Family Time

Sorry, no pictures in this post.

The morning of the 19th I took the train to the Arlanda Airport and headed straight to the arrival gate. My parents flight from Germany was right on schedule and before long we were reunited. An embrace bursting with love, joy and excitement that had been building for the last four months. At times it feels like the past four months have flown by, and at other times, like when I think about seeing my parents, four months feels like a long time, the longest I have gone without seeing them. Although we Skype regularly, so much is lost without the immediate person-to-person contact.

Not only was I excited to see them and be with them but I was so excited to show them my city and my new life. We took the 18 minute train ride back to Uppsala through a winter wonderland. Sweden decided to welcome my parents with a thick blanket of snow! We walked through the snowy streets of Uppsala to their hotel. We dropped off their bags and then walked down the street to Cafe Linne. I showed off my knowledge of Swedish by ordering us a delicious lunch followed by a slice of blåbär princesstårta. mmm. 

We had a fun filled week of sight seeing, fika-ing, shopping, snuggling, walking, smiling, eating, more walking,  and just absorbing. Absorbing each others company, absorbing the sights, absorbing the tastes, absorbing the sounds, absorbing Sweden. 


Highlights of the week:

Food- Peas Soup and Pancakes, Dinner at the Stationen (twice), Christmas Julbord at Lingon, princesstårta and Swedish Sandwiches, Sushi and Seaweed Salad...


Sights- Uppsala Cathedral, Uppsala Castle, the Main University Building, Stockholm, Gamla Stan, the Vasa Museum, Gamla Uppsala Viking Burial Grounds, Upland Museet, walking along the rive...


Memorable Moments- trying to comfortably sleep 3 people in 2 twin beds, nearly jumping out the window, Julbord with the homeless, Midnight Mass in the Cathedral, Kalle Anka, lots of free bus rides, running into Julian (an IC rower, graduate of SLU, and blogger of the blog I read about Uppsala before coming)... 


The most memorable moment of all was.....






(See post below)

Airport

My parents were leaving early in the morning on the 27th. In the morning of the 26th my dad said "I just got an e-mail from the airline saying they are having trouble with our credit card. I want to go sort things out with them now so we don't have to worry about it." I said why don't you go and mom and I can stay here." My mom said why don't we all go, it won't take long. It will be an adventure." I happily agreed.

Happiness turned to annoyance when we arrived at the airport. Having been to there several times before I have learned my way around. I was trying to lead them to the airline desks but my dad was insistent that he knew where the desk was. He took the escalator down even though I had told him the desks were not down stairs. I became frustrated when they would not listen to me. My parents walked in the direction of the arrival gate both looking around seemingly unsure of where they were going. My dad kept walking but my mom slowed down and lingered around the arrival gate. I became suspicious. I looked at my mom and said "Is someone coming? Are we waiting for someone? Is Sam coming?!" She looked at me with a smile and at the moment tears burst from my eyes. I was so excited and unbelievably shocked that they were able to keep this a secret for so long. 

Here is where the story turns.
The flight arrive at 12:30. We waited at the gate and watched every single person from that flight walk by, but Sam was no where to be seen. We kept waiting but still no signs of Sam. My mom, dad and I all had senerios running through our head of what could have happened to him. The most likely where that he had missed his flight or he had been detained and was being questioned because of his business. Unsure what to do we decided it was best to head back to Uppsala. We ate sushi and returned to the hotel. We used all of our detective skills to figure out how to locate Sam. No e-mails, no facebook messages, nothing. Finally as my dad was searching the airline website for a phone number to call a little box popped up for live chat. My dad sent the flight information Sam had given to figure out if he had boarded the plane. The airline chat was able to locate Sam and told us he was on the KLM flight to Arlanda scheduled to arrive at 3:55. Hallelujah, he is alive and well! An immediate sense of relief was felt by us all. We called the airport and had Sam paged. I instructed him to take the train to Uppsala and less then an hour later the McGuire clan was reunited. I could not believe it.

