Night Walking

Mimmi (the dog) and I went for a nice and quiet Sunday night walk in Stockholm. No people around, just tall trees, snow and lamposts. A little bit like Narnia.

Cold vs. Warm

It was really cold today. I tried to take a picture of how red my cheeks and nose were after shopping outside for a couple hours. It isn't very good, but here ya go. It was clear and cold today, about 5 degrees.




In contrast, here are some pics of some warm, cozy threads I found at the second-hand shop.

Important Sayings

American: Don't get your panties in a wad.
English: Don't get your knickers in a twist.
Swedish: Easy in the storm.

Hmmmm.....

American: Don't count your chicken's before they hatch.
Swedish: Don't yell "hello" until you jump the stream.

American: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Swedish: The meanest fish swim in the shallowest waters.

American: Don't let the door hit you in the ass.
Swedish: It was nice when you arrived but nicer when you left.

Will be collecting more as the week goes on.

Living in a Rainbow

It would be amazing to spend a winter in this Stockholm apartment - to come in from the white world into your own personal rainbow. It was designed by tham & videgard hansson arkitekts, They used multicolored parquet floors to create the pattern. Check out the rest of the project and more pictures here.











images courtesy tham & videgard hansson arkitekts
all photos © åke e:son lindman

A Week Left

and I find these! I wish I'd know about them three months ago! Highly dorky traction devices that can be added to any shoes. They even come in GLOW IN THE DARK LIME GREEN! I'm feeling really cheated right now.

Successful Meeting + Awesome Weekend

There is nothing more rewarding after working super hard all week than going out of town for the weekend. Last week Tove and I burned the candle at both ends getting ready for our presentation to MTV on Friday, and it ended up going really well. Don't want to put a whammy on it, so I won't elaborate too much but there was some laughing and even some clapping.

Hard work behind us, we headed up to Idre, a small town about 4.5 hours north of Stockholm to do some snowboarding, snowmobiling and other rad activities.




Saturday I took my first snowboarding lesson from my friend Lina who also works at DDB. Lina is an amazing teacher! She use to give lessons professionally, spending 8 hours a day coaxing first timers down hills on boards. Her patience is limitless. She is optimistic even when you have just become a yard-sale in the middle of the hill. As for the snowboarding, I'm stoked! I got pretty good at traversing and even did a couple turns on my own. I don't see any extreme boarding career in my future, but I can imagine getting down the hill at some point without so many bruises. Just need some practice.

We stayed in the ultimate Swedish cabin while we were there. It was super cozy and had some authentic Swedish decor. I also found out that different parts of Sweden have their own milks. For instance, Milko is the main brand for Dalarna milk. I love the folk design they used for the packaging. It seems very at home in the cabin.









Outside the cabin was winter. The real winter, not all those faux winters I've experienced in Dallas and SF. I've never seen so much snow in my life. On Sunday we took the snowmobile across a huge frozen lake to small campsite where you can BBQ. Well, Swedes call it having a BBQ, I see it more of a campfire type situation. Tove, Lina and I took a walk along the lake to an old wooden bridge. We went across, took a break to lay in the snow. Seriously, if you have never done this, you should at some point in your life. You just plop yourself back in fresh soft snow and be quiet and look at the sky. It is a quality life experience that cannot be missed. Remember to put on your hat or hood first though.





View toward the town of Särna



Lina, Tove and me waiting for the hotdogs to cook. Lina is the one with the killer sword poking stick. Minutes before she was roasting a hotdog on it, but it fell off so she decided to fling it out onto the lake where some wild animal will probably eat it and become dependent on humans, ruining the ecosystem permanently.



Hot dog monitoring.



Everyone got a turn on the snowmobile, driving and riding in the sled. I liked driving much better than sled riding. The sled is like riding in the back of a pick-up truck, but with non-existent sides and snow flying in your face. It was tons of fun to drive on the big expanse of frozen lake (don't worry mom, I went slow-ish).

Bee-youtiful Snow Night & Day

Now I know why everyone kept saying, "Wait till the snow comes!"



Night

You can see where the ice breakers have been.



Erik & little Mimmi on a trek





Day

Monochromatic





Footsteps from people walking on the ice. Some people even cross country ski to work.

Olympic Sledding Material I am NOT

This ought to give everyone a good laugh. I'm uploading a video of my first sledding adventure. I use the term "sledding" loosely. We were actually going down on these small butt shaped pieces of plastic with a handle.



The Swedes call them stjärtlapp, which translates to something like "tail duplication". I know, the direct translations blow my mind. Anyway, the way that you stop is to either roll over, which I so elegantly demonstrate, or yank aforementioned pad out from under you.




You can hear my friend Lina yelling, "up with your feet!". Apparently I was applying the breaks too much.

I walked to work in 10 degree weather!

That's right. I can now officially tell my grandkids, "When I was your age, I walked to work in the snow, for 30 minutes, up hill and down, with my computer, barefoot." Okay, maybe not barefoot, but you get the idea.


Past the cool Piperska Garden (please note drastic difference from pic in November post):




Over the bridge (the big white area is FROZEN WATER!):




Here are some basic observations from my frigid trek:

1. The first 5 minutes outside induce a cold headache, a literal brain freeze, even if you have a hat on.

2. Hats reduce peripheral vision. So someone could be standing/walking next you you and you won't know it. This makes for uncomfortable moments when you stop and look both ways before you cross the street.

3. Snow is pretty on trees, bicycle seats, statues, ponds and benches. It is not pretty on trash bags, dog poop, construction equipment or the road.

4. Icicles can kill you.



5. If your face is numb you cannot feel your nose running.

6. Always carry a tissue.