The Nobel Prize

Some of the most memorable and impactful experiences on the trip have been visits to the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo and the Nobel Museum in Stockholm.

At the Nobel Peace Center in Olso, there was a "kid track" through the exhibition. "Fred and Toca Loca" a giraffe and toucan introduce young visitors to Nobel Laureates and their work through interactive displays.

Michael was introduced to the amazing accomplishments of the following nobel laureates and received a card summarizing the accomplishments of each:

The Dalai Lama, who was compassionate and works for peace

Shirin Ebdi, who is fair, a human rights activist fighting for equal rights

Fridjof Nansen, who was courageous and helped refugees

Nelson Mandela, who was forgiving and fought for social justice

OPCW, an organization of brave individuals working to destroy chemical weapons

At the end of the exhibit, Michael got the chance to take a photo of himself and create a card of his own...to be a future Nobel Laureate and to consider what characteristics he has and what he could do for the world. He decided that he is brave and would help people!

Nobel Prize Museum, Stockholm

The children's activities a the Nobel Museum in Stockholm were incredible as well. We spent nearly three hours there going through many interactive exhibits and working through a quiz. Michael not only won a huge chocolate coin, but learned that there are 6 categories for the Nobel Prize, not just Peace, that we learned about in Oslo, but also Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature and Economics.

We learned all about Alfred Nobel, who not only founded the Nobel Prizes but also invented dynamite!

Stockholm, Sweden; July 31-August 3

Changing of the guard, Stockholm Palace

Flag of Sweden

Exploring Stockhom

Riding Pippi Longstocking's horse at Junibacken

Junibacken

Pony ride at Skansen

Our first day in Stockholm, we went into the city center by bus. Not really knowing exactly where we were going we met some really friendly locals who told us where to get off the bus in the center of town to walk through a beautiful market and pedestrian area. They also let us know that the changing of the guard was taking place at the palace.  We picked up some amazing blueberries at the market and chowed them down while walking to the palace.  The changing of the guard was a big show. A band and lots of marching.

After the changing of the guard, we bought a few souveniers - including a flag of Sweden and a moose wearing a Swedish flag sweater!

We had a delicious lunch at the palace cafe! Sweden is only slightly less expensive than Norway, we quickly remembered when paying the bill for lunch! :)

Later that day we went on an "under the bridges tour" that took us all over the city by boat. We got to pass through a lock between Lake Malaren & the Baltic Sea.













For a six year old, no trip to Stockholm is complete without a stop at Junibacken. It's kind of like a children's museum focused on children's authors, namely Astrid Lindrgen - creator of Pippi Longstocking!

We went there with my friends Liam and Shannon and then ran into other friends from the ship, Addicus, Alexandra and Blake. Hours of fun!!












Next, we went to Skansen, this huge outdoor museum showing what life in Sweden was like a long time ago. Michael rode a pony, walked on stilts, learned to use a yo-yo and how to weave blankets on this huge loom.

Weaver at Skansen

On our way back to the ship, we ran into some of the crew heading out for a night on the town!

Hanging with the crew of the MV Explorer

On our last day in Sweden, Michael and slowed our pace and had some wonderful adventures!  After a trip to the Nobel Museum (more on that in a separate post), we ran into a family, near the palace in the old town of Stockholm, playing Boules. Boules is a game, like bocce, where the objective is the roll heavy balls as close as possible to a small target ball. Michael was curious about the game and after watching for a few minutes, he was invited to play.

Next, we ventured to back to Djurgarden to  a section called Rosendal - a big open green space with a playground, gardens, and picnic areas.  We met a family on holiday from England. They live near Salcombe, where we go each year on Easter holiday! Lots of fun with playground equipment we can't find at home.  Made even more adventurous by the water left over from a rainstorm the night before. 

Playing "boule" with new Swedish friends

Making friends (from Salcombe!) at playground; Rosendal, Djurgarden

Wildflower garden at Rosendal, Djurgarden, Stockholm

St. Petersburg, Russia; July 24-28

Hi, Michael here!  On the first day in Russia we saw Daddy! He met us at the ship and we all went on a canal tour of St Petersburg. We had to go through immigration and get our passport stamped. We learned how to say hello (good day) “dobry den” and thank you “spa see bah”

We stayed at the “W” hotel. It was really nice. On my bed was a teddy with a t-shirt that

said I love SPB and a bowl of gummy bears! There was a roof deck where we are pizza and we could see lots of the city.

