The first house Amanda lived in as a child: This house was initially owned by Amanda's grandfather, who also owned all the surrounding land. The house exhibits typical exterior coloration of houses throughout much of Sweden. I believe this house is in the village of Ingvaldstorp.

Lake Hjälmaren: This was an extremely hot day, and we had just walked along a nature path to get to this picnic area on the lake. Jonathan had taken refuge in a shelter, where we soon joined him to cool off before walking back to the nature center for some cold drinks. The lake was very pretty, and had it been cooler, we might have stayed longer. This summer in Sweden was on of the hottest on record, and we could certainly attest to that on this day. "Hello, UllaBritt and Olle! I love you both!"

Enjoying the ride: Kristina, Amanda, UllaBritt, and Paul were part of my host group for this most awesome of ferry rides. Paul is Amanda's brother.

Picturesque Family Photo: Photo on the rocks with Amanda, Jonathan, and UllaBritt.

Family Photo at the base of the mountain: Front row: Olle and Ulla Britt. Second Row (left to right): Ana, Anette, Paul, Kristina, Amanda. Third Row: Jonathan.

I thank all of you for taking me to this cute little town. Oh, we had such a fun day with our picnic and mountain views.

Walking up the path toward Ales Stenar: We are a happy group of people as this, at least for me, was probably the most memorable visit of the entire trip. I love rocks....and I was about to see a whole bunch of big boulders...In the foreground was Amanda , Jonathan, and Ulla Britt. Olle was in the middle, with Krister and Victoria in the rear.

Ales Stenar Hosts for the day: Front Row: Krister, Amanda, Jonathan, Victoria. Back Row: Olle, Ulla Britt.

Ulla Britt at entrance to The King's Grave: This photo shows you the scale of the height of the grave. No one knows the actual height of the original mound of stones making up the grave. It may have been 3 times higher than this 3,000 years ago.

My hosts for this island tour: Amanda's Aunt Kerstin, Olle, Cousin Martin, Ulla Britt, Amanda, and Jonathan gave me a wonderful tour of this castle ruin.

Guests and Hosts together: Front row - Evelina & Jonathan, 2nd row - Kristina and Ulla Lena, 3rd row - Ulla Britt, Amanda, Gunnar, Anna Maria. We had a lovely stay in this old home. A big "Thank You" to our hosts. 

And, next, you will hear Amanda and young Evelina serenading me.

Stockholm Family Photo: This was our last evening in Stockholm before boarding the plane home. Pictured here was our wonderful host, Jenny (longhaired redhead), and family. Front row, left to right: Jonathan and Evelina. Second row, left to right: Martin, UllaBritt, Lotta. Third row, left to right: Amanda, Olle, Jenny, Hans.