Goodbye Goteborg!

Well here it goes my last blog post.  I am currently on the plane back to Chicago trying to write a take home exam and all I can think about is the amazing 4 months that I have had.  Memories of trips, friends and activities in Gothenburg are fluttering around my mind.  I am truly grateful and blessed to have had this experience.  Not only did Gothenburg become my home, but I created friendships with people from all over the world that will last a lifetime.  My friends from Canada, Spain, Germany, Australia and Japan (just to name a few) really made the experience truly amazing.  I will miss them terribly, but know that we will all see each other soon.  These just add to my long list of places that I want to visit in my life.  First stop, Barcelona in June! (My family is going on a cruise where we end in Barcelona and I just conveniently have a few friends who live in Spain J).

Alright enough with the mushy stuff or else I will start crying all over my computer.  These amazing friends that I have been telling you all about and I have been EXTREMELY busy these past few weeks.  We wanted to really utilize our time together in Gothenburg.  This means we did countless fikas, dinners out together, dinners in together (always with a Spanish omelet or chicken).  We also did some Swedish “cultural activities”.  We went to a hockey game where the Frolunda Indians (Gothenburg team and formal team of Blackhawks player Viktor Stahlberg) beat their rival Linkoping in a really exciting game!  The girls and I went to the Gothenburg Opera.  Although it was a bit modern and not an opera, it was still a really amazing experience.  In addition to all of our outings we took advantage of the Christmas season in Sweden.  We went to multiple Christmas markets, saw a Santa Lucia concert, and watched a really wacky Christmas film on the side of the art museum.  My last few weeks were consumed with doing some last minute shopping, spending every precious moment with my friends, and trying to figure out how on Earth I would get all of my stuff home.  I also did some schoolwork in there! 

No other experience in the world will compare to my months in Sweden.  I am a truly lucky girl to have been in such an amazing city in an amazing country with amazing friends.  I know that we will all be together soon enough (reunion in the US or Canada!!!)

So with this my faithful blog readers I say goodbye to my months of blogging.  Thank you all for reading!  I hope that I gave you a vivid picture of my life, but I don’t think my words could ever fully describe how much fun I had or how much I loved Gothenburg and my friends.  

The Lardner Girls Take Gothenburg

I arrived back in Gothenburg at about 7:30 pm and my sister and Mom had arrived a few hours earlier.  I went straight from the airport to their hotel.  I opened the door of the hotel room to find my mom and sister in layers of clothes in bed watching Free Willy 4 with Bindi Irwin.  They clearly had a productive first day in Sweden :)  No, to their defense, jet lag is the worst!  We chatted for a while and discussed the plans for the week.  


The next day we planned to go to a Christmas market at the Tjolöholm Castle in Kungsbacka.  We got up early and took the train to Kungsbacka.  We were under the impression that there would be a shuttle to take us to the castle.  Apparently the shuttle did end up coming at one point, but it was too cold to stand around and wait to see, so we took a cab.  After arriving at the castle, we walked around tried delicious types of meat, cheeses, glogg, chocolate, marsipan, and tons of different things.  We also looked at Swedish Christmas crafts and decorations.  I made a large purchase of a Swedish santa who you put in your house and then name and he will protect you.  If you change the name then you will have bad luck.  I clearly had to write the name on the bottom because with my goldfish memory I will never be able to remember.  And with my clumsiness I can only imagine what would happen if I had eternal bad luck.  We then a delicious Swedish hot lunch and then headed back via taxi to Kungsbacka to take the train home.  We had our first of many fikas on the trip and then had dinner at a delicious fish restaurant in Haga.


On Monday we had lunch at Le Petit Cafe in Haga.  They have absolutely amazing lunch buffets with to die for soup and salads.  We then walked around Haga a bit and I sent the girls on the tram to Nordstan (the biggest mall in Gothenburg) while I went to class.  We later met to go to dinner at the best rated restaurant in Gothenburg, 28+.  We enjoyed five courses where we were served everything from crayfish to scallops to Alli's favorite raw elk.  I had to take one for the team and eat the raw elk.  After our delicious and unique meal, Alli and I went to meet some of my friends who were playing ping pong.  


