Days in Stockholm

We have been spending two days during Easter in Stockholm, just being tourists in our capital and old home town (we used to live in a suburb to Stockholm for five years). Really nice to relax, show Björn all the places that he has almost forgotten and discover some new places together. The sun have been shining on us, but it has been cold, just a few degrees over freezing (0 C).

So we have been walking around in the central shopping district with its fancy shops, the old town with its narrow alleys and the charming Söder with nice cafés. And just spending time together. A very nice little adventure!



At the Royal Castle



View of the Old Town and Skeppsholmen

Easter

Ah, it’s so nice to have some days off from work, just be together and chill out. In Sweden Good Friday and Boxing Day (Monday) are public holidays, so we have four days off. We have been at home Friday and Saturday, but tomorrow we will take the train to Stockholm for some mini holidays. J

Today we’ve been having my mother and father, my uncle and Håkans mother and her husband over for Easter dinner. Traditionally we eat a lot of eggs, herring (Swe: sill), salmon, potato and sour cream as a starter. And then we had lamb and potato gratin as main course. The funny thing is that we have almost the same food for Christmas and Midsummer (at least the starter is the same)….

Another Easter tradition is that kids dress up as witches (but often looks more like old ladies) and walk around in the neighborhood and give away Easter cards and expect to get candy (a bit like “trick or treat” at Halloween, but without the trick). The tradition comes from the folklore belief in witches and that they fly on their brooms to “Blåkulla” for their annual meeting on Maundy Thursday. In some regions in Sweden people still light fires to scare the witches away.

I wish you all a nice Easter with family and friends!

Stuff from US

Today our things from US arriwed. 2 months after they were send from Columbus, Georgia. But it's mainly summer cloths, which we haven't really needed since we left US. I think everything got through the customs, but I don't really know what was in the boxes when they was send away. Håkan was reponsible for that part since I left one month earlier. The strange thing was that the largest box was filled with paper, three tiny candleholders and a glas plate from a microwave owen.... And I don't even think it's our stuff.

Waffles

Today, 25th March is Waffle Day. And what’s that? Well it’s a day when you eat waffles. But why? Well it’s a bit funny because it’s actually a confusion of words. The day comes from the Christian holiday of Annunciation, 9 months before Christmas. An old Swedish name for it is “Vårfrudagen” (Our Lady’s Day). And if you say “Vårfrudagen” quick it sounds almost like “Våffeldagen” (Waffle Day). But I think that is just an excuse to make waffles.

Swedish waffles are light and crispy and traditionally served with whipped cream and jam.

A recipe:
125g butter
200 ml full fat milk
400 ml plain flour (note: this meature is volume, not grams)
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
200ml very cold water

Melt the butter and leave it to cool. Whisk milk, flour, baking powder and eggs well until smooth and then add the butter and water. Bake is a heart waffle iron.

But today we cheated with a “just add water mix”. It tasted great anyway J

Reading in Swedish school

When we lived in US Björn took part in the reading program “Accelerated reader” in elementary school. He was reading at least 120 minutes/week at home and some additional time in school as well. Here in Sweden we have been missing something similar to it. And we have been a little bit too lazy to force Björn to read that much as he did in US. They have a “reading marathon” in school, adding up how many books they read in school. And last week they start a reinforcement program for reading at home as well. So I went to the library last weekend to pick up some good reads for Björn.

Since Björn now is bilingual he is allowed to read books in both Swedish and English. So I brought home a couple of fantasy books in Swedish by a Danish author Jan Kjær and some fantasy and classics in English. Among the classics Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (short version). Now he have a reading log making notes of which books he reads every day and after he has finished a book he has to fill in a form about the book and make a little drawing of a scene in the book.

I also found one of those Swedish classics that you have to read; Ronia the Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren. And I do read it loud for Björn remembering when it was published and I read it for the first time. I was nine years, just as Björn. And I was totally absorbed into the world in the deep forest with real animals and fantasy creatures, friends and enemies. The very independent girl Ronia escapes the family for the summer and lives a very free and simple life in the forest. A very inspiring story about growing up and getting more independent. And of course it is an exciting fairytale with a lot of adventures in the forest. A really good read!

(A couple of years after the book release the Ronia story was turned in to a film in a excellent way, I can really recommend the film as well.)

Another sport Sunday

Another sunny weekend has passed. And of course it did contain some sport activities. Two hours of cross-country skiing in the sun for me….

The skiing yesterday was almost magic. About 45 min from home there is a nature reserve in a mountain area where it’s usually plenty of snow. And so this year, about 50 centimeters this weekend. It’s very peaceful and silent to ski in this area. You don’t hear a car. No scooters. You go in your own pace. You get sweaty. You stop and drink something in a sunny spot. You can bring some hot dogs for barbeque. You can even stay overnight in an open cabin in the area (or in a wind shelter if you are that kind of guy…). You might see tracks of wolfs and wolverines. But I just did see some tracks of hare. And three deer’s playing around on the way home. It was by far the best ski experience this season. I’m so thankful!  



Meanwhile I was skiing Björn played in a badminton tournament for Björn. And he won 3 of 4 games, so he is also pleased......

Cold outside - Fires inside

It's very cold in whole Europe at the moment. During the weekend it was around -15C in the mornings and now during the week around -10C. But during the days the temperature have raised to a little bit under 0C most of the days. Lucky enough we have a good heating system in the house with a heat pump that uses thermal energy from the ground. But the best thing is our fireplaces. One wood stove in the kitchen and a large fireplace in the living room. And we have our own forest, so we can keep the fires burning as much as we want!