Sweden Trip Day 4 - Mickey Appears!

Our day started out with my mom, Berit and myself venturing over to the island of Ven (Hven), for a nice day of bike riding. One of the interesting sights on the island is the Tycho Brahe Museum. Tycho Brahe was an instrumental astronomer and alchemist, who was not without his less than fine points. However, his work laid the groundwork for many others. If you are interested in history and science I recommend reading up on Tycho Brahe, it's fascinating. The most interesting parts to me were of course, his views of women, his garden and his relation to astrology.

My pictures do the island no justice - it is absolutely beautiful!

Berit and I waiting for the ferry to leave.

Our arrival...

The countryside...

I thought this would make a great picture because of the bikes, then when I got home I noticed the toilet sign...I guess I shouldn't give up my day job...

I just loved the juxtaposition ($7 word) of the red geraniums and the somberness of the background...too bad you can't tell it's the beautiful St. Ibb's old church and cemetery up a cliff overlooking the ocean...and it's blurry...ya, I think I missed my calling...thank God for web links...

View of the harbor...

I just liked this house and garden...there were a million of these cute things on the island.

We actually rode our bikes through this field all the way from the farthest point on the horizon - I loved it!

We packed a little picnic lunch.

No self respecting Swede would be caught without coffee on any excursion.

Berit and I coming around the bend!

Just a note to make everyone feel bad - my Aunt Berit is 76 years old and made her way around that island like a champ on her bike! Old age, shmold age!

After our day of bike riding we high-tailed it on over to of all places, the dollar store, Öob, which it turns out is one of my brother's favorite Swedish stores, and then City Gross, which is kind of like a Target Greatland or Super Walmart. I know it sounds corny, but I felt the same way about these stores as I did the grocery store - happy to be there.

When we got home we got ready to go up to Tony's house for dinner. Here are the highlights:

This is the sign to turn down the one mile dirt road to Berit's house. I asked her if she ever has problems in the winter, "I always get out", is what I was told.

My mom took this picture of her big sister while cracking up because of the urchin-fab look.

Another beautiful smörgåstårta, made by Tony, curry chicken...we had strawberries and cream for dessert - YUM!

Mickey! I asked my mom, did Tony name the fox? No, Mickey is just a nickname people use for foxes in general, like we would use it if we saw a mouse.

Everyone, grab your shoes quick!

Sweden Trip Day 3 - City Mouse/Country Mouse Part 2

When Mom and I got home from Malmö centrum (downtown), Aunt Berit and Tony (Berit's friend), came over to Aunt Kerstin's for dinner. Berit speaks no English. My mom said they didn't start teaching English in school until she was in the 6th grade, Berit is 76 and my mom is 70. Needless to say the majority of the dinner conversation was in Swedish, well not the majority, all of it. I didn't really mind though, it was good practice for me to hear it in conversation versus hearing it in my normal classroom setting. The only English was when mom announced Berit had cursed.

After dinner we were heading out to spend a few days at Berit's house in the country. Oh, I almost forgot, for dessert we had this fruit salad with fresh whipped cream and these cookie pieces in it that were so stinkin' good! Mandel biskvier is what they are called. Simple dessert, yet yummy.

Berit lives in Norra Rörum which is about 40 miles northeast of Malmö. Forty miles doesn't sound like a lot, but once you leave the city it turns into farmland quickly. We stopped at the grocery store where Berit bought two loaves of bread. I bought a magazine - På Landet. I guess part of the dinner conversation was what we were eating for breakfast, Kerstin told Berit I was only eating half a piece of toast, my mom said, you never know, tomorrow she may eat the whole piece! Therefore, Berit bought two loaves of bread for three days.

When we finally got to Berit's it was pitch black outside, we went inside and I thought we were going to settle in for the night - I was wrong. You have to remember I have no idea what is being said all this time. I was immediately issued a flashlight and a lint roller. I didn't know why, but what the hell, I'm usually game for anything!

