Pizza Salad

Happy Thursday,

When I came to visit Älmhult last June, we went to a local restaurant called Sorellos.  They served, on each table family style, this "salad" concoction that to me looked like sauerkraut.  Well, I tasted it and yes it was made out of cabbage and had vinegar on it. but it was crunchy and not soft and limp like sauerkraut.  I did not think much about it and just thought it was something that was served at this restaurant.

When I came back in August, we had lunch at another local restaurant, Jacobs, and come to find out they have individual servings of it in the refrigerated case where you get your drinks.  I was a bit amazed by this because I grew up in an Italian family where we have garden salads all the time, even with our pizza.  I was wondering how come I could not get just a regular salad.  By the way, this salad is always included with your meal, so you do not pay any extra for it.  I do not know the exact name of this "salad", so I am no help there.

So one day, I was at the grocery store and guess what I found in the refrigerated case - "Pizza Sallad".  Here is a picture of the "salad" in the package and out of the package.

Honestly, it does not taste bad, it is pretty good and it does add some crunch to your meal.  This is just one of the different things that I have found in Sweden.

I am still on the lookout for some new things to share with you.

Love,
Bridgette

The Sun Has Finally Come Through!

Hej,

After so many weeks of dreay, rainy, cloudy, windy weather on Sunday the sun came out!  It still has been a bit windy, but when there is warmth it is much nicer.  What a difference it makes with everything!

The sun is now coming up at 4:30 in the morning, but it gets lighter before that.  The sun is now setting at 9:30 in the evening.  This makes for some really long days, which make up for the short days of winter.

Allison had her baby on Sunday, it was a boy!  We are very happy for her and Shane!

On Saturday, David and I took a train ride to Lund.  We had a very nice day of shopping, sight-seeing and lunch at O'Leary's.  With all the time David had spent here on prior to us moving here, he had never been to Lund.  Lund is a university town, so there is much activity, lots of bicycles and places to go.

We found a wonderful old Cathedral called Lunds Domkyrka.  They started building the Cathedral in 1080 and it was finally consecrated in 1145.  The whole thing is quite beautiful and very well kept.  I believe that the Danes started building it, but this is the area that has switched between Danish and Swedish rule several times over the years.  When I got home, I was telling my friend that we had gone to Lund and saw the Cathedral and she told me that she actually was married there.  She said they chose that spot because she went to University in Lund and she is Swedish, while her husband is Danish and so they thought it would be a great place to marry because of the history between the countries.

I almost forgot, there is a huge astronomical clock in the Cathedral as well.  The clock still plays everyday at 1:00 and 3:00.  Click for a virtual tour of the Cathedral and see the clock.

We plan to go back to Lund and do more exploring and sight-seeing.  We were technically on our way to see an outdoor museum on the history of the area and Sweden, but the weather was not conducive for being outdoors, like usual it rained!

Take care and have a happy day!

Bridgette

Still Here

Dear Friends,

I apologize for not writing in the last month.  We had visitors from the States.  My Mom and Dad came for 5 days and we took them to Copenhagen for a couple of days to meet my brother and they went on to London for 6 more days.  It was certainly nice to see them and to spend time with them.  We did enjoy taking them to see some of the things that we have found in Sweden.

On Sunday, we will have been in Sweden for 9 months now.  Sometimes it feels like the time has gone quickly and other times it feels like it has been a reallllllly long time.  Since my parents have left and my temporary contract ended, I have had a hard time.  The days are very long and David is busy with his job.  Also, since I live in the middle of the forest, there is not much to do.  Last week, I made an effort to get out and go into town.  Well, let's just say, that I was able to visit 4 clothing stores and the grocery store and I was home in less than an hour.  In Houston, that would at least take up the morning and then some.

I have been trying to keep busy by knitting and I have made three tote bags (one for me and two for gifts).  However, right now it is hard because my daughter is due to have a baby on the 23rd of May, which is next week and my niece had her baby early.  I wish I could be there to be of help to them, rather than sitting at home knitting and watching Mad Men.  I have finished the first two seasons and will start season 3 soon.  I am amazed that I have the time to watch and catch up with many of the shows I was not able to watch due to lack of time in the States.

