Sorry, we were all very wiped out yesterday and didn’t have much time or energy to do any more than we had to. Our flights were on time; I stopped to buy two bottles of Diet Coke to tide me over for a couple of days if necessary. On the plane, I spent most of my time watching movies (the Changling, Man on Fire and bits of Madagascar2) since I couldn’t seem to fall asleep. When we landed in Amsterdam, we had to go through a checkpoint and had our passports stamped (mine for the very first time) before going down to wait for the next plane. I was able to find a little deli station and had my first experience with the European version of Diet Coke – called Coke Light. It was NOT EVEN CLOSE to Diet Coke as it tasted more like Coke but it will do in a pinch.
We landed safely in Goteborg and retrieved our luggage – while I thought that I had packed somewhat light and had removed anything I thought I could do without – I felt like I had way to much luggage. A group from the Rotary District was there to meet us – hugs all-around. (We’ve learned quickly that this a VERY affectionate group!) I was rainy and not so nice on the weather front.
We were driven out to our first home. I rode with an older lady name Ingrid – she was very talkative and, because of a few missed turns, I was able to see some of the beautiful countryside. After lunch and an interview by a local newspaper, Peter took us for a walk in the country and the fresh air provided the ‘second wind’ we all so desperately needed. The walk managed to keep us awake until supper time (oh, by the way, the food was superb!!!! And I even ate reindeer meat for one of my meals!) but didn’t last much longer than that.
Day 2 in Sweden was a very full day. We were picked up at 9 AM for the drive to the municipality of Alingsas where we will stay now until Sunday morning. We made a brief stop at the oldest church in Sweden (shown above) We met with a group at the Town Hall to talk about the development plans for Alingsas; then with a non-profit group named Futurum who works with business and the municipality to encourage economic development; and our last planned event for the day was to hear about an environmentally encourage method of building homes called the Passive House - - this is where the house is built to “heat itself” using the building techniques, the “waste” heat off of normal appliances and other items in the house along with the body heat of those inhabiting the house (still relatively new technology and somewhat unproven in the long run) but very encouraging.
We were driven out to our first home. I rode with an older lady name Ingrid – she was very talkative and, because of a few missed turns, I was able to see some of the beautiful countryside. After lunch and an interview by a local newspaper, Peter took us for a walk in the country and the fresh air provided the ‘second wind’ we all so desperately needed. The walk managed to keep us awake until supper time (oh, by the way, the food was superb!!!! And I even ate reindeer meat for one of my meals!) but didn’t last much longer than that.
Day 2 in Sweden was a very full day. We were picked up at 9 AM for the drive to the municipality of Alingsas where we will stay now until Sunday morning. We made a brief stop at the oldest church in Sweden (shown above) We met with a group at the Town Hall to talk about the development plans for Alingsas; then with a non-profit group named Futurum who works with business and the municipality to encourage economic development; and our last planned event for the day was to hear about an environmentally encourage method of building homes called the Passive House - - this is where the house is built to “heat itself” using the building techniques, the “waste” heat off of normal appliances and other items in the house along with the body heat of those inhabiting the house (still relatively new technology and somewhat unproven in the long run) but very encouraging.
After the long day, Jennifer and I were driven out to Gunther’s house which will be our home until Sunday. He is an elderly Rotarian who enjoys sharing his house with GSE guests. We watched some German (where he was born) and Swedish TV before dinner. After dinner, he poured us a small glass of Chivas Regal which we both sipped on during the news. By 8:30 PM, we were both ready to call it a night….
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