Train Week!!

This week is suppose to be dedicated to trains (and specifically the train weekend we just took), ironically the train into work yesterday was over an hour late, so I am running late with everything. Anyway, today is a simple one, this is the postcard that we bought on our train weekend and sent to Grandpa and Grandma. It is actually one of my favorite postcards I have seen in a while.

The Lidingöloppet

Stage one of the Swedish Classic is over for me… again. It should have been stage three, but it did not happen as planned (just in case, the Swedish Classic is 4 sporting events that a participant has to complete within a calendar year. They include skiing, biking, swimming and running). This time around I started with the one that I was the most worried about- the Lidingöloppet. It is “only” a 30km trail run, though it is known as the toughest footrace in Europe. To me, the idea of running for 30km sounds miserable, though it is something that had to be done and now that it is over, I hope to never do it again.


It started easy enough. My start time was at 1:30 (I was under the impression that it was at 1:00), so I got there way too early. After waiting around for several hours, I ended up seeing a couple of people I knew. We turned in our bags and then walked to the start line a couple of kilometers away. Before the race, I had done a fair amount of training. I had run two times per week on average, at least one of them around 15km, though nothing ever more then 15km. To be honest, it felt as though I was ready. My body was feeling good, I felt pretty sure about myself, but I still was a little nervous about the race. The idea of running 30km is scary, or at least it should be a scary thought and for sure a scary thought to me.

One big difference between the Lidingöloppet and other races is that the start time is determined by when you registered for the race, not how fast you think that you will run it. That means that even though we were one of the last groups to start, the potential winner of the race may start right next to me (or the person who would be the slowest of the race might be there as well). So when the race started, I hung back a little. I knew that I did not want to run with the fast guys, so I stayed in the middle of the pack. Boy am I glad that I did. After about ½ a km, the trail broke off to the right and to the left. Of course by this time, the fast people were up front. Right as I was reached the Y in the trail, several people behind me started to scream. Everyone had turned left, when we should have turned right. I quickly turned around and was back on the right trail, but every person who hurried to the front of the pack, were now in the very back and had to run an additional kilometer. I laughed so hard, that I am sure that I my energy level dropped. I went from the middle of the pack to one of the front ten people.

The first couple of kilometers were tough, though the first couple of kilometers of running are always tough. At the end of first 10km (59min 52sec), I was feeling good. The pace was good, slow enough that I thought that perhaps I would be able to keep up with it. After the first 10km, the track started to get smaller and smaller. At some points during the race, the track was barely large enough for two people to walk next to each other, let alone 30,000 people run together. At 15km, the trail was more up and down and pretty narrow. Even with that though, I had managed to maintain the same pace (1hr30min26sec) and was feeling pretty good.

That all stopped at kilometer 17, my knee locked up on me. I pulled over to the side for a minute to stretch it out and it helped instantaneously, but it was not long before it locked up again. Both knees were sore by the time I reached 20.2km (2hr14min06sec). I rested for a couple of minutes to take some additional water and snacks, but most importantly to stretch out both knees. I did not want to stay too long, because I knew it would be tough to get back going if I waited. So I pushed forward, still running some, but walking a whole lot more. The sad part is that my body felt good. I really did not feel tired, it was just that my knees had given up on me. The hardest part of the race began after 25km mark (2hr52min21sec). The biggest hill was after that point, and everyone walked up it (I wanted to crawl). It was grueling, to put it lightly. From that point until the final 500 meters, I pretty much just speed walked. Walking, I would pass people that were running. Then on the downhill, if my knees would allow for it, I would run as best as I could.

When the final 500meters were posted, I started to run as fast as I could. This is a difficult thing for me. My nature is to take it slow towards the end, needing additional motivation to continue running. My motivation was simple, I wanted to look good. I finished with 3 hours, 36 minutes and 27 seconds. I am happy with the final time, though I am not overly impressed. People who run the entire way, or almost the entire way, are more impressive to me. Even if they have a slower time then what I had.

