The Street Where We Live

The greenest city in Europe, Växjö, is where we live. As we develop a better sense of place here, I thought it would be nice to share a bit about where we are. Växjö is a medium sized city that is in the heart of southern Sweden. The original meaning of the name Växjö is "the place by the lakes where the roads meet." And the meeting of roads results in the meetings between people. Farmers use to meet near Växjö in the winters, crossing the frozen lakes, for the market that later became the city. These days there are many different people coming to Växjö for many different reason.  The city has a young population that is growing quickly and progressively. It has been named the greenest city in Europe because the city has made a lot of progress in taking positive environmental action. The biggest accomplishment has been to reduce carbon emissions 35% since 1993 and the city's next goal is to reduce emissions 70% by 2025. A few positive environmental steps that are being done that stick out to me are collecting household compost to make bio-fuel for the city buses (which are highly used), a newly developed neighborhood with wood houses that are energy efficient, solar panels on schools and a huge bike riding community. So far, it has been a nice city to live in, with a lot of options to reduce our carbon footprint!

One of the many bus hubs to park your bike in the city.

At many bus stops you see bikes that people have ridden to get to the bus and leave there until they return again.

There is a high amount of recreation and many biking/walking paths. The paths are all marked very well just like they would be for cars so people know where to go. We see people of all ages out during the winter walking, biking or running. This is a photo of two women running their babies in strollers, in the winter. Today, while downhill skiing I saw a woman (also skiing) while wearing a baby on her back and guiding her ~5 year old son!

Yet another bike parking lot downtown. Sun or snow, people ride bike!

We live on a street called Mjölnarvägen which translates to Miller Road. We live at the edge of the neighborhood called Öjaby and it is on the biggest lake in the city. The Lake is called Helgasjön and it is 50 square km and has many small islands on it. On one of the islands is the Kronoberg Castle ruin that is connected to the mainland by a bridge. We live right on a small southern part of the lake where it flows into a few different streams. It is the only open water on the lake all winter so there are many birds near our cottage. Mostly we see Gräsand (Mallards) but there are many little birds and talk of a few eagles around (although we have yet to see them). We like to go out and feed the ducks every few days. The first day we arrived, we were walking around the property and got stampeded by the ducks, we did not have any food then or know that people fed the ducks so it was a surprise. We have grown to really like our fellow duck neighbors. 

This is the corner of our street. The house behind is part of the family we are renting the cottage from.

Jasper hanging out with a few of our duck friends by our cottage.

Öjaby is a very old neighborhood in Växjö and has many older and younger people living in it. There are also very old houses and new developments popping up as we are here. As you walk around you can see old run-down buildings that were old lumberyard buildings and an old grain factory. They are often built directly on the canal system so they could be stocked and unloaded easily. You can also see a lot of historic log cottages like our own. Our cottage was our neighbor's great great grandfather's, that was given to him when he was in the military. They would supply the men with homes so they could provide for their family. This property has been in their family for many generations and now we are living here! However, the cottage has been moved on the property (about 20 ft) and updated on the inside. The outside of the cottage can not be changed at all because it is so old and the city wants to protect the historic look of certain old buildings. So it looks the same on the outside as it always has! It is a very nice cottage and neighborhood.

Old Grain Factory in our neighborhood.

Jasper and I explored all around the area.

When we first moved to Växjö, we were really interested in the city because of the progression of positive environmental actions they have taken. However, it is very interesting to learn about where the city began. It is like being in two times at once, learning about the past and also looking towards the future. 

The Domkyran, the cathedral in Växjö's center. The original building was very old but has had many renovations because of various disasters including multiple fires in the 16th century and a lightning strike. The latest renovation was in 1995

The building is very distinctive with its unusual twin green towers in the front. There is a pleasant, large park and playground, called Linné park, next to the cathedral. You can see the historic row houses to the left.

This is the contemporary church alter designed by one of the best known glass designers in Sweden named Bertil Vallien.

The cathedral has very nice acoustics.

We had the delight of listening to a man play a few song on this baby grand piano while we were there!

Meanwhile, we are still trying to learn about the culture and find interesting things to do during our present day adventures. These mainly consist of exploring the outdoors, playing with the neighbor boys, local art museums, and walking through historic places.

Downtown Växjö.

Jasper learning how to count Swedish kronor coins.

 

A Week Of Firsts!

