To Keep or Not to Keep...

I have a complete set of encyclopaedia (including atlas, three dictionaries and yearbooks from the 1990s) from Bra böcker that I don't know what to do with*. With the Internet and all the sources (reliable as well as as unreliable of course) it holds, I don't really need an encyclopaedia anymore and I would really only keep the set because it "looks good" on the shelf and for the odd-chance it would be worth money in the future (unlikely). The risk of Internet disappearing in the future is virtually non-existent though and even if we for some reason wouldn't live in an information society I could probably buy a set again or go to the library. On the other hand, it could be fun for Isolde to browse through when she's a bit older. I will definitely keep the atlas for that reason.

So what to do?! I need advice, people!



* We did move them to the new flat but they are still in boxes.

Apothecary

All pharmacies should look like this one in Östermalm in Stockholm! Such a beautiful environment both for employees and (sick) shoppers (I'm not ill though, just admiring old genuine design through the window).



Via Anna's iPhone

Terracotta

Last Saturday (a week ago) we went to see the exhibition of China's Terracotta Army (well, 8 or so soldiers get to represent the 8,000 men strong army) at the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. In retrospect, even if we had pre-purchased tickets and didn't have to queue for very long to get in, we should not have picked a Saturday, as it took ages (an hour) to fight the crowds inside. The old military bunker (or shelter) underneath the regular museum where they've housed the exhibition is a great facility for such occasions (including disabled as well as pram access) but they could chosen a much better layout. All soldiers were facing to the right (I wonder if the Chinese have required that?) so even if there was space to walk on both sides of the glass boxes everyone (of course) wanted to walk on the right. There were information boards on both sides though, with different information, so there was a lot of zig-zagging and cutting "the queue"*. That said, I'm glad I went, especially since I doubt I will make it over to the real thing in China any time soon. Isolde happily slept through her first ever museum visit.













* I'm amazed how some people seem so oblivious to people around them. One example is when they walk up to an information poster and stand right in front of three other people, who out of courtesy to others have left some space in between them and the poster to allow more people to read at the same time.

Crash Course about the UK

Show & Tell: Four Things You Should See in My Town

This week's Show & Tell theme (from Maisoui this month) is Four Things You Should See in My Town. If you thought I'd show you my favourite haunts in Stockholm you'll be disappointed. Instead I will tell you about Södertälje*, the town I grew up and lived in until I was 19. My family and some of my friends still live there so Södertälyeah is still a big part of my life.


So, if you're ever in Södertälje, you shouldn't miss:

1) Tom Tits Experiment

Tom Tits Experiment is a hands-on science museum for all ages (so you won't be stared at if you go there without any accompanying kids, trust me). It has four or five floors and a park full of showcases and experiments answering those questions you have always asked yourselves: what does a brain feel like? How heavy is a pregnant belly? How to make your own space rocket? You can play with water, try bicycling on a rope and go up in a hot-air balloon. It also has a great shop with fun, pedagogic, genuine toys (far from the Toys 'R Us crap).

If you're wondering who Tom Tit was "he was an imaginary figure who carried out a range of scientific experiments in the French magazine, l'Illustration, and in several books published at the end of the 19th century".


2) Sydpoolen

Sydpoolen is an adventure water park type place but of the indoor kind and thus a bit smaller than some of the outdoor kinds, or proper water parks; I guess adventure pool is a more appropriate name. It also has a gym, a spa and other stuff adults like; especially when those adults have grown tired of the slides and the wave machine, which is likely to happen a few hours before the kids do. I haven't actually been there for a long time (read: years) but I hear people visit Sydpoolen from all over so it seems to remain popular. When I was little we had to go to Eskilstuna for an adventure pool so I remember how happy were were when they rebuilt the place and transformed it from a regular pool house to an adventure place (when I was ten if I remember correctly).


