About a week ago, my Swedish neighbor, Karin, invited me and a few friends to accompany her to Linköping, her hometown. We also had the opportunity to visit her country house. Most of the time it's located in the countryside, away from the busy cities. A lot of Swedes have second homes where they visit in the summer for long vacations. In Sweden and in most of Europe, it's customary for everyone to receive 5-6 weeks of paid time off...yeah, I know...MUST BE NICE!!!
My friends and I spent the first night in the city, going on a walking tour of a light show. It was really pretty and Karin says it's also to make the city feel more secure during the darker winter months. There was a bridge with glowing pillars underneath it, a garden full of light chandeliers, a fake helicopter spotlight, and the "love nest" as Karin calls it. There were red hearts and lips being projected on the ground and on the building as well as romantic music playing.
The next day, we visited Karin's family house in the countryside. It was only about 30 minutes outside the city but it feels thousands of miles away...nothing but rolling grass and forest surrounded the house. The house was very rustic and cozy. There was a woodburning stove, no running water and even the bathroom was located outside the house in the barn. We had a good time relaxing with her parents and sharing stories about misspoken words in Swedish and English. My friend Karin especially, makes us laugh with her misguided words. But she knows it's all in fun so she doesn't seem to mind...especially when we are socialating (one of Karin's words).
On our last night in the city, we prepared (I mostly watched and prepared the after dinner games) homemade sushi and miso soup for ourselves and 4 visitors. We sat around, ate, laughed, played a few games and just generally had ourselves a great time. I can't wait for Karin to come visit me in California so I can show her the same hospitality. I had a great time!
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