Life in the Land of the Ice and Snow
Infiltrating Sweden one cinnamon bun at a time
I like that Sweden subtitles their movies and keeps them in the original language. The only thing that’s annoying is that we all read the subtitles before the actor says the joke, so we laugh before it’s delivered. It must be very confusing for people who can’t read the Swedish subtitles. “This is a country … Read more
I had a woman over to my house the other day who neither spoke good English or Swedish. She got a small cut on her hand and indicated by pointing that she needed a band-aid. I tried to tell her where they were. She understood that they were in the medicine cabinet but couldn’t find … Read more
Every year, the Swedish town of Gävle builds a giant straw goat during December to celebrate Christmas (yes, they use goats here to celebrate Christmas.) This started in 1967 and almost every year, the goat has somehow burnt down. People now gamble on when the goat will burn. Here is an article about the goat. … Read more
At least to a 6 year old. After going through security the other day, my 6 year old son spotted a man with a turban put something in his pocket. He came up and whispered to me, “Mamma, the man with the Egypt hat just hid a snake in his pocket!” I had a chance … Read more
I noticed that most countries (at least in Europe) have some sort of slogan. At the airport, I saw, “I Need Spain” and “I Feel Slovenia.” This got my husband and I wondering what Sweden’s current slogan is for tourists. Here are a few ideas: Sweden – Booze and Hot Pants Sweden – Not So … Read more
Today the Nobel awards are presented in Sweden. (Everything but the peace prize – Norway gets that). Are the Swedish people excited about these brilliant scientists and authors who have changed the world? Are they waiting to catch a glimpse of them on their televisions or outside the concert hall? NO! The only topic of … Read more
Back from Slovenia! And it was actually a very beautiful place! We were in Ljubljana and it was Christmas market time. The whole old part of the city was lit up with a castle overlooking the town. Very nice! My only complaint was about the menus at some of the restaurants. It seems that over … Read more
Once again, we are on a trip where we switch planes in Switzerland. This is really not helping with my argument that the country is not called Switcher-land. The kids do not believe me.
While in Slovenia, we will be going to a parade for the feast of St. Nicholas, which is practiced in several European countries (not Sweden). I’ve been excited about seeing the St. Nicholas parade because I think it will be so fun to celebrate a holiday we have never seen before. I tried to explain … Read more
My family and I are taking a vacation to Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. I know what you’re thinking. A. Where is Slovenia? B. Isn’t it just a gray place where people eat goulash? Actually, no! Though the looks I get from people when I tell them we are taking a vacation in Slovenia … Read more
We’re going on vacation to Ljubljana, Slovenia soon so I’ve been looking for things to do with the kids. I found some sort of adventure center so I thought I’d check on the map to see where it was. Maybe they could be a bit more specific?
Breakfast this morning was pumpkin muffins, pie and …. a carrot – because you need something healthy. Do my kids even realize how lucky they are to have an American mom that considers leftover pie and cake to be breakfast foods? They’d rather have grapefruit and oatmeal. Kids don’t know what they’re missing. Today will … Read more
The 6 year old finally figured out his radio has an alarm. He set it for 6:25 a.m. to “Ambulance.” Why on earth would the makers of this radio program an alarm with an ambulance?
Happy Thanksgiving to all in the U.S. Happy Thursday to Europe! Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S. This is the time when everyone meets family, eats too much, watches football and schedules wisdom teeth appointments so they don’t have to miss work or school (did this once the day before Thanksgiving – popular time at … Read more
At the moment, the temperature in Houston, Texas is the same as Stockholm, Sweden. This doesn’t happen often. The other thing that doesn’t happen often is for Texas to get snow before we do! While I’m very glad for the kids in Houston to have snow (this only happened twice when I lived there), I … Read more
You ever have one of those days where you think, “man, my hand’s been hurting for like 15 minutes” then you look down and your thumb is covered in blood? Yeah, me too. This is a sign of winter. Apparently if I take my gloves off for 5 minutes to pick some music on my … Read more
Attention all tourists and newcomers to Sweden who wonder what everyone is saying in Swedish. Let me translate: It’s always about the weather. If a Swede is talking next to you and you want to be included, just nod your head sadly, look at the sky and say, “ja, ja.” You’ll fit right in.
Here is the school planning for this week: “This week the children will continue to work with the summer season. Last week they looked at a day at the beach. On Monday we will be having “a picnic” in the park!(in the classroom). We will look at a picture where a family is having a … Read more
Today it has officially gone below freezing. You know what that means – I now switch to the winter coat! But that’s not really what this blog is about. As I sit here in my very dark living room at 10am in the morning, I think about what I have to do to get through … Read more