Christmas in Sweden

Last winter, shortly after moving to Sweden I learned about Sweden’s Christmas tradition of watching Kalle Anka.  Every year on December 24^th, the day Swedes celebrate Christmas, everyone young and old sits around the television to watch Kalle Anka.  Christmas Eve plans are made around the showing which has been aired commercial free at 15:00(3:00pm) on Sweden’s public television channel TV1 since 1959.  I was told that I wouldn’t see anyone out in town or cars driving on the streets at 3:00 Christmas Eve.  I didn’t exactly find out if this is true as I too was sitting around a television watching Kalle Anka this year.  The full title of the show is “Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul” which is “Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas”.  It’s named after the Donald Duck’s 1944 cartoon called “Clown of the Jungle” but there are also other shorter clips of Disney’s classics.  I enjoyed watching Kalle Anka but I wonder why this became a Christmas tradition as most of the cartoons have nothing to do with Christmas.  

In any case, our day revolved around watching Kalle Anka.  Before the show we played out in the winter wonderland and made pepparkakor cookies for Santa.    Pepparkakor is a clove, cinnamon ginger cookie eaten year round but especially during Christmas time.  Yum!  After the show we played games, ate, and acted out the Christmas story.  Sweden’s traditional Julbord ('Christmas Table') is a smorgasbord, a buffet style meal.  Ours included the traditional risgrynsgröt, a sweet rice porridge with a single almond inside.  It is said that whoever finds the nut will be married in the next year (or get to make a wish).  I love that there are so many traditional foods in Sweden.  Have I already mentioned that there are several baked good days throughout the year?  Pepparkakor day was a few weeks ago.  Chris and I have also enjoyed the glögg, spiced red wine served warm.  Many Swedish families end the evening with someone dressed as Tomte (a Swedish gnome who protects farm families and their livestock) handing out presents and singing songs.  We North Americans saved the gift opening for Christmas morning at our own homes.  Chris, Amelia, Madeline and I did partake in our hosts’ Christmas tradition.  We acted out the Christmas story.  Rich read verses from the Bible while we all had a part and kind of acted and sang some Christmas songs at the appropriate time, like ‘Silent Night’.  Madeline got to be baby Jesus.  Chris and I were Joseph and Mary.  Amelia was an angel.  We found a book at the library beforehand to teach Amelia about baby Jesus before the “big performance”.

We truly are enjoying the winter.  It’s a winter wonder land here.  At least a meter of snow blankets the ground and the snow clings onto the trees.  Cedar wax wings and snow flakes put on a show in the sky with the golden winter light.  The sunrise melts into the sunset filling the sky with a rainbow of colors during the short days.  Fortunately we have an open space for building a snow palace outside our door.  From our door we can also ski in a beautiful forest and sauna and swim (in a blow up kiddy pool) right here in our building.  Life is good, and we’re having fun!

Amelia was so excited to get a My Little Pony from Santa.  We lit off hot air balloons on Solstice night and made wishes as they flew up in the air.  Santa heard her wish for a My Little Pony.

Amelia said something like, "She can't really open this.  I'll help her."

Madeline likes her Swedish nalle.

Thank you Grandma and Papaw!

We have continuously shoveled to make a maze of paths and there is a snow palace there by Amelia.

Winter wonderland.  The path between our house and the forest we ski in.

the queue

A couple months after we bought a car the steering became difficult and we noticed the power steering fluid was leaking.  The car kind of squeaked too.  We were hoping for a cheap fix, that it was just a leaky tube and bad connection to the power steering fluid pump.  I dropped the car off at an auto repair shop after making an appointment.  I stood at the counter around 10:00 in the morning for a little while.  Someone finally emerged from the fika room to help me and take the car keys. 

So what is fika?  I’m surprised we haven’t written about it yet.  It’s a very important part of Swedish society.  It’s a relaxed time to sit down, have a cup of coffee and a sweet treat and talk among coworkers, friends, and/or family.  Fika time is typically at 10:00 and 3:00.  The word fika has been incorporated into my and Amelia’s vocabulary as we’ve enjoyed it at playgroups and home.  Chris’s response is, “How do people get any work done when they take so many long breaks – fika, lunch, then fika again.”

