Deutschland

Germany is one of the most history rich countries I've ever visited. And a wild history at that. Thanks to my father, I got a love for history and couldn't pass up the chance to visit a country with one of the most fascinating and deeply saddening histories the world has. The main thing I wanted to do was visit a concentration camp, while I am closer than I'm ever going to be. It was hands down one of the best experiences of my life. It's an odd thing to say because of the extreme sadness that comes with a concentration camp, but it's also one of the few experiences in life that will truly make you appreciate every single thing in your life.

I arrived in Germany around 9:30 pm on July 9 (almost two months late for this-awful). My flight was delayed but other than that, it was a successful trip out of the Scandinavian lands. The flight is only about an hour and half long, so no biggie there. This was my first trip traveling alone to another country, even though I was ultimately meeting up with my roommate. But I had to get myself to the airport on time, check in, find the bus to take me to my hostel once I arrived in Germany, and all of it by myself. It's quite a liberating feeling to travel alone and accomplish all of these tasks that you are used to doing in the safe company of either your family or friends. It's something I never pictured myself doing. Once I got to Germany, I tried the 10 different wifi options that the airport provided, but none of them worked, so I had to get on my way without being able to tell my parents I had safely arrived. I already had to send two text messages when I was still in Sweden to let them know my flight was delayed, because of course the internet didn't work at that airport either and I have no way of contacting the world without wifi, unless I want to be charged for sending a text. Someone seriously needs to create a universal wifi already.

I was planning on taking a bus to my hostel but I'm not the surest of people and wasn't convinced the bus I thought would take me to my hostel would actually be the right one, so I opted for the expensive route of taking a cab. Best and worst choice. Best because he did get me to my hostel in one piece. Worst because he barely got me there in one piece. For some reason, this man felt the desire to drive like he was racing in a NASCAR race. He gunned it to over 60 or 70 mph for a random 10 feet, cut people off like there was no one else on the road, all the while texting like an idiot and like he wasn't driving another person around. If I wasn't so confused about where my hostel was when I got out of the car, I would have kissed the ground. My hostel just so happened to also be a bar, so I was extremely confused when the cab driver pointed to a bar entrance when I asked him where the hostel was. I was looking for a St. Christopher's Inn sign. Anyways, I finally checked in, set my bag down, and went to look for my roommate and internet. The hostel only had the free wifi in the downstairs bar area, which was rather inconvenient, but oh well. Glad to have some. That night I met my roommates friend from college and his wife. He lives in Germany and is a rugby coach and player. It was nice to have another English speaker around. It's one of the most relieving things to have while traveling.

The next day was our visit to the concentration camp. We met up with our group outside a coffee shop a few blocks from our hostel and then hopped on the trains to Oranienburg, which is where the camp is located. It's about a 30-45 minute journey North of Berlin. While we were still in Berlin, it was sunny and beautiful out, but as we traveled closer to the camp, it became eerily grey, cloudy, and cold. It was very fitting for what we were going to visit. It would have almost seemed off if it were sunny and the birds were chirping. I'll share a few of the main things I learned, and though it's quite easy to go on and on about the sick things that went on here, I'll keep it to the point. Sachsenhausen was opened in 1936 and operated until 1945, just 17 days prior to its liberation. After its liberation, it ran as a detention center for political prisoners by the Soviets. The prisoners sent here were from up to 30 different countries and were mostly Jews, Jehovah's witnesses, political opponents, criminals, homosexuals and Soviet prisoners of war or deserters. Stalin's son was sent here and died via gun shot wound when he tried to escape. Much of the original camp was first destroyed by the Germans to cover their tracks and then again much later by Neo-Nazi's, who set the barracks on fire. It was reconstructed and reopened in 1961 as a memorial to the atrocities that occurred here. This camp was the main bureaucracy for all of the concentration camps in existence.  There were 7 different ways allowed by the Nazi's to kill the prisoners and many of these ways were via medical "experimentation" that they were so fascinated by. One of the longest and most brutal roll calls was held here. The prisoners were made to stand for 15 straight hours. The life expectancy of the prisoners was just 12 days. I will never forget what I took away from visiting a place like this and highly recommend visiting one. It's quite disgusting knowing what the human race is capable of, but also good that this topic hasn't lost any of its attention over the years, hopefully to keep it from never happening again.

