The West Coast - of Sweden, that is

My aunt Hanna and I

I have a car while here. My cousin Malin has lent me her Volkswagen Jetta, 1991. All three kids fit in the back seat and though the Swedish bus and train system is unexcelled, it is nice to have wheels. (Never mind the $7 /gallon gas prices. No JOKE! People here drive very fuel efficient cars, if they drive. But keep in mind the dollar is extremely weak and the actual gas prices for a Swede is not quite as bad as when buying Swedish kronor with your dollar before paying for gas.)

On Saturday we went to the coast. We are less than an hour away from the ocean here. We visited my aunt Hanna (my deceased father's sister), my favorite aunt in the world, with whom I am extremely close. My cousin Malin, Hanna's daughter who lent me the car, came with us as well. It was a a great visit. The kids could not get enough of the place, especially the boat.

Here are some recent pictures, including ones taken by the sea.

Malin, Isak and Elina hanging out on carpet - very rare in this country

Hanna, Victoria, Malin

Isak in his newfound, true element

he walked the rocks for a quarter mile


Segelbåt from Victoria Akselsen on Vimeo.

So we went to church here in Alingsås for the second time this trip and I can't believe how time is flying by. We also took a walk this evening and went inside one of the Swedish Lutheran churches, Landskyrkan. My sister was christened in this one, in fact. While Isak climbed the steps to the preacher stand (prediko stolen) and tampered with the microphone, Elina could not get enough of the Christus.