I’ve been back home for a week and I’m overdue on wrapping up about my visit to Sweden.  Where does one start an ending? Well, I got to Kastrup Airport just fine. My suitcase was apparently 2kg overweight, although it was fine when I weighed it before leaving Halmstad that morning.  The night before, I had gone to the grocery store to purchase pickled herring, caviar in a tube, muesli, my new favorite marmalade (orange and carrot), and an assortment of Swedish candy. All of this helped to weigh me down. Luckily I had an extra bag with me, so I just threw some stuff in there.  Fredrik and I were able to have one last meal together, in the airport, before we walked to the security gate. It was a hard goodbye, but my departure was inevitable.

This trip was much different than my previous travels. Usually, I do my homework ahead of time. I study up on my destination by borrowing travel guides from the library. I look at maps to get a feel for cities’ layouts. I come up with a rough list of things I want to see and do. This time around, I did none of that. My primary reason for visiting Sweden was to see Fredrik, not to tour the country. Plus, when it came time to do some sightseeing, I had a native to plan our itinerary. I don’t know that I made as many observations in cultural differences as I usually do (a friend, who has already seen some photos from my trip, mentioned that there were a lot of blonds; I never took notice of that!). However, here are a few I haven’t yet mentioned.

Not only are there no billboards, I’m not sure that I saw many (or any) bumper stickers. A few cars, including Fredrik’s parents’ Volvos, had small stickers on the back windshield, but they were small and subtle. No stickers suggesting who to vote for, or proclaiming a religious view, or saying something witty. Nothing. And speaking of cars, the large vehicles that an American is used to seeing exist in Sweden. You won’t find any Ford F-150s or Hummers or Escalades.  Also no mini vans. And the semi trucks are even smaller. Mostly Volvos, Saabs, Citroëns, and even sedan-sized Fords. Because big cars don’t exist, big parking spaces also aren’t found. The Volvo seemed to be almost too big to fit in some parking ramps.

Did you know that the way we pronounce IKEA is even anglicized? The “i” in Swedish is actually pronounced as a long “e” as in “ear.” And I would try to define how the “e” is pronounced, but that would take up more space here than you’d care to read.  Did you know that the letters of the company are actually an acronym for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd?  The first two are the first and last name of the founder.  And the last two are the farm where he grew up and the nearby village, respectively. Fredrik’s dad informed me that Swedes are responsible for inventing the mouse, the ball bearing, the Tetra Pak, and number of other very useful things.

In Sweden, you’ll see the combination of the letters “AB” a lot.  In the business world, it’s the Swedish version of our “LLC.” Although most businesses in the U.S. don’t really display “LLC” with their companies’ names, Swedish businesses do. For example, “Svenska Aeroplan AB” or “SAAB.”  Ah-haaaa!

While blogging from across the Atlantic, I had quite the time navigating computer keyboards over there just as I did when in Paris in 2008. The letters å, ä, and ö are included as extra keys, but the difficulty comes in the placement of various grammatical symbols; those are located in different places. Even the question mark is moved. The number keys each share not one but two symbols. Fredrik can attest to the many times I cried out in frustration from trying to type a simple email.

I really got used to and enjoyed the Swedish smörgåsbord for breakfast and lunch. Just go to the fridge and pull anything out that you can make a sandwich with, spread everything out on the counter, and make your meal. What you can’t find here, other than the obvious of pickled herring and caviar, and what I miss are the denser breads and the big wheels and blocks of everyday cheese that you can get at the grocery store. And a Swede can’t be without a typical cheese slicer or some wooden knives (they’re so cute!) used for spreading butter, jams, liver paste, etc on breads.

And now I know that proper nouns like Lundberg or Lindsborg are actually pronounced Lund-By and Linds-Bory. In addition the word “loppet”, such as in the City of Lakes Loppet (a weekend-long x-country ski event here in Minneapolis) isn’t just a random word. It’s Swedish and means “race.”

So that’s just a bit more of what I observed while in Sweden. Don’t you feel smarter now?

Last but not least, and if you made it this far, here again is the link to my photos and videos!  Until my next travels, enjoy!

