Saturday, July 16, 2011

Dreaming of a Swedish Summer Home

I don't think I have mentioned this before but it started about a week ago when we were talking to Irene and Farfar about houses in Sweden. The house across the street from them was for sale and I think that is what started the conversation. The other thing that sparked an idea was the boat ride we took with Farfar and we passed many nice homes right on the water. I pointed out my favorite and Fredrik had his. Prices for waterfront property was high because you can't get it anymore. It is all protected land now so unless you already own beachfront property you are out of luck. Farfar and the guys thought the beachfront houses are maybe 3-4 million SEK which is about the price we paid for our house in Bothell!

They also said it is a very bad time in Sweden for many people because there are not a lot of jobs and the price of housing has dropped as well. So, we decided to look online at the price of some homes and it was shocking how cheap they were! I was just looking in Hudiksvall at first which maybe isn't a highly desirable area of Sweden but it is a nice town by the sea. I would tell Fredrik how I loved how I smelled like the "beach" here and it reminded me of the same smell we have on the Oregon or Washington coast.

This was one house that I liked very much and it is close to where Farfar and Irene lived previously. It was a bargain price of 2.2 million SEK or about $345K USD! Ah to dream of having a Swedish summer house like this one!






When we got to the family cabin we heard that the land might be for sale next to the cabin and that perked my ears up. There has been talk for many years of getting electricity and/or sewer to the cabin to make it more enjoyable. Over the years they have added some nice things like a chemical toilet in a closet instead of the outhouse and also just last year they added a shower shed with a tankless water heater that runs off a battery or small generator? Still, the cabin is way too rustic for me to want to stay any length of time. I am not sure I have ever spent the night there but it might be fun now with the kids. Just one night though! However, if we bought some land and maybe shared the cost of getting electricity and sewer then maybe that could be a good thing.

It would be a bigger project and definitely more long term because we would have to buy the land, hook it up with electricity and sewer and then of course build a house! However, it is very appealing to add to the cabin property even if we do nothing else than buy some land to give the rest of the family more options if they want to do something with it. I even sent Fredrik with Ingvar who knows the farmer who owns the land to inquire about buying it. He didn't seem opposed to it but had no idea how much so he would have to research and get back to us. I am anxious to hear a number but we imagine it would cost 100-200k SEK or $15k-30k USD. We don't really have a lot of money right now to buy a house that I would want to stay in (1-2 million SEK) but for the price of a car I think we could carry a small loan for a few years! Maybe we even have enough stock to sell to cover this purchase? We used up most of our stock to buy our house so I am not sure. Also, if we do it this way we can buy things in chunks that we can afford over the next 5-10 years. When we are ready to build we will probably be in a better position to get a bigger loan for it. Buying a piece of land for the price we think they want for it is definitely doable!

I decided to see what else is available around Sweden because to be honest .... Jarvso is a very small town and most of the surrounding area is farms and pretty country. There are no big cities around here so the shopping would be pretty slim pickings. We had to drive 30 minutes away to find a smallish mall to shop in. I kind of like my big city conveniences! Fredrik suggested looking in Uppsala but there was just too many houses for sale and most of them were quite expensive. It is too close to Stockholm which drives the prices up so that wasn't a good option. He then suggested closer to Gavle where Erik and Anna currently live. This is one house I really liked in Gavle for just 975k SEK or about $150k USD which isn't a bad price but there is a monthly fee of about $900/month!







They classify this house as a "rowhouse" which usually means a connected set of houses like a townhome or condo. It also seems that the fees here are quite different than at home which only pay for maintenance of the common property. The more common areas you have or the more recreational items it offers, the more you pay. Here it seems that it is common to pay about $1000/month for these fees which help pay for the debt or loan still on the common areas. So, usually it is very cheap to buy one of these places but you still have to pay a high monthly fee. Weird!

So, for now we keep dreaming and the possibility of buying some land next to the cabin gets more and more appealing!

Day at Maj & Ingvars + Shopping!

