Flat in Stockholm–$1200 per square meter!

June 20, 2011 Leaving the Quiet Rural Life in Stode and Sundsvall and Off to Stockholm

We packed our bags; filled our pockets with enough 5 Swedish Krona coins to use the bathroom, and drove the car to the petrol station in Sundsvall. Diesel is 13.89 Swedish Krona per liter and 3.84 liters per gallon so….Diesel is $8.82 per gallon. Since we arrived at the train stations early and we already had our tickets, we rented lockers for our luggage for 60 Swedish Krona or $10. We thoroughly enjoyed the 3 1/2 hour train ride to Stockhom in first class. Gary has decided he is never flying again. Besides having no room unless you are flying first class, he calls air travel dehumanizing. I was simply amazed that there is No security and no one checks your ticket until you are on the train and the train is moving. I have fears that we would get on the wrong train. We arrived in Stockholm during rush hour. Wow! What a difference from Sundsvall and Stode. There are lanes for foot travel, bicycle travel, trams and of course cars. Tip: Stay in the foot lane. If you put one toe in the bicycle lane, you will lose it! Bikes are everywhere and even have little carriages and carts on the front for children. I have never seen so many carriages and children. When we arrived there was a large demonstration in the square near the station by the Iranian Communist Party. So armed with two maps we trekked off to find our bed and breakfast. What was listed as a 30 minute walk from the train station was about 1 and 1/4 hours. One frustration for Gary reading the maps is that the names of the streets change every several hundred meters and all the street signs are on the buildings and of course the names are in Swedish and look similar. So we finally arrived at the street which looked like embassy row with both the French and Portugues Embassies in the building. Of course we realized there was no code to enter the building and our host was not there. We rang the bell, made several phonecalls, then decided to sit in the park across the street. This was our first challenge. I wondered if we could spend the night in the park on a bench. It was quite cold and we did not have blankets or newspapers for covers. The good news is that we would have sunlight almost all night. We finally were able to contact our host who apologized for not being there. We were let into the building and took an old iron gated elevator to the 5th floor. The flat we were staying had several rooms that were rented as a bed and breakfast. It was beautiful. The building was constructed in the 1800’s and now has several rooms in the flat that are rented out as a B&B.

We asked our host for a recommendation for dinner. He said the best places were a couple of Italian restaurants close by or two local grills next to the building. We opted for Italian; after another 20 minute walk–we got lost as we had no map and no address, only some verbal directions from the host that it was close by around the corner. We enjoyed our 493 Krona fire grilled pizza. The pizza, one small green salad and 2 glasses of wine were $81.49! It is quite expensive in Stockholm. We had a typical Swedish breakfast at the B&B and had an interesting conversation about history, geography, politics and what was wrong with the education system and health care system in USA. She insisted that there are no rich people in Sweden and all people are taken care of. The evidence we saw in Stockholm does not support her claim. We saw a Ferrari and Mazzarati dealer, and many upscale shops. The cost of a flat in a prime area is $1200 per square foot (about 9 sq. ft.). Many people ren rooms in their flats to afford the rent.

Tour of Stockholm…

We had a one day walking tour of Stockholm with my own Svenska guide–Gary! So armed with several maps we started our journey. We had been up since 5am as the sun is really bright at that time. We walked along the harbor and into Old Town. Swedes and Danes are one hardy stock, as all of the outdoor   had  people outside. In the evening many of the women customers were wrapped in blankets which were supplied by the restaurant. It is still cold by my standards for summer! Below you will find some pictures of Stockholm.

View from the window of the room in the B & B. The entire building is full of multiple flats and people from the French and Portuguese Embassy.

Gary in Front of City Hall 

Old Town

We enjoyed our walk through Old Town and the shops, churches, statues, museums, and Skansons (an open air museum of the history of Sweden), and a boat ride to get a better view of the city. We are trying to sample chocolate in every place we visit. We spent 30 Swedish Krona ($5) for one piece of chocolate to share. It was good, however I found the Copenhagen chocolate truffle better (12 Danish Krona for each chocolate–$2 dollars a piece–and worth it! The Svenska believes that his new Merrell shoes have “sved his life” as we have put many miles on our feet! The little guy on my pedometer has been cheering everyday and sometimes he is cheering by 1030am! The little guy on my pedometer cheers if you walk 10000 steps or about 5 miles. The good news is that none of us have blisters, simply tired feet!

