Tag: Malmo sweden

Back to the Gravel Pile

by Living Wherever We Are, posted in Embracing Uncertainty, Life Lessons, Travel, World Travel

Well, we completed our loop through Europe, all 6,000+ Kilometers or approximately 3728 miles. Returning to familiar and comfortable Malmo, Sweden. When the city was founded in 1275 by Denmark its original name was Malmhaug, meaning “Gravel pile”. Makes it sound so romantic but now it is nicknamed “the city of parks”.  This conclusion was bittersweet, marking the end of our throw caution to the wind, footloose and fancy free part of our travels even so, the timing was perfect. Our return marked a not quite end to the European portion of our travels as we are staying for several weeks but the comfort of kicking back, chilling out, and not lugging our luggage every few days. Why yes Americans, other countries hotels do not all have elevators nor do they have central air. For that matter not all apartments have central air either.

Our Loop
0 KM when we started

We returned to Malmo just in time for a cool Swedish late summer but what we received something that no one anticipated.  A Swedish heat wave caused even the Swedish weather agency SMHI to issue its first ever warning for high temperatures with the many areas set to bask in plus 30C (86F) heat. Mild by US and even NJ standards but the facilities are not prepared. There are no shopping malls blasting AC to escape to because it is usually unnecessary (and a waste of resources) and people do not have ceiling fans and, for that matter, stores do not sell stand alone fans or “flickers” as they call them. Those that did sold out of them pronto. Once we succumbed to that hoax of the daily predictions of promised 74 degree weather were not righting themselves our hunt for a fan only produced a small 12 inch box one that also converts to a heater for winter. Open the window you say? Well the apartment is not quite equipped with large freed windows to open, also we are on a small city street that does not get a cross wind,. I am not spoiled growing up with no air in a row home but here the sun sets at 9ish and rises at 5ish how can we trick ourselves and more importantly a 3, turning 4 on August 6th girl to stay sleeping? Global warming has foiled us again first the south of France scorcher and now this. I digress… we survived.

Wading pool cool down
Beach Fun
Bike Riding

 

A HUGE highlight, one that Ilaria has been anticipating since our departure from Sweden, was an opportunity to make Swedish Prinsesstårta, in English – Princess cake, a traditional Swedish cake that is sponge cake with a thin layer of jelly, lots of fresh whipped cream, and covered with a layer of marzipan.  Traditionally it is green and technically it is called Operatårta (Opera Cake) for pink marzipan.  We had the honor of accompanying Andreas, a baker and student of Kali and his daughter Elin to their family’s bakery to prepare a cake from scratch.  It was a great time with Ilaria jumping up and down most of the time out of pure excitement.

 

Our days here in Sweden this go about have been filled with yet more park time, a canal boat ride, and lots of biking with our rented bikes. The upside to the weather was that we only had very little rain so lots of outdoors and sunshine!   Taking advantage we had an excursion with Farbror Dan to Ystad.  A town steeped in history and medieval building and a beautiful beach but our main intent was to visit Ales Stenar.  Ale’s Stones, in english, is a megalithic monument in an oval outline of a ship 67 meters long and formed by 59 large boulders and carbon dated back to around 600AD.  It is referred to as the Swedish Stone Hedge.

 

llaria’s 4th birthday was August 6th.  The weekend previous we had a lovely Swedish gathering in the park to celebrate.  Our Swedish friends old and new gathered to toast and give her well wished and very thoughtful and lovely gifts.  We were blessed to have them with us for a celebration!  After hors d’oeuvre and drinks Ilaria sliced her fantastic birthday Princess Cake prepared by the baker Andreas.

 

On the day of her birthday, August 6th, our little family journeyed to Copenhagen to Tivoli Gardens, the very famous and special amusement park.  It opened on August 15,1843 making it the second oldest amusement park in the world!  The park is a beautiful place because it is not just rides but also gardens and fountains.  We enjoyed our time and special memories of the day.  All of her days she spends singing and dancing through life (both literally and figuratively) and has been such a joy.  In the days leading up to the culmination of the European leg of our travels we have not taken for granted ALL of the special times we have spent together and all of the laughter and happiness.  We chose this time in her life and our lives to make this journey and the memories we have are unimaginable.    

