Sunrise...Sunset

In September, there are ~ 4 1/2 minutes less sun per day in Malmo (as opposed to changes of around 1-2 minutes /day during June). That might not sound like any big deal, but that means that in one week, there is ~ 30 minute difference in the amount of daylight hours than the week before! Yikes! It never occurred to me that there would not be a consistent change. It is kind of bazaar.  But interesting...

Ahh the difference a dot makes…

First let me tell my American friends and family that the Swedish alphabet has three additional letters.  These letters are found, in the order listed below, at the end of the Swedish alphabet.
Å  :  sounds ~ long O with a short A sound at the end
Ä  :  sounds ~ short A with a slight short E at the end
Ö  :  sounds ~ short U followed by a slight R sound.
Or at least that is the way they sound to my ear.
On the keyboard, these letters are secretly hidden within the “{[“  key, the “:;” key and the “ ”’ ” key toward the right-hand side of the keyboard.

This afternoon I was translating sentences to try to learn Swedish words.
The sentence I meant to translate was:
“Vad är det för kött?”
According to the website I was using, this translates into:
“What is the meat in this dish?”
No problem.
But when I was translating it via Google Translate (which is my new best friend) I inadvertently replaced the “ä” with “å”.
So instead the sentence, “Vad år det för kött?” read,
“What year it is for meat?”
 I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds like I am suggesting that the meat I was served is years old.  Not good.
Interestingly, when I translated the sentence via Google Translate, using the correct spelling of “är”, it came out to “What’s the beef?”

Two additional notes on the language, and it’s people:
* According to a quick Internet check, the Oxford English dictionary has ~ 171, 500 entries with full definitions.  Swedish has more in the neighborhood of 41,000 words.  One website described it as a more concise language having few words.  That works for me!

* In Sweden everyone is considered equal.  Not just “kinda”.  It is a big deal here. Thus, in the 1960’s – 1970’s, titles of Mr., Mrs., etc. were pretty much made obsolete.  Everyone is simply referred to by name.  So if you meet the Prime Minister, feel free to call him Fredrik.  There is an exception to this rule.  Royalty.  …What is it about royalty?....

Hi all - I should have written this a few weeks ago - I am on vacation in the States and am therefore not writing right now.  But I promise to start up again in the next few weeks.  So please check back!!!  Happy (almost) Autumn!

In the meantime - I leave you the following photo.  I do not think translation is necessary.  : )

 

 

Bicycles 

{ Dedicated to Rob }

Malmo, and its neighboring cities of Copenhagen and Lund, have bicycle cultures.  Let me share some photos.  I hope you enjoy them.

The above picture is of the bicycle parking garage that stands in front of the Central train and bus station.  The "garage", which is my term not theirs, sits just above the water in the canal which surrounds the oldest part of the city. The back of the station stands a few hundred yards from the north Sea.

Classic

Mail delivery

Luft means air. 

I love these. 

Notice the old cycle that was built to ride the rail.

We were told before we moved here to buy an old bicycle and a very good lock.

J. loves the fact that the supports for the basket is built to accommodate the light.

Our bicycles will be arriving soon...

At the bus stop...

Last night  - after a lovely evening with friends - John and I walked to the bus spot.   Sitting on the garbage can were two items.  The inverted bottle is from wine.  That is too bad, as it reminds me that alcoholism is a problem in this country, and it is a problem that is growing.   But that is not at all why I took the picture.  I took it because of the other item in the garbage can.  It is a half empty jar of herring ("sill") !!!   Only in Sweden!!!!!  

A wonderful weekend

We are incredibly humbled and grateful for the graciousness and generosity of all of our friends.  There are no words to describe the kindness of all the people whom we have met here.  Allow me to share some pictures of our weekend....

On Friday we were asked over to a family's house for dinner.   The dinner was lovely and we enjoyed wonderful conversation with the entire family.  The wife is from the far northern part of Sweden.  Allow me to show a few pictures of some of the treasures from her region that she has on display in their home.

The shoes on far right, and the children's shoes were our hosts as she was growing up.

The baskets shown are woven from birch root.  They represent many many hours of skilled labor.  The small pouch is to hold sewing supplies.  The knife is one used by reindeer herders.  The white sheath and part of the handle are made of reindeer bone.

Detail of the beautiful small basket

Saturday evening we were invited to dinner at another friends home.  This is the view outside their kitchen window.  The view from their living room balcony is at least as lovely, looking over the sea toward Copenhagen.

After a wonderful dinner of warm smoked salmon (which, by the way, is to die for), we took a walk along the water. 

Sunday...

The same friends graciously invited us to  join them on a beautiful tour of the south coast of Skåne (the southern part of Sweden).  

A hang glider was overhead.

Afterwards we ate a lovely light dinner.  I had three different types of pickled herring ("sill") and John enjoyed goat cheese with honey and walnuts and a Czech beer.  We then went to meet their daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren at a coffee house for coffee, tea and dessert.  At the cafe, there was a group playing American music from the 60's and 70's, which was fun.   More great conversation - and then we were driven home and dropped off at our front door.  

.... I don't know how to say thank you....

“There is no bad weather, just bad clothing.”

This is an often used Swedish quote.  The longer I live here, the more I understand it.  Swedes seem to be out in all weather, and I respect that.  I am not saying I want to do it.  But I respect it.

The weather here in Malmö changes very quickly.  I am used to changeable weather.  Clevelander’s have their own saying, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.”  Of course the weather there doesn’t really change that quickly, but the temperature may fluctuate twenty or more degrees from one day to the next.  On rare occasion, a storm wind will blow refreshingly cool air off Lake Erie to break a hot spell, and the temperature might drop twenty degrees in an hour’s time.  But in Malmö, the weather can go from gray and rainy, to incredibly sunny blue skies, and then back to gray and rainy again all within an hour.  One either brings an umbrella “just in case,” or just walks through it.

Perhaps these pictures of black clouds overshadowing bright white billowy ones, illustrate the changeable weather better than I can explain it.

It is cool here.  Cooler than I anticipated.  I am not complaining (too much) because I really dislike hot weather.  May had some days in the 80’s, but June is historically cooler and wetter than May, and July  continues to have high temperatures in the 60’s and low 70’s.  But the Swedes love to be outdoors, so they dress appropriately, and they bravely get out there, turning their faces toward the sun.  And what do they wear?  One Sunday afternoon in mid-June I saw a young woman in a knit hat and gloves.  Scarves are in style, so they are common.  Many women wear leggings.  At first I assumed leggings were a fashion statement.  They are cute.  But then I realized that if I wanted to wear a summer skirt, I would be too cool without leggings.  And so – I now have 5 pair!  Like I said: They are cute!

 

The restaurant owners are smart business persons and also accommodate for the climate.  There are not only heaters placed outdoors, but fleece throws on every chair.  I love it!  The outdoor seating areas are  filled to capacity.

Shoes.  I love shoes.  I brought miscellaneous flats, sandals and even a few pair of heels when we moved here.  But I have stopped wearing them.  Relying on walking and public transportation, I typically walk from 3-7 miles a day.  I need to wear shoes that take care of my feet.  So I have invested more Kroners than I care to think of in Dr. Scholl's (pronounced, by the way, something like: F + whew + ools).   Oh well….at least I have cute leggings….