Next stop is Copenhagen...

And of course Copenhagen does not take Swedish Krona. They have their own currency–Danish Krona. There is definitely some tension related to currency and the Euro. Still paying to use the toalett 2 Danish Krona in Copenhagen.   The train ride to Copenhagen was great. We did need to ask one of the attendants where the spar for the track was and which train as nothing was well marked for two English speaking tourists. Once again we arrived at rush hour, however this time it was not that hectic. There was a lot of bike and foot traffic. Our hotel (ultra Danish Modern) was about 1 mile from the train which we found quite easily. The room is tiny or should I say cozy–about 7 feet wide and 14 feet long and the bathroom takes out some of the width. The bathroom has a Star Trek transporter shower. The bed is next to the wall and window so if you need to get up at night, you best be on the outside as you cannot get out of the bed on both sides or the end.

We did take a walking tour of Copenhagen. First stop the Little Mermaid. It was a long… walk and quite cool. When we got there we were both a little underwhelmed. It is actually quite tiny, however there were many busloads of tourists looking at the statue in the harbor. We then went to the National Museum which is a free museum of the history of Denmark. It was everything you ever wanted to know about the history beginning millions of years ago. We saw a lot of things about the vikings–which were of particular interest. Unfortunately tow place we wanted to visit are not open until “summer”. We wanted to see the Medical Museum and the Viking Ship Museum which are closed until next week. So… we went to the Carlsberg brewery! It was only 2.5 miles away which was much better after our more than 11 miles yesterday. You also receive 2 beers in the Carlsberg bar with the price of admission. Now we have two more breweries to visit–The Beck Brewery in Bremen Germany and the Heineken Brewery in Amsterdam. I still am holding out for a chocolate tour.

Waiting at the train station.

Gary in the Star Trek transporter room; AKA shower in the bathroom in Copenhagen.

12 Kinds of Herring at cafe in Copenhagen. Sild is the word for herring in Danish.

Swedish Roots and Making a Living in Sweden

This is a picture of one of the stacks for the iron foundry in Logdo Brook—The Hammerberg roots. The date for this stack for the iron works is 1685. Iron smelting was a major industry in Sweden. Iron smelting was a dangerous occupation with many injuries and fires and deaths.

Two Svenskas whose ancestors worked in the iron foundry.                                The parish church in Logdo Bruk.

Logdo Herrgard Manor House bought by the church and restored. Now is used for a B&B and for wedding receptions. Herrgard was the owner of the foundry and had his quarters away from the iron works in the parish of Logdo.

Part of the tree harvesting that is still the major industry in Sweden. The pile of “twigs and sticks” or pine logs grew throughout our time in the stuga. The whole area was filled with logs by the time we left.

One of the few pictures of me as I am usually behind the camera. This is the last evening in the stuga. As you can tell it is quite sunny and this is how it looks throughout much of the night and when the sun rises around 3am. As you can tell it is cold. I still am wearing fleece with my red Keen sandals. I have sandals to match my backpacks–red and green on this trip.

Since I am behind in the posts, we are now in Denmark in a tiny and I do mean tiny room in Copenhagen. Next posts will be Stockholm and Copenhagen.

Trip to Sundsvall, Sweden and Looking for Swedish Roots

Day 2 in Sweden June 16, 2011

Where are we and I ate the Swedish sprouts!

A very short night as it was not dark until after 1130pm and it never got night-time dark! Sunrise was officially 311am, but it was really light all night. Next week is the summer solstice holiday and the Swedes will be celebrating all week and businesses will be closed as Midsommardagen (Midsummer Day) is a public holiday. We will be in Copenhagen for this holiday. However, Midsommardgen is already evident in Sweden as many people have gone on holiday and the cities are not very crowded. The students will be out of school by the Midsommargen holiday.

Today we were all up early and ready to begin our first real day in Sweden. Gary is still experiencing jet lag and is struggling with its disorienting effects. So after many times spent pondering maps and figuring out and visually finding  “Where are we on the map?” or should I say finding us on every map we can find—google maps, topography maps, information roadside maps, country maps, historical maps, satellite maps, Avis car rental maps and tourist maps, we drove into Sundsvall. Again the scenery was beautiful with many lakes, hills, boulders and farms. Dotting the landscape were of course the infamous Loppis and Svenska Jord Gubbar signs. There are perpetual “garage sales” (Loppis) in Sweden where many persons have a table or a building where they sell garage sale items and the Loppis is open all the time. We even have a tent set up on Jannesland that is Jeroen and Hetty’s loppis. The magpies could be seen on all the dirt roads and often appeared to be following the car instead of flying away.

