Gränna och Visingsö

A group of us went to Gränna, a town about an hour north of us on the lake. We live at the southern end of the lake Vattern, one of the longest lakes in Sweden. Visingsö is an island in the middle of the Vattern which is directly across from Gränna. Legend has it that a troll wishing to cross the Vattern couldn't quite make it in one step, so he created Visingsö by putting clods of dirt in the middle of the lake until an island was formed. Then he was able to pass. My great-great grandmother was born just outside of Gränna!

Gränna is famous for its peppermint candy. When you go into a lot of the stores, you can actually see them making it!

A medieval church on Visingsö.


Cecile and Kate.

Laura, me, and Miri.

In the candy store.

Yum.

The whole gang on the bus to Gränna.

I'm sorry, but I really liked this dog! He was on the ferry next to me heading out to Visingsö. I named him Alfred.

This is a door in the fortress wall. It reminded me a bit of Alice in Wonderland, but I'm not entirely sure why.

Miri, Kate and Cecile.

Castle ruins on Visingsö.

Göteberg (aka Gothenburg)

A group of us went to Göteberg in late September to play tourist while the weather was still decent. It was quite the busy day, but a lot of fun!

A fancy church.

Laura showing off the amazing bathroom facilities on the bus.

Bartus attempting to keep his head safe as we went under "the cheese cutter."



The bridge that's commonly known as "the cheese cutter."

Ryan (Canada) and Michael (Germany) on the bus.
Me (USA).

Laura (USA) and Bartus (Germany).

At the bus station they had these costumes made almost entirely out of flowers on display! They were pretty cool.

We got off the bus to realize that the guys planning the trip really had no idea what we were going to do. We literally just started walking.

The public restroom. You pay two kroner to get in and it automatically cleans it when you're done!

At the universeum.

Visiting Cederholms the first weekend here

I went to southwestern Sweden and visited the Cederholms, some friends from the Philippines. It was Aunt MariAnne's birthday so I got to help out with that and experience some Swedish culture.

Uncle Rune explaining how one marriage and three kids equals five at Aunt MariAnne's 50th birthday.

The view towards the lake at the Cederholm farm.

A traditional Swedish sandwich called SMÖRGÅSTÅRTA which means "sandwich cake." Definately eaten more like a cake than a sandwich!

The Cederholm family.

Strawberry fields.

This is a drink called "Ful Mast" or something, generally drunk around Christmas and Easter, hence the Santa. It reminded me of lysol, but I think the flavour could grow on me...

Aunt MariAnne watching her daughters sing at her 50th birthday party.