It seems up at Tony's house (which was the last house on the road and 186 miles from the nearest civilization), around the corner there had been a rascally fox entering homes and stealing pet food and various items of clothing, socks, shoes, etc. So we ventured up there to wait for the fox. It was pitch black outside, I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face. Thus, the flashlight. So there we were hunkered down in Tony's house with the door open, crouched around waiting, and waiting...Berit was holding her 4 year old black lab, Tobbe (pronounced Toe bay, not Toby, as I called him the whole time and was corrected by my mother constantly), listening to Swedish folk music, which is weird. It was quiet, except for the music and my mother, whispering in my ear the smart alec translations of the folk music...

There is a flock of ducks, flying wherever they fly for whatever season - suddenly, they see a man in a boat standing up...later the mother duck is looking for her young...it's a sad, sad song...

Next,

Everyone wanted the Miller girl because she was hot, but she told her suitors the first to earn $1,000 would get her hand in marriage, so they left and earned their keep, when they got back with the money she had married the neighbor, the moral of the story, women are fickle, you don't know the mind of a woman...

It sounds hokey, but seriously it was hard to keep quiet with my mom whispering these translations in my ear because it was so funny....

Well, the fox never came, so we went home. The lint roller was to keep the dog hair off.

One thing I noticed was the toilet paper so far had sucked, but Berit had nice toilet paper. Ah, the country!
Berit and I in the dark of night...notice the green fluorescent 7-up bottle...I was instructed to bring it to Tony's. Do foxes like 7-up?

Berit keeping Tobbe from going crazy like a fox!

Sweden Trip Day 2 - Liquor is Quicker

My mom took this delightful photo of me while proclaiming, ah, your first day in Sweden! (Notice what I'm eating, it will be significant later.)

So when I woke the second day and came downstairs I told my mom all I wanted was some 7-up and regular Advil (I, like a fool, had only brought Advil PM). In all my singleness little did I realize what I really needed to quell my queasiness had already been discussed that morning. I was after all, now in the company of my mom and two of her sisters. Aunt Berit had called earlier to say what I really needed was a nice shot of whiskey. Thank God Aunt Kerstin (pronounced shas-tin, as in shasta cola) and my mom had settled on alka seltzer.

I took my alka seltzer and we started for the bus to my cousin Ingrid’s salon so I could get my hair done. I was really excited because I had been growing out my hair for two years so she would have perfectly virgin hair to work with.

I love my new hair!!!

It’s amazing how much better you feel after you get your hair done! We immediately walked down to the liquor store to shore up for the next two weeks. On the way we passed my mom’s best friend Gull-Britt’s house she grew up in – I’m sorry to say I didn’t get a picture of it. Then we went to the GROCERY STORE! I love going to the grocery store, and in another country, it was even better! I couldn’t stop looking at everything, it was so cute and small, no jumbo size American packaging, I wanted to look at every single aisle and see what I could find. Finally we went to the soda aisle – and what did I see – 7UP LIGHT!! Curse the day!!! I thought I was going to cry, then all of a sudden I saw it – regular 7-UP! I had hope! When I checked out I had my beloved 7-UP, my first Swedish magazine, Rosie, and a package of one of my favorite Scandinavian cookies, bixit with chocolate! And I became fast friends with the clerk who told me she was going to move to New Jersey to be with her American boyfriend…good for her!

My mom grew up in Malmö, which is where we were, where my Aunt Kerstin lives. After dinner my mom and I decided to take a walk. We walked for an hour and half and I got to see the house she grew up in, like a fool, neither of us brought a camera. My cousin Anna lives really close by there so we went on a wild goose chase looking for her apartment, amazingly enough we found it and stopped by to say hi to her, Anders (husband) and her new baby Moa. My mom said we’d better hurry back because Kerstin is a worrier and she would be outside waiting for us – she was!

