Sweden

Marie, Sarah and I in Goteborg

Sarah and I in Stromstad

Karl, Sarah, Saga and I in front of the Goteborg Opera House

Going to Sweden this past weekend was probably one of the best experiences of my life.  Sarah and I left our apartment in Rome at 4 am, and with a brief layover in Amsterdam, we arrived in Goteborg, Sweden by noon.  We were greeted at the airport (after going through absolutely NO security- we didn't even get our passports stamped!) by Sarah's long lost "big sister" Marie.  Long story short, Marie lived with Sarah in New Providence for a year (about 15 years ago) while she studied abroad in America.  Now Marie and her boyfriend Karl live in Gotenborg and have a beautiful baby girl Saga, who is pictured below.  The entire family was so welcoming to us, and it was great to learn all about the history and culture of Sweden through them.  Such an amazing country, it really is indescribable!

Pictured above is the Gotheborg Opera House.  It is an amazing building (right on the water) which was built in 1996.  One thing I did not know about Sweden was how fabulous the food was.  Marie and Karl took Sarah and I to lunch at the Opera House on Friday afternoon, and Sarah and I were shocked by the delicious meals we had.  I had the special of the day, which was some sort of meat and gravy, with berries and potatoes.  It was so nice to finally have some comfort food!  

Sarah and I were exhausted, but we explored the city for a few hours, and went back to Marie and Karl's apartment for dinner.  Karl is a big hockey fan, so we watched the USA hockey game vs Finland (Go USA!).  Marie and Karl made a delicious meal- salmon, home made bread, potatoes, and veggies.  They were so generous and bought us drinks, candy, etc.  For dessert we tried an ice cream with a Swedish sweet jelly type topping which was equally as amazing as the dinner.  Exhausted after being up for about 20 hours, Karl took Sarah and I back to the apartment we were sleeping in, and we passed out. Pictured below is the room we stayed in. 

The following morning we woke up bright and early and took a bus with Marie to Stromstad, the city where Sarah's great grandmother Olga grew up.  We met Tore (Sarah's second cousin) who drove us around Salt Island and the city of Stromstad, showing us where Olga grew up, and providing us with alot of family history!  We even got to meet his yorkie, Pia.  Tore took us back to his house and we ate lunch there.  We had shrimp that still had the eyes and Sarah and I had no idea how to eat them!  Again we were impressed by Swedish food (and the ammount they can drink!) and we did not want to leave Stromstad!  

Typical Swedish Red houses. 

Stromstad

New Spa in Stromstad

Tore's Apartment 

We headed back to Goteborg (2 hour bus ride) and that night Karl, Marie, Saga, Sarah and I went to Malin and Petter's apartment for dinner.  It was so nice to spend more time with another Swedish family, and we found that Malin and Petter were equally and generous and Marie and Karl.  Malin and Petter have a baby boy the same age as Saga, so it was adorable to see them play together.  For dinner we had several types of wines, beet roots, cheeses, potatoes, and mushroom burgers for dinner, and desert was a berry topped cream cheese.  The Swedish really know how to cook!

Sunday Sarah and I slept in, and Marie and Karl took us to a high point in Goteborg to take pictures and see the church where Saga was baptized.  Afterwards Sarah and I explored the town for a little while more, and then had to head back to make it to the airport on time. 

It was so sad to say goodbye Sunday afternoon and head back to Rome.  My experience in Sweden was absolutely perfect.  I learned so much about the Swedish people and country, and loved every minute of it.  Marie and Karl were so generous and kind to Sarah and I, taking care of everything for us and really treating us as a part of their family.  I loved so much getting to know them, and I know that it meant alot to Sarah and her family as well.  It was amazing to see the architecture in Sweden-  it seems like everyone is a designer there!  The result is a very "designed" country, one which I hope I make it back to sometime.