Sweden!
Even through Chris and Andy voted for Elsinor (and Chris made a compelling argument to re-enact Tom Stoppard), Patrick and Erik voted for Sweden. So today I went to Sweden. Lund, to be specific. (From a guidebook, I learned that the word lund means grove in Swedish. So I felt very much at home in my namesake town. I guess my Swedishized last name would be Dödalund.)
I saw the giant cathedral, of course, along with its neato-keen crypt, went to the archaeological museum (although most of it was closed, I got to see an exhibit on barbarians for free), strolled around the botanical gardens (where Linnaeus studied!), and mostly just wandered around the cute streets and bought some clothes and coffee. It rained in the morning but cleared up - it was still only about 65 degrees, though, and windy. Brrrr. I bought a tshirt that reads "Grønnere på den anden side." No idea what it means. But it has not one but two cool accents on it. If anyone can tell me what it means, I'll wear it. Who am I kidding, I'll wear it anyway. I hope that it's something really dirty that they sell to tourists. Oh, and I assume it's Danish, since I don't think Swedish has the crossy-o thing (ø).
Things I discovered today:
1) Sweden has a candy bar called Plopp. It's chocolate and has caramel in the middle. No joke.
2) Lund has a tree with pastel painted trunks. You'll see a pic in a few days.
3) The Swedish Iron Age is really fucking cool, as evidenced by the artifacts from Uppåkra I saw in the museum at Lund. It was an exhibit on "barbarians" as the Romans called all non-Romans. I think it's funny that Scandinavia is far more civilized than the Mediterranean today (clean bathrooms, little graffiti, things run on time, people speak English), but a few millennia ago, they were the barbarians.
4) Apparently August Strindberg lived in Lund for a while. I love that little balloon.
More when I get back to Rome tomorrow!
I saw the giant cathedral, of course, along with its neato-keen crypt, went to the archaeological museum (although most of it was closed, I got to see an exhibit on barbarians for free), strolled around the botanical gardens (where Linnaeus studied!), and mostly just wandered around the cute streets and bought some clothes and coffee. It rained in the morning but cleared up - it was still only about 65 degrees, though, and windy. Brrrr. I bought a tshirt that reads "Grønnere på den anden side." No idea what it means. But it has not one but two cool accents on it. If anyone can tell me what it means, I'll wear it. Who am I kidding, I'll wear it anyway. I hope that it's something really dirty that they sell to tourists. Oh, and I assume it's Danish, since I don't think Swedish has the crossy-o thing (ø).
Things I discovered today:
1) Sweden has a candy bar called Plopp. It's chocolate and has caramel in the middle. No joke.
2) Lund has a tree with pastel painted trunks. You'll see a pic in a few days.
3) The Swedish Iron Age is really fucking cool, as evidenced by the artifacts from Uppåkra I saw in the museum at Lund. It was an exhibit on "barbarians" as the Romans called all non-Romans. I think it's funny that Scandinavia is far more civilized than the Mediterranean today (clean bathrooms, little graffiti, things run on time, people speak English), but a few millennia ago, they were the barbarians.
4) Apparently August Strindberg lived in Lund for a while. I love that little balloon.
More when I get back to Rome tomorrow!
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