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Published: June 17th 2009
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Kayak King
David's visit... If the sun shone in Sweden year 'round, I would never have gotten lonely. I don't blame people who don't want to visit during the dark winter days, if given the chance, I would have packed my bags and been out of here during that time. Neal not only survived a winter vacation to Sweden, he really seemed to enjoy himself...but Neal's not your average traveler. In the past six weeks, we've had four "day" guests, eight "longer term" guests and more fun than we thought possible. As if having guests wasn't good enough, six weeks passed in the proverbial 'blink of an eye' and we're going to be home in two short weeks!
You've already seen the blogs on Janet & Joan's Norwegian Adventure, as well as a re-cap of the time with my sister and her husband. One of the best things about having so many different groups of visitors is that each group came with a different "purpose" (other than seeing us, of course). David, Jan and Joan traveled back in time to their Norwegian ancestry, Kristen ran her first international marathon, Mary arrived as my only repeat guest (so no pressure to "show off" Sweden, she'd
been here in the fall and liked it enough to come back!). However, Mary brought Lydia with her, one of Emma's closest friends from home. Our final visitors were the Tronstad family from Oslo...Ingrid & Company. Our purpose with them was simply to say good-bye.
Mary & Lydia got the short end of the weather stick for their trip, but when friends are together, the weather doesn't matter. Mary and I caught up quickly, drank a little wine, did a little shopping, ate a bit too much...all the things that we love (well, I don't love shopping, but it's better with Mary). Emma and Lydia shopped a lot, stayed up late talking and laughing, did a traditional sauna with their friends (I still haven't done that!) and spent many hours at Liseberg, the big amusement park near here. Speaking of that, Mary was brave enough to go on Balder, one of the world's largest wooden roller coasters. She wasn't phased...I was impressed. It was so much easier saying good-bye to Mary this time, knowing we would see her in just three weeks.
Our weekend with Ingrid and her family was full and fun. When they visited for the
Kris and Rob
South Dakota visitors. first time in September, we met at Liseberg. It was a risky move for them, committing to a week-end with virtual strangers. The risk paid off and we found that our husbands and kids were compatible, and whatever it was that brought us together in the Summer of '82 was still there. Their daughter, Theoline, is between our girls in age and is fluent in English...their son, Tjorus, is a little older than Jorgen and he and Jorgen struggled to communicate that first weekend together. This past week-end, however, the two had no trouble communicating. They were like two romping puppies, speaking English (Tjorus realized he knew more English than he thought!) and the universal Language of Lego.
Did I mention that Jorgen is speaking Swedish now? He apparently found his "Swedish Switch" his second to last week at Eva's and just started speaking Swedish! When I picked him up that day, a smiling Eva informed me that he spoke Swedish the entire time he was at her house. His last day there, she told me that she had a hard time not laughing at the 3 boys that day, as Ohle and Klas were trying to speak English
Kristen
Not quite the Doublemint Twins... the whole time and Jorgen was insisting on speaking Swedish.
If you've followed this blog, you're aware of the fact that I'm not the most daring person. The skiing, the scary rides, jumping off of cliffs into frigid water...it's not for me. I like the predictable and I don't like feeling out of control. However, one last trip to Liseberg and Mary's display of bravery riding Balder, inspired me. I'd thought I'd only shown Ingrid my timid side and I wanted to prove I could be fun and spontaneous. Call it machismo, call it stupidity, call me temporarily out of my mind. Jeff couldn't believe I said I wanted to ride that roller coaster and couldn't believe I actually handed him my purse and got in line. Emma informed me the ride was 2 minutes and 5 seconds, I'd seen my friends and child not only survive it, but enjoy it. The second I got on, I knew I had made a mistake and I stand by that statement now. I wish the picture you're looking at was staged, I wish I was feigning my terror, but it's honest to God real. I hated all 2 minutes and 5
Melissa Hulting
Co-worker of Jeff's...here from Chicago. seconds of that ride and screamed the entire time. Look how everyone else in the photo is enjoying themselves, what is WRONG with me?! When we got off, Emma simply stated, "I've never heard you scream like that before". You just wait, Baby, it's not the last time I'm going to embarrass you. In Jeff's words, "you are a wuss". But, like so many things that were uncomfortable for me this year, I can say "I did it".
We ended our week-end with the Tronstads driving to an island called Marstrand, where the Volvo Ocean Race was making a stop. I've never seen so many boats in my life, literally a sea of boats. There were lots of people on the beautiful, rocky island, as well. Ingrid and Pål gave me a short tutorial on sailing, we sat by the water and had lunch, which was a traditional open faced shrimp sandwich for me, followed with some good ice cream for the kids while we watched the boats heading back in to harbor. The kids were most impressed with the huge "pirate ship", complete with pirates and crew. Jeff and I liked the luxury 90 foot sailboat with the
Mary at Mass
The kick-off to summer services - we sang "How Great Thou Art" in English, while the choir sang it in Swedish. Cool. slogan, "Sailing For Jesus" emblazoned across it's side. Summer on a beautiful boat? In Jeff's words, "I'd sail for Jesus".
As you know from earlier posts, Ingrid has done wonders for making this year bearable, on some occasions, an outright blast on others. She is one of the most positive people I've even met and I feel blessed by her friendship. We said good-bye to our Oslo friends with the sea as the backdrop (and with a final parking ticket on our car). Anywhere in the world, it is hard to say goodbye to people you love. However, there are people you just know you'll see again and you'll be able to pick right back up where you left off.
The 'long Minnesota goodbye' begins...
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Mary and Everett
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What wonderful memories for all of you!!! I have enjoyed reading your blogs. Welcome home..... soon!!!!