If you have a headache, the cold outside air is like a lovely, natural "ice pack" all over your head.
Instead of rain, you get pretty, fluffy, white snow.
It makes getting cozy indoors with hot chocolate or warm glögg (Swedish spiced wine) really nice.
Chances of having a white Christmas are excellent.
Romantic evenings with candles and a glass of wine feel even more romantic.
Bundling up in cute sweaters, scarves, knitted caps and boots! (These are also things that toward the end of winter, are the very things you can't wait to shed. Go figure).
And so it goes with winter in Sweden. Right now we are in Gothenburg, which is on the west coast and the exact opposite side of Sweden from Stockholm. We are here to celebrate Christmas with my husbands family. I really miss celebrating with my family in Texas but it is nice getting to spend the holiday here with my Swedish family in Gothenburg.
Today has been a fun sort of hectic day out and about in the city with all the millions of other people out doing last minute shopping. I forgot that it is just two days until Christmas here, as Swedes celebrate on the twenty-fourth. My husband graciously volunteered to join me and my mother-in-law for a brief trip into the city to visit his sisters where they work, do a minimal amount of browsing and last minute shopping ourselves, and finally stop by our favorite cafe for a "fika" (Swedish coffee break).
After our fika I was let loose in the city to pick up a couple of gifts and visit a booth at the mall that I usually visit each year. The woman working the booth is a ceramicist who makes the most adorable little angel and tomtar (Santas) figurines. Amazingly I did not get anything this year, though I really wanted to. Instead I headed over to System Bolaget (the liquor store) to buy a bottle of wine and spiced rum, which by some miracle they actually had. I thought I may have to get plain rum. Stay tuned tomorrow to see what happens with this rum.
Now we are off again for an evening of fun with my husband's sisters and their husbands. We are heading out to a Mexican restaurant here called Puta Madre. Funny enough, the phrase can be insulting but it is also popularly used in Spain to say something is incredibly cool. I hope Puta Madre is incredibly cool, and that they have excellent margaritas and food. I'll be sure to report back tomorrow... Until then...
... Tjingeling! (See you later in Swedish) :-)
Look at that lovely spread... Lattes, chocolate muffin, gingerbread muffin and a slice of apple cardamom cake. Fint!
as they say in Swedish, which means nice.
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