JUNE 2010--BACK IN SWEDEN
After about 14 hours in the air in three airplanes, with about 3 hours between each flight, 7 meals plus snacks, many mini-naps but not much extended sleep we have safely settled into our cozy hotel room in Stockholm. It's a 9 hour time difference between Stockholm and home, so that means only 28 total hours have passed since getting a ride to the Olympia bus station and bedding down in Sweden. The flight was very comfortable with nice amenities like a mask to blot out the sun, socks for walking about, a way cool mini-toothbrush with enough paste for two brushes, free meals, complementary drinks, no charge for bags, way too many movies to choose from on each individualized monitor, and we even outsmarted the new system of being charged for selecting your seat. We chose not to pre-choose, thus saved $30 each, and the flight wasn't full. The British Airways flight attendants--the very same ones who have been on strike over the past month--ushered us to a front row seat with ample leg room. Most comfortable flight since traveling Air India in 1966 on our Peace Corps journey. It was fun to watch World Cup Soccer in Heathrow Airport with an international audience, and my first sip of British tea was not what it was meant to be as I mistakenly added salt thinking it was sugar. Tomorrow we'll hop the train to Vargarda, about 4 hours, and be met by our friend Jerker (Yair-i-ker). We'll stay there in the town closest to where my ancestors lived and soak up the light and entertainment of Sweden's Midsummer Festival.
This, by the way, is the frugal person's trip to Sweden.
--Cost from Olympia to SeaTac Airport per person (1/2 price sr.cit): $5.50
--Cost from Seattle to Stockholm (Frequent flier benefits+fees): $165.00
--Value of visit to ancestral homeland: Priceless