Kungl. Myntkabinettet

November 13, 2006 11:00pm

Kungl. Myntkabinettet

Yay! Game tomorrow! Better get to bed soon : ) Eat right, drink right, sleep right. Mom, right?! I love you!! (and you are totally and completely right about good game prep and pretty much everything else you’ve ever taught me) Anyway, practice was really good tonight. During our team meeting on Saturday, we all decided we wanted practice to be harder, to more game like, and for the coaches to be more demanding of us. Anders and Putte did a great job today of really pushing us, getting more upset than usual (which is good!), and encouraging us to play at a higher level of team ball. Hopefully we’ll be more ready to go tomorrow for the game than we were last week when we played Solna. I feel confident that we’ll be ready. Plus, some of us are going to have a pregame shoot-around tomorrow morning… good thing; I really want to get some shots up!

Before practice tonight, Anders asked Erin and I to come a bit earlier so that we could help coach some middle school girls for an hour or so. We did some ball handling drills (I always think of you, Al Clark!) and some full court drills too. I guess it’s probably pretty fun for them to have a couple of Americans coach them every once in a while.

After shooting practice this morning, I had the entire afternoon off before coaching and practice (pretty much the usual schedule now). Well, it’s my goal to make it to at least one museum each week that I am here. Most museums are closed on Mondays, but I found one that was open… Kungl. Myntkabinettet – Sveriges Ekonomiska Museum (the Royal Coin Cabinet). I didn’t exactly know how exciting a bunch of coins could be, but it actually was very interesting to see how forms of currency have changed. From cocoa beans, shells, and furs to paper money today, there have been lots of different materials that people have placed a value on and then used for exchange of goods. The world’s first bank note, issued by Stockholms Banco in 1661, is on display, as is the world’s largest coin, weighing in at 19.7 kg of copper (I somehow managed to miss that one, don’t know how, but I did). All the exhibits were described in Swedish, so again that proved to be a bit challenging (though it’s kind of fun, however not very accurate, to go around to the exhibits and make up your own stories!). One part of the exhibit had currencies from all over the world. There were also lots of medals on display… such as the Alfred Nobel Medal (for the Nobel Prize, of course!). At the gift shop they had lots of replica coins of the Swedish Krona… well, replicas made of chocolate!

In addition to visiting the coin museum, I saw a changing of the guards, walked a bit around old town, shopped a little (I finally got a pair of the straight-leg jeans that everyone wears here and tucks inside their boots – now I need boots!), and visited the Stockholm Tourist Info Center. I’ve been wanting to get to the info center for a while now, and I’m grateful I finally made it today. Now I’m outfitted with lots of maps and even more ideas of what to do. I really want to take a boat tour throughout the archipelago; however, most boat trips only run in the spring, summer, and early fall months. I think there may still be some that run occasionally now – on the weekend perhaps – but, I will need to do some research. The Christmas Markets (outdoor festivals filled with food and holiday goods) will start to open soon. I’m really excited to visit those! Oh, also, today while I was walking around Gamla Stan and towards Kungsgaten (the King’s Garden), I heard some music being played. I didn’t know if there was a concert going on in the middle of this cold afternoon, so I followed the sound of the music. In the middle of Kungsgaten is an ice-skating rink and the music was being played on speakers there. It was so picturesque, well except for the fact that there’s currently no snow on the ground. Soon there probably will be snow; then we’ll have to go skating!

Tomorrow I think I’ll do less exploring, after all, it is a game day! I am having so much fun getting out and seeing the city (and I have barely even seen all that there is to offer). It’s just a really great place… I don’t think anyone could ever get bored here. I feel so blessed to be playing on such a super team in such a tremendous location. I hope it starts snowing again soon!