We Return Home

Oy, a long trip home! Stockholm to Amsterdam, a race to the plane home, to Boston, then to Detroit. No place to get lobster in Boston, boo hoo. Came back to Per awaiting us at the airport, and collapsed into bed, after hugging Gus, who was very well taken care of!
Had Ken and Hillary over for dinner on thursday so they could meet Per and Inger. A very nice gathering, it was really fun, though the 4 of us were still pretty out of it. We all enjoyed it.

Spent friday with Per and Inger. Inger went to Jazzercize with Pat, then out to lunch with "the gals". It was really, really fun to hang out with her, we really enjoy each other and are truly friends. Inger enjoyed the exercise alot! (as well as the lunch)
We took them to the airport at night, stopping on the way at Da Lat Vietnamese restaurant in Ypsilanti. We all enjoyed it alot, we were glad that Per and Inger liked this local spot. We said our sad goodbyes. We felt like we really have made a friendship, lasting, we hope, with this very nice couple.

A few final thoughts on Sweden. This country is a social democracy, and it really works. Their carbon footprint is the lowest in the world, I believe, and it is an incredibly clean country. Prices are very high, and we were told repeatedly this is because they have high taxes to maintain their lifestyle. That is the downside, but the upside is a society that works. Education is free through college, there are no homeless people, little poverty, (we did not see any slums) parents get monthly supplements for each child, each month, to help with daycare costs, good affordable medical care for all, and no one is left penniless. People are proud of this country and how well it works. There are some issues with refugees, but almost every Swede we talked to saw the value of taxes and the duty of society to care for people.

They also like Americans, which was refreshing, as we didn't have to feel as apologetic as we have in other European countries.