thanksgiving in stockholm recap

We went to Stockholm for Thanksgiving and got back really late last night. We left on Wednesday afternoon to snow falling all over town. I love the first few snows of the season.

We took a train up to Stockholm and there is something so European about traveling by train. The train smelled like a sauna and had free wi-fi.

Stockholm was, as always, busy. I shouldn't be shocked by the amount of people strolling through the city, but I always am. I'm starting to learn my way around and recognize places and streets. I'm falling a bit in love with the city and I'm hoping that one day we might move- there for at least a little while.
All of G's childhood friends live there and there is nothing better than to see them laughing together.

We celebrated Thanksgiving a day after the actual Thanksgiving. Our friends Henrik and Sofia hosted all 12 of us and everyone brought a proper Thanksgiving dish. It was amazing and tasted just like home. I am so grateful (and thankful) to all of our friends in Stockholm who celebrated with us.
It's hard being away from home during the holidays so to be surrounded by friends who are willing to celebrate your holiday with it's crazy foods (sweet potatoes with marshmallows) is really really nice.
Thank you guys.

We came back really late last night. That train ride was a lot less smooth and there was some annoying sound coming from our section of the train for the whole six hours. We watched gruesome episodes of The Walking Dead to drown out the noise.

And now it's the First Advent and the snow is falling slowly outside onto an already winter covered ground. I have exams coming up and need to study, but all I really want to do is just enjoy this winter.

Snow and Stockholm and Trains

Right now I'm sitting on a train heading to Stockholm. I think we'll arrive in about two hours. It's dark outside but I think it's been snowing almost the whole time.
We woke up to snow this morning. Covering everything, making it look perfect and clean. Until you walk out to the streets and see the sludge from traffic. But that is besides the point. The point is, it was magical.
I love the first big snowfall. It's encouraging and fresh. It was even better because we knew that in a few hours we'd be leaving for Stockholm.

It's my second Thanksgiving away from home and this year we decided to celebrate amongst friends. I'm excited!
And thank goodness this train had internet!

apartments and photos

Yesterday we cleaned our apartment really, really well. We were supposed to have someone over to look at it because we're thinking of trading our firsthand contact for another's. Through a website called Lägenhetes Byte you can do a direct trade or a triangle trade for apartments all over Sweden.
One of the most coveted things you can have in Sweden is a firsthand contract for an apartment, especially in the bigger cities: Stockholm, Göteberg, and Malmö. It's not easy to come by, I'd imagine it's similar to getting an apartment in New York. You can read about how hard it is to get a first hand contract here - the post discusses apartments in Stockholm but it's pretty similar here in Malmö and from what I can tell, it's getting worse.
Anyways, we were supposed to have someone over who was interested in a trade but at the last the minute she cancelled on us. Since our apartment was really clean we decided to take a few pictures to add to our ad on Lägenhetes Byte. I thought I'd share a few them with you guys. I like our place. A lot. But I'm ready to move. I have a lot of new ideas for our next apartment and I can't wait to have an opportunity to use them.

We took these photos around 3:00 in the afternoon. As you can see, it was already pretty dark outside (for 3:00 in the afternoon!) All of our nice looking furniture is either second hand or given to us. Everything else is IKEA.

moving on and staying put

Sigh.
The thing I was so excited about didn't work out. It's ok. We were disappointed but now we are over it.
The thing was moving to a very awesome apartment. An old building built in 1907 right on the square of one of the coolest areas of town. And it was right on top of a coffee shop. Pretty cool right?
It's ok that it didn't happen. It was just super exciting- thinking about moving and decorating and planning all of that.

In other (good) news, we have a new wireless router. It's very exciting because it's Airport Express. Slowly G is becoming more and more of an Apple nerd. And we are halfway through Dexter Season 3.
Everything is allright.

it's ok, it really is

I mentioned before that I have this whole week off. It's going surprisingly fast. That might have something to do with the fact that at 4:30 it's pitch black outside so the days feel shorter. Last night G and I came home and fell asleep completely exhausted at 6:00 (we woke up again at 7:00). What did I do yesterday? Not a lot. I went to the center of town and hung out with a friend from class. G worked all day. I have no excuse for falling asleep at 6:00 but I think the darkness has something to do with it.

I was totally dreading winter this summer. Like, to the point where I would shudder in disgust when I thought about it. But truth be told, I don't mind it so much right now. Right now. 

The fact is, I'm not working this fall/winter so I get to enjoy a lot more of my day. I get to experience more of daylight (even if it is grey) and watch the leaves fall. I'm not cooped up in an office watching the daylight go as I answer a phone or stare at a computer screen. It really makes all of a difference.

So far, so good.

Right now I'm planning for American Thanksgiving. I am pretty sure G and I will be going to Stockholm for the holiday and I'm super excited to celebrate with our friends.
This year, back in the States, my family is having a reunion at Thanksgiving which we will be missing out on. I also missed Thanksgiving last year.
Planning it right now makes me feel all kinds of nostalgic for the American holidays. I've already compiled a list of movies we have to watch during Christmas.

Yesterday, I took a picture of the leaves falling. It's really nice this time of year.