After stuffing our faces, we went to play racquetball for a bit. Sweaty and fun, and I was nice enough to let Fredrik win (hah. hah.). For my last dinner, Otto set up the family’s paella pan outside and proceeded to fry up mussles, crayfish, salmon, chicken, shrimp, octopus, and rice. Eva’s parents, who live only 200m away, came for dinner so they could meet me. It was raining by then, so the seven of us sat around the dinner table inside to enjoy yet another fantastic meal with wine. For dessert, we had some chocolate, and I tried my first-ever espresso (not too much, otherwise I would have been up all night). I also had a taste of cloudberry liqueur. By 10 p.m. Fredrik and I called it a night and excused ourselves. I spent some time before bed packing.

Fredrik and I are now driving to Copenhagen for my 2 p.m. flight home today. I am acquiring wireless connectivity on his laptop through his Google phone (so cool!).

My last full day in Sweden was full but not rushed. In the morning, Fredrik went over some sailing theory with me on a white board which helped me get a better grasp of things while out on the water. By 11 a.m. we were in the harbor and putting up the sails on the C55. The sun was out and the wind was perfect for probably the most gorgeous day of sailing we’d had, which is probably why we spent three hours on the water. This time around, I handled the sheets like a pro. And I finally worked up the courage to steer the rudder while tacking the boat, multiple times!

Being out on the water is such a fun experience, especially having grown up in the middle of the U.S., as far away from open waters as possible. Not only is it calming to be rocking up and down as the waves pass underneath the boat, but also it’s mesmerizing to watch the waves come toward you and watch the boat follow the water’s surface. Waves can get pretty big and look scary as they approach, but the boat just glides up, over, and down. It also amazes me that you can get from one place to another just by the use of nature’s elements, harnessing water and wind to your advantage. I don’t think we sailed more than 7km from the Halmstad harbor, so it’s amazing to think of the great explorers who crossed multiple oceans to circle the globe.

When Fredrik was in Minnesota two months ago, he pointed out that Sweden is without advertising billboards. There is actually a law against it, and I took notice that the landscape is much more enjoyable without the interruption of big rectangles every quarter of a mile. Some businesses, though, will rent someone’s road-side property and park a trailer near the road with their advertisement along the side. This is how they circumvent the system: “No, it’s not an ad, it’s just a trailer!” It’s funny, the countryside landscape I saw looks similar to certain landscapes found in the U.S. However, because I know I’m in a different country, it looks different.

Back at home, we prepared an “American” meal for the family: steaks rubbed with Barbeque of the Americas seasoning from Penzey’s, cole slaw, and cornbread muffins. On Thursday, the wind was active enough for us to go sailing again. This time, tried my hand at steering the rudder. I freaked out a few times but didn’t sink us. This time, I was outfitted with more appropriate clothing to keep me warm and dry which made the whole experience much more enjoyable. Back on land, we went for a short walk along the beautiful coast. For dinner, Eva and Otto took us and Henrik out to a fantastic restaurant right by the water’s edge. The atmosphere of the building, the background music, and the seascape out the surrounding windows was absolutely perfect. And the food was amazing too: lobster bisque, seafood stew, a fantastic Riesling, amazing dessert. And to top it off, wonderful company and a beautiful sunset. It was a great treat.

The students were soon led away toward Chalmers, and Fredrik and I began a slow walk down the main avenue. We stopped in at the city library where they have a pretty good Engelska (English) book section plus more shelves of many other languages. Fredrik took me to Saluhallen, a large, indoor hall filled with shops selling specialty and delicacy foods like fresh and dried meats, cheeses, olives, preserves, and fish, plus bakeries and cafes. Then we headed over to Fiskekyrka, or “The Fish Church,” another hall that sells only fresh seafood, and indeed it is located in an old church. We walked back to Saluhallen to meet Fredrik’s friend Magnus for some lunch. More importantly, we went to a specialty chocolate shop afterward for a fika of amazing hot chocolate (the lady broke off a piece of chocolate and then proceeded to melt it with steamed milk) and handmade truffles. Yum!

