Zuzu from Trollhattan

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Siw and Bertil made us feel right at home. They had a guest bedroom set up for Laura and I, hot water ready for tea, and a fridge stocked with whatever we could have possibly needed. They showed us around their beautiful home and told us stories about the family and all their travels. Siw and Bertil actually lived in Malaysia for three years so we got to see all the artifacts from their stay there. Having stayed in Africa for a bit as well, they showed us the huge zebra hide they brought back, hanging up in one of their sitting rooms. After our game and a long drive to Trollhattan we were pretty tired, so it didn’t take long to fall asleep. And for the first time on the trip, I slept like a baby!

We were up early for our big day in Trollhattan. Dennis and the girls picked us up from Siw and Bertil’s for a nice breakfast back at their home. After that, we were more than ready to go hit the town. We started in downtown Trollhattan but were soon to realize that not many of the shops were open because it was Sunday. We did manage to sneak in a picture, but I would have liked to look around more because the town is very cute. So, I’ll just have to come back! We then headed out to the nearby shopping center, which is much like the malls at home, and the girls showed us all the good shops. We actually ran into a “Café Z,” making Sweden the second country in which something like that has shown up (on a trip to Connecticut last fall Laura took a picture of me in front of “The Zuzu Café”). The girls also helped us grocery shop for all the best Swedish goodies to bring back home.

After we were all shopped-out, we headed back to town so Dennis could show us the local Trollhattan sights. Besides being blessed with a BEAUTIFUL sunny day, what we saw this morning was breathtaking. Dennis took us to a bridge built high above the river that runs through town and we were able to take in the wonderful scenic views. Usually there are waterfalls leading to the river, but today the dam was closed. However, we did get to see the riverbank and it was beautiful! We also climbed down to see the King’s Cave, which juts out of a cliff by the river. All of the royalty here have signed the cave during their reigns (dating back to the late 18th century) so it was neat to see that bit of Swedish history. Next we drove a little further to the man-made canal in Trollhattan on which a series of 3 locks were built to allow boats to travel down the river. I’ve never seen locks in person, but I’ll tell you that they are amazing! And to have the gorgeous hills and landscape in the background doesn’t hurt either. Dennis has been here hundreds of times, but I can see why he never gets tired of coming back. A big thank you goes out to him for being such a wonderful tour guide!

It was Siw and Bertil’s then for lunch, and what a lunch it was! Besides being an amazing cook, Siw is the best hostess; always making sure we have just what we need and more. Bertil is the same way, like any wonderful farfar (grandpa) is! I don’t know if there is a name for what we ate for lunch, but I would call it “purely delicious” (salad, bread, rice and meat, vegetables and a special Easter soda, followed by pears and ice cream). Before today I would have said that our homemade meatball dinners topped the list, but I take a gracious second place to Siw’s homecooking!

After lunch we came back to Dennis’ house to play board games with the girls and finish up our blogs. More to come about our time in Trollhattan, a place where everyone should come visit!

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