P is for Plenty

 

We're more than halfway there! Alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter P which means I have Plenty of blessings to be thanks for.

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals
N = Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Norse Force

Pigging Out: I never said that every blessing that brings me joy is good for me. By sheer coincidence, I have been Pigging Out this week on pizza (Monday night dinner) and popcorn (today's lunch AND dinner) not to mention Pumpkin Spice coffee. And, next week, here comes Pumpkin Pie! Perfect! 

Passport: I will never take for granted my ability to travel "wherever I want" thanks to my passport. Because, what good is a passport 2020? No place to go abroad and nobody wants us. That's why I'm so grateful I got two trips to Europe stamped on my passport – Norway, Sweden, Denmark two summers ago, and Germany and France 18 months ago. So amazing to expand our horizons! It has opened my window to the world. Cannot wait until this global pandemic is replaced by global travel! 

Phone: I do panic a bit when I leave the house and realize I forgot my phone. It's not like there's that many people besides telemarketers that actually call. But I get plenty of texts. And yeah, I what if a photo op comes up and I don't have my phone (aka small camera)? Guess I just picture it in my mind, right? (Unless I'm traveling somewhere a passport's required. I need share that image somehow!) I am grateful that smart phones especially have made it much easier to stay in pretty constant contact with my siblings and, uhm, parentally persistent contact with the boys.

Hey, it all pleases me today. 

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

Sisters in Scandi-hoovia :: Day 4

I never would have intentionally planned to go to Denmark. Sure I liked the ebelskiver supper at West Denmark Church (outside of Luck) when I was kid, but that was the extent of any interaction with the Danes. As for Finlanders (as my dad called them), let's not go there.

Today, though, I can tell you Copenhagen was an unexpected treat. Of course, I love any city on the water, but this is both a historic and very modern city. And they have history to hang onto.

Since we had a free day in this city of more than half a million people, we got tickets ahead of time to do a boat tour of the main canal and more. These pictures are few from my phone today since it is too late at night to start messing with others.

The prettily painted row houses (many now restaurants and shops) were so cool to see. They're situated on both sides of the canal along with very old boats. Awesome scenery from the water and on shore.

Will definitely have to share more photos when I get back home. The boat included seeing the Royal Yacht in the harbor. Yup. Their majesties were in town. We also got to see the famous little Mermaid statue. Oh and tons of other statues around town. Plus, one of the row houses on the canal used to be occupied by Hans Christian Andersen. Or H.C., as he's called there.

From the boat, the four of us split up and Raylene and I hoofed it over to the Tivoli Gardens amusement park. We were there just long enough to ride the carousel (why yes, I did bring a selfie stick).

And find a Danish kringle for lunch Yum, yum!

We walked -- quite briskly-- back across town some 3 miles to get to the bus. Went through a pedestrian-only line of streets -- filled with shops, cafes, and people. You can shop for anything -- both European and American fashion. And, we even found the Normal store. Who knew you could buy normal? Good thing they were having a 2-for-1 deal so we're both covered!

For reals.

Oh and I concluded I do like Denmark after all. They let you have ice cream here! As long as you share it with the troll first.

I'm very willing to work on my international relations skills to make that happen.

For now... sleep. Gotta pack up in the morning and leave Karlshamn for our next destination a little further north. 

I realize most of you are still at your day jobs as I type this, but sweet dreams!

I'll be in touch.

Sisters in Scandi-Hoovia :: Days 1-2

Hallo from Scandinavia! Tonight we are in Sweden. In the past 24 hours, though, I've been two states -- Wisconsin and Minnesota -- and four countries -- United States, Iceland, Denmark, and Sweden.

After some airport shenanigans...

We left Minneapolis at 7:20 p.m. Sleep did not come. We arrived in Iceland some 6 hours later and got to touch the ground since they don't use jet ways so I can for sure count it as a country I've visited. Plus I got my very first passport stamp! We literally just had time to go through customs and stop at the restroom and it was time to board our connecting flight. So, yes, I know Iceland is amazing but another time.

