To say that my time here in Sweden is winding down is an understatement. I leave tomorrow and need to be in the airport in 12 hours.
But that being said, I've had a great end to my stay here, spent with friends and family.
On Sunday I was crazy enough to make a day trip to Gothenburg. Gothenburg is 2 hours north of Helsingborg and 4 hours west of Västerås. I took the first train there and the last train back and was therefore able to spend 6 hours at Liseberg. Liseberg is an amusement park in Gothenburg and my favorite, I think my brother would agree. Not only are there great rides, the park is filled with green spaces, statues, restaurants, and shops. It's more like Disney World in that sense, but without the lines! We had a great day there with nice weather too!
Otherwise I've spent a lot of time trying to get my suitcase under that 50 lb limit. I think I'll make it!
This may or may not be my last post. Can you believe that I've been gone a whole year? 315 days, 55 posts, and I'm still here. But I'm afraid that this blog has not been able to do this year justice, or that I've squeezed every last drop out of this experience.
So what's next for me? Senior year of high school, a first job, travel, college. Not really sure.
What I am sure of is that I want to thank each and every one of you for coming along with me on this crazy journey and giving me all the support that you have. I wouldn't have wanted to share it with anyone else.
Right now I feel emotionally stunted, excited, sad, and a little scared. It's such a jumble but I know that I've accomplished this. I've done it and now I get to focus on what's next. (but lets just focus on getting home first)
Thanks for everything guys, you are literally the best.
I'll end this story with a little saying from YFU, "Make the world your home"
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Friday, June 20, 2014
Land of the Midnight Sun
Since you last heard from me I have been on quite an adventure!
Last Friday my grandparents and I went to Stockholm, met up with my aunt, and went to the Abba museum. I must say that I was very impressed by the museum, very cool!
After this we return to central station and I met up with my YFU group. We got on a train around 6pm. Where were we going? Well every year YFU organizes a voluntary trip to northern Sweden for its students. It's not mandatory but it's a great way to get to experience the unusual nature and landscape of the north as well as have a bit of a goodbye trip to round off your year.
The train trip up took 19 hours, yup, 19 hours! I was in a sleeping car. Which means 6 people sharing a little room with seats that fold out to beds when it's time to sleep. I was in a room with two others on the trip and 2 really nice strangers. We ended up playing cards with them most of the evening. We arrived at our destination, Björkliden, a little after 1pm on Saturday. We were mostly just groggy. That being said you would be surprised how well you sleep in a tiny moving room full of strangers on the top bunk on a skinny bed with 24/7 sunlight.
This first day we mainly chilled and explored the year. We got divided into rooms which are in reality little cabins. We knew that it was going to be cold here, but it was way colder than I expected. The temperature in the air wasn't that bad but the wind chill was bitter. That night we grilled. We made pin-bröd (literally stick-bread). Which, as you can see from the pictures below, you twirl the dough around a stick and then roast it like a marshmallow. We stayed out there and sang song until 11.30. But you would have thought that it was 8pm because of how light it was outside! Remember, this time of year this part of the world has sunlight all day.
The next day we took the bus to the neighboring village of Abisko in the morning. We climbed the mountain called Nuolia. Despite the wind and steepness we reached the peak of 1169 meters just after lunch time. Because of the wind we didn't have to much time at the top to enjoy and take pictures. But luckily I snapped some shots on the way up!
It was definitely a tough trek, but also fun and worth it!
The next way we visited Abisko again. We got a bit of a tour and lots of information about Abisko national park. We also got to see old Sami houses (the Samis were some of the first people in northern Scandinavia and were mainly reindeer herders as some still are today). We also visited a military museum and learned about the importance of the railway in the area as well as the effects of World War 2 and the occupation of Norway on Sweden.
We took the bus back to Björkliden (the bus between Abisko and Björkliden only takes 10 minutes). We went down to the giant lake in the area called Torneträsk. Some crazy people decided to swim, though the air and water were cold it was wind still by the lake so apparently it wasn't that bad.
During dinner that night my friend Greta and I discussed back and forth if we were going to swim, because we knew that there was another group heading out later. We decided to go for it and geared up. The little lake ( pond) that we went to was however not in a wind still area. Better yet it was at the top of a hill where the wind was at its peak. I don't remember much of the actual 'swim,' if you can even call it that. There was a lot of screaming before and after. Though our feet were numb it was fun and we were proud.
Later that night we headed back up to the same spot to experience the midnight sun. It was cool even though it was overcast.
The next day we visited a research center in Abisko. It was a really nice facility and scientists come from all over the world to do research. After this we walked back to Björkliden which took 3.5 hours.
Then the following day we packed up out stuff, cleaned the cabins, and headed to Kiruna. Kiruna is home to a home company, LKAB that pretty much supplies Europe with iron ore. We got to go into the mine and it is huge! We could drive in with the bus and there were speed limits and traffic on this underground road, it was amazing! We could only go 530m underground to the visitors center. There were bathrooms, a kitchen, and even a movie theater! It was like a little town all underground. Each day 16 trains leave Kiruna loaded with iron ore, each train has 68 cars and each car weighs 100 tons! That's mind blowing! Since this is such a HUGE business in Sweden they want to continue the mining. But the body of iron ore is slanted diagonally underground and heads towards Kiruna town center. so guess what they are doing? They are going to move part of the town. They are in the early phases of actual movement but among the things that have to move are old buildings such as churches and town hall. LKAB will stand for all the costs involved in moving but trust me, they can afford it.