After a few days and several fika breaks the car was ready to be picked up.  (They had to order some tubing.)  They made the obvious fix by replacing the tubing; although it wasn’t exactly cheap.  Nothing is cheap in Sweden.  We also got the oil changed while the car was there and that cost about $100 (that might be a bit of an exaggeration).  Are oil changes subsidized in the US?  Why the price difference?

We drove off for the weekend to camp at a cabin with some friends.  The steering became difficult again and we left behind a puddle of power steering fluid.  We looked under the hood and the fluid was all over just like before and there was a lot of pressure released when we opened the fluid cap to see that the reservoir was low.  Unfortunately, it seemed like the pump wasn’t working.

            The car went back to the car shop.  When I called I mention that I’d drop it off in the afternoon.  They said to come after 1:00.  I made sure to get there no earlier than 1:30 to give them plenty of time for lunch break.  (I appreciate the fika and lunch breaks.)  I invited the auto repair guy to come out and witness the pressure release from when I opened the power steering fluid reservoir and asked him if he thought that perhaps the pump wasn’t working.  He decided that was the problem.  Back in the shop he gave me quotes on prices.  After telling him that I was hoping not to spend so much money on this car that we just bought he told me about a website that sells used car parts.  We’ve noticed that typically Swedish people don’t reveal much information.  We have to ask lots of questions or hope that conversations will reveal some useful information.  I found countless used power steering pumps on the website for a third of the price and realized that I should ask him to order the part for me since he knows about these better than I do – isn’t that his job?  I called up again and he agreed to do the order for me.  A week later the car was fixed.

I write about this experience as an example of how we perceive socialism (social democracy is more politically correct) is infused into Swedish society.  When I picked up the car the final time I asked if he noticed if there was anything else that might be wrong with the car.  He didn’t notice anything else.  Anytime I’ve taken my car to a place in the US they seem to tell me that there is something else I could fix.  Are those American capitalists trying to sell me something?  When the US car guy says my oil filter is a little dirty I wonder if it’s really a problem or they just want my money.  When I ask the Swedish car guy if there is anything else wrong and he says no, I wonder if he just didn’t look since after all I didn’t ask him to look. 

It might not be fair to say that cultural differences we find are a result of political differences but it seems to fit in some cases.  In general Swedish people and businesses seem less competitive.  People are more laid back to the point where they could possibly be described as having less motivational drive.  Chris has done several orders to set up the microbiology lab he’s working in.  He gets the impression that the person on the other telephone line may say that something is not possible even if it indeed is.  Rather than impossible he believes it may just be *difficult* to ship or order.  He’s on the phone because the business people don’t email him back.  He is of the opinion that people don’t actually want to sell him anything because that would make more work for them.  His supervisor, the PI on the grant, will rearrange the data collection schedule so that she doesn’t have to work on the weekend.  I recently had a conversation with a Swedish couple (who have family in the US) and they worry that the overall Swedish society may be getting… in so many words…lazy, because people are taken care of so well by the government.  Those were their words (summarized), not mine, and I don’t know their politics.  So far I’ve painted a picture that Swedish people have a poor work ethic.  Perhaps it’s more efficient to take a break and chat with co-workers during a fika break and then really get work done otherwise.  I do believe a balanced life can actually make for a happier person and family and result in a more “productive” person.  The other extreme is the Japanese culture where they work all the time because it gives the impression that they are always working, but I wonder what quality work they can get done if they are always *working*.  For the most part, I like Sweden’s system.  Too bad for me Chris hasn’t adopted the Swedish work ethic.  He is such an American or maybe he’d even fit into the Japanese work force.

