Europe - September 2019

Keith was able to get a couple of weeks between jobs at Wolff and LivCor so he opted to use that time to book a trip similar to four years ago, visiting friends in Scandinavia and the UK.

Sweden

The first leg was getting from Phoenix to Chicago on Labor Day Monday - using Southwest on points and then connecting to Iceland Air through Reykjavik to Stockholm.  Since SWA uses Midway, Keith used this opportunity to get between Midway and O'Hare on the Chicago metro - it took almost two hours but only cost $3, so hard to beat the price.  He only got about three hours sleep total on Iceland Air.  

The flight landed about noon on Tuesday - so after clearing customs and getting the express train to Stockholm Central Station he was able to meet Kerstin at the Starbucks in the main station at about 2pm.  After a coffee to wake up we headed back to Kerstin's house so Keith could shower and wake up a bit more.  We then went back into central Stockholm, doing a bit of walking around before going to dinner at Restaurang AG, famous for being meat-centric.  We shared a Swedish and Finnish steak for our entree - Kerstin declared the tie going to Finland.

Keith and Kerstin

Wednesday morning we went for a walk before both going into the city together - with Keith getting the Arlanda Express back to the airport for his internal flight to Ostersund.  The flight landed at noon but Mia did not get off work until 3pm so Keith took the bus to the university and just read in the student union until Mia wrapped up work.  We first had a coffee at Wayne's Coffee - a knockoff of Starbucks with even the font and color of the logo the same.  We then walked back to the house until the kids and Byron came home.  We had an adult-only dinner at Restaurant Vineri Ripan where we shared three entrees and a bottle of wine.

Keith, Mia, Sally, Byron, and Kaj

On Thursday Byron and the kids headed to work/school, so Keith walked Mia to the school to get a bit of exercise.  He then walked back to the house to shower and pack before getting a cab to the airport and a flight back to Stockholm.  Starbucks Central Station was used again as a meeting spot - this time arranging to meet Heidi there after she got out of school.  Keith had not seen Heidi since 1990 so there was a lot of catching up to do.  So we could walk around easily Keith put his luggage in one of the storage lockers in the station.  We took a bus to near where dinner was and then walked to Fotografiska, a photography museum with the "best museum restaurant in the world".  We walked around the museum first and then went to the restaurant - we were early so they comped us a glass of champagne each which was worth it!  Dinner was delicious - it is primarily vegetarian though we were able to add a fish selection with one of the courses.  Since we were early we also got a super table with a great view of the ocean and city.  After dinner we walked along the waters edge and used a bench to call Hanna in Finland - chatted for 15 minutes, though Peter was in Australia so missed him.  We went back to the central station to meet Helena who had just flown in form a work trip in Amsterdam.  We said farewell to Heidi and Keith went with Helena to her house for some cheese and a couple of bottles of wine with her and Hakan.  It was a great to catch up with both of them, albeit for a short evening.

Keith and Heidi

The Friday morning Keith and Helena went for a walk before he had a shower and headed to the airport yet again, this time to fly to Bergen!

Keith, Hakan, and Helena

Norway

As luck would have it, Patrick had just moved to Bergen three weeks earlier and Lauren had flown in the same Labor Day Monday as Keith flew out.  So he was lucky to be able to spend a long weekend with both of them as their first house guest.  It was an easy flight from Stockholm to Bergen, with a 45 minute train ride on the Bybanen light rail into the city from the airport where Patrick was waiting.  Because jet lag was not solved yet, the first stop was Kaffelade  for a coffee.  After that we took a bus to the house, getting the first taste of the walk up the hill every time we went to the house.  Being up on the hillside the house had super views of the city and bay - with fantastic windows to present the view.  After giving Lauren a quick hug Keith and Patrick went for a walk up Stolzekleiven, a steep 722 stair trail up to the ridge. Dinner was at Pinvinen, a gastropub where Keith ate a reindeer stew. We stopped for drinks at two places that night: Henrik øl- og vinstove and Kråken.

Patrick, Lauren and Keith

On Saturday we all woke up at 7am and left the house at 8 to get the Ulriksbanen cable car up to the plateau where we hiked the Vidden Trail for 14 kilometers to Floyen.   It took about 6 hours with some rocky trails, but we successfully made it to Floyen where we had beers, calzones, and shared a cinnamon roll before walking back to the house.  The weather was stunning all day so the views were spectacular.  We were all quite sore after the walk but showered and rallied for a big night out.  The first stop was Bien Basar for dinner.  The evening included Bibliteket Bar, Bar 3, and BarBarista.  Keith and Lauren started the dancing at one of the bars, and we wrapped up the evening dancing again at Bibliteket.  A fantastic night out.

