Home Again

Finally, we are back in Stockholm.  I think I have officially had my longest trip ever.  David got back in line at 4am to try to get us rebooked for the trip from Frankfurt to Stockholm.  At 5:50, he had us flying through security to try to make it to the gate because we were flying standby on the 7:15 flight.   We were all starving but wanted on a plane more than we wanted food.  At the gate we ran into Daniel, David’s coworker that we flew out with on Friday.  They were also standby passengers.  When we checked the list, Ellie was 23rd, Dava 24^th and David was 25^th.   David and I joked that if they made it to 23 we were going to send Ellie and have a very pleasant 9:15 flight. 

Everything was in complete chaos at the gate.  The staff told us that they really had no clue how many people were booked for the flight and if they were in the airport or not.  After the initial boarding, they started paging booked passengers.  Many must not have made it back from their hotels.  The airline was putting passengers in hotels as far as two hours away.  Amazingly, all three of us made that first flight.   We had to be bussed out to our plane since there were planes parked all over the place. David was across the aisle and Ellie and I were one seat apart.  The person we were sitting beside gladly switched with Ellie so we could sit together.  

While we were still waiting for clearance to take off, Ellie wanted to color.  I got her set up but she got frustrated that I wouldn’t color with her.  Having a (quiet) drama moment she flopped back in her seat.  It must have felt really good to lay back because she stuck her thumb in her mouth and two sucks later she was fast asleep.   She woke up after we had landed and her first question was, “Are we ever going to take off?”  Sadly our luggage did not make the plane.  The airport staff said that 6000 pieces of Stockholm luggage were currently in Germany. 

Heading home we took the Flybus.  It picks up right at the airport and has a stop two blocks from our house.  It was so much easier that dragging luggage through T-Centralan and cheaper too.  It was so great to get home and just crash.  What a trip!

Venice - Day 3

It is our last day in Venice.  We headed out of the hotel with the goal of doing a little shopping and exploring.  Passing by a gondola station, we decided to take a ride.  I think we would have regretted not going for a gondola ride.  It was a great experience.  The gondola went through the smaller canals that we had only seen from bridges.  We passed our hotel from the canal side and could pick out our room since we had left the shutters open.  The skill the gondoliers have is incredible.  They got under bridges I would have said were impossible.  Venice is slowly sinking so the bridges keep getting lower and lower.  It is also the season of high water.  During December and January the water level is so high that the gondoliers are unable to work.  The high water also hinders the firefighters, police officers and ambulance crews, all who use boats to move around the city. 

We then did a little shopping and walked through St. Marks Church again.  It is just amazing the craftsmanship that has gone into the building.  The museum was open so we went through it.  It had amazing tapestries, mosaic fragments and sculptures. 

On the boat ride back to the airport, we discovered our flight had been cancelled.  At first they were unable to book us on another flight and we were waiting for hotel information.  Then, they discovered a plane was still on the ground headed for Frankfort and we were booked to that flight.  Arriving in Frankfort, there was no plane parking.  After waiting on the runway for about 30 minutes we were transferred to a paved lot and rode a bus into the terminal.  We ran for our Stockholm flight which they had announced as “on time” only to find out it was cancelled.  After David waited in line for 5 hours, they closed the ticket counters before he got there.  They had long since run out of hotel rooms within a two hour drive of the airport.  They did give us a juice, water, and snack mix called “happy mix”.  I wonder if it was supposed to improve our mood. It was a little frustrating to spend the night in the airport not knowing a plan for the next day.  Thankfully while David waited, I have found a cart they used to move people around the airport.  Ellie was able to lie down on the seat with her blanket and music box and sleep for about 4 hours.  David and I were able to catch a couple of catnaps but it was a long night. 

Ellie and Daddy are happy to be on the water!

Our gondolier

Ellie is one happy traveler!

Sorry about your flight - have some happy mix!

I have my blankie, music box and a flat surface - night night.