 In Sundsvall we found Central Station for the train and the drop off for our rental car and an open air museum (Fri Luft Airs Museum) which is similar to Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI. Unfortunately, because it is too early for the holiday season, none of the buildings were open. The buildings are all original and were moved here to show the history of the area from farming to logging. We ate lunch at a very nice Café in the square. Finding vegetarian options can be a challenge. I do not mind eating farska bullar or fresh bread and coffee, however Gary and Jeff made sure we found a place that served “my kind”. I had the salad bar and a Caesar salad minus the chicken as many of the salads here have meat on them. I did find that the salad had sprouts! Not sure what kind of sprouts, but definitely sprouts! They may have been beet or radish sprouts. They were not bean sprouts and were very fresh. They actually looked like an herb until I tasted them. So I have 7-12 days to see if I get ill! Headline reads EMU Nursing Professor Ignores CDC Warnings: Eats Sprouts in Sweden—Fighting for life in Swedish Sjukhus (hospital or “sick house) in Sundsvall.

 After many roundabouts and a few U-turns, we were back on our way to the Stuga. After sharing language stories about useless phrases that you learn from language audio programs such as “The dog is under the table.” (Jeff can say this in Swedish.) “The cat is sleeping on the couch.” (I can say this in German.), we took a walk around the hills and lake. I have never seen or felt so many mosquitoes. The two best things about Swedish mosquitoes are they do not carry malaria and they are very slow! Because they are slow, you can walk fast enough that they cannot catch you. It is important that you do not stop for any reason or they will attack.

 It is 1120pm and the sun has not set. I know it will not get pitch black, simply trying to see how dark it gets before the sunrises around 3am. So, I am going to try to read until sunset. Friday we are doing some hiking to some small villages including churches and cemeteries where Gary’s ancestors came from here in Sweden. It will probably be about 6-10 miles. Today we walked 7.7 miles—not all at one time. We will all have packs and food so no one gets lost in the woods. We do need to find some mosquito (stechmucke—German word for mosquito) repellent so we do not get carried off. I do not know many Swedish words and Jeff is trying to help me learn a few. I can say thank you very much, hello, and good morning. I was told that I speak Swedish with a German accent. I guess it is related to listening to all the German language CD’s. It has not taken long for all of us to talk with an accent and say “yah, yah” like the locals. This will continue as Germany and Holland all use yah, yah! I know that when we return to Michigan we will be bringing a little of the Swedish chef  and the Deutsch fraulein back with us.

More Pictures….

There are dragons all over the city of Sundsvall. Local businesses commissioned artists to create the dragons to symbolize the Swedish viking roots.

Jeff and Gary with dragon in Sundsvall.

Sundsvall Market Plats (Market Square) and the infamous and tasty Jordgubbar!

Signs like these are all over the countryside. They are for garage sales. The major difference is that the loppis last all year round–at least all summer. You simply put your things out on a table by the road or have a special building or tent where you place your items to sell and people can stop by. In Holland there is a huge loppis in Amsterdam every year that is scheduled each April 30. According to our hosts Hetty and Jeroen millions of people come to Amsterdam for this once a year loppis or city wide garage sale!

Grain Building in the Open Air Museum on the mountain in Sundsvall.

Another map! Where is Gary? Usually Gary can be found carrying a map or looking at every map along side any road or trail. 🙂

This picture and sign is for you Christeen. It literally means this is what will happen to you if you do not turn off your mobile (cell) phone. This skeleton and sign is hanging from a tree in the open air theater. I do have many more sign pictures. I even have Jeff and Gary taking pictures of signs.

Next post will have some pictures from Gary and Jeff’s roots journey to Logdo Bruk and see some of the iron works in the foundry. We even met another Hammerberg cousin who is we believe is living in the area in the old homestead.  To follow will be some pictures from our 10.2 mile walking tour of Stockholm and our stay in a building from the late 1800’s and the flat that is now used as a bed and breakfast with several rooms that are rented out.

