Børk! Børk! Børk!

We finally see what the Swedish Chef was babbling about all those years. Sweden is awesome!

Thanks to another cheap flight deal on TUIfly, Andy and I were able to hop on a plane to the Land of Vikings for a weekend trip to see our long-lost friend Therese. Let me tell you, it was a super fun to have a Swedish friend as a tour guide. She totally hooked us up and introduced us to all the best Swedish stuff....from Viking Museums to cheeses to the ever classic Swedish meatballs (which she made for us herself!).

The trip started with a yummy dinner at a very nice Swedish restaurant. I had some delicious, super-fresh fish, and Andy and Therese both got a kind of giant veal meatball served with berry sauce. Sooooo good. I still can't decide though if dinner or dessert was better....but maybe that's my sweet tooth talking.

The amazing dessert. Oh, and some crazy tourists that jumped into the picture...

The next day we let Therese catch up on sleep (she's a wild-and-crazy world traveling consultant) while we headed to see The Vasa. It's a super cool ship, all made out of beautifully carved black walnut and, with its size and grandeur, dwarfing all the tiny humans there to gaze upon it. Too bad The Vasa had a tragic fate; it sunk after just 20 minutes at sea. As our guide said, "In fact, this tour will last longer than The Vasa's maiden voyage." Indeed. After resting at sea for 333 years, the Vasa was resurfaced in the 60s, masterfully restored for the next 25 years or so, and then made into a museum. Apparently, the reason it sunk was simply that it didn't have a sufficient ballast (the rocks in the bottom of the ship used as a counterweight). So, it was top heavy and when a gust of wind caught its sails, it tipped over enough that the gun ports filled with water and....well....that was that.

Ships along the canal near Therese's place

Huge sunken treasure: The Vasa

After getting our fill of the giant war ship, we met up with Therese for a stroll through the city center and Stockholm's old town. Very nice. The city's buildings are really very pretty.

We decided to forego another restaurant meal for dinner, and instead opted to have a feast at Therese's place. Good choice! She picked out all sorts of wonderful things for us to sample...cheeses, meats, cured salmon with dill honey mustard, fruits, it was heaven. She even shared with us a very nice bottle of champagne that had been a birthday gift from her mom. It was seriously delicious.

Awesome Swedish feast at Therese's place

And the goodies continued, as the next morning Therese made us some Swedish waffles (yum!) and let us sample some cloudberry jam. Fat and happy, we headed over to the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit, followed by a visit that afternoon to the History Museum. I tell you what, those vikings knew how to pillage. There is a huge gold collection there! We even got to see the 9,000-year-old skeleton of a 40-year-old woman who had given birth to 12 children! If that doesn't give insight into the strength of the vikings, I don't know what does.

Cool window at the Viking Museum....kind of looks like a Viking muppet

We're eager to have a chance to visit Sweden again, to explore the countryside, enjoy some more delicious foods, and sail along the coast in the bright sunshine, but until then, we'll just have to cook homemade meatballs as a memento. Børk! Børk! Børk!

Sprachen Espanien and Unravellin'

I break for spicy Spaniards.. Sorry kid.

Take life up a notch. Why set a rendezvous at the seedy diner on the other side of town when a weekend double-date in Barcelona is within your reach? That was our thought when close friends of ours were taking some time away from their studies to visit Scotland. Combined with the allure of the Sea (not to mention the sea-FOOD), the imaginative architectures of Antoni Gaudi, and possibly the largest open market in Europe, and I'd call that a pretty damn good date weekend. :)

Four days brought us to five Antoni Gaudi creations (La Padrera, the Segrada Familia yet-unfinished House of God, the school house, Park Guell, and a wicked-cool townhouse), a visit to the Port of Barcelona along the water front, Tapas galore, possibly 20 miles of good ole' walkin, four visits to that monster market called La Bocqueria, and just one afternoonish relaxing to catch our breaths. That break was nestled between a long city & garden walk, stumbling across a ginormous cultural market (not just stands.. we're talking tents with handmade textiles and diverse foods), but before heading out again for an evening Flamenco show at the local culture house. Actually "community" is more in order here, as it was a walled city converted into an artists community. Visiting these places with Rob and Jen made it all the more worthwhile, and we're secretly awaiting our next visit with them as it can only get better.

Together on the roof of Gaudi's La Padrera.. Camera thiefs can't run far on a roof..

I leave you with some pictures to give an idea of this adventure, but neither my writing nor pictures can give you a real idea of how awesome that weekend was.

Sure, sure, take all that fruit for granted.. wait.. are those gigantic freaking artichokes? Holy Jesus.

By the way, if you find yourself at an open market choosing between a fresh Blackberry drink and a coconut one, take my hint and avoid the one more likely to contain seeds.. and I do mean seeds.. possibly 10 tablespoons worth!

Port of Barcelona: We came, we saw, we were pooped on by seagulls (just kidding)

Not kidding about those seeds, kids. Reach for the Kiwi, at least the seeds are chewable.

From the Park Guell Lizard: See kids, Crayons ARE toxic.