DAY 12 - London to Stockholm on Ryanair

Sept. 14 - Meeting More Swedish Cousins

Ryanair is a very cheap way to travel!  The drawbacks, however, are:
** The airports are obscure, a ways from the big cities, and sometimes difficult to get to.
** The flight is cheap, but if you have luggage, IT"S EXPENSIVE!  17 lbs. is the limit for your carry on.
** CROWDED!  Lines!  Mean workers!  NOT FUN!!

I got a 4:00 a.m. shuttle from the hotel and went right to the airport in 8 minutes.  I arrived to LONG lines for everything and the hardest security EVER!  I have replaced hips, so I always set off the alarms.  The guard frisked me for 20 minutes and her wand kept beeping on every area of my body.  It was CrAzy!

Then we waited in one big room.  People were EVERYWHERE.  Many were sleeping on the benches, so it was hard to find somewhere to sit.  I finally did.  They don't let you know which gate to go until the last minute, so you just wait and keep watching the board.  When it's finally posted, you make a bee-line!  If you don't get there 1/2 hour before  boarding, they don't allow you on board.  It was a L-O-N-G way to walk to this particular gate.  Again - CrAZy!  AND...if you don't get your ticket stamped with a special stamp (which they don't tell you about),  you have to go all the way back to the first long line.  Of course, I forgot (we did the same thing on our earlier European trip and luckily they let us through).  SO...I happened to ask an attendant who happened to just be walking by to get some food.  She was VERY nice and signed it for me.

FINALLY boarding Ryanair at 6 a.m.

 I only got about 4 hours of sleep after I re-packed everything earlier that morning.  I left my suitcase at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel which I was VERY grateful that they allowed.  They put it in a locked room and said I could pick it up when I came back in 5 days.  I took a backpack to Sweden that I didn't have to check.  I saved $75 that way.  The round trip only cost $60 total.

Two new cousins that I discovered meet Ingalil and I for lunch.  They live close to Stockholm.

 It was so exciting when I found out that my great great grandfather's brother had some other posterity that I hadn't met the first time I came to Europe in 2013.  I found these two sisters and we corresponded and had a lovely lunch together.

Most of us ordered  a wonderful seafood salad.

Christopher and his grandmother, Ingalil are also my cousins.

Isn't she just strikingly gorgeous!

 Well, actually Ingalil's husband, Sven is my 3rd cousin, but unfortunately, he passed away earlier this year.  BUT...I consider her relation as we had so much fun and were able to communicate very well.  (even if she doesn't think her English is very good!)

Christopher does well with English, but hadn't spoke it since I came the last time - July of 2013.  He enjoyed chaperoning us 4 ladies to lunch and more.  ha!

Paula, Ingalil, and Susanne, and I enjoy some laughs together!

A marketplace downtown Stockholm

One of the iconic sites along the sea that goes through Stockholm...the old City Hall

It is the venue of the Nobel Prize banquet and is one of Stockholm's major tourist attractions.  The construction of the City Hall took twelve years, from 1911 to 1923. Nearly eight million red bricks were used. The dark red bricks, called "munktegel" (monks's brick) because of their traditional use in the construction of monasteries and churches, were provided by Lina brick factory. Construction was carried out by craftsmen using traditional techniques.

We really enjoyed our walk along the water....so beautiful!

It was a nice, sunny day!

Ingalil in the Inner Yard of the City Hall

The Swedes LOVE their SEA!

Ingalil and I pose in the warm sunshine.

So many great memories of our afternoon in Stockholm!

Another shot of the Stockholm Old City Hall

We walked around downtown and into a shop that was celebrating their 50th year.

We met Christopher and he drove us 20 minutes north to where he currently lives with Ingalil, his grandmother.  She has such a beautiful house with lovely Swedish decor.  Last year when I came here, I marveled over her home and today was no different.

Beautiful hardwood floors and Swedish rugs everywhere.

Loving all her decor!

Her dining room - going into the kitchen

We had a very enjoyable meal together - thanks cousins!!

What a big steak!  I only ate 1/2...potatoes with Béarnaise sauce  - YUM!

Béarnaise sauce is hugely popular among most Swedes. It is perfect for the fancy steaks as well as the every day dishes like sausages and vegetables.  I LOVED it!  We also had dill, shrimp, and mayonaisse in a 1/2 of an avocado - very refreshing!  We also had cheese after dinner - a fun tradition.  What a lovely evening of conversation, memories of Sven, and talking of Christopher's mom (Ingalil's daughter) running for mayor and WINNING today!  We were all thrilled she gets to do a 2nd term!