Yesterday was Friday July 15th and we decided to visit Maj and Ingvar for the day. They live in a small town called Jarvso which is the same place the family cabin is. Maj is Fredrik's mom's sister. They have lived in this small town for 36 years now and most things are still the same there. It was really nice to see them and they love playing with the kids. Also, Maj is a wonder with providing more food than you can eat! We arrived and she had tacos all ready for us. Taco meat, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, red/yellow peppers, carrots, two kinds of hard taco shells, tortillas, taco sauce (kind of like salsa) and more. Then there was hotdogs for the kids. Davin of course didn't like these hotdogs so he ate the PB & J sandwich we made for him. I don't remember what Linnea ate other than shredded cheese and cheese puffs. Of course, there was plenty of junk for the kids like marshmellows, ice cream, Pez candy, chips, and more.

After we ate "lunch" (it seems most people in Sweden eat their big meal in the middle of the day) we took a short walk outside. The weather was raining and we went outside during a short dry spell. It started to rain again so we headed back after checking out the neighbors horses and baby foal. The other exciting thing we did that day was chase the flock of sheep that escaped their fence two houses down the road. Ah, life in the country!

We stayed around a little longer for a light meal and the Davin played games on the computer. We introduced Angry Birds to them so we might regret that later! Linnea watched videos like Pippi Longstocking and made a necklace out of some stretchy string and only orange and pink beads. She also loved this little play purse that was in their toys and Maj insisted on letting her take it with her since she was so cute in it.

Today, Saturday July 16th we decided to do some shopping and head to Söderhamn which was about 40 km or 30 minute drive away. There really wasn't much in Bollnas and Farmor and Jan have not been before so they were interested in checking it out too. It was a decent size mall type of place with two grocery stores, Lindex (generic clothes shopping), shoe store, sports store, children's toy store, home/bath store, hardware store and some other things we didn't check out. We ate lunch as soon as we got there and we all had pork fillets with black and white sauce. The white sauce seemed like Bearnaise which I really like so it was good. Of course, there were potatoes and some boiled veggies. Good thing we could get a salad too. Davin ate his PB & J that we brought and Linnea had Swedish meatballs.

Then we went shopping! I mostly went to buy shoes for Davin since his are falling apart. I found something very cheap (100 SEK or about $15) so I will probably find something else before school starts at home. I don't expect the ones we bought to last very long but they are better than the ones he has now which stink and have holes in them. Farmor bought Linnea some pretty silver sequin shoes and Davin a pair of sandals for the beach. Fredrik also needed some shoes but Sweden really isn't the place to buy stuff for a good price.

Then we headed to the toy store to look for some birthday presents for the grandkids. Vilda and Vidar (Erik & Anna's boy) are both turning two this month. Also, I needed to buy a baptism present for Sebastian (Bjorn & Carro's boy) which is next week. I ended up buying a small piggy bank in the shape of a cow. I had Fredrik pick it out since they all had some Swedish on them. This one said "money" but it was a play on two Swedish words. One means "cow" and the other means "money" so it was a silly way to say it. We put a few hundred Swedish crowns in the bank and wrapped it up. It was hard to know what to get or what they want so this seemed like a good solution. The kids got some toys from Farmor ... a little dog toy with a small kennel for Linnea and some small LEGO set for Davin.

Next on our list was stopping at Lindex which is a generic clothing store. I wanted to buy clothes for birthday presents so I bought entirely way too much but it was needed. I do like most Swedish clothes better than at home. They just aren't cheap even at the ordinary/inexpensive store! I did end up finding most of the gifts I wanted too and a really cute ladybug raincoat for Linnea. Davin got a bunch of pants and shirts since I can never find anything he really likes at home in regards to pants. Linnea had a fit in the store so Fredrik had to take her out to the car. Davin and I closed down the shop and we headed home around 4pm.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Family Visits & Exploring Bollnas

July 13th, 2011 ~ After we ate lunch? Or was it dinner? I found out today that they only eat one big meal here in the middle of the day but it is on a totally different schedule than what we normally keep. After the big meal of the day, we headed out to a playground that was a short walk away. The kids had fun climbing and playing on the tire swings. We headed back to Farmor's and I spent most of the evening working on posting our photos. We have only taken 800 or so ... so far! The kids watched some TV and then bed. I got to bed late playing around with the photos and I also didn't sleep well because I was a bit cold. I ended up sleeping in late until about 10am or 10:30am.

