Not Exactly A Vacation, But A Very Busy Week In Sweden

Where to continue?This week has been spent running back and forth between Stockholm and Skärplinge with the move and other details. On the drive I fell in love with the beautiful historic churches I would see peep up from the vast vistas. I did manage to see Uppsala and the historic Cathedral and Castle on a quick drive by. I vow to explore that town some more. Another town I fell in love with was the ancient Gävle that sits alongside a river. It was once a major trade hub centuries ago . In the rural countryside I saw old American cars with Confederate flags. I guess they like The Dukes Of Hazard. I wonder if they know what the symbolism of a Confederate flag really means? Certain Someone and I spent an isolated 2 days and night in our new home (I like saying that).I worked on the kitchen and he hooked up his old computer. We have no Digital Box so no TV. Just the quiet of nature and some old MP 3's. I was amazed at the china and crystal collection Certain Someone had in storage. I have a well stocked kitchen for sure with weights, bowls, blenders, etc. I see a lot of baking bread and such up there.I want to plan a huge Midsommar bash for next summer. In the eerie country silence I saw a real fox looking back at me from the back yard and he jumped into the woodpile. Two country neighborhood cats came a calling. I think they thought the old owner was there with his cat. Our friends almost ran over a Moose near the house when leaving one night after the move. All this common up here. I walked to the sea as Certain Someone napped.The beach is a stark rocky patch that looks so beautiful.Finland awaits on the other side of the sea.I finally got used to the whole Outhouse thing. It wasn't to bad and actually quite cute inside with its yellow interior, candles, etc. It never really got to dark to make me scared to walk to it. The whole Midnight Sun thing going on. I admit I jumped whenever I heard a car . It's that's isolated and who knows what or who is lurking around. One of those places you wonder if a tree fell, would you hear it?
Not much to report on the food front. A lot of quick MAX burger , pizzas and kebab consumed. Swedish pizza is odd yet very good. Mostly run by Iraqis immigrants, it has wild non traditional ingredients. My favorite are banana chicken, ham,curry types. Some have kebab on top. Kebab resembles gyro meat. Thinly shaved aromatic lamb served with peppers, sauces,etc. Delicious. Certain Someones favorite is Palmyra.I would fly over for it , it's that good!

The wedding was wonderful. Set in a beautiful old German Church in Gamla Stan(OLD TOWN). After the dual German and Swedish language ceremony we walked the cobbled streets in our finery to an old Shipping Club called Sjöfartshuset. One of those Old Boy Clubs lined with portraits of old titans of the sea and some royalty. Swedish weddings are very long and full of toasts and speeches between courses. Also rigid seating plans with lots of careful thought. Each guest is numbered in the program with a chart pointing to where they sit and a brief description of some obscure details of the person. I was listed as , the Sambo(remember it means legal partner) of Certain Someone ,a Food Blogger and jewelery designer. Its fun to learn other tidbits from people. The food was fabulous and topped of with a marzipan tiered cake. My feet were killing me by the nights end. The following day BH (my host) and I rose for ladies brunch with fellow food bloggers Anne and Dagmar . We went to Hasselbacken an old Swedish restaurant for brunch in Djurgarden. What a lovely time we had talking blogs, food, and Sweden. I know I will see them again in my returns. I gave them some cornmeal and Masa they requested and they gave me a lovely cookbook of Swedish pastry from Haga(in the west coast). We parted ways and ventured to NK where BH and I purchased fragrant teas and browsed the food halls. She surprised me with Cloudberry and Raspberry jam I had had my eye on. A true taste of Sweden.