Gusties venture to the Big City!

So the Big City is Stockholm. And in all honesty, it's not the big. But we've been so busy living sheltered lives in our little Uppsala that we thought it was time to head south and hit the tough city streets of Stockholm. Signe, Darailia, Annalise, and I headed to Stockholm from May 2nd through May 4th.

Thursday, May 2nd

Caught the bus down to Stockholm! Fairly unexciting. I did some crocheting. Darailia's dad had hotel points at Scandic (a Swedish hotel chain) that expire at the end of the year so we had a hotel for free! And the hotel has free breakfast buffets everyday! So we had breakfast and secretly packed a lunch both mornings fo' free! We walked to our hotel and met up with a friend Annalise met when she took her gap year and studied in Gothenburg, Sweden. Her friend brought us to Vapiano for dinner. Holy guacamole, it was delicious. It's an Italian restaurant with pizzas bigger than twice the size of your face. I had the most amazing pizza with roasted tomato, garlic, basil, and mozzarella. I just looked it up and apparently, they exist in the US. I think I'll take a trip to Chicago this summer. That night we took advantage of the sauna in the hotel and watched some Disney Channel in Swedish. Here are some pics of the Royal Palace that day:

Swedish guard change

The Royal Palace

Tiny picture, don't know what happened. But it's a knight fighting a sea serpent.

Friday, May 3rd

Darailia, Annalise, and me

Darailia was headed to an open air museum just outside the city and Annalise met up with another person she knows in Stockholm. She has so many contacts in Sweden, it's absurd. So that left Signe and me to go shopping. Signe and I had some big goals such as finding a specific Orrefors votive, a denim jacket, and souvenirs up the wazoo. It was a great success. I think both of us found nearly everything we were looking for. But we did so much walking. By now, I'm used to walking because I'm too cheap to pay for the bus and don't really like riding my bike but holy cow, did we walk a lot that day. In the afternoon we met up with Signe's parents who had just returned from visiting friends south of Stockholm. We had some lovely fancy cheese and crackers with wine before heading off to our dinner at a restaurant my mom suggested. We ate at Magnus Ladulås in Gamla Stan, which if you remember from a previous post, means "old town" in Swedish and dates back to the 13th century. Here are some food pictures to make your mouth water and other dinner pictures!

Beef sirloin with garlic potatoes, seasoned butter, and salad

Cremé Brulée for dessert!

Here's the whole group! Suzette (Signe's mom), Darailia, Annalise, me, Signe, and Jon (Signe's dad)

It was a delicious dinner so thank you again to the Thorpes! After dinner on our way back to the hotel we decided to walk to the top of a tower and see the view of the city at night. I have no idea what the tower was but it had a phenomenal view of the city that my camera could not do justice so here's a picture of three of us. 

Annalise, me, and Signe

And then there's this. We're a strictly Coke family. 

Saturday, May 4th

Saturday morning I joined Signe and her parents for a Millennium tour of Stockholm. The Millennium trilogy is better known in the US as the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books written by Stieg Larsson. Fun fact: His name was not originally spelled with and e. His name was Stig Larsson. In his 20's there was another upcoming author with the same name so they flipped a coin to see who would add the e and the author of the Millennium series lost so he added an e to his name. 

Back to the books. If you haven't read them, I don't blame you. The books took a good two weeks of my life last summer and the subject matter can get really heavy but they're good books. Now that I've been to Sweden, I might reread them because I won't just skim over the locations. Anyway, the tour we went on highlighted different spots mentioned and or used in the books and movies on Södermalm, one of the islands in Stockholm. So here's a quick little bit about the tour! If you haven't read the books or seen the movies, this part won't make sense to you.

Mikael Blomkvist's apartment

The cafe used in the American movie at the beginning right after the trial and was a favorite of Stieg Larsson. He enjoyed the grilled cheese. 

Above the store is where Larsson wrote the office of Millennium is located

The building where Lisbeth bought her absurdly large apartment

The building used in the American film as the Milton Security Office

The building used in the Swedish film as Milton Security and the one described by Stieg in the books.