At the end of the Vätternrundan (bike), they were asking people if they thought that they would ever do it again. The overwhelming response was no. I knew at the end of that race that I wanted to come back and do it again. I am not so sure about the Lidingöloppet though. I like the idea that I am finished with it, but I do not think that I will ever do it again. I would consider running another long race, like a marathon, but never the Lidingöloppet. Maybe it should be the Athens Marathon or the New York Marathon. First I have to get ready for the Vasaloppet (skiing)- only 138 days remaining.

A Finnish Sauna

Every once in a while a traveler gets the opportunity to take advantage of a truly unique cultural experience. One of my best friends married a Finnish girl this weekend and we went over for the wedding. It was a beautiful service, with the two of them over looking a lake while reciting their wedding vows. After the dinner, this was itself a cultural experience, those who wanted to could partake in a Finnish sauna. I have taken plenty of saunas in Sweden and in other countries, but Finland is unique.

First of all, it is hot, real hot. It was well over 100 degrees. So when you walk in the door, it hits you like a brick wall. It is of course a wet sauna, meaning you can pour water on the element to create steam/heat. Which means it gets even hotter. The thing about a Finnish sauna though, is that you are not suppose to sit in the sauna just because. You sit in the sauna for a short period of time, say 5 to 10 minutes. Then you get out and hop in a lake.

The unique part happens when you get back in the sauna. Sitting in a bucket of water will be some green birch branches. Basically, after setting the wet branches on the coal for a few moments, you beat the living crap out of yourself or the person next to you with the branches. It, surprisingly, feels really nice. It opens up your pores…supposedly. It relaxed me at least. In the end, the sauna takes about 1.5 to 2 hours to complete. It was brilliant, a must if you find yourself in Finland. It should not be too hard to find a place with a sauna. Finland has 5.3 million residents and almost equal number of saunas. They even have public saunas. Though if you go to one of these, be careful. It is like the local bar, people have there seats that they always sit in.

Cadbury Chocolate Factory

We have been trying to find things to do while we are in England. It is easier said then done really, since our kids are so young. So when M found the factory tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory, we decided that it was a “must”. In my mind, it was going to be a cross between Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and the Coke Museum in Atlanta, Georgia. My fear was that it was going to be closer to something like the tour of a box factory (Simpson’s episode). In the end, it was closer to the first two, just without the Oompa Loompas. I guess they did something close to Oompa Loompas.

When we found it, it felt a little overpriced. If it ended up being good, then it wouldn’t be. If it was excellent, then it was a value for the price. When you pull up to the factory, you are not really sure if it will be good. We walk in (actually we ran in, since it was starting to rain) and got the tickets. The tour is in two parts. The first part is the actual tour of the factory and a little history of chocolate/Cadbury. It was alright. The kids were not interested in it at all, other then the snacks that they gave to eat on the way. It was not until the Disney like ride through Chocolate Land happened that the kids were interested in the tour part. Here you got to follow like drops of chocolate on the way to the Cadbury Factory. N thought that it was great (here is where the kind of like Oompa Loompas happened). I actually liked the factory tour. It always amazes me how much gets produced and how it is produced. I loved watching the video on the Cadbury Egg production.

The second part started with a stupid video about how they came up with the idea of putting 1.5 glasses of fresh milk in each candy bar. I guess it was cute, but a little much maybe. After the show, you got to produce your very own candy treat- milk chocolate on top of your choice of treat. I picked popcorn, N had wine gums and M had cereal. Z loved it. She was covered in chocolate before it was over. Everyone was taking pictures of her. It was all over her.

The girls liked it, but I think that the highlight for them was a combo of the snacks around the factory and the playground with swings, probably more the other one. They were happy though, and we thought that it was excellent. They did have an elevator, just not a glass one.

On the Road Again

For over six weeks, we were on the road through 7 countrys, 5 ferry rides and unknown number of miles in our little Fiat Punto. All four of us and all of our gear fit in the car without too much problem. The Punto is a surprisingly roomy car for its size.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

So we have been on the road for two weeks thus far, and everything has been good...so far. Travel to Kandersteg Switzerland was long. We got there though. N loved it. She thought that Switzerland was the greatest place on Earth. I can not argue with her too much. For her it was all the cows with bells, dogs and trains every five minutes. We see trains all the time, but something here just triggered her excitement with them. Z is a home person. She was miserable the entire time. In fact, she got sick. One night she had a fever of 104.

