A Swedish mystery, solved

= last stop on the European tour before Italy!

I took an overnight ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm, Sweden. I was very much looking forward to this part of the trip, as I was going to see an old university friend from ten years ago....and also solve a mystery I’d long wondered about.

The last time I’d seen Toini was in Salt Lake City, Utah, right before her wedding in 2000. Well, I should say her planned wedding, as it never actually happened.

On the day of the ceremony, I arrived at the reception hall to find it deserted. I made a few phone calls and found out that Toini’s fiancé had called off the wedding --- only ten hours before it was to take place.

I was never able to get in touch with her. All I knew was that she had left the United States as quickly as possible to return to Sweden.

Well, on a whim, last year I looked her up on that thing everyone loves to hate, Facebook, and actually found her! When she discovered I was coming to Scandinavia she was thrilled to offer to host me!

Needless to say, it was an exciting reunion and we spent hours catching up. I can now gladly report that there is a happy ending to the story. Not longer after Toini returned to Sweden, she met a wonderful man and soon married him. They now have four great kids. Here’s the whole family:

Alvin, Jens, Lovisa, Egon, Toini and Ivar

As you might imagine, by this point (two months after beginning my trip) I was a little tired. I spent a week with Toini and her family and besides trying delicious home-cooked specialties like Swedish cinnamon buns and a kind of cooked strawberry jelly, I didn’t do much at all.

We did spend one day together in Stockholm. It was grey and rainy, but we saw some typical Swedish buildings:

and, at the Swedish royal changing of the guard, one of the only mounted marching bands in the world!

Riding a horse and playing a tuba at the same time: now that's impressive.

For those huge Nobel prize fans out there, you can go to the official restaurant at city hall and order a menu from whatever year you want.

We, however, found refuge from the rain inside a great, centuries-old cellar cafe.

Last stop before boarding the plane to Pisa, Italy (!!!!!): the Stockholm Sweden LDS (Mormon) temple.

A very unique design.

Finally Finland

Wish I could say more about this place, but I didn't see much of it! I spent my week there sequestered inside a high school on the outskirts of Helsinki, at a church singles conference. 

Attending one of these things is quite a unique experience. If you love to hear workshops on marriage and chase after members of the opposite sex, or be made to feel like you should chase after members of the opposite sex, then it's perfect!

Otherwise, it's best to stay out of the fray and enjoy hanging out with friends instead.

Reunion with the Icelanders!
(Johannes, Sigurjon, Kristofer, Sylvia)

Or go to the temple.

The formal dance the last night of the conference. More than three hours of slow songs!!!

A highlight was live music night. The “Gadianton Cradle Robbers” covered a Backstreet Boys tune (“I don’t care where you are, what you’ve done, or where you're from, as long as you’re wor-thy”) and we heard THIS great Finnish indie-electro duo: