Peace on Earth

We are finding Stockholm to be one of the best cities that we have ever visited and one of the most relaxed places around. But why?

Despite an obviously big tourist bias in our observations as we cannot really tell just who the tourists are and who are the Swedes, we are beginning to think that having a culture build around over 200 years of peace must be a big factor. No direct involvement in either of the world wars and a high degree of social welfare could mean this is a nation at one with itself and being relaxed about its place on Earth.

It is a great pleasure to be able to mix in public places without any security screening, no holding of backpacks and bags in locker rooms and an obvious high level of trust in people to do the right thing. This is a big, big contrast to places like Australia where policy mistakes like Viet Nam, followed by Iraq and Afghanistan are helping to generate a militaristic, aggressive overlay on day to day living thereby heavily influencing our culture. We could learn a lot from the Swedes if we ever looked further than the US for our cultural directions.

There is plenty of water activity going on, especially around the city centre between the various islands with quite few tourist carrying boats around and the odd cruise ship parked along the waterways. Plenty to explore over the next few days as we blend into our new way of living day to day in Europe. It only takes a few hours in an aircraft to get away from Kev 07 and the spin brigade of Canberra although Afghanistan and climate change are very much in the news here too

We are not usually into tourist travel notes as such but as I am a bit out of blog practice I thought I would test the system out a bit before we head back into France. So we have arrived today in Stockholm to find the place fairly relaxed and quite active with tourists at the same time. We are staying in the old town (GAMLA STAN) on a small island which also has the royal palace just a few metres down the road. Lots of younger travelers around (or are we just older?). We managed to find a slightly up market market for a great lunch as we started getting our sea legs about Stockholm. It reached about 27 degrees today so there were plenty of sun loving locals out and about soaking up the sun. A couple even bringing chairs down from their apartments to sit in the street where they could be admired.

In places there were a few too many tourists for us and a few too many tragic souvenir shops but we managed to avoid the worst of it. We are finding that the various races here are difficult to pick at times and genders seem to tend to being blended together here, perhaps because there is/was/will be a gay event in town this summer, This is a very cosmopolitan city with a lively feel to it and we enjoyed today a lot.

Saying goodbye to family

With one week to go before we head off to Europe, we spent last week tripping up to Brisbane and back to say goodbye to the family. Plenty of learning about dinosaurs and the intricacies of getting train tracks and names of trains just right with grandsons.

Whilst the highway to Brisbane is a continuing disgrace, by now we know where some good coffee spots are to be found and so it was a pleasant enough drive with overnight stops at Glenning Valley and Grafton to break the journey.

Now we are looking forward to learning just a little about life in Scandinavia during our month there and then to further develop our francophile tendencies. Whilst you could think that it is getting a bit late in the day to consider having a more permanent base in France to spend at least a good part of each year, this potential project is still on the books. We hope to report any progress in our thinking over September but in the meantime we are increasingly focussed on first exploring Scandinavia with our friends George and Yvonne.

Family matters and family matters

Whilst we still have an urge to move into another way of living and specifically one where we would spend more time out of Australia, the extended family continues to grow behind us. The recent happy arrival of Charlie Lane as a third grandson gives us much pleasure! Rachael, Ashley and Jayden are now happily blending Charlie into their lives and the world moves on.

Just how much family additions will complicate any of our moving considerations remains to be seen. One of us is now becoming more used to the idea of ensuring the family connections continue to grow as the extended family grows whilst the other is still yearning for a change of lifestyle whilst we have the physical and emotional means to make a transition.

In September we will spend yet another month in France refecting on possible options whilst enjoying a bit of late European summer.

And now for phase two of transition

One of my recent observations is that I am becoming increasingly tied to my computer and the internet. As we prepare to head of to Europe in early August, I was thinking that for the touring holdiay part of the trip when we are in Scandinavia, I should perhaps wear a camera on my head and attached to the computer which is itself wirelessed into the web. Readers can follow what we are doing in real time. And then I discover that new grandson Charlie Byron Lane was into that during his first week out of the womb. Or was he born wired up to go into the future?

In any case, I am re-starting this blog after a year or so of marking time in our transition process. We are planned to head off soon with friends George and Yvonne to Scandanavia where we will tour around until the end of August.

The four of us will then slip down to Chamonix, France for a final week together in the Alpes before heading off in different directions.

First Thoughts of 2008-post mortem

At the start of 2008, we are just getting around to what we should be taking out of last year's trip. The French house idea is still there, if only quite small at the moment. We think of the Tarn idea from time to time but that is about it. We have been kept moving over the last couple of months catching up with family and friends again and then getting through Christmas etc.

Even though Yvonne has briefly returned to work for a few weeks (not quite the same conditions as the pic) we are determined to keep up our travel ambitions whilst we are fit enough. We have a list of places to visit and things to do which is not getting smaller. And so after our annual pilgrimage to Melbourne next week to see a bit of tennis, we are now improving our fitness and getting ready for a month in India and Nepal from late February. After that, who knows?

We are in for a few challenges over 2008 as we feel our way forwards.