And now, the details...

Our weekend, in sum, was quite a whirlwind. From Friday morning through Sunday night, we were on the move! We visited good friends, ate amazing food, and were treated to a fantastic weekend by our wonderful hosts.

My mom also demonstrated an unprecedented prowess for kicking some jet lag butt. (In order words, she was happy and alert, despite some travel fatigue… unlike me, last June, when I sank into a jet lag coma for five days.)

Friday: My mom’s plane was on time. I was not. My train was over 30 minutes getting to the Copenhagen airport (sorry!) but my mom took it in stride, and when I finally showed up at the arrivals gate we grabbed her bags and headed back to Lund.


After some post-transatlantic-recovery (shower, food, tour of my place), we headed downtown for lunch. We ate at my favorite Thai restaurant, browsed through a bookstore, bought about 200 kronor worth of imported and Swedish magazines at Pressbyrån, printed our tickets, and hopped on the train to Kungsbacka, a small town just south of Gothenburg (about 2 ½ hours north of Lund).

The Kungsbacka area is beautiful. Our hosts, Gunvor and Christer, live in an amazing, modern Swedish house that sits right next to the North Sea. We witnessed a stunning sunset and ate a delicious salmon dinner (Gunvor is a fantastic cook).


On Saturday morning, we were treated to some more breath-taking views of the sea.


Then it was into downtown Göteborg for some shopping and sightseeing. We bought some cold weather gear, including a new pair of boots for me, which Lina thought to immediately waterproof!


Afterwards we headed to a performance at the konserthus: the Göteborg Symphonic Band and Triple & Touch (famous Swedish performers). It was a blast. The repertoire ranged from John Williams and ABBA to Miriam Mabeka and the Beatles. We even sang Pomp and Circumstance at the end (while waving Swedish and British flags). As my mom said, “who knew there were actual words to that song?!”

After the concert, we walked to Liseberg, an amusement park in the middle of the city. It’s all decked out for Christmas, and filled with booths selling traditional Swedish crafts and food. We strolled around the park and I went on a few smaller rides (still open for the winter) with Maja, who, like me, is a roller coaster connoisseur. Maja also seems to have very good luck – last time she visited Liseberg she won a giant Toblerone bar. This time it was a giant Kex bar! 2 kilos of chocolate! Mmm…


For dinner, Magnus cooked an amazing spread which left us all feeling very satisfied. It was a fun, social, and late night, and my mom and I fell soundly asleep some time after midnight. The next day, of course, was just as busy. A tasty Swedish breakfast (cereal with filmjölk or muesli, eggs, cheese, bread, coffee, juice), was followed by a coffee break with Daniel and Viktoria, where we got to meet their kids and see their house.

Finally, it was back to Christer and Gunvor’s for lunch. I won’t bother explaining the family tree, but there were 14 of us! (Christer and Gunvor, Lina and Magnus, Daniel and Viktoria, Johan, Axel, Elin, Ida, Maja, Adam, my mom, and me!) To both me and my mom, these people are our Swedish “family” and it was such a treat to be around all of them at once!

That was the weekend! My mom is enjoying some time in Uppsala and Stockholm while I study and go to class for the first part of the week. I’m sure there will be more pictures and stories to tell soon!

Linnea

P.S.

We are SO ready for Thursday!

See?

Gobble.

:-)

(Not so) cheap thrills.

This morning's shopping trip to Malmö included a stop at Gray's American Store. Behold! A store full of some of the products Americans love best, at extremely high prices (though not so high that I was unwilling to splurge).

You can choose from a wide selection of sugary, processed, and plain-old-American food products, including Bisquick, Aunt Jemima's syrup, Goldfish, Tabasco sauce, Captain Crunch, Pop Tarts, canned pumpkin, condensed milk, chocolate chips, Arm and Hammer baking soda, cranberry sauce, tortilla chips, and so many other tantalizingly appealing things.

My purchases:

A box of Annie's Mac n Cheese: 38 kronor ($5.85)

A bottle of McCormick Vanilla extract: 52 kronor ($8.00)

A box of Betty Crocker brownie mix: 60 kronor ($10.50)

Yikes. In my defense, these were well worth the splurge. Vanilla extract does not exist in Swedish grocery stores (I have looked! I have asked!) and Annie's just sounded darn good. The brownie mix cost was split three ways -- between me and two friends -- along with a large can of refried beans, both of which we will be cooking up next week for shared dinner of burritos and dessert.

I was a bit embarrassed about how sentimental we became over bottles of Snapple, packages of Goldfish, and Reese's Peanut Butter cups, but just seeing the products reminded me of how much I love my home. Sweden is great... but I really do love America the best.

Linnea

I ♥ IKEA

(Note: Sorry for the blogging delay! Classes have started, and with the fall semester in full swing, other things have been keeping me busy. But now, here’s the latest!)

Last Saturday, bright and early, we caught the bus to Älmhult, a city located a few hours north in the province of Småland. According to an IKEA postcard, “Forests, furniture, and stone fences. That’s Älmhult in a nutshell.” Actually, that sounds about right. It’s not a very big town – only 8,000 residents – and IKEA is a huge part of its culture. The first IKEA store was opened there in 1958! As the founder of the company, Mr. Ingvar Kamprad, once said, “Älmhult is, and always will be, the heart of IKEA.”

Fun fact: Did you know that the company’s name is actually an abbreviation for Ingvar Kamprad Emltaryd Agunnaryd? (Emltaryd is the farm where Ingvar was born, and it was located near the town of Agunnaryd.)

