On vacation, Mirjam and I stopped by an old church in Lund. This church was built in 1080.
Below the church was a crypt that we just had to check out. The entrance of the crypt was guarded by a statue of a giant Finn. As you can see by the pics it was pretty creepy down there!
I have noticed that Swedes are also really into diets. Just like Americans. The big fad right now is the G1 diet, I don’t really know what that is. Dieting in Sweden is very different.
In the States a whole lot of people go on a fad diet. Most often it’s not so much about getting thin, loosing weight and such. At least the people I know in the States go on diets to become healthy. Keeping the doctor away. Not getting clogged arteries. You eat healthy to have a better life.
In Sweden it’s different. Most people are rather thin… well comparably… But people go on diets to loose more weight. The actual word for diet in Swedish means to slim down. The English word means to eat differently. Most would probably assume that people in the states are more vain with all their cosmetic surgery and all. But hello! It’s Hollywood and Hollywood is NOT the States.
So when I say I’m going to diet…. I DO NOT mean to loose a bunch of weight. I mean… bring on the healthy stuff that makes you more awake, strengthen your body and make you alert for life. Stop eating the chips, candy, and grease. Now, I know I will fail at that just as much as everyone else, Swedes and Americans alike!
Just another fika with a view….
I have always had goals. Always been on the way to achieve the plans set up. Always on my way, on the move.
I finished and passed my 10 credits class before summer. I just recently found out I was approved to start my next class for fall semester. It’s only a 5 credit class but will involve some traveling. This means I’m almost done with my education. By next summer if all goes well, I should be done. Finished.
Then what? Yeah I have to do a year of practice before I’m free to do whatever I want ,but really, I have achieved what I set out to do. I’m excited but it’s with a bit of fear too.
My time at my current workplace is soon over. I only have about 5 months left on my assignment. As much as being finished and arriving at the end of my plans is scarying me I’m much too tired of living in uncertainty. Don’t get me wrong! I love my job and the people I work with, the knowledge and care they have and share. However, I have no stability here, no way of forming roots. I feel like a running horse ready for the sprint.
Like always with us people, we love achieving, reaching the goal but it’s the actual traveling, the moment of changes that is most rewarding.
I miss you maxima! The work we did, the people, our workstyle. One of a kind! I can’t wait to start that work back up! Just all too sad we are not side by side.
I can’t believe it’s been a week since my vacation ended. Sam has been in Stockholm spending the days with my dad learning 100 Swedish words a day and grammar. I’ve been all alone at home.
The sun just keep shining in Sweden. It’s hot and blue skies all around. There was barely any wind even in Skåne. When we were there I got to take Sam to one of the known beaches in Sweden. I used to go there a lot as a kid and the youth group I belonged to spent a lot of summer days there. Sam and I even got in to the Baltic Sea. Not bad considering I hate swimming!
During our vacation Mirjam and I visited a castle in southern Sweden. It was built in the 1200s for some rich Danish guy. It was considered inpregnable, complete with a moat, archer stations, and lots of death traps inside. Even though it looks rather small in the picture, it actually was quite large inside. It was 8 floors high. (with no elevator!)
If you made it through the front door There were corridors with holes in the ceiling. They would often dump boiling tar through these holes.
Banquets were popular in the middle ages lasting for days and with up to 40 courses! If you got full before the party was over…NO PROBLEM! Apparently you were supposed to tickle the back of your mouth with a goose feather and throw up out the window. Here are two pictures of the banquet hall.
Welcome to the Bed & Breakfast that we stayed at… This is Idala Gard just outside of the town where I grew up. It’s a traditional farm for this part of Sweden. Often white like this and built in a U or a completely enclosed courtyard, due to the winds.
The owners were very friendly and we enjoyed chatting with them. They told us that it had been a family farm for hundreds of years and they just recently renovated it to become a B&B. Though it is located in Sweden it was very Italian inspired. Someone wrote in the guest book… “Italy kissed Sweden and it landed on Idala.”
One of my favorite memories is just sitting out on the veranda reading a book at night while enjoying some hot tea. Looking up over the edge of the page and inhale the view. It was so relaxing and soothing for my soul. We will soon show more pictures of our great views of the fields and sunsets.
Hi! We are on vacation. That’s why we aren’t blogging right now. Currently sitting on Malmö Central Station. Soon we will be driving over the bridge across the baltic sea to Copenhagen. We have lots and lots of great pictures. We’ll share some when we get home!
Hope everyone else is having great summer vacations right now! 
I fogot about how bright it really is in Sweden during the summer. We live in southern Sweden so it’s not as bright as up north where the sun never sets. The sun sets but it’s never really really dark.
This picture was snapped at about 10:30pm Below is a picture taken at midnight. It was difficult to snap a good picture of it but you can tell on the sky that it’s still pretty bright out. It makes it difficult to sleep. Our neighbors that are on vacation seems to have a good time outside talking, laughing, and grilling.
Today we celebrated July 4th on the beach grilling burgers, eating chips, potato salad and watermelon. The big thing in Sweden is this “one-time-use-grill”. They are tiny but do the job. We also found some “American BBQ sauce” to pour on the burgers. The only thing missing was the American flag.
It was a beautiful day as we layed on the grass reading our books and thinking about all of our friends and family in the USA. Hope you all have a great one and don’t blow off any fingers with those fireworks!