Tip of the day…

One tip when traveling to Sweden. Carry lots of 5 Krona coins with you as  you will  need to pay 5 Krona (about 83 cents) to use the bathroom in any public place. Once inside the toilette, you will be irradiated by some type of “black light” or light that “kills” germs! It is like using the glow germ to show children how to effectively wash their hands. The light is not flattering. The first time I used the bathroom I could not understand why no one who was leaving the stalls were not washing their hands at the sinks. I then found out when I was able to enter the stalls that the toilettes all have sinks and soap and towels inside the stalls! Who would think that using the toilette could be such an interesting blog topic! 🙂 I wish I had more food pictures, however the food is simply not that interesting–typical bland Swedish food.

Life In The Stuga

First Day in Sweden…

            The travel was uneventful. The flights were on time, the food was tasteless and for the most part inedible. My PBJ divided in half was enough to sustain me during the travel. The drugs made my infected tooth and failed root canal manageable during the flight and after. Believe me there are no dentists near where we are in Sweden! Gary had more difficulty with the “long” flight of 7 ½ hours. You call that long! A long flight is sitting in the middle of the middle for 13 hours and nothing to eat except airline food. I managed to sleep a few hours, so that is why I am the only one up at almost 11pm. It is still light outside as sunset will be around 1130pm and sunrise will be around 3am! Now that is a short night.  

            We had no problem picking up our luggage even though our bags were 2 of the last ones off the cart. We then met up with Jeff and took a bus to the Avis car rental and picked up a little car for our trip to Jannesland outside of Stode, Sweden. We are about 30km (20 miles) from Sundsvall—Gary’s family roots! We had some rain off and on during the drive, however for the most part we had some clouds and sun and all sun by evening. On the drive I saw several signs for Svenska Jordgubbar. So I got out my dictionary and found out that Jordgubbar are strawberries. So we stopped and bought some Svenska jordgubbar for 18 Danish Krona or about $3. They are very sweet and juicy. (See picture of Jordgubbar kiosk) Yum! No blog is complete without food pictures.

          The drive was beautiful with many lakes (sjo) and trees everywhere. There was a lot of evidence of the presence of a big logging area that is still part of the culture today. Beautiful farms everywhere with red and white buildings and homes—all farms are the same colors. The red paint was very available and cheap in the 18th  and 19th Century and preserved the wood. The paint is made from copper ore. The land is very similar to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. We are deep in the woods off the beaten path. Amidst the bright green of the fields, and mountain and huge boulders that were moved here by the glaciers were patches and fields of pink, white, purple and lavender flowers. Hetty, our host at the stuga said the flowers are called Lupina in Holland. Since Hetty is from Holland and has been in Sweden for only one year, she does not know the Swedish name for the flowers. I have not seen anything like them in America to compare them with.

             We had no difficulty finding Jannesland thanks to satellite maps on Jeff’s new Magellan satellite GPS. There was some confusion about the signs. Sometimes the signs were of villages, parishes, lakes, streams, roads, and even people’s homes. Jannesland is beautiful with its own lake. Jeroen and Hetty live here with their children and two dogs that the Netherlands animal rescue brought from Croatia and Bulgaria. Jeroen and Hetty are from the Netherlands and fell in love with Sweden on vacation and now own this farm. They have turned this farm into a campground and cottage getaway. They have two fully equipped stugas or cottages and small apartment. There are also stugas that simply have beds and a heater. One of the oldest buildings is an old seed shed that can accommodate 2-3 persons. Our stuga can accommodate 6-8 comfortably as we have a loft area with 4 beds. It does have very steep stairs and a low ceiling so you need some light to safely navigate the area in the dark. We are the first Americans who have been to this place. They have been open for one year and are planning to keep the place open year round. The stuga is quite comfortable and our hosts are very gracious. Except for two couples in one of the small stugas, we are their only guests. This is their first year of running this place as a campground. Their goal was not to have anything commercial and maintain the quiet atmosphere of the woods. They have succeeded.

            Adventure at the Grocery Store in Stode—No Peanut Butter!