We did go to the movies 2 weeks ago to see A Royal Affair.  Unfortunately, the movie was in Danish and then had Swedish subtitles.  We did not stay.  Luckily, we are able to save our stubs and we will go see The Dictator tonight.  No, the movies are nothing alike, but our choices are very limited here.

David is off to Germany next week.  So, next week will be quite long.  I did make plans with my Swedish teacher to spend the day with her on Tuesday in Växjö.  I am looking forward to seeing where she lives and meeting her new puppy.

The weather has not been so good lately.  Lots of rain and cloudiness.  Yesterday, the 17th was a holiday in Sweden (Ascension Day).  Everyone was off of work, but the weather was not good.  The sun would come out and 5 minutes later it would be raining.  This repeated itself the whole day.  Fortunately, we did get out for a quick walk in the evening, but it started to rain before we could get back home.  Welcome to Älmhult!

We have made plans for the summer.  David has to spend a week in London in June, so I am going to try and go with him for a few days.  We are coming back to the States in the middle of July for 10 days.  We will be going to Colorado to see our son in Vail and go to the drag races with him and my parents.  Then we are going to go to Washington D.C. for 3 days to see Allison and the new baby.  In August, we will head to Stockholm for a week of Intensive Swedish lessons.  So there is a lot to look forward to!

Sorry, if this blog is not my usual happy self, but I guess you have to know that sometimes, it is a struggle to live abroad and not be able to be close to those you love.

Thank you all for being such great friends and family.

I love you all,

Bridgette

Photos of New House

Hej,

We are now settled in our new home.  We finished moving our stuff on Friday, April 6th at 5:00pm.  Just as it was starting to rain.  As it was, we had to ride our bikes to our new home in the rain, but it was a good feeling to be finished with the other house and to look forward to this house.  We have been here for a little over a week now and I cannot tell you how much happier we are.  I am not sure what it was about the other house, but physically and mentally we are doing much better, as are the cats.  Again, it feels like a load has been lifted from our shoulders.  We actually had the time and energy yesterday after dinner to go for a walk!

Here are the pictures of our new house.

This is the kitchen:

This is the living room, so much sunshine and openness:



This is the master bedroom, this room is twice the size of our bedroom at the other house:

This is the bathroom and laundry room combined:

The guest room, there is room for us to have visitors, all are welcome:

This is the last room, we have an extra room, so we are using for the cats and a charging area for our electronic devices, as well as extra storage:

As it gets warmer and we get the patio furniture put together I will take photos outside and share with you as well.

Otherwise, all is well with us.  David is busy getting his products ready for approval and I am finishing up with the photo shoot that I have been working on.  We are looking forward to summer and coming home in July.  We are also planning to spend a week in Stockholm this summer for our intensive Swedish lessons.  So, no worries, I have much more to report on.

Much love,

Bridgette











Easter - The Swedish Way

Happy Easter to Everyone!

Palm Sunday is tomorrow which starts the beginning of Easter Week.  I decided that I should show you a bit about the Swedish Easter.  In the last few weeks, I have noticed these giant eggs with Easter scenes, lots of Easter candy and other types of Easter decorations coming out in the stores.  Yesterday, I was at Willy's (one of the 4 grocery stores in town) and noticed a proliferation of brightly colored feathers.  The feathers were in packages and also on the end of something that looks like twigs.  I have noticed though that many of the Easter decorations really revolve around chicks and not so many bunnies, like in the U.S.  I like the idea that the bunny lives in a giant mushroom. Swedes love mushrooms and it is a big deal to go the forest and look for fresh mushrooms.

The giant egg, which is pictured below, comes apart and is filled with candy and given to the children, much like the idea of our Easter basket, but on a smaller scale.   Yes, you can buy bigger eggs than the one I have here.

You can read more about the Swedish Easter here.  This article can explain much more than I can, since I have not yet experienced it.  In Sweden, I guess it is normal for the little girls to dress like witches and go house to house to get candy.  Here are a couple of pictures of the little girls dressed like witches.  I found one of the pictures within another article about Easter traditions from around the world.

I have not noticed the supermarket loaded down with hams, lamb and such.  If I learn anything further this week, I will share it with you.  I do find it interesting to see the differences between the cultures for holdiays that we think are a traditional thing among all cultures.

I thought I would also share my table decoration with you:

Please read the articles above to also see about the bonfires other ideas that Sweden has about Easter.

