Picture time

So the long-awaited pictures of our apartment are here.  We really love our little apartment and even though it's about 1/2 the size of what we lived in this summer in Chesterfield and probably 1/3 of the size of our duplex in Iowa City, we've got more than enough space.  I think that's because our furniture and junk--I mean belongings-- are piled in my parents' basement in Illinois  ;)

Unfortunately, we can't stay in this apartment too long.  The lady who owns it wants to sell it at the beginning of the year so she can buy a different place.  So we're already searching for a different apartment, which will undoubtedly be a tough process since housing is hard to come by in Uppsala.

We like the Luthagen area of Uppsala that we're living in now, but found a different area close to Tyson's lab that we've both kind of fallen in love with.  It's called Eriksburg and it's located on the other side of the Stadsskogen forest, which we explored this weekend.  The forest is so beautiful and even though it's further from Uppsala Centrum (the city center) than we are now, it would be worth the extra biking to be so close to the forest.

There are two sets of pictures to view.  This link is for the apartment pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/101852905683847445633/ApartmentPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCKm4v8eE053yDw

And this link is for pictures of our forest walks, as well as the Uppsala Castle and Botanical Gardens.  You'll notice we're wearing warmer clothes in these pictures.  It was 48 here today, but as long as the snow stays to the north and west of us for another month or so, we'll be happy  =)   https://picasaweb.google.com/101852905683847445633/SwedenOctober?authkey=Gv1sRgCL2Kyo2A_qTNvwE

I keep meaning to post these pics that were taken several weeks ago.  During Culture Night in Uppsala and when we visited Stockholm, we saw this street entertainer named Lollypuff performing.  She's amazing!

She stands on her box that has a bicycle horn and bell on it.  She'll twirl her hat around while ringing the bell or walk around imitating people, but then she'll freeze on the box.  Once someone drops a coin into the bucket in front of her, she'll start moving again.  Kids will go up for their pictures and they become part of the act, as the pictures show.  She'll hand kids coins, meaning for them to drop the coins in the bucket, and then pulls out a water pistol to make sure the money goes in the right spot.  She also likes to "steal" ladies' purses when they come up to shake her hand.  It's quite the act!