The highlights for us were the hiking (not nearly as adventurous as usual) and the cheese fondue. Doris, a friend from when we lived in Kandersteg, owns the Hotel Crystal. She made us the best cheese fondue that I think that we have ever had (and I ate one every week for almost 2 years). It was fabulous!

The Finish island Åland

After spending three weeks in Texas with my family, it was time to spend a little time with M's family as well. It has almost become a tradition that they rent a house for a week and then we and M's brother comes for the week. Normally it is somewhere in Sweden, but this year they hired this amazing house on Åland. The house was the best that they have ever hired. It was right on the beach and it was big and clean. Not always a feature on rented summer houses. Other then the cost (1,100 euros per week), I would totally think about going there again.

To get to Åland, you have to take the boat. Well, I guess you could fly as well, but the boat is pretty easy. The trip is fast and it has tax free on board, so you can stock up on your "needed" goods as well. Once there, it is short distances between everything and easy to navigate.

A little history of Åland. It belongs to Finland, but it speaks Swedish rather then Finish. It also has it's own postage stamps, post system, airlines and license plates. It is basically its own little country, but not really. Helena Drysdale takes about it in her book "Mother Tongues: Travels through Tribal Europe". For those who know Sweden decently well, it is like Gotland or Öland, just without the large crowds.

The highlight of the week was the wine tasting. Åland is also home to Finland's only winery. They offer tours and tastings. The wine itself is OK. It is not something that I would run out and stock up on it because I love it so much. Though it was decent. It is the atmosphere of the place that is the highlight. I missed most of the tour (Swedish Only) because of Nova, but I did make the tasting. We tried four different types (you can see pictures on www.DnMAdverntures.com if you would like to get a better idea).

Probably the most traditional known things in Finland, is the Sauna and it is not too different on Åland. The place we stayed had a nice one right on the water. We did not beat ourselves with birch branches, but we did hope into the "freezing" Baltic. When I first moved to Sweden, I was not too crazy about saunas, but now I really dig them. If we ever have a summer house, we will have a sauna.

In regards to food, we did not really eat out. Everyone shares with the cooking throughout the week. The one thing that we did get though was Åland Pancakes. I thought that they were good, especially with raspberry jelly and whipped cream (you can get a recipe for it on www.DnMAdventures.com). Though the last night M and her father got sick. Then her brother and his fiancee and finally Nova. Important to note is that I never got sick!

OK, so that catches me up on our travels. Now that I am caught up, I will be doing better...I hope!

St. Louis Cardinals

Ever since I was little, St. Louis has been my favorite team. I am sure part of it was that it was my father's favorite team (OK, all of it). My favorite player, Ozzie Smith. So Dad and I try to catch a St. Louis game when we can. Last year we took a trip to Houston to see them, this year we went to St. Louis.

In my great wisdom, we left early in the morning on Saturday. Part of me argued that it would be pointless to leave Friday night since Dad would have to work and that we would be tired. The reality of it was that I was not overly interested in leaving the girls for two nights. The drive was miserable, but we managed OK. We got to St. Louis about 3 pm and headed over to the Bud Brewery for a tour. We didn't get in, way too many people. So then we headed to the Ballpark.

Now, we got there three hours ahead of schedule. This never happens when you go to a game with my father. He is the one who shows up late and leaves early. We were no the the only one early, about 20,000 people were there. I am not kidding. It was the special, you could meet the players and everyone was there. It was amazing. The thing about St. Louis is, it is a baseball town. I bet that 80% of the people there (male, female, child or adult) were wearing some sort of St. Louis clothing. It was totally incredible. The game was 100% full. Several factors were probably involved in that- weekend of the 4th of July, Saturday night and they were playing Bond's Giants; but it was still full.

The Giants took a good lead over the Cardinals and managed to keep the lead through out the game. Had we been at a Texas Rangers game, it would have been empty by the top of the 7th (in reality it would have been empty from the start almost). No one left the game until it was over. The place was still full when the game was done. I went to the first playoff game that the Texas Rangers were ever in. The "fans" had left by the top of the 8th. It was sad. When we left, we were the last people there.