Venice - Day 2

We woke up to rain.  At least we came prepared.  After a quick breakfast downstairs, we headed out to explore.  We returned to St. Mark’s Squares to look around.  We did a little shopping.  We had lunch at a cafeteria.  It was great because it was really easy to get everyone something they liked.  Ellie had grilled vegies and fruit salad.  David had roasted chicken and potatoes.  I had tortellini soup and salad.

After lunch we made our way to the boat docks to start our boat tour of three islands.  The first island was Murano, the glass making island.  We watched a glass maker make an ornament and a horse.  Ellie was fascinated with the process.  They had a gallery filled with all sorts of beautiful glassware.  We managed to look at everything and escape without breaking anything. 

The second island was Torcello.  It had a beautiful old church.  There were also so shops and restaurants but most were closed due to the weather and it being the end of season.   The third island was Burano.  The island is famous for its handmade lace.  This was Ellie’s and my favorite island.  She loved watching the lady make the lace and exploring the shop.  She like the pure lace items better than the ones that also had embroidery or crochet on them. 

Since we were part of a group tour, we only had about 30-40 minutes on each island.  I wish we would have had more time to explore but there is never enough time.  Back at the dock, we were all starving.  We found a little café for dinner.  David had wonderful spaghetti with meat sauce.  I had tortellini in cream sauce and Ellie had pizza.  We were all exhausted from the last two days, so it was back to the hotel.  We were all in bed by 7pm.  Ellie and I slept straight through to 8am.  Sleep is wonderful!

Fun in the rain!

St Marks from the back.

Making of a glass horse

Ellie with the finished horse.

Beautiful church on the island of Torcello.

Making lace

A sample of a few of the beautiful products.

Venice - Day 1

We are here!  After our late night, we decided we would sleep until 9am.  Our first tour started at 11:30, so we didn’t have to push ourselves.  We woke up to a surprise.  We could hear boats.  The room we had was canal side.  What an amazing view to wake up too. The weather was perfect - bright blue sky, warm sunshine and not a drop of rain to be seen. We had a good breakfast downstairs at the hotel and then set off to try to find the start of our tour.  Thankfully, David sense of direction had kicked in overnight and we found our destination with very little difficulty.  Venice is such a beautiful city but all the little alley ways and bridges make it a challenge to navigate.  We had a wonderful tour guide.  She was a native Venician and her love for her city was evident. 

The tour covered the major highlights of the city St Mark’s Square and basilica.  The basilica was simply amazing.  The pictures do not capture the beauty of the basilica.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside but they would not have shown what we saw.  Ellie’s favorite part of the church was the floor.  It was all marble mosaics.  She loved looking at the pretty colors and patterns.  The ceiling was also amazing.  The mosaics were all down on a back ground of gold.  They turn the lights on for one hour each day and thankfully we were able to be there during that time frame.  The glitter and shine was amazing. 

After St. Mark’s Square, we headed off the beaten path to see other parts of the city.  Some of the alley ways were so narrow; two people couldn’t stand across them.  We were able to see the city hospital and a school.  Maro Polo’s family home was also on the tour.  At the end of the tour, we had just enough time to grab a quick lunch before heading to our next tour.  We stopped at a café.  David and Ellie had pizza (a recurring theme of the trip for Ellie).  I had the best cannelloni I have ever had.  Yummy.

Our boat tour covered the Grande Canal that divides Venice into two sections.  It is just amazing to see all the entrances to building from the water.  Many building in Venice have two entrances: one from an alley and one from the canal.  Ellie can’t quite get her mind around a town without any cars.  It has been a source of many questions.  But she loves seeing and riding on all the boats.  Most of the buildings along the Grande Canal were built when Venice was a huge merchant center.  The buildings are large and impressive with lots of decoration.  Today, many function as government building or museums.  There are still a few that are private and can be rented out for weddings and events.  The fee for one of the buildings is 20,000 euros for one evening.  We got to go under the Rialto Bridge.  It is quite an impressive bridge that also holds 24 shops.  After the tour we made a quick stop for Ellie's favorite part of Italy - gelato.

After the tour, we headed back to our room for a quick nap.   The events of last night were catching up with us.  After a short nap we were back up and off in search of dinner so that we could make the ghost tour.  The ghost tour met on top of the Rialto Bridge.  It was so neat to wander around Venice at night.  The ghost stories were fun to hear and mixed in with the stories were lots of actual facts about Venice. 