This week is the week of FIRSTS. These firsts were about figuring out what to do, where to go, how to get there, how to talk, how to act, etc.  These firsts have been incredibly interesting, frustrating and fun. Some should not have been frustrating but traveling with a child can make things  more challenging. Some of these firsts are only memorable because of traveling with a child. Some of them were nerve wracking just because they were new and different experiences. Sometimes it seemed that it would just be easier to avoid the firsts. However, all of these firsts had to happen in order to learn, grow and feel more comfortable. Below I will list and give short stories about the most interesting firsts that we have experienced so far. Feel free to read all, some or come back and read a few more later. Enjoy!

1. Getting lost on the bus with a sleepy child! This first was one of the most nerve wracking firsts of all. The mistakes made were so silly and avoidable but, at the time, were not very apparent. We had a very successful day of traveling on different buses all they way across town and back. We had used our new bus cards and toured Adam's new painting studio. We were feeling confident on how to get home so Adam decided to get off the bus early and pick up a few things at the store. Meanwhile, Jasper was falling asleep on the bus and being quite cranky. I was watching intently to see when our stop was coming up. It should have been very soon after Adam got off the bus. I waited and watched but things were looking very unfamiliar (even more they should have). I worried that I had not paid attention closely enough and soon I realized I really was way passed our stop. The scariest part about this whole experience is that I did not know my address or have a phone. I made it all the way to the end of the line before I knew for sure that I was not going to see my stop. For some reason, the bus took a different route home and did not go passed the stop we got on. Thankfully, going back into town, the bus went passed our stop and I was able to get sleeping Jasper and I safely back to our cozy cottage. This experience would have been nerve wracking for most individuals but not impossible to figure out if you have time and patience. However, when you have a sleeping 3 year-old with you, these situations seem more intense. Needless to say, I wrote my address and phone numbers down in my notebook as soon as I got home.

2. Sledding, playing and walking with Swedish family! This first was a very good experience that really helped us connect to our neighbors and the community. Our third day here our neighbors (who also live on the same property) took us sledding and all around the neighborhood. They have three boys who are all older than Jasper. The boys played a lot and they really liked Jasper. We were able to get to know there parents and started to develop and open, friendly relationship. They took us to a nice park nearby and continued to walk down a path and along a beautiful, frozen tree lined canal. I am looking forward to many outside adventures in our neighborhood. There seems to be endless possibilities for nice walks around us.

3. We almost burnt down our cottage! Hopefully this is our first and last time doing this. After we came home from an afternoon of sledding, our neighbor Anders encouraged us to make a fire in our antique, wood burning stove/oven. We had been thinking about it for a while but had not yet attempted it. This did indeed seem like a very good time to try! We gathered a sled full of fire wood and I returned inside with Jasper to start the fire, while Adam shoveled outside. There are four different chambers on our wood burning stove and we thought that you were supposed to light the fire in the bottom one. I did not know, but it seemed plausible because heat rises. I went ahead and started the fire and it quickly became really smokey. Soon, smoke was billowing out of the stove and into our cottage. I waited for Adam to come in and have a look at it. He continued to mess with the fire, thinking a draft had not been started to take the smoke up the chimney or that the flu was not open or something. Smoke continued to billow out of all cracks. Our cottage was filled with smoke! We doused it with water, which made it even more smokey. Adam ran to the neighbors to get a fan and advice and by the time he got back we had all window and doors open and the fire was out. It turns out we were lighting the fire in the wrong place. The fire was suppose to go in another small chamber at the top of the stove. We thought we knew, so we did not ask how to do it. We felt very silly but I was glad we had spent a recreational day getting to know them before the fire incident so we did not feel quite as bad about it. Our bed blankets will probably smell a bit like camp fire until spring.

Where would YOU put the fire? The answer should be: the top right little chamber.

4. Alone grocery run with Jasper in a foreign country! Shopping at home, in a place you can read the language easily, communicate with people, in a store you know, can be complicated with a 3 year old. I realize now that going to another country can be even more challenging (and more rewarding!?) for parents. For those of you who don't hang out with kids much, they take a lot of your attention and tend to not listen and run off (at least mine does) when you most need them to be attentive and well-behaved. This was even more apparent when trying to go to a grocery store that is 5 times larger than the one I am use to with a different set up, different language and different etiquette. This first was dreaded but needed to happen because next time I will feel 50 times more confident!

