A trip to Smaland, the Kingdom of Glass

We decided to take a small weekend trip with my dad to the Kingdom of Glass. It is located in southern Sweden in Smaland. The trip started off a little shaky! Craig left to pick up the rental car (Volvo V50 diesel which got almost 50mpg!)but the car seats were missing. He then was sent on a car seat search. After successfully getting two of the strangest car seats, we were off. We stopped along the way for some McDonald's and a little play time for the kids. I would rather not admit how much we have eaten at McDonalds!! But it is familiar to the kids and easy. It was a beautiful drive and I even enjoyed most of it despite being shoved in between to crazy kids in carseats!
We reached our bed and breakfast without too much trouble. It was amazing!

We enjoyed the courtyard and the kids had a ton of fun playing!




(See Nick...I do have some pictures of myself)

After a good night's rest and a yummy breakfast, we headed out to the glass and crystal shops. We saw so many beautiful things. We also took the time to watch the glass and crystal be made. It was absolutely amazing to watch!




This last photo was the work of a visiting artist. Brenna really enjoyed watching him and we were the only ones there so she got plenty of attention! She has his card and has been carrying it around. The piece he made will sell for about $400!
After a long day of glass shops we headed back to the hotel to rest. The next morning we decided to skip the other glass shops and check out some moose. The moose park was an enclosed area of forest with some moose trapped inside...not exactly a lucky spotting. The first picture here shows my son hugging a really cute stuffed moose. What it doesn't show is the gory scene behind him! They have a car accident reenactment showing the moose dead on the hood with his hoof through the winshield taking out some poor dummy's head. GROSS! If that one wasn't enough, there were three more in the park with various moose deaths including a bear, a hunter, and some hungry wolves...so strange!!! Anyhow, on with the mooses...




And just to leave you with a little potty humor...check out the urinal sign!