Althea, Bryan, Andrew, and Sylvia
I’m writing this on Sunday night at (according to our bedside clock) 22:40. We’re back at our hotel after a full day spent at the home of Karin’s aunt…the site of a historic mill, a field of raspberries, and a baby’s first birthday party. Karin’s mom grew up in in Arbotten (this area of homes nestled in the hill overlooking the lake), and her sister’s family now owns and has renovated the family home (decorated with an old-fashioned Swedish aesthetic).
I’m writing this on the morning of Sunday, July 26 because when we got back to the hotel at 2:30am last night I was a little too tired to post. Yesterday was a wonderful, long, incredible day. I took nearly 3,000 photos. When I crawled into bed and closed my eyes, I could see a string of fuzzy images floating before me, and I could hear my camera lens trying to focus on each one. Maybe I’ll take a little break from the picture taking today.
(July 27 update: pictures of Kaleb and Karin getting ready before the wedding are now available!)
I woke up and found myself thinking in slightly broken English, like searching for the right word and thinking, “It is like… How do you say?…” Everyone we’ve met has been so gracious and generous about translating everything into English for us. Throughout the wedding, toasts and announcements were given in either just English or in both languages. Including Kaleb, who seems to be fluent in Swedish, there were only six Americans at the wedding. People here seem so nice and generous and accommodating. Like “Minnesota nice” squared.
Yesterday was such a lovely day. A lovely, looong day. Hard to believe that this is only our third day in Sweden. Feels like a week! It helps that the sun doesn’t set until about 10pm. When we were driving back to town last night at 9:15pm, the sun was just dipping in the sky. Summer means light here in Sweden:)
Last night, I uploaded about 100 pictures of the day (it was hard to edit it down, and I figured I’d include lots for Kaleb’s friends and family who can’t be here). Unfortunately, the internet connection here is slow enough that I’m not able to include pictures in the post, so you’ll have to click here to see my Day 2 gallery. (July 27 update…I’m posting pictures now that I’m back in Stockholm!)
OK, I love all weddings, but I’m particularly enjoying helping with Karin and Kaleb’s wedding. Love, love, love. We’re in Arvika for the evening, and tomorrow is the big wedding day.
Right now it is midnight, and I’ve just finished editing all the pictures for the day. I’m going to upload them to Flickr, and assuming there is time in the morning, I’ll plan on writing a post, so stay tuned.
We managed to stay awake nearly all day yesterday, so when we got back to the hotel after a lovely dinner with Kaleb’s family we crashed hard. I woke up a few times in the night, stunned to find that it was only 12:30 or only 2am, but I fell back to sleep and the alarm woke us at 6:30am. We’re packed, and Bryan is looking at me waiting for me to finish so we can go to downstairs and have breakfast and coffee before catching a train to Arvika on the far western side of Sweden. That’s where the wedding will be held.
I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of Swedish countryside!
Here’s a map. Catch you soon, if there’s internet access there. Otherwise, you’ll hear from me when I’m back in Stockholm on Monday.
I’m writing to you from our bright hotel room in downtown Stockholm. We’ve been in the country for about seven hours, and we’ve explored some really cool parts of the city. Bryan just lay down on the bed, and he immediately lapsed into sleep. Poor guy hasn’t slept in the last 27 hours:) Photos are up in my gallery!
Our flight from Madison to Chicago and from Chicago to Stockholm went really smoothly. I got about half-way through The Time Traveler’s Wife, and I enjoyed getting wine and a couple meals served to us on the plane. Somehow mushy peas and bread-in-a-bag taste cool when they’re served at 35,000 feet.
I had a great time in Texas. A really lovely time. Bryan’s parents are just such nice, wonderful people. I won the lottery when I met Bryan:)
I got a phone call from Andrew and Sylvie today (Sylvia even said “Hah Mama” and “Bye” pronounced “baaa”). Andrew is signed up for a swimming class this week. Sounds like it went well!
I used some of my precious time today to download pictures and put them on Flickr. You’ll see an album of pictures from the last couple weeks and an album of my time in Texas.
I woke up this morning in my own bed to hear the songs of birds coming through my window. I nuzzled down into my pillow for a few moments, pet Spooky (who seemed just delighted to find me at home, awake, and interested in loving him), looked over at my snoozing husband, and then I decided to roll over and go back to sleep.
For some, this may be a normal weekend experience. For me, not so much. The kiddos wake up early. Bryan and I tend to take turns getting up with them so the other can sleep in a bit, but by 7:15am, it’s usually pretty noisy and active in our little home.
So waking up on a still, beautiful morning felt like luxury.
Continue reading “Stillness”
Thanks everyone for sharing via Facebook comments and the comments here on my website so many great recommendations for good summer reads. I’ve compiled your suggestions, and I’ll be set with lots of good books for my trip to Sweden next week.
Without further ado, here they are!
On one of our dates, Bryan and I went to see the movie Up.
I’m so very glad Andrew wasn’t with us. I can firmly state that this movie is not for little kids. At least not my little kids. Maybe eight-years-old would be a good age to start. So, not a little kids movie. But for adults, I thought it was great.
