Thursday, 8 June, 2017:
Today we decided to head just a few kilometers north to spend mid-day sightseeing in the city of Sigtuna.
Why were these two vultures
staring at us at the Upplands-Väsby
train station?
St. Olof's Church ruins
It was built in about 1100 A.D. and sits above an even older church.
Sigtuna is Sweden's oldest city having been founded in about 970 A.D. by King Erik the Victorious to form a new kingdom.
The town's original street plan is still largely in play although today's streets are now an estimated three meters on top of the original paths and lanes.
Interesting gate near
St. Olof's Church ruin
An equally interesting
grave marker
The much newer
St.Mary's Church
It faces St. Olof's Church. The two churches are about 100 meters apart with a cemetery between them.
The oldest brick building in the Lake Mälaren valley, it was built by Dominican friars during the 13th-century. In the 1530s the Protestant Reformation in the area took over this fine looking church.
Let's step inside.
Good looking church
as you enter
An old church just MUST have a
wood carved triptych
A 1940 wood carving of the action
at the Garden of Gethsemane
on Holy Thursday
Interesting new candle holder
Interesting old candle holder
The metallic convex mirror helped to amplify the candle light.
St. Mary's Church has lots
of heraldry crests to admire
Not sure who this important
couple are buried near the altar
HUGE poor box
Laurie could have comfortably have laid down inside of it.
The obligatory daily church visit out of the way, it was time to head into the heart of Sigtuna and its main street, Stora gatan.
Djurgården?
What the . . .
I'm more of a Finja IF man myself.
Finja IF plays in Skåne's Division VI North.
Skåne is the name for the southern part of Sweden.
Sigtuna's Town Hall
Nice crown above the
Town Hall's entry door
Built in the 1700s, this two room structure is reputed to be Sweden's smallest town hall.
Today it is part of the Sigtuna Museum and a popular site for weddings.
Let's step inside.
An old fire alarm horn
Council Hall
That didn't take long, only two rooms after all.
Laurie on Sigtuna's main street
Stora gatan
This looked like a good place
for our afternoon Fika Time
This charming little restaurant known as Tant Bruns kaffestuga is housed in one of Sigtuna's oldest buildings.
The building is sagging
a bit in some spots
We enjoyed our Fika as always
in quaint surroundings
A view of Lake Mälaren
on a foreboding afternoon
One of Sigtuna's newer homes
St. Lars' Church ruins
Like St. Olof's Church, St. Lars' Church was in use until the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s. Once the Protestants took over they let these two churches dilapidate while focusing all of their attention on St. Mary's Church.
Lots of Runic Stones
in Sigtuna
Sigtuna claims that it has more Runic stones than any other city in the known universe with 170 inscribed stones within the municipality.
These stones date from the 11th-century and are usually raised in memory of someone who lived in the area. Other stones tell of epic voyages and/or brave deeds.
The one I'm standing by is dedicated to two people.
Sven had the stone erected in memory of his father whose name can no longer be deciphered.
Frödis had it also dedicated to Ulv for her husband.
Laurie by a larger Runic stone
A man names Anund had this stone erected in memory of himself during his lifetime.
It was a good day in Sigtuna with lots to see, good Fika and an ominous weather system that never burst forth with its threatened deluge.
On to the evening's U15 practice.
U15s going through our
daily warm-up paces
Part of our daily U15
warm-up routine
As always, use Google Chrome or the like to view this video.
While still not perfect, we're getting better at it for sure.
We only had nine U15s dressed out and since the U13s only had 11 players in gear after Tuesday's grueling marathon four game marathon tournament, we opted to join forces today for some 7-on-7 work.
Flexibility is the key to coaching American football in Europe without losing your sanity.
Also to survive, never chew out or vent your frustrations on the players in attendance. It's about the ones who are not there.
A big thank you again to Coach Greg Stark for helping me tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment