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.