Today we had Bjorn and Carro visit with Sebastian their almost 4 month baby. Maj and Ingvar also joined them so it was a lot of fun to visit with them. They also had not seen Farmor's townhome before so they liked seeing her new place. We had a big meal around 1pm with some sort of hash browns with onions and diced steak? Farmor added hotdogs and fried eggs. Davin didn't like it or the boiled hotdogs so I think he is existing on crispbread and caviar. We do have peanut butter so we can make him sandwiches too but we will have to go back to the grocery store to find the hotdogs he likes here. He did like the hamburgers Farmor made yesterday so that was nice. After our meal the kids played with some gifts that Maj and Ingvar bought at the store. Davin got some new Cars 2 LEGO set and a Toy Story 3 gift pack with a water bottle, pocket watch, shoe laces (what kid shoes have laces anymore?), stickers, tattoos, a flying disk and a bouncy ball. Linnea got a shopping basket full of food stuff and two books.

After everyone left, Fredrik took the kids out to play and Farmor and I went into town to look around. She isn't familiar with the town either so it was good for both of us. There wasn't much in the town but we looked into a few stores to shop for upcoming birthday presents for the cousins. Farmor also had to buy some things Davin and Linnea could play with at her house but we will most likely leave them here. Bollnas isn't a big town and online I read that it only has about 12,000 people living here. Hudiksvall was about 14,000 in the town center and about 33,000 in the surrounding area. We didn't spend a lot of time as it was time to get back and get the kids some dinner.

Now the kids are in bed or on their way so I should work on posting more photos to Facebook. Such is the life on vacation. ;)

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

In Bollnäs Sweden

We woke up today at a normal time of around 8:30am. Linnea is almost always the first to wake up and it has been interesting staying here at Farmor's (Fredrik's mother) because the kids are sharing a bedroom for the first time. Linnea at home usually wakes up before Davin and I think Davin just needs more time to fully wake up. He got really mad at her this morning because I think she was trying to wake him up and he wasn't ready. So, I told her to leave him alone and let him wake up on his own. I am not sure she understood but maybe tomorrow will be better.

We don't have a lot of food at Farmor's so we headed to the grocery store. Farmor, Davin, Linnea and myself went. I like to have Davin with me at the store so he can pick out things he might want to eat or try. With his milk and egg allergies it is difficult to find the same things he is used to at home. We don't have a problem finding food available but I have a hard time knowing what he is willing to try if he isn't with me. Linnea wanted to go because she likes to go shopping. A kid after my own heart! I like it better if I take just one but I thought it would be nice for Farmor.

We came home with a cartload of food and goodies plus ice cream and popcicles too. Life is good right now. :) Now it is time for an early dinner since we didn't eat much lunch.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Catching up....

It has been a few days since I updated the blog. Mostly due to us being busy and too tired to post anything at night? Anyway, I will do my best to remember where I left off.

On July 8th we did head out on Farfar's boat. He was able to borrow some life vests for the kids from a boating shop. Of course he knew the owner so we were able to borrow some new ones and leave the tags on so we can just return it back to the shop. It was a really nice ride on the boat and it was the perfect day for it too. It was in the mid-70's or low 80's and a beautiful sunny day. The kids really liked driving the boat and also navigating with the binoculars when they weren't driving. Davin actually drove it pretty well but Linnea just liked turning the wheel so it felt more like a drunk driver going all wobbly in the boat. Henrik and Par joined us too so that was nice as well. We drove around through the bay up to the main beach and back to the little man-made island that was created a few hundred years ago by the shipping boats dumping their ballasts. Now it is a tiny "party" island where you can go BBQ and hang out. Then we headed into town and parked the boat so we could get some ice cream. Then it was back on the boat again for home.