Another thing we’ve noticed here in Sweden is that there are fewer choices.  Social democracy tends to create more equal conditions throughout society but perhaps results in fewer choices.  The competitive capitalistic market has a wide range of products to offer the diverse desires of American consumers.  There is a range here in Sweden as well but not as far reaching as Fruity Pebbles to something like sprouted grain gluten free vegan Manna bread.  Fortunately, the range here is on the healthier end but it can be difficult to find some fruits, vegetables, and meat grown and raised organically.  Health care is fairly streamlined here as well.  People are appointed to a designated health center somewhere in town and then receive appointments for their routine care.  For some reason we were appointed to a health center across town.  I, being an American, made the proper arrangements and filled out the forms to move us over to the health center by the university, an easier bike ride from our house.  When I call to get an appointment, they usually offer a day and time and I respond with, “Well, do you have Friday at 10:00 open?  That would be better for us.”  I have heard that Sweden is starting to have more choices in health care with privatization (for better or worse??).  Interestingly, there IS a diversity of political parties represented in the Parliament of Sweden and the European Parliament (thanks Wikipedia!): Swedish Social Democratic Party, Moderate Party, Green Party, Liberal People’s Party, Centre Party, Sweden Democrats, Pirate Party, Christian Democrats, and Left Party.  There are also dozens of other minor and local parties.  I’m impressed by these diverse choices.  Perhaps all the commercial choices in the US are a distraction.  Capitalism has not only infiltrated American society but created a two party political system, in which the parties aren’t that different as they are both heavily influenced by corporations.

We’ve also speculated that capitalism creates a society where many people prioritize looking out for themselves and their own interests.  We’ve noticed more structure here and that systems in Sweden are created to provide (more) equal opportunities among people.  Taxes are high but there are no or little health care costs and school (including university) is free.  We have yet to see any really poor parts of town or people on the streets.  We do laugh at all the queue machines.  The machine where you take a number to wait in line for help can be found just about everywhere you go: government offices, the bank, the pharmacy, the library, some stores…  It seems to be the perfect symbol for this orderly and fair society.

An American friend of mine told me a funny story.  They have been living here for a couple of years now.  One day when they were out grocery shopping they noticed that there was a cart not attached to the chained up cart assembly; they used it.  Typically the carts are chained together.  In order to use a cart you have to insert a 5 or 10 kroner coin to remove the cart.  This way there is an incentive for people to place their carts back into the orderly fashion.  Husband Rich was feeling rebellious and was going to leave the cart in the parking lot after unloading their groceries since he didn’t have a 5 or 10 kroner invested into the cart, but his two oldest sons (9 and 11) who have been going to school in Sweden for a couple of years straightened their dad out and demanded that he put the cart back where it belonged.  The boys are already Swedish! 

This blog all started with the car experience.  It is presumptuous to make conclusions based on one example.  Unfortunately, our car is providing us another opportunity to experience the auto repair scene.  The coolant light is on but the thermometer isn’t indicating that the engine is hot; so it's kind of complicated.  The car still makes some squeaky noises so I guess I should directly ask them to look at the brake pads too.  The car is getting checked out next week.  Cross our fingers we don’t have to sink too much more money into this car.  Perhaps we can find cheaper ways to explore the social differences here.

So like everything in life, nothing is perfect.  Each system has its pros and cons.  There are lots of choices in the US and a strong work ethic can help a person succeed in life.  That strong work ethic in the US may also amount to billionaire CEOs who get bailed out while your retirement money vanishes and if you get seriously sick the insurance companies may take away your insurance leaving you in major debt.  There are fewer choices in Sweden in many aspects of life and you pay high taxes here.  However, no need to worry about your finances in terms of education and health care.  Just go relax with fika and hang out with your kids during your föräldrapenning (paid parental leave).  Use the parental leave money and barnbidrag (child support) to pay for the sweet treats.

 

The earth is tilting!

End of July 10:30 p.m.

Last week I looked northwest out the window at an amazing sunset at 10:30 (my bedtime).  This week I’ve noticed that it’s getting a little dark before I’m ready for bed.  I’m turning on the lamp to finish those last pages in the book or the last rows of knitting.  The sky and light patterns are beginning to rapidly change.  There will be darkness tonight and in the early morning.  The sky never darkened for two months (end of May to end of July).  On June 21^st the sun rose around 2:15 and set around 23:00 but for those two months the dusk turned into dawn before the sky had a chance to get dark.  I look forward to seeing the stars again but I’ve really enjoyed the many hours of sunshine extending our outside time after dinner.  Last week we were out picking blueberries in the forest for the next morning’s blueberry pancakes.

Living so far north has been an interesting experience for us all.  I occasionally hear Amelia up from bed peaking behind the blinds at a lit sky before she finally lays down for sleep. 

