Europe 2019: Stockholm, Sweden

Europe 2019

Stockholm, Sweden

I was really surprised at how much I liked Stockholm, especially after the previous stop in Helsinki had been somewhat disappointing. Stockholm is a beautiful city and the central waterfront areas are especially picturesque and tourist friendly. 

One downside, however, is that we didn't actually port in Stockholm. We stopped in Nynashamn, which is nearly an hour away by bus. We booked the transport from the ship, which was just the Ho-Ho Bus again, and headed for central Stockholm. The drive was beautiful - much greener than I was expecting.

We never used the buses to move around Stockholm once we got there, but we figured out that there were boats that were included in our ticket that criss-crossed the harbor between sites we wanted to visit so we started hopping on those. It's a great way to travel.

One of those stops was the Vasa Museum. It's the most visited museum in all of Scandinavia and it's highly recommended by all the travel guides. It houses the only fully intact 17th century warship in existence. I didn't love it if I'm being honest. The ship is cool and all, and the facility is great (fantastic gift shop), but it's just a big ship. The story of the thing is awesome though. The Cliffnotes version is that they finished it in 1628, launched it, and it immediately sank off the harbor. They salvaged it in 1961 and it's been on display in some form or another since. I might have done a dedicated post to the Vasa Museum, but all of our pictures were blurry. It's a little dark and I guess we don't know what we're doing.

  
We did some eating, including Swedish meatballs of course. I have to report, sadly and surprisingly, that the ones at IKEA in Houston are better. 

When we were done visiting sights we strolled around the Gamla Stan area and did some shopping. It's a great part of the city and easy to navigate. 

More boat rides around the harbor. One thing we also did was visit the ABBA Museum, but I'm going to do a separate post on that one. 

I would come back to Stockholm again. It's a gorgeous city and everyone seemed friendly. It's expensive, but that aside I enjoyed our day here and left impressed. 

Europe 2019: Helsinki, Finland

Europe 2019

Helsinki, Finland

Leading up to our stop in Helsinki, I was struggling to find things to do. People say it's a great place to visit, but it was a bit of a disappointment for me really. I think if it had been summer time or even more into the winter months there would have been some options, but this fall stop offered little more than a chance to stroll around and shop.

We just got Ho-Ho Bus tickets and didn't book any excursions. We only used the bus to get from the ship to town and then back to the ship later. It wasn't very far, but not walking distance.

There were a few little monuments and fountains here and there, but for the most part the city doesn't seem to have any can't miss landmarks. There's a place known as the Rock Church that I would have liked to have visited, but they were having a service that day.

So we just walked around and took it in. If we saw something that peaked our interest we headed over but otherwise it was a slow day.

We started out with a morning snack at this little outdoor cafe. Samantha will always order the "pink thing" if it's an option.

There were these little birds around the cafe and I spent probably 10 minutes feeding them out of my hand....and then I noticed a large sign that said "Don't Feed the Little Birds". Oops.

Desperate for entertainment, we spotted Skywheel Helsinki. It's basically just a harbor-side Farris wheel, but the views were nice and Samantha enjoyed it. We were also the only people on it so they just let us go around a bunch. All these pictures look blue because the glass is tinted blue. One of the pods is actually a sauna that you can ride in for an hour. 

I should mention at this point that one of the things you should do when visiting Helsinki is hit a sauna. It's huge here and part of the culture - even daily for some Fins. I would have gladly done it but we had Sam and it just didn't seem like a good idea to try it with her not knowing how things worked.

We found another cafe and had another snack (when you're bored you can always revert to eating). I'll say it again - These Scandinavian folk really know how to make hot chocolate. I would drink it like some people drink coffee if it tasted this good back home. 

Other than that it was just shopping. There were some outdoor markets, but I didn't really notice bargains anywhere. Branelle found another Christmas store, and I feared for our children's college funds.

Samantha and I sharing differing opinions of Aunt Andi. ;-)

DIY: Jaguar XJS Console Wood

DIY: Jaguar XJS Console Wood

DIY time again! If you have an XJS, especially a convertible like mine, then your center console - or 'ski slope' as it is sometimes called - probably isn't what it once was. Turns out there are replacements being manufactured and I put one in. 

The rest of my car's interior was just about perfect, but the console was awful. It was a completely different color than the rest of the wood and it was just falling apart. I found a company called British Autowood on Facebook of all places that manufactured new units and even had options like replacing the dual ashtrays with cup holders. I contacted the guy and got him some good pictures of the rest of the wood in my car so he could match it. He sells complete wood kits as well, but all of my other wood was fine - I just needed the ski slope. 

Installation was a fairly simple swap:

When you lift up the arm rest there is a small cover with two small screws to remove. Lifting the cover will expose a single screw in the console.

Next, pop out the cigar lighter and the cruise control switch (if so equipped) and disconnect the wires. 

This exposes a small bolt on each side that just needs to be loosened. I believe it was a 10mm. Don't take it off, just loosen it enough to free up the bracket on each side of the console.

Now remove the screw that was accessed when the plastic cover was removed in step one. 

Next, lift up carefully and unplug the switches for the power windows and top (if equipped).

Next, simply lift up and slide out the console. It's not fastened at the front, just wedged under the stereo. You'll have to lift it over the gear knob but it's no problem. You can put the car in neutral if you have to but I don't recall needing to do that. Be careful with the switches and the rubber gear shift trim as you'll need them.

Here's what it looks like underneath. I took this opportunity to pull out years of items that had disappeared and also to tape up a few wires and vacuum the compartment out.

The new piece and the old piece. I opted for cup holders and also to replace the cigar lighter with a USB port for charging. I was surprised by the color difference but the new piece was a perfect match for the rest of the wood in my car.

Remove the rubber seal from the gear shift opening and work it into place on the new console. Mine was still in great shape so I just reused it. You can get a replacement if needed.

Sliding the new console into place is no big deal - it fit perfectly. However, if you go with the USB port, you do need to do a little wiring. It also creates a problem tightening the bolt that holds the console down on each side. The little round hole just doesn't leave you enough room to get a driver on it to tighten it. I tried everything and couldn't do it. Fortunately, it stays firmly in place with only the left side attached.  

I had to cut the bulb connector off and replace it with a standard crimp attachment. 

There you go. The third wire isn't needed so I just taped it up and tucked it away. These two connectors slide on the back of the new USB port.

Then you just slide the console in place and start working backwards. I attached the main screw loosely at first.

The cruise control just reconnects and pops right into place. I had a little trouble with the USB port though. After you connect the wires it basically just screws into a nut that's glued to the back of the console. As I was screwing it in, mine came off. I had to remove everything and super-glue the nut back in place and clamp it for about 24 hours. It held the second time, but you do need to be careful and don't torque it too much putting it in.

Then you can reattach the plugs for the windows and top and snap that assembly into place. 

Done! It looks great and fits great and wasn't too difficult to install.

And now I have cup holders and can charge two devices as well. It's not even that expensive so if you have a less than perfect ski slope, contact British Autowood and get a replacement.