Week 2 Begins!

Today marks the first full week that we've been in Sweden. It is also the beginning of our attempt to establish a routine involving home-cooked food, a full work week for Erin, and me being on my own. This morning, I decided to trek through the rain, sans rain boots, to the Espresso House on the Öresund. This is my view:

Sucks, huh? We discovered this place -- along with many other lovely cafes, restaurants, and bars -- on Friday during a very long walk along the shore. As you will see, Helsingborg is a truly beautiful place, and we cannot wait to experience it during the the summer.

One important thing I've learned in recent days is that if you smile at someone on the street in Sweden, you are seen as either crazy, drunk, or American. While I am never fewer than two of these things at any given time, I've decided to stop giving crinkle eyes to strangers. This is not easy for a guy like me, and I still catch myself doing it pretty frequently. I wonder, though: does this rule also apply to babies and dogs? If anyone has the answer to this extremely pressing question, please leave it in the comments.

One huge feat we accomplished since my last post is finally moving into our temporary apartment. Holy cow, it's enormous -- three bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms -- and we are no longer living out of suitcases that we subsequently have to move every day and a half. This is our view from the living room:

...and here are a few pics of the place:

Notice that the bed is actually two twin beds pushed together with two very thin mattresses atop a large base with individual blankets. This makes nighttime snuggling a little challenging, but still beats the Ward and June Cleaver days. 

After moving into our apartment, we took a ceremonial trip to IKEA, where we first had a little fika in their cafe. I will say that IKEA in Sweden is zero percent different from IKEA in the U.S., with the exception being that all of the signs are in Swedish. The place was packed with Swedes buying cost-effective home goods, and we were able to buy all of the necessary items to make our temporary place a little more comfortable. We have also begun navigating the grocery stores, which are odd places, and a few of our standard staples are difficult to find. I suspect, for example, that Erin may return from her work trip to the U.S. in April with a suitcase full of granola bars. 

Our first meal at home consisted of hummus, cheese and crackers, olives, and cucumbers followed by a frozen pizza and wine. It's possible that neither of us have ever been so relieved to eat such simple food after such an unsettled week.

We also had the displeasure of returning the rental car to the Copenhagen airport on Saturday. Let's just say that we learned a few important things during that trip; namely, despite what the train map says, not all trains go to Helsingborg, so it's important to make sure you get on the right one. After a two-hour detour, we wound up at an Italian restaurant called Bonasera Bonasera, where we ordered spaghetti marinara and -- you guessed it -- pizza and wine. The pasta rolled out covered in mussels and shrimp and seemed to be spiced with the same things you'd put in mulled cider. This is why I've decided to finally start basic Swedish language lessons today. Since when does marinara involve seafood? And why put cinnamon in tomato sauce? 

Later this week, Erin and I will take the train to Malmö, which is the third largest city in Sweden, in order to complete the necessary steps for her work visa. I am sure these two clueless Americans will stumble at least once while we are there. Until then, here is a hopeful image for those of you freezing your buns off in Michigan and on the east coast!

P.s. Happy 11th birthday, Lindsay!