Jolly old England

Last week we got to revisit the UK.  We had so been looking forward to this trip.  One of the things we miss the most about the states is Friday night.  We always spent Friday night out with our friends.  Although we wouldn't be able to hang out with our besties, we could at least afford to eat out!

We started in Oxford.  There is a spallation source nearby, and I had work on Monday and Tuesday.  It allowed Chris time to wander around the quaint little town.  Our B&B was about a one minute walk from the Thames River and about a 15 minute walk from the city center.

The Thames River

The Oxford Castle

Chris toured the Oxford Castle on his first day there.  It was at some point turned into a prison, and it was extremely brutal.  Pre-America Europe was quite different from the Europe it has become today.  In those days they didn't take care of their people at all and stealing a dead animal to feed a starving child was punishable by 7 years of hard labor, no matter the age of the offender.

A view of the city

Beaches and Rotten Fish

When I visited the north of Sweden this summer I experienced two very Swedish things, a skärgård and Surströmming. The first is a cluster of islands, an archipelago. Sundsvall has a skärgård located off it's coast and we visited one of the islands in the morning and had a picnic. The weather was perfect so we spent most of the day just hanging out and relaxing. The water was a bit too cold for Magnus and me but the kids took advantage of the opportunity to do some swimming.

After we packed up the boat, we cruised around the skärgård and I took some pictures. I don't know if it was the cold water or the swimming, but the kids took a minute to fit in a nap.

After spending the day on the water, what could be better than a fish dinner? How about a fish dinner that consists of rotten fish!! That's right I said rotten fish, Surströmming. If you are unfamiliar with this particular Scandinavian delicacy then take a minute to pause from this post and google some youtube videos of people (Americans) attempting to eat it or even just get near an open can. Definitely worth a look so that you understand the magnitude of what you are about to read and yes watch.

When I got the invite to visit Sundsvall this summer one of the first things I asked Magnus was if we would be able to get our hands on a can of Surströmming. He then told me that his parents loved to eat it, and he was sure it wouldn't be a problem at all. So, sure enough, it was all set up for me to experience a proper meal of Surströmming. Lucky me, this particular day was actually a very important day for Surströmmors, this was the day that the new batch for the year was released on store shelves. The town has a big picnic on the North mountain and they all eat Surströmming together. Everyone decided that this would most likely be a little too overwhelming for my first experience, so maybe next year.

Here are a few pictures of the evening. Swedish Schnaaps, the table setup, and the Surströmming itself.

The videos speak for themselves. I was really excited to get an opportunity to try Surströmming and I was in good hands throughout the whole experience. I loved how they kept coaching me the whole time. "Take beer. Now take schnapps! More beer! Bread! Take more beer! See it's delicious!!" Well I don't know if I agree with the delicious part, but it was definitely something. Luckily there was a backup/safety plan for dinner, hamburgers!

I had so much fun on my trip to the North this summer. It really has changed my daily habits and outlook on things here in Sweden. I can't wait to see and experience even more of this beautiful country!!!

Here is a picture of Magnus, Ebbe, and Viola. Thanks again guys, I will always remember my week with you all in the North!

Skrylle revisited

Before we went to England, which I hope to get posted soon, we went on the same walk with Pascale and Steve and the kids back to Skryllegården. I think you'll notice the change in weather.

The bus was pretty empty that morning, so we let Charlie ride in comfort.

The kids were ready to go.

There were some cool mushrooms and forest stuff along the way.

We had a great walk. It was cold and overcast, but we didn't get rained on, so that was a win. When we got there we had some lunch in the cafe and headed back.

Pascale took the kids winter weather shopping. This was a hat they picked out. Woohoo! Way to go boys. Oh yeah, and she doesn't love when Steve wears it.

All in all we were gone about 6 hours and had a great day!