I have to make a comment about the Ballpark. Places like that, and the Ballpark in Arlington, is the way baseball should be played. The place is beautiful. Even a non-baseball fan (if such a thing is possible) would appreciate the beauty of the place. Plus with all the statues of former St. Louis greats, it caught the history of it as well.

If you want to see some pictures of it, go to http://www.dnmadventures.com/.

Texas in July

Part of me feels like I should be skipping this entry all together. The Texas Trip was the end of June and the first three weeks of July. Though it feels like such a waste not to write about all of the adventures. So instead of about 15 different posts, it is going to be one big one to make me feel good about it.

We took US Airways, the first time for that. I think that it is kind of nice that a museum is still flying. They have to have some of the oldest air crafts in the sky today. It was fine though. The girls did good and the staff were very friendly. Our plane landed 2.5 hours late, so we were told that we missed our flight. In the end, our 2nd flight was late and we ended up getting it. Only thing was that our bags did not get there. We did not think that they would, since the girl at the American Airlines counter had to run us through security.

That is OK though, right. The bags should be sent on the next flight. Well, we went to Texas for three and a half weeks, we never got our bags. Imagine traveling with two girls under the age of two with no clothes what so ever. A big shopping trip and lot of new clothes. Which will be good, as long as the bags come. The first one did, the week after we got back to Sweden. The second did about two weeks ago. After 90 days of the bags being missing, we still have not gotten our last one. The last time I talked to American, the lady was rude and just a real witch. So, we will wait some more.

The first weekend we were there, we went to San Antonio. Been there so many times. Once, the water was drained out of the river walk (to my surprise). This time, it was full. In fact, super full. Texas got more rain this summer, then they got all of last year. We really went down there for Sea World. The plan was that we go on the first day, but my cousin lost her keys. The next day we went and N loved it. She was not that impressed with Shamu, but the coral reef was great. I decided that I wanted to show that I was young and road on the Great White roller coaster. I felt like crap the rest of the day. It sucks getting old! Right as we were leaving, it started to our down. We just made it to the car when it happened and it continued for several hours.

Speaking about the rain, we decided that we would go to Texas in July since the weather is usually nice in July. It is hot, but that is what air conditioning is for. It rained almost every single day we were there. It was crazy. I have never seen anything like it!

We did eat good while we were there. N's favorite was mac and cheese and hot dogs. I think that she would have been happy to have that for ever meal (instead we had it for almost every lunch). Her cousins thought that it was great, the first couple of days, then they grew tired of it. Here is a couple of places that I would recommend if you are in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area:

1. Loco Coyote- it is located in Glen Rose and the food is amazing. The place itself is a dump, but the food is great (a picture of it is on www.DnMAdventures.com).
2. Lone Star- Also in Glen Rose but in the town itself. Good BBQ and a nice "feel" to it
3. Hamburger Bar- Cleburne Texas, I wrote a blog about it a while ago. It was not as good as usually. In fact, I was very disappointed. With that being said, it is still worth it just to see the place (a picture of it is on www.DnMAdventures.com) .
4. Movie Tavern- Great idea, tavern food while you watch a movie. The food is fine, but it does not matter. The room is dark and you can't see it anyway. IT is a small chain all over the States.

The Fort Worth Museum of Science was having a exhibit on Star Wars and how it works. It was excellent. OK, I am a little biased, since I do believe that Star Wars is the greatest movie ever made. With that being said, I also think that it was done in such a way, that someone that does not care for Star Wars (M for example) could appreciate it. Well worth a visit, where ever it is now.

We also went to a Texas Rangers game. It was the first one for N and Z. N thought that it was great. Lots of music to dance to, fireworks, clapping and the best part was...ICE CREAM! I was just happy to get to go to a game. That is one of the worst parts of being in Sweden- no baseball!

The trip was good and we had a lot of fun. It felt like we were messing with trying to get our bags back half of the time and the weather was crap the other half. We had several things that we wanted to do, but just was not able to. Maybe next time we will.

If you want to see some pictures from the trip, go to www.DnMAdventures.com.

