Viking dinners, yes.

Yup okej, Sometimes we just eat like vikings.

Yes with this silverware.

And this is the dwarf chicken that I ordered and ate with my fingers.

And this is our group! Final days of Sweden. Well spent at the viking restaurant, where the staff was dressed in viking attire, there was live viking music, and the food was extremely authentic, down to reindeer heart and strange delicious mush-stuff.

The walk home was nice and rainy. We were all soaked by the time we got to the station. But it was so beautiful along the way. And not too dark for 22:00.

Oh ya I'm a student too.

Meh, I almost forgot that I'm actually taking classes, that have final exams and tests and papers and stuff. Whoops. Time to catch up in a librarrrrry. 

Hayden, Layna and Ben in the background... Also workin hard on dem papers.

Oh wait I get to study in a functionalist library designed by Gunnar Asplund in the 1920s? Okej. That's okej by me.

Oh, and wait, I get to study about things that just totally interest me like the graphic design of the 1930 Stockholm Exhibition? Okej. I'll take that too.

Oh, and hold up a minute, I get to look at the original books designed for the exhibitions? Like it's no big deal? Whaaaaaat okej Stockholm you're awesome.

Trail running, again.

Sometimes you just have to stop and eat the berries. It's Sweden.

And then you end up on trails that take you here:

I love this.

Is this real life?

 I didn't know kinder eggs could be purchased in tons.

Creative project

Let's get creative! But not like this.

LIKE THIS:

For our study abroad class, we had to make a creative project. This was mine. I recorded all of the type that I consume in a day. And there's a lot.

When I tell people my major, I almost always get asked "So, what exactly is graphic design?" This video shows what graphic design is, and how it actually plays a pretty big role in your life, whether you realize it or not.

Futboll, and then this

Futboll one night, heavy metal concerts the next! Why not meet some of Sweden's metal-heads?

Futboll

Trip to Europe wouldn't be complete without this:

Djurgården (Stockholm's local team) vs Helsingborg (Sweden's best team) and guess who won? DJUR-GÅR-DEN. DJUR-GÅR-DEN. It was an incredible soccer match, with a taste of everything from a yellow card to a crazy crazy fans. I even got a little bit of beer spilled on me (from the guys sitting next to us; they got a little to excited and surprised when we made our first goal), which I think is just a dandy part of the experience. I'm SO GLAD that we went! I LOVE FUTBOLL.

This is right after we tied the game 1-1. The audience was electric, and made the game so much fun.

The commute

This is the Tunnelbana. It's the subway that runs under all of Stockholm. And it's awesome. It's clean, smells nice, and is full of fun people who do this:

Couldn't quite fit all nine phone-browsing people into the frame.

This upcoming week I'm planning on tracking how much time I spend commuting. That should be fun.

Each station is decorated differently. Östermalmstorg is one of my favorites.

Sometimes there aren't many people, but always there are lots of advertiements. Like this one for Manchester United.

After riding the Tunnelbana, we hop of at T-Centralen and ride some escalators! It's a fun way to start the day.

The famed creepers. These are wildly popular right now. I kind of want a pair. Mostly to be like Robyn.

We walk by this department store on our way to school.

But before riding the subway, we have to get to our nearest station! And that means a 15 minute walk to get to the Tunnelbana station that takes us to the center of town. But on that walk, we get to hang out with these guys:

There are nine of them. I could tell you all of the colors  if you asked.

I haven't started naming them yet though.

Sometimes you just have to carry godis on your head. It's cool.

Cows are nice.

Ode to Kinder.

Kinder supresa (or Kinder ägg, as they are called here), I've missed you. I hadn't eaten you for 13 years. I'm glad we met once again. You were delicious.


Though your toys were cooler back in the day.

Drottningholm, round 2

We went back to Drottningholm. It was fun.

We played in the garden mazes. 

MUSIC VIDEO

Yup. We've got the coolest study abroad. Ever.



Filmed by Dane Christensen.
Directed and choreographed by the #scandifam (check us out on instagram).

Guess what?

We're going to make a music video as a group. And it's going to be one long coordinated shot. YES. Watch out.

Road trip of dreams and such: Part IV

I want this book

http://uk.phaidon.com/store/food-cook/faviken-9780714864709/

We went to a Swedish bookstore the other day, and I spent most of the time in the cookbook section. Gaaaah they're so beautiful.

Roadt trippin: Part III

Okej, next day.

Wake up, eat a most healthy and delicious continental breakfast (waaaay better than in the States), and then hit the road. We drove the the Dala Horse factory! Here's how they make them:

And here's what we did:

And then we went to Anders Zorn's museum and house:

And then hit ICA (grocery store) for some food. Here's my lunch:

Pear flavor is the best.

And then back in the car for a few more hours. There was giant tofu block and marshmallow spottings:

And then to the viking graves. Instead of putting up stones or anything, they piled up huge mounds of dirt, which then became hills and part of the landscape. It's a pretty cool idea. Not to mention WAY old.

Photo by Heather Hackney.

Photo by Heather Hackney.

Photo by Heather Hackney.

Journey of dreams (aka road trip), part II

We left for Dalarna Thursday morning at 8 am. We rented two cars, and then 9 of us piled in and started driving. Our car was full of ardent viking fans, so out car was christened "Sleipner"—the name of the 8-legged horse that Loki birthed. Boom. Some creativity with a viking stencil helped create a lovely mascot.

It was a pretty new volvo that we were driving, and it had a sick bluetooth hookup.  We were able to stream music from 7 different Apple devices without even having to plug in. The miracles of modern technology are sweet and glorious.

This was our car group. Yeaaah. Photo by Heather Hackney.

We stopped at an old church, whose name I can't remember, but was significant because of the ornate medieval decor that did not get painted over during the reformation.

Our group of viking warriors by a viking rune. Photo by Heather Hackney.

A few hours later we had all had a healthy dose of Muse and Robyn, we made it to Carl Larsson's house! It was so beautiful. Oh, stunning. I really loved a lot of things about it.

Thrifting in Dalarna. We didn't find anything good.

An outdoor peice (with typography) at the Dalarna Museum.

After Carl Larsson and the Dalarna Museum, we skipped around the corner to Top Hat where we had a really nice dinner together as a class. I got a burger with pesto sauce and a side of "fries."

On the drive to the hotel, we stopped by the copper mines in Stora Kopparberg. It's a world heritage site! I think Sweden has quite a few. Drottningholm Palace was another one... The mines were pretty intense. They are so massive, and what you see if only the surface. The tunnels go so deep; it's hard to fathom.

And then after the mines we drove to our hotel, but stopped by a lake to tromp around a golden field... Because it was so beautiful. I love the sunsets that last forever here.

Our group! Photo by Heather Hackney.

Notice the backpack thrust into the frame. Lovely.

And then, after all of these things packed into one day, we somehow mustered enough energy to go jump in the lake. Which was freezing cold, but super stunning. The sun was still setting, so the sky was full of pinks and purples, and the water just reflected it. It was a neat experience to swim in a swirling lake of color. Oh also, the lake was formed by a meteor impact a million years ago. Not every day that you swim in meteor lakes. In Sweden. With good friends. At sunset. Gaaaahhh. I love it here.