Hooked on a FeelingThe week before we left for Sweden I came down with a righteous sinus plague. The Saturday before our flight I went to the doctor to get loaded up with medicines to take along with me. I have been ignoring the cold and living my life, but today it caught up with me a little and so we took it kind of easy. I still have a lot of time left here and it's only going to get colder as we go further north. I'm committed to 16 hours of rest, starting tonight. This post will be more words than pics, but I'll make it up to you. Today was very grey and a little ominous; the sky felt low and heavy like it would snow at any minute, but it never did. I had precipitation anticipation. Jimmy told me yesterday about some crazy historical stuff within minutes of the house, so today we got to go see some of it up close. It didn't make for great photos but it is always moving to see and touch things that were made more than a thousand years ago. A few minutes up the road from the house is a small hill. We got out of the car and scrambled up (I scrambled, Jimmy is 19 and jumped up) to see a large runestone and a small plaque. The runestone dates back to the Viking age, circa 1020-1050. According to some translation on the Wikipedia page, there are two snakes whose heads and tails are locked together, and runes on the stone say that it was erected by two sisters to honor their brother. Further up the road we came across this. There should be more of these.
The hillsides in this area are dotted with many neat little country houses and horse farms. Every house is painted the same shade of red with white trim, and I made it my job to find out why all the red. It's a special paint they call "Falu red" that came from minerals in the copper mines. Most of Sweden's homes are wood and the color makes the wood look like brick. Up north a lot of homes are also yellow, and I always call them ketchup and mustard houses because I'm an ugly American. It looks wonderful in the snow and I would love to see it someday in the summer. Here is a nice example of the red.
Just a few minutes more up the road from the unicorn crossing is a big church, Österhaninge Kyrka. Jimmy told me over a beer in the pub yesterday about this church with a huge crooked spire. The legend is that the man who built it was so upset that it came out crooked that he hung himself in the tower. Even though it is crooked, it's still a very beautiful church. Today, though, it looked particularly spooky with the grey sky looming.
In the little churchyard cemetery there are some lovely gravestones, and one in particular that Jimmy wanted me to know about, Fredrika Bremer. She was a prolific writer, but more than that she was a feminist who won the right to her independence from the king. She's worth a google and I'm so glad I got to learn about her today. Headed back towards Stockholm from the church, we passed the house of the guy who sang the ooga-chaka song "Hooked on a Feeling." So I had that stuck in my head the rest of the day. Swedes sure know how to craft a hook. We made a quick trip to an area in Stockholm with more small wooden (red!) houses on a big hill overlooking the city, with this gorgeous church at the top, Sofia Kyrka. We were quickly losing the light and my cold started getting nasty, so we called it a day, after one quick stop to see the city across the water.
In the interest of science and to be able to better replicate this treat when I get home, Jessica blessed me with the best kebab pizza yet. I don't quite understand how it is so good, but it's incredible. A simple thin crust, a little bit of tomato sauce, some cheese but not anything like what we'd do in the states, that shaved kebab meat, tomatoes, pepperoncini, garlic sauce, and the best bit: a pile of salad on top. There will be more pizza salad in the weeks to come. For now, this was the perfect way to end the day early. Robert arrives from Helsinki tomorrow and we'll see more of the family, too. Still bubbling with excitement for my niece's arrival on Monday. The time is flying but I'm doing my best to enjoy every little moment.