On July 9th we had another beautiful weather which was in the mid-70's so we headed to the beach in Hudiksvall. It felt a lot warmer sitting on the beach with the sun shinning on you. However, the water was very cold so I didn't do more than get my feet wet. The kids had a lot of fun after they got used to the water and ran around splashing Farfar and Daddy. We ate lunch at a little restaurant on the beach and played for most of the afternoon. I forgot a few places with my sunscreen so I got a little uncomfortable later but so far no peeling. Just itching. After the beach we headed to the pizza place right next door. Katrin (Fredrik's step sister), her husband Niclas and their kids Caroline, Moa and Benjamin. Also, Par and his girlfriend Matilda joined us too. I think that made 13 of us! We took up 1/2 the restaurant! It was really good to have Swedish pizza again as the crust is really thin which I like. Also, Linnea at about 1/2 a kids ham & cheese pizza (which is a HUGE amount for her) and Davin ate about 1/2 his really big plate of kebab meat and french fries. It was good to see the kids eat so much!

On July 10th we headed to the Mulle Meck museum in Hudiksvall. We thought it would be fun to meet up with Fredrik's cousin Staffan and his kids. Apparently they had never been so they thought that was a good idea. Farfar went with us but Irene stayed behind as she needed to prepare for the upcoming job they had which started on Monday. She needs to prepare some paperwork and book a place for the divers to stay while they work. It ended up that just Staffan and his oldest Eddie (who is soon to be 5) but we all had fun together. Davin had a lot of fun building a helicopter out of wood. There was a lot of hammering with nails and sawing as well so it took up most of his time. Linnea was all over the place and loved the slide and driving the airplane. There was also a phone that was hooked up between the airplane and craft room so that was a lot of fun too. After Mulle Meck we headed to the same place we got ice cream after the boat ride. There we had hotdogs and chicken nuggets plus of course some ice cream too. Patrik and Cattis (Fredrik's half sister) were staying at their family cabin which is about an hour drive. They decided to come visit us too and they arrived just in time to share some ice cream with us. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and the cousins just had a blast together. The common language of fun was enough for them. Staffan headed home and the rest of us headed back to Farfar's house so we could walk to the park and burn off all the sugar we just consumed. We were so delighted that Ebbe (Cattis and Patrik's oldest son who is soon to be 5) and Davin just totally clicked together. We don't know if they remembered playing together the last time we visited when Davin was 4 and Ebbe was 2 or what. They played together like they were old friends!

On July 11th, we packed up our things and picked up the rental car that Irene got for us. It is some sort of Volvo station wagon and it is nice except for the fact that I find it really uncomfortable to sit in. Apparently, this seems to be a common complaint so you won't find me buying a Volvo anytime soon. Irene had just gotten a brand new car which was a VW Passat Wagon. Of course, hers was probably a more expensive car but I liked driving it a lot better too. Anyway, we said our temporary goodbyes to Irene and Henrik (Olle had already left for the job and we said our goodbyes the previous night) and headed out to the cabin in Järvsö which is the family cabin on Fredrik's mom's side of the family. We arrived about 4pm and there were many people there to greet us and the tables were loaded with lots of food! Cattis and Patrik where there of course with their two kids Ebbe (almost 5) and Vilda (almost 2). Bjorn (Fredrik's cousin) and Carro have one child Sebastian who is about 3 months old. Carro also had her older brother there with her too named Marcus. There was Maj and Ingvar who are Fredrik's aunt and uncle plus of course Monika (Farmor who is Fredrik's mom) and her husband Jan. We also had Staffan and his wife Lena plus their two boys Eddie (almost 5) and Vincent (almost 2). There were no shortage of people or food there. I tasted a few bites of Fredrik's elk steak and it was quite tasty! I was not very hungry as I ate a big lunch before we left and it only takes about an hour to get to the cabin. Still, I enjoyed some meatballs, potatoes, salad, watermelon, pineapple plus some local strawberries and whipped cream. The cousins (kids) had a blast playing together. Then we headed to Farmor's house which was another hour away and practically fell into bed.

