Blogs from Linköping, Östergötland County, Sweden, Europe

So last night I got a call from my "friend mom" asking if I'd like to go long skating with her and her partner. I have to admit I questioned this considering the weather has been so warm around here lately...but i went with it because I thought if nothing else it would be an amazing experience. For those who don't know, long skating is quite different than normal skating. You have boots that sometimes have a square toe, and you strap the blades on to that and kind of just tie them around. It requires a fair amount of equipment to get out there on the lake. My friend family go out quite a bit so they happened to have everything. I had a backpack with extra warm clothing that had to be strapped across ... read more

Well hello again! This is a whole new thing for me- 2 posts in 2 days!! I just wanted to update with a few pictures of what I woke up to this morning. Sweden is funny in the sense that last night when I went to bed there was absolutely no indication that when I woke up I should be pulling out the Christmas decorations and roasting chestnuts on an open fire. It's a frigan winter wonderland over here! The weather is not so cold (which is probably what makes it such prime conditions for so much snow!) as it is just 1 degree here and will apparently be a high of 3 the rest of the week. The catch is, it is supposed to snow from now right through to Thursday! Oh boy! Someone is ... read more

So this post will be a bit of a different one from the norm. I haven't done much poetry writing since I've been here but for some reason walking to school the other day I looked around and truly came to appreciate how gorgeous it is here in the fall. Next thing I know- POOF- I was writing again. I don't normally share my poems with anyone but since this one was written here about the things I see around me, experiences I'm having and how they make me feel, I thought I would post it as part of the catalogue of my journey. Summer's Passing, Winter's Glory Gold and crimson silk Patchworks of quilted time. Laces of silvery threaded frost, Tempestuous winter's crime. Muddied waters of frozen moonbeams, Heaven's skyward glare. Innocent yearning for tepid ... read more

Hej Hej!! So glad the server is finally up and working because I've been dying to talk about the excursion I went on! I went as part of a class I'm taking about Swedish history and culture. It was fantastic! We left at 9am and stopped first at Rök where we gathered around an ancient rune stone. It is the oldest known runic inscription in stone. Pretty cool. The inscription is pre-Christian and about 760 characters. Our teacher can read the old Viking language and translated the words for us. Rune stones are built in memory of those who died and this 4 ton solid granite masterpiece is no exception. Just amazing! Next we toured the countryside and our teachers pointed out important landmarks along the way but our final destination were the ruins of Alvastra ... read more

Helloo all So today was quite the exciting day! I was all worried because I didnt think my I was giving my address out correctly but I received a package from home!! It's so weird, I've only been here like 2 weeks but getting mail or packages from Canada is SO exciting! I've been sick lately too so the comforts of home are definitely welcome. This cold is kicking my butt!! Funny story: I went to the pharmacy downtown today to get something to help me breathe so I can sleep at night and the pharmacist laughed at me and told me I sounded funny. I do have this weird honking sort of thing going on that is kind of unnattractive. I believe she compared me to the sound of a pig because I'm so congested. ... read more