Life in the Land of the Ice and Snow
Infiltrating Sweden one cinnamon bun at a time
Looking through some activities to do in the U.S. this summer and I found a WW2 Destroyer that has tours. Or, since people don’t think a giant war destroying battle ship is enough for children – there’s laser tag! I’m pretty sure this is wrong. Or is it just me?
“Someday, when the weather is better…” began my son the other day. “Um, the weather is sunny and beautiful outside,” I replied before he finished his sentence. A surprised look and then a smile came over his face. “Oh!” Living in Sweden, “Someday when the weather is better…” is a stock phrase that I have … Read more
Q: Why can’t we have this vending machine in Sweden? A: Because it would make me very unhealthy in a short time. It’s not good for me to have easy access to Ben&Jerry’s ice cream.
My husband and I just got back from a short weekend trip to London. For anyone who read my book, you will be delighted to know I was able to ride the tube going in the direction of “Cockfosters” (and still had to smile every time), and I actually saw a crumpet for the first … Read more
I bought some tickets for a show tonight. I had the option of buying cancellation insurance. I decided to look through the requirements to see if anything seemed reasonable. I declined the insurance – mainly since they didn’t cover anything nuclear or radioactive. I mean, c’mon! Doesn’t someone in that situation DESERVE a refund? Also, … Read more
This was in our local grocery store while we were in Italy:
Before our recent Italy trip, I browsed the internet for good restaurants in the area we would be staying. I found one place with great reviews on TripAdvisor. However, I don’t recall seeing the words “40 minute uphill pilgrimage” in the description. We found the address and a sign for the restaurant that pointed up … Read more
… but they still don’t deliver to our house.
My husband loves the logo of Hausbrandt coffee, an Italian coffee that we can’t get in Sweden. So when I saw that we were staying close to their headquarters, I wrote to ask if we could visit and perhaps purchase some espresso cups with the logo. Apparently, they don’t give tours, but decided to give … Read more
We’ve just returned from a week long trip in northeast Italy. One of the highlights of the trip was a restaurant/amusement park called Ai Pioppi. Ai Pioppi is an amusement park built in the woods by a man who runs an outdoor restaurant. Nothing is electric – it’s all run by kinetic energy. There are … Read more
If you’ve read my latest book As Long As I Have My Own Bathroom, then you’ve heard my complaints about Venice being something like a human maze experiment. Just to underline my theory, here’s a picture of the directions to St. Marco’s Square:
My family and I are spending a week in Italy near the Dolomites. Sadly, 2 are under age 12 and the other is Swedish, so they will not understand my numerous Dolomite jokes.
I visited my 5th grade son’s school earlier this week and I noticed kids’ projects taped to the wall for their English lessons that said, “I Have a Dream” (they’re also studying human rights). Most kids had written things like “My dream is that no one should be poor.” “My dream is that there will … Read more
Friday’s conversation with the kids: Me: The kids at school will probably be talking about it so I thought I should let you know that Prince died. Kids: Our prince? The prince of Sweden? Me: No, no no! The music artist. Do you remember who that is? Kids: (with sad face) Yeah, it’s the one … Read more
In Stockholm, many businesses can be found in one building. While looking for directions to a doctor’s appointment, I noticed that the address was listed as a place called “Pizza Hatt.” First, I will state the obvious, in that the owners are hoping a few people will be confused between the words Hut and Hatt … Read more
Ever wonder what the A-Team theme sounds like in French? Wonder no more! https://youtu.be/oGO-33Fmhw8
I work part-time as a translator for Swedish to English documents. My oldest son tried to translate a paper his school sent home about how he should prepare for singing in a concert. I don’t think he will be following in my footsteps any time soon.
Buy my new book “As Long as I Have My Own Bathroom” and learn the secret of the mysterious Leprechaun Museum. Available on Amazon (for the U.S.) – http://amzn.com/1530292964 Available Amazon.co.uk (for the UK) – http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1530292964 And AdLibris (in Sweden) – http://tinyurl.com/jyjfkro And most likely on other Amazon services around the world so just check! … Read more
Had a very detailed discussion yesterday on the subway with my son about the dangers of future prediction. As he is too young to have seen the movie “Minority Report,” I had to fill him in on why we shouldn’t predict crimes that haven’t happened. I also had to explain this: Me: What if you … Read more