On July 12th, we woke up at Farmor's and ate breakfast. We looked around the house a bit since she just moved in less than a month before. It was a very nice place and a little older than her previous apartment in Motola. However, now she has a bigger place that she partly owns (it is like owning a townhome here in the USA) which costs less than her previous place. We each have our own room downstairs plus a bathroom and upstairs is the kitchen, master bedroom, bathroom and living/dining room. We look forward to exploring it more later. The plan for this day was to head to Jarvzoo which is a small zoo that only has native animals to Sweden. They live in natural habitats and you walk along a boardwalk through the zoo so it is actually quite a good walk. We saw lots of interesting animals like moose, reindeer, fox, wolves, owls, lynx and wolverines! After the zoo we grabbed some pizza and headed to the cabin to eat. It was just Cattis, Patrik, Farmor and Jan by this time which is good because the cabin isn't that big inside and it was getting pretty chilly. It ended up being about 12C or about 53F. At least the rain waited until after we made it to the cabin and not on our walk through the zoo. We had a good visit with them and it was Cattis and Patrik's last night there so we headed home so they could finish packing and go too. They live about 3-4 hours away by car?

So, that should catch you up until now and it is time for bed at last for us.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Lazy Swedish Summer Days

We didn't do much yesterday but it was a wonderful, warm day and the sun was shinning again so we headed out to a small park with a splash pool. The temp said 22C or about 72F but it really felt warmer. I think maybe the place where they measure the temperature is a bit off or somewhere cooler like by the sea? It was nice mid-70's like weather to me and maybe a bit warmer especially if you sat in the sun.

The park was a very short drive and the kids had fun playing. Linnea liked the splash pool (it only had a few inches of water) a lot more than Davin who actually likes to swim now. I think he was disappointed to see the "pool" as he was expecting something you can swim in. Still, he had fun on the toys and he really liked this big papasan type of swing that they had. Both kids could lay down and swing and at one point I thought they might fall asleep! I just love all the different Swedish toys on the playground. There was something like a merry-go-round but it had little tricycles that you needed to pedal to make it go around. They also have a lot of recycled tire toys like tire swings and a zip-line with tires too. They also had many riding toys to play on too like tricycles with type of sled attachment on the back so you could drag another person behind. I was thinking how nice it is that you can have riding toys that belong to the park and no one will steal them.

After we played for a bit we headed to a little restaurant by the water to have some smorgasbord which was quite nice. It was about 2-3pm by the time we ate so I was quite hungry and the food was pretty good. I chose not to eat the herring items but they had salmon and meatballs and other cold cut items. There was also a yummy potato salad and green salad too. I finished my meal with a small dessert that was some sort of vanilla pudding topped with some tart berries. It had raspberries, blueberries and red currant berries. Farfar and Fredrik took the kids for a small walk while the adults had some coffee at the end of the meal. It was a very nice place to eat but the choices were either inside where it was very warm or outside where it was actually a bit chilly with the breeze in the shade. We moved our table into the sun and it was perfect.

Since we ate lunch so late, Irene made a salad for dinner which was very similar to the salad she made the day we arrived. It had eggs, tuna, tomatoes, cucumber, yellow peppers, feta cheese and green olives with garlic. Really yummy!

We didn't do much else that evening and I went to bed early because Davin had woken up in the middle of the night with a bloody nose. I am pretty sure he is allergic to some pollen or grass or something because he has been congested 24/7 since the end of April. The bloody nose wasn't a bad one and it was mostly just dripping snot. However, he did go to bed complaining that his eye hurt but he was so tired that he fell asleep before we could do anything about it. Of course, when he woke up his eye was very puffy and bloodshot in both eyes now. It definitely looked like hay fever symptoms rather than what happens when he gets cheese/milk in his eye. So, we washed his hands and face and I tried some of my allergy eye drops but those stung so I gave him some Benedryl which seemed to help. At least he slept and his eyes looked better in the morning.

I forgot to mention that we went to the drug store after our smorgasbord lunch to look for something for Davin's allergies. They recommended Claritin which is the same in the USA. However, they said it was okay for him to have 10mg when I think the kids Claritin only has 5mg. I also thought it was interesting that they offer a generic Claritin which we bought instead since it was 1/3 the price! I might buy some more before we leave! I also bought some calamine lotion for my mosquito bite that I got at the cabin. I am allergic to mosquito bites so they are quite uncomfortable for me. I took some medicine that Irene had so I bought more of that too at the drug store plus mosquito repellent which I was borrowing from Farfar. Hopefully, we won't need more meds!

