Spring in Uppsala

Hej san,

I feel like it really hasn't been that long since I've written! (This could have something to do with the unfortunately long time between my previous posts.) My time in Uppsala is flying past, and I'm both thrilled and very sad about this fact. There are definitely things I miss about Boulder and home; yellow cheddar for one, and my brother for another. (Yes, Jeff, you just got compared to cheese. I know you're honored.) Especially now that I've finally finished arranging my schedule for next fall, part of me wants to get home and get started on it.

As much as I can't wait to go home, I think there will be a very great number of things I miss about Sweden as well. I only have class in English once a week, and now my own language falls rather strangely on my ears. I'm much more accustomed to the nasal tonality of Swedish. Mind you, this doesn't mean I understand all that much Swedish. I'm just used to hearing it. There are several food-related things; knäckebröd of course, but I'll also miss the muesli, which has a completely different texture to granola I ate at home, and the wonderful semla buns. I'll miss the silhouette of Domkyrkan (the cathedral) looming over everything and the pink castle. (That still makes me giggle. Honestly, Uppsala. Your castle is pink.)

But it's something less definable I think I'll miss the most. In one of my very first blog posts I quoted my Lonely Planet travel guide about two Swedish mindsets: lagom, which means just right (think Goldilocks), and ordning och reda, everything in its proper place. (Actually, ordning och reda means "system and out" if you translate it directly, and most Swedes translate it as "orderliness." I have learned some Swedish!) I've found it to be true in so many ways, large and small. I'm not sure how the Lonely Planet people managed to nail it, but they did.

Instead of dwelling on how much I'll miss it here, I've started to compile a list of all the things I've though about doing and haven't actually done yet. Some of them I've completed since the last time I wrote, and some of them are still on the list. So far the list looks like this:

--go to Carolina Rediviva
--try semla and/or kanelbulle at Cafe Linnea and En Cafe (two cafes on my bike ride home that I've been eyeing for months)
--visit The English Bookshop
--go to IKEA
--go shopping. Gasp! I know. It's not exactly something I do frequently. But I've been watching Swedish fashion for the last three months, and there are a couple of things I want to try. Turns out I can be a girl after all...
--watch the sun rise from the castle. I need to do this soon though, before the sun starts rising before five. It's already getting very close. I don't know why I didn't do it when the sun was coming up at eight thirty.
--order meatballs at a restaurant
--go clubbing at Stockholm Nation. Again, not something I normally do, but I've heard from multiple people (from multiple countries) that Sweden's clubs are the best in the world, so I feel like I should give it a whirl.
--see Gamla Uppsala
--have a picnic by the river

I want to do at least one a week. Sometimes it's hard to actually get myself to do these things; I'm never quite sure if I'm saying the right phrase in Swedish, or if I should be finding a number ticket or just standing in the queue. It's little things that can make you feel stupid that I'm afraid of.

I also am beginning to make plans to travel to other parts of Sweden; I want to see a region called Lake Siljan, and I refuse to leave Sweden without going to Fårö Island. Both are supposed to be incredibly beautiful. Also on the list are Malmö and Kalmar, two cities in southern Sweden. I'm not sure if I'll make it to all the places I want to go, but at least now I'm thinking about it.

You will be happy to know that I FINALLY crossed IKEA off my list! I now have beautiful purple curtains that do a really wonderful job keeping a lot of light out of my room, as I found out this morning when I woke up and realized it was nearly nine. I also got thread in different colors, and I'm (slowly) figuring out how to embroider.

I realized when I was talking to Henri one day that my denim bag, which my Granny made for me, has been to six different countries, and it will be nine, potentially eleven, by the time I get home. Now, I am definitely not a fan of sewing flags on a backpack or bag; I think it looks touristy. But I am going to embroider the names of the countries on the inside of the flap, so they're not obvious. I figured I should practice a bit first though, so my new dish towel has some (very messy) decorations on it now. Needlework sort of makes me feel like a little old lady, but it also makes me happy, so I'm ok with it.

The other excitement of the week was sending Brooke off to go home. In theory she should arrive in Melbourne in two more hours, after thirty-six hours of planes. I'll miss seeing her and her family, but they'll all be so much happier at home with their friends surrounding them. Hopefully her recovery and rehab goes well and she'll be coming back to Steamboat next winter for more racing.

Next time I hope to have some pictures of spring in Uppsala for you. It's really quite different from January when I arrived; flowers are pushing up, cafes and restaurants have tables and chairs set up outside, and there are many more people out. Granted, it snowed two days ago, so I'm definitely still in Scandinavia, but spring is trying. I hope you're having your share of warm weather as well, although I know in Colorado you could be under two feet of new snow. Ah well, we can dream, right?

Until next time,
hej då!