Fjord Cruise

We were all pooped so slept in until about 10am which was way more Patrick's style than the 7am alarm the previous morning!  We took the bus into town and grabbed some fish and chips for breakfast/lunch before boarding the Rodne Cruise for a Fjord trip to Mostraumen Fujitsu.  It was stunning scenery and again fantastic weather.  Also much more low key after the previous day!  After the three hour cruise we grabbed a coffee at Kaffemisjonen.  It was then over to dinner at Fjellskal for some seafood: fish soup, sashimi, a fish entree, and "veiled peasant girl" for dessert.  We opted for a final cocktail at No Stress Bar before going home.  

The Monday morning required getting up at 6am to get the light rail back to the airport for a Norwegian Air flight to Gatwick for the next leg of the trip.  

England

The flight landed at Gatwick at 10:15am.  After quickly picking up the Sixt car rental Keith drove to Guildford where he met Rachel and Quintin at Positano where they had been several times.  Keith arrived a bit early so walked the high street before lunch.  It was great catch up with both of them for a few hours until Keith had to drive into London to check in at the Hyatt Churchill just off Hyde Park.  The front desk clerk noted that Keith was last at the hotel in 2009 for the UK/Ireland trip.  Keith was able to shower again and then walk over to Sabor where he met Melissa for a wonderful dinner of catching up.

Keith, Quentin, and Rachel

Keith and Melissa

The Tuesday morning was not quite as rushed, so Keith was able to go for an hour walk around Hyde Park as well as use the business center computer to crank through some work email.  It was then a two hour drive to Rachel's, past Colchester.  Rachel had left a key by the door so Keith could let himself in - though she was home shortly after his arrival.  The first agenda item was taking Lola for a walk along the Orwell river followed by a beer and a camembert plate at the Butt and Oyster pub in Pin Mill, Suffolk.  We then met Emma and Amy after school and then Oliver arrived home from work.  Oliver prepared our pasta dinner and we just chatted before bed.

Keith, Amy, Rachel, and Emma

Wednesday we saw the girls and Oliver off to school/work before Keith embarked on the next leg - a drive to Aston Clinton to have lunch with John, Peggy, and Nicola.  Peggy made a wonderful salmon lunch and Keith was able to chat a lot with Nicola who he had not seen in almost 20 years.  Then at 2pm it was back on the road for the two hour drive to Birmingham to see Charlie, Lena, Lena's aunt Thuraya, and of course two-week-old baby Felix.  Lena was nursing and needed a nap when Keith arrived so after a quick gin and tonic Keith and Charlie went to the store to pick up a couple of bottles of wine to tide us through the evening.  The rest of the night was chatting, snacking, eating, and drinking with some time with the baby whenever he was awake.  With the new baby and Thuraya in the house Keith got a hotel on points at the Hampton Inn Jewellery Quarter just a quick walk down the road.

Charlie, Felix, Keith, and Lena

On Thursday Keith was up, showered, and back at Charlie and Lena's house for coffee and breakfast before heading back on the road.  The first stop was Luton Airport to drop of the rental car, then an Uber to Ewan and Sharon's house in Hertford.  While we had seen the Parrys only a few weeks earlier in Switzerland, Ewan had open heart surgery the week before so it was good to see him and the family.  Keith and Ewan went for a 15 minute walk - one of the first times Keith could walk faster than Ewan!  Sharon came home and we had lunch, then Kirsty arrived as she had come down for the weekend.  Kirsty and Keith went to The Old Barge pub for a drink as Ewan napped and Sharon ran some errands, then we walked home to see the kids when they got home from school. We chatted with them, had some ice cream, and then Sharon dropped Keith off at the station to head to Liverpool Street and then the Docklands Light Rail to Canary Wharf, where Keith had booked an overnight at the Marriott Canary Wharf on points.  It was Keith's first time to visit the area - it was a hive of activity at all the restaurants and bars after work.  It required a quick check in and shower before immediately leaving to meet Susie for dinner at The Ivy  it was a great dinner and fun to catch up after four years since he had seen her and Mike.  

Lewis, Sharon, Ewan, Kirsty, Keith, and Madeline

Friday was pretty easy - just shower, pack up, and take the trains to Gatwick to catch the West Jet flight to Phoenix via Calgary.  Keith bought a popcorn-priced upgrade for the first leg so was able to get a bit of sleep on that flight as well as do some reading for the new job.  The departing flight left 1.5 hours late but fortunately the connecting flight was just a late (or they held the plane) so Keith made it home to Phoenix the Friday night.

It was a fantastic whirlwind trip catching up with old friends.