It was a 3-hour flight and I slept hard for at least two hours of it. Not enough. That's for sure!

Landed in Copenhagen, Denmark, which we'll get back to visit in a few days, and got on our bus with the tour group of 32. I wanted to get on the bus painted with VIKINGBUS on the side, but who knows where they were going. We headed to Karlshamn, Sweden, situated on the southeastern coast of Sweden with our hotel facing the Baltic Sea. Pretty awesome!

The countryside landscape resembles Wisconsin. But everything along the coastline will be a real treat.

For now, it's time to mitigate the jetlag with a good night's sleep. It's a little after 9 p.m. here and the sun won't set for another hour, but our bodies are screaming for rest! We need it. Lots of cool stuff on the horizon.

I'll connect when I can.

Much Ado, er, To Do

I had quite the checklist of things to do for my last day (for now) in America.

1. Give them an honest 8 at the office. OK. I tried. Thankfully I had projects to work on. I mean I was super busy and then suddenly it's 1:58 p.m. and my mind left the building. With, of course, another 2 1/2 hours to go. At least I got my work done and made a nice out-of-office sign that I forgot to take a photo of... picture viking ship with flag icons for the 4 countries I'm visiting (Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway). After my boss couldn't put up with me and my obvious over-excitement any longer, he sent me out of there early!

2. Spend more money. Naturally, I had last-minute Mom things to do like pick up Carter's new contacts. There goes my cash. Good thing Sweden is a cash-free country. No, not everything is free. But plastic can buy anything.

3. Legalize my passport. Had to squeeze in a visit with my hair artist so I could look somewhat like my passport photo. Hey, that was taken 5 years ago. I'm sure I as featuring the same magic that day, too. Ha. It's like I'm a spy. What is my real hair color? Torture me. I'll never tell.

4. Cover my bases. In the off chance they won't let me back in the country, I had to make one more trip to...

You guessed it. King Cone. C'mon. Better safe than sorry.

5. Get my steps. OK. I definitely failed on this one. Was too busy doing sitting things to get 10,000 steps today. Or even 5,000. Probably not good when I'll be sitting in the car 3 hours tomorrow. Then another 13 in an airplane. I will have to get up early and walk! I hear sleep deprivation is the best plan anyway so I am so tired I will have to sleep on the plane. But stay awake for the drive to Minnesota first, of course.

6. Finish packing. Since I packed my suitcase (mostly) last night, I just had to work on my carry-on tonight. I still have a few minor things to get in order in the morning – like organizing my purse and cashing in the change in my swear jar – but I'm sitting pretty good for my pre-noon departure from home.

7. Test drive everything. I checked my camera to be sure I have the battery pack, charger, memory cards. Checked my tablet to be sure I can log in to my blog (if I have time for at least a "picture of the day" or something). Have all kinds of chargers. And adapters. Should be good. Unless I'm missing something??

8. Say goodbyes. I'm sure I'll get up before hubby leaves for a golf outing in the morning. (Not even waiting til I leave town to have fun!). Got my hugs from Working Man tonight. He said, "Have fun saying 'Uff Da' in your native land." Ha. Yup. I've pretty much used my quota on this side of the Pond!

OK. Off to bed to dream up more lists. So long. I can't wait to be in touch.

Scandi-lous Sunday

It's not unusual for mothers to have dark circles under their eyes. All those late nights and early mornings. Sounds like my life right now... minus the diapers, teething pain, and ear infections.

Got home late last night from my excursion over to Minnesota so headed straight to bed. Three late nights in a row and I am on the edge of a haggard mother look. So I opted to skip blogging and get some rest – even though I was too excited to sleep.

Yesterday was our pre-trip meeting for my upcoming adventure to Scandi-hoovia! Less than a month away!

After early church, I headed over to my oldest sister Rayna's place in Hudson. Took her to lunch for Mother's Day since we called her our "Upstairs Mom" – she IS old enough to be our mom and all our bedrooms were upstairs. So it was a logical moniker.

After lunch, we found an ice cream place, quite by accident, I assure you.

