Once again it is that time of year, the most wonderful or most stressful time of the year (whichever way you look at it), Christmas. This year, I would have to say, was more wonderful then stressful. The only thing I had to prevent myself from doing was seeing something that I knew someone would like and just spending, spending, spending. I had to hold back but I still got a bunch of gifts, even after the holiday! (Sales, duh!)
The past 2 years I have been lucky enough to enjoy the holiday that is Christmas with my best friend's (Sara Pettersson) family in Hestra, Sweden. I appreciated and enjoyed the time I spent with them and how they welcomed me with open arms into their home, traditions and family. However, this year I was headed to Stockholm with Jake to meet up with my parents! I was very lucky to have them coming to Sweden for Christmas this year and I am so proud of my mom for letting go of our normal traditions back home to enable us to be together on that special occasion.
We all arrived in Stockholm on the 20th of December. Jake and I took a train in while my parents flew from London (they were visiting my sister and her husband while on their own vacation). Jake and I arrived at the Hotel Rival (owned by one of the main singers from ABBA!) before my parents, so we were able to check in and take a nap before they arrived. We also decided to pick up some wine, cheese and crackers, grapes and an apple for a little welcome gift for them when they got there (well the wine for my mom of course). Unfortunately they had missed their connection and had to wait for another flight an hour later. Anyone who knows me would understand my reaction when I woke up from my nap a little freaked that they were still not at the hotel an hour after they were supposed to be. So I called them, their room, the front desk but came up with no answer. Jake had calmed me a bit so I decided to give up for the moment when the hotel room phone rang, it was them, thank God! Jake and I went down to their room to greet them with open arms. I was so happy they had finally gotten there. My mom came up to our room to have a drink before venturing out for food while my dad stayed in on a 4 hour long conference call with his company. He works too hard sometimes but he definitely gives himself rewards for the work he puts out, so I am glad he gives himself a break every once in a while.
After having a few glasses of wine, cheese and crackers, Jake, my mom and I decided to leave the comforts of the hotel and try to find a good place to sit down and have dinner on that snowy night. After waltzing up and down one street, we ended up stumbling upon the "Stor Viking" a couple blocks from the hotel. The food was decent and we left all happy and full. Back at the hotel, my parents were quickly asleep I am sure since jetlag was still vastly upon them, while Jake and I had other plans. Earlier that day we bought candles to light for Chanukah, being it was the first night. Jake set up a make-shift menorah on one of the window sils in our room. He then said the prayer in what seemed to me to be perfect hebrew while I read it after in english. After the lighting of the first candle he proceeded to read about the word "Faith", his families tradition. Each night a new word is introduced and is highlighted throughout a short reading. I really enjoyed listening to him read about the 8 different words (Faith, Freedom, Courage, Love, Integrity, Charity, Knowledge and Peace) each night. I wasn't aware of this but you are not supposed to blow the candles out but let them burn through the night. It was nice to wake up every now and then and see a gentle glow coming from the window sil and the stars from the sky behind. However, I will also say that I was a little worried at times that a curtain was going to catch fire while we slept although nothing like that ever happened, we were careful about it.
The next couple days of our trip were speckled with amazing sites and awesome finds. We saw a lot in a little amount of time. However to fully see Stockholm you would need at least two weeks. We were able to roam the streets of Gamla Stan (Old town) almost everyday since we had to walk through there to get back to our hotel. That area was probably one of the top things we did on our trip. The changing of the guards goes on in that area as well since the Palace is located on that island. Now, the changing of the guards is no where near as much of a spectacle as the one in London, but its something to take a glance at. Old Town also hid away a small Christmas market in one of its many squares. Some stands sold candles and candy some sugar coated roasted almonds and hot chocolate. We waltzed through these streets window shopping and peeking into the many art galleries the Old Town was home to. Tourist shops were abundant and surprisingly cheap.