Have a very Happy Easter and I will be back soon!

Love,
Bridgette

Spring in Älmhult

Happy Sunday!

Yes spring has come to Älmhult.  We have had sunshine, clear skies and a lot of happiness. People have been washing their windows, cleaning up their yards and putting the clotheslines back out.

We finally changed our clocks last nights, so now we are back to the usually time differences.  It was nice being one hour closer for two weeks.  I "Spring Forward and Fall Back".  Well, in Sweden, they remember it by comparing it to "putting out your outdoor furniture and taking in your outdoor furniture".  An interesting perspective for sure.

Here are a few pictures I took yesterday on my walk, even Mr. & Mrs. Duck were out.  This is the path that we currently take to work on our bikes and we pass this little pond.

On my way I also took some pictures of our new neighborhood.  We are going to be in the flats that are in the distance on the hill.  Our flat faces the opposite direction.  The houses you barely see in the foreground on the second picture are private houses.  One of them is currently for sale for a little over 3 million Krona (which is about $450,000). 



You would be looking at the lower half of the flat. We would be on the top level where you see all the windows. The flat is long and skinny.

This is an overall view of the neighborhood. With the lower half of all the flats.  You enter our flat from a completely different street.


 I had a great time yesterday shopping in Växjö with some friends.  One from London, one from Germany and one from Jaimaica originally, but was living in Atlanta before she moved here.  I love the diversity and talking to everyone about their experiences here. I finally ate a McDonald's in Sweden.  It was okay, about the same as in the U.S., but the menu is different, of course.  The fries taste the same, but were salty as was the burger.  You do not get ice in your drinks here, which is still hard for me. I love ice in my drinks!

David is having a successful trip to China.  On Friday, he visited 6 homes.  If I can, I will show you how they live in Hong Kong, perhaps David will let me share his pictures.  David said it was very interesting and very sad.  Many people living in one small space.  I was surprised, he went shopping on Saturday and actually bought some items!  Good for him.

I think since spring is coming, we are starting to feel more comfortable in Sweden.  Yes, there is still the difficulties of finding food we want to eat. Unfortunately, I think our waistlines might be showing the poor choices, but with spring here, there will be much more walking and bike riding to burn off the extra calories and pounds.  I think everyone feels the same after winter ends.  You feel like you have gained lots of weight, when you really have not.

I am trying to gather more information on differences to share with you.  I think it is time to go and enjoy the rest of the day.

I will be in touch soon.

Love from Sweden

Bridgette

Spring is Coming

Happy Spring!

Like many of you in the States, we are experiencing an early spring here in Älmhult.  We had some very nice, sunny days last week.  However, the beginning of this week looked a bit like winter again with gray, cloudy skies.  Monday morning, we experienced sleet, hail, rain, wind and sunshine within about 15 minutes.  Lucky for me, I was already at work, but I did see the poor people come in who looked a bit disarrayed from the variety of weather.

Relatively, it has been quiet here the last couple of weeks.  We are moving the week of April 2nd, so that is the next big thing coming up.  We have been buying some things for our new house.  So far, we bought a patio table, chairs and an umbrella so we can take advantage of any sunny days and we also bought a new bed for one of the extra bedrooms.  You really do not realize how much you need.  We had to buy hangars because when we leave here we have to leave all the hangars behind.  So far, I have bought about 80 hangars and probably have to buy abour 20 more.  No, I do not think we have many clothes here, since we left most in Houston, but hangarwise, it adds up, especially with all the coats included.

We are definitely looking forward to getting settled again.  We have felt very unsettled for the last couple of months due to the change in having to move.  We did talk about it and feel that it will be better for us because then the other house will be ours and not like we are borrowing someone's house for vacation. 

For David, his big thing starts today as he heads off to China for 10 days.  He is going to a trade show as well as visiting people's homes to see how they live.  It certainly will be an interesting trip.  I will let you know how interesting it is.

I am still working on my temporary contract.  I really am enjoying myself!  Last week and again next week, I will spend my time at the photo studio.  I will also keep you posted as to if my contract gets extended.

Overall, all is going well here in Sweden and I will give you updates and pictures on our new house as soon as we can get the key.  I will also try and get some pictures of spring coming.

Much love to you all,

Bridgette