YouTube Test

In this post, I'm checking to see if downloading through YouTube is any better. 

This is a Scotish bar in Kalmar called Pipes.  They had what they called "After Work".  It's like our Happy Hour. It was a little buffet with wine or beer for $10.50 usd. Not bad for Swedish prices. 

  

Adventurously,  Judy

PS:  That worked pretty good. Give me your comments

A Day in Kalmar

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday I thought I had the picture and video posting down, but then a new problem arose. I ran out of memory in my tablet. If it's not one thing, it's another. At any rate, I'm here once again. 

Today we visited the castle in Kalmar.  How interesting! The Kalmar castle is 800 years old.  It was intact but a major refurbishing took place in about 2000.  We just can't fathom 800 years of history when our country is only 238 yrs old. This is a layout map of the Kalmar Castle and the city at that time?

This was a video of the dungeon above and below.

This s the only original piece of furniture left from 800 years ago.

This video below is of the town Square and church.  I almost ran right into the police car while taking the video.  

At night, a cousin of mine, Helene, and her husband took us to a Swedish dance.  Great group of singers and lively music.  Didn't dance much but I did a little. I had no idea what they were saying but the music is universal. Rythm will always get you.  I tried to post a sample of the band but prblems again.  So, I posted it on Facebook.  Friend me, if you're not already.  Going to bed now.  Blog to you tomorrow If you feel like reading.

Love you all,  Judy

PS  I know these videos leave a lot to be desired.  I'll work on it.

One More Try

Well, I'm going to try this one more time. The videos were horrible. I think I loaded them as pictures and not videos.  Anyway,  here are a few more pictures.

This is in the front lawn of the Royal summer home. 

Windmills galore on island of  Oland. They were used to grind grain. Obviously, there must be a lot of wind here in the summer. 

This is the Noahs Ark I told you about in the last post.

I could send you some more of the previous days, but I think I'll just start fresh with today's activities. We plan to go to Kalmar Castle today and then go to a swedish dance tonight. Tomorrow is a Jill Johnson concert.  Google for more on her.

Thank you for your patience with me learning this blogging stuff.

Judy

Jet Lag

I didn't feel that it was gong to get me but it must have.  I was a little zombiefied yesterday. Luckily, Larry and Gina (brother and sister in law) were here to drive me for our sightseeing adventure of the north Öland Island, just across the bridge from Kalmar, Sweden.
I had booked my first night at Edith and Julia's B &B on Öland. I really thought it would be a bit too far away for them to drive. As it turns out, its a very nice little vacation island for most of Sweden.  And,  they don't mind making the short drive.  Well, I'm going to attempt to insert some pictures along the way. I tried on my last post but couldn't figure it out. Just think I'm going to try again.

Yeah it worked! !!!  But, I'm having a difficult time with making any changes. It already deleted a couple of my videos. So, I think I'll just send this off to you so you'll have something from me today. 

The videos are of a trip to a available very old castle where King V Gustav reigned. It was quite a story.  The picture of the dog with only 3 legs is because the King was the only one who was allowed to hunt for deer. All the local farmer's dogs had to have one leg cut off so they wouldn't get the king's catch. He was also such an epicurean that one of the pictures shows a frame of his waistline. It was 2 meters around. He was a real fat slob.  There is a Hall of Fame in the castle that shows the important people who have performed shows or visited the castle. Among them were Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and of course, Abba. 

We also saw a ruin of a burial site that was from the Iron Age, around 1000 BC. They called it Noah's Ark because rocks were placed in the form of an ark and the bodies were buried by families in rows within the Ark. Quite interesting stuff. 

Another video is of the Royal summer home built close to the old castle. Build to remind the Queen of Tuscany. 

Well I'm going to get this off before I lose the rest of the videos. I think I'll have the posts/videos better organized from here on out. 

Traveling Can be Tiring

Traveling can be tiring, especially the way I do it.  I got a couple hours sleep on the bus, waited in Sacremento from 2am to 6am, got in San Francisco by 8am and made my way to the airport to find that the ticket counter would open at 2:30pm.  My flight was to leave at 5:30pm but is now 1 1/2 hrs delayed. It's a good thing coffee was invented.