 After we settled in the stuga, we decided to drive the 10km to town. Stode is the closest town and it has a grocery store and petrol station and church. The store is larger than a convenience store; about the size of an old “ma and pop” grocery. The mission was to find something for dinner and something for breakfast. Gary wanted cereal for breakfast so we bought 500g of Special Flingor/flakes naturell. Now we needed milk which sounds simple enough. There were so many different containers and Gary’s major goal was to get lowfat. Since the container was the only one that was white and did not look like pink or chocolate flavored milk he thought he had lowfat milk latt fil 0.5% fetthalt. Gary poured some at dinner and it poured and smelled like yogurt. Gary thought the milk was spoiled. I smelled the milk and said you have what we would call buttermilk in the states. Buttermilk unlike its name is very low in fat. So…there will be no cereal with milk in the morning. At least we have bread and the peanut butter I packed. Even though we are in a developed country, I could find no peanut butter in Stode! Perhaps there is peanut butter in larger cities. I did find Nutella which is very common overseas (very expensive–more than $7). So the best advice is pack peanut butter for the flight and breakfast if you are traveling to Europe!

Here are some pictures from the Stuga and the Countryside….

The lake and view from our Stuga.

 

 

Jeff and Gary outside the stuga.

Stuga or Summer House where we stayed outside of Stode and Sundsvall in Sweden.

Swedish and Dutch Scotch Club! Alcohol more than 3.5% is tightly controlled in Sweden and only sold in what we would call state stores run by the government. Gary was able to find some Scotch and a couple of cigars for father’s day. Jeroen, always has some “contraband” from Holland.

Favorite flowers along the roadside. These spring flowers are everywhere!

Roadside kiosk that was selling Jord Gubbar–fresh local strawberries. We had strawberries everyday. They are as good as anything in the states. 20 Swedish Krona or $3.50 for a little less than a quart in the states.

Welcome sign from the owners and their children. Jeroen and Hetty are from Holland and moved to Sweden about one year ago. They were tired of the fast pace in Holland and used to holiday in Sweden so they decided to move to Sweden.

Adjo!

As you can tell (see picture below) de Katze (the cat) was planning to stow away on this trip. Perhaps she has “roots” in Europe that she was hoping to contact in Germany. However, Gary made sure she was out of his luggage so he could pack. I do not think Starr was interested  in traveling inside my Osprey pack. We are now all packed and made the last-minute phone calls to banks and the dentist. Yesterday I had an emergency visit to my new dentist in Chelsea and was told I have a “failing root canal” and it needs to be replaced. He would not replace it as he was afraid that he would activate a massive abscess. So I have now met the people at the Manchester pharmacy and I have antibiotics and pain meds packed in my backpack. The dentist was hopeful this would get me through the next 3 weeks. Then 24 hours after I return from Europe, I have a 3 hour appointment at the dentist (zahnarzt)! Both the dentist and the hygienist were able to speak one phrase in German. (I do not know, and do you speak German?). The great news is that I understood both of them even though I only completed 6 of the 8  Deutsch lessons. My dentist did tell me that both Sweden and Germany have excellent dental care; however I was not planning on spending time experiencing dental services in Europe! Somehow the idea of a root canal in Germany is not my idea of a great “European vacation” and the best way to spend my 60th BD. Sounds a little similar to Chevy Chase vacations! I do not think we will have anyone strapped to our Volkswagon in Sweden and Deutschland!

Now with a global phone, Osprey backpack and my green Keen sandals (the red ones are in the pack), we are ready to set forth on our European roots tour! Gary received a call from his son Jeff that he was stuck in Amsterdam as the delay in Detroit prevented him from making connections to Stockholm. He was given a sandwich, a drink and a 5 minute phone call home. Sounds like what happens in “prison.” Needless to say, Delta is not high on his customer service list. Hopefully we make connections and are able to pick up our car in Stockholm and drive to Sundsvall on Wednesday!

God middag!

Sadly I could only learn a little German and do not know any Swedish! So I have a trusty Swedish for travelers dictionary and Jeff, who speaks a fair amount of Svenska!:)

Next post will be from Sweden! Now I need to pack my PBJ for the trip! I even have Nescafe and tea! I am not taking any chances with travel to “developed” countries! We cannot check in as Delta’s server is down! So much for technology. Bangladesh is looking more and more developed! 🙂

 de Katze  planning to stow away 🙂

Sprechen sie Deutsch?