This past winter in January of February Amelia asked one day, “Why are there days?”  Sometimes I give her fairy tale answers and sometimes I get scientific.  I must have been feeling scientific that day.  We sat on the coach and I talked to her like a sixth grader.  I found a speckled ball.  I told her the ball was the Earth and a white spot on the ball was Sweden where we lived.  I continued by getting out the flashlight.  I turned it on.  It was the sun.  I showed her that the Earth, the ball, rotated/spun.  The time it took to fully rotate was one day.  When Sweden first began to face the sunshine it was morning and as it spun away from the sun it became night.  I guess I couldn’t help myself, I continued.  I explained that the Earth also rotated *around* the sun and that took an entire year.  I demonstrated and even showed her pictures on the internet.  I found some great sites on a NASA webpage, probably most appropriate for older kids.  Once again I continued.  I wanted to explain seasons so I told her that the Earth was tilted.  I got out the ball and the flashlight again.  I once again showed her where Sweden was, way up north.  In the winter it’s tilted away from the sun so it doesn’t see the sun for very long each day.  In the summer Sweden is tilted towards the sun so the day has lots of sun time.

Too much information??

At dinner the light was on over the table.  Amelia says, “The light is the sun.  My face is Sweden.  She begins to rotate in her chair.  When her face is facing the sun she says, “It is day time.”  She continues to rotate and is no longer facing the light above the kitchen table.  “Now it is night.”  She got it!

For several weeks she would pretend she would be falling and she would say, “The Earth is tilting!”  We’d say, “The Earth is so big you can’t feel the tilt.”  But she still likes to pretend to fall and say, “The Earth is tilting!”

She still occasionally comments on the Earth tilting and the sunshine during the day.  During the two summer months Amelia went to bed when the sun was still shining and woke up to a brightly shining sky.  Fairly soon the she’ll be going to bed with the sunset.

Midsummer’s Eve June 22, 2012

Midsummer’s Eve is one of the most important holidays in Sweden.  People come together to sing and dance around a midsummer’s pole and enjoy a picnic in the meadows.  Some people wear traditional folk costumes and many make crowns of leaves and wildflowers.  Like many other Swedish holidays traditional foods and drinks are consumed including pickled herring, new potatoes with chives and sour cream, strawberries and cream, and lots of alcohol.

This celebration dates back thousands of years with pagan origins predating Christianity.  Midsummer Eve is considered to be a night of magic and a festival of fertility.  The night is a night for romance.  Traditionally, young women pick seven different flowers and put them under their pillows in order to dream about their future spouse.  People decorate with greenery to bring good fortune and health to people and livestock.  Spring water and medicinal plants are exceptionally potent on this night. 

The church has attempted to co-opt Midsummer celebrations with the birthday feast of John the Baptist, but in vain.  In A History of the Swedish People Moberg appropriately titles the chapter of the conversion of heathendom to Christianity as ‘The 300 Years’ War’ as it took three centuries of crusades to convert Swedish people.  However, Midsummer’s celebration is one battle the church did not win.  Currently, Midsummer’s eve is a time for people to let loose and have fun.  Some of 

the songs are about sex and drinking while some are silly with silly dance moves like Små grodorna.  Picnic baskets are sure to have bottles of snaps, beer or flavored brännvins. 

Små grodorna Traditional lyrics in Swedish:

Små grodorna, små grodorna är lustiga att se.

Små grodorna, små grodorna är lustiga att se. 

Ej öron, ej öron, ej svansar hava de.

Ej öron, ej öron, ej svansar hava de.

Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,

kou ack ack ack ack kaa.

Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,

kou ack ack ack ack kaa.

English translation:

The small frogs, the small frogs are funny to see.

The small frogs, the small frogs are funny to see.

No ears, no ears, no tails have they.

No ears, no ears, no tails have they.

                                                Quack quack quack, quack quack quack,

                                               Quack quack quack quacka.

                                               Quack quack quack, quack quack quack,  

                                               Quack quack quack quacka.  

Valle, Norway

“Chet, pull over.  Emily is getting sick.”  The contents of Emily’s stomach ended up in a ziplock bag and the side of the road.

