Our flight actually arrived into Coppenhagen, Denmark on Thursday evening, which was also where Lisbet happened to be for business, so she was able to pick us up from the airport. We had about a 2 hour car ride from Denmark to where we were staying in Vaxjo, Sweden, during which we drove through the underwater tunnel that connects the two countries. It was a lovely drive, during which we got Swedish candy and soda and a chance to get to know a little bit more about Sweden and our hosts. When we arrived at their amazing home, we were warmly greeted and welcomed with a late night dinner that they had prepared for us. After a full day of traveling from Ireland, we were extremely excited and grateful for this. After we ate and got a chance to talk a bit, they drove us just a couple minutes down the street where they had arranged for us three girls to stay in an amazing flat for the weekend. It was absolutely more than we could have hoped for, and we were incredibly at home and comfortable all weekend. Although, none of us were brave enough to use the the actual bed in the bedroom, so we used the travel beds and couch and all slept together in the living room. We may be adult enough to travel around Europe, but none of us are grown up enough to sleep alone. :)
The next morning we were able to sleep in a bit, and then we headed over to the house for a great breakfast. Let me just take a moment to clarify something... We've been in Ireland for over a month and a half now. In that time we have all been basically deprived of any home cooking. We do make food for ourselves in our cottages but, at least for me, it's nothing close to what I eat at home considering I'm a terrible cook and groceries are expensive. If we aren't in our cottages, then we are eating out in various Irish cities, which is delicious but very expensive. Anytime our program pays for a meal we all get way too excited. This brings me back to why were extremely excited to have a free breakfast including fresh bread, ham, eggs, fruit, and coffee. All of our meals in Sweden were taken care of actually, and they were all amazing and I cannot be thankful enough. After breakfast, we accompanied Christopher to a couple of his college classes. This was an extremely fun and funny experience, as it was cool to see how college is in another country, but considering we don't speak Swedish at all, we had absolutely no clue what was going on. Christopher actually convinced us for a little while that the students in his first class had been talking about us for a long time, but he was only kidding. Although, I would have absolutely no clue if that's true or not. The instructor in his second class actually did part of the lecture in English and was asking the students to answer some questions in English. We really appreciated the effort and it made class really fun for us.
Later in the day, we took some time to see some of the beautiful scenery Sweden has to offer. We were so excited to see that Sweden experiences fall very similarly to what we have in Minnesota. We went to a beautiful forested area near a lake and were astounded by the beautiful red, orange, and yellow of the leaves. It was an amazing taste of home that we had been missing in Ireland, and I'm glad I got to experience that for a little while. After our time outside, Caroline took us girls into town and we went shopping for the rest of the afternoon. The girls got a couple cute tops from the shops, and I was able to achieve my goal of finding a pair of new, cheap flats. I somehow didn't notice that the ones I packed were completely falling apart to the point where I couldn't even keep them on my feet.... But thanks to the patience of Caroline, we tried 100 stores until I found ones that I liked and that weren't too expensive. But I think the highlight of the day for us was when we went to the Swedish candy store. We went a little overboard in there, but we couldn't really help it with how many options there were and how good it all looked. Right now though I'm not feeling so good about the fact that it's all gone......
When we returned back to the house we had an amazing, home-cooked meal waiting for us again of steak and potatoes. We ate in their beautiful sun room with an amazing table setting filled with candles. We were truly spoiled rotten during this weekend. Afterwards we had a perfectly relaxing evening that included watching the soccer game, which Sweden won, drinking wine, and eating popcorn, chips, and ice cream. Like I said, spoiled rotten.
Saturday was even more amazing than the days before, if that's even possible. We once again were fed an amazing breakfast at the house before heading out to see some of the sites in Vaxjo with Lisbet, Peter, and Caroline. We first went to a really unique water tower, that unintentionally has an amazing echo effect if you talk or make noise while standing underneath. Next, we went to a view a gorgeous castle that was surrounded by a picturesque lake and trees that exhibited the beautiful colors of fall. It was truly one of the most beautiful places I've seen since leaving the US, and I'm so glad they thought to bring us there. I got a little picture happy while I was there, so eventually you will be able to see glimpses of this beautiful scene. But, as always, pictures never really do it justice. After the castle, we made one last stop at the dog training park, where Caroline works as a dog trainer. We were able to catch the end of the dog show going on, and then we were able to run the family's incredibly smart and adorable dog, Inca, through the course. She is so well trained and it was so much fun to get out on such a beautiful day and let her show off a bit.
It is amazes me as I am writing this, all of the spectacular things we were treated to. I've written about so many things we did on Saturday, that it seems like I should be done and it would be a more than eventful day. But at that point on Saturday our day had just begun. We returned home for another delicious lunch, and then Caroline took us to a friend's barn where we were able to help tend to the horses and ride them for a little bit. I absolutely love horses, so I was extremely excited about this. I was able to ride a little bit this summer, so it was great to be on a farm and around the animals, and once again it was a little taste of home. The horses were incredible and very well trained, so it was an amazing way to end our afternoon. After that we went back to our flat
to freshen up before we had a little dinner party back at the house.
We were once again treated to an amazingly delicious meal, and this time we were joined by some friends of Caroline and Christopher, who were so fun to meet. Everyone we met during the weekend had amazing English, and since we really had nothing to contribute in the Swedish department, we really appreciated them making the effort to speak our language so much in their country. We had an amazing dinner with good food, friends, and laughs, and it was amazing how at home I felt. I've only known this amazing family for 3 days, and I literally felt as if I had known them all my life. They are so welcoming and friendly, and all of their friends we met were so nice and fun to hang out with. As it got later, the youth decided to go out for a bit so we could experience a little bit of the Swedish nightlife. It was super fun and a great thing to experience, although Jenna probably could have lived without me spilling an entire drink on her lap. I'm just as clutsy as ever :) Today we ended our amazing weekend with Lisbet and Caroline so graciously giving us a ride to the airport. On the way there we stopped in an adorable little town to have lunch and visit a very cool Swedish peppermint candy shop, where we could actually watch some of the candy be made. Then, sadly, we had to say goodbye to our new Swedish friends and head to our next adventure in Italy.
For as lengthy as this post has become, it can't even begin to do justice to this weekend. Staying with a Swedish family like we did gave us such a unique and amazing experience that we could have never had as tourists on our own. I'm so thankful to Jenna for setting this up for us, and I am eternally grateful to our fun, kind, and generous hosts. We couldn't have gotten a better first impression of Sweden, and I very much hope to go back someday. If any of my new Swedish friends are reading this, tack sa mycket for giving me such an amazing start to my fall break! :)
This brings me to where I'm at currently, because I probably won't write again until my fall break is over at the end of the week. We are surviving our flight on Ryanair, which has been an interesting experience but not quite as bad as I thought it might be. We're about 30 minutes away from landing in Rome and we're getting a bit restless. It should be quite interesting to see how Jenna, Colleen, and I do in Italy. The first thing I'm going to do in the hotel when I have wifi is google some basic Italian, because we probably should be a little more prepared :) I still can't believe that we're on our way to Italy, as it is somewhere I've always desperately wanted to go, but I never thought I'd make it there so soon. It literally feels like a dream. Well that's all I have for now, thanks for sticking with me through this lengthy post. We're starting to experience some turbulence so it's time to shut my eyes, take some deep breaths, and think some happy thoughts. Wish us world travelers luck for our adventure to Rome, Florence, and Milan! Ciao! :)
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