Headed back to her place and my twin showed up so we could all ride over to Stillwater to the meeting together. It was a gorgeous summer-like day and the tourists – and hopa tree blooms – were out everywhere!

Nothing could compare to our excitement, though! We got a lot of travel details about the trip. You know, everything from passports to money to proper phone chargers!

Couple interesting things... Sweden is a cash-free country so credit cards are the only way to go. And we'll be there during Summer Solstice time which translates loosely to the Land of the Midnight Sun. Sunrise at 3:30 a.m. and sunset at 10 p.m. How crazy!

During our meet and greet – there'll be 35 of us traveling on this bus tour – we were also treated (using the term loosely) to Swedish food. What we know from our childhood holds true today... Swedish meatballs are a thing (and still yummy) and so is pickled herring (which only came out at Christmas at our house and I still can't grow to like). Apparently, though, the Swedes like to sneak in anchovies in food, too. I guess they are little fish like herring so I shouldn't be surprised. But I started to wonder if my DNA test was wrong!

Needless to say, Raylene and I – self-acknowledged picky eaters – figure we'll probably lose weight on this trip. And we'll need to pack some tasty protein bars or something. Ha. As Lene pointed out, "I'm going for the scenery and the experience – not necessarily the food." Uff da. This is going to be an adventure!

And in case you were wondering, thanks to the 49-year-old twins, we bring the average age of the traveling group down quite a bit. Bonus for us. We'll need to feel young one last time!

Summer SKOL-stice

 

There's an app for everything... including counting down to my trip to Sweden (and Denmark and Norway) this summer. Well, I shouldn't say MY trip, since my oldest sister Rayna and my twin are going, too.

And plenty of other people I don't know. Found out today the June tScandi Experience trip is sold out so that's awesome! We'll have a bus full of Scandi-hoovians for 2 weeks. Uff da!

Ninety days makes it seem so close! Well, kinda. I gotta start looking into what we're all doing, where we're all going and what I need to bring. Passport, camera and clean underwear should do it. If you want to know why we're excited, here's some of our itinerary...

June 12 – Day 1: Leaving the U.S. We will experience the sunset at 30,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean, heading towards Europe. We will make a quick stop to stretch our legs and change aircraft in Iceland. Then off to Copenhagen, Denmark! Meals and beverages are available for purchase on board the flight.

Day 2: Arrive at Kastrup Copenhagen airport in Denmark. Here you will be greeted by our travel-leader Anna and our bus driver who will join the group. Once our group is gathered we will take the bridge over to Sweden and head to our first hotel located in the beautiful region of Österlen. Don't worry, we'll be back to Copenhagen in a couple of days. During the bus ride we will hand out your welcome package and some general information about the tour. You will also receive a light lunch. After checking in and settling in to the hotel we will all gather for a welcome dinner later at night.

Day 3: After waking up and taking in the beautiful scenery and the ocean breeze we enjoy our first of many gourmet breakfast buffets. We will then board our bus and take a ride along the shoreline to take in the history of the area. Later in the day the bus takes us up to the nearby town of Kivik where we will have lunch at Sweden's most famous apple orchard. The afternoon also includes a stop at a local antique store. After a full day of fun the bus takes us back to our hotel where you choose your own schedule for the evening. We have some amazing restaurants to recommend!

Day 4: Let’s head to Denmark! Today is all about Copenhagen. We take the famous Öresund bridge and tunnel connecting the city of Malmö with Copenhagen. Today you will get to browse beautiful Copenhagen on your own and experience modern shopping and your choice of museums and other attractions. We have lots of activities to recommend. For example, why not have a famous pölse (bright red hot dog) and a world famous Carlsberg beer for lunch?

Day 5: After spending 3 days in the southern tip of Sweden we head north. Our first stop is Älmhult, and the location of the first ever IKEA store. We will tour the IKEA museum and have lunch here. In the afternoon we continue north, and after another stop along the way we reach our second hotel located near Sweden´s second biggest lake, Lake Vättern. Here we settle in and gather together for dinner in the evening.