Water near St. Mark's Square

St Mark's Church with flooding in the square

Some of the detail on the outside of the church

Ellie with one of the many wells.

The Realto Bridge

David and Ellie enjoy a gelato!

View from our hotel window

Wow this alley's are narrow!

Out on the Grande Canal.

Off to Italy!

We are so excited and ready for our Italian adventure today.  David went into work for half a day.  We left the house at 1:30pm to head for the airport which is Ellie’s usual nap time.  About noon, she asked if she could go lay down and sleep.  She must have known what was coming.  After an hour of sleep, I got her up and we headed to T-Centralan to meet David.  We took the Arlanda express to the airport.  It is the only train that goes to the airport but is not part of the SL system.  It is a little pricy but we had gotten two free vouchers from David’s trip in January.  Ellie rides free.  Santa had a house at T-Centralan but Ellie did not want to go talk to Santa.  She has decided just to send a letter in hopes Santa will read it. 

At the airport, checking went smoothly and we headed on to security.  While David and I were getting everything up on the belt, Ellie was anxious to get going.  As soon as she saw her Dora backpack hit the belt, she went on through the metal detector.  As soon as we realized Ellie wasn’t right beside us, we had a moment of panic.  As we started looking for her, I heard a voice from the other side asking, “Could someone please hand me my backpack?”  I hurried on through and we I got to Ellie asked why she had left without us.  Her reply was that she didn’t want to lose her backpack.  She may be getting a little too comfortable flying.   After making it through security, I found Starbucks on my way to the gate.  I paid way too much but that was the most delicious, Chai Tea Latte I have ever had.  As the time for our flight rolled around, they announced the first delay.  An hour later the second delay was announced, both due to snow in Frankfurt. 

After making it to Frankfurt, we had another delay but lots of flights had been grounded so we were just glad to make it out of the airport.  We arrived at the Veince Airport well after 1 am.  After collecting our luggage we made the short walk to the water taxis.  Unfortunately, the public water taxi had stopped running at 2 am.  The private company was still running but took cash only.  Thankfully we had a wonderful taxi driver who was will to give us a ride over and then find us a bank so we could pay him.  He dropped us close to our hotel and gave us directions to the hotel.  However, we were unable to find the hotel with so many winding passageways.  Ellie and I finally stopped with the luggage in one of the squares while David wandered off down various pathways.  Two calls to the hotel later, the clerk came out to find us and led us back.  I am loving the Venician people – they have been so kind and helpful.  It was 3 am when we finally were able to crash in bed.  For all the crazy things that happened today and all the changes in plans, Ellie did an awesome job.  She is such a great traveller. 

Waiting for a water taxi at 2:30 AM!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our first Thanksgiving in Sweden!  It was a little strange to have David head to work as ususal and not start the morning without at least a glimpse of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  However, it is my first white Thanksgiving so I will take the trade off.   Angie came over early to help us get all the food prepared.  Our menu consisted of crockpot glazed ham, dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and carrots.  John made some yummy stuffed mushrooms that are a tradition at his house.  It was great to have company to celebrate the holiday and make it feel more special.  We were also able to do a web cam with both Grandma and Papa Bowers and Grandma and Papa House.  Betty and Woody were visiting them for the day and so we got to see lots of family also.

Our Thanksgiving Crew - to hungry to smile for the camera!

I love winter clothes!

It is still snowing.  This morning I told Ellie to go look out of the window since we had a little accumulation overnight.  The roads and sidewalks were covered.  After looking, she said in a bored voice, “oh more snow” and wandered off.  Guess the excitement is gone.  We haven’t had enough stick to really be able to go and play in it so maybe when we get a really good accumulation she will enjoy it more.  The plan for the day was to walk to Prius Xtra(about 5 blocks away down the hill) and do our Thanksgiving shopping.  Neither of us was really excited about getting out into the weather.  But we bundled up and I put my shoes spikes on and we were off.  It was not nearly as bad as I thought.    Since I am not use to walking in the snow and ice and my center of balance is changing, I am a little nervous about the bad weather. I love my shoe spikes.  They go on the bottom of whatever shoes I am wearing to help give me traction. Hopefully I will avoid a tumble.  Having the right clothing and shoes really makes winter an enjoyable season. 

