Järvzoo!

Yesterday we took a little trip north to Järvsö to visit the Järvzoo, an outdoor zoo of sorts of Sweden's natural animal inhabitants.  The park reminded me of Wildlife Prairie Park outside Peoria, IL, for those of you familiar with it.  It was about a 3 hour drive, and thankfully Toby did very well in the car.  He and Tyson picked out some books and toys together before we left, and they turned out to be just the thing to keep him busy on the rides there and back since he decided not to nap in the car.

It was a beautiful fall-like day and we really enjoyed being outside in the mountainous more-northern part of Sweden.  The park itself was a 3km walkway loop up and through a tree-covered mountain, with the animal enclosures spread throughout.  Tyson and I were most excited about seeing the musk oxen and moose respectively, but unfortunately, neither made much of a display.  However, the reindeer, bear, wolverines, and owls more than made up for it.  The reindeer we saw were forest reindeer - a bit taller than most reindeer.  The brown bear and her 3 cubs were amazing to see, even though they were asleep the whole time.  Toby was most taken by the "bow bahr" since one of his favorite books right now is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See.  But what he'll remember most are the owls.  He has many books with owls and makes the cutest little "hoot" sound, which he used to try to communicate with the owls yesterday.  He also waved bye-bye to them and blew them kisses when we moved on to the next enclosure.  What Tyson & I found most entertaining were the wolverines.  They are sweet-looking creatures until you see how fast they move and how sharp and long their claws are.  Quite incredible!
We finished our trip with a stop at Uppsala's new Pizza Hut.  Swedes seem to be enjoying the very different pizza it offers compared to all the other pizza in Sweden.  We certainly enjoyed the taste from home  :)

Fun with Family!

We had the extreme pleasure of hosting several family members once again this summer.  My parents were here for 3 weeks - the longest stretch we've convinced them to stay in Sweden thus far - and I have a feeling they loved the extended time with Toby (yeah, yeah, and us).  We visited the Falun Mine, Sigtuna, Skokloster Castle, Galma Stan, Nordiska Museum, Vasa Museum, a boat ride in the beautiful Archipelago, Sätra, and various spots in Uppsala.  My Aunt Dorothy and her friend, Bruce, were also here during my parents' stay, and joined my dad and me in our return visit to the Setterdahl family farm in Sätra.  And our tour guide was our new-found Swedish cousin, Inga-Lill.  It was a relaxing visit full of fun times, late-night discussions, and lots of laughter!

Here are a few pictures:

Waiting for the train to Falun

Falun Mine, a World Heritage Site

By the water in Sigtuna

Gamla Stan in Stockholm

Palace Guard

Fjäderholmarna

Great dinner with Aunt Dorothy and Bruce

Exploring Sätra

Setterdahl descendants - Roger, Inga-Lill, Julie & Dorothy

Italy!!! Finally!

In mid-June, we finally took our trip to Italy that we've been planning since 2008.  Our initial vacation would have been to celebrate the completion of grad school and involved both Italy and Greece.  But since we moved to Sweden unexpectedly, we have been yearning to get to Italy, and in June, we finally did!

We were there for a week and spent half our time in Rome and half in Florence.  Rome was fascinating simply because of its age.  We are often baffled by living in Sweden how everything is so old compared to what can be found in the US, and yet Rome makes Sweden seem new and modern.  The additional perk of traveling to Rome when we did was spending time with my friend from grad school and her daughter, who were also vacationing there at the same time.  They visited us last summer in Sweden, so we did the only polite thing and joined them in Rome  ;)  ha!

We hit the main tourist sites in Rome and had some delicious food and gelato (yum!  Toby's a fan too) before the 3 of us set off for Florence.  Ahh Florence!  That is our kind of town!  It was slower-paced, cultured, refined, and clean compared to Rome, and we enjoyed strolling the streets and exploring the sites there as well.  It's obviously a smaller city than Rome, which made it easier with the stroller.

Here's the link to all the pictures... yep, there's a lot of them, but they are great memories and show the beauty of Italy!
https://picasaweb.google.com/101852905683847445633/Italy14?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJilopPst86DVQ&feat=directlink

Fun in Dalarna

We finally seized the opportunity to visit my distant cousin's home in beautiful Bäsna, located about 1.5 hours north in the Dalarna region.  We took the train early in the morning, and Inga-Lill met us at the station.  The region is much hillier than Uppsala, with the forest-covered mountains surrounding Inga-Lill and Åke's charming home.

