Small Thoughts for Small Minds

Note: All pictures are hot-linked to a larger version, should you desire greater detail…

As I mentioned in the previous post, I just finished up a week in Västerås, Sweden. I arrived Sunday morning and just left. (Monday morning) (Yes, I’m posting from the plane. SAS has free (at the moment) wireless broadband. I don’t have a lot of battery life, and economy class seats don’t have power outlets. I may have to finish this up at home…)

Sunday through Friday were yucky. Non-stop rain and overcast. Which wasn’t too bad, as I didn’t have any free time during the week.

Saturday was gorgeous. And even better, my boss didn’t schedule any meetings for Saturday.

I spent a couple hours strolling about town snapping pix. Here are a few…

I started in the park around the Västerås Stadhaus (Stad means "city").

I love this tree and want two of them for my front yard…

Sorry. I have no idea who they are honoring with this statue. I couldn’t make out the inscription - getting worn…

But, it makes for a nice picture…

I like this series of statues, from barely carved blocks to a fully finished sculpture - but not in order…

One of the most unusual things in town is the Woodpecker Hotel. It is a single room tree-house without power. You need to climb up a rope ladder to get to it.

I knew about it, but didn’t know exactly where it was. I don’t know how many times I’ve walked past it without seeing it. Since I was taking pictures this time, I was more attuned, perhaps…

The same guy also has an underwater "hotel" room in Lake Mälaren, the Utter Inn. (Utter means "otter".) Haven’t seen that one…

Stealing some description from the wikipedia article:

In 1891, the Turbine House, a small hydroelectric dam was built on Svartån, in central Västerås. This early electrification encouraged [my company], a large electricity equipment manufacturer, to concentrate its operations in Västerås, shifting focus away from Arboga. (I don’t want to put my company’s name in directly to avoid management or customers finding this blog through google and realizing what a slack-ass employee I am…)

The following picture is the aforementioned Turbine House.

All through town, you’ll find rough-hewed granite cobblestones. They are almost always arranged as shown in the picture below. This pattern fascinates me (in a "Rainman" sense). I’m surprised I haven’t walked into something while looking down…

Sometimes they use white stone (quartz?) to make parking lines or even words.

This stuff is hell on my suitcase wheels as I walk from the bus/train station to the hotel…

The cobblestones below were behind the Turbine House. Obviously damp and not much sunlight, given the moss between the stones, but that made for better contrast in the picture…

This is the bell tower for the Stadhaus…

The river Svartån runs through the heart of town.

I really like the old buildings that line the river in the city center.

The other side of the above buildings. Sorry for the blurriness…

These are all small shops. A bit off the beaten path. I’m not sure how they stay open…

Bicycles are still a major mode of transportation. The sculpture below was made to honor the working chaps upon which the town was built. The wooden "mockup" that was used to make the forms for the sculpture, for the guy in the lead (I think), is in my division’s offices.

The Stadshotellet. I’ve stayed here a few times. One plus is the fact that the pub, Bishop’s Arms, is part of the hotel. The negative is that the rooms are typical European-style tiny. With linen closet-sized showers…

And, speaking of Bishop’s Arms, I managed to make a few visits during my time in Sweden. This is actually a chain - 23 bars in Sweden. One of the two best beer selections in Västerås.

Sorry about the blurriness…

The interior of the Bishop’s Arms. Yes, that is some type of long sculling boat hanging from the ceiling. You can’t tell from the picture, but they’ve got a couple dozen taps. (Too many British beers for my tastes, so I usually pick from the cooler on the left…)

There’s a big square outside the Stadshotellet. It’s often used for festivals, farmers’ markets, displays, etc….

The other bar with a diverse selection is Pitchers. I didn’t make it there on this trip…

The old church. I couldn’t tell you what "flavor" of religion is practiced there. Most Swedes (that I’ve meet) don’t feel a need to discuss their religious beliefs. Quite refreshing…

The Djäkneberget park is on a hill overlooking downtown. The restaurant in the park has the second best view in town. (And the food’s not too bad, if I can remember correctly.)

The aforementioned view…

The river Svartån empties into Lake Mälaren. Everyone in Västerås (it seems) is a nut about boating. The picture below is looking back at the river as it joins the lake, from the point of view of one of the two marinas in town (the other one is bigger and nicer, but a much longer walk.)

Most of the boats have been put up for the winter by this point. During the warmer months, this pier is packed…

Apparently, during a storm this summer (I think), the footings of this section of pier washed out. (And, yes, I walked around the restrictive safety fence to take this picture…)

As waterside industry becomes less important to the town, the factories and warehouses are being replaced by apartments. Everyone (again, it seems) wants to retire and live right on the lake…

Ducks everywhere. A function of this type of year or normal? I dunno. I only get to visit Västerås in early April and late October…

Again, a nearly empty marina. My guess is, by the following weekend, it will be completely empty. We experienced some nights where the temperature dropped below freezing and (although it didn’t materialize) snow was forecast during our stay.

I was amazed at the size of these rose hips.  As you can see, they’re bigger than the leaves! Maybe one inch in length.

The restaurant (and bar) with the best view in Västerås is at the First Hotel. One website claimed that the First Hotel had the highest cocktail bar in Sweden. Apparently there aren’t many tall buildings in Sweden, as the bar is on the 23rd floor…

This is where I’ve stayed the most during my regular visits to Västerås. The "oversized" rooms are almost as big as small American hotel rooms…

A "draught" can of Murphy’s Stout is almost $10 in the bar, though. You can see why I chose to drink so many beers in my room (previous post)…

And, finally, an interesting location for a restaurant…

We typically have one meal at Ruffino’s during our (internal) global sales conferences. Really a great little Italian restaurant…

That’s all for this trip (although I will make a separate post for Andrew & Angela’s birthday party).

Tomorrow I head to Panama….