~SWEDEN~

On Thursday morning all of us slept in.

When I was little and we were in Sweden I always used to wake up at six thirty or so and then I'd run into my grandparents room and crawl into their bed. They would always be awake already, and then at seven or so my grandpa and I would go downstairs and he would let me drink coffee.
Well, I'm not really sure what happened to us, but they're not awake at 6:30 anymore, and I'm definitely not awake at 6:30 anymore. So, coffee drinking is officially moved to after breakfast.

I love huge American breakfasts with french toast, pancakes, muffins, bacon, eggs, and hash browns. I also love Dutch breakfasts with bread with chocolate sprinkles, or nutella. And I really love Swedish breakfasts. I always eat yogurt with musli, and my grandpa puts out all these different kinds of bread with three different kinds of sausages, and caviar (the cheap kind, which is the only good kind). He puts piece of bread after piece of bread into the toaster and pours new orange juice every two minutes. Every time in Sweden breakfast is the same, my grandma always has to drink her orange juice, and we eat the same kind of bread, and the same kind of tea, and the same kind of musli.

After our long breakfast on Thursday, Milja and I drove with Mormor to Vallingby, which isn't very far from Spanga where they live. Mormor went home after a little while and then Milja and I walked around for a pretty long time and then back home in the snow. There was so much snow on the ground, and so much snow coming down on us. I finally got all of the snow that I had been wanting. Mormor had bought a prinsess tarta for us in Vallingby. Prinsess tarta is only the best thing you can ever eat. It's my number one favorite food. Ever. The frosting is made of marsipan, and there's a marsipan rose. And underneath the marsipan is this fluffy white layered cake with whipped cream and sometimes jam in between. The rest of Thursday was a relaxing day, reading, playing cards, talking. Of course Thursday in Sweden also means pea soup and pancakes for dinner. I was pretty full on Thursday night.

On Friday, Milja and I took the train into Stockholm. I found the way without any problems, because it turns out the train system in Sweden, which I remembered as being pretty complicated is way less complicated than the train system in the Netherlands. We met my aunt Karin at the big ring in the Central Station and then we walked to Riksdagen where my other aunt Anna, works. Anna and Karin are always so familiar to me. When I see them it never feels like it's been a year or two years since the last time we saw each other. That was really the nicest thing about being in Sweden... being with people who I've known for my whole life. They were the first family I'd seen in four months. Anna gave us a tour of Riksdagen (the parliament building of Sweden) and then we all went and ate lunch together. Anna had to go back to work, but Karin, Milja, and I walked around for a while. Then Karin went home and Milja and I walked around some more. After we ate dinner on Friday I went shopping again... with Maja, a friend from Spooner who lives in Sweden but was an exchange student with us for a year. Of course we talked about everyone in Spooner which was nice, because no one else really understands how important the little gossip from Spooner is.

Saturday was the official preparation for Christmas day. Karin and my cousins Pia and Sandra came over pretty early in the morning. We were all ready to help bake gingerbread houses, but Mormor had her own ideas about how she wanted to do it. Milja and Karin went out walking, and Pia and Sandra and I sat in the living room playing cards and eating candy. Later on there was a little bit of a discussion over how much candy we actually had aten. When we started the bowl was full, and later that night Mormor discovered that the bowl was almost empty. The thing is, that we really only did eat half of the bowl. So nobody knows what happened to the rest of the candy. Later in the afternoon Anna came with Goran, Frida, and Linn. Two years is always a long time, but it seemed extra long when it came to Frida and Linn. The last time I'd seen them they were still just little girls, and sure, they still are little girls, but they were little girls who seemed a lot older. We played outside, and decorated the Christmas tree, and then all of us ate dinner together. Chili and Morfar's homemade bread.

Sunday I got to see Johanna! It was only a year since the last time I saw her, but I haven't been the best at keeping in touch so seeing her was long overdue. Milja and I took the train together into Stockholm. Then Milja went to the Museum of Modern Art, and Johanna and I went shopping. First we sat in a coffee shop for a while, because the stores still weren't open. We drank hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows and ate muffins, and exchanged presents. At 3 o'clock Milja and I had to be back at my grandparents house so Johanna and I didn't have very long, but it was something. Hopefully it won't be another year before we see each other again.

Right when Milja and I got back to Mormor and Morfar's house, Anna and her family came again. I had no idea, but Mormor had made a Christmas dinner just like we always have in Sweden at Christmas, and everybody had brought presents. So, I got my Christmas in Sweden even though I'm back in Holland now for when it's really Christmas. Of course, it was hard to say goodbye when Anna and her family had to leave. We couldn't just say "Bye, see you later." It had to be, "Bye. See you..." Because of course none of us know when we're going to see each other again.

On Monday, Milja and I had to take the plane back, and we had to say goodbye again, this time to my Grandma and Grandpa. I take after my dad a little bit I think... I hate saying goodbye, and maybe I don't always do it that well. Still no crisis though...

And now, we're back safe and sound in Holland on Christmas Eve. It did take a really, reeeeaallly long time to get back to Akersloot with trains because all of Holland was in chaos from the ten centimeters of snow that they'd gotten (if even). But, we made it. My excuses for how newsy and dry this blog is, but I could write for hours and never be able to do justice to what it was like in Sweden. The snow was beautiful, Christmas felt just like all those times we've celebrated it before, and I got to see my family. Every time I leave Sweden I always realize a little bit more what I'm missing there, and how sad it is that half my family lives across the ocean. I guess I'm stuck with missing places from now on. Sweden, Holland, or Wisconsin: I can't be in all three places at once.

Merry Christmas! To everyone in Sweden, and in Holland, in Missouri, California, and Wisconsin. And everywhere else too!