smörgåsblogg
We went to the beatiful old town of Lund. It's Sweden's 2nd oldest, founded around the year 1000 by the Danes. We stayed on a train which has been converted to a hostel.
*Click here to see pictures of the town of Lund*
*Click here to see pictures of the Train Hostel*
*Click here to see pictures of Kulturen, the outdoor Museum*
Ali wanders Lund's outdoor Museum on stilts.
Over the Easter weekend we explored a little further south in Sweden. We found an old train in Lund to sleep in, and we spent one day in Malmö. One of the more famous buildings there is the Turning Torso:
For more pictures of Malmö, click *here * and *here*. Photos from Lund coming soon.
What is this contraption?
Answer to last week: That is the widget that comes inside some beer cans, patented by Guinness, that allows you to get a creamy head on beer coming from a can. I think that particular one was from a can of Kilkenny.
Today is våffeldagen (aka waffle day). Who am I to argue? Yummy!
Apparently waffle day marks the start of Spring, though you wouldn't know it as it has been lighly snowing all day long.
Snow flakey, that is. Hardly any snow fell these past four months, and then we got at least a little every day for the past 4 days. We had fun playing in it on Långfredag (literal translation: "Longfriday," but same as Good Friday).
*Click here for more pictures*
We spent the long Easter weekend down south. Many pictures to post later, after we get some much needed sleep.
The sky was crystal clear last night, and we took advantage by going to the observatory to do some star-gazing.
We even got to see Saturn and its rings. I tried taking a picture through the telescope, but it wasn't easy to keep my hand steady enough. The image was actually very crisp, so much so that it almost looked fake, but this is the best I could manage with the camera:
Earlier in the day we had sun and snow at the same time--the best of both worlds!
Yes, it is a plastic ball. But what is it?
Answer to last week: That was the underside of a set of drill bits that came packaged in a fancy dispenser. Here's a shot of the business end:
The flowers have been fooled--winter ain't over yet!
It isn't the 80+ inches Wisconsin has gotten so far this winter, but I'll take it. We woke up to a couple of inches and it has been going all day, on and off. Hopefully it will stick around for at least a few days.
The Swedish bicycle company Monark is celebrating their 100th anniversay this year. They had a display of some of their older models, one of which was equipped with this unique accessory.
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*Click here for more pictures*
We stumbled upon a famous Scandinavian delicacy in our supermarket: fermented herring. Just look at the way the tops & bottoms of those cans are bulging out
And some interesting tidbits from a quick google search:
"The day has come. Put the can on the table. Find an opener and a cloth. Put the opener in position and cover it with the cloth. Now push the opener through the tin plate and hear and smell the pressure in the can depress.
First time you do this you will probably find the smell less inviting. But remember to take a deep breath and you will almost instantly not feel any inconveniancy from the smelling can. All of the people who is going to participate in the dinner must sit close to the can when opened and they should as soon as possible inhale the smell. if you are more than 20 feet away from the can you will not be able to inhale a concentration big enough. This is the trick - you must as quick as possible see to that you strike out your smelling sence. Now you are ready to start eating!"
"In April 2006, several major airlines (such as Air France and British Airways) banned the fish citing that the pressurized cans of fish are potentially explosive. The sale of the fish was subsequently discontinued in Stockholm's international airport. Those who produce the fish have called the airline's decision "culturally illiterate," claiming that it is a "myth that the tinned fish can explode."
What is this?
Answer to last week: That was an exercise station. Leo demonstrates:
I think we bought the world's biggest (sweet) potato.
That's right: 2 yellow Mercedes parked on our block today. One a little bananaish and the other a little pea soupish. It raises all of the obvious questions: Why would someone purchase a yellow Mercedes? Why would Mercedes paint any cars yellow in the first place? What's the chance of two of them ending up in the same place at the same time? Do the drivers give each other a little wave when passing? Do they belong to PYYMOOGG (Proud Yucky Yellow Mercedes Owners Of Greater Gothenburg)? Why do I find this interesting?
Apparantly, this is supposed to be some type of art work. Something like the Swedish Mona Lisa, I suppose. It's on display at the local Yamaha dealer.
What is this?
Answer to last week: That was a noisemaker that shepherds used in the 1750's to scare off predators.
The local Harley/Buell stealership moved to a brand new location and had their grand opening this past weekend, complete with a really LOUD cover band. And no, we have no idea what they were trying to accomplish with their hair...
The highlight was clearly the display of the worlds most gaudy chandelier.
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A visit to the SAAB automobile museum.
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*Click here for more pictures*