Entrance

"Work will set you free"

Execution site and crematorium 

Barracks- designed for 147 people; over 400 slept here

The rest of my days in Berlin, a few with my roommate and a few on my own, were spent sight seeing, drinking amazing German beer, and visiting old palaces and cities. My roommates friend took us on a tour of Berlin, hitting the major sites like Humboldt university, the Berlin wall, the Brandenburg gate, the memorial for the Holocaust victims, Hitler's bunker, museum island and the TV tower. I never realized how many beautiful structures are located in Berlin. Much of these sites are under construction because they need to be restored.

Beautiful church

The Brandenburg Gate

Amazing beer from the Hofbrahaus

The Berlin Wall

 The history museum on museum island

In love with this building

The TV tower

Humboldt University

Parking lot over what was Hitler's bunker

I booked a trip to visit a city called Potsdam, which is about 45 minutes west of Berlin. It's a city filled with old palaces, gardens and lakes, with a heavy Prussian influence. I had to navigate the subway and trains alone for this, but thankfully my roommate gave me step by step directions that easily led me to the meeting point for the trip. The way home was on my own- took me a bit longer to figure out. My tour guide told us how it's sad because many people miss out on visiting Potsdam because they are so caught up with Berlin and all of its sites. She was right, it would have been sad to miss out on that because I got to see some very beautiful things and meet some really great people. Two older, very grandparent-esque, Australians befriended me and introduced me to their other Australian friend, who happened to be my age. There was also a couple my age from Uruguay and a guy also my age from Mexico. It was really nice to hang around with some fellow English speakers, even though for some of them it wasn't their first language (but had to be while they were in Berlin). My tour guide was also from Australia and happened to be the same age as well. It worked out really nicely. She was really knowledgeable and did a good job of keeping us entertained with her countless facts. While I was there, I saw some amazing palaces (one even made entirely of marble), gardens, lakes, and structures that were all just so beautiful. I even saw a building that happened to survive the bombings that took place there. One of the only ones to not get destroyed. I love learning little things like that.

Bridge dividing East and West

Brandenburg Gate number 2 

Everything seemed to be dripping in gold here

Sanssouci Palace- Frederick the Great's "summer" house

Unreal detail

Back of palace

Another piece of the Berlin Wall

Two things stuck out to me while I was in Berlin. The first is the fact that they don't use credit or debit cards as their main way to pay for everyday items. I wasn't aware of this before I got to Berlin, or I would have exchanged more Euros for the trip. My pin number for my debit card hasn't been working over here, so when I ran out of Euros, I thought I was screwed. Thankfully, my sweet parents let me use their card to take some more out. Second, I was really surprised by the amount of gypsy's that lived in Berlin. Many of them were homeless or struggling for money, which is how I encountered so many, and I was blown away by how children as young as five were able to ask in at least four different languages for money. I have nothing against gypsy's, I just could not believe how a child so young could speak so many different languages! They were also beautiful, so it was really hard to say no to them. 

I really enjoyed visiting Germany and hope to some day make it back to explore even more of its wild history, beautiful palaces, castles, and the like. Traveling to Ireland and Germany has just made me want to explore more of this beautiful world and its cultures and I hope I get the opportunities to continue to do that. I can't tell you how many times I've sat down to write this. I don't know why this has felt like a task, because I love to write and it has been fun to relive all of these life changing experiences. One of the times I sat down to write, I got a good deal of it written, only to later x out of the screen accidentally and lose everything. Didn't think about writing for a good two weeks after that. But here it (finally) is and hopefully whoever out there reads this enjoys it! 

The Emerald Isle

Where to even start with the unforgettable trip to Ireland? It truly was the Emerald Isle- so lush and green, even the ocean was its own shade of mesmerizing green. It was one of, if not the best, vacations I've ever had. Between the Irish accent, the locals referring to you as 'love' (couldn't get enough of that) and the insane beauty of the country itself, I was already planning a trip back while I was there. 

When I think of Ireland, I think of two things in particular: castles and alcohol, Guinness to be exact. Safe to say, those are the two things we spent most of our time on. My tolerance was at an all time high after I left there. The Guinness tasted much better in Ireland than it did back home. I don't even like dark beer and didn't mind drinking it. We stayed in Dublin during our time there and it's such an awesome city. So full of life. It reminded me a lot of New York City: buzzing with people and not the cleanest of places, but a fun environment nonetheless. One of my good friends I played club soccer with happened to be staying in Dublin at the same time as me, so we got to venture around Ireland, of all places, for our reunion!

Two of the best things about Ireland are one, there is free wifi located throughout the entire country and two, their train and metro system are extremely affordable. We paid 13 euros (around $17) for an all day train pass. Hop on and off as you please. The Euro isn't too far off from the US dollar and it was really nice to see prices that I am used to. Swedish Krona uses much higher numbers and even though it's reasonably priced, it gives you the feeling that you are shelling out a bunch of money. 

Aside from the literally hundreds of bars and pubs located within two feet of each other in Dublin, there are quite a few other things to see while you are there. We visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, Trinity College and Dublin's castle. I do have to mention that navigating the streets in some European countries is rather difficult because, depending on the country, the street signs are located on the sides of buildings, instead of the typical street signs you see in the States. They blend quite nicely with the walls they are located on. Any who, I can't even describe in words the beauty of the inside of St. Patrick's Cathedral, so I'll use a few pictures to do it for me. The detail is indescribable. My mom said it best: it makes you want to go to church.

St. Patrick's

St. Patrick's

St. Patrick's

Trinity College is another amazing piece of history that we were able to visit. Got quite wet in the process, but it was worth it. Some of the buildings seriously look just like Hogwarts. Ireland is a pretty rainy place, so the constant grey skies and rain added even more to the feeling of being in real life Harry Potter world. Getting up to go to class definitely would have been easier if you went there. Wouldn't have minded it as much. 

We were lucky to get to visit so many different cities in Ireland. Before we got there, we planned a visit to do a tour of the Blarney castle in Cork, which is a little under 3 hours away via train. It was an all day tour, starting at 7am, but very worth it. The Blarney castle was built in 1446 by Dermot McCarthy and definitely looks its age. A lot of the castle has crumbled over the centuries, but there is still quite a bit of it standing. You are allowed to walk around the castle via the extremely old, narrow staircases and get a feel for how people lived back then. The myth behind the Blarney stone, which is inside the Blarney castle and is actually from Scotland, is that when you kiss it, you supposedly gain the gift of eternal eloquence or great flattery. Interesting theory. Had to do the tourist thing and plant one on it... I can now say I've kissed literally thousands of people. More fun to say? The Blarney castle also comes with a Gothic mansion, made by the father for his son. Tough life. The mansion is absolutely beautiful. It had a somewhat purple hue and was just really striking sitting in the green hills of Ireland. And to top it all off...someone actually lives there a few months out of the year. Again, tough life. 

The Blarney castle

Gothic mansion

The visit to Cork also included a bus trip to Cobh (Cove). Cobh is located at the southern tip of Ireland and is quite the historical town. History lesson: it is the final port of call for the Titanic, where survivors were taken after the Germans torpedoed and sunk the Lusitania (another massive cruiser) and where 3 million Irish people emigrated to mainly the United States from, including Annie Moore, the first person to ever come through Ellis Island. Aside from all its amazing history, Cobh is also beautiful. Another picture Esq town, with colorful buildings lining the cliffs. 

St. Colman's Cathedral 

Our tour guide for this trip was hands down the cutest little Irish man I've ever seen. Exactly what I think of when I picture a little old Irish man. Wanted to take him home! He loved to talk so we asked him for details on where to go for fun things to do for the rest of our time in Ireland. After our trip to Cork and Cobh, we didn't have any set plans for the rest of our time in Ireland, so we took his advice and visited a few cities for the day. 

First, we traveled to Howth, which is a really small fishing town. I'm absolutely in love with this little town and hope to make it back someday! It's only about a 30 minute train ride North East of Dublin, with a population ranging somewhere in the 8,000's.  It also has colorful buildings built along the cliffs, looking out to the sea. I seriously can't get enough of places like that. While we were there, we first went to a cute little restaurant right near the ocean. They had really good sea food and wines and a friendly staff working there. Our cute little tour guide told us there was a castle there, so we asked one of the servers from the restaurant how to find it. Luckily, it wasn't far and it couldn't have been a more perfect day. They said it was quite hot for Ireland. Only down side to the countries in and around the UK is the constant grey, chilly days they so often get to experience. And that we did most of our days there. The castle in Howth was cute and was turned into a cooking school for students. 

Howth restaurants

Howth castle

After Howth, we stopped in Malahide, another town on the East coast with beautiful churches and a castle to visit. I really wonder how many castles are located in Ireland. There was one in every city we visited. Funniest thing happened while we were there. We got off the train and immediately got suckered into riding this little children's train that took you to look at the ocean and then dropped you off at the castle. The man who owns it got the idea when he visited Key West. Being that we are all from Florida, he named us his VIPs for the day. He was a really fun guy. The castle in Malahide is the oldest one we visited- from the year 1185. Surprisingly, it's been really well looked after, so it doesn't look old in the least. 

Malahide castle

VIPs

Pints in every city

The day we were visiting all of these cities along the coast also happened to be the 4th of July! I've noticed that the more I travel, the more patriotic I've become. Nothing against any other country, I just have realized more how good I have it back home. Anyways, since it was the fourth, we only felt it was right that we get a pint in every city we visited. 

We ended our last night in Dublin at a fun sports pub where the championship football team's owner (or something along those lines) just so happened to be showing off the championship trophy. The pub was celebrating that Dublin had won, which they hadn't done in years. The owner brought the trophy right over to our table and let us take a picture with it. It seemed to mean so much to the locals, which was fun to see. They said it was the equivalence to our NFL leagues back home, but I can guarantee that trophy isn't brought to pubs and passed around the locals like it's worth $5! 

I'm so glad I got the opportunity to visit our homelands and I cannot wait to make another trip back some day. I loved everything about Ireland and hope to someday figure out our family tree and where exactly we come from and which family members made the trek over to start a new life in the US of A. 

Midsommar and Parents Arrival- catching up

Somehow it has been 5 weeks since I last wrote a blog. These last 3 weeks have been filled with so many new adventures, which is why I haven't had the time to sit here and write them all down yet. I'm glad I decided to give in to doing a blog because I can share these adventures with whoever reads this out there and can relive them all over again while I am writing them out. I still can't even believe I am fortunate enough to be able to live out such an adventure. The last time I wrote was right before the much anticipated events of Midsommar and my lovely parents making the trek across the pond, so here is a little bit about both.

Midsommar lived up to its expectations. I'd like to say I celebrated it just like the next Swede. My roommate and I went to Oregrund, which is where everyone goes to party on Friday night, with our friend from work, Malin. Oregrund is on the East coast, about an hour away from Tierp. The beaches are all cliffs and really beautiful. We went and had dinner there before all the partying commenced. Basically, in a shortened version, Oregrund is one big party scene. Just like back home in the States, these traditional holiday occasions revolve solely around alcohol. And just like back home in good ole Gainesville, Florida, everyone puts on their party pants and enjoys the night to the fullest with their friends and families. After a night of dancing and drinking, Malin, Carrie and I ran into a rather scary situation, at the time. Per usual at these types of events, the three of us managed to get separated from each other, and none of us with the other. Being in Europe, our American phones have to stay on airplane mode so the bill isn't outrageous each month. That also means they only work when we have a wifi connection, which is practically no where outside our apartment. So, the three of us had no way of contacting one another. Carrie and Malin managed to meet up, but I was with another girl from the team, but couldn't tell those two that at the time. I was afraid if I left my teammate and went searching for those two, I would lose everyone altogether and that would have been pretty much worst case scenario. So I stayed with a teammate and her friend for the night and let my poor friends minds wander to where in the world I might be. The next morning they were able to track me down and find out I was alive and not the subject of the movie Taken. That movie seriously gives Europe such a bad rep. I know it happens, but it worries people into not traveling these beautiful countries!

Anywho, the next night was the more traditional part of the Midsommar celebrations. Everyone goes to another town in Sweden (can't remember the name) to do more partying but also to do a very traditional dance called the boog. It's also more of a family atmosphere than the first night. Lots of families were there together. I learned it from a frustrated Swedish boy who didn't like that I had no idea what I was doing. Despite him thinking I was stupid because I couldn't get the dance right, it was fun to be apart of something so traditional. Probably would have been a bit easier if I wasn't under the influence. There was food and multiple dance floors so it was a really fun evening. My entire team was there, pretty much, which was also fun to hang out with them outside of soccer. Malin's dad doesn't live far from where all of the partying took place and they were nice enough to let us stay with them for the weekend. Overall, it was a really fun weekend and I'm glad I was here during the time it took place.

My parents came the Monday following Midsommar. They arrived in Stockholm around 12:30 pm and my team manager so nicely drove me down there to meet them, instead of picking them up via train. 3 months didn't seem long while it was happening, but once I finally saw them, it seemed like I hadn't seen them in ages. I wish I could put into words how thankful I am for how supportive they are to each of their 3 children. Having them come visit me all the way across the pond was such a fun experience. Definitely one none of us ever thought we'd have!

They were able to see 2 of my games, both against one of the best teams in the league, and we also managed to squeeze in getting to see Stockholm, Uppsala and Gavle during their time here. Lots of train rides. Sweden summers are somewhat similar to those in Florida- not this year of course; heard it's been raining non stop for quite a few weeks- aka, it's nice if you get a day to do something with no rain involved. The only differences are that in Florida, the rain usually lasts around 15 minutes and there is zero change in temperature. Getting to my point, it was absolutely perfect weather for the day we went to Stockholm. It was actually hot (got burned) and not a chance of rain in sight. Stockholm is a beautiful city and I'm so glad the weather went our way and they got to experience it on a non rainy/cold day. Much of Stockholm's dining choices have outside seating, so it was nice to be able to take advantage of that and have a good meal while also getting to enjoy the summer sunshine.

Stockholm

Each of the cities we visited we toured as much of the city as our feet would allow, went to museums, castles and churches, rewarded ourselves with good meals and bakery treats for all the walking we'd done, and of course alcoholic beverages, while also squeezing in some time for shopping- trying not to lose my dad in the process. Don't blame him for wandering off while his wife and daughter couldn't resist the urge to shop the European stores, but it's a bit of a different story losing someone in a foreign country! Dowd crowd keeps it exciting.

Beer sampling in Uppsala

Donnie D and Lisa stayed in my apartment while they were here and I won't lie, it was nice having family members around making it feel a bit more like home. Those two can never not visit their children and buy them whatever is missing or needed for their homes! Good people. I'm so glad they got to come visit me in Sweden and see where they sent their daughter to live for 6 months. It was an experience I will never forget and am beyond thankful I was able to experience it with them. My sweet brothers will have to join in on the next Euro trip because it definitely wasn't the same without them. Proud of them for staying behind to do well in school and work their jobs.

Drag racing, parents coming, Midsommar and more

I haven't talked much about the crazy-long sun schedule over here in this part of the world (thanks Jennie!) so I'll give you a little taste of what it's been like living with days that have almost 20 hours (give or take) of sunlight. Right now, the sun is setting somewhere between 11:30- 11:45 pm and rising in the 3 am hours. It's definitely been my biggest adjustment. It never quite feels like bedtime at night and when you wake up to go to the bathroom during the "night", the sun is usually already on its way up. Throws you off completely. The blind and curtain situation in Sweden has also been an adjustment- mainly for the fact that they either don't have blinds or just have sheer curtains hanging from the windows. Not enough coverage, in my opinion, for days with seemingly endless sunlight. My window is currently covered with 2 sheets and a blanket, one because the boys who lived here before us probably broke the only coverage the window had and two, because the sheer curtains just weren't cutting it for the no blinds situation. I'm waiting for the curtain rod to give way during the night at some point.

11:30 pm

Saturday, a few teammates and myself had to work at the drag racing arena located here in Tierp. It's probably the nicest thing in Tierp. It has stadium seating, a portion that is going to be turned into a hotel at some point, and a place for the local catering company to set up and serve people food. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Since the roomie and I clearly don't speak Swedish, we were assigned to keep the tables clean, aka pick up trash and beer bottles, while the other girls sold ice cream, cinnamon buns, coke and popcorn. I'll just say it was 5 hours of non stop moving while also being hit on by drunk, but usually nice, Swedes. The arena was hosting a large event for drag racing this past weekend. Quite a few other countries had their racing teams here for the competition. I don't have an interest in any type of racing but it was an experience nonetheless and interesting to see how it works over here in Sweden. The crowd looked exactly like the type of crowd that would be at a NASCAR event back home. I think it's the NASCAR of Europe. Forgot my phone, so no pictures to show unfortunately.

Another game down in the books. We played against Gavle on Sunday, who is a team only 30 minutes away from Tierp. Some of the girls on the team live there but play for Tierp. Overall, it wasn't that great of a game, but we did finish really well and ended up beating them 6-0. Another team who were frustrated by the score and started playing dirty towards the end. Really not a fan of that. Good to get another 3 points and a high scoring game, though. We only have 4 more games until our 2 week break starting July 1. Our last 2 games are our most important because if we win them both, we will be first in the league. We play the current top team in the league (we are second) for our last 2 games, once at home and once at their home. I think it will be a good match up. Better teams make you play better, on most occasions.

I was talking to my parents the other day about how I am so happy/thankful to be here but that there are just certain things from the US that I really miss. Example number one: the food. Being in such a small town hinders the choices I have for things similar to those in the US, but even having more options in the bigger cities, I still really miss my favorite places to eat. I would say I ate sushi and Mexican food a few times out of the week. Every week. They do have sushi and Mexican food here, but it's just not the same. I will have to try them in other countries to see if they taste as good as they do back home. I also really miss Burrito Brothers, Chipotle, Yamato's and any bbq restaurant. Clearly I'm a typical American eater. The bakery and candy selection over here comes pretty close to making up for not having all my favorite American meals though! I miss my family and friends of course and my sweet doggie. I'm blessed to have such good people in my life.

It's really crazy to me that in 2 weeks I will have been here for 3 months- the half way point! It's like college: doesn't seem fast at the time but it's flying by. It'll be over before I know it, which is even harder to believe. I still have a hard time believing I'm here, living in Sweden, doing what I love on a daily basis. I guess I just never pictured this actually happening. I'm enjoying all the new experiences and doing my best to make the most out my time here. Hasn't been hard to do so far. Sweet little Donnie d and Lisa will be arriving in Sweden in just 6 days. I'm so excited for them to get here and just a week after they do, we're going to Ireland. Good times ahead :)

This weekend is a national holiday here in Sweden, called Midsummer's (Midsommar) Day. It's a huge deal, as big a deal as fourth of July is to us Americans. It's celebrated the Friday after the summer solstice. It's a big enough deal that we have no games scheduled this weekend. It's pretty much a day of partying, drinking and of course, the word invented here in Sweden, smorgasbord- buffet meals of salads, meats, cheese, chips, and any other hors d'oeuvre type of meal you can think of. It sounds like a great time and I'm really excited to experience such a celebrated day while being in another country. Getting to experience these types of situations is one of the main reason I want to travel. It's so fun to see how other countries celebrate traditions they cherish so much while also getting more of an appreciation for your own traditions and celebrations back home. Best of both worlds.

