Greetings! I apologize for the delay in updating the blog. Even though it's mainly just photos going up these days, I hope you are enjoying the glimpses of my time here that I can provide. I will be sure to post some more text on here when things settle down a bit. For now, just know that I am happy, safe, and learning a lot in my 4 classes (Swedish Language, Swedish Literature, Positive Psychology, and Globalization & its Discontents). Even though I can't speak Swedish with most Swedes very effectively, I am becoming more confident with everything I do, especially navigating the underground rail system. Really, I own that thing. But before my ego swells too much, Sweden strikes back and makes a fool out of me on the icy sidewalks. I've gone down once and slipped around countless times. You see, the Swedes don't like putting down salt, as they fear that it will end up in the surrounding bodies of water. The situation is making a man out of me.
Last Sunday, my contact family took me to the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a Swedish warship built in the 1620s. It sank just two kilometers into its maiden voyage and remained at the bottom of the Stockholm harbor until it was located in the 1950s. For more than three centuries underwater, the Vasa had been encased by mud, which prevented anything from eating away at it. The Vasa is now in a museum, with only 2% of it having been repaired since 1628.
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| Leaving Stockholm, by ferry, for the island museum. The Vasa sank in these waters. |
Here's the Vasa!
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| Big boat! |
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| My wonderful contact family in a not-so-optimally-lit location. |
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| Celebrating my birthday after the Vasa Museum |
That ship looks awesome. You may or may not remember that there's a town called Vasa right outside of my town...Swedish influence all around!
ReplyDeleteWhy are they afraid of salt going into the surrounding bodies of water that are composed of salt anyway? Or are they concerned with their freshwater...which I assume they treat anyways...? Salt is SOOOO helpful.
What type of cake is that?
Princess cake! It's marzipan and is apparently rather Swedish. It's excellent, that's all I can tell you. As is semla:
ReplyDeletehttp://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semla
And Chokladboll:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chokladboll
And Swedish meatballs!