The best kind of dayThe house where I'm staying is so profoundly quiet, and the blankets are so perfectly toasty, it's easy to just keep sleeping in the morning. When I finally made it to the kitchen for a coffee, the light coming through the window was just too lovely. I grabbed the camera and stuffed my sleepy feet into my boots and out into the sunshine. The air is so humid and so cold that everything has grown a coat of feathery frost. Even the snow is growing frost fingers, a teeny-tiny Fortress of Solitude popping out of the porch rail, just waiting for a teeny-tiny Superman. Jessica and Jimmy, her son (who has very quickly become of my favorite people on the planet), took me out to get a bird's eye view of Stockholm from Kaknästornet, a big communications tower. Jessica doesn't love heights, so she must love me to have braved the top of the tower. Photographers in other latitudes have to schedule outdoor photo shoots around the "golden hour," that hour right around sunrise and sunset where the sun is low, making the light soft and warm, which makes everything more beautiful. The golden hour is nature's best photo filter. In Stockholm's winter, every day is a golden day, from start to finish. This is the view today from the top of the tower. Inside the top of Kaknästornet is one of the small cafes which are everywhere in this city. Jimmy explained that it's all about "fika," which is Sweden's version of afternoon tea. It's actually a coffee (not tea) and cake break. All over town are cafes whose tables are laden with buttery, sweet-smelling pastries and cakes. Confession: the very first thing I eat when I arrive in any Nordic country is a pastry, even if it's just at the airport. This was the spread at the tower cafe. We skipped it today, and I'm no psychic, but I see one of these things in my very near future. Jessica treated us to lunch at a Thai place. The food was good and spicy, and I marveled for a second at how weird it was to be eating Thai food in Sweden with Elvis playing on the stereo. After lunch Jimmy and I wandered the city for a few hours with no particular place to go, and I felt so lucky and grateful to have the chance to do that, to wander in and out of little shops and just enjoy being somewhere different and beautiful. In a little pop up thrift store, I saw this and should have tried to buy it. I am a sucker for the twinkly lights of a lamp shop. This T-Rex doesn't let his tiny arms stop him from loving the holidays. This is one of those times where I didn't know I was missing something in my life until I saw it. I'll be on the lookout for a T-Rex lamp in the states for the foreseeable future.
Jimmy found this fantastic view for us up a flight of stairs that led to a pedestrian walkway between the tops of two tall buildings. The sunset here just goes on forever. Today was my favorite kind of vacation day: surprise trips to places I've never heard of, amazing views, delicious food, and most of all, wonderful company. I felt lucky, lucky, lucky, all day long.
Christmas in Sweden
This flight was the very best of my life! I suffer terrible motion sickness, and spent most of my (many) hours in the air nauseous. A few times I've even had panic attacks on a flight that culminated in me fainting. I guess it's the anxiety of being suddenly very sick on a plane. Right before you faint, you get crazy sweaty. Every time I've come to after passing out on a plane, I feared that not only did I faint, I wet my pants as well. I've wondered if the flight attendants have extra pants laying around for this type of thing but never asked. (For the record, it was always only ever faint sweat.) I have come to dread the getting-there part of traveling. This time around I finally went to the doctor and got the happy drugs for the flight. I was not a bit sick, and enjoyed flying for the first time. On top of feeling great, the Swedish flight attendants did a surprise Santa Lucia procession through the plane, singing and wearing candle crowns. The magic begins! Viking Sister (Jessica) picked me up from the airport and we said goodbye to Robert, who's gone on to Helsinki for work for the week. Jessica's house is amazing, nestled in the snow-covered woods it's bright and cozy and warm, and so, so quiet. It's her 25th anniversary with her husband today, and they let me cook for them. I didn't poison the family. The magic continues. So far today I've accidentally: unplugged the internet, nearly pulled an electrical socket out of the wall, and tripped the breaker with my stupid American hair dryer. I'm looking forward to doing nothing else untoward for the remainder of my visit. I don't want to break Sweden before my niece gets here. Jessica and I spent the sunny afternoon wandering the streets of Stockholm. I love this city! There are white star lights in every window; the entire city is decorated with tiny white lights. There's an ice skating rink in the park outside, and a little coffee shop on every corner. Even in winter there are open air farmer's markets with anything you could want. We stopped for lunch and I ate that Swedish delicacy, kebab pizza. We need kebab pizza in the states. We worked our way through the modern part of downtown with its fairy tale department store windows to the Gamla Stan, the old town.
It always feels so magical to walk those narrow cobblestone streets, with soft golden painted buildings draped in more white lights, topped with green copper spires and clock towers above. In the center of the old town is a little Christmas market and while we never buy anything, it's absolutely worth the walk to smell the air: thick with sweet toasted almonds and Swedish pastries.
I was so lucky to add an extra week to my stay this year and spend it with Jessica and her family. They are wonderful people. I hope we'll get up to the dickens tomorrow, and if everyone survived the night they may let me cook again.
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