Vienna!

vienna crew, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

Had a magical weekend in Vienna with these 3 girls! We partied, saw the sites and partied some more! Vienna is spectacular and we had a blast. Details to follow!

Jag ska åka till vienna idag!

Vienna from Prater Ferris Wheel, originally uploaded by trent_maynard.

I'm going to Vienna today! But I'll be back on Sunday!

The swedish phrase of the day is trevlig helg! which more or less means have a good weekend!

Stocksund

DSC00020, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

Everyday I pass the very lovely Stocksund on the Roslagsbanan. It is beautiful, no matter the weather, no matter my mood. Stockholm quite often takes my breath away.

morgondimma

100_6790, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

It is very cold and very misty this morning. The thermometer said 0 degrees when I left for my morning walk. But it looked very very pretty in the forest. Sometimes I feel really lucky to be living outside the city, so close to a forest refuge. Other times I feel a bit isolated. This morning I pleasantly felt both.

I spoke to my brother on the phone this morning. He was telling me that Stockholm is a similar latitude to Whitehorse, Yukon. I can't believe I'm living this far north! 0 degrees in October!!! Yikes!

The swedish word of the day is morgondimma, meaning morning fog.

Weekend Purchases/Gifts

Weekend Purchases/Gifts, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

I also acquired some lovely things this weekend

Tea - Södermalmsblanding (Södermalm's Blend)
Tea - Apelsin Rooibos (Orange Rooibos)
Lovely Green Vintage Thermos
Lovely White Vintage Tea Tin

Emma also brought me this adorable Muumi Tin & Lunda Blandning tea from Lund. Tackar Emma!

Visitors from Lund

100_6679, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

Had a lovely weekend with Emma, Tobias & Gustav. Emma & Tobias came for the weekend and Gustav recently moved here. The weekend was filled with an excess of the following: fika, vintage shopping, wine, laughter, late nights and friendship. I'm so lucky that these lovely people are in my life!

Guerilla Knitting

100_6667, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

In the last few weeks Stockholm has become very chilly, and people throughout the city have begun to dress for the weather. Scarves and hats and mittens are everywhere. And many people have been taking care of various lamp and sign posts. It's beautiful, creative and inspiring! Maybe Stockholm isn't so cold after all?

Sunny Stockholm

100_6681, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

Sometimes life in a new place is really exciting, full of new experiences, raw energy but after awhile this gets stressful and tiresome. Returning home just for an evening to relax, recharge seems like the only attractive option.

And then there are the other moments, walking through the city alone, when you feel overwhelmed with loneliness - sad and forgotten in the midst of the busy city. And I look up and see bright sky and pretty rooftops and it suddenly reminds me that beauty is everywhere, and sometimes all I need to do is look up.

Puffy Look Alike

DSC00013, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

I often see this little dog around Stockholm. It's always the same girl, so it's definitely the same dog. I'm convinced that she never leaves home with out it. Anyway, the dog looks so much like Puffy, my parents precious little dog. And every time I'm see them it makes me think of home.

hund is dog på svenska.

Au Pair

100_6406, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

Sometimes this little darling is so adorable I can barely stand it. I'm the luckiest au pair.

smörgåsar

100_6163, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

I've been a little bored lately. So I've been trying to make nice looking, delicious culinary delights. Today I made a delicious wasa sandwich.

smörgåsar means sandwiches på svenksa.

nya stövlar

100_6345, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

Bought some cool vintage boots yesterday at Beyond Retro. I'm a little in love with them.

New boots is nya stövlar på svenska.

String Cafe in Sofo

100_6141, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

Today Cristina, Guido, Nils & I went to String Cafe in Sofo. A cool, main-street/commerical drive sort of area in Stockholm. It's a nice cafe, and we did some vintage shopping. I bought some new (to me) boots. I'll post a pick of them later.

Later we went to Kulturehuset and saw the Araki exhibit. I'd definitely recommend it. It made me really happy. He's an amazing Japanese photographer. His work made me sad, inspired, lonely, and happy. It was a little graphic, very vivid, and very satisfying.

Olssons hit Stockholm

100_6080, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

My favourite Olssons, Jonte & Arvid came for a visit in Stockholm tonight. We went to Carmen and had too much fun! We also took about 90 pictures that look almost exactly like this one.

Solsken i Uppsala

Uppsala, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

Today was a perfect perfect, brisk sunshiny day in Uppsala. I woke up to lovely sun rays shining through the window. And it made me smile even before I opened my eyes. I spent the morning wandering around in beautiful Uppsala, sitting beside the river, walking through the park, pretty yellow leaves falling everywhere. Arvid and I had some lunch and i caught the train back home in time for work this afternoon.

A perfect swedish day.

In sweden, sunshine is solsken.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

Arvid & Jonte live in a beautiful old house with 20 other people and they have the most magical kitchen. When i think of Sweden, it looks like this.

kitchen is kök in swedish.

Thanksgiving in Uppsala

Thanksgiving in Uppsala, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

Our darling Olsson brothers made Alex & I a very non-traditional, but appreciated thanksgiving dinner. semi-cooked quiche, two-vegetable salad, and store-bought bread should definitely become an annual thing. Dessert was very typically Swedish kladdkaka and yummy black coffee with cardamom. Yummy Yummy!