Swedish National Day

Yesterday, the 6th of June, was Swedish National Day (and N’s 1.5 yr birthday). After living in the country for almost 7 years, this is the first year that we celebrated it. The thing is, last year I became a Swedish citizen. That means that I have a Swedish and an American passport, makes me feel like I am James Bond traveling with two passports. I was suppose to be out of town, but because of unforeseen circumstances, I did not get to extend my trip. So I was actually in Sweden.

Every year on the Swedish National Day (which only became an official holiday last year) the local governments have a special ceremony for the new citizens from the previous year. When I thought that I was going to miss it, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed.

I drug the entire family with me to the ceremony. It was a beautiful day, so we walked into town. Before the ceremony started, so had a picnic lunch in the park (which is full of Linnè stuff). The ceremony itself was located in the Uppsala castle in one of the ball rooms. Even through I have lived in Uppsala for 7 years, I have never been in the castle before. They gave some Swedish food and a little cider. Then the actual ceremony began. Three speeches were given, but I missed them. It is not the easiest thing in the world to listen to speeches when you have a 2 month and an 18 month old. N loved the traditional folk dancing and the choir.

The part that I thought was the most interesting was the number of people there that were truly proud of the fact that they were now Swedish. It was one of those experiences that made me happy at the end of it. M disagreed with me, but I think that I have never seen so many people happy about being Swedish at the same spot before. They were obviously proud of the fact that they are Swedish. From my experience, most Swedes will hide the fact that they are proud of their heritage.

We skipped the parade into the park. It was past N’s nap time, so we needed to go home. In the evening we went out to the lake and grilled. We all took our first swim of the year in Sweden. Overall it was a very nice day.

Last of April in Uppsala Sweden

The last of April, otherwise called Valborg, is a holiday which is celebrated in Sweden. The holiday (though most people do not actually get it off), is basically a “coming of spring” celebration. Most of Sweden has to work during the day, but not in Uppsala. If you find yourself in Sweden for the last of April, the only place to be is in Uppsala. It is a full day of activities.

There is a strict set of guidelines that one has to follow in order to do everything in the traditional set (though in reality, it does not matter at all). You start the day off with rice porridge, strawberries and champagne. The funny part about this is that most students never make it to class first thing in the morning or never actually get up before 10, except for today. Breakfast has to completed by 8:30, because at 8:30 you head to the centre of town for the boat races.

The boat race is a little special. The tradition goes back 20 some odd years when a couple of engineering students were out drinking (as students do) and decided that they were going to build a boat to float down the Fyris river which goes down the centre of town. Every year since then, students have built boats out of Styrofoam. The night before the big “race”, everyone builds their boat in the soccer field of a local high school. At 9 the next morning the race begins. The boat are usually creative. I have seen everything from a huge longhorn cow, the Millennium Falcon or a bowl of spaghetti from the Italian exchange students. It is not so much a race, but more of float down the river and through the rapids. Most of the boats are destroyed going down the rapids, which is part of the fun.

After the race, everyone either heads to the local System Bolaget (the only place in Sweden to buy alcohol) or home for a little rest. At noon it is time for lunch. The traditional lunch of cooked potatoes and flavored sill is on the menu. The best place to have it is around the castle (only problem with this is that there is no toilets, 10,000 drinking students…). The food is important, but the most important part is the snaps and beer/cider.

At 3, all students gather below the library, located by the castle. The president of the University walks onto the balcony and makes a speech. No one can hear what he says, and in reality it does not matter. He then takes off his hat, which all students have, and waves it. Followed by all 10,000 students take off their caps and do the same. Then all at once everyone starts to run to one of the nations (student clubs) for Champagne.

Up to this point, it is pretty standardized. All students will be doing this with very little variation. In the evening, the activities will vary. Most people will do one of four activities. Every nation has a ball with a nice meal and lots of drinking, though you have to buy your tickets in advance for it. Another option would be to have/go to a personal party with lots of drinking. The final two are for the more boring type of people. At 7, the best choir in Uppsala, who is having their party in the castle, will come out and sing traditional spring songs. This is a nice option, even if you go to a party. The final event for the day is traditional for all of Sweden, they have a bonfire. The biggest is out by Old Uppsala. Of course, usually more drinking is involved for this as well, but you could also bring the family.

So if you find yourself in Sweden in the end of April, you need to try it out!