Walking across a bridge you will find yourself in the center or main island of Stockholm. It was the hub of all big shopping malls and boutiques. There was even a street that reminded me somewhat of Rodeo Drive. Might as well been, all the shops were pretty pricey, Gucci, Prada, etc. While we were walking around, there was also another Christmas market and an ice skating rink. The ice skating rink is something Jake, my dad and I decided to tackle one night after dinner. Unfortunately my Dad was disappointed about how he skated claiming he thought he was going to be better at it. I don't blame him for being shaky, the skates we used were stiff, the blades were dull and the ice was packed with people. Another day we settled into plush chairs and people watched at the Grand Hotel along the water, over a glass of wine and coffee. We also checked out the Ice Bar on the main island. The Ice Bar was located in the lobby of a hotel (the name has slipped my mind) near central station. While we were there, they put you in these hooded ponchos and send you into the ice cold freezing bar for 45 minutes. You get a ice glass and a drink that is included in the price. There were also non alcoholic drinks as well for children and people who did not drink of course. My mom, Jake and I decided on a drink called the Wolf Paw. The bar tender said it was a strong drink and my mom responded with "exactly". If we were only able to get one drink in the price of our ticket, better make it a strong one. Smart lady. My dad settled on a cranberry juice concoction that tasted good as well. Being an ice chewer I tried to chew on my glass which was made out of ice but it was to dense. Almost everything was made out of ice. The seating, the walls, the bar and the cups. It was amazing and super cold! My feet were like icicles! When we were about to leave, Jake decided to take off his shirt and bear hug one of the ice sculptures for a picture. So funny!
There is an island that if you continue past the Grand Hotel, called Skeppsholmen. To get to this island you have to cross over a small bridge with a kings crown on the middle point of the bridge, painted gold. I was told by locals and the internet to get my picture taken here, so I did! There wasn't a whole lot to do that day on that particular island since a lot of things were closed. However the modern art museum had some of its exhibitions out on the lawn in front which were interesting but not curious enough to get us inside the building. We walked further down to the old military barracks that were now converted into a 5 star hotel. We went inside for a little bit mostly because my mom and I had to use the bathroom but also because my dad had told us he was considering having us stay there. I am glad we did not stay there, Skeppsholmen was a boring island and the walk into town or to any other restaurant besides its own was a trek. It was cool to walk around on but that was it.
A couple times we took a water taxi 10 minutes to Djurgarden. This island is popular for the oldest theme park in Sweden, the Vasa Museum, Skansen (the oldest open air museum in the world and home to Stockholms only zoo) and the Nordic Museum. As a family we visited the Skansen, my moms favorite site on the trip, and the Nordic Museum. Skansen is the worlds oldest open air museum, highlighting historical swedish living and also entertains a zoo with owls, lynx, birds, monkeys, seals, wolves, horses, moose, etc. Being that it was very cold, some animals were inside for the winter and the bears were in hibernation. My mom loved this part of the trip, even though our feet were like ice cubes, walking around looking at old houses that once housed poor farming families, windmills, pig pens, and stables was great to see. In the summer time the park comes to life with employees dressed in colonial style dress, acting out what their daily lives would have been like in the olden days. The Nordic Museum was also a great way to see how Swedish people lived from colonial times to the present (or close to it). On display was anything from a Doll house from the 1600's to how people celebrated Christmas.
Unfortunately my parents were not able to see the Vasa because it was closed for the holidays. However Jake and I were lucky enough to be able to go the day we left. The ship was so big that pictures online or from my camera do not do it justice. The whole ship was poorly designed and in a hurry which is why it met its demise all to soon. The ship set sail from Stockholm and with in 25 minutes had sank completely. They say that if the hull was built a meter wider it would have been one of the most dominant fighter ships in the world at the time. 300 hundred years later in the 1960's, a Swedish diver discovered the ship and decided to dig it up from the muddy ocean floor and reconstruct the ship for viewing. If any of you ever get the chance to go to Stockholm, the Vasa should be a must see for sure.
We enjoyed Christmas Eve dinner at the hotel. We dressed in our best clothing that we brought on the trip. Jake wore his new suit and I wore my black dress and heels. My parents were very impressed with Jakes attire and said that we both looked very nice. Jake was and still is very proud of his suit. He looks amazing in it.
It was Christmas night and we were looking to have a nice dinner with the 4 of us. We finally landed on a restaurant in Old Town. It was an Italian restaurant with cozy tables, big windows out to the street and candles on each table that looked like the wax drips had been collecting for ages. We made a reservation for 7pm later that night. I don't myself or my parents, or Jake for that matter have ever had Italian food for the holidays. What I think we should have done was to find a Chinese food restaurant and ordered duck from the menu like the scene in the "Christmas Story" movie. Regardless the food was great and the company was even better. Even though Christmas dinner was a tad unorthodox, it didn't matter because we were all there to celebrate Christmas day together.