After satisfying ourselves, we parted ways from Magnus and hopped on the tram and rode to some outer suburbs and back.  Upon returning to the apartment, we went upstairs to have dinner with Peter and his family. He was in the midst of grilling meats out on their 5th-floor balcony. The meal was so good, and the company even better. I always find it hard to warm up to kids, but I found a way to engage Matilda and Elin. I started by introducing them to English tongue twisters (unique New York, and She sells seashells by the seashore), and they stumbled and giggled their way through some Swedish ones (Sex lax är i en lax ask, or Six salmon are in a small salmon tin). Then, as Matilda was crocheting a hat, I borrowed some of her string and started showing them how to do Cat’s Cradle.

Part of our dinner conversation led to desserts. I learned that JELL-O and chocolate chip cookies are rare in Sweden, as are cupcakes and sweets with peanut butter. Actually, muffin tins are not found in Swedish homes. I found this out when Fredrik and I made cornbread muffins back in Halmstad the following day. Instead, we just filled paper muffin cups with the batter, and the batter oozed its way out during the baking process. We talked about many other things before calling it quits for the day.

On Saturday, we had another nice evening. Fredrik invited Per, his close childhood friend, and Per’s sister Therese over to make and eat dinner with us. Per’s family actually lives next door. The four of us went grocery shopping together and then made pasta, garlic bread, and prepared strawberries for dessert with ice cream. Fredrik opened up a bottle of wine he’d been saving for my visit, so we enjoyed it along with dinner. I felt relieved that Fredrik’s friends seem very at ease to speak English in my presence. We enjoyed the food and conversation until nearly midnight. During the last hour, Fredrik’s dad Otto came home from his fishing trip in Trondheim and joined us at the table.

On Sunday, after having a nice lunch on the patio with Eva and Otto and a couple of their friends, Fredrik and I packed a small suitcase with too many clothes and drove two hours north to the city of Göteborg (or Gothenburg) for a few days. Upon arrival, we met up with Fredrik’s business partner, Daniel, for dinner at a nearby restaurant. Afterward, we drove to Fredrik’s uncle’s apartment complex where we were able to rent the small guest apartment for our visit.

Monday morning, we were invited up to the family’s two-floor apartment for a nice breakfast. Peter, Fredrik’s uncle was already off to work, but we joined his wife Helene and their two daughters, Matilda (12) and Elin (10), and baby Alfred (14 months) for a nice breakfast. Then we were off to the archipelago northwest of Göteborg for the day. On our way, we stopped at an old fortress to look around. Back in the Volvo, we drove an hour to the small, quaint fishing village of Klädesholmen. Of course, we were stuck with rainy, cloudy weather, but we still tried to make the best of it. For lunch at a local restaurant, I had a really tasty seafood stew with fresh shrimp and fish caught in town.

Afterward, we walked around the village and admired to cute, Swedish-style houses that are right out of a travel magazine. They seemed to be built very organically with narrow cobblestone streets winding between them. On the edge of town we had a beautiful view of the archipelago, small islands composed of rock and moss with a sailboat here and there passing around them. Looking back to Klädesholmen was also a beautiful sight, the harbor of sailboats and houses painted solid colors with white trimming.

Having sufficiently enjoyed our surroundings, we left the village and headed back toward Göteborg but detoured to Marstrand, another and more famous fishing town but with very large homes and cute shops. The sun was out when we took the ferry over to the island town, but the clouds and rain soon rolled in, so we didn’t stay for too long except to enjoy a fika (going to a cafe with someone and enjoying tea or some other drink and each others’ company) of hot chocolate and a pastry. The evening ended with a take-out kebab pizza and mindless, trashy TV.

I had the most amazing experience in my life this afternoon. In Sweden, there is a family tradition of taking children to the candy store on Saturdays. Fredrik and I ventured into the largest candy store in Sweden, and it’s only appropriate for me to say that I looked like a kid in a candy store. The walls were lined with various gummies and chocolates, lollipops, and candybars, a treasure trove of sugared goodness. I know that the U.S. Also has candy stores, but what makes the Swedish ones different is that the candies are not differentiated by prices, and therefore you don’t need to use a different bag for each candy you buy. Instead, you grab a plastic scoop and start scooping up anything you see into one paper bag.