Case of the Missing Case

by Living Wherever We Are, posted in Embracing Uncertainty, Life Lessons, Martial Arts, Travel, World Travel

A big stir was caused in Malmo during our ALMOST uneventful, in a good way, last week in Sweden.  Vitamins and supplements until recently were very difficult to purchase in Sweden.  Even today the stores are limited and the sales person cannot speak to the products at all, it is forbidden.

Upon our return to Malmo we were staying at a hotel for the first 2 days before returning to our rental apartment.  The hotel itself was lovely as was the room.  Problem #1 on the first night – our room was above the bar and there was a jazz band playing below.  The stand up bass, albeit great, was a deep boom that penetrated until after 12.  Parents out there know how precious keeping a child sleeping at night can be.  Our concern was the first night was a Thursday and although mild-mannered, on the weekends it is always “Swedes gone Wild”.  When we were told there was going to be a DJ the following night and we were close to the Little Square, party central for bars, we opted for a move to another room.  But the real trouble did not begin until the next AM…

Problem #2 – Upon waking Rick realized in our haste to abscond to the next chamber he had inadvertently left his vitamins and supplements in the drawer of the last.  Calling the front desk we were told that there was nothing listed in the log for the housekeeping and so we must wait until a reasonable hour to contact the current occupants to see if the items remained intact.  No such luck, the vitamins were not there, per the current resident of the room.  Disappearing pills really?  Some were in an unmarked vitamin box so it is speculation that someone thought that they hit the proverbial lottery.  Back and forth with housekeeping and a trip by the front desk and Rick to view the room contents, as well as a sheepish, robe covered Swed and his fetching mistress in bed, nothing turned up.  Apologies to the loving couple but from the looks of it they were in the afterglow.  We credit the staff of the hotel for their insistence with house keeping and perseverance (along with notable perspiration) that the items were returned over an hour later.  It was tenuous at best for all parties involved.

Turning Torso in the fog
Uncle Dan
Another great park near the turning Torso
Family Portrait

If you ever take a trek to Malmo, or Copenhagen for that matter, you would be amiss to not experience the remarkable waterfront architecture including the Turning Torso, the tallest building in Scandinavia which features a 90° twist, unreal, really.  The waterfront area is a created beachfront and with a truly nautical feel where Sweds congregate to enjoy the water, get some sun, and socialize.  A visit to the area places one into a completely different sensation than the city.

Rick has taught seminars in Malmo for his student Dan Johnson since 1989.  My attendance was greatly missed due to the fact that Junior High was in session. It was a difficult time negotiating with parents to let me out after 10:30 let alone cross-continental travel.  Nonetheless, Dan is one of Rick’s longest students, a dedicated martial artist and instructor, and a close friend of ours.  Plus, a very focused training partner that I enjoy training with because of his focus and concentration on the details of each motion. The difficulty each year is to expose elements of each of the arts, a session for Jun Fan, Muay Thai, Silat, and Kali.   The seminar was filled with familiar faces that we enjoy seeing each year and their improvement and dedication makes it an enjoyable place to instruct.

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Planning our route ahead we have made the decision to rent a car in Sweden and wonder our way down to our rental in the South of France about the distance from New Jersey to Florida.   Three for the road once again!

Hitting the Ground Running (and Crashing)

by Living Wherever We Are, posted in Embracing Uncertainty, Life Lessons, Martial Arts, Travel, World Travel

The Danes and Swedish are reserved. Speaking softly and calmly is expected, do not do anything to draw attention to yourself, so demonstrating strong emotion in public is not socially acceptable. Conversely, traversing the brief train ride from Copenhagen airport to Malmo, Sweden just across the bridge there was an anomaly and my visceral response was deemed as appropriate. But more about that later…

Our first stop on this quest is Malmo, Sweden as Rick calls it “his second home”. It is a city of 303,873 people located just across the Øresund Bridge (one of the 7 Modern Wonders of the World) from Copenhagen, Denmark. The city is refined yet understated and in more recent years super chic and hip. For us as a family, and when we were just a couple, it is very effortless to feel at home and tranquil. We know the layout of the town and the culture, as well as our favorite coffee houses. Our friend Dan, one of Rick’s longest students, has a martial arts academy in Malmo in which Rick will give a seminar once again later this month. Dan greeted us at the train station and escorted us to a friend of his apartment that we are renting in an ideal location in town.