On day 2 we went to the Hermitage. It's a big palace and museum that was designed for one person in the winter only.  That's a lot of room for one person.  When meme and mommy went to the ballet, Daddy and I had a boys night and went swimming at the hotel

Hermitage with Daddy, Meme & Pop

Hermitage courtyard fountain

Hermitage Theatre Ballet, Swan Lake

The next day we went to the summer palace. We traveled there by hydrofoil (a boat that floats above the water). That night we went to a playground and I learned to drive a segway.  We went out for Russian food for dinner. I tried smoked sturgeon, cucumber salad, pelmini (dumplings) and brown bread and black salt. They were all delicious.

Riding the Hydrofoil

Peterhof Fountains & Gardens

Learning to ride a segway

tasting Russian food (and drink!)

Playground in St. Petersburg

The fourth day we went to an amusement park and rode rides! We got there by metro. The station had marble walls and statues.

Racetrack

bumper boats

The last day we climbed up and down nearly 576 steps to the top of St Issacs cathedral. It wasn't that hard and the view from the top was nice.

I bought a nesting doll with 10 dolls inside. The last one is so small that they couldn't even paint it! And a matryoshka doll box. I also got a Russian Navy hat, since one day we were there was Navy day.

Navy day

Next we are going to Sweden!

The Sea Olympics

For Michael, I think life at sea is really even more fun that traveling in the various ports. An incredible community forms during each Semester at Sea voyage among the college students, faculty, staff and their families and the ship's crew.  

Each voyage has an event called the "Sea Olympics", where the various "seas" (the groups of cabins that form mini communities) compete against each other in events.  Michael entered "ship, captain, wave" which is a version of rock, paper, scissors. He lost in round one, but his buddy Liam made it into the finals.  

Michael also led the synchronized swim team for the team made up of faculty, staff and dependents. He got special coaching from Nancy Carr, the actor/drama teacher who choreographed the team's routine.

Liam and Shannon playing Ship, Captain, Wave

Michael leading his synchronized swimming team

Pop also participated in the Sea Olympics, as captain of the team made up of the "life long learners".  He led his team to an awesome third place finish and participated in the synchronized swimming and lip sync events!

Pop's synchronized swimming team

Pop's lip sync team

Oslo, Norway; July 19-20

Arriving in Olso

   Not a bad view, huh?  In Olso, our ship was docked right next to Akershus (once a castle and then fortress).We walked around the grounds and through the Norway Resistance museum that is housed here.  The museum has exhibits that demonstrate the efforts of Norwegians to fight against the Nazi regime.  Lots of cannons aiming right at our ship!

Another interesting site in Oslo was Frogner Park with hundreds of sculptures by Norwegian artist Gustav Vigeland.  We thought the sculptures were a bit strange, but were told by our guide that Vigeland was trying to depict the cycle of life through his work.

Frogner Park, Oslo

Viking Ship Museum, Oslo

We heard from some friends on our ship that there was a really cool maritime festival taking place over near the opera house.  They had lots of displays on how they make the boats, ropes, sails and other things for life at sea like soaps and clothing, etc.

Maritime culture festival

Next it was off to the Opera House. We had tickets to a summer balcony concert, where a single pianist and opera singer performed various works. Michael said the music was good but "too loud". He was amazing though and sat still and quiet for the entire hour!

View from the Opera House

Views of Oslo from our ship

Bergen, Norway; July 16-17

Our first port in Norway was a town called Bergen on the west coast of Norway. It's actually the 2nd largest city in the country.  We disembarked the ship in the evening and participated in a Semester at Sea event called "The Bergen Race", which as a scavenger hunt that took us all around Bergen to better understand various landmarks and traditions by looking for various clues.  Along the way, we had to find a shop that gave us a taste of "salmiakki," a salty licorice candy (Michael didn't like it so much, but Meme loves licorice!).  

We also found a wooden fish outside a local restaurant. The "race" ended at the fish market, where you could try lots of local favorites, including caviar. Michael got his first taste of this delicacy...and let's just say he's following in his parents footsteps when it comes to champagne taste!

The area around Bergen (and much of Norway) has terrain called "fjords."  These large inlets from the sea between mountains were formed long ago by changes in glaciers.  On our second day in Bergen, we went on ten hour trip called "Norway in a Nutshell"  We started with a drive to a place called Gundvangen where we caught a boat to Flaam.  We had lunch on board the boat with lots of friends from the MV Explorer. The boat stopped at a few small towns within the fjord, not to drop off passengers but to deliver the mail!  

Next we boarded the Flam Mountain Railway and went on a ride through the mountains and past lots of cool waterfalls.  And, then on to another train to a village called Voss.