Today is another nice, warm summer day but it is a little more overcast. The temp seems warmer as the forcast says 24C or 75F. It feels a lot warmer than that but the house can get pretty warm. The thermometer at the house says it is 26C or 79F outside and 27C or 81F inside. It makes me really miss our AC at our new home! We haven't done much this morning and Linnea is taking a nap now. After lunch and her nap we plan on heading out on Farfar's boat for a little trip on the water. I think it will be very fun for the kids and good to get out on the water where it is sure to be cooler.

Farfar is on a mission to secure some life vests for the kids otherwise the boat ride is off. Cross your fingers for us!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Hudiksvall Cabin

Today was a really beautiful day here in Sweden. The sky was clear blue and the temperature was about 22 C or 72 F but it felt warmer. This is why I love Sweden in the summer! There was a small breeze as well but it was the perfect temperature especially if you are sitting in the sun.

We decided to head over to Irene's friend's cabin which is close to where we are staying. It was about a 30 minute drive to a small bay where Elisabet's cabin is on. It is a very typical Swedish cabin with the red and white paint and the very rustic atmosphere. There is running water and electricity but no toilet. Just an outhouse a short walk away. Needless to say I only went to the bathroom once myself and accompanied Davin once but stood outside while he went. The smell was not the most pleasant! He didn't seem to mind though!

Most of the afternoon was spent over there and the kids played in the water most of that time. I was surprised they did because the water wasn't all that warm. The temperature said 17 C or about 63 F which was pretty cold to me! They came in briefly for some "fika" or an afternoon snack. They liked the strawberry/kiwi "saft" (concentrated juice) and the cookies and cake. We brought a sandwich for Davin but he was still able to have some crackers and a few cookies too. Linnea liked the cake a lot but didn't eat much. The kids were in a hurry to go back out in the water to play. Uncle Per also came out to visit with us so it was nice to see him too.

After enjoying the sun and water, we came back home and Farfar grilled some pork chops and Irene made a salad to go with it. Yum! The kids didn't like it so much and I suspect it was too spicy? Davin loved the special Swedish beef patties (like meatballs but bigger) that Irene made yesterday so that was exciting to find another food that he likes to eat. The kids went to bed right after bed as all the activity today wore them out. Maybe tomorrow we will head out to the pool or beach if it is nice again like today?

Monday, July 4, 2011

Swedish Food and Groceries

We didn't do much today really. As I mentioned before ... Linnea woke up at 3:30am along with Fredrik and I followed around 4:30am. Davin slept in until 7:30am or so as we had to wake him up so we were all on the same schedule. Irene (Fredrik's step mom) and Henrik (Fredrik's brother) were still sleeping as they both stayed up late to watch a Metallica concert on TV.

I discovered that Linnea loves smoked, thinly sliced turkey this morning! I was eating Swedish sandwiches for my breakfast and she wanted to try some and devoured the meat! She also was afraid to try the strawberry/vanilla yogurt they had. I think she was put off by the fact that it had to be poured into a glass (I couldn't find a small bowl) and also that it had bits of strawberry in it. However, she was eventually was convinced to try a small bite and then insisted on having lots more. I am glad she is a more adventurous eater than Davin. The one good thing about being here is there is no problem finding the Swedish caviar that Davin likes. Usually, we can only buy it at Ikea at home. I think it stinks to high **** but he loves it. We squeeze some onto crispbread and breakfast is served for him!

After everyone woke up and had some coffee, they decided to go for a walk and enjoy the sunshine. I didn't look at the temperature today but my guess was in the low to mid 60's? I decided to take a shower and the kids, Fredrik and Irene went for a walk to the school which has a playground. They returned shortly after I was done showering so they weren't gone long but they had fun and burned off some energy.

After some more visiting with Irene and Henrik, we made lunch and then had Linnea take a nap since she woke up so early. She doesn't normally nap anymore but it is necessary sometimes. Fredrik was also tired so he joined her. Irene and I decided to head to the grocery store to pick up some more things that we might like to eat. Davin had been sitting around playing games on their PS3 so I forced him to come with us. It was fun to go and experience all the interesting Swedish things. I did like their self-check out system which you checked out your own barcode scanner as you entered. It is connected to a grocery card like we use at home. You then scan and bag your groceries as you are shopping. You check out the scanner as you leave and then pay for the groceries. Quite clever!

