Gardens in Israel
When Mr Chiots and I were in Israel back in November, we visited a few different kibbutzes. The one we spent the most time at (Gal-On) had lovely plantings fill with lush tropical plants. Here are a few photos from a walk I took around the grounds.
The gardens and plants reminded me a lot of Colombia (where I grew up), in fact there were many of the same plants. It was much different than Maine, that difference was highlighted since we traveled after the gardens had gone dormant here. There was a definite tropical feel to the plants and gardens. I also was able to tour one of the larger agricultural kibbutzes with citrus groves, avocados, pomegranates, and so many other wonderful things. I’ll share photos of that next week.
Do you try to get out into the non-tourist places when you travel?
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Verta Kloster
As you can imagine, I’m still going through photos from our trip to Sweden. We didn’t plan a ton of activities while we were there, we enjoy winging it while we are on vacation. Stopping when we see something interesting, as was the case when we read about Vreta Kloster. Part of the foundations here are around a thousand years old – WOW! Vreta Abbey was a house of Benedictine nuns until 1162. It burnt down and was rebuilt hundreds of years ago, but as it aged some of it fell into disrepair. Some of the ruins have been repaired and preserved as is. Some of them have been turned into pergolas with walkways. It’s quite stunning!
It was quite a gem of a place to discover on our drive from Stocklholm to Jönköping. The perfect stop to get out and stretch our legs while enjoying a piece of history. It’s always amazing to see things that are so much older than we can find here in this country.
Do you like to plan out your entire vacation or wing it and find things along the way?
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Vintage Volvo
While researching for our trip to Sweden, we came across Time Travel Sightseeing Göteborg. Of course we had to do it, seeing that we were in the country to pick up our very own Volvo. I first fell in love with Volvos when I was in third grade, our neighbors up the street had the classic 1970’s brown station wagon, I admired it every day on my way to school.
We got a very in depth tour of the city in a classic Volvo PV 444/544, they were manufactured between 1947 and 1965. It was fantastic and well worth it whether you like Volvos or not.
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Vasa Ship
While we were in Stockholm in September, we visited the Vasa Museum. In this museum is a real 17th century ship, it looks just like those in pirate movies. It’s hard to imagine that this ship was built in 1624, set sail, and sank immediately. It preserved at the bottom of the ocean and the process to start bringing up began in the 1950s.
If you’re ever in the area, it’s worth a visit. Definitely get in on the guided tour, that was wonderful at explaining the history of the ship.
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Colorblock Gardens at Djurgården in Stockholm
After spending the morning at Rosendals Trädgård (post 1 and post 2 about this lovely space), we decided to walk back to the old part of Stockholm and wander through the Djurgården, which we had heard was lovely. Indeed it was. Swedish parks and public spaces are lovely, they know how to plan things for maximum beauty and peace. We especially loved these color block gardens in one of the larger public park areas.
If I remember correctly, there were four very large borders, each filled with plants/flowers in one color. The white and purple ones were my favorites, as my tastes in flowers definitely lean that direction.
Generally, borders like this are a bit too much for my garden tastes, but these were perfect. The mix of flowers and plants were perfect, each bringing a certain texture to the garden. We certainly enjoyed wandering around noting each variety and what it brought to the mix.
What colors are your favorites in the garden? Do you tend towards hot colors like red, orange, and yellow? Or do you lean towards the more muted purples and whites?