Speaking of Italian food, I was asking some Swedes of good places to eat in Stockholm and a couple suggested this place called Vapiamo's. After we were walking for what seemed like forever, we finally found it on Gamla Stan (Old Town). What you do is the host gives you a sort of credit card. You take this card around to each station you want food from, you tell them what you want, swipe the card and move on to another station until you have everything you want. There is even a bar that has the same system as the food stations. At the end of your meal you go back up to the hostess and she swipes your card and tells you what you owe, genius! The food ended up being just what we wanted and needed that night. Mission accomplished.
Both my parents, Jake and I had to leave the 26th. My parents left early in the morning but not before saying goodbye to us. In order to keep my mom from tearing up, I mooned them before the elevator doors closed, they both laughed. Don't worry though we were on the 5th floor and it was 5:30am so no one was around. That day they traveled to Amsterdam for a couple days before heading back to the States. After saying goodbye I went back to sleep and we woke up later around 9, had breakfast and then headed to the Vasa museum. After the Vasa, we walked along the boulevard into the shopping area where he bought me my Christmas presents! A pair of cute slippers and new tights (same style as ones I had ripped earlier in the trip, oops!). That day there were so many people it was nuts! Jake said that it was one of the most crowded shopping days of the year because of sales and returns. I believe it, I have just never experienced it before.
Jake and I were back in our respective towns by 5 pm that night. I missed my parents already however I had gotten an email saying that they had made it to Amsterdam and were having a great time, so that made me feel better. I also missed Jake too as corny as it sounds, but spending that much time with him was amazing since we don't get to do that a lot. I am so glad that I got to spend the holidays with my parents and Jake in Stockholm. I really couldn't have asked for a better gift this year then that. It was a wonderful time and I will never forget it.
As some of you may know, I am spending my 4th Christmas here in Sweden. I will be going up to my teammate Maddis' families cabin near a ski resort, the name she keeps telling me but I instantly forget since I can't pronounce it. I believe the name of the resort starts with an S, thats the best I can do right now unfortunately, ha. Of course I would rather be home with my family in warm California but listen to what we are going to do. We will go sledding, snow mobile-ing, building a snow man, cross country skiing, sauna-ing, jacuzzi-ing, going out on the 25th (common for all swedes to party this day) and be in the serene wintery wonderland that is Sweden during Christmas time. Plus Maddis say's that if I enjoy a beer and relaxation time then I would fit right in with her family. Im a shoe in! If I am going to stay in Sweden I would say, this is a pretty awesome way to spend Christmas. Now, I am not saying my two year stint with the Petterssons was not fun at all! I love that family and know they would welcome me into their house any time of the year. Maddis is one of my best friends on the team, so I am sure she and I will have a great time over the holiday break. She has not stopped talking about when we will go out on the 25th, which in turn makes me super pumped. I only hope her family likes me...
If you have never been to a place that snows during Christmas, you are seriously missing out. Christmas time and snow go hand in hand and it puts a whole new meaning on the holiday season. In Sweden, this time of year is a whole other world of beauty. People go the extra mile to show how much Christmas means to them. Let me paint a picture for you. Luckily this year we got snow early which makes everything all the more brighter. Riding my bike to practice at night never ceases to amaze me. Swedish people are very much into advent, lit up paper stars, twinkle lights and lots and lots of candles. You could burn down a small wooden house with how many candles I lit the other night. The thing about Sweden, is most everyone likes the cozy atmosphere during the winter. Its hard to get away from anyhow.
In town (Orebro) at the moment, every corner of every street is lit up and decorated. Starting on the North end of town working south, we have a whole street of trees adorned with white lights, there are about 100-150 trees lining the street. In the square with the castle there is a giant ram made out of pine tree branches (side note: last year it was burned to the ground, horrible smell) and the giant clock balcony has lights on the railings. Moving towards the main square with a big church and statue, is an advent calendar lit up on one of the buildings. Each window shows a different number of the month and then is turned into a picture when that day has come. The trees in this square are lit up with 3D stars and spheres. There are also two Christmas trees with white lights in the branches and the fountain also sports a waterfall of lights. In the last big square, where the malls are located, there are lit up cone shapes on the roof of one building, a giant tree in the other building and white lights in icicle form cascading down the front of one of the malls. On the three streets that make up the center of town, hang pine tree branch garlands with a red bell in the middle and two white stars on the outside which light up at night. On the main shopping street there are lights on all the small trees and also icicle lighting down the middle of the street on the lamp posts. The last street, we like to call the "red ball" street. There are giant red balls that light up down the street. In the trees, hang ornaments and icicle lights. PHEW! ok that is the most of it in town. Just trust me when I say people like to decorate with white lights and ever so cute santa gnomes.
