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2009-07-25

Working in Wrocław

Filed under: General — kevin @ 18:58

I recently spent a week working at Opera’s Wrocław (Wikipedia). office, we have quite a lot of the Opera Mini server team based there.

The journey is pretty easy, Ryanair fly direct from Skavsta to Wrocław, so it’s just the usual torments of flying with an airline that hates passengers. We got there about lunchtime, checked in at the Scandic and then wandered down to the market square for a beer and some solid Polish food.
A tall old building lit by low evening sun. A elaborately decorated old building with towers, spires and a clock.
It was a really fun week, the team took us to lots of nice restaurants for lunch and it’s always good to spend some time with people you normally only see by video-conference. I especially liked the Spiż bar/brewery on the square, whenever you bought a beer you got handed a lard sandwich to go with it. Food and drink are very cheap compared to Sweden, especially lunch at Miś Bar — where you can get platefuls of dumplings for a few złoty.

It’s a city full of statues and monuments, this one was right across the road from the hotel:
Metal statues of pedestrians walking towards a road, descending through the pavement and emerging on the other side.

Parents’ visit

Filed under: family,sweden,travel — kevin @ 17:53

My Mum and Dad came over to Sweden for a few weeks in June, this time they got much nicer weather than they had in November. I’ve only just got round to sorting out the pictures from their trip.

We started off with Midsummer weekend in Stockholm, enjoying the sunshine and seeing the wildlife at Skansen. We also visited the Vasa museum and saw the changing of the guard at the palace.
An adult female elk and her young calf stand in a fenced enclosure. A seal lying basking in the sun in shallow water. The seal is looking at the camera. Two bear cubs standing on their hind legs play-fighting in a large wooded enclosure.
Mum standing beside a small dummy wearing a bright red hat in an old cobbled street. A white yacht surrounded by smaller vessels. In the background is an island with trees and buildings. A soldier in ceremonial uniform (complete with spiked helmet) stands guard in front of a crowd of tourists.

We had a lovely morning close to lake Vättern at Omberg, where we also visited the ruins of the monastery at Alvastra. The tops of the ruined walls have been covered and then flowers grown on top.
A ruined church, stone arches against a vivid blue sky. A tree-covered hill in the backgroun. Bright yellow flowers against a vivid blue sky. In the background (out of focus) a ruined wall can be seen. Parents sitting at a picnic table in the sunshine.

During the week we also took a trip along the Göta canal from Berg to Borensberg with the M/S Wasa Lejon. It was a very relaxing trip, although we were puzzled about the people queuing an hour before departure.
A short stretch of canal with two lock gates which then broadens into a basin, narrows again for more locks and leads to a lake. Cows below a tree by the banks of a canal. In the background fields under a blue sky. A white tour boat moored at one side of a canal.

Eleanor come over to join us for a long weekend, so we spent Saturday and Sunday in Kalmar. For some reason I don’t seem to have taken any pictures with Eleanor in… On the way back on Sunday we visited Vadstena again, although the weather was much better than the last couple of times I’d been there.
A pale stone castle with three green-roofed towers A rusted cannon sits on a wooden carriage, pointing out into the clear blue sky over the sea. A castle with a moat and tower, in the sunshine.

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