When you’re finally able to tear yourself away and head to the cash register, your bag of teeth-rotting goodies gets weighed and you pay by the gram. I am now in possession of nearly $7, and I’m pretty sure that the amount of candy in my bag is much more than $7 would ever purchase in the U.S. What an awesome tradition to grow up with; better than Halloween!

More to come on the past few days.

On Thursday, Fredrik and I took it pretty easy.  We drove down to Laholm to check out a Swedish castle which looks more like a French country estate palace than a castle with ramparts, etc. The castle is privately owned and serves waffles in its cafe, so we ordered up two waffles and two cups of tea to enjoy outside. Peacocks roam the grounds so it was funny to hear their unique cries once in awhile.

Back in town, we went to the grocery store to slowly wander around and look at the different foods available.  There are huge sections on caviar in tubes, liver pastes, and other weird seafood products not available in the U.S. All sorts of fresh fish are for sale. I did see Dove bath products, Green Giant canned vegetables, and Uncle Ben’s rice.

After that adventure, we returned home to scarf down a bit of dinner and then headed to Röda Kvarn (i.e. “The Red Mill” or, more well-known in French as “Moulin Rouge”), a movie theater, to see “Inception.”  Get this, in Sweden, when you buy a movie ticket online (which is what we did) or in person, you purchase a ticket for a specific seat! How weird yet brilliant is that?! We arrived about 5 minutes after the movie started, but no worries on getting stuck with the worst seats. What also surprised me was that I figured being late was ok since, in the U.S., you have to sit through 20 minutes of previews before the feature film starts. Not in this case; “Inception” started right at the advertised time. A bonus for me was the Swedish subtitles, but I sometimes had a hard time focusing on the plot because I was trying to follow the English dialogue and read the translations below.

Yesterday, Fredrik had to study for an exam that he’s currently taking this morning, so I spent part of my day reading outside in the sun. I also helped Eva prepare food for that evening’s dinner. In the afternoon, we went to play badminton and had really good workout from that. And finally it was dinner time. The clouds that had drifted in that afternoon had mostly gone away, the air was still, and the neighborhood was peaceful so that you could hear dogs barking from blocks away. Eva had already set out plates and lit candles when Fredrik and I came out. The spread was amazing: crayfish, bread, cheeses, cherry tomatoes, dry sparkling wine, and a quiche.  With the weather, the ambiance of the candles, and the delicious and beautiful food, it was like being at a fancy restaurant — but better! After a leisurely feast, we had baked meringue topped with lemon cream and red wine berries for dessert.  YUM!  What a perfect ending to the day.

The architecture here is really interesting.  When Fredrik came to visit me for two weeks back in May/June, he commented on American architecture. I asked him to explain what was different and he said he couldn’t, to which I replied, “What do you mean you can’t? You know what it looks like in Sweden and now the U.S. so can’t you describe it?” Now I get it. It’s just different here, yet I have a hard describing how. Many houses in this neighborhood look like old, two-story barns. Also, many homes are painted a very traditional Swedish red (a hint of copper) with white trimming, including the Strömberg house.  Really nice.

Other small differences include having to navigate a different computer keyboard. It has the same letter and number set-up as the American version, but the ö, ä, and å letters are added, and some of the keys that need Alt, Shift, and Control are changed up. Also, the doors here open outward, a very subtle difference. Traffic lights are the same, except that the yellow light flashes on for a second while the red one is on before turning to green.

I was in charge of the foresail and was taught how to handle the sheets and to help with tacking (I’m not going to attempt to explain what these mean .  I was even given a go at steering the rudder. It was a lot of fun to see Fredrik in his element; he’s been sailing since he was a kid and was even head sailing instructor at the Halmstad Segelsällskap (sailing school) for a number of years. It was great to sit on the edge of the boat and glide along the water, even though my pants got completely drenched from waves crashing overboard. Two hours later, we were back in the harbor and quite satisfied.  Hopefully we can go out at least one more time while I’m here.

After a hot shower and a much-needed nap, for it’s quite draining to keep your balance for two hours on a constantly-moving boat, Fredrik and I went to the fish truck to purchase fresh swordfish, salmon, and butterfish, the first of which we ate for dinner which was tastily prepared by Eva (his mom). A nice close to a fun day.