1. I only have 4 full days left in Sweden and I’m already looking at tickets to come back here. Is August/September too soon? The picture above is an adorable cafe in Linköping where I fika-ed with my family on this beautiful sunny warm morning. The little red building is so typical Sweden and I want a little red summer house when I grow up.
2. I spent the first few days in Sweden in Linköping where my grandma and my uncle and his family live. I got to spend a lot of time with my cousins (Hi Alice & Johanna) and got to also catch up with a good old friend and her mom. It’s crazy how it works – my mom and her mom have been friends for a looooooong long time and her daughter and I have been friends basically all of our lives. Anyway, it was fun hanging around a town that I basically spent summers in. It wasn’t until I studied abroad that I got to spend any time in Stockholm.
3. Which brings me to #3. I LOVE Stockholm. Yesterday, after having lunch with a friend, I walked around the city for about 5 hours, exploring some of my favorite areas. I walked through Djurgården, along the water, through the center of town, and through Gamla Stan. It was so nice to just be outside and walk places, considering in LA it’s just all driving.
4. In other news, I can stare at GIF videos all day long. Especially when they apparently will teach you things.
5. My time in Stockholm has reminded me of this blog post I read weeks ago and bookmarked to read again. Coffee with Two Hands. It’s about sitting and drinking the coffee (or tea) with both hands, instead of running around with the coffee in one hand while focusing on other things (computer, blog posts, Instagram, etc). In Sweden, “fika” is a huge thing. It’s like a coffee break but you usually sit down with coffee and some sort of food or pastry. And you just sit. And drink. And talk. It’s not like in the US where you grab a coffee to go and drink it at your desk. I’ve been working so much and feeling so stuck, so I think I need to start doing that. After a few days in Sweden, I’m already feeling better. Like today, I sat down in a little cafe and drank my latte. I had to use both hands since it was almost like a huge bowl, but it was just nice to sit. And drink.
6. The visuals here for 40 True Facts about everyday life make this article for me. So much better than just reading a list. I tried to pick out a favorite but I couldn’t.
7. I baked this sort of knäckebröd with my Aunt last night. It’s not like traditional Swedish hard bread because it’s literally just seeds and some cornstarch/water for binding. It’s delicious and it’ll come to the blog once I get back to the states and make it myself.
8. This is a very Sweden focused post but that’s been my life for the past week. Starting this post was hard but I’m okay now. I’ve only been reading/speaking Swedish since getting here so whenever I try and speak English, I have to pause for a few seconds and remind my brain. Poor Ryan. The first time we talked on the phone, I had been in Sweden for a few days and I was having such a hard time with English.
9. Enjoy your weekend, I know I’ll enjoy mine (even if it’s supposed to rain all weekend..)
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