Day 6: We will spend today in and around beautiful harbor-town Gränna where we walk the cobblestone streets and visit local stores surrounded by cozy log homes. Gränna is home of the world famous striped rock candy. Why world famous, you might ask? Just wait til you taste it :) We will then take the ferry over to Visingsö Island and explore the island with the horse and carriage ride called “remmalag”. You will also be able to walk among castle ruins dating back some 500+ years. We will enjoy lunch out on the island. The ferry takes us back to Gränna late afternoon where you will have some free time before dinner is served at the local-fish restaurant in the harbor.

Day 7: Today we take a day-trip to the Kingdom of Glass! Here you will tour the historic glass blowing factories, and even get a chance to blow your own piece of glass if you so choose. We spend most of the day in the Kingdom of Glass where we will also enjoy lunch. This day-trip also includes a visit to the historic world-famous Husqvarna factory and its museum. We will finish the day with a dinner at one of the pier-restaurants in the harbor of Jönköping.

Day 8: After breakfast and checking out from our hotel its time to head west. We leave the province of Småland and travel through Västergötland up to Dalsland. We will make a stop on the way to visit beautiful Läckö castle, located in the cozy harbor of Sweden’s biggest lake, Lake Vänern. Here we will be able to stretch our legs and take some pictures and walk around the castle. We will also enjoy a light lunch before heading to our next hotel:, Baldersnäs Herrgård, an 1800’s mansion, where we will be staying for three nights. After checking in and becoming familiar with the grounds we will have dinner at the mansion.

Day 9: Today we explore Dalsland and all of its beauty! We travel through ancient forests and rolling hills before we reach our destination of Håverud. From here we take a boat ride through some pretty narrow and impressive canals before reaching the small parish of Tisselskog. We will enjoy lunch on the boat. Tisselskog is home to stone carvings dating back thousands of years. After a full day of fun we head back to our mansion where dinner is served later at night.

Day 10: We are off to Norway! We will drive across the province of Dalsland and take in the beautiful scenery. We will make a stop at a local Moose Farm and you will get real up-close and even feed some moose! After getting familiar with the king of the forest we continue on. Our destination is Halden and the historic fortress of Fredriksten. Here we will get a guided tour of this beautiful and well preserved 17th century fortress. After the tour you will enjoy the fortress on your own, have lunch, and choose where to go and see what to see within the compound. Prepare for some astonishing views! After an afternoon spent in Norway we will head back to our mansion where dinner is served later that night.

Day 11: After a good night sleep we are off to Stockholm. But we’ve got some stops planned. First we head to the town of Karlstad, located on the north shore of Lake Vänern. Here we ar e invited into real Swedish homes by real Swedish families for some fika (coffee with snacks)! After fika we head east. The next stop is Örebro Castle where we will enjoy lunch and tour the castle. It is late afternoon/early evening when we reach our hotel in Stockholm. After you check in at the hotel located in the heart of Stockholm you have the night to spend at your own leisure.

Day 12: Today is all about you and Stockholm! You have the entire day to explore Stockholm at your own leisure. We have some great recommendations of some must-see spots in Stockholm. Why not visit the Royal Castle, walk around in Old Town, or visit the Vasa Museum? There is lots to see and lots to do!

Day 13: A day in the archipelago of Stockholm! Today you get to see the beauty of Stockholm, from a difference perspective. We will all walk down to the water from our hotel. From there we will take a small ferry out to one of the thousands of small islands that make up the archipelago. Here we will walk around, visit some shops, enjoy the atmosphere and have lunch. The ferry will dock back to Stockholm in late afternoon. We end day 13 and the last full day of this amazing tour with a goodbye-dinner back at the hotel.

June 25 – Day 14: After an eventful 2 week tour it is time to say goodbye, for this time. After breakfast in late morning the bus will take us back to the airport for our flight back to the U.S.

Now don't you wish you were coming with? I think they have openings yet for August... but there's no way that will be as fun without the Hedberg girls.

My skol sisters!