Guten Tag, Frau Myer. (Hello, Mrs. Myer) Do you speak German? As part of my preparation for this trip, I am trying to learn a little German (ein bisschen Deutsch), So… I purchased a Lonely Planet phrasebook and the Pimsleur Quick and Simple CD’s (as seen on PBS and used by the FBI). The Pimsleur CDs are totally auditory, which is helpful with the pronunciation and yet I have no idea what the words look like and spelling is impossible! So far I am half way through the 8 lessons. I can greet people, tell them I am an American, ask them if they understand and/or speak English and ask Where is the cat? (Wo ist da katze?) I am supposed to ask where is the Gerde strasse or Platz (street or square). It is much more interesting and perhaps useful to ask Where is the cat? Of course I am a little annoying to Gary and the cat when I try to practice my Deutsch. My friend Linda recommended that I learn some German as from her experience when she lived in Germany, the locals will not let you know that they understand or speak English unless you try to talk to them in German. She said the phrase book is better than the audio CD’s, however I am trying both. Four more days left and I still have 4 more lessons. I need to learn about food so I can tell them “no sprouts, please.” I can say no and please; I simply need to learn about the sprouts. I think I will call them “sproutza”. Germans use “zhe”  often on the end of word. What an awful time to be vegetarian in Deutschland! Of course they have 1500 kinds of wurst (sausage) and almost that many kinds of bier (beer). I do not even like beer. I can ask for a cookie and coffee, so I will have something to eat. I am packing peanut butter for the plane ride and in my checked luggage, however peanut butter can be a suspicious substance. I was stopped at Detroit Metro airport when I was carrying natural peanut butter in my backpack. The container was examined and the security inspector said “it does not look like peanut butter.” The container was weighed and inspected (I offered the security inspector a taste and he declined) and finally I was allowed to pass through security with my natural peanut butter. I have found that a PBJ sandwich usually passes through security. It is the container of natural, gooey PB that “looks suspicious.”

Gary is having a little withdrawal from all his maps that he uses on Google Maps; so he is making and printing walking maps from every train station to the car rental sites and all of our accommodations. Of course I cannot read maps, however it gives Gary a little security. I can ask where is the train station in Deutsch, however that will not be helpful when we are at the train station in Sweden and Denmark and Amsterdam. 🙂 I have used facial muscles and put my mouth through exercises and positions I never new possible as I try to speak Deutsch.  I do have a few favorite sounds and words and enjoy practicing them. Some sounds are impossible!

Auf Wiedershen

Ruhig, da katze ist schlafen. (Shh, the cat is sleeping.) 🙂

Timing and Mutant Deadly Bacteria

As the time to depart draws close, I am clearly aware of the challenges of traveling to Developed Western countries. In some ways it is more stressful than traveling to emerging countries. Oh sure, I need to  have a good mosquito net and enough anti-malarial medicine, however I did  not need to worry about coordinating timing of the plane, the train, accommodations, and car rental. Although Avis car rental is open 7 days per week in Schwerin, Germany; it is only open on Sundays from 9-10am! So we have to eat breakfast, pack our backpacks, and walk 30 minutes  or 3Km from the B&B to Avis car rental and pick up our little VW on Sunday between 9 and 10am! Saturday they are open from 9-12noon, however the train arrives at 430pm! The good news is that the train station, the B&B and the car rental are all within a 3Km triangle, so if we can follow maps and read German street signs, we should make it. I think that is why you pack light and use a backpack! I am even taking a watch to Europe! Already I miss the culture of time in Africa and Bangladesh.

Last week the airports in Northern Germany closed related to another volcano eruption in Iceland! At least we are not flying in Germany. Today the world news was full of the warnings about a virulent deadly strain of E. Coli in the food in Northern Germany! More than 500 people are seriously ill, some with kidney failure and neuro symptoms and 16 persons have died. Yikes! And my family and friends worry about Africa and Bangladesh! At least I know that mosquitoes carry malaria and malaria can be prevented with medications! What is more worrisome is that the food source of the E.Coli has not been identified. It might be interesting to experience the health care system in Europe–just like “Sick Around the World”, pbs.org. A real life case study to share with nursing students–if I survive!  There is no medication to prevent E.Coli . In all my travels, I have never been sick except for a little dermatitis. I need to pack more peanut butter! The staple of life. I also am taking a small jar of Nescafe. I am not taking any chances in the stuga in Sweden that I cannot find coffee or a coffee maker. Next week I get my global phone so I can continue to text and call in Europe and at home. The countdown continues to departure…. June 14th, 2011.