3) Torekällberget open-air museum


Torekällberget is an open-air museum, also called living history museum, à la Skansen. Torekällberget is much smaller though as it's only representing life in town and country over the last few hundred years from Södertälje and its vicinity (the county of Södermanland), while Skansen is supposed to represent all parts of Sweden. Torekällberget doesn't have a Swedish (animals) zoo like Skansen but has typical Swedish farm animals - goats, pigs, cows, etc. - in the country part of the museum, which doubles as a petting zoo. I especially like the old store in the town part where you can buy old-fashioned bisquits and sweets. I've also always been fond of the old school and the automobile exhibition (hope it's still there!). There is also a very good restaurant and a smaller café/lunch place for hungry visitors.


4) The anthroposophy community


There is a big anthroposophic community in Järna outside Södertälje. Anthroposophy is a spiritual philosophy based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. It emphasises inner development and an approach to the spiritual world that is similar to that of the scientific investigation of nature. The anthroposophic centre in Järna is well-worth a visit. You will see interesting architecture, eat good organic (and often vegetarian) food - or buy some locally grown products to take home - and perhaps see a play at the culture house. There is also a school (Waldorf pedagogy) and a hospital, mainly for palliative care.


* For those of who don't know, Södertälje is located southwest of Stockholm and it's part of the greater Stockholm region but more of a separate town than a suburb. The tube doesn't run that far but a commuter train will take you from Stockholm to Södertälje in 45 minutes and a car in 25-45 mintes depending on from where in Stockholm you start and on traffic.

Images from Vaksalaskolan, Sydpoolen, Torekällberget and Antroposofi.info

Saturday Ponder

Was listening to "Forever Young" on the radio while I was baking some cookies earlier today and was struck by what it actually sings about - the prospects of nuclear war.




This made me think about other songs from the 1980s and early 1990s that had a clear political significance for that time in (albeit recent, but important part of) history. It doesn't feel like that there are any songs of that kind anymore, or? Maybe it's because we haven't had such a historic change in the world since then? There is of course a lot of important change, both negative and positive, for example as a result of globalisation and climate change, but maybe it's too much of a gradual change to generate songs of the same calibre so-to-speak? Or maybe there's just too much music in general these days so "political" songs go un-noticed? Or perhaps I just don't listen to the lyrics as much anymore?

In addition to "Forever Young" I was thinking of Scorpions "Winds of Change" (original video version here).

Show & Tell: Three White Things

Since I have been a total failure when it comes to posting photos from our trip to South Africa in December (to my defence I have posted a couple of hundred of them on Facebook) I thought I'd use my first go at Show & Tell (initiated by Norrskensbuddha) to give you a taste of South Africa. The instructions said "things" but I'm going to widen it a bit to fit my purposes.


White theme 1: Zebras - Just one example of all the cool animals we saw





White theme 2: Black and white - Our visit to Kliptown in Soweto, Johannesburg, symbolises the years of Apartheid in South Africa and the segregation that still exists



White theme 3: Seagull - Represents the beautiful and amazing nature and scenery we experienced in South Africa

A Voice from Victorian Past

The latest edition of Oxford Today, the University of Oxford tri-annual alumni magazine had a little notice about a time capsule that was found while doing renovation work on the Sheldonian Theatre. For those of you who don't know the University, or the city of Oxford for that matter, the Sheldonian is the venue for matriculation (Oxford lingo for being officially and ceremonially registered as a student) and graduation as well as various concerts and lectures. The article tells us:

Builders "discovered a metal time capsule left by a worker in 1901 when the [painted] ceiling was last dismantled for repairs. Inside the capsule was a hand-written note from builder Frank Morrill, together with a pair of Victorian workman's trousers and some tools, including a bradawl. Mr Morrill gives instructions to whoever finds the 'valuable treasure' to hand them over to a museum, before signing off, 'Yours in ashes?'. Mr Jeffrey Hackney, Chairman of the Curators of the Sheldonian, said the trousers will be offered to a local museum in line with Mr Morrill's wishes."

I wonder what the 21st century builder would leave behind?