From the set of the Swedish movie!

So that concludes a few things from the Millennium tour.

Signe and I went off and did more shopping; I found my raspberry Orrefors votive so it was a good day! And then I caught a train back to Uppsala back just before dinner and with time to Skype back to Burnsville for prom!

Such a good trip to the capital with good shopping, good food, and good Gusties!

Valborg!

So this post is long overdue. My apologies! It's been a hectic couple of weeks!

Valborg is a Swedish holiday. Full disclosure, until I got it together to Google it myself, I had no idea about the history of the holiday. I had only heard about traditions and celebrations surrounding the holiday. Here's my best summary of the history:

Valborg is "Walpurgis Eve" which is April 30th every year. It's a time to celebrate spring! That's it. Uppsala students have taken to really celebrating by making it an excuse to drink for five days. There are particular traditions around Uppsala that happen every year. Now my bank account and my liver could not handle five days but there were certain events that I simply could not miss.

Sunday, April 28th
I was studious and stayed in to write a paper while raging Valborg kick off parties where happening around Uppsala.

Monday, April 29th
The week kicked off with Valborg club nights at a few of the nations. I was designated picture person that night but here's a picture of my friends at the club!

Lana, Dieuwertje, Esther, and Silke

Tuesday, April 30th

To my delight, the festivities continued the next morning at 8 in the morning. So early. But I finally dragged by bum out of bed because there was a boat race on the river in town. 

Gusties at the river! Me, Annalise, and Signe

Typically, a ton of people come to the river to see the boat race so you had to get there early to get a good spot. And the university students all have champagne and strawberries. Now, I should explain the boat race. It's not exactly a race. It's just teams of four people that have built boats from the supplies provided. They had to attend informational meetings and hear safety information because I guess something about floating down a river in a boat made of styrofoam is not safe. And the teams float/paddle down the river in their boats one by one. Not overly thrilling but amusing nonetheless. Here are some boats we saw!

Just a car

THE MYSTERY MACHINE, Scooby Doo Gang included!

Up!

Horse

Usain Boat. Clever. 

TMNT

Bar on the River

It's a unicorn!

Excavator. Tonka if I'm not mistaken. MN pride. 

The day continued with lunch and champagne in the park behind on the academic buildings!

Friends in Ekonomikum Parken Lana, Esther, Annalise, Darailia, Signe, Me, and Silke

Such a strange thing. There were porta-potties set up and police were there but not doing anything. Just watching. The park was also blocked off because they didn't want people to be wandering the streets drinking. I suppose they know that students are going to be drinking in public so they contain it as well as they can. 

So crowded. That building in the back is Ekonomikum which is where I used to have class.

The day continued with a champagnegalopp at our nation, Snerikes! This was by far my favorite part of Valborg. You pop champagne and spray it everywhere and all over your friends. CHAMPAGNE SHOWERS. Even though the champagne burned my skin and eyes and made me incredibly sticky, it was SO MUCH FUN. 

Once again, lots of people.

And then you smash the bottle. 

 

Covered in champagnne! Silke, Esther, Dieuwertje, Lana, and me

More champagne covered friends! Lana and me, Elana, Kate, someone?, and Rebecca

And I suppose that was the big party night but all of us were exhausted so we all went home for a nap and ended up sleeping through the night. Oops. 

Tuesday, May 1st

Since we (all my friends and I) went to bed early we were up at at 'em bright and early on what's supposed to be the biggest hangover day of the year. I'm so sad that I missed out on having a tremendous hangover (I hope you read the sarcasm in that). Anyway, Signe and I wanted to get some homework done, we thought it would be a good idea to go to the library. It was closed. Apparently it was a holiday and nothing was open. 

So all and all not the most eventful Valborg but extremely enjoyable! Strange traditions and new friends!

Skål! 

Birthday Weeks continues!

Birthdays are a big deal. They only happen once a year. But 21st birthdays are even more special. So that was my goal with birthday week celebrations. Celebrate big because I only turn 21 once.

