I have been travelling the world. We were supposed to have a game on December 11th but it got cancelled. I was supposed to go to Gotland on the following Monday with Cilla (teammate who lives on Gotland) but we decided to go the Saturday before instead. Gotland is an island in the Baltic sea. We took a ferry that was about 3 hours. It is such a quaint island. The biggest city, Visby, is the equivalent of a small town in America. The biggest road on the island is two lanes. It is not a big island at all. And it is very flat. It is known for sheeps. I did see a lot. Cilla, her friends, and I went out in Visby Saturday night. I brought my solo cups with me. They travel with me everywhere I go. I introduced American drinking games to more Swedes. They love it. My goal in life is to integrate American drinking games into everyday Swedish party life. It will change Sweden for the better. I would need to somehow change the alcohol sale laws though. Alcohol is sold in one place called System Bolaget. It doesn't have very good hours and isn't open on the weekends. Lame. Drinking games need access to large quantities of beer at all times for when the drinks run out during the night. But anyway Cilla took me to the south of the Island to see it. It is beautiful.
There is a famous rock called Hoburgsgubben which looks like an old man and has a tale behind it.
Cilla made me homemade Swedish pancakes which were delicious. We had dinner at her moms. There is a wood board that is used as a plate for a special meal consisting of steak, mashed potatoes, roasted tomato, and asparagus wrapped in bacon. The mashed potatoes are spread out around the edges of the wood board. I didn't take a picture but this is sort of what it looked like. This dish didn't originate in Sweden but it has become a traditional meal through time.
Cilla and I made our first gingerbread house from scratch by ourselves. It was huge. I am not artistic. It became very relevant after comparing my parts of the house to Cillas. I guess I didn't get my dad's architectural skills. Oh well. It was also hard not to snack on it since Cill and I are both not eating sweets at the moment. The temptation was killer.
Gotland was a great visit. I then headed to Latvia to visit Elina (teammate). I flew with ryanair into the capital Riga which was so cheap. Elina and I went to an awesome club that had 5 dance floors and 3 famous djs from Latvia, Estonia, and the UK. They were amazing. Riga is a really cool city. I feel like Stockholm is different from the rest of European cities. It is so clean and new looking. Riga was dirty and old but so awesome. Very busy. It reminded me of a less crazy NYC with shorter buildings and a bigger area. So I guess it is not that similar to NYC but I kind of felt like I was in NYC. Not sure why. There is this place that serves dumplings of all kinds. So awesome. Latvia is all about sour cream. They put it on everything. Elina's dad owns a restaurant that serves traditional Latvian food. SO good. Meat, potatoes, and different salads.
She lives in Jurmala which is not too far from Riga right near the Baltic. We walked from her house to the beach and it was only 5 minutes away. We made gingerbread cookies and cheese cookies. We also decorated the Christmas tree which was nice because I won't be home to do that. Even though my Mom boycotts Christmas trees most years anyway. All in all it was a great 9 day vacation away from Linkoping. Being in Latvia made me realize how expensive Sweden is. Food and alcohol was like half the price. 5 days until my Eurotrip with Court. I am too excited. I will blog a couple times to keep you updated on my travels. I am almost done with the semester. I need to finish a review paper and revise a few reports. I have all week to get it done before I leave on Monday for Amsterdam. It has finally been steadily snowing here. Not much accumulation on the ground but it is enough for things to look white. I wanted a white Christmas and I think I'll get one. Deb and I will both be here for Christmas. The university puts on a Christmas potluck for international students that aren't going home for the holidays. We are supposed to bring a traditional dish. I'm going to bring Latkes. I have never made them on my own so it will be interesting. We all know I am a disaster in the kitchen. Thank god for Afton to save me in that department. I hope that you all have a great Christmas/Hanukkah/whatever you celebrate. Sending love from Sweden
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