Copenhagen, Denmark

Finally, a new blog post! it's been a while and we've got a few things to post now. We went to Copenhagen for 4 days just after the new year. It was freezing!!!!! But it was also very beautiful. We ate at a lot of brewpubs, which jeff liked, and overall we found there to be a great selection of food choices.

Our hotel was fabulous, and very close to Central Station (we took the train from Gothenburg... approx. 4 hours). Taking the train was great, we enjoyed it much more than air travel. we were able to book 1st class seats, because for some reason, they were cheaper than 2nd class. we had 4 seats and a table, and it only cost us about $200 for both of us.

We didn't hit many of the tourist stops, we mainly did a lot of shopping. everything is copenhagen is expensive! food, clothes, etc. one day we travelled to the geological muesum and the art muesum. we really liked the art museum, especially the sculpture hall. on the way back, we stopped at a castle, unfortunately, we had missed the opening hours. i believe the castle is still in use, because there were very heavily armed military guards walking the grounds. the interesting thing about this castle was that is actually had a moat! i didn't think those really existed. We also stopped to see the original "little mermaid." we got lost trying to find her, and froze for a while before we did. it was worth the trouble...

anyway, enjoy the pics!

9 weeks and 5 days

okay, i'm a sap. but i can't help it. we got to see our baby for the 1st time at our dr. appt. on monday, and i just had to share our peanut with the world. 9 weeks and 5 days at that point. he did a little one-two punch-kick combo while we were watching, but we weren't able to catch it on the image. amazing stuff. can you make out his head, hands and feet?

Dublin

LOVED DUBLIN!!! in a really wierd way it felt a lot like the united states. maybe because everyone spoke english and everything was written in english. either way, a really nice trip. we found the irish people to be incredibly charming and friendly. they seemed to go out of your way to help you if you needed it.

the highlight of the trip for jeff was the Guiness brewery. the tour was really well designed, and we both enjoyed it. the highlight of the trip for me was visiting Malahide Castle. i've never seen anything like it. we both agree the the crypt under christ church cathedral was a very close second. you just seemed to step back 1000 years. i've only ever seen anything like it in museums.

enjoy the pics!

An American thanksgiving in Gothenburg!

we did it! we were able to find a turkey at Saluhalen (the farmer's market) and even cranberry sauce and canned pumpkin. we worked all day to pull it together, and we were able to finish cooking just as our friends arrived.

we invited Gustav and Lena (from here in Gothenburg), and Valby (from the Netherlands). none of them had ever experienced Thanksgiving before, and it was fun to see them try stuffing and pumpkin pie for the first time.

We recieved and email from Gustav on Saturday saying that he is finally hungry again ;). Overall, it was an awesome experience to be able to recognize our own holiday, and share it with so many friends. This year we are definately thankful that we've been able to make friends here so quickly. Later in the evening we were able to speak to (and see) our families back home on skype.

We've been invited to Gustav and Lena's place on Sunday for the first sunday in Advent, a swedish holiday celebration that recognizes the coming of Christmas. We'll have GLOGG (a swedish mulled wine) and PEPPERKAKA (gingerbread cookies). Stay tuned for pics....

new pics!

check out our new pics: our life in gothenburg, the move, and saying goodbye! all is well here in sweden. it was -7 C here today... brrr! jeff is FINALLY over his food-poisoning. we're getting more of our things unpacked and it's feeling more like home all the time. we've gotten almose everyone on SKYPE, so we've been able to chat quite a bit with our families and friends. we're hosting a thanksgiving dinner here on thursday for some of our swedish friends. stay tuned for more pics!

let's go to the movies

so jeff is finally feeling well enough to get out of the apartment. we decided on friday (even though he was still a bit sick) to get out and see "burn after reading", which just opened here this weekend. after a google search, i found local movie times, and after a 20 minute tram ride, we arrived at the theater.

in true swedish fashion, everything was confusing. we finally realized that you had to buy your tickets at the concession stand. they were a bit more expensive than in the U.S. (approx $12 per ticket), but the drinks and snacks are quite a bit cheaper. when we got to the counter, and asked for 2 tix to the show, she asked us which seats we'd like. a bit strange, when you buy your tix, you chose your specific seats, like at a concert.

today we went to see the new bond movie "quantum of solace" at the other theater near here. this time we figured out how to buy our tickets in advance online, and ended up getting some pretty decent seats. once we got to the theater, there is a kiosk where you just swipe your card if you purchased online, and it prints out your tickets. a bit annoying to have to chose seats if you get to the theater late, but buying them online and choosing seats works out well. you don't have to worry about getting there too late and having to sit in the front row!

one pic is of the bioplatset (the movie theater closest to us) and the second pic is the screen where you get to pick your seats. the red seats are already taken, the gray seats are still available. you click which seats you want and off you go.

socialized healthcare

so thanks to jeff's recent and ongoing bout with food poisioning, we had our first experience with sweden's socialized healthcare system. there is a local doctor's clinic about 5 blocks from our apartment. he's been sick since last monday, so he decided that our home remedies weren't working, and off we went. we walked in, grabbed a number, and expected to settle in for a long wait. after all, it's socialized medicine right? we've been taught to believe in the U.S. that it means long lines and substandard care. not so! within 5 minutes of arrival we were sitting with a triage nurse, and sent to sit in the waiting room. within 5 more minutes, we were in the exam room. the doc then sent him for some tests, just down the hall. again, about a 5 minute wait and they called him back for his labs. 5 more minutes and we were right back in the exam room. the entire visit took approx. 45 minutes, and cost 200 crown (approx $25). NO ADDITIONAL BILLS! we were never even asked for an insurance card, just for his personallnumber (the equivalent of our social security number.. and you're "official" swedish ID). the clinic is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is a walk-in clinic. no matter your illness, time of day, or required tests, the charge is only 200 crown. overall, it was a very pleasant (and inexpensive) experience.