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We heard that the government is [3.119% to discourage automobile traf- fie. The. current Since of gasoline is about 90 cents a litre and is expected to double in the near future. The legal driving age is 18 and it costs $1,000 to get a driver's licence. It would be unusual for a family to . have more than one car, although the ones. we saw were beautiful Volvos and Saabs. The public transportation system is very extensive and conven- ient. There is a large network of subway lines in Stockholm and fre- quent train service to outlying com- munities. The trains are electric and some of the cars are up to 100 years old, constructed of wood on the outside as well as the interior, and beautifully maintained. A town similiar to St. Marys would be serviced by a train every hour as well as every half hour in busy times such as rush hour. The fares are very inexpensive and there is even talk of having all public transit free, to encourage people to leave their cars at home. Are you listening VIA? As with trains and subways, there is an extensive public ferry service by boat. Gerry and Bobby Teahen travelled by international ferry to visit Donna' s host families in Finland and were very impressed with the serv- ice, accommodation and foal during their 12-hour overnight ride. Seeing the sights During our time in Sweden, we had a couple of 'Tree" days which were left unstructured so we could visit places of interest, rest or get in some more shopping. Watching videos (which are in English with Swedish subtitles) was popular in Akersberga and most under 17 's attended the disco. One of our single over-ITS was treated to a ‘night on the town, dancing until well into the wee hours of the morning! “no”-.. _ __ - - be' very well taught, for we were impressed with the excellent English we heard everywhere throughout our stay. Following the compulsory nine years, students can attend an optional “Gymnasium”, a senior high school, for two or three years. The boys all must do a year of military service, so students are often aged 20 before going to university or entering the work force. Students begin school at age 7 and mustattend until age 16. The subjects and rdutine are not too different from ours, except all children are given a free hot lunch. Everyone studies Many of us enjoyed the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace, the Crown Jewels, the Medieval Mu- seum, the Nordic Museum, the zoo and the aquarium and exploring Old Town. A few toured a farm and vis- ited a local blacksmith's shop. b School in Taby One of the hoét parents, a school principal, gave us a tour of his school in Taby, a town between Stockholm and Akersberga. It had a familiarity aboutit---classrooms are the samein Sweden! _ " I .. A jikiiriiiGarting at age 10. They must Our host arranged a meeting with a Labrador Retriever Kennel for John and I spent an interesting afternoon at a Stockholm AIDS clinic and service organization. . . . T " Rune Stones The school principal had aparticu- lar interest in Swedish history and so while we were in his school, he gave a short lesson on the Rune Stones. These stone, dating back to 800 ND., were carved with an early hi- eroglyphic style alphabet to tell the story of greatVikingjoumeys. It was traditional to carve the letters within the shape of snakes and stones made after the introduction of Christianity to the areas included a representation of a cross in the art work. We were taken to an area near Taby, where several of these stones have been discovered and restored. Some of the ones we saw were carved for a particular landowner of the area and told not of a great journey but instead boasted of the land this man owned! By special arrangement and good connections, we were privileged. visitors to the world famous WASA museum which' has been under re- construction since 1988 and is not actually scheduled to be open to the public again until this summer. The name Wasa comes from King Gustav Wasa, who defeated Den- mark and made Sweden an independ- ent country in 1253. In the early 1600's, the reigning monarch ordered. the construction of a new defense ship. The king was not satisfied with only one deck for can- nons and ordered a second cannon deck. There were a total of 64 can- nons on this ship', as many as the whole of the Portugese army at the When the first fortess was com- missioned, the king decreed that the main strait into Stockholm should be filled with rocks. This task took over 300 years to complete (1548-1839). Thirty years later, the reigning king decided he wanted boats to come into Stockholm for travel and industry, so he ordered the rocks removed from the strait, which took until 1876. The shipbuilders made the re- quested changes but unfortunately did not compensate for the added weight. With 100 sailors and 200 army aboard, the ship set off on its grand maiden voyage. With the addi- tional cannon deck, however, it was so top heavy that it rolled over and sank only 1,200 metres from shore. F At the town of Vaxholm, we trans- ferred to a smaller ferry boat to travel a short distance to an island fortress and museum. The original fortress was built in the 1500's to protect Stockholm and .was used as a jail. It was replaced in the mid-1800's. Thirty thousand stones were cut and gathered from the surrounding is- lands for the fortess. Although the story was Well docu- mented, the ship was only discovered in 1956. It was raised in 1961 and has formed the centrepiece of the Wasa museum. The day after we visited Wasa, we were treated to a boat cruise through some of the thousands of islands off the coastline to the, north of Stock- holm. A new museum is now being con- structed around the boat. Visitors will be allowed to walk all around the exterior. of the ship, althimgh not actually on the boat itself. For a view inside, the cannon ports will be left open. In the museum, some of the rooms of the ship will be replicated on a 1:1 scale. Wasa museum Vaxholm cruiie In fact, candlelight seemed to add an elegant touch everywhere-in homes,restaurants, at bank counters, on the coffee shop tables in arenas and even on the timekeepers table in the rink at Marsta! New Year's Eve, however, was very speeial. We all gathered at a hall irr Akersberga for a superb turkey banquet with incredible homemade cakes for dessert. There were numer- ous cheers of "Skol" and lots of sing- ing along with the accordian. We will never forget the cham- pagne at midnight taken outdoors to watch as our hosts set off fireworks. These fireworks joined with others being sent up from all over town to create a magnificent dazzling wel- come for the new year and decade. We were impressed with the beau- tiful Swedish Christmas decorations, the simplicity of their trees, and the 7- light advent candlebra in almost every' window. More dancing and singing fol- lowed with a final rendition of Auld Lang Syne before heading back to Stockholm. Personnel were kept at the Vax- holm fortess until 1944. It remained empty until. it was turned into a museum in 1960. It now contains interesting maps, paintings, furniture and many other artifacts spanning several centuries. Birthdays in Sweden The entire Swedish and St. Marys contingent were on hand to sing happy 16th birthday to Nathan Blight shortly after midnight during the New Year's Eve party. On Jan. 3, Ben Pook experienced the Swedish family birthday tradi- tion as he turned 15. His host family woke him first thing in the morning as they climbed the stairs singing Happy Birthday, bearing gifts, and delivering a cake to the bedroom. Tradition has it that the sleepy celebrant is to open the gifts and eat the cake while still in bed! How about chocolate banana cake for breakfast? Exchange of gifts Our final hockey game was played in Akersberga with many of the play- ers who billeted our Bantams. It was gotxffun to play against those with whom we had made good friendships during our time there. We then all came together after the game for a late evening lunch and exchange of gifts. Our last get-to- gether was on the following Sunday morning for a pre-departure recep- tion at the Akersberga Sports Hall. {HE ANAF BANTAMS and a Swedish team exchange gifts. New Year's Eve We shared both publicly and pri- vately with our special friends our feflings,aboyt the hospitality and kindness we had received. . The sport of hockey had opened the door to an exceptional opportu- nity for an experience of Swedish culture and international friendship. We were grateful for our hard-work- ing Go-For-Sweden committee and for the people at home who had sup- ported our exchange project and made this all possible. Thank you Akersberga and thank you St. Marys. Story, photos _ by Terry Pook