As you may or may not know, I LOVE IKEA. I had been waiting for this field trip since June (when the rumors of this trip began), and when we pulled up in front of the store, I couldn’t hide my excitement. I pulled out my camera and, along with a bunch of others, started taking photos of the store and the parking lot.


Our coordinators arranged for a tour of IKEA by one of the managers of the Älmhult store, who showed us around, explained her job, and pointed out some of the strategies they use in the store to encourage customers to spend money! For example, they always arrange a display at the beginning of the showroom walkway to grab a customer's attention – the “first buy.” IKEA also designs all those cool rooms with a specific customer demographic in mind, whether it is starving students, retirees, or families with children. Also, are your familiar with those huge wire bins in IKEA filled with pillows, towels, slippers, dish brushes, wrapping paper, and just about anything else? Well, IKEA has discovered that they can sell up to 500% more of an item if it’s in a giant bin than when it is stocked on a shelf. (Now you know!)

IKEA by the numbers…
Year the company was founded: 1943
Stores located in Sweden: 14
Stores located worldwide: 260
Stores opened in the last year: 12 (in Cyprus, Portugal, Romania, and Italy, among other countries. Eastern Europe is their newest market.)
Year the first IKEA was opened in the USA: 1985 (in Philadephia)
Year the first IKEA was opened in California: 1990 (in Burbank)
Items available through IKEA: over 8,000
Visitors to IKEA stores, worldwide, in 2007: over 500 million

Well, it looks like IKEA just might take over the world, and I think that would be OK with me!

Here we are in front of the store with our purchases:


After shopping, we headed over to the IKEA Inn, where we enjoyed a tasty buffet lunch. Then it was off to the IKEA museum, where we took a walk through IKEA’s history and decades of different IKEA furniture. My personal favorites? The 1970s and 1980s rooms.


After we'd had our fill of IKEA-awesomness, we were off to Wanås. As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been to Wanås before, but it is SUCH a cool place that I was more than happy to return. Essentially, Wanås is a giant, outdoor art museum set in a beautiful forest. You’ll be wandering around and suddenly you might stumble upon a giant glass enclosure that looks like a mirage, or ten swings hanging from a giant tree, or recliners made out of logs and bamboo mats, where if you lie down, you hear a voice telling a quiet story. Or, you might happen upon a giant stone outhouse, with room for quite a few people (see pic!). There’s a modern little bridge, a house with no doors, a house with no walls, an enormous metal spider, and a stone pyramid. Each art piece is separated from the others, so you have to make your way up and down meandering dirt paths to find the next one.


I got to be the tour guide, since I sort of knew my way around, and we ran around for two hours seeing as much as we could. Our favorite part, though, was the giant swing tree:



We got back to Lund in the evening, and later I went out on the town with Karen for Lund’s Culture Night. We met up with Emma and wandered around the Stortorget and Mårtenstorget enjoying the music, free coffee and kanelbulle, and watching an acrobatic group perform. Lots of fun, even though it was COLD!!


Next time: an update on life in Lund (academically, socially, and otherwise!)

Hej då!
Linnea

Linnea's Packing List of Awesome

For all you world travelers out there, here's the list I use whenever I hop on a plane. Pretty comprehensive -- it's never failed me.

Security Pouch/Wallet thingy

• ATM card, credit card
• phone card
• driver’s license/ picture ID
• health insurance card, permission to treat
• cash (in all denominations)/ traveler’s cheques
• passport and COPIES of passport
• plane tickets and Visas

Toiletries and Cosmetics

• band aids
• body wash
• bug repellent
• comb
• decongestant/antihistamine
• deodorant
• earrings, jewelry
• eye cream
• eye drops
• eye liner
• eye shadows
• eyelash curler
• face wash
• floss
• glasses, contacts, contact solution
• hair products
• hair ties
• lipstick, lip gloss, chapstick
• lotion
• makeup remover
• mascara
• nail clippers
• nail file
• nail polish, remover
• pads/tampons
• q tips
• razor
• shampoo and conditioner
• sunscreen
• toothbrush
• toothpaste
• tweezers
• wash cloth

Carry-On Bag/Backpack

• brush
• camera and film, memory cards
• extra camera batteries, charger, and any cables you might need
• cell phone and charger
• Mp3 player and charger
• change of clothes (in case your checked bag is lost)
• chapstick
• food
• gum
• laptop and charger
  
• magazine, book
• mirror
• notebook
• pen and pencil
• sunglasses
• Ziploc bag with:
• * prescription medications
• * Tylenol
• * cough drops
• * Pepto Bismol tablets and anti-diarrheals
• * liquid hand sanitizer
• * decongestant

Suitcase/ Clothes

• boxers, pajamas
• belts
• bras
• capris
• dress
• hat
• jacket, sweatshirt
• jeans
• long sleeve shirts
• shoes, flip flops/sandals
• shorts
• skirts
• sleep shirts
• socks/peds/tights/leggings
• swim suits
• t-shirts, tank tops
• underwear
• formal outfit/ for going out

Other Stuff

• maps, guide books
• playing cards
• plug/power adaptors
• safety pins
• ear plugs
• pillow
• towel
• addresses
• sharpie
• packing list (so you know what you’ve brought with you)
• Ziploc bags
• luggage locks
• photographs of family, friends
• small first aid kit
• alarm clock/ watch
• flashlight
• sleeping bag/sheets
• laundry bag
• Photocopies of passport