An Afternoon Well Spent

Johanna (one of my Swedish corridor-mates) and I set out on a skiing adventure on this frosty, cold Monday afternoon. The weather and scenery could not have been more perfect. The sun was shining, the sky was clear and the cold winter frost bit your cheeks and froze your nose hairs.

I live in such a beautiful place!

 

Frozen land.

After skiing for about an hour and a half it only seemed appropriate that we stop to have fika. We sat in the snow and happily enjoyed our hot chocolate and cookie and felt the nostalgia of being a little kid again.

After our short break we clipped back into our skis and were off again. Fully present in, and absorbing the natural beauty which surrounded us.

Skis that are older than I am.

Johanna!

A lovely afternoon spent the Swedish way. 

A side note- In Sweden is is extremely rare for strangers to acknowledge one another on the streets, on the bus or in the train. Swedes just don't give a friendly "hello" or smile to those they don't know EXCEPT when you are out enjoying nature. This ski trip was the first time since I arrived in Sweden that strangers have said "Hej" or "livet blir inte bättre än så här" meaning "life doesn't get better than this."

Grocery Shopping on a Student Budget

This afternoon I biked over to one of my favorite grocery stores in Uppsala, Nelins. Although it is a 15-20 minute bike ride from Flogsta, the huge produce section and low prices make up for the distance. Nelins has an enormous selection of fresh produce and the largest organic section I have come across. And unlike most grocery store that throw away the "ugly" fruits and veggies, Nelins packages them up and sells them for extremely low prices. 

Take a look at what I bought for just 109 kr. (that about 16$):

1 kg Organic Carrots

8 "Ugly" Apples

6 Large Organic Red Beets

2 Red Peppers

1 Red Onion

Bag of Tomatoes

6 Kiwi's

2 Avocado's

(un-pictured- cough drops) 

I felt like I robbed the grocery store. SO much fresh produce! 

Now let the cooking begin :)

A Winter Walk

 The other morning I woke up and knew it was going to be a good day. The sun was shining, snow had fallen and there was a cold bite in the air. I went out for a walk around Ekeby, a cute neighborhood near flogsta.

One of my Favorite Cafes.

View from the roof of building 8 in Flogsta.

Who knew the view would be this nice!

Vinter

Winter had been late to arrive here in Sweden too. We have had the occasional blustery winter day when the snow falls and the sun doesn't shine. Oh wait, the sun doesn't shine too often on those non-snowy day either.

Here are some photos of Uppsala in the snow.

 

One morning I woke up in a winter wonderland. 

This also happened to be the day my parents arrived. 

There were welcomed to Sweden by a thick blanket of snow :)

 

 Blanketing snow has been rare though. The snow here, I have been noticing, more often then not comes up from the ground. I know this sounds crazy but its true. In Sweden both rain and snow come out of the ground. During the warmer months the ground always looked as though it had just rained but it hadn't. And now that the temperature are below freezing its now longer rain coming out of the ground, it's snow! Well I guess its actually a thick layer of frost but it becomes so thick that it looks as though it has snowed.

Pictures from my Parents

Full of love and joy while waiting for the train to Uppsala.  

Smile!

Nice.

So Happy!

Our matching Christmas gift.

Wool Blankets!

In the ity bity hotel room that just barely fit 3 beds.

Christmas Eve having Julbord with the homeless.

So much fun!