Almost instantaneously we get into our vibe and groove. Hitting the grocery story in the most modern mall in town sums up some of the aspects that I personally love about Malmo and Sweden, it is “Green” in lots of ways and does it in an esthetically beautiful and effortless way. The shopping center has a living wall consisting of lovely greenery and utilizing lots of skylights and natural light utilizing the plenitude certain times of the year due to the position nearby the North Pole. Also, all the sustainability practices are integrated into everyday life. Bottled water is not cool, bikes are cool, recycling is expected, and all of it integrated into everyday life and is easy and prevalent as is local, traditional food.

As a family we can feel comfortable knowing that children are an accepted and respected part of society not an inconvenience. Parents in this progressive country received 480 days of parental leave and an amount of that is reserved just for the fathers and a large percentage take advantage.   As we hit the parks everyday in between the rain showers (we try a new one everyday as there are a whopping 14 large theme playgrounds in the city) there are an equal number of dads in the parks as moms for this very reason. Even the playgrounds are esthetically beautiful, function with individual creative elements. Upon seeing one Ilaria, at the pure site, told me it was the best park she had ever seen and upon entering loved it even more.   Sweden is fantastic!

Malmo City Park

Now back to the cliffhanger…

The public trains of southern Scandinavia are neat, sleek, and timely, created to support and sustain a travels needs and baggage transport. On the day we arrived traveling to Sweden’s 3rd largest city it was unexpectedly brimming with masses of travelers and luggage, perhaps some arriving for the HUGE Eurovision competition in Copenhagen as hotel occupancy saturated and attendees spilling into the surrounding areas. Groggy, as my sleep was altered from the fact that we drilled the mantra into Ilaria that she was going to “sleep on the plane overnight, sleep on the plane overnight, sleep on the plane overnight” but did not mention it meant in her own seat and not curled on my lap. Never the less, we managed to heave and cram our bags and ourselves onto the train without a minute to spare.

Never in the many years we have taken this route, even in rush hour, has it been so crammed or the energy been so discombobulated. To create a visual these trains have cars that have fold-down seats lined on either side with open space for bikes and luggage to the back of the car is some, for lack of better description stadium seating with a narrow 3 step rise to enter the area. I set down the soft duffel bag down off to the side of the stairs and placed Ilaria seated onto it so she would be A) seated so not to be thrown around, B) resting from lack of a full nights sleep, and C) entertained by the Swedish girl approx. 2-3 in her stroller. Here is the turning point as I stood to stretch my tired and cramped legs.

A dubious character entered our car by way of descending the 3-step rise and seemed wobbly and intoxicated lumbering around. His stocky build and large, stuffed backpack forcing its way into too small of a space gave a sense of his unawareness.   Being the detective that I am, note taken that he had a 3-year-old and wife in tow, which in some way validated him – big mistake. In a matter of seconds the train pitched to the side and Mr. X violently lurched forward causing a domino effect slamming into me as I was holding the metal bar for stabilization but his mass and the velocity were no match for me. Not a chance as myself and another tumbled to the ground. In a split second the visceral response, a desperate beckon to my child in pure desperation for I could see no sign of her from my vantage point only Mr. X with his large backpack juxtaposed in the air.

Horror struck my thoughts for that brief moment could she be bent forward and crushed? No word from the little voice I revere, as people lifted Mr. X in a desperate attempt to free the rest of us a burly voice announced to the onlookers, as if they cared, “I am OK, I am OK”. A sigh of relief as the mother of Ilaria’s new playmate liberated her and lifted her to freedom holding her closely as the natural instinct of a mother from anywhere around the world would do. Still no words, Ilaria must have been in shock from the event or from the screeching call from my voice in a tone she had never heard prior. Then a few tears and she was handed over to me. He crashed onto her leg but the softness of the duffel absorbed the impact.

Välkommen tillbaka!   (Swedish for “Welcome back!”)

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