After this we headed home. Good news, the train ride was only 17 hours to get home! But the time passes quickly when we play cards and mafia. We had some trouble with food because we had bought frozen food that we thought we could microwave on the train. Well turns out that you can't microwave your own food on the train so for dinner Greta, Arturo, and I ate chips and thawed, frozen pizza.
Disgusting. We didn't really have food for breakfast either. We got to Stockholm in the morning and tragically said goodbye to our friends. Greta had a train ticket for later in the day and Jelle wasn't leaving until the evening so I stayed with them. We went on an adventure to the YFU office in Stockholm and surprised them! I love the YFU office, it's so cozy and this time we were even put to work!
Eventually we headed back and I got to Västerås around 4pm. I was completely exhausted considering the intensity of the week and lack of sleep. But it was so much fun and such a great experience!
Today was midsummer! Again, Swedes can't wait until the actual day so they celebrate on the Eve so today was midsummer eve. We had all the family over and we went to a community celebration with hundreds of guests and a maypole, and games, and dancing, and music, and lotteries. I didn't venture myself to any dancing but I did test my luck on the chocolate wheel and came home with a win! Otherwise today we had a nice dinner with everyone (note: Swedes eat the same food for Christmas, Easter, and Midsummer)
I only have 4 more days in Sweden. Can you believe it!?
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/tabla.aspx?programid=701&date=2014-06-16 check out this link! scroll down to P4 extra med Carina Holmberg, click on it and then scrub forward to 1.48.15 and listen to one of the leaders on trip give an interview!
Last Friday my grandparents and I went to Stockholm, met up with my aunt, and went to the Abba museum. I must say that I was very impressed by the museum, very cool!
After this we return to central station and I met up with my YFU group. We got on a train around 6pm. Where were we going? Well every year YFU organizes a voluntary trip to northern Sweden for its students. It's not mandatory but it's a great way to get to experience the unusual nature and landscape of the north as well as have a bit of a goodbye trip to round off your year.
The train trip up took 19 hours, yup, 19 hours! I was in a sleeping car. Which means 6 people sharing a little room with seats that fold out to beds when it's time to sleep. I was in a room with two others on the trip and 2 really nice strangers. We ended up playing cards with them most of the evening. We arrived at our destination, Björkliden, a little after 1pm on Saturday. We were mostly just groggy. That being said you would be surprised how well you sleep in a tiny moving room full of strangers on the top bunk on a skinny bed with 24/7 sunlight.
This first day we mainly chilled and explored the year. We got divided into rooms which are in reality little cabins. We knew that it was going to be cold here, but it was way colder than I expected. The temperature in the air wasn't that bad but the wind chill was bitter. That night we grilled. We made pin-bröd (literally stick-bread). Which, as you can see from the pictures below, you twirl the dough around a stick and then roast it like a marshmallow. We stayed out there and sang song until 11.30. But you would have thought that it was 8pm because of how light it was outside! Remember, this time of year this part of the world has sunlight all day.
The next day we took the bus to the neighboring village of Abisko in the morning. We climbed the mountain called Nuolia. Despite the wind and steepness we reached the peak of 1169 meters just after lunch time. Because of the wind we didn't have to much time at the top to enjoy and take pictures. But luckily I snapped some shots on the way up!
It was definitely a tough trek, but also fun and worth it!
 |
| the local wildlife |
 |
| the goal! |
The next way we visited Abisko again. We got a bit of a tour and lots of information about Abisko national park. We also got to see old Sami houses (the Samis were some of the first people in northern Scandinavia and were mainly reindeer herders as some still are today). We also visited a military museum and learned about the importance of the railway in the area as well as the effects of World War 2 and the occupation of Norway on Sweden.
We took the bus back to Björkliden (the bus between Abisko and Björkliden only takes 10 minutes). We went down to the giant lake in the area called Torneträsk. Some crazy people decided to swim, though the air and water were cold it was wind still by the lake so apparently it wasn't that bad.
During dinner that night my friend Greta and I discussed back and forth if we were going to swim, because we knew that there was another group heading out later. We decided to go for it and geared up. The little lake ( pond) that we went to was however not in a wind still area. Better yet it was at the top of a hill where the wind was at its peak. I don't remember much of the actual 'swim,' if you can even call it that. There was a lot of screaming before and after. Though our feet were numb it was fun and we were proud.
 |
| our swimming lake |
 |
| lapporten, aka the gate to Lapland |
 |
| midnight and sunny! |
 | |
| all these graphs are handwritten! |
Eventually we headed back and I got to Västerås around 4pm. I was completely exhausted considering the intensity of the week and lack of sleep. But it was so much fun and such a great experience!
Today was midsummer! Again, Swedes can't wait until the actual day so they celebrate on the Eve so today was midsummer eve. We had all the family over and we went to a community celebration with hundreds of guests and a maypole, and games, and dancing, and music, and lotteries. I didn't venture myself to any dancing but I did test my luck on the chocolate wheel and came home with a win! Otherwise today we had a nice dinner with everyone (note: Swedes eat the same food for Christmas, Easter, and Midsummer)
I only have 4 more days in Sweden. Can you believe it!?
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/tabla.aspx?programid=701&date=2014-06-16 check out this link! scroll down to P4 extra med Carina Holmberg, click on it and then scrub forward to 1.48.15 and listen to one of the leaders on trip give an interview!
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