Sleet

Gone are the beautiful fluffy flakes of yesterday.  Today the weather was cold and windy with a mix of snow and sleet.  Five steps out of the apartment and Ellie was ready to call it a day.  I got her tucked down in the stroller as best I could and off we went.  As slick as everything was I didn’t feel safe using the ramps on the stairs so Ellie and I braved the elevator.  I feel like I could be in a Hefty commercial.  Stinky, Stinky, Stinky.  Oh well, at least it doesn’t automatically stimulate my gag reflex anymore. 

Today we were in search of a ham.  I have given up on Turkey for Thanksgiving Day.  Instead we are going to try a ham.  I haven’t seen a whole ham at our three local stores so I decided to head off to Radmansgatan.  The store there is a lot like an Aldi in that the stock seems to constantly change but they always seem to have a good meat selection.  We were able to find a ham about 7 lbs.  It was labeled “God Skinka” translation – good ham.  Hopefully it will be good.  Back at the apartment, the movers were there packing up Paul.  We don’t know him that well but it is sad to see him go since he is one of the few people we know here. 

More Fabric

We woke up to snow today.  There was just a light dusting when we got up but between 9 and 12 the snow was coming down fast.  The flakes were big and fluffy.  I showed Ellie how to catch them on her tongue.  She thought that was the neatest idea.  We both walked to the train station with our tongues out and the Swedes looking at us like we had lost our mind. 

Ellie and I set off in search of a new pet store today.  We need to get an automatic feeder for her fish tank in preparation for our trip this week.  We didn’t buy it when we bought the fish because it was 500 SEK (about $70 dollars) and we were trying to spread out the cost.  This weekend we got a flyer in the mail advertising the same feeder for 198 SEK ($30 US dollars).   So we were off to find this other pet store.  After wandering around and not finding it at one of the listed addresses, Ellie and I stopped for a quick lunch.  During lunch I discovered I had the address wrong.  On our way back to the train station, Ellie and I stumbled upon a hobby shop.  What a great find!  Cotton fabric, yarn and knitting supplies, scrapbooking supplies, and kids’ crafts -what more could we ask for in one store. It reminded me of a Jo-Ann’s or Michaels without the decorating items.   

After browsing that store, we headed to the fish store.  Ellie loved that they had green, pink and blue gravel in the tanks.  Now she is on a campaign to be able to change her gravel color out occasionally.  We were able to find the feeder at the cheaper price and the store is much closer to the apartment. 

Nordic Museum

After lots of time spent shopping the last few weekends and being sick, Ellie was ready to do something fun.  She asked to go to a museum.  We decided on the Nordic museum.  It was originally founded on the principle that it would house items from all of the Nordic countries but currently focuses only on Sweden.  The building itself is amazing.  It is huge with lots of marble and four story columns in the grand hall.  The rotating exhibit was about the history of plastics.  One floor focused on living spaces and furniture.  Ellie loved seeing the scale models of rooms.  She thought of them as doll houses.  There were also exhibits that focused on tableware and meal time traditions, fabric, and clothing. Her favorite exhibit by far was of dollhouses from the last two hundred years.  In the clothing exhibit, there was a movie showing a rich woman, a rich man and a peasant woman getting dresses.  She was fascinated by the different clothing and the different way of dressing (especially using a ribbon to tie stockings up).  She watched the whole 25 minute movie and would have watched it again.  There was so much to see that we didn’t see all the areas and I know we missed ½ of what we walked through.  I can’t wait to go back again.

The Nordic Museum

The painting on the ceiling was origanlly planned for the whole ceiling but funds were low.