MONDAY, APRIL 22ND
My actual birthday! I was Skyping my parents at midnight so they sang to me and wished me Happy Birthday first. So sweet. Then I allowed myself to open my birthday cards. I got so many cards - a great big thank you to everyone that sent me cards! I am so lucky to know such wonderful people. It was such a great surprise!

I got a good night of sleep to rest up. I had an extremely domestic day filled with cooking pancakes, crocheting, cleaning my room, preparing a pie, and washing dishes. I also got a run in because it was so warm outside. Minnesota got snow on my birthday. I was running outside in shorts and a long sleeve shirt. I picked the right place to study.

For dinner, I met with some friends at Kalmar nation for dinner and drinks. On Mondays Kalmar has cocktail night so there was a special cocktail menu. Yummy mojitos! My friends surprised me with champagne and ice cream with a candle! So I got to blow out the candle and make a wish!

Birthday Celebrations at Kalmar!

Tuesday, April 23rd
Birthday continued the next day with Snerikes club night! We made sangria and had pie (French Silk Pie, my favorite!). I was a little worried about how the pie would turn out because I didn't really follow the recipe at all and was just winging it with whatever I could find at the grocery store. But it turned out to be delicious. The crushed cookie crust was phenomenal. I'll definitely do that again.

Unplanned colored pants club! Me, Silke, Signe, and Annalise

My birthday party! Ben, Signe, Didg, Annalise, Darailia, Lana, and Silke

We then proceeded to club night at our nation. So fun! Memories with new friends!

Friday, April 26th

Birthday week wrapped up, literally, on Friday with an ABC party at Varmlands, a nation. An ABC party is an anything but clothes party so we could wear anything that wasn't clothing to the party and then we could get in free. It saved us 80SEK which is something like $12. Always looking for deals. Our Dutch friend Esther also arrived on Friday for Valborg so she got to join us with our crazy outfits. Most of us used garbage bags. Signe got really creative and used an IKEA bag. It turned out better than expected and was actually really fun!

Me, Lana, Esther, Silke, and Signe

We looked a little ridiculous catching the bus and a couple of us had problems sitting down because the garbage bags don't really stretch nicely but we made it into town and to the party! One guy at the bus got a real kick out of our outfits so we had him take our picture.

Silke, Esther, Signe, me, and Lana as we casually wait for the bus

After the ABC party we got Max burgers. Best ending to birthday week ever. It hit the spot.

And so that wraps up birthday week. The days that I did not mention were mostly uneventful. I had class, wrote a paper, ran outside in the gorgeous weather, and ate food. Typical days.

I am now able to drink alcohol in the United States. Too bad it doesn't mean much here. But it's okay, my birthday was still better than I'd hoped! I am so fortunate to have great friends from home that didn't forget about me while I'm gone and new friends here that were able to celebrate with me! Thank you again to everyone that sent me cards and warm birthday wishes. It honestly means so much to me. 

Skål! 

Check back this week for Valborg and Stockholm!

Birthday Week Kick off: Gusties in Scotland!

I spent the weekend before my birthday in Edinburgh, Scotland with two very dear Gustavus friends that lived in the same section as me freshman year. One of them, Sarah, is studying in Seville, Spain and the other Jenni Harms, I've mentioned before, is studying in Ireland. My trip was really short. Around 40 hours. But I didn't want to travel on my birthday and I wanted to see my Gustie friends!

Friday, April 19th
Friday was supposed to be a smooth travel day. I had nothing to do but get to Edinburgh. But of course it did not go smoothly. Apparently Jenni and Sarah had problems getting to the airport too. I guess it was just a bad travel day! My train from Uppsala was cancelled so I had to ride a different, less direct train to Stockholm that caused me to miss my train to Nyköping, which is where the airport is. The second train only runs every hour but luckily that train could get me there in time for my flight but just barely. I got to the airport 50 minutes before my flight. Stressful. I then proceeded to my gate but skipped passport control so I was escorted by the police to the passport check lines. The flight was running late so I didn't really miss anything at the gate. I made my way to our hostel in Edinburgh which was right off the High Street. Super convenient location. I made it there just after midnight. Jenni and Sarah were nervous that I wouldn't make it but everyone made it!