Alli and I met up with our mom in the morning to do some more shopping.  We explored the shops and boutiques of Kungsportsplatsan.  They had adorable little stores with so much Christmas stuff.  We shopped for hours much to the dismay of Alli.  For those of you that know Alli well you are probably thinking... "Hmm this is strange. Alli is obsessed with shopping."  Well my mom and I were equally as shocked when Alli kept complaining are we almost done.  The reason for Alli doing this is because she was cold.  Literally the entire trip Alli was complaining about how cold it was.  If you see my mom's pictures she has quite a few of Alli sulking in the cold.  After our Christmas shopping, we headed off to the grocery store to get food for my mom to cook for my friends and I.  That night she was preparing Mexican Shells.  Three of my friends came over and had dinner with my mom and sister and I.  It was great food with great conversation.  And everyone was excited to have a home cooked meal.


On Wednesday we went to the fish market and had a great shrimp salad.  We then decided to venture out to the islands.  Like always on my trips to the islands, we just missed the boat, so we had to wait in the port for an hour.  We decided to take the high speed ferry around and we just stayed on like a boat ride.  It was too cold to get off and walk around the islands.  The ferry ride was really nice though.  After that we went back to their hotel and got ready for our dinner on the Viking.  If you have seen a picture of the harbor then the Viking is that big huge ship.  It is now a restaurant and hotel, owned by the amusement park Liseberg.  The food was fantastic and the atmosphere was really cool.  


Thursday we had lunch at this great restaurant in Berzeiligatan.  It was another lunch buffet and delicious!  We then ventured over to the Universeum (the science and industry museum).  We went all through the different Scandinavian climates, saw many different animals (was also part zoo and part aquarium).  The highlight though was this hands on section.  There was a part that was hands on like space and astronaut stuff.  One of the things was to stand on these spinning platforms and try to close drawers and things like astronauts in space.  Alli and I spun on those things for a solid 15 minutes.  After that was a like hands on crime section.  They had fingerprinting, witness recognition, DNA stuff, and even a Mission Impossible type room where you climb over the lazers and if you touch one a siren goes off. While my mom and I were playing around with all of this stuff, Alli ventured over to room where there was a sign that said "Sit in the chair, if you dare."  So clearly she sat in the chair.  I walk over just as the magic happens.  This chair is facing a dresser.  All of a sudden a scary face pops up on the dresser and shrieks like bloody murder.  Alli screams and like curls up in a ball.  The best part is they video tape your reaction, so we got to relive Alli freaking out.  It was absolutely hilarious!  Later that night, my mom again cooked for my friends and I.  Four of my friends came over and we all enjoyed delicious American chili, cornbread, and brownies.  


Friday was my mom and Alli's final day in Gothenburg.  I had class in the morning, so Alli and my mom went to the sports museum.  We went to a great lunch in Brunnsparken and then went for fika to get cocoballs.  Alli also discovered kladdkaka on her final day, which is a combination between a brownie and chocolate cake.  After our fika, we headed over to Liseberg to go to the Christmas market.  It was absolutely frigid.  Like unbearable.  We walked around Liseberg, stopped at the Christmas stands, but more importantly stopped at the heating stations.  Alli and I also dared to go on a few rides.  The swings were a huge mistake in the bitter cold, wind and snow.  Carrie met up with us later and the four of us went to an authentic Christmas buffet at Liseberg.  When they said authentic, we got authentic.  From our waitress who did not speak on word of English to the 50 types of herring. However, there was a lot of really great food and amazing desserts.  It was a cool experience if nothing else.  That night I bid goodbye to Alli and my mom and realized I would be home in three short weeks.  


Some of my pictures from their trip:

Mom and Alli at the castle in Kungsbacka

Swedish Santa

The tree in the castle

Santa throwing candy at the children

Map on the way to the islands

Mom and Alli on the way to the ferry

Snow covered islands

Alli pouting because she is cold