We got back and woke up Linnea and Fredrik which was a bit hard to do. It felt like the middle of the night for them which I suppose it was! Irene made dinner which was halibut (?) cooked in cream, mushrooms and black caviar with a salad. We served it over rice and I had quinoa which was a new item for Irene. She has been doing a low carb, high fat diet for a while which suits me just perfect but had never tried quinoa which I really enjoy.

A cute thing that happened as I was tucking Linnea in ... she always likes to "talk" before I leave about what she will do the next day. This is usually the same thing which is picking up Davin from school but she doesn't quite understand that there is no school for him especially now that we are in Sweden. So instead, I was trying to tell her something we would be doing tomorrow which was looking forward to Farfar (Fredrik's dad) coming home. She didn't know who that was so I said that he is someone who looks like Daddy but is Daddy's Daddy. She then thought about it and said what about that guy who likes red and is smart and strong. Well, that guy is Henrik who happened to be wearing a red t-shirt two days in a row. I said that was her uncle and we would have to ask him what his favorite color is since not everyone wears their favorite color like her and Davin do. I didn't think Henrik looked like Fredrik but when I came downstairs to tell them what happened I realized they do look more alike than I thought. Sure, Henrik has shaved his head and has glasses but he does have a beard similar to Fredrik's. Irene also thought they do look alike so maybe Linnea wasn't so crazy after all! I still think it is funny especially since Henrik is 9 years younger than Fredrik!

Anyway, the kids went to bed at a "normal" hour tonight. It is about 11pm and I am about to collapse. I haven't had a nap like Fredrik did so I think I should sign off and get some sleep.

Sweden July 2011 ~ Our Traveling Adventure ~ Part 2

We ended up sleeping very well in Iceland! Too bad we woke up at midnight and the hotel restaurant was closed so Fredrik had to walk over to the gas station which was 10 minutes away and pick up our "breakfast". They had a Subway store which a welcome relief from the fancy hotel food. Fredrik and I got sandwiches and the kids got a hotdog, bananas and some cashews. Oh and juice! We depleted our snacks we brought with us so he loaded us up with some chewy candy for the decent into Sweden which we hope will help Davin.

I certainly wish there was something interesting to do while we were in Iceland but it is hard when most things are closed at 2am! We had lots of time to shower and repack before we headed downstairs to the lobby for our 4:30am pick up for the bus back to the airport. We even forgot to check out of the hotel so I hope everything is paid for since we just didn't think about it until later.

I wish we had taken photos on the way to the hotel as the day before was nicer than the day we left. Also, it still was quite early so the sun perhaps wasn't fully up either. It was a weird thing to remember that we were in the land of 24 hour sun because it never got fully dark. Anyway, this would be an interesting place to visit someday. The landscape is an odd combination of Hawaii with the volcanic rocks and mountains. However, instead of the tropical blue waters it has the dark, cold waters of the Atlantic. Also, all the buildings looked very Swedish to me but a bit desolate. Still, I would love to visit the hot springs here and explore the countryside a bit someday.

Our flight out of Keflavík was uneventful really. We quickly checked in our baggage and headed out to eat and let the kids burn off some restless energy. It was really nice to have a good cup of European coffee that only came in one size! I ordered a Cafe Latte which came in a ceramic cup with a saucer and the foam was nice and brown and tasty. I also spent too much money in the tourist shop since I had no ability to convert Islandic crowns to dollars. Oops!

We had a nice 3.5 hour plane ride from Iceland to Stockholm and the candy we bought really helped Davin this time with the decent. We then had about an hour to wait for our train which was a smooth ride into Hudiksvall and it lasted 2.5 hours. We were picked up by Irene (Fredrik's stepmom) and Katrin (Fredrik's step-sister) and then headed for the 5 minute car ride to Irene & Olle's house. Olle (Fredrik father) is out on a job working and won't return until Tuesday. It is a busy time for their diving business so they are doing what they can to make time to visit with us. We are just very happy to finally be "home" and get settled in and eat. Linnea fell asleep on the train and again on the short car ride home so she was pretty much done when we arrived. Davin had a short nap on the train and got his second wind after we arrived. Fredrik went to bed shortly after we ate and Davin and I finally got to bed around 9pm.

