Monday, December 7, 2009

big one

Weekend that is! :)

Starting Saturday morning Fredrik and I got busy! :) We sent 23 Christmas cards and a package! Wow, expensive. Post service in Sweden is ridiculously expensive! But, it's the holidays, and it made me happy either way!

Then we headed to Marias for a "card making party"! That was also fun. We were joined by his mom, his aunt Nina, cousin Therese, his sister Hanna and her boyfriend Andreas. We made 10 cards to send to our family and friends here in Sweden! I was really feeling creative that day! I tried Glögg the first time, and oh man this stuff is good! It's mulled wine, but almost tasted just like apple cider! I love it!

We then headed to the movie theater to see "Jul Saga" which is Disneys Christmas Carol, and it was in 3D! It was so good to see it! A little creepy for a Christmas movie, but none the less, we really liked it!

We then headed home for a restful sleep because the next day we woke up at 6am to go to Ullared!

Ullared is Sweden's version of Wal Mart, but there is only one! People come from EVERYWHERE to come to this place! It's really cheap and has pretty good stuff. We headed there at 6:45am, Fredrik, myself, Maria, Hanna and Andreas and it took us about an hour and a half to drive there. It opens at 8am and we arrived at like...8:01. We were feeling good because the parking lot was not that full, so we were in high spirits, with our 500kr Ann gave us in pocket. But then we saw the line. It was like a movie. We were walking and thinking this isn't so bad, and then we turned the corner and the line to walk in was very very long. And we, stupidly, opted not to wear our coats in! But it moved quickly and finally we were in. Wow, this place was impressive! People were everywhere, shoveling items into their carts! Fredrik and I had an idea of what we needed. So we set out and we were done in less than 2 hours! We probably could have done it in less time, but were wasting time untill 10 so we could visit the stores outside of Gekås. His sisters are another story, they stayed in the store untill 1:30! Again, none the less, I had a good time! It was fun to experience that! And by the way, there is even a reality show herei n Sweden about this place! You can camp there, so you can get there early. Some families who come from very far away camp for a week and shop all week long! It's crazy!

Then, last night, since it gets so dark so early, I was feeling very tired and finally asked Fredrik, what do you want to do? Go home, go somewhere, eat something, watch a movie, and he actually said "let's go to Liseberg". Liseberg is an amusement park in the nice weather but in the Christmas season it is "Jul på Liseberg" or "Christmas at Liseberg". They turn it into a market, with over 250 million lights and it's just really beautiful.This is outside Liseberg. It is a tower that they string lights on the outside to resemble a tree, obviously.
Lots of the trees had lights like this, and the ferris wheel was covered, includin the tower again. There was fake snow on a lot of trees, and little booths everywhere you could buy Christmas "things" like decorations and food. It was really a nice place to visit. Soon we will go to a "Slott" which is an old mansion and they set up a Christmas market in there as well!

The Swedish word of the day is "Slott" which means "castle" or "palace" or "manor" :) Bascially any big place where rich or royality had lived! :)

5 comments:

  1. 500kr is not much when you're going to Ullared.. I usally buy for 1500-2000 kr =P

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  2. Wow. So Ullared has groceries and clothes and sporting goods and everything?! Is there no other place to buy these things? That's incredible. I love all the lights and Christmas markets, sounds like fun, especially with your Swedish fiance!

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  3. What a beautiful Christmas memory you have made for yourselves! I certainly hope I get one of your creative cards! Only wish I could hear your beautiful voice singing a Christmas song.

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  4. Sounds like my kind of enjoyment--shopping, watching people and taking in the sites. Amazing pictures. I am looking forward seeing you make a Swedish scrapbook when you get home. ;) --Leslie

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  5. These photos are great! Glad you are having some holiday adventures.

    Gran of The Dukes
    Colorado, USA

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