We drove a VW van along a sinuous road making hairpin turns up a mountain and then back down again.  The views of mountain tops, lakes, rivers, and countless waterfalls were stunning but the route itself left most of us feeling queasy.  A steep road down the mountainside finally led us into the Setesdal valley, our desired destination.  We traveled a bit south along the Otra river and were happy to settle into a simple cabin in Valle. 

Valle, Norway has a population of about 1,300 and is part of the traditional district of Setesdal.  The Setesdal valley is separated from the neighboring valleys in the east and west by large mountain plateaus.  (Emily left her mark on the eastern mountain.)  The Otra river flows through the valley and south to the sea.  Setesdal valley is one of Norway’s most traditional and conservative regions.  Just like small towns in the US, the population is declining.  People are employed in government and community jobs.  A small hyrdro-power plant employs about a dozen people.  Farmers and herders must take on additional jobs to make ends meet.  In the global world, farm goods are not keeping up with the cost of living.  On the other hand, life appears to be good in Valle.  The air and water are clean.  The school kids have a trail up the hillside as part of their outdoor school.

Valle is infrequently visited by tourists; it’s not labeled in the guide books as a top destination.  However, my family was given a couple of books a while ago: Harstad Heritage and A Short Record of Some Familes from Saetersdal, Norway.  They include family trees, pictures and stories.  The family tree begins with Kittle Aanondson Harstad and Eli Espetvedt, born in Saetersdal, Norway (1834, 1837 respectively).  They emigrated and lived in Minnesota and North Dakota.  Their oldest son born in Minnesota, Oscar Andreas Harstad (1867-1929) married Carrie Fjeld (born in Valdres Norway 1874-1941).  Their son, Casper (1897-1978), is my great grandfather, the father of my dad’s mom.  Norwegian customs, traditions, and language may possibly have been followed for the first two generations but likely by the time Casper was growing up the Old World ways were forgotten; they were a new people, Americans. 

I feel it’s unfortunate that we American have few long-standing traditions.  I do like Thanksgiving.  It’s neither commercial nor religious.  Perfect for our family: celebrating a harvest festival with loads of yummy food.  I wish I would have asked my grandma more about her past.  I’ll at least have to start making the strudels she used to make.  Tomorrow we’ll celebrate Midsummer’s day with the Swedes.  They’ll have the traditional Midsummer pole, songs, dances, costumes, and food (strawberries and cream and pickled herring).  Now that I have a child (and another one coming) I ask myself what kinds of traditions I want to instill in our family.  We are not religious so we’ve been celebrating the seasons.  Doing art projects and crafts to reflect the changes of the year and putting nature based spins on the religious holidays. 

While living so close to Norway, I wanted to physically visit Valle.  I don’t know really why, I suppose it’s interesting to see an Old World connection even though I’m a mut.   Prior to our trip, I used Google Earth to fly around the Setesdal valley to locate and “see” the present landscape that matched the photos in the family books.  Upon arriving in Valle, I picked up a tourist pamphlet at Valle Motel and found a walk that began at the Valle church and went up the road to Harstad.  According to our family book Harstad was once a large farm several generations ago.  Over time it became subdivided and split among family members and now seems to be part of the town marked by a sign.  I asked the lady at the front desk for some directions to Harstad and mentioned my family connection.  She said she could call a Harstad in Harstad.  Even better.  He appeared at our cabin door excited and willing to tell us stories and give us a tour.  He led us up a hill and walked us around Gangshei, the farm where Kittil Harstad was born and lived with his family.  Five generations ago Kittil Harstad left Valle and immigrated to America to make a better life.  I looked around at the lush quiet valley and steep mountains and thought how wonderful it would be to live there.  I see the landscape and think about all the hikes, ski trips, and river trips I could do.  I have no way to really understand what life was like to survive off a small farm during years of famine. 

Vilhelm Moberg’s The Emigrants series has allowed me to read about fictional Swedish settlers that immigrated to America during the same time period as Kittle Harstad.  I picked up the first book about six weeks ago and had a hard time putting all four of the books down until I read the entire story.  Vilhelm Moberg is such an amazing author that his written words allow me to abstractly feel and understand the history.  These books have given me a glimpse of what life may have been like for Kittle Harstad when he decided to emigrate and tells of the struggles and rewards of settling a new land.  Kittle Harstad must have been successful in America.  According to the family books, he was able to send money for his other family members to immigrate to America and even sent money to buy food for people remaining in Valle.  