The first thing I said to Sam was "so let's hear the story." There is always an adventure when Sam is traveling. Scratch that, Sams life is one big adventure!

So it turns out he gave my parents the wrong flight information but of course that is not the end of the story. Sam was flying KLM and decided to ask if he could get his seat upgraded. Sure enough he was moved to business class. He was wined and dined and was able to recline, truly living it up in the lap of luxury.

Sam stayed with me from the 27th to the 30th. Early in the morning on the 31st he jet set off to Sicily. We had a wonderful time sightseeing and shopping. Sam is now styled the Swedish way with a nice haircut, dapper straight leg green khaki's, a handsome gray sweater and suede wing-tipped boots.
We went to Stockholm for the day and we were both completely blown away by the photographs on display at the Fotografska Museum. Unbelievably beautiful, unbelievably powerful and unbelievably inspirational. We also went to the Viking burial mounds, Ikea, the Uppsala Castle, the Uppsala Cathedral and did lots of shopping.


What a great 2 weeks I have just had surrounded by the people I love :)

Lucia Gasque

Listen to this song to enhance your viewing experience:

Lucia Day is celebrated on December 13. Historically "Lucia Night was the longest night of the year. It was a dangerous night when supernatural beings were abroad and all animals could speak. By morning, when they were said to have bitten the manger three times out of hunger, the livestock needed extra feed. People, too, needed extra nourishment and were urged to eat seven or nine hearty breakfasts. This kind of feasting presaged the Christmas fast which began on Lucia Day."  

Schools and Choirs all over Sweden have competitions for who will be crowed Lucia. Following Lucia in the procession are stjärngossar (star-boys),  tomtar (Christmas troll) and tänor (Lucia handmaidens). The Lucia profession trails around singing songs and spreading light. 

The Lucia Gasque at Väsgöta Nation was an amazing cultural event!

V-G Gingerbread House

 Upon arrival at the nation, we were offered a cup of glögg, warm mulled wine with raisins and nuts. After about and hour of socializing we entered the dinging room. As usual seats were assigned.

Appetizer- Knäckebröd with Cheese and Mushrooms. I also had a bite or two of the Pickled Herring in Mustard Sauce.

 Across from me sat my friend (and Linnea's corridor-mate) Adrian, next to me sat Adrian's friend from university named Martin. Diagonally across with Linnea and Sofia, a very nice Swedish girl. On the other side of Martin sat two of Sofia's friends, Claire and Isabel. We all had such a fabulous time together. It was a perfect seating arrangement!

Linnea and Sofia.

Martin and I.

And then came dinner. A traditional Swedish Christmas Buffet or Julbord.

My Plate includes (starting on the left and going clockwise)- A delicious dark cardamom raisin bread, Smoked Salmon, Red Cabbage, Smoked Salmon broccoli quiche, Smoked Salmon Pâté, Pickled Herring and a Deviled Egg. 

 Unbelievably delicious!

When we were all sitting enjoying of plates of food, rumor spread that this was not even the main course.

Linnea and I.

We soon realized that it was not just a rumor, what we had just eaten was not the main course. 

Another buffet was laid out, this one containing hot food. There were potatoes, spinach, cabbage, quiches, rutabaga, salmon fillet, and lots of meat. There were meatball, sausages, liver pâté, horse meat, and turkey.

My Plate (Starting on the right)- Slices of Rutabaga, Broccoli Pie, Kantarell Quiche, Spinach and Salmon.

 Throughout the meal we were interrupted to sing traditional Christmas songs, watch theater performances, and listen to speeches but the highlight of the nights performances was the Lucia Procession. The V-G choir sang the traditional Lucia tunes dressed in traditional Lucia attire.

After dinner we took a short pause and while we were all hanging out, it started snowing! It was beautiful and the timing could not have been better. 

After the short pause it was time for dessert. Yet another buffet of traditional Christmas sweets.

Lussekater, Pepparkakor, Chocolates...

 Terrible picture.