Ellie's favorite dollhouse

Baptismal Font from the 12th Century

Sick Day

Ellie woke up in the middle of the night with a stomach virus.  The first real illness we have had to face in Stockholm.   Most days the decrease store hours do not bother me but it was annoying that there was no were to go out to get Pedialyte.  It was a wakeup call that we need to have a better supply of medications for middle of the night illnesses.  When the pharmacy opened at 10am, David ran down (it is across the street) and talked with the pharmacist.  The Swedish version of Pedialyte is actually a tablet that you dissolve in water.  I love the idea because it is easy to store and transport unlike the prefilled containers in the US.  We will always have some tablets with us when we travel.  Lucky for Ellie that virus passed quickly and after nap she was back to her normal self.  However, David and I needed the day to recover from the long night.

Day at Taxiage

Today, Ellie and I joined the SIS (Stockholm International School) PTA for an outing to the Taxiage Christmas Market.  We took a charter bus to Taxiage and had four hours to do some shopping.  The weather was beautiful: cold bright and sunny with a dusting of snow on the ground.  Ellie enjoyed the bus ride.  It was interesting to get outside of Stockholm and seeing the beautiful countryside.  It was our first trip out of Stockholm. 

The market was very interesting.  It was a mix of foods and crafts.  There was quite a variety of homemade mustards, jellies, marmalades and sausages.  Ellie thought she was such a big girl getting to try all the different samples.  She thought everything was good and even picked a favorite marmalade, a raspberry. 

Her favorite craft booth was the wood carver.  He was carving spoons when we passed by.  He invited Ellie to come over to touch what he was working on to feel the different textures and showed her the different stages of making a spoon. He also gave her different sized wood shavings to play with.  We did find several Christmas gifts and a few yummy things for us to eat.  We also bought Swedish honey to try.  Instead of being a liquid it is a solid, because it doesn’t get warm enough here to change into a liquid. 



Joannah checks out the market



Swedish Trolls

My happy girl

Building where the market was held.

Another buiding on the grounds that held a cafe and other shops.

Neighbor

Our upstairs neighbor, Paul, came down for dinner.  He is an Electrolux employee who has been in Stockholm for three years on an Ex-pat assignment.  He was instrumental in helping us find our apartment.  When our first housing option fell through in August, he suggested we might be able to move into his apartment when he left.  After contacting the landlord, his apartment was not available but the landlord thought that there was a 5 room apartment that would be ready in time for us to move it and it was.  Paul is a really neat guy.  He was born and raised in Denmark and then moved to the United States.  We have really enjoyed getting to know him in the short time we have been in Stockholm.   We had cider-sauced pork for dinner.  It is one of the first meals that we have had that really tasted like home.    

Ellie has really been missing her pets.  She can’t wait to see Nieko, Maggie, and Deadwood at Christmas.  So she was super excited about getting her fish tank all set up.  Today was the day we were going to pick out her new fish.  We met Daddy at T-Centralen.  We rode in on the green line, he came in the blue line and we headed out on the red line.  What fun trying to find him at the busiest station at the busiest time of day.  Thank goodness for cell phones.  After meeting up we headed to the mall.  We had pizza at the Italian restaurant in the mall and made a quick stop by the toy store so Ellie could show Daddy the pram she wanted for Christmas. 

Then it was on to the pet store.  The sales associate was so helpful.  Ellie had a choice between fighting fish (beta’s) and goldfish because her tank is unheated.  She chose an all gold goldfish and one with a black fin.  She named them Funguin and baby.  We left the store right at 7pm, closing time.  We still haven’t gotten use to the store hours here is Sweden, opening late and closing early compared to the US.  When does everyone get their shopping done?  Back at home Ellie helped put her fish in the tank, put in the live plant, and gave her fish their first meal. 

Dogs in the Mall

Our friend Angie has found a temporary job – pet sitting two adorable dogs.  One is a Chihuahua and the other a Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix.  They are both complete cuties.  We went over to her area today to meet the dogs, Wilson (pronounced Vilson) and Chile.  We took the dogs on a walk through the park and stopped for Ellie to play on the equipment.  Then we headed to the mall for a little lunch and shopping.  Here in Sweden dogs are allowed pretty much in any public space except grocery stores.  And if they stay in the basket under a stroller they can even go in the grocery stores.   It really surprises me when I pass a dog in the mall or store.  Most of the dogs here seem really well behaved.  You seldom hear barking or see a dog running loose.  Dogs are also very expensive to have.   The initial cost of the two dogs Angie is taking care of was 25,000 SEK or about $3,500 US.  The pet food and supplies are also fairly expensive.  So the answer to Ellie’s question is no…we can’t get a dog in Sweden. 

