Yesterday was a fantastic day. We began the day with a visit to the office of Anders Wall, a businessman who loves Gustavus and is a very big donor to the Gustavus Semester in Sweden program. Upon arrival, we were told that Anders was one of the biggest businessmen in Sweden. This was evident as we walked into the plush board room where individual bottles of sparking water waited for us. We told him about all the incredible things we have done so far and he told us about his business. What a wonderful man. He told us about his foundation which gives lots of money in scholarships for young people to attend school. We couldn't thank him enough for the part he has played in our experience.
After our meeting with Anders we moved on down to the cathedral. What a beautiful place! This is where our "friend" Crown Princess Victoria got married this summer. Apparently it cost the parish $2million just in cleaning expenses to prepare for the royal celebration. The church dates back to about the 13th century. We met the dean of cathedral, Åke Bonnier, who gave us the grand tour. (He is on the Gustavus Board of Trustees) We saw the impressive statue of St. George slaying the dragon and the grave stone of Olas Petri, the Swedish equivalent to Martin Luther who began the reformation in Sweden. Åke even brought us up into the bell tower for the most incredible view of Stockholm. Not everyone gets this perk.
After descending the narrow spiral staircase, we had a long, candid discussion with Åke about the church. He and his wife, Christina, graciously invited us into their home for the evening. We were served an incredible dinner in the most beautiful house I have seen in a long time. We had such a lovely evening of great food and conversation. We are living out of our suitcases and generally feel slightly rumpled, but last night, it was so beautiful to have a home to go to. Even if it was only for a few hours.
On Wednesday we traveled to a suburb of Stockholm to tour the Ericcson corporation for a tour. Elin Ahldén is a Gustavus graduate who is working her way up the corporate ladder of the company. All I knew about the company was that they made cell phones. we walked in and I thought I had walked into a trendy bar or club instead of into a technology company. We had a great tour and talk with Elin. She studied English and Classics at Gustavus and is now pretty high up in the corporate world. Though she admitted she didn't ever think she would work for a huge corporation, she really likes what she's doing. I think what she had to say was valuable as she was speaking to a room of students where the majority are studying something in the humanities.
Since Today is Saturday and we don't have any official things scheduled on weekends, some of us went back into Old Town for an organ recital at the cathedral. I sat 10 feet from where the royal family sits when they attend the cathedral. We had fika and then went on to the Dance and Theatre museum and then on to the Swedish Architecture museum. Stockholm continues to treat us well.
No comments:
Post a Comment