Saturday, April 20th
We had booked a Highlands tour for Saturday so that started bright and early! We knew little to nothing about the tour we picked. It was suggested by a couple other Gusties that visited earlier in the semester. It was also 11 hours long. Uff da. It was a really great tour though because it was small - all of us fit in a large van. Our first stop brought us to our new favorite cow. I had no idea that Scotland is known for this particular breed of Highland cattle. They are the goofiest looking cows ever and drool like there is no tomorrow. The cattle have long hair that protects them from cold and wind in the winter. 

Silly cattle

I'm bummed because the tour drove us through Stirling (that's right, my sister Stirling's namesake) but we didn't stop, we just drove past the castle so I didn't get any pictures of Stirling. Our next stop was to see the Three Sisters of Glen Coe. You can see two of the three sisters behind us. There was also a guy in a kilt playing to bagpipes. SO SCOTTISH. 

Jenni, our new bagpipe playing friend, Sarah, and me

Me and Jenni in front of the Three Sisters!

On our tour, we learned heaps of Gaelic words. I will share them now. Vocab lesson.

loch - lake

ben - mountain

fortnight - 14 days 

glen - valley

So that is all that I can remember now. But now you know some Gaelic!

We heard some stories about the massacre at Glen Coe and listened to some fabulous Scottish music on our tour. 

By lunch time we had made it up to Loch Ness. We had time for a quick bite to eat before we had to board the boat for our boat tour of Loch Ness! We did some hunting for Nessie! She doesn't like being called a monster though, she is a gentle creature. 

Beautiful Loch Ness

Going on a Nessie hunt with Jenni!

Most of the afternoon was spent driving south so our tour was mostly Scottish music and a couple more stories. Fairly uneventful, we had a bathroom break stop and a stop just outside Edinburgh to look at two bridges. Great tour, expensive and a lot of sitting but it was worth seeing.

Steak frites birthday dinner!

For dinner we ate a small pub that had live music and good food. I love me some good steak. It was my pre-birthday dinner!

We then went for dessert at an Italian restaurant that Jenni and Sarah had found the night before. BEST DESSERT EVER. Bella Italia was the restaurant and it was right off the Royal Mile. If you find yourself in Edinburgh go there and have the cookie dough lava cake. Here is the description from their online menu: Moist chocolate chip cookie cake with a melting chocolate middle, served warm with vanilla pod ice cream and caramel sauce. If that doesn't make your mouth water, you wouldn't know good dessert if it hit you on the head. It was heavenly.

 

Sunday, April 21st

Sunday was my last day with them in Edinburgh. But we woke up semi-early to walk around and see town before I had to head to the airport! We found the Elephant House which is the cafe where JK Rowling wrote the beginning books of the Harry Potter series. Sooooo cool. We obviously had coffee there. The decorations are really unique with elephants everywhere, duh. 

Me and Sarah in front of the birth place of Harry Potter!

There were even a few elephant chairs!

Fika in Scotland!

Edinburgh Castle from the Elephant House

In the back there are tables near the window through which you can see Edinburgh Castle. This castle on a hill was JK Rowlings inspiration for Hogwarts being on top of a hill in her books. I can't believe she was just a normal person hanging out there writing the books that would become some of the best selling books of all time.

The city of Edinburgh!

We then wandered around the city checking out shops and trying on Claddagh rings. I found a really nice British wool sweater that was over 50% off. However, I did not think about how I was going to get it home so ended up wearing it. Oops. 

I've loved all the cities I've been to this semester but Edinburgh really struck me as the first place that I liked not just for the flashy fun reasons. It's similar to England but distinctly different. The people spoke English so that was nice. The Highlands were amazing and it was somewhat fun going into it without expectations. 

I think my blog has turned into a food diary. I suppose that I had no plans for it so I didn't really know what to expect. Well that's fine. I will just have great documentation on all the fantastic European food I've eaten this semester. Anyway, that was birthday kick off! So lucky to spend my last weekend as a 20 year old with fabulous friends in a charming city.

Cheers!