Like many older homesteads in Sweden, Inga-Lill and Åke's home actually consists of several buildings, many of which were inhabitable in earlier days.  Their main house has electricity, running water, and all the amenities of modern-day homes, except for central heat.  They use a fire place to heat half the house and the old stove in the kitchen to heat the other half during the winter.  Needless to say, Åke spends time year round cutting down trees in the forest to prepare and use to heat their home during the dark and cold winters.  Their secondary house has running water, and, well, that's about it.  They use this as their summer house, and it's equipped with a bedroom, kitchenette, and living room.  It's quite charming and reminded me a lot of the house we saw when we visited Sätra with my parents two years ago.  The other buildings are a large garage space, an old chicken house, and a few others that they have plans for but aren't utilizing yet. 

We had a lovely day with them, visiting and exploring their homestead.  Like Swedes with any yard space at all, they had a greenhouse (and another bigger one being built) and lots of garden areas.  They shared some tasty rhubarb with us, and we heard stories about where the trees and bushes had come from and ended up in their yard.  Such a lovely day with lovely people!

Spring has... well, hopefully come

I started this post a few weeks ago, hoping to put up pictures of beautiful blooming flowers, which it seems have been popping up for at least a month now.  But then...

Yesterday (April 30th) was Valborg - the day when Swedes celebrate the end of winter and the official beginning of summer.  It's always on the last day of April and is celebrated with extra fervor in university towns with the usual shennanigans of creating large styrofoam rafts that are ran down the river and over the dams.  It's a half-day for most people, unless you work at the universities, and then you have the day off.  And of course, after a day of celebrating, you need the next day to recover.  And this year, since the recovery day was on Thursday, Friday is a day off too because who wants to come back to work for just one day.  You must admit Swedes know how to work a work week  ;)

Anyway, yesterday was a fairly nice - around 50 degrees F - and sunny, until evening.  And then the rain and snow started.  Yes, snow!  Not just a few flurries, but huge flakes that stuck and accumulated a few inches.  Sheesh!  Fortunately it melted away by 10 this morning, but we wore winter coats and stocking caps to swim class this morning.  Hopefully this is the last of the white stuff because I'm planning on washing up and packing away our winter weather gear tomorrow.

That being said, spring has definitely come early to Sweden this year (with the exception of the snow last night).  The leaves are budding, the daffodils have been peeping for a week, the tulips are almost open, and the lilac bushes are preparing to spread their sweet scent.  Last weekend, temperatures were in the 70s, which usually only occurs in the height of summer in Sweden.  We're hoping this summer will be every bit as lovely as last summer  :)

crocuses in the park by our apartment

leaves starting and flowers potted all along the river

the green (and red tulips) are quickly returning

this walkway has been a different color combination every spring - beautiful!

cherry tree blossoms on the way to Willys - our local grocery store

Nobel Day

 

To the rest of the world, December 10 may not be a well-known holiday.  In Sweden, however, December 10 is Nobel Day - the day when the Nobel prizes are awarded and the dinner, dance, and after parties come alive in Stockholm. (Yeah, who'd have thought there would be after parties for the Nobel winners, huh?!)

Last night we enjoyed watching the televised Nobel dinner and ceremony.  It was fascinating to us, not only because we toured City Hall where the dinner is held (and it's beautiful), but also because Tyson is in a field where the Nobel prize is the ultimate achievement.  Scientists - whether biologists, chemists, physicists, or medical scientists - watch for these awards, and in most cases are at least familiar with the name(s) of the winners.  It's also interesting because Tyson works with a man who sits on the Nobel Committee. 

This website provides historical information about the Nobel Prizes, videos of the ceremony, and some behind-the-scenes information.  Enjoy!
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_organizations/nobelfoundation/history/dechamps/

Min familj i Sverige

I must admit, when we moved to Sweden over 2 years ago, I never expected to meet relatives here.  It's funny how at times this big world of over 7 million people can seem so small when paths cross and connections are made.

When my parents visited last summer, we visited Sätra farm - the place where my great-great grandfather Setterdahl lived before moving to the US.  We coincidentally met the lady living there now - Birgitta - who knew as much about our family history as we did.  And earlier this year, she had another visitor from Sweden who was looking for information about her great-grandfather Setterdahl, my great-great grandfather's brother.  And Birgitta connected us.

In early September, my 4th cousin once removed and her husband - Inga-Lill and Åke - visited us.  What a delightful experience!  We're looking forward to seeing them again in a week  :)

A few weeks later, they arrived in the US for 7 weeks (Swedes know how to take a proper vacation!), and stayed with my parents for a week.  Needless to say, they had a very good time together and found as we have so often that there are more similarities than differences between cultures.  Smiles and laughter are universal :)