Patiperra reports back

I've decided to do a picture collage from my times of silence here on the blog. Well half-silent at least. I managed to stay away from my blog but was not able to shut off facebooking while out and about. Still, half way and almost proud of myself. At least I am utterly proud of my achivement to go to bet at 10 p.m. during vacations. Add to that that the kids went Central European time during our four days in Sweden, which meant that they since then have been sleeping until 9 a.m. (!!!!!!) almost every morning. I will enjoy for as long as it lasts! But anyhow, I promised pics and so pics it is:

Midsummer on Åland, as good as it gets! Sun is shining and living is easy.

Patiperros chicos, vagabunding the lake of Mälaren in Stockholm.

We took a stroll with the older Chilean generation before heading south....

Castle of Nynäs...just happened to appear at a very convenient moment. Traveling with kids that are awake is not such good idea if they do not have anything else on their mind than to drive each other and their parents mad. So Nynäs castle was like hitting the jackpot.

Based on the size of the parking lot, you would think we did all that driving only to go to Ikea... But no, we Finns do not have to do such crazy day trips anymore as Mr Kamprad was so kind and built a couple of shopping havens on the other side of the Baltic just for us.... so this humangous parking space is nothing else than...

The tourist haven on the East Coast: the Kolmården Zoo, biggest in the North. And honestly, if animals are to be locked up in zoos, the area should be big. And Kolmården is the best one seen so far (after having educated our kid(s) with the following zoos already: Berlin, Buin, Helsinki, Barcelona).

 It used to be possible to do a safari by car in Kolmården. That is how I experienced it, some 30 years ago. This year they inaugurated the gondola. So you see the wildlife up from the air, without having to be worried about driving, cars or open windows. Excellent!

 Wildlife in its true meaning. The lions had their cozy moment when we passed by!

Back on the ground we met the monkeys. And the wheather was hot!

From the Children's museum Junibacken (mostly Astrid Lindren stories) in Stockholm. This is where my wishes regarding princesses come true. Because this is a princess with balls and far from what Disney what to serve our little girls (and boys). Do I have to say that this is the kind of princess that I admire?

 The Wasa Ship. Or more precisely; what it could have been. If only the ship builders had been smart enough to design a ship that floated... It sunk back in the 17th century, only 20 minutes after being set in the water. Impressive that they managed to get the ship out of the water some three centuties later, all in one piece. I have no good pics of the real ship, as all of the turned out too dark to be posted here. The museum has grown a lot since I last visited it back in 1999.

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I wonder if my dad was a king in a previous life? 

I tried to get a picture of hubby and G in a ride on Gröna Lund... the ride was too fast and the camera too slow and A screaming for icecream right next to me. The excuses are many so I do not have to admit to being a lousy photographer! (the blue jeans shirt is actually hubby, I still caught him on the picture!)

We did some grilling on Åland when back from Sweden.