Bronstein

Of course there's no verb form of fjord, but I'm gonna go with it anyway. Last weekend, I got fjorded. I'll define that as being exposed to a heavy dose of fjord. For those of you who have never seen a fjord in person, there is something especially captivating about fjords. Besides being a fun word to say, fjords, at least in my opinion, are one of the most brilliant landscapes mother nature has created in this world. Once it was decided that I would be back in Sweden for the summer, I told Adina that I intended to visit the fjords. Well, when she relayed this message to her parents, her father, Anders, planned a road trip on my behalf. Anders, Petter (Adina's brother), and I would spend one night in Oslo on our way ... read more

Having arrived in Sweden for some of the longest days of the year, it has barely gotten dark during the nights of the past two weeks. The sun dips below the horizon a little bit after 10 PM and has been rising around 4:15 AM or so. On the clear nights, the sky retains a dusk-like glow straight through until dawn. The summer is short and sweet here on the 56th parallel north. I'm sure those with the same northerly point of view in Russia, Canada and Alaska would say the same. For perspective, the 56th parallel south resides between South America and Antarctica, and intersects no land on its path around the globe. So when you're in a place this far north, and yet, you're actually in the southern part of that country, it's no ... read more

The same causal chain of events that sent me to Estonia, also led Adina and I to the French Riviera. After our long since planned road trip from Sweden to Italy was postponed indefinitely, Adina and I immediately began making alternative travel plans for the week she was already scheduled to be off from work. Only a few days before we actually set off for France, we impulsively, and with no foreknowledge of the area, bought flights from nearby Gothenburg to Marseille. It was only after we had already purchased our flights and looked at a map of the area that we determined we would head immediately to the Riviera region. After landing in Marseille, a predominantly industrial city on the Mediterranean coast and France's second largest city after Paris, we managed our way to the ... read more

No... not Stockholm Syndrome in the hostage psychology context, nor with reference to the Daily Show segments (which I recommend you watch - url=http://www.google.com/search?q=daily+show+stockholm+syndrome&hl=en&prmd=v&source=univ&tbs=vid:1&tbo=u&ei=WYx6TMyzCs6HOP3GkcUG&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CDAQqwQwBA Stockholm Syndrome ). I mean the title simply in that Stockholm infects you with its beauty. I have spent one week of my time in Sweden in Stockholm and I can confidently say that its the most beautiful foreign city I have ever been to (at least when the weather is as beautiful as it has been during my time here). On my way to Stockholm, I drove with Adina's father who commutes to Stockholm from Halmstad for work. The trip from Halmstad to Stockholm cuts straight across the country from west coast to east coast, which provided me with the opportuni... read more

For those of you unaware, I am currently in Sweden visiting my girlfriend Adina's home for the very first time. Over the next six weeks I will explore some nearby European areas, based from Adina's hometown city of Halmstad on the west coast of Sweden. It has been one week now since the 30 hour trip across 12 time zones and landing in Copenhagen. I've had the worst jet lag experience of my life (three days of unbearable tiredness during the day combined with frustrating sleepless nights), and I am finally settled in Halmstad, with my bearings to the city center and nearby beaches. Adina's home is in a suburb of Halmstad called Gullbrandstorp (aproximately 15 minutes drive from the city center). The neighborhoods feel not-so-surprisingly European with narrow roads and roundabouts, and every home on ... read more