One of the reasons I've been so tardy in blogging is travel (the others are Facebook and Twitter, where I seem to be spending a lot of energy communicating these days). Mr. G goes to Berlin for work, and last week, I met him there. We spent three days in Berlin, flew to Copenhagen for three days, then took the train to Stockholm for the last three days. Just enough time to get a taste 
of each city and plan future trips.
Mostly when we travel, we take an archaeological approach. Not that we dig up the cities, but more that we tend to go to museums to see archaeological collections. There is a special thrill in seeing things you've only read about. Plus, it is getting very cold in that part of the world, so museums are a great place to stay warm! In Berlin, we returned to the Altes Museum and had a chance to visit the Neues Museum (which houses the famous Nefertiti bust, which you're not allowed to photograph). This Egyptian frieze shows workers with papyrus plants. The colors alone were worth the flight.
Outside Copenhagen, we went to the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde. Inside Copenhagen, we hit the National Museum and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. I love the word "glyptotek" (from roots meaning "to carve" and "to store") and will attempt to use it regularly. In the National Museum, I was in it fo
r the Vikings, and oh, my, the Viking treasures we saw. When I say treasures, you know I mean not just the gold and silver (of which there was plenty), but also the carved memorial stones and brooches and pottery and human remains? Good; I didn't want there to be any confusion. This is a fragment of a medieval Tau Cross (or crozier) and I like it because of the Scandinavian intertwined beasts. You can do a lot of intricate carving when there's no TV to get in the way.
In Stockholm, we visited the National Historical Museum, the National Museum (oh, hello, Swedish Design exhibit!), the Vasa ship museum (it houses the whole ship, excavated in the sixties), and the Skansen outdoor museum. Stockholm is great for walking, and I have the sore
feet to prove it. Here's a little of that silver treasure I was talking about. Because sometimes, even for an archaeologist, it's nice to look at something that isn't dirty, broken, and unidentifiable.
of each city and plan future trips. Mostly when we travel, we take an archaeological approach. Not that we dig up the cities, but more that we tend to go to museums to see archaeological collections. There is a special thrill in seeing things you've only read about. Plus, it is getting very cold in that part of the world, so museums are a great place to stay warm! In Berlin, we returned to the Altes Museum and had a chance to visit the Neues Museum (which houses the famous Nefertiti bust, which you're not allowed to photograph). This Egyptian frieze shows workers with papyrus plants. The colors alone were worth the flight.
Outside Copenhagen, we went to the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde. Inside Copenhagen, we hit the National Museum and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. I love the word "glyptotek" (from roots meaning "to carve" and "to store") and will attempt to use it regularly. In the National Museum, I was in it fo
r the Vikings, and oh, my, the Viking treasures we saw. When I say treasures, you know I mean not just the gold and silver (of which there was plenty), but also the carved memorial stones and brooches and pottery and human remains? Good; I didn't want there to be any confusion. This is a fragment of a medieval Tau Cross (or crozier) and I like it because of the Scandinavian intertwined beasts. You can do a lot of intricate carving when there's no TV to get in the way. In Stockholm, we visited the National Historical Museum, the National Museum (oh, hello, Swedish Design exhibit!), the Vasa ship museum (it houses the whole ship, excavated in the sixties), and the Skansen outdoor museum. Stockholm is great for walking, and I have the sore
feet to prove it. Here's a little of that silver treasure I was talking about. Because sometimes, even for an archaeologist, it's nice to look at something that isn't dirty, broken, and unidentifiable.
the book. I didn't hold out much hope of lightning striking twice (you can see why, when you look at the previous blogs on the nominees for Best Short Story), but the Anthony win for "Swing Shift" was the bookend to a wonderful weekend! Here, you can see me celebrating with Charlaine and Toni. That's the great thing about conventions, is getting to celebrate with friends. 
