Rhode Island 100 mile

…so if getting prepared for Thanksgiving wasn’t crazy enough, the Friday after Ingrid, her mom and I headed over to Sweden to visit our friend Charlotte and her family. We left Boston at about 4:30 on Friday and arrived in Copenhagen Saturday morning where Charlotte picked us up for our short but sweet visit to Malmo, Copenhagen and Lund. We stayed with Charlotte and Ingrid’s mom stayed with her parents which was a short walk away. We were treated to some wonderful traditional dinners by Charlotte and her parents and seeing that it was the start of the holiday season, we were offered some specialties that you normally wouldn’t get at any other time of year…

Malmo and Copenhagen are now connected by the Great Belt Bridge which is about 20km long (and actually starts out as a tunnel). Previously, you had to cross the strait by ferry. The bridge is quite spectacular and provides an exciting view of the windfarms in the strait.

…some wine and chocolate at Charlotte’s.

…these were a special treat that finished Charlotte’s great meal. We stated off with some different herring preparations, followed by a main course of salmon and potatoes with a roe sauce that was exquisite. Pictured is ice cream with cloudberries which are related to raspberries and blackberries and are quite rare in Sweden. They have a very unique flavor, not too sweet or acidic and were a nice addition to the ice cream (which was probably one of the best store bought ice creams that we’ve ever had…SIA brand). We had dinner at Charlotte’s parents’ house the evening before and we were treated to some traditional Glogg, smoked salmon and a main course of turkey and mashed potatoes…

…a sign at the holiday bazaar held at the castle in Malmo. The castle is one of the oldest buildings in Malmo and now houses a museum

…there were a bunch of vendors at the bazaar…this one was offering rustic breads.

…crate of bread.

…after the bazaar, we took a walk down the pedestrian thoroughfare into the center of Malmo.

…they were preparing the square with decorations for the holiday season which included this giant lamp.

…some ads painted on the side of and old building.

…holiday wreaths for sale on the sidewalk.

…of course, we had to check out the food stores! Here is how they sell their bulk oil and vinegar.

…a selection of chocolates.

…we had to go to the grocery store to get some things for Charlotte’s dinner…the organic movement has taken on in Sweden as well…here is some organic flour.

…Cider is pretty popular as well…they sell all kinds of flavors imaginable…shown is cactus/lime!

…a heated outdoor cafe on the pedestrian walk.

…we stopped at one for some Lucia buns and Glogg…these weren’t as good as Charlotte’s homemade ones, though! They serve their Glogg with side accompaniments of raisins and almonds that you can add to the glass (and soften up with the warm liquid).

…Charlotte then took us over to the West Harbor, a newer mixed residential and commercial neighborhood that showcases modern architecture with waterfront views and access.

…here is a bathing area in West Harbor…note the little wooden platforms that you can use to get into the water.

…the West Harbor is also home to the Turning Torso, a 54 story residential tower designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The Torso is one of Sweden’s highest buildings and can be seen from just about anywhere in Malmo. Pretty cool indeed.

…On Monday, we headed back over to Copenhagen- this time by train. The train travels the same bridge that we drove over and was a quick ride…only about a half an hour away. We walked around town, taking in a couple of sights while dodging the raindrops. This is the royal cathedral…

…the rain didn’t last too long and we got to see a really pretty sunset over one of the rivers that runs through the city. The big climate change summit is happening in Copenhagen later this week, so we saw them preparing for that as well.

…here is a Danish beer delivery vehicle…there are a lot of bikes in Copenhagen…there are dedicated lanes on both sides of the road for bike travel, so you have to be extra careful when crossing the road…we passed a “bike counter” which was counting the number of bikes that ran through this one intersection…at the moment we passed it, over 5,000 bikes had ridden through that point that day and over 2 million had passed since the beginning of the year! You don’t see that in the states!

…I had found a bunch of breweries and beer bars using beeradvocate.com, so we headed over to one for lunch. This is the “Northbridge Brewhouse”.

…the fermentation tanks.

…a Danish burger.

…our beers. I liked the Christmas (Julbeer) the best and Charlotte really liked her red ale.

…advertisements on a building in Copenhagen.

Charlotte also wanted to take us to this brewhouse as well…we stopped in for a pint and a flight.

…the flight…once again, I liked the Christmas beer and Charlotte the red.

…we spent our last day in Lund, where Charlotte did her graduate work. The University has 35,000 students which makes the town a vibrant place to be…here is a shot of the main street…

…there is also a unique mix of old and new architecture in Lund…this is an ornate brick building in an older section of town…the University is only a short walk away.

…we took off from Copenhagen on Wednesday (almost didn’t…but we won’t post that here)…and got back later that night. We all had an excellent time visiting Charlotte and her family…the hospitality was first class and we couldn’t of had a better tourgide than Charlotte to show us her home!

                                                                  -Josh and Ingrid