Back in Seinajoki

Taking a break at the Norwegian Folk Museum in Oslo, Norway

Ice cream and sand don't go all that well together

Kodie playing at a seaside park in Oslo

I'll be sittin on the rock at the bay

Still holding on to that ice cream

One of the many inlets in Oslo

Looking out from one of the islands in Norway's capital city

Small museum in Oslo that documents the struggles of the Jewish population in Norway during the Second World War

A sled that was salvaged from one of the Viking ships dating back to around 850 AD

Well preserved wagon that was buried along with the nobleman from one of the Viking ships

First Viking ship on display at the Viking Museum in Oslo-- The "Oseberg"

These (3) ships were excavated from one of the local harbors and are thought to be around 1200 years old

The burial chamber that was generally located near the stern of the boat

The Vikings were known for more than their plundering and warrior like mentality. They were also great sailors and boat builders.

The best preserved boat of the three in the museum

Maybe its the Mary Kay boat

More of Oslo

One of the bustling harbor areas of Oslo with numerous restaurants, bars and shops

A shot from the train on the way into Oslo

Guarding the Royal Palace in Stockholm

The Royal Palace-- Stockholm, Sweden

Not sure who is more ornery looking out of the two

Yikes! Price for lunch for a family of five in Stockholm-- and all the adults had to eat was a shared cup of soup with a slice of garlic bread-- For the record, 100 SEKS=15 U.S. dollars

Chowing down on some Swedish pancakes

Swedish meatballs for Kodie

The Posh Grand Hotel in Stockholm

We arrived back in Seinajoki about 1am Monday morning after our Scandinavian journey. It was really a great opportunity to get away and spend some time together as a family. The kids enjoyed the experience too. Their favorite thing was probably the kids program on the cruise. They probably spent an average of 3-4 hours a day in this program while we were at sea. The program consisted of games, movies, scavenger hunts, carnivals, etc... The cruise staff had some really nice programs set up for them. As I mentioned before, the only disappointment on the trip was not being able to get over to Russia due to high winds. We tried to squeeze our dollars as much as we could because the areas we visited were very expensive. Sweden was more expensive than Finland and Oslo, Norway was the most expensive of all. The food on the cruise was tremendous as has been our experience before, but we ate a lot of salami, cheese and crackers and packed some of our own snacks to conserve money during the rest of the trip. Another thing that took up a part of our budget in many areas that we traveled was the cost of using the bathrooms. Kids seem to need to use the facilities about every few hours, so that was a bit of a problem at times. In Stockholm, it would cost about 5 or 10 kronors for each person every time to use the bathroom. That means that it would cost each of us about 1.40 U.S. each time somebody had to go. There are 5 of us, so this would add up during the course of the day. However, everything is extremely expensive compared to what we are used to.
We used about every form of transportation imaginable during the trip including buses, trolleys, metros, trains, ferries, ships, cars, and most importantly, our feet. Some days we logged probably close to 10 miles on foot. Tallinn and Oslo were very nice, but Stockholm, Sweden just swept us off our feet. It is an incredible city with great architecture spread out over 14 islands. Boats/ferries are the best means of transportation for getting around. There is a great old town area for exploring, amazing shopping, and a museum around every corner that you look. It has a sort of "utopian feel" to it and is a place worth going out of the way to visit. We will certainly go back there someday. The highlight for me was probably visiting the Vasa museum in Stockholm. This museum is one of the best known in all of Europe and it houses the best preserved Viking ship in all of the world. We visited a Viking museum in Oslo, which houses 3 ships that are around 1200 years old. They were impressive too, but the ship in Stockholm looks like it could still sail today. It sat under water buried in mud and clay for 333 years in the Stockholm harbor. It was excavated around 1960 and put on display for the public a few years later. Hope you enjoy the pics. I will post more over the next several days.