The Westbergs

As many of you devoted readers know, I have relatives in Stockholm - one Tita, one uncle, and two cousins. I've recently been informed that they are largely absent from this blog, so this post of pictures from my last visit in Stockholm is for them! I hope that in the future the Westbergs and I take many pictures, so that their presence on this blog will be adequate.

My mom and Tita fixing the tire on Oliver's pram (actually my mom stated that she was only pretending to help, but it still counts for something)

Grattis på födelsedagen, Morgan! Han är 12 år!

My mom, Tita, and Oliver posing near city hall

My botched photo of the 4 of us... sorry Ollie!

She's not a Westberg, but this photo was too fun to pass up!And, since Morgan once questioned me about a certain infamous photo that I never put on my blog, here it is for the world to see! He looks very happy, but don't ask me what he's doing...

Unfortunatley, Uncle Mårten seems to have escaped my camera lens. But in case you are interested, you can see/read more about the Westbergs on my blog: hear about our trip to Sigtuna here, my Tita's boots at the International Gasque here, our trip to Skansen here (although they aren't featured in these photos), Tita's guided tour of Södermalm here, or my Lolo and Lola's 50th wedding anniversary party here.

And, if you're still craving more of the Westbergs, check out my cousin Morgan's blog here!

I love you guys!

Tack och hej!

Art in Uppsala

Some artsy photos from a walk through Uppsala with my mom!

The fancy trash can (with fake jewels) at Uppsala Slott

A sculpture near the domkyrka

Our reflection in the sculpture

The headless horseman?
A sculpture inside of the cathedral - it was very life-like, and my mom and I had to privately converse about whether or not she was real!

Graffiti under one of the bridges near the Fyris river

Gamla Uppsala

Gamla Uppsala - old Uppsala and the burial place of ancient Kings dating back to the 6th century!

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Gamla Uppsala - those aren't hills; they are burial mounds. A long, long time ago, Kings and other important people were cremated in a special way, placed in an urn type structure, and then put in the ground. Then, people would work for months creating these hill-look-alike structures from rocks, dirt, and other materials! Quite an interesting and tedious burial process!

A burial mound, up close and personal
Me on a mound - I'm on the right, the person on the left is a total stranger
Apparently I missed this sign before I climbed over a fence and on top of the burial mounds

Mi madre posing in front of the mounds - she didn't break the law and climb on top Mom in front of the church in Gamla Uppsala

Gamla Uppsala Kyrka More mounds - very picturesque

Mama i Sverige!

My mom arrived in Sweden last Thursday and since then, we've been busy touring Stockholm and Uppsala, visiting with relatives, meeting friends, making cookies, having fikas, and walking everywhere! Here's a photographic summary of what we've been up to so far...

Me and mi madre in Stockholm

Nordiska Museet

Stockholm

Me and Oliver in the flowers

A statue in Stockholm

My mom and I trying on sunglasses in Uppsala... I still think we should have bought them! Uppsala's botanical gardens
Posing on a bridge in the center of Uppsala
Uppsala Slott

The Cathedral

Max, the Swedish version of McDonalds... Mom wasn't impressed
View of Uppsala
Outside of Kalmars nation

Glad Påsk!

Celebrating Easter, Ekeby style!

Johanna grew us some grass and Anne decorated it festively...

We hung Sam's Easter witch...

And filled our Ikea-inspired table with tons of chocolates and Peeps!

We also attempted the first barbecue of the semester. It was really windy and the fire looked hazardous at first...

But the end result was great!

For entertainment, we had straw building competitions... ...and blew lots of bubbles!

Although I didn't have my traditional Easter egg hunt with my sister, I still had a wonderful celebration with great food and people! Happy Easter! Glad Påsk!

Fun Photos From Finland

Just some random pictures from my short and sweet cruise to Finland!

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Graffiti at the entrance to the boat in Stockholm

All aboard?

Sam, Nefeli and Me taking photos of our reflections

The water's reflection in the boat's windows
A trip to the duty-free shop taught me a very valuable lesson
Me and Sam posing in the daffodils

Bird shaped security cameras? Big brother is watching you...

Did you know that Santa comes from Finland?

On the sidewalk, they have one lane for bicycle traffic, and one for people holding hands with small children!