We found a toy store in the mall today.  Ellie who is all about Christmas this year saw a pram in the window, just like she and baby “need” for Christmas.  We went in to take a look.  Wow, this toy is so close to the real thing, just in miniature.  It is convertible to a sit up stroller and even has the same suspension.  It also comes with a large price tag 899 SEK or $130 US.     Ellie told paci and bath baby all about the new laydown stroller they are getting for Christmas when we got home.  I hope Santa thinks Ellie has been good this year.

Wilson

Chile

Fishy Business

Ellie worked really hard today getting her fish tank set up and running. She wanted to tank to be in her room where she could see it from her bed.  She did as much of the work as she was physically capable of doing.  She added the pink gravel and planted the plant.  Then she made what seemed like a million trips back and forth from the kitchen with a pitcher to add water.  Finally we added the chemicals that we need to get the biological system up and running.  I measured out the amount and then she poured it in.  She wanted to just watch it run after it was plugged in.  She can’t wait to add fish to the tank. 

Fabric and Claus Olsen

Off to do more shopping today.  We had heard about a store, Claus Olsen, that had a wide variety of items.  David heard they had tools so off we went.  On our way we found a fabric store.  I was so excited.  There was a wide selection of different types of fabric including so quilting cotton.  Ellie’s big find was material to make paci and bath baby a tutu so they could match her.  I feel so much better knowing where I can find fabric and sewing supplies. 

We wandered on and stumbled across a model of the city.  It included buildings that are planned for the future.  David has a really good feel for the city and was able to point out our building, Electrolux and various other landmarks.  I on the other hand could only see them after they were pointed out.

David loved our next stop.  Claus Olsen has a similar selection to a Wal-mart minus the clothing and food.  There was a small toy section, small household items, electronics, a camping section, and David’s favorite…tools.  We were able to pick up a few small items that we have needed and also a ladder so we don’t have to borrow one all the time (some of the storage in the apartment can only be reached with a ladder).  It is a store I am sure we will return to many times. 

Bus Adventure

The goal for today was to do a little baby shopping.  There is a large baby store, Babyland, out by IKEA so we headed back out to David’s favorite place.  Although we have been several times, we still don’t really understand the bus system.  Unfortunately for us, we picked the right bus…wrong direction.  Forty-five minutes later we found the end of the line.  We found a nice mall and since it was lunch time, we grabbed a quick hamburger lunch.  Ellie had a hotdog and we found the first onion rings we have had.  They were pretty good.  After we had lunch, we caught the bus back to our starting point and then on to IKEA. 

Once we had wandered over to Babyland, we were in for another shock: prices.  Our main goal was to look at double strollers.  The base strollers started at $1000 (US) dollars and went up from there. The other problem is that none of the double strollers will fit into our elevator.  Other prices we noticed included a basic bouncy seat for $100 and a small swing starting at $200.  After a quick wandering through IKEA to pick up a spatula and few other odds and ends, we decided to try and walk back to the train station.  Just a few missteps later we found the path.  It is a quick 15 minute walk from the IKEA entrance to the station.  It was so much easier than trying to find the right bus and squeeze on. 

Library and Girls night out

We hadn’t been to the library in a while and we decided it was time for new books.  It was our first time returning books to the library here and I had no clue how it worked.  Luckily the patron in front of me was also returning books.  You scan each book in and then insert it into the book drop where it is scanned again.  After all of the books are returned, you get a printout showing which books were returned.  I think it is a great system.  We found more books to checkout and Ellie loved checking them out herself.  While we were at the library, we got a call from David.  He was headed to lunch and wanted to know if we would like to join him.  Ellie was so excited to get to meet Daddy for lunch.  We were right around the corner from the McDonald’s that David and Brain were headed to so it was easy to get there in time.

