Back to December, part 1

 

December was not an easy month for us.  Dark days of winter, and I mean dark!  On the winter solstice the sun rose at 8:50 am and set at 2:44 pm.  So, we tried to make the most of it by getting out.  Here we are enjoying some "Christmas" carols in Uppsala.

We found ourselves walking in the woods near our house, sad there was no snow on the ground, but thinking about how wonderful this lit ski trail would be once there was.  This picture was taken around sunset at 2:47 - it's hard to tell, but it was getting dark.

Here is Sam imagining what the trail could be like on skis.

Winter is jut not winter without a little bit of ice hockey.  Scott found the schedule for our local team, the Uppsala Almtuna.  He could not buy tickets online because of our stupid credit cards, so when he called about it, the arena manager comped us seats and told Scott to buy some hot dogs and hot chocolate instead.  We bought the latter and Sam a hat.  It was great fun, particularly when one of the Almtuna players got a penalty and they played the song WTF, and there was no bleeps on the bad word!

On December 10th we went down to Stockholm for a day of Fulbright events, including a bizarre lecture at the National Library and a visit to Hallwylska Museet.  We cannot wait to take Izzy and Jonathan to this historic home because, after all, she did work at the Glensheen Mansion one summer, so we know she'll enjoy it.

In the evening Scott and I, with all the other Fulbrighters, attended The Nobel Prize ceremony.  We low-lifes got to sit in the upper balcony, and none of us got to sit with our partners.  Weird.  I had to lean to see around the column right in front of me.  The ceremony in Sweden is for all the awards but the Peace Prize.  That is done in Oslo.  It was pretty exciting to see all the pomp of the ceremony - people in white tie, full length gowns, people being acknowledged for doing amazing stuff that I don't fully understand, the Swedish royalty...

Yes, indeed, we too got dressed up.  Ignore my boots.  I wore heels at the event, but ever the Minnesotan, aka ever practical in winter weather, I opted to wear my boots outside.  Actually, when this picture was taken an older woman had slipped on the icy pavement and had to be taken away in an ambulance!

When we returned to Uppsala that night it snowed!  Sam was so excited to potentially have a white Christmas after all.

So, back to the woods to check out the trails.  Not enough snow to ski, but it helped put a smile on this girl's face.

We discovered the ski trail lights are on sensors.  How cool is that?  

*Since these photos were taken, we have given up any hope of ever having enough snow to do any kind of skiing here in Uppsala.  Uppsala constantly hovers around the freezing point.  Some days it snows, some days it rains, and in between it's cloudy.  While Sam is disappointed, we are happy to have unique winter adventures like our time in Åre and Östersund, and our upcoming February trip to Lapland!