Swedish Summer House Experience

Kasper was kind enough to invite us up to his parents summer house in the countryside of Sweden. After flying to Malmo and being picked up at the airport by our favorite dane we were off in his slick little Volkswagen down ever increasing small roads to the charming house in the woods.

While traveling down a dirt road and seeing a majestic deer running over the green moss landscape we had arrived. We were given the grand tour of the 5+ structures on the property. It was more of an old farm than just a summer house.

We gathered wood to burn in the new chimney built by Kasper and his father and tastily sat by the crackling fire/candlelight to enjoy dinner.

After a great night sleep I did a bit of work while the boys when in the sauna. Inline with tradition the sauna included a dip in between in the 12 degree Celsius lake. The run to the lake also made sure to include great photos of naked streaking boys captured in time by the moose camera.

After a few days enjoying much needed solitude we packed up to head to Copenhagen. It was sad to leave the lush fresh greens of the new leaves and dark soft covering of moss on the forest floor. The Swedish country side will continue to hold a dear place in my heart. Thank you Kasper for the amazing experience. 

The Simpson - Ljungdahl Wedding

After a short trip from Uppsala to Stockholm, we attended a lovely reception in Bergstrama, where Gunnar & Marikka threw a wonderful welcome banquet. Every way we turned was a reunion of sorts with some friends that I haven't seen in 10 or more years, along with some familiar summer faces. 

I've always felt close to my summer European family with so many dear friends that transcend into familial territory. Summers in Paros forge a friendship that is hard to break, no matter the distance, and this reason was such a strong factor in our choice to attend a wedding over 5,000 miles away, but well worth it! We met old friends and got to make some fantastic new ones!

From left, Abbi, Jon, Claire, Stu, Jen, Asif, Charles & Alexandra

"Riddarhuset" the House of Knights

After our night of revelry, we were treated to the treat of a "traditional" Viking hall dining hall, fully furnished with horns of mead, musicians, long tables, fur wraps and many beaded servers. As you enter, your treated to a rousing announcement of your nation, followed by hearty cheers and welcomes. I also highly recommend coming to such a fine establishment with your most dramatically inclined friends for some truly good Viking impressions. 

Sound the horn, my transformation is complete. 

Stockholm Marathon

We woke up today to discover that the marathon was running. It was a bit crummy and rainy but was still fun to watch. How exciting!

Uppsala

A quick visit to Uppsala was complimented by a wonderful birthday of my 90 years young great uncle who showed us remarkable hospitality, by accommodating our English only capabilities. Lars-Inge and Birgitta had prepared a wonderful lunch and we dined with cousins, some of whom I'd never met.

The next night, we had a lovely lunch, a brief shopping trip and a wonderful fish dinner by candlelight with my dear grandmother. We had a special surprise for her this time, in which we asked her to reveal the gender of our newest family member. We had asked our doctor in San Francisco to seals he surprise and we were disciplined not to peek. While saving our curiosity for 48 hours resulted in a lovely shared moment with my distant family. Too often, there is a lapse in communication due to my lack of Swedish, and a great distance, but in this moment, our family felt quite intimate again. Mormor was happy to announce we would be expecting a little GIRL!

On Tuesday, we had a bit of work to catch up on, and Jen managed to meet some lovely folks in the Google office in Stockholm. I spent the day managing some projects and we then had a wonderful dinner at villa Anna with Mormor. Villa Anna came highly recommended and is a distinguished Swedish culinary treat, set within a historic hotel. We dined on delicious lamb cheek, braised veal, smoked salmon and a wonderful chocolate mousse. Mormor was delighted and we were still floating on a cloud with the news of our bundle of joy.

On Wednesday, Jen returned to the Stockholm office to network a little and i was able to take advantage of the good weather with a trip to Lars-Inge and Birgitta's summer house just outside of Uppsala. The Swedish summer home is ubiquitous for its simplicity and opportunity to convene with nature. At the summer house, they grew fresh vegetables in their greenhouse and flowers for their city apartment. We were treated to a Swedish "fika" "coffee break" and some summer sausages. I took the chance to get my hands a little dirty with mowing the lawn and trimming the edges with Lars. Then it was time to say goodbye and head to Stockholm to check in with my mamma to be. 

Next up, the Ljungdahl wedding at the Riddarhuset!

The flow maker

Our shared water bottle throughout this trip has been officially named flow.
The water just flows out of this water bottle nossle at an amazing rate.
Keeps me super hydrated so I can continue to use the bathroom at alarmingly short intervals. Thank you flow.