The Minnesota Noices

Category: Culture

  • Zealand’s Forest Tower

    Zealand’s Forest Tower

    Our Gotlander was unable to make it home for the Easter holiday this week so we decided on just a short trip that’s been on the list since we first arrived in Sweden. It’s so close by that we always think we’ll get to it one day but we never do! Because it’s across the…

  • Reading the Riot Act

    Reading the Riot Act

    First a few library photos from my travels…For a variety of reasons (OK, I confess, mainly Instagram and Youtube) I haven’t been reading as much over the past few years. I’ve always relied on libraries for the majority of my reading material, both print and audio books. In Sweden, the selection of books in English…

  • København-Frederiksberg

    København-Frederiksberg

    Melissa’s 50th birthday gave us an excuse for another Øresunds Bro crossing and a day of adventure with said birthday girl, Erin and Glen, who was introduced to the American group awhile back (along with his Swedish husband, Anders). Glen and Anders met in Copenhagen and have spent a lot of time there so he…

  • Till nästa gång, so long

    Till nästa gång, so long

    Living abroad in a community made up largely of expats means saying goodbye more frequently and in more ways than I had imagined. It has been far more challenging than language or cultural differences. This quote sums it up for me… “You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart always…

  • Winter sewing project complete

    Winter sewing project complete

    This winter was very mild in Lund, with only a couple of minor snow events and few freezing temps. We were hoping for some ice-skating weather but we seem to have missed the narrow window for that. Instead, many dreary winter days were spent on my first big sewing project. The accumulated tee shirt souvenirs…

  • Winter limbo

    Winter limbo

    It’s not really Winter weather but certainly not Spring. And while the days are getting longer, it’s quite dreary, with an occasional sunny hour here and there to give us hope. But then the daily crush of bad news leaves us heavy hearted, so we look for distractions and new hobbies to distract and give…

  • Jolabokaflod

    Jolabokaflod

    The Icelandic tradition of the Christmas book flood has been part of our holiday celebration for the past 10 or so years. We started taking the girls to a local book shop to choose their own books on or around Christmas Eve as a way to support independent book sellers. Wild Rumpus, Red Balloon, Addendum…

  • Madrid Highlights: IKEA

    Madrid Highlights: IKEA

    Bryant wrapped up 3 weeks of work travel with a stay in Madrid, and I was lucky enough to join him for the weekend! We had a blast seeing the highlights in the company of my friend, Laura, who drove down from Valladolid. Her daughter is studying engineering there so we met up with her…

  • Truffles, Tryffel & Trifles

    Truffles, Tryffel & Trifles

    Life doesn’t seem to slow down much at all, even in the dark, cool season. And in an attempt to distract myself from the bleak realities of human nature, I’ve thrown myself into new hobbies, clubs, travel and volunteer opportunities. I can’t see a way for American Democracy to recover from the effects of malicious…

  • All about Autumn

    All about Autumn

    Fixardag (Fix-It Day) happens 2x per year- the residents in our building gather to help do some of the communal chores such as clean the laundry room, trash room and courtyard. Ebba and Isabella (both go to Katte but in different programs) took on the job of patching. I did lots of weeding and pruning…