Autumn is here!

Autumn is here!, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

It's a magical autumn here in Stockholm. I can't believe how quickly fall came. Beginning of October and it's already really chilly and leaves are falling everywhere.

The word of the day is höst, meaning autumn.

Stockholm

Stockholm, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

I have officially lived in Stockholm for 41 days. It seems like much longer. Moving away from Vancouver was difficult. I miss home, I miss friends, family and regular Canadian things. I thought I'd never feel comfortable here - my Swedish is abysmal and I'm constantly awkward and embarrassed about even the most simple things. But I've done so much I wouldn't have done in Vancouver. I'm out here on my own. I've found friends and started to gather a whole new life around myself! I've pushed my personal boundaries, experienced the entire range of possible emotions. but Suddenly, I'm happy again and everything is going to be okay - just a little more Swedish.

Feist in Stockholm

Feist in Stockholm, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

Karolina, Charlie & I went to Feist at Cirkus. It's a great little venue on Djurgården. We got to take the little commuter ferry from Slussen. It made me happy that a ferry was part of Stockholm's local transit system.

Cirkus was built a long time ago, it's was actually built to be a circus, and it's built in a circle. Awesome! Our seats were horrible but we are sneaky girls and managed to be able to stand in the very front row right in front of the stage. Shhh... don't tell.

The show was perfect, with Bob Wiseman opening. I was very proud to be a Canadian tonight. Even if you aren't a fan of Feist's music, I would suggest checking out her show. She is a performer and a half. The word I'd use is captivating...

The word of the day is fängslande, meaning captivating.

the bridges of friendship are stronger than despair

aaron & tracey, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

"Write of the times,
when the bridges of friendship are stronger
than despair..."

- Adam Zagajewski from A Letter to the Reader

Visitor!

Vanessa, Gamla Stan, Stockholm, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

My Canadian friend Vanessa came to Stockholm for the weekend from Uppsala, an hour away. We walked through the rainy city, met some of her friends and had a really nice time.

Visitor is besökare på svenska.

Papper, Mariatorget

Papper, Mariatorget, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

A favourite window display.

Prince

Prince, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

Sitting in Mariatorget today I made new friends with this Italian guy named Prince. He was visiting some friends in Stockholm. I new he wasn't swedish, because he went out of his way to talk to me because I was sitting alone on a bench in the park. It was an awkward 60 minute conversation, but it was very nice to speak to a new person. Sometimes Stockholmers seem very very very cold. A little warmth (even uncomfortably) is appreciated.

Very Important Clothes, Stockholm

Store Window in Gamla Stan, Stockholm, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

There is a store in Gamla Stan that always has the most interesting, bizarre and slightly creepy storefront windows. Here is September's display.

The swedish word of the day is groda, which means frog.

Min Vän

Maria, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

My Swedish friend Maria from Skåne came to Stockholm for the weekend. It was so nice to see her. It was great to see a familiar face in the sea of strangers that I encounter every day in this city. We did a little shopping, went to some cafes and had dinner with some of her friends. It was nice weekend with a little taste of home. We reminisced a lot about Vancouver and her time there.

The Swedish phrase of the day is min vän, meaning my friend.

Uppsala

DSC00020, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

My luggage hasn't arrived! I hope it comes soon, After missing my flight in new york and spending the night there, I finally arrived in Uppsala this morning. Of course, the first thing I did was meet Jonte, buy a cell phone and then have coffee. It's nice to be back in Sweden, but it feels a bit strange. All my friends are living in Uppsala and I'm becoming increasingly concerned that Täby is too far away from anything or anyone fun.

The swedish word of the day is ankomst, meaning arrival.

kråka

today while walking up my street I was attacked by a crow... again. I think the puffy ball of hair poking out of the top of my head looks like the makings of a cosy nest. Crows simply cannot get enough of it. But unlike the others, this crow was angry, and did not want me to go near the gate of my house. It just repeatedly flew at my poor head until some bystanders helped me scare it away.

One of the crow-scaring helpers said "Last week my girlfriend said she got dive bombed by a crow, but I didn't believe her until now."

Anyway, it was scary and from now on I'm coming through the alley.

the Swedish word of the day is kråka, which means crow.

bil fri

IMG_8068, originally uploaded by sinja.

Today was the annual car free commercial drive celebration. The streets were closed to cars and instead were filled with pedestrians, bikes, food vendors, drummers and dancers. It was great to see a broad sampling of the community, and surrounding areas come together for a great time. The crowd was full of energy and there was a lot to see. Apparently last year 24,000 people made it out to the festivities. I'm interested to see what the count was for today! Very fun! I will really miss this neighbourhood when I'm living in Sweden.

bil fri means free of cars in Svenska.

wind

wind, originally uploaded by traceylikesyou.

Windy, Windy, Windy. Lots of our friends have called with reports of power outages around the city. So far, so good for us. I'm studying for my last final exam tomorrow. The exam should be fine and i'm not worried. I made some delicious ginger cookies today with this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fresh-Ginger-Cookies/Detail.aspx

pretty delicious.