Living La Vida Lunda: A blog abroad

The Minnesota Noices

  • Racing toward summer!

    Every year, time seems to accelerate as Spring arrives, and this year is no exception. Valborg already seems like a distant memory and I never got around to posting about it! The crowd of 30 thousand people never materialized but the idea might have been enough to keep some folks away- in the end 20…

  • Feels like Spring

    One of the things I love about Sweden is the public access to nature. While strolling through the countryside one is likely to come across a bench, fire ring, or resting place in the forest or even on the edge of a field! This area near Löberöd, not far from Lund, is exceptionally nice, with…

  • Danmark: Bornholm og København

    One of our favorite stops on Bornholm was the town of Svaneke, in the eastern-most part of Denmark. This is where we met up with the Westall family. After our mini family reunion we walked around and did a bit of shopping. I’m already planning another visit as a few hours wasn’t enough to do…

  • Sunshine Island

    The Danish island of Bornholm, called the sunshine island because it has, on average, more sunny days than the rest of Denmark, lies in the Baltic Sea near Sweden’s southern coast. We’ve been planning a visit since we first arrived since it’s an easy ferry ride away, but somehow it didn’t happen. With our first…

  • We visit a Micronation

    The day of our pilgrimage finally arrived, thanks entirely to our friend’s initiative and invitation. Here’s a link to her blog…Our three families met at the Kullaberg lighthouse, which I posted about previously. Then we made our way through the forest to the unmarked, controversial micronation of The Royal Republic of Ladonia. Ladonia’s fascinating history…

  • København

    …the Danish name for Copenhagen. It’s so close but we haven’t spent much time there yet! Now it’s the end of Sportlov (sports leave/permission) winter break. Many families go skiing this week, though it was originally implemented after WWII as a way to save energy by closing schools for a week during the coldest part…

  • Update -svenska kursen

    This week we completed Nivå 1 exams. I think I’ve passed both the oral and written, but we won’t have results until next week. The speaking exam was given in groups of 3 with each us having a role to play for the first part. We were told to prepare to speak about 4 different…

  • I did a thing …

    So, after nearly 2 years of (pretty much only) working, I decided I needed a hobby. So, I got this. 2001 VTR. I had a ’98 (I think) and regretted selling it. So, when I found this one in great shape with awesome sounding exhaust, I said “yes” to the bike. Of course, it is…

  • Windy Day …

    So, we had this crazy wind front come thru this weekend. Sustained winds at 13+ m/s (which is how it is measured in Sweden, which was up to 65 mph in imperial freedom units) – nearly hurricane strength. Howled and shook the house all weekend. On Sunday, we went to Lomma to see what the…

  • NOT Noice

    My first weeks of Swedish class at Lunds Universitet have been good in spite of the challenges. I went in search of easy audiobooks to listen to while I walk. Using the library app I searched Easy and filtered for audio. Here’s a photo is what came up! I thought it was an extremely strange…