Royal Wedding Weekend in London

Lucy and I flew to London for a long weekend at the end of April, and we had so much fun! Lucy was actually born in London, so she showed me where she used to live, right by Tower Bridge. Speaking of bridges, did you know that London Bridge is just a traffic bridge that's not super cool at all? Everything else in the city is, however. Especially on a weekend when half the world's population is tuning into the activities there. Oh, and get this. Upon arriving at the airport, I went up to a security guy to ask him where the help desk was. When I approached him, he said to me, jolly as could be: "'Allo, mate! What seems to be the problem?" What a thing to say!

Cadbury Creme Eggs are from England! AND MCDONALDS MAKES CADBURY CREME EGG MCFLURRIES (I read this but did not have one myself)

Lucy on a cell in front of some retro phone booths

Hyde Park crowd during the wedding

Tower of London

Hot Fuzz!

Large Benjamin

Westminster Abbey

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, where we were "groundlings" at a performance of Hamlet

in front of Buckingham Palace

Spring Break Part 2 - Barcelona!

After a few days in Paris, we enjoyed "yet another successful Ryan Air flight" to Barcelona. What a beautiful city! Sunny skies, palm trees, beaches, Gaudi architecture, and pickpockets EVERYWHERE. I heard horror stories and even witnessed a guy get his wallet stolen out of his pocket (I was watching through a subway window and couldn't have done anything to help). Pickpocketing is a bigger problem in Barcelona than anywhere else. The only thing more annoying than that in Barcelona is the fact that 15 billion unemployed people roam the beaches trying at all costs to sell you massages, flowers, soda, beer, tattoos, rugs, scarves, and various illegal yet smoke-able substances. Yes, it's a touristy town. We enjoyed the beaches, churches, and soccer games. It was fun learning and practicing some basic Spanish (mainly "No, gracias" to the beach peddlers every 3 minutes).

enjoying a bicycle tour of the city

Spain's own Arc de Triomphe!

La Sagrada Familia

one of many delicious-looking fruit stands!

Spring Break Part 1 - Paris!

From April 17-20, I traveled to Paris with my pal, Alex. We were finally able to put into practice the French we'd learned in middle/high school. And we kept so busy! I'd guess that we walked over 12 miles each day. We spent money on NOTHING except for food and 3 euros to climb up the Eiffel Tower. It was so cool to see so many famous sights and experience Paris at a beautiful time of year, especially since I hadn't done any traveling in Europe before. Even connecting flights in Helsinki was a fun experience for me!

Some things to know about Paris that aren't in the guidebooks:

- Soldiers with machine guns are all over, because I guess parks and gardens must be defended with lethal force at all costs.

- Pre-teen girls who pretend to be mute and get donations from you are USUALLY perfectly healthy pickpockets trying to steal a few euros from you.

- If you order a hotdog, expect to get two regular-sized hotdogs in one long baguette with melted cheese on top. Not a light snack.

- Don't go out on Monday and Tuesday nights expecting to have a wild time doing anything anywhere.

- THE BASTILLE IS NO LONGER AN ACTUAL SIGHT, IT'S JUST A TOWER IN THE MIDDLE OF A ROUNDABOUT! Okay, that one might be in the guidebooks, but we sure didn't see it coming.

the view from the balcony of our friend's apartment

at the Jardin des Tuileries

Louvre

She's so much smaller than you'd think!

on the Seine

view from atop the Eiffel Tower

the tower!

Arc de Triomphe

Notre Dame Cathedral

Gotland

This past weekend I took a trip to Gotland - an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Sweden. After a very turbulent 30-minute flight (the island is very windy), we arrived on the beautiful viking island. Ruins of viking forts and churches can be seen at nearly every turn. Although Gotland is the poorest province in Sweden, it is a beautiful place that showed me a good time for the weekend, so I have nothing but great impressions!

first sight upon walking out of the airport

the first of many ruins seen from our bus window

Lunch included a performance by this insane fire dude.

typical Gotland shot, near our hotel

some of the Gotlandic silver that is found in hordes, even to this day

I'm in a ruin!

one of a bajillion old churches on the island

view from up high; spot the viking ruins?

a large rock atop a cliff overlooking the Baltic

me on the rocky shores of the Baltic

some fun, climb-able, huge rocks deformed by wind and water

Fotboll Season Opener

On the first Monday of April, Elias and Noel accompanied me to the first game of the Swedish professional soccer season. It was my first time watching a professional soccer match, and I loved it! Even in Sweden, a country not particularly known for its fantastic soccer league, I could see why soccer fans are the craziest, most enthusiastic sports fans in all the world.

Although firefighters and police officers were EVERYWHERE, it is not illegal to use firesticks or torches at the game. Smoke machines are used by fans, bananas are thrown onto the field (to mock the enemy team's name: Djurgården, or, "Animal Farm"). Drunkards climb onto the nets in between the field and the stands without any opposition. The place is on fire.

Thus, the 0-0 tie was not the thrilling score that most people were hoping for. But for me, this kind of thing is all about learning cultural lessons. I learned a few of the team chants, threw some confetti at the appropriate time, and ordered a hot dog all by myself: "Kan jag få en varmt korv, tack?"

mounted police prepared to break up a brawl or two hundred

the bros, in AIK gear

pre-game pandemonium

Noel's Floorball Game

My 13-year-old contact brother, Noel, is a fantastic floorball goalie. I was lucky enough to catch the last game of his season. Floorball is a really cool sport that is much like street hockey, but it is played at the professional level here in Sweden. Noel is destined to be in the top league someday!

Christopher shows off his own goalie skills

AIK Playoff Game

My contact family (the Köhlers) was kind enough to bring me to an AIK playoff game in the Globe. Although our team lost and was eliminated, the game was exciting to the end. The final score was 2-1, and there were many exciting moments.

Hockey games here are so different from NHL games. Although all Swedish hockey players aspire to be in the NHL someday, I think that the overall game experience is far greater in Sweden - for the fans, at least. Every seat is filled and no one leaves to use the bathroom or buy food during the period. Late-comers are not even allowed to take their seats if the period has already started. Every fan is dressed in support of his or her team, and everyone knows the rules of hockey and their team's anthems (of which there are MANY). This is not an event that one would take a date or business partner to. There is hardly any conversation among the fans - only cheering, singing, and shouting directed at the players. The bond between fans and their teams is just incredible. When the final buzzer sounded, the fans just cheered even louder, thanking their team for a great season. The team responded, as each player acknowledged the fans for several minutes. Everyone was disappointed, but no one was about to mope - they had too much to be grateful for! The fans didn't want to leave with their heads hung - they wanted to raise the spirits of their hockey heroes, because they actually cared about THEM, and not their own individual interests. I think there's much for American athletes and fans to learn from this type of display...

inside Globen

my contact family, minus Elias: Noel, Christopher, and Marjo

Elias's Hockey Game

My contact brother, Elias, played in a hockey game a few weeks ago. It was awesome to see him play, and I honestly did not see much difference in skating ability between these 16-year-olds and the professionals. Of course, Elias is headed in that direction, so it makes sense!

There's Elias, #9.

contact bror och far: Noel and Christopher