Later that evening, I went out to dinner with two of the other ex-pat wives, Angie and Joannah.  We went to a Thai restaurant that Angie had found and loved.  I had never had Thai food before but it was really good.  I tried there spring rolls which were delicious and had a beef/vegetable dish that was labeled mild.  I tried Angie’s meal – a yellow chicken curry – that was a medium hot dish and it was also very good.  I hope we will be about to make “girls night out” a regular event. 

Wandering Lost

Ellie and I had not been to an open preschool in a while.  I had found one on the internet that was close to the “trampoline” park and wanted to try that since it is so close.  I looked up the address on Google maps and even programmed it into my phone’s GPS.  We went to the location that showed on the map and no sign of an open preschool.  I did however find the dentist office that Ellie will go to.  I have not had any luck on the phone or internet making her an appointment so we walked in to see if we could make it in person.  After looking up her personal number, they were able to give us an appointment for early December.  Dental care for children in Sweden is mandatory.  The letter we received in the mail said that we would continue to be contacted until we made an appointment.  However we are on our own for finding her a pediatrician.  Seems very strange to me. 

I asked the receptionist about the open preschool and she wasn’t familiar with it but said that the address we had was really in the middle of the park.  We walked back to the park and found that one of the little building surrounding the park was the preschool.  There were no other children playing in the preschool.  Ellie played for a while and then we went out to play in the park.  We will have to try again and see if another time is better for attendance.

at open preschool

Ultrasound

Ellie and I had an early morning.  We got bundled up and headed over to Angie’s apartment.  She stayed with Angie while David and I went to the anatomy scan.  The weather was really bad but I was impressed with how well Stockholm deals with snow.  All the roads and walkways had been scraped and graveled/salted.  On the way down into the subway station, Ellie took a tumble.  She was so bundled up that she couldn’t move but didn’t get hurt.  All I heard was, “Um Mommy, I am stuck.” I turned around to find her face down on the stairs. Thank goodness she wasn’t hurt and we were able to giggle about it.  Ellie thought being on the train early in the morning with all the commuters was quite fun. 

After dropping her off, I raced back to the station to try to catch my train.  Oh the frustration of being 30 seconds late and watching the train pull away.  I am beginning to understand the attitudes of the Swedes when it comes to public transportation.  Thank goodness the next train wasn’t far behind and then at T-Centralen the green line train was pulling up as the red train came into the station so all I had to do was run across the platform. 

The ultrasound tech that did our scan was so great.  She did a wonderful job of explaining everything she was looking at.  “April” looked healthy and is already developing a stubborn streak.  The baby didn’t want to get into an easy position for the tech to get all the necessary views.  It still feels so strange to leave an appointment without paying for service. 

Ellie wanted to go back to the mall because she "hadn't finished shopping yesterday".  So we wandered back to the mall with Angie and had lunch. 

Level Two Storm

Today the weather forecasters were calling for a level two storm.  The prediction was for 6cm of snow by the end of the day.  The sky looked clear so this South Carolina girl didn’t pay a whole lot of attention.  Note to self, snow predictions around here are serious.  We headed out to meet Angie at her apartment for lunch and to explore around her apartment.  By the time, we got off the train at her station, the sleet/snow mix had begun.  Poor Ellie was in a dress and tights.  Lucky we had put boots on that morning.  She was still pretty miserable with all the wind and sleet. 

After getting the grand tour of Angie’s apartment, we decided to head to her local mall to get out of the bad weather.  There was a McDonalds there which made Ellie very happy.  We explored quite a few shops and found some really good mittens for Ellie.  We also found a pet store.  Ellie had a great time looking at the fish, bunnies and birds.  The birds, especially the finches, were her favorite.  Thankfully the mall had a subway entrance so we only had to make it one block between our station and home in the weather. 

Why can't I put my arms by my side?

The park in front of Angie's apartment.

Why is Mommy taking pictures when we could walk inside and be warm?

Ellie loves the bunnies.

Angie and Ellie look at the hamsters together.