5. Swedish meatballs and Semla! Both of these things I have never eaten in my life but on Valentines Day we had booth of these traditional Swedish foods. After Adam and Jasper had made me a wonderful breakfast in bed, Adam went off to work and I decided I would go to the grocery store (the first time mentioned above) and get ingredients to make Swedish meatballs for dinner. This is also why the grocery store experience was frustrating because I was getting specific ingredients I don't use much anyways.  We never eat meat and potatoes but this is a very normal, traditional Swedish meal. So this is why I wanted to do it. The Swedish meatballs turned out very yummy! We had mashed potatoes with them and roasted broccoli and cherry tomatoes with garlic. I wanted to have a  nice dessert as well but did not want to take more time at the grocery store so I skipped it (Adam did get ice cream and champagne though). However, to our surprise our neighbors stopped over with a traditional Swedish dessert that is only made at this time of year (specifically for Mardi Gras) for a few weeks. Semla! It was wonderful and really topped off our night! Jasper was especially excited for it. We have such lovely neighbors that are really helping us feel welcome and comfortable.

Swedish meatballs, potatoes and roasted veggies!

Hazelnut and Almond Semla

Semla Monsters

There are many first that I could think of sharing with you like.....

Jasper peeing his pants all over the train seat and having to change him in the middle of a busy train station because we had no coins to get into the bathroom.

On the train, where the peeing happened. Probably it happened while this photo was being taken.

Learning how to use the demon washing machine, it shakes violently and I don't know what any of the words mean.  Even translated they say things like "rinse stop" and "stress easily".

Teaching Jasper how to use a shower (we have no bath and he has never liked showers):)

Getting a library card in a foreign country.

Jasper flying off a child's zip-line.

...but I will not explain them all in detail.

I am sure there will be plenty more interesting, frustrating and fun firsts to write about in the future. Each day we are learning more about the culture, getting a better sense of place and developing relationships. Until next time, enjoy the glimpse of our Swedish existence!

Arrival, our cottage, Jasper and the plumber!

Arriving in Sweden!

To some it came fast and to some it came slow, but here we are. We have arrived in Sweden and are well into our first week. One of the nicest Swedes I have met so far told me, "it takes you a week to feel like yourself again," and I think he was absolutely right.  Thankfully we have almost 3 months to adjust. We arrived on Friday, February 8th after a long journey. Jasper explained our trip to the plumber today (he was fixing our shower (the plumber, not Jasper)), like this: "We took two planes, one was for sleeping and one was not. I slept but then I watched shows all night. We took a train and went to Sweden." That is almost exactly how it went. We took two planes and flew for 12 hours. We all should have slept on the plane because we were going to land in Copenhagen, Denmark and 7:15am (which would be 1:15am in Minnesota). However, nobody could sleep except for Jasper and he only slept 4 hours, at most. We intended to stay up all day when we arrived so we could go to bed at night instead of morning. I have to say, Jasper has never gotten less sleep in his life before and I thought we were going to be in for a very crabby child the next day. As well as crabby parents from not sleeping at all. However, parents and children surprise each other sometimes.

We had a really good day and ended up falling asleep at 5pm (10am MN time), thinking we would sleep all night until morning because we were so tired.....but that didn't happen. We spent two nights of waking up at 1am, having a midnight snack, breakfast, supper (we didn't know what to call it) and then went back to sleep at 4am.

It is now the 13th of February and we have accomplished a lot, Adam has worked 2 full days at the Italienska Palatset, while Jasper and I have found some fun near and far adventures. We have found nearby forests to explore and have imaginary adventures and bus rides to the library. There are many children here and a place for them everywhere. The importance of taking your children outside to play has shown brightly already and there has been a play place for children every place we have went since we arrived at the airport in Denmark.

Our neighbors Ulla and Calle (who own this property and have rented us this cottage are Grandma and Grandpa to three small boys who live on the same property/peninsula as we do). We spent a whole day sledding, playing at the park and walking by a canal together. They are such lovely people! :)


Below is the cottage we are staying in. It is in the neighborhood called Öjaby. It is not far from downtown, about a 15 minute bike ride.

The cottage we live in is an historic Swedish army, log structure. Refurbished just this year, we are the first people to stay in it since it has been moved and refinished.

 

This Photo is of our cottage from behind. You can see a small bay of lake Helgasjön, the largest lake of Växjö. Växjö is a medium size town with 80,000 people, surrounded by 5 lakes.  The yellow house on the right is the home of the owners of the property and our cottage.

It has snowed everyday we have been here and it has been around 0 degrees Celsius plus or minus every day. Some of the Swedes think that it is very cold but I am thankful to get away from the biting cold of Duluth this year.

With that said, we miss all our friends and family already but know that our return home will be too soon.   More thoughts, memories and pictures to come! Tack så mycket!