Bits of Bremen: December 2008

Hey Everyone,

I am sorry things have been quiet on my end. Since Thanksgiving, things have been absolutely chaotic. There was an excellent trip to Sweden & Denmark, a really nasty cold, a huge presentation to give, and final papers to write. I also had a really wonderful birthday - one of the best I've had. I promise to update once I'm home in the States again. I leave early Wednesday morning and get back to Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati Wednesday night.

There has been some confusion with my German voicemail and I apologize for that. The voicemail does not work. I have no way of knowing if I have messages and no way of checking it. Please DO NOT use the voicemail. I miss out on your calls completely and I feel terrible about it later.

I've been missing home like crazy these past two weeks and am so looking forward to seeing you all!

Love,
Elizabeth

As some of you heard about, I took a trip to Helsingborg, Sweden to stay with some friends, Håkan and Malou, who were the best hosts a person could ask for. My friend Kyllikki married Håkan’s brother, Fredrik, and I met Fredrik’s family at the wedding festivities.

The trip to Sweden was an adventure in and of itself. I bought tickets to go by train and my cousin Mary asked me, “How is the train going to get there? The North Sea is in between the countries.” I thought about this and had no answers. If my train ticket said I was going to Sweden, then I was going to Sweden.

I left very early the morning after Thanksgiving and boarded the trains my tickets instructed me to: from Bremen to Hamburg, Hamburg to Copenhagen, Copenhagen to Malmö. The train from Hamburg to Copenhagen was the most interesting because the whole train drove into a ferry boat. The people on the train were instructed to go upstairs where we could exchange money, get food, and, of course, buy things duty free. I took this opportunity to exchange money because I hadn’t realized that Sweden and Denmark each use their own currency (both of which are called crowns which added to my confusion). After about 40 minutes, we were called back to the train and drove off the ferry onto dry land. It is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen: a whole train going onto a boat.

The first night in Sweden, Håkan picked me up from the train station and drove me to Helsingborg where he and Malou live. Malou had cooked a really good dinner which we enjoyed. We then took a walk and I got to see some Swedish architecture. Then we watched Mamma Mia!, the musical based on songs by the Swedish pop group ABBA. We watched it in English. Malou and I enjoyed it very much – I thought it was hysterical, but Håkan fell asleep during it so I am not sure how much he enjoyed it.

Saturday was a great day. Håkan, Malou, and I saw the Kärnan, a medieval fort, when I told them I was interested in history then walked around the town and hit up a souvenir shop (for me, obviously).

We had lunch at Håkan’s parent’s house which was DELICIOUS. Some of the best mashed potatoes I have ever had. Apparently, Kyllikki also asked if I could call her from their house so I had the chance to call her. I hadn’t talked to her since August so it was great to hear her voice. I deeply appreciate Inger and Roland letting me make that phone call.

After lunch, Håkan, Malou, and I went to meet up with some of their friend Björn and took a ferry and train to Copenhagen to go to the Tivoli Christmas Market. At the Christmas Market (which was just absolutely amazing), we met up with Matts, another friend of Håkan and Malou’s. The Christmas Market had lots of food and drink and even a Cold Stone Creamery (which was just bizarre to see). There was also all the shopping a girl could dream of. I got stackable Santa Clauses and several ornaments. After we saw all that we could see at Tivoli, all five of us walked a couple of blocks down to the Hard Rock Café, one of my favorite restaurants. We got fancy drinks, ate delicious food, and then I bought half the gift shop (or just about). I can now proudly say that I have a Hard Rock Café Copenhagen shirt in my collection.

After the Hard Rock Café, it was time to head back to Sweden via the train and ferry again. We got home late and crashed almost immediately.

Sunday, I had to head back to Bremen which was sad. I said goodby to Malou at the house then Håkan drove me back to the Malmö train station where I started my journey back to Deutschland.

I had a really good time and cannot thank Malou, Håkan, Inger, and Roland enough for being such gracious hosts. I sincerely appreciate everything they did for me.