I highly recommend The Emigrants series, especially if you like historical fiction.  Vilhelm Moberg is like the Howard Zen of Sweden.  He has also written A History of the Swedish People.

We left Valle, Norway after only two nights there.  I feel fortunate to have met Tjornliv (spelling ?) Harstad and to have seen the sights imprinted in our family book.  However, I hope that perhaps I’ll be able to visit again someday and stay a little longer to further explore the landscape and to learn the traditions and customs of the area.

Perhaps some of the nature loving culture has been passed down to me over the generations.  I am finding that my reserved somewhat aloof nature is similar to the Scandinavians I’ve met and observed here. And I do find it curious how much I love the mountains of Montana and feel at home there.  Valle, Norway is strikingly similar to a valley in Montana.  As we drove away from Oslo and towards the mountains Amelia asked, “Are we going to Montana?”  We’ll be living here in flat Sweden for another year but I will do what I can to settle us back in the mountains where I’ll start making Norwegian strudels.

Walpurgis Fires

April 30th

The celebration of Walpurgis Night, or Valborgsmässoafton in Swedish (“Valboree”) is so ancient, there are many reasons given as to why it appears on the calendar.  Some say that the tradition stems from rural communities as they would bring their animals out into the fields this time of year, and fires were lit to scare away predators.  Others claim it as an important spiritual holiday of fertility and rebirth, as it is the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice and the eve of the pagan holiday Beltane.  Of course, the early church authorities recognized this, and canonized Saint Walpurga, who is best known for fighting back the tide of witchcraft.  If the masses cannot be purged of their pagan rituals, just give the holiday some proper Christian context.

 Regardless of its origins, it is seems rather intuitive as to why it should be celebrated here in Umeå.  Once the snow had melted, it was time to light the fires ushering in the spring!  Old doors, broken chairs, and other wooden refuse were piled up, and multiple trees were stacked atop them to a height of about ~20 feet.  A choir was assembled (Swedes love to sing) and began to sing “Spring Songs”, like “Längtan till Landet” (“Longing for a country”):

 

The winter raged among our fjällar;
drift flowers melt down and die.
The sky smiles in the spring's bright nights,
sun kisses forests and lakes.
Soon it is summer here. In purple waves,
Gold plated, shades of blue,
lie the meadows in today's flames,
and in the grove dance källorne.

Yes, I come! Greet, happy winds,
Out to the country, out to fåglerne,
That I love them, birch and linden,
lake and mountain, I want to see them again,
see them as in my childhood,
follow the creek dancing to clarified lake,
thrush singing in the pine forest groves,
Water play around the bird's bay and oh…  

  

Thanks, Google translate!  Well, there were a few untranslated words (in bold) I’ll have to ask someone about, but the overall meaning should be clear.  Spring is finally here!  We’ve never been so excited to see a lawn.  We’ve also recently seen ducks pairing together, birds making nests, a few flowers, leaves beginning to emerge, baby lambs, and tadpoles.

PONIES!

Walpurgis Revelers (some well past their bedtime)

European coltsfolt - the first wildflower we’ve seen emerge!  Also called ‘son-before-the-father’, the flower emerges before the hoof-shaped leaves.  It has traditional medicinal use as an expectorant for coughs and bronchial infections.

spring at the 63rd parallel… the long thaw

Påsk (Easter)

Willow and birch branches are decorated with feathers during the Easter holidays.

  

Sweden has the highest candy consumption in the world and so the Easter bunny in Sweden brought Amelia lots of candy!

Saturday is Lördagsgodis (Saturday candy).  It’s custom to only eat candy on Saturday.  I think lots of candy is eaten on Saturday, and maybe only a little candy on other days.