Dream Life

It would almost be rude if I didn't start this blog off by talking about how I met Pia Sundhage yesterday when I was in Stockholm watching a professional team called Tyreso play!! I still can't believe it. It was so casual... she was literally just walking with a media person and we went right up to her to introduce ourselves. She was really friendly and didn't seem bothered at all by the many fans who kept walking up to her to have their pictures taken. Strangely, no one was around her when we went to introduce ourselves, so we actually got to have a 5 minute conversation. Surreal. She was there for a press conference to talk about the Euro Cup, which is taking place in Sweden next month.

We were able to go to the game because my friend Jackie got Carrie and I and another of her friends free tickets to the game because she works for Tyreso's club. It was awesome to get to watch such a high level of women's soccer. Marta just so happens to play for that team and I can't even describe how cool it was to watch her play in person. She's highly regarded here... her own cheering section and all. I got a feeling that section was her family, but I'm not positive. They were beating drums and singing songs in Spanish for her all game long. Christen Press also plays for Tyreso. She's an American and plays on the National team. Watched her score 3 sick goals. They also have a girl named Veronica Boquete on the team, who is from Spain. She is unreal. Raw talent for sure. She is so crafty and light on her feet. Not sure I've ever watched a person play soccer and make it look that easy. She seemed so humble too. She created a lot of their chances and didn't seem bothered that she didn't get a goal herself. I'm terrible when it comes to watching soccer and following players, but I definitely would like to watch her play more and see more of her career. The team was talented as a whole and with those three, it was just amazing to watch.

I had my first experience on a subway in Stockholm on Sunday! I didn't even realize I'd never been on a subway until I was riding one. I guess subways are known for being gross, at least in the US, and the one in Sweden was no different. Made me appreciate the train systems even more. Prior to coming to Sweden, I couldn't tell you a thing about trains or the subway systems. The train has been pretty straight forward (with the help of a Swedish friend) but the subway was a different story. It was really confusing because there were two different subways and they were different colors than each other, obviously taking you different places. We got on the wrong subway and rode in the opposite direction of where we needed to go, so eventually we just asked random strangers to help some sisters out. All of that aside, we made it to our destination. Safe to say, I hope I don't live in a city where I have to commute via subway to work! Side note: I swear the subway was like 500ft below ground. It seriously looked and felt like a cave. Rather creepy.

Saturday's game was a good one. We beat Taby FK 2-1, a team that Tierp lost to twice last year. Hands down the most physical team we've played all season. But also one of the better teams as well. We scored on them early and they later tied it up after they got a pk. Second half we continued playing well and got another goal on them and held the lead for the rest of the game. It was nice to see the team and coaches happy to have beaten them.

Things at the restaurant are going well still. It's a huge learning experience for me. I tend to stay away from the kitchen. My brain just doesn't think clearly in there for some reason. I am the girl who messes up rice krispie treats and grilled cheese. Don't ask how. I think I've peeled maybe one potato in my day and I've definitely never cut any vegetables... doing both now. Whether I learn anything or not, I'm glad to be getting the experience. Since we work Monday and Tuesday and get Wednesday's off of soccer, it helps the week go by quicker. Not as many days with unlimited free time. I'm enjoying it- never thought I'd say that.

Slowly figuring out how to add pictures to the blog and hoping I can get better at it. I'm sure it's rather boring just reading words with no pictures to give you a real idea of what I'm rambling on about!