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When we returned from India at the end of May, we stayed in London for most of June to see family and friends and met this brilliant cat during a pet sit in the very hip area of Dalston, before then spending two months in Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

Finland

We loved getting to know Helsinki last year and so returned this summer. Our cats were Siamese who were much kinder than the minxes from Lady and the Tramp. Their eyes were something to behold.
This one was called Leelou after Fifth Element’s Leelou Dallas. We shared a passion for films and pets with the cats’ owners and they have already asked us to return next summer.
Leelou often acted as our lookout
Harry made a great TV buddy
and both were helpful with sewing repairs
Our home was in the countryside but only a short walk to the metro or through this park to the supermarket.
Rabbits were running everywhere, even in our garden.
We were also close to the sea…
and used electric scooters for the first time to get there. Scary!
Daytime seemed to last forever. This was the night sky at 11pm.
We regularly went into Helsinki. We saw these happy plants in its Botanical Gardens…
…exhibitions including a retrospective of Albert Edelfelt who painted this portrait of Pasteur in his lab…
and we reacquainted ourselves with the wondrous Oodi library.
We noticed this sign one day bearing the same name of one of our favourite films, Kamome Diner, about a Japanese chef who opens a restaurant in Helsinki. Walking into the restaurant, we found ourselves on the actual film set. So, we of course stayed for a bite. Before the film, the restaurant was serving Finnish food. SInce then, a Japanese owner who loved the film made it into a Japanese restaurant. Life imitating art imitating life.
Finnish food was great especially for its smoked fish and herring. Sushi buffets are widespread and inexpensive.
Most fresh produce were curiously sold by the litre rather than by the kilo. A litre is more or less equivalent to 800 grams.
For the sweet toothed like us, licorice was incredibly popular and came in all varieties.
Moose was of course on restaurant menus
But this was the closest we got to seeing or eating one
And of course, spending time with cousins and their beautiful new baby boy was a thrill.
Helsinki was followed by a road trip to the Finnish Lakes.
The view from our hotel’s private sauna of an ice cold lake..perfect!
One of the best days of our lives was spent walking around the lakes inside a national park…
picnicing by the lakeside…
eating blueberries as we went…
and admiring the peace and beauty all around us.
Close by in a small village, Kerimaki, was the largest wooden church in the world…
and in Savonlinna, a 15th Century castle, completely intact…
with the perfect lookout.
Will we ever grow up?
After the battle, as you were soldier!
Next stop the industrial town of Tampere which converted all of its of 19th Century factories but retained their facades, so the place has a sense of history.
We visited a fascinating museum of social housing and could not help notice that, however hard life was in 1850, the quality of life surpasses what people have to endure today in places we have volunteered like Ethiopia.
They even had this sauna 170 years ago for communal bathing.
On our way to Sweden…
…our ferry passed the beautiful Aland Islands on the way.

Sweden

First stop was Stockholm to see a dear friend and meet her new grandson and to see our dearly beloved Greta Garbo outside her home…
and some old familiar sites including this wonderful photography gallery.
Our friend took us to Visby, a perfectly preserved World Heritage fairy-tale looking medieval town completely encircled by its walls.
The wall was remarkable…
as were the medieval structures still standing.
A medieval festival was taking place while we were there.
It was like being on a film set: people in costume in a town that had not changed!
Good day to you fair maidens.
This charming couple explained to us how they research, find and stitch materials and bemoaned the real geeks who insist on getting the stitching right for the year, let alone the century.
Our first and hopefully last encounter with a cod piece
Lund, in the south of Sweden, is a picture postcard old university town. The National Library of Sweden here dates from 1666.
The town is most famous for its cathedral housing this astronomical clock, made in 1424 and still working…
and other treasures also within the cathedral…
the tomb stones in the crypt are particularly moving
We loved Lund, particularly for its beauty and history…
…even the local gleaming chemist dates from 1621.
Leaving Sweden behind, a short 30 minute train journey from Lund took us into Copenhagen over “The Bridge”, the source of stories for the great TV series.

Denmark

In Copenhagen, we looked after a a beautiful Norwegian Forest cat
and a cuddly, playful, boss-eyed Siamese kitten.
Copenhagen was gorgeous…
with architecture, old and new, which just earned the city Unesco World Capital of Architecture 2023.
Historic monuments everywhere….
…gave a strong sense of national identity.
The Christiania commmune from the 1970s remains intact despite the change in law in 2013 when it had to start abiding by Denmark’s laws.
We had a peak inside the Royal Palace of Rosenborg to admire its grandeur…
saw the old King (Christian VI) who was a doppelganger for Marty Feldman’s Igor (Young Frankenstein)…
and imagined wearing the Crown Jewels
The National Museum of Denmark has a fascinating exhibit on the Vikings.
After years of debate, we discovered their helmets really did have horns, at least for priests.
And these musical instruments, the Lur trumpets, were bewildering …they are huge!
Our finest day was spent in the Louisiana Museum which had this great Kusama installation…
a delightful garden, filled with modern sculptures, which reminded us of the Maeght Foundation in Provence…
galleries full of famous modern art…
and exhibitions. We loved the retrospective of the Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani.
Set between the Baltic Sea and lush countryside, magical places like the Louisiana Museum made us want to return soon to these beautiful Nordic countries and explore more.
The Little Mermaid of Copenhagen reminded us of Hans Christian Anderson’s words last week when a dear friend of ours passed away. He spoke of our “soul which lives forever, lives after the body has become dust; it rises through the clean air, up to the shining stars!”

Next

Seeing family and friends in Glasgow, Brussels, Antwerp, Paris and Zurich and a pet sit in Liechtenstein!

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6 comments. Leave new

stanislav zelikovich
August 20, 2023 1:55 pm

It is amazing, thou spending more than 10mts around cats will kill me for sure.
Luba and I are happy for you.
Stan

Reply
Geoffrey
August 20, 2023 5:20 pm

HI Sylvie & Jeff

Thanks for the up date. I was wondering where you are. Great photos as usual.

We were in Copenhagen recently and really loved it despite the rain. You obviously did not spot Charles I painting in the castle which I did. He was married to the king of Denmark’s sister. we also went to Kronenbourg Castle (Hamlet’s Castle).We intend to return and I would like to go to Norway.

Reply
James
August 20, 2023 10:18 pm

More amazing travels. Still cannot get over the cat who can play dead

Reply
Sue Shipman
August 21, 2023 2:49 pm

hi Jeff and Sylvie
what an amazing time you had in Scandinavia. Thanks for sharing. What a wonderful way to see the world.
Sue and David xx

Reply
Indira Dey
August 22, 2023 1:59 pm

Ohh wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing all those. Whenever someone known to us visiting around the world and sharing their experiences, it’s much more appealing to go through their pictures and personal experiences rather than watching on YouTube. It’s the personal connection that makes the difference. Very nice to see Sylvie with the crown on:). Looking forward to seeing your upcoming experiences. Stay strong and travel safely. Thanks once again.

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Fiona Hulbert
August 26, 2023 4:23 pm

I didn’t know cats obedient to human commands existed! This could be the only one in existence that you have cleverly tracked down. Is this the purpose of your globe-trotting?
It is always a joy to see photos of your extraordinary global travels and get vicarious enjoyment , so thank you for your pictures and accompanying texts.
Scandinavia as you show it here looks lovely. Thank you. And Shana Tovah….we look forward to seeing more of Ethiopia and any other distant places where the year ahead will take you…
All our good wishes.

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