Of course, that meant that Linnea woke up at 3:30am and Fredrik got up with her. I woke up around 4:30am and Davin around 7:30am. I decided to wake up Davin so he can be on the same schedule as the rest of us. We are pretty close to being acclimated to Swedish time which is a record for us. Either it is because the kids are older now or more likely because of the time we spent in Iceland. At least something good came out of that trip! :)

Sweden July 2011 ~ Our Traveling Adventure ~ Part 1

Welcome to my travel blog which apparently is what this blog is ending up being. I should be blogging more frequently than every trip to Sweden. Our last trip was in 2009! Maybe someone should remind me to blog every time I go on vacation. This is 3 out of 5 trips I am planning on taking this year alone!

Anyway, we have arrived at our final destination in Sweden at last and we had quite the adventure getting here. It all started on Friday July 1st when we got to SeaTac airport and found out our flight had been delayed over 2 hours due to some "technical issue". This meant that our connecting flight in Iceland would be missed and there was not another flight out until the following day. Good times huh? Our choices were to go back home and spend the night and come back to SeaTac the next day. Same time. Same bat channel. Or we could get a hotel room on the airline and spend the night in Iceland. We would have had to call my dad to come pick us up at the airport and either drive home (with no food in the house) and hope he would be available the same time the next day to take us back again or just deal with the delay and move forward. I chose the latter. Why not?

Well, the flight out of Seattle was fairly uneventful even if we did leave about 2.5 hours later than planned. The kids managed to sleep a little on the flight as we had some extra seats for them to lay down on. However, Davin had troubles with his ears on the decent and he had a full on fit about refusing to do anything to help unplug his ears. So, you can thank us for having a screaming almost 7 year old on the plane.

We arrived about 2am Seattle time in Keflavík, Iceland and it took FOREVER to get our hotel rooms. I don't know why they couldn't have notified the airport when we left SeaTac that a bunch of people would be arriving and needing hotels? I mean really people! We had no idea where to go or who to talk to when we arrived. Did we go through customs as if we were connecting as usual or go through customs as if our final destination was Iceland? It was the latter. Then we had to figure out who to talk to on the other side which was difficult since it was still early in the morning Icelandic time and most things were not fully staffed yet. Once we did find someone they were clueless so they had to find someone else to help out. Then once things started going we were in the back of the line and waited another hour or so to get a hotel assigned. By that time they told us they could put us in a "triple" room and add an extra bed. Sounded great and by this time we are so tired I just accepted it without asking any questions like how far away is the hotel and how do we get there? Big mistake.

They directed us to a bus outside which of course several buses were waiting and we again had to ask the drivers ... is this our bus? By this time most of the group had already left so it was our family, a young guy with an accordion and an older guy who didn't talk much. We do finally find the right bus and once we are on we almost all fall asleep. Fredrik stayed awake and said the ride was about 40 minutes. So, we finally get to the hotel and find out there are no "triple" occupancy rooms but we could get two rooms right next to each other. Not connected together. Sure. Whatever. It is now after 6am our time and we had been awake for about 20 hours and didn't care.

They were about ready to close the restaurant for lunch so we took the free lunch before we collapsed into bed. It was an odd lunch to say the least. It was fancy Scandinavian food which I was not in the mood for but I made do. Fredrik and I picked the most "breakfast" looking item on the menu and a burger for the kids to share. Neither kid liked their fancy plain burger and our smoked salmon with egg and spinach over toast was just okay for me. Fredrik liked it better. For me it was way too salty and the egg and fish were not cooked enough for me. At least the fancy salad I had was pretty good so I ate most of that. I wish I had taken photos because the food was actually really pretty. Our waiter was a doll and bent over backwards to take care of us. Now I wish I was awake enough to have left a tip. Maybe I can call the hotel later and ask since we also left without checking out too!

Anyway, we went up to our rooms and promptly fell asleep. It felt so good to be in a bed at last!