During our recent stop in Stockholm, Sweden, we had the pleasure of visiting the headquarters of the Swedish National TV, SVT. We were brought there by our friend, Mr Danny Wattin (who’s third book is about to hit the shelves, we hear).
At that time Danny’s friend Gustav was working as a producer for the channel’s [...]
Dear Fika,
If you could take back the ten pounds (or four and a half kilos) you gave me this past month I promise to stop talking bad about you behind your back.
Your friend,
Jaime’s Stomach and Love Handles
Our friends, Jesper and Liselott, are one of those couples who you would love to hate (because they’re super smart and beautiful) but it turns out that they’re actually really nice as well…so you end up loving them.
Don’t you hate people like that?
We’re staying at their place in Stockholm before we head out to Singapore [...]
Stockholm is a beautiful summer city, with great parks and nice restaurants. It has great beer gardens and outdoor drinking areas where people are taking in the sun while downing beverages. Its museums and cultural life is second only to a few European cities, and its club life is said to be pretty hot. [...]
The Engstrom family reunion couldn’t have happened on a more beautiful day. The sun was shining, the Sangis summer was at its finest, the moose were swimming (not kidding, watch the video) and the wine was flowing. Lisa, Martin’s cousin, put it all together and Mårten, her brother, was kind enough to host it at [...]
We had a nice surprise when we arrived at the Engstrom family reunion yesterday: swimming moose!
You don’t get much more Swedish than my husband.
Three more days in Sweden, then it’s hello big, bad world.
This is Martin and his (cute-as-a-button) parents baking bread in the Sangis communal baking house.
Sangis has a communal baking house which I’ve seen in pictures throughout the history of the Engstrom family, but have never had the privilege of using myself. Well, I’m happy to say that Friday was my Sangis baking house cherry popping day!
The oven is wood fired – it’s the real deal, people! We had to wear [...]
We are seriously double booked this weekend, as it is the time of both the Engstrom family reunion and the biannual Sangis Days.
While the family reunion of course takes precedence, last night we managed to hit one of the Sangis Day highlights: the Duck Race.
It is basically a lottery where you buy one out of [...]
Before the widespread use of refrigeration in northern Sweden, conservation methods were pretty simple. Throw some salt on your gutted herring (a small fish they pull out of the sea up here), clean out the extracted blood and viscera a few days later, add new salt and brine and voila! Your fish is preserved for [...]
In this part of the world, it used to be that the fancier the skis, the higher the status of their wearer. Hence, people would spend inordinate amounts of time carving elaborate patterns into their skis, making them into veritable pieces of art.
Our host found this pair at an auction, so there is no real [...]
Martin’s brother’s baby mamma (or girlfriend or partner, however you want to call it), Ulrica, and her sister have an ancestral farm an hour and a half drive from Sangis, affectionately known as the Ice Swamp. The farm has been in their family since her great-grandfather purchased it. At that time, and up to 50 [...]
This is Storforsen, which roughly translates to the ‘grand rapids’. It is one of the biggest waterfalls in Europe, and I blushingly have to admit that I’ve never visited them before – even though I grew up just 200 kilometers away.
The falls themselves are very impressive: great masses of water hurl themselves down a long, [...]
I’ve completed my weaving project. What do you think? Could it be the world’s most beautiful carpet? I’ll let you be the judge.
Please keep in mind that I won’t be your friend anymore if you criticize my carpet.
You know the term, “fly by the seat of your pants?” Well, that's been our philosophy for most of our adult lives – before and after meeting, falling in love and marrying. We're now taking that idea on a 14 month round-the-world trip. Follow us as we share the good, the bad and the downright nasty of life on the road.