All in all, my bus experience was fine. Met a couple real nice young men that didn't mind chit chatting with a "mother type".  I stocked up on alot of goodies before leaving and there was plenty to go around for my new buddies.  One, in particuar, was especially grateful because it looked like he really needed it.

The Bart station was only 3 blocks to travel with
the 60 pound bicycle case. Up and down an elevator in and around the turnstile and holding up the bicycle as Bart traveled along.  FYI, fare was $8.65. Luckily, it arrived at the international terminal.  There was only a very short distance to walk to the nearest restroom.  I waited my 3 hours, checked my bike and said "see ya later".  Now, I really feel light.  I cannot wait to get on the airplane and say "good night".

One quick luggage story. They were expecting my bike as my one checked bag. I expected to pay $85 excess weight charges. But, when I got there, they didn't weigh my bicycle but the carry on I had was 11 pounds overweight. He suggested that I open up the bike case and put 11 more pounds in it. I was not looking forward to opening it until I got there, but I did and the bike had traveled perfectly. And, there was plenty of room for the extra 11 pounds. I ended up not paying a dime for all the extra weight. He didn't even weigh my bike case. He did, however, warn me that they may not do this on the return.

Well, thats enough for now.  Talk to you again soon.

By:  Judy

More Is Not Always Better

Traveling is always an adventure!   Some days more so than others.   Today is one of those days.

So, as I begin my journey out of Portland, My son, Matthew, drove me to the Greyhound bus terminal this morning at 10 am.  Why, oh why did I go by bus?  I thought I was being frugal when in the end, it may cost me more, at least more headaches. I guess I must thrive on adventure and chaos.

We were met by a great deal of the homeless society out and about by the terminal. One lady, in particular, was observed to be a possible narcoleptic. She was stopped dead in her tracts in a standing position. She stood there motionless as we removed the luggage from the car. Just as we were ready to proceed to the terminal, she looked straight at me and basically blamed me for her world of hurt in no uncertain terms.  It is sad to see so many hurting souls in our society.

But, my real problem today is my luggage.  Especially as I get older, more is not always better.  I decided to be smart and get a case for my bike, not realizing the case was heavier than my bike. The redeeming features are that it has a very nice handle and great rollers (by the way, it was made in Sweden).  The real test is when I get into San Francisco!   I have to make my way from downtown out to the airport, navigating the BART with a huge bike case, one suitcase and a satchelle type purse filled with all my electronics.  Where there's a will, there's a way.

I've been on the bus now for 10 hours.  I have been pleasantly surprised by the bus. It's a very comfortable, brand new bus equipped with wifi, not crowded and pleasant people.

Since most lights are out except for mine, I think I'll call it a day, wrap this blog up and try to get some sleep. The pictures will be coming soon. Thank you for traveling with me.

Check back for some more with Judys Travel Adventures.

The Vast Domain

This is my first attempt at the world of blogging.  While trying to come up with a name for this blog, I thought of a great chorus sung many years ago by a group of teenagers embarking on a great adventure. We were on a mail boat from Nassau, Bahamas to the out island of Great Abaco. I will never forget singing the song "How Big Is God", while looking up at the vast sky and millions of stars and traveling on a seemlessly endless ocean beneath us.  Let me just share the words of that song with you before I begin, as a preface and mission statement for this blog.  It went like this:

     "How big is God?  How big and wide His vast domain?
        To try and tell, these lips can only start.
     He's big enough to rule this mighty universe,
         Yet small enough to live within my heart."

The earth is just a small part of this domain and mighty universe yet God has given it to us to enjoy that by seeing it we may know there is a Creator and, if He created all of this, then how much more special are we being made in His image

So, with all that being said, I decided to go on a trip. I have packed up my bike and am heading off to Europe. I will endeavor in this blog to unveil some of the beauty and splendor that God has created, as seen by my eyes. It's all around us.  You see it everywhere. The Pacific Northwest is especially full of the beauty of God's creation, while the desert has a different and very special kind of beauty.   As someone once stated, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".  Would you like to "behold" some of the beauty that I will be experiencing?   I plan to film some of the trip and will take lots of pictures.  If so, please sign on to this blog everyday while I'm gone and I will fill you in on some of the details of my trip.

May I say, I wish you were all going with me!










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