Visitor

No worries, I'm still here! My statistics tell me that some people actually come and visit so I guess I better keep at it. :) The silence didn't have anything to do with the amount of readers, though, my mom was here for a visit and so I was busy showing her around.

Sometimes I feel like I have two parallel lives, one in Finland and one in Sweden. The people in each don't really know what the other life looks like, and who I spend my time with. So it was great to have my mom here, now she knows where her daughter regularly disappears.

We had four action packed days, exploring Malmö, Lund and Copenhagen.

While waiting for my mom at Copenhagen airport, I discovered that Starbucks might be a bit better than their reputation. Or is it just greenwashing?

An outdoors store in Malmö has come up with a pretty clever way to be noticed.

I'd like to see what happens if somebody commits a crime and the troopers go after them.

The Swedes got their revenge after a shameful 6-1 loss in the ice hockey final.

Preparing for some bbq.

New potatoes! I hardly ever eat potatoes but gotta love new potatoes!

At an Italian restaurant in Lund, mom getting ready to dig in.

The 900 years old cathedral in Lund.

Modern meets medieval.

I'm not even religious, but there's something comforting in lighting a candle for the, well, dead.

A fancy elephant in Copenhagen.

Where oh where can I buy old posters like these?

Copenhagen City Museum.

If I could only go to one café for the rest of my life, it would be The Royal Café in Copenhagen. And not so much because of the food (which is good, though) but the whimsical and inspiring interior. It's such an eclectic mix, and there's always something new to admire.

My mom seemed to enjoy her visit, and when I look at these pictures, what's not to like! :)

Holy days

At the moment, whole Sweden is having a mini holiday. It was Ascension Day on Thursday, and at least school kids had Friday off as well. Today is National Day, which means another day off for most people. It doesn't really make a difference to me since I'm still on holiday anyway, but spending time with a couple of kids means that it's all about taking it easy and enjoying life. Which is exactly what we've been doing.

On Saturday we tried to find the recycling centre for building materials, but it was so carefully hidden in the industrial area that even Google Maps couldn't find it. So we ended up walking endlessly in the otherwise pretty deserted area.

We did find a building beautifully covered in vine, though.

And railroad tracks.

Along with parks, Malmö has beautiful old graveyards, like this one that we went through to get to Folkets Park (yeah, again).

In the park, our junior companion got to ride the carousel. Call me old-fashioned, but I find these kind of amusement park machines much more appealing than the blinking noisy ones.

A heart-breaking sight among all the fun and joy, a poor little abandoned koala bear.

The business of the day is over at Möllevågnstorget.

Saturday evening in our yard. Lighting up a grill can be tricksy.

Sunday morning started with a pancake fiesta.

There was also the "monster who was mad that he'd lost his ears."

A cake with meringue, Nutella, whipped cream and strawberries. Doesn't get much sweeter than that!

Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

Sweet summertime is finally here! Warm and sunny, just the way it should be. And we've been making most of the weather and the days off resulting from the Ascension Day.

On Thursday we went to Folkets Park, a wonderful place with stuff to do for both kids and grownups. One of the fences surrounding the park is an ever-changing graffiti exhibition with the most colorful, imaginative images.

I just love, love, love the parks in Malmö.

At the moment, they're having an art and design bazaar in the park, lots of wonderful stuff made by local artists.

We ended up buying raw food cakes, though.

Afterwards, we had a burger picnic in our yard.

With store-bought veggie beefs.

Today we spent the afternoon in the yard, and Allan made some wooden frames for the balcony. All I managed to do was burn myself. I just never learn.

Then it was time to bake some rolls for dinner.

With some seeds on top of them, carefully sprinkled by our little helper.

Along with the rolls, we had some guacamole.

And hummus.

Much munch!