses art from around the world along with interactive displays of Scottish history. It had just re-opened this summer after a multi-year renovation and it was a highlight of the city. We ended our stay in Glasgow with a spiritual emphasis by visiting the Glasgow Cathedral and St. Mungo’s World Religion Museum. The cathedral had a beautifully rustic interior and the religion museum was an informative presentation of all the major world religions.
Edinburgh
Our next stop was Edinburgh the capital of Scotland on the eastern coast. This city was full of history from the medieval parts of Edinburgh castle to the Crags made from ancient glaciers. Edinburgh castle stands prominently at the top of a large hill overlooking the modern city. The castle houses the Scottish royal jewels, various historical exhibits, and a couple military museums. The ‘Royal Mile’ is the original road leading to the castle and it was along this road that buildings were tightly packed and stacked resulting in narrow streets and walkways. We felt as if we were back in the 16th century as we made our way through the winding streets. We also took advantage of the Fringe—the city’s theater festival. Groups from all over the world performed shows throughout the day in venues all around the city. The highlight of our stay was the Military Tattoo which composed of military bands from a half dozen countries around the world. The venue for this event was on the entrance grounds of Edinburgh castle with 
the castle as the backdrop. There were light displays, bagpipes, and even the Prince of Wessex was in attendance (we didn’t know who he was but he looked important). We also took the time to climb to the top of the Crag on the eastern side of the city. It was basically a big hill made by the exiting glaciers and molten rock. It took a little convincing, but in the end Erica was proud that she made it to the top.
Lanark
The last stop on our trip was a small town called Lanark, and it provided an experience of Scottish life outside the big cities. Just 45 miles south of Glasgow, the town holds strong to its ties to the real-life William Wallace. Wallace’s wife was supposedly killed here by an English magistrate and Wallace in turn started an all-out war of Scottish independence (that is what the romantics believe anyway). During our stay in Lanark, no one was slain, but they did have a medieval festival with craftsmen, archers, swordsmen, and reenactments of battles. There is nothing like watching grown men put on armor, scream epithets with genuine accents, and then play dead after their brilliant displays of fantasy battle. We had a grand time.