My Plate (starting in the right)- Lussekat (saffron bun), rice pudding with cinnamon, oranges, Heart-shaped Pepparkaka, and assorted chocolates.

This night could not have been more perfect. Excellent company, excellent food, excellent traditions and a beautiful atmosphere. 

But the night did not end there. 

As we were exiting the dining room (around 11:45) the lovely Swedish girls Linnea and I were sitting with asked us if we were sticking around for the Släpp or after party. Linnea and I were undecided about whether we were going to stay or not. The Swedish girls said we could not leave, we had to stay at least for a little bit. They were heading back to their apartment to change shoes while the band set up and invited us to join. Linnea and I went with them to their adorable little apartment, hung out for a bit and then went back to V-G for the after party. 

A live band complete with an accordion, trombone, banjo and a few other brass instrument played excellent dancing music. Linnea and I, with our new Swedish friends, danced the night away. 

Klockan Tre

It's 3 o'clock in the afternoon and this is the view out of my window-

 Yeah, that't the moon..

One reason...

This morning while I was preparing my Breakfast one of my Swedish corridormates walked by and our conversation went a little something like this:

Her: Hej! Ooo what are you making?

Me: An Apple Dumpling.
Her: Wow, that looks really good!

Me: Thanks :)

Her: So, what are your plans for the day?

Me: I am not totally sure, maybe going to the Uppland Museet and the Gustavinum. You?

Her: I am not totally sure either but I was thinking about going for a walk in the forest. I will knock on your door when I am heading out, maybe you will want to join.

Just one of the many reasons I love Sweden. 

Forest walks are a regular Saturday afternoon activity for Swedes of all ages.

mmmMmm

Instead of posting more photos of buildings-

how about some photos of food!

Love at first Bite!!

Sweet dough coiled around an iron rod, rolled in sugar with a chopped almonds and roasted over a coal pit.

 A perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of coffee!

There were several vendors around the city and of course we had to taste at least one Trdelink from each vendor. 

Crispy caramelized exterior with a warm soft and doughy interior.

 In the 5 days we were in Prague, Linnea and I each ate 6.5 Trdelink. In one day alone we each ate 2.5, we just could not get enough! 

Must figure out how to recreate at home.

Another treat we tasted.

A warm sweet, flaky wafer.

 Now on to real food. Much was consumed but little was photographed :(

Medieval restaurant.

Cabbage with Czech Dumplings.

 In addition to this meal we ate some of the best fish I have ever had. The first two nights in Prague Jana prepared lake trout caught that morning. It was so moist and flavorful!

Oh and I cannot for get the smoke-id cheese. In the Czech language every letter is pronounced so when Richard would talk about this cheese, he referred to it as "smoke-id" cheese. In the Czech Republic, or at least at Richards house smoked cheese is very popular. It comes in all sorts of shapes and from all kinds of milk. There was smoke-id sting cheese, smoke-id blocks as well as smoke-id scrolls of cheese. So delicious.

Prague continued...

Linnea and I spent the weekend touring the city with Richard and Jana (our wonderful hosts). Monday morning they left for work early in the morning leaving Linnea and I to wake up slowly, and have a leisurely breakfast before heading into town. 

On the agenda for day one on our own: Prague Castle. 

But first a peek at the flat we stayed in:

The apartment complex.

Kitchen.

 One large room with the bedroom on one side, living room on the other.

The guest room.

Eastern European Shower Bath!

 And now photos from Prague Castle:

Changing of the Guards.

Inside the castle walls.

St. Vitus Cathedral.

The Gothic facade is only from 1953 but the stone foundation was laid in 1344.

 

St. George Basilica founded in 920.

The Golden Lane.

Tiny colorful cottages from the 16th century.

This street was so adorable. Behind each door was a set-up of how the flat (or room really) would have looked when they were occupied in the 16th century. Behind other doors are small shops with small crafts and souvenirs. In the 18th and 19th century this street was occupied by squatters and then by artist including Kafka.

These are just a select few of the many photos taken at Prague Castle. 

Still more to come. Up next- Food!