Entries by TATIANA

Today I got up at 10, showered and washed my hair....stepped out of the house, got picked up by Carmen. We drove to Dalarö where we met up with Marie and her son Timmy.
Walked around a bit. Dalarö is a gorgeous place, of course. Right on the ocean. Next time I'm in Stockholm I want to spend some time traveling around in skärgarden (archipelago), there are so many beautiful places to explore. We had fika and talked. The weather was a mix between sunny and then gray, windy and rainy. Good I brought a jacket and an umbrella.
You can hop on a boat in Dalarö that will take you to one of the many close by islands.













Me and Carmen.....friends since second grade!






Then I got home....dropped off some stuff and ran to pendeltåget. Into City to meet up with Monika. She took me to Vurma, delicious food and we befriended two nice Japanese girls,
I might have a new friend in Tokyo now, in Shibuya of all places! Pannkakor med hallon och grädde - GOTT!

I have been very busy here in Sweden.....there has been a few late night movie nights with my brother. He has a projector and surround sound, so watching a movie on the couch is like being in a movie theater. Last night we watched two Swedish movies and tonight two scary movies. I hope I will be able to sleep after that, I got scared a few times. Earlier today I took care of some shopping and then I met up with my friend Taleb. Three hours of catching up and fika of course and then I came home. Now I am going to get some sleep......busy day tomorrow as well.

I spent a day at Gröna Lund last Wednesday with my brother. I remember how I would look forward to my one summer time visit to Gröna Lund when I was little, it was like best and most exciting place on earth in my mind. The rides looked so big and some were so scary.....Then I went a lot one summer when I was 16. I was into boys then and Gröna Lund was a place were me and my friends would go to have fun and look at boys. Oh the memories......
But before Gröna Lund I dragged my brother to Vete-Katten for some breakfast.





Then I had to pose for some pics (of course) on the way to Djurgårdsfärjan.



On the ferry (Djurgårdsfärjan) that takes you to Djurgården, a place were I would not mind residing.....it is amazing out there.



Almost there!



Then we purchased all the necessary tickets to be able to get in and get on the rides.



I even brought Pippi along......



What is wrong with this picture? An anatomy lesson for the kids that visit Gröna Lund.



And a collection of fun pics were you look crazy because you are on some sort of a ride that involves height and speed.....







Some fun times at Radiobilarna......were you try to crash into each other as many times as possible. Hopefully you get out of there without a neck injury.



A very fun day finally came to an end, I was ready to get home and curl up in bed. I was tired but happy.

It is Midsommar today.....a big holiday in Sweden. We (me and my brother) went to Tyresta By to watch the traditional festivities, such as the dancing around midsommarstången. A lot of people were gathered, there were Midsommar celebrations all over Sweden today, some are very nice.....like in a province called Dalarna.
I also met up with my friends Marie and Carmen. It was too cold out today to wear flip flops, I had a jacket with me but took it off to show off my new, cute and pink dress/tunic from the Swedish brand Odd Molly for the camera.





Me and Marie. ❤



Later in the evening me and my brother went into City to have dinner, he was in the mood for Indian food so we went to Indian Garden.



Now we are going to have a movie night.....with chips. While I'm writing this we are watching old Hot Boys videos.....remember Back That Ass Up, The Block Is Hot, I Got That Fire, Bling Bling......I love me some young Lil'Wayne and Juvenile.
Goodnight and Glad Midsommar from beautiful Stockholm, it is so gorgeous out that I get emotional and teary eyed at times when I walk through City......

I had a full and productive day in the City today.....I love busy days. First I had to pick up my new passport, it says Europeiska Unionen Sverige Pass on the cover. Then I went to Vete-Katten, I am becoming a regular there. They are supposed to close down for a while soon so I am enjoying the place while I can.....





There was actually some turmoil in Gamla Stan (Old Town) today. I was there, many streets were blocked off, police and medics everywhere, lots of people were gathered to get a glimpse of whatever was going on. A man claiming to carry a bomb said he was not happy with some Swedish politics and barricaded himself in a building, after a several hour long standoff the man gave up. I think he had enough and decided it was fika time. Look it up.....there are plenty of pics online.....like this link.
http://www.sydsvenskan.se/sverige/bildextra-bombhot-i-centrala-stockholm/

Later in the afternoon I met with Monika and Ulrika. We ate at Chutney.



I gave them books. I love this book.....it's called Wild in English and Vild in Swedish, by Cheryl Strayed. I have given it away to quite a few people now. So if I gave you this book.....then that means I like you. 🙂 Unless I know that you are not a reader.....not everybody is after all.



Pretty!



Pics with my friends.....







When I got back home I started crying, I went into the bathroom so my brother couldn't see me. I am sad because I don't want to leave my family and my friends. My heart is breaking.
I hate goodbyes. I am going to cry every day until I leave and I will bawl on the plane. I am not looking forward to this....at all.

I took the train to Växjö last Saturday.....SJ (Statens Järnvägar). I lived in Växjö for a few years, when we moved there I was NOT happy at first, having to uproot and leave all my friends in Stockholm. Well, I made new friends.....and they are great! I have kept in touch with most of my friends in Sweden, we get along really well and there is no crazy drama and BS like I have encountered too many times with people in the US.
The train is a fast train....it only takes about 3 1/2 hours, Växjö is 334 kilometer away from Stockholm. I needed reading material on the train.....



I had a Småland beer upon arrival, Växjö is situated in Småland......one of Sweden's 25 landskap (provinces).



Later that evening, me and Rose-Marie (I stayed with her) met up our friend John and went to Condeco for some fika. Fika is a very Swedish concept.....everybody does it, well the people that I know at least. You can read more about it here



Me and John. He won several Judo championships. My personal bodyguard.



Then me and Rose-Marie continued on to mingle while John went his way.......I think he had a late night date.



The next day it was gorgeous and sunny out.....so we spent time outside.



Later on it was fika time again. We went to a very scenic place, Toftastrand. This time it was me and Rose-Marie, John and Pernilla. We sat there for about three hours and talked non stop.
Lots of discussions about politics, I loveeeee sharing thoughts and opinions. No need to agree on everything.....disagreeing and having lively discussions is great, we are still friends and learn from each other.





And then Monday came around faster than I wanted, we started with breakfast at Stadshotellet.



Later some more coffee......fika time! Of course.



Time goes by so fast. I think about that a lot. I didn't want to leave but I had to. And that was my Växjö recap. Of course not everything that I did......but some of it.



I hope that I will see my friends fairly soon again, I miss them already! ❤ ❤ ❤