Bicycle Lane

The plan was to go to Copenhagen today. The weather forecast for saturday looked great all week: sunny with a high of 50 degrees! However, this morning came and no sun. It was just another dreary saturday, but we were determined to make the most of it. So, after a quick brunch at a nearby café, we decided to walk around some areas of Malmö I hadn't seen yet. I am sure you will notice the bicycles in some of the pictures. When you first get here you can't help but notice all of the bicycles everywhere. I was unaware of the separate bike lane for a while and was constantly dodging the seemingly rogue bicyclists. Then one day, while trying to cross the street and barely avoiding yet another one coming straight for me, my boyfriend stated casually, "You know you are standing in the bicycle lane." As the girl obnoxiously rang her little bell to get my attention I felt pretty stupid and proceeded to get mad at him for not pointing this out to me yet. I was just embarrassed that it had been over a month and  I hadn't noticed it on my own. I just assumed the lane was for bikes and pedestrians. Here are some pics of this dreary saturday in Malmö...

Turning Torso

Turning Torso is an amazing architectural feat situated in Malmö, Sweden on the Öresund strait. It was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The 54 stories, featured in a complete 90 degree twist, stand out in the southern swedish town's skyline. It is a very impressive site in person. From where I sit in my swedish class I can see it out the window towering over the city. I consider it a sort of weathervane; I can tell what type of a day it will be outside depending on how clearly I can see it. If it is a really dreary day you can't see it at all, but it is in clear view from the window on nice, sunny days. My boyfriend and I walked the 3 kilometers from our flat to the coast to see it last weekend. I am not a very good photographer and my pictures don't really do it justice, but here are some images I caught on our journey to the Torso... 

Saab är kaputt!

I went on a weekend trip to Göteborg ("Gothenburg" in english) last weekend. It is about a 2 and 1/2 hours drive from Malmö up the west coast of Sverige (Sweden). As we drove into the city I noticed an advertisement on the side of a building saying "SAAB (...) A sign of times to come. This was the same week that the GM owned company announced it was going belly up. I laughed at the irony and then I cringed at it. The times aren't just coming. The times are here and it looks like they are here to stay for a while. I wonder how long it will take for Saab to remove that sign from the side of the building. Here I have posted pictures I took of the Saab ad and the headline I saw the next day in a Swedish newspaper... 

Sweden... 4 weeks later

For the past 4 weeks I have been experiencing the coldest winter in Sweden in 10 years. I would like to say that I adjusted beautifully and made the most of it, but alas I failed miserably. I didn't even come close. I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say a mix of culture shock, boredom and seasonal depression got the better of me. But I am a changed woman this week! I am actually in a good mood and want to walk around and socialize. I blame it mostly on the weather. It is actually 45 degrees outside today! You would never have me this excited about that temperature in the US, but here 45 degrees it is so much nicer than it has been. Well, I have also been without a reliable internet connection until this week too. Sadly I find a strong correlation between my happiness and my internet access. 

Gustav Adolf Torg

So I have been in Sweden for a week. Nothing interesting has happened. I mean I have had a great experience. It is really a beautiful place and I am so excited to be here and trying out new things, but other than the normal mistakes newcomers make in a foreign country I haven't really had much to talk about. In order to do a new blog post I guess I was waiting for really cool, fun stuff to happen. Well today was the day for fun, cool experiences... I left my swedish language course and had lunch with a couple of girls I have met there. After that I pondered walking around a bit and window shopping, but decided instead to walk to the bus stop and go home. As I approached Gustav Adolf Torg (A big square in the middle of town) to get to my bus I thought it would be fun to take a video of the square, it being so beautiful and all. I started looking down at my boots with the camera, tilted up to the sidewalk and then began to do a pan of the square. As I am panning right, out of the corner of my eye I see someone walking down the sidewalk, slowly approaching me as if to pass by. All of a sudden the woman starts yelling something to me in a foreign language. I look up at her as she gets too close. At first I thought she was mad that I was standing in her way until she takes a swing at me, apparently trying to hit the camera out of my hand. I mean she hit my wrist pretty hard. I thankfully kept ahold of my camera and yelled at her to get the hell away from me in english. All of a sudden she starts yelling at me in english. Thank the Lord!! I am actually relieved to hear the english version of what she is trying to say to me. This is what she said... " I am related to the Danish government! I know you are a f*%&ing spy... you can't take my picture." She continues to follow me saying, "I've got your number!! I can find you!" ... or something along those lines. I am so confused as to what to do. The people at the bus are staring at her, but she continues to yell and follow me. I am so embarrassed! I decide the safest thing is to forget the bus and walk in the opposite direction she was going. I find a store quickly and duck into it. After a few minutes of wandering around the store aimlessly I decide it is safe to go back and catch my bus.

17 days and counting...

I am going to Sweden! I leave on the 27th of this month. My boyfriend is moving back home to Malmö and I am going with him. I plan on staying for 1-3 months to begin with and depending on how it all goes there maybe longer. In case I wish to extend my trip a bit longer than the 3 months allowed by my tourist visa I am in search of some sort of employment there.  I am planning on taking my dog with me too. There are a lot of hoops to jump through to make that happen, but I am going to do my best! Wish me luck!

NYC December 2008