On the way back a girl came up to me and asked me for directions, I said in my best panic-stricken Swedish, “I don’t understand you.” My mom said she was looking for a bank machine, she probably thought what I would think, what idiot doesn’t understand what a bank machine is…

The thing I enjoyed most about this day was my mom pointing out tons of houses saying, that’s where so and so lived, and that’s where this boy I dated lived, here's the school I went to in 6th grade, and that’s where this happened…

Aunt Kerstin's lovely backyard, she did all the gardening herself...

Ingrid's cute little salon in Limhamn (an area in Malmö), called Lockar & Sånt (meaning Curls & Such.) Me with my hair set! The lady on my right was going to a funeral and getting hers set too!

Sweden Trip Day 1 - Red or White?

September 7th - finally! The day had finally come for me to take my second trip to Sweden, or was it really my first? I had been when I was three so I'm not sure if that really counts because I don't remember...although there are plenty of pictures to prove I was there - me in all my three year old naked glory - running around the lake at my Aunt Berit's house with my sister, both of us squeezed into a bucket with our tiny heads sticking out. My mom has a copy of it somewhere, I'll have to have her dig it out.

I was really excited but I must admit I had been running nonstop the weeks beforehand. Going overseas is serious business and costs a lot of money up front. I wanted to make sure I had the right clothes, presents for everyone, etc., etc. We brought everyone Bath & Bodyworks lotions because they don't have them over there and they had been requested.

The first thing I noticed when I got on the plane was a baby sitting close to us crying. At that point I was really happy so I tried to be calm and think, poor thing, cabin pressure, new mom - I have patience, the baby will fall asleep soon after we take off. Then another baby, then another, and another, and another. Five hours into the ten hour flight, the babies are no longer crying, they are screaming. At this point I still have a bit of patience. My mom and I both take an Advil PM hoping we can get some sleep over the screaming. I'm super tired because I barely had any sleep the whole week before I left. They bring dinner, in all honesty, it was horrible. It was meatballs and pasta in tomato sauce with peas. Yuck. I ate it. I asked for a Diet Coke - don't be fooled, it's not the same, it's really regular Coke with less sugar and unequivocally NOT the same!

By this time the baby behind my mom has been kicking her chair non-stop and the parents are both asleep, the dad blissfully snoring away while his devil child is constantly kicking my mom's chair!!! Stuff like that makes me nervous.

Somewhere about two hours before we landed I started to feel a weird sensation in my gut, and it wasn't good. By the time I got off the plane I was in a total fog, all I could hear were screaming babies, I couldn't stay out of the bathroom, I was sweating and clammy and I just wanted the plane to LAND!!!!!!

I got off that plane and I have never felt so miserable in my entire life! We pick up our luggage and as we got to the point where everyone was going to meet us I was blinded by the flash photography of my Aunts!

After that it's all kind of a blur, we landed in Copenhagen, Denmark, so my cousin Ingrid borrowed her daughter's car (she doesn't have one, she bikes everywhere) and we all headed over to Sweden.

The beautiful table waiting for us when we arrived at Aunt Kerstin's! From left to right, Stina, my old babysitter, Aunt Rigmor (pronounced ring-more, although not correct, it's what we American kids use, my mom, Aunt Berit (pronounced bear-it), my counsin Ingrid.

My favorite - Smörgåstårta - which I couldn't even enjoy because I felt so horrible! Berit made this one and it is absolutely beautiful! I have the recipe if anyone is interested!

Berit and Ingrid showing off the awesome desserts I wasn't able to fully enjoy! Ugh!

After we were done eating all the Aunts and Stina got out their calendars and planned our itinerary...notice the comically smug look on Ingrid's face at the planning session...that's Kerstin on the right.

You can't see it in this picture but Stina on the left has her calendar out too...

Where was I? After I took a few photos I went upstairs and slept, but not without many warnings about how I wouldn't be able to sleep later on that night - HA!

Something happened earlier in the day that really sums up my whole first day in Sweden, which I don't why it does, it just does...on the plane a complementary alcoholic beverage came with dinner, I asked the fine Flight Steward what kind of wine they had, he looked at me with all seriousness and indignation and said, 'red or white'.