Saturday, October 25, 2014

                         Two items one is unlikely to see in the States.

For this first one, I have a feeling I could write, "You know you are in Sweden if..."

I went to IKEA this week. 
- BTW, Prior to moving here, I never noticed that the IKEA logo's colors are basically the same as those in the Swedish flag.  It is pretty obvious now, but I simply didn't think of it. 




Anyway, so I went to IKEA with some friends and, not surprisingly, I found lingon sauce (think cranberry) available via a pump container.  Lingon is well loved here.  




Reflectors. 

- On adults' outerwear.  Let's be practical.  A lot of Swedes walk and / or ride their bicycles to get around town, which is great.  It is good for their health, it is good for their pocketbook, and it is good for the environment.  Anyway, in the cold-weather months much of the day is spent in the dark.  Today, October 25th, the sunrise and sunset times are:  07:59 and 17:45.  Tomorrow, after the time changes, the sun will only be up from  07:01- 16:42.  And on December 21st, the sun will only be up for 7 hours and 2 minutes, from 08:35-15:37.  So with up to 17 hours a day of dim to dark weather, reflectors are not just for children's cloths.  They are a sensible safety precaution. 


Side note:  In the States, songs of Autumn typically speak of the harvest and the beautiful Fall colors.  Here, Autumn (höst) songs seem to often speak of the coming darkness. 

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