 

at the coast April 15th

 

Ostnäs Naturreservat, April 22nd

Our 20^th century tape-deck Volvo wagon drove us out for another adventure.  We were met with a snowy muddy road that was impassible.  (That’s the second time that’s happened this *spring*.)  Our 21^st century cell phone came to the rescue.  We plugged into the satellite map which showed us a little arrow of our location and gave us directions to another nature reserve further out along the coast.  The little arrow confirmed that we were taking the correct turns down muddy unmarked roads.  We reached the end of the road and could tell that water was nearby just a little beyond the trees.  We saw no signs and not even a sign of a trail at first but then spotted a path that someone else walked along pulling a sled.  The sky was filled with fog and gave a mysterious feeling to the place.  The birds were making a ruckus just up ahead.  We followed the sled path and discovered the cause for the commotion.  It appeared the sled had dumped off a LARGE pile of fish remains.  We didn’t get too close for fear that the multitude of crazy seagulls would attack us.  We continued on to walk along the sinuous rocky coastline.  As we headed for the shore we post-holed through slush.  The slush claimed one of Chris’s shoes.  (He doesn’t have proper snow boots.  He wears the same low hiking boot every day of the year.)  He pulled it out and dumped out ice water.  Apparently we were walking through a boggy area.  Amelia and I both laughed at the site but then I realized that water was indeed ice water and it might be bad for Chris’s foot and put an end to our day.  Good thing Chris is super tough in the cold (unlike me wearing snow boots and snow pants).  He continued on with frozen feet.  He did however say, “This is why all those people (that we passed on the country roads) are walking and running on the paved roads.”  He also added, “I’m going to have dry feet next weekend.”  It’s been a common theme (Chris’s wet feet) this spring since we’ve been walking instead of skiing.  I’m buying him snow boots for next year.

Chris’s feet got a break from the wet slush while we rock hopped along the coast.  The land and rocks reach out like fingers into the coast and create a curvy coast-line with inlets of calm water.  A moose disregarded the curves.  We followed tracks that came out of one inlet of water, straight through the snowy land and back into another inlet of water.  We didn’t see the moose (which is probably a good thing) but we did see a Grus grus! (Eurasian Crane: at 100–130 cm (40–52 in) long, with a 180–240 cm (71–96 in) wingspan (thanks Wikipedia!).  People walking along dry paved roads don’t get to listen to the waves of the sea or rock hop and might not see a Grus grus or check out moose tracks.  Although we do see lots of moose crossing signs along the side of the road.  Perhaps Chris’s feet would prefer road-side wildlife viewing, but we’ll see if he’s ready for another slushy adventure after spending a week in town. We are attempting to check out the nature reserves listed on the county page- there are lots of them!  I look forward to returning to them once the snow is gone to see how the landscapes change.   

green at last!

Chris got his wish.  The following two weekends his feet remained dry.  It’s a treat to see that the snow is melting away and we get to discover the GREEN plants that had been hidden away all winter long.

new plants to discover!

giant ant hill

I even got to lounge on the beach.

What we consider spring is finally here.  We’ve never been so excited to see a lawn!  We’ve also recently seen ducks pairing together, birds making nests, a few flowers, leafs beginning to emerge, baby lambs, tadpoles…

I understand why they wait until April 30th to celebrate spring rather than on Spring Equinox, March 20th.

More about Walpurgis Night (April 30th) on another blog.

Turdus pilaris and her nest outside our bedroom window.

Chris transplanting out at Turmalinen, where we are gardening.

pregnant in Sweden!

April 23, 2012

pregnant in Sweden!

A momma at the Ålidhem playgroup looked up the phone number for the Ålidhem hälsocentral for me.  She explained that I should call between 8:30 and 9:30 and leave a message on the voice mail and a midwife would call me back. 

            After I listened to a bunch of Swedish I thought I got to the point where I was supposed to leave a message.  I must have been successful, a midwife called me back.  I told her that I was pregnant and wanted to schedule an appointment. 

            “What’s your personnummer?”  With that she has all my information.  “You have been assigned to the downtown health center but you are welcome to come here.” 

            I went to a 10 week appointment at the nearby health center and met Ann-Cathrine, the midwife that will be seeing me for my prenatal care.  She’ll care for me during my pregnancy but when it’s time for labor and delivery I’ll go to the hospital and be in the care of a midwife (whom I’ve never met) that happens to be working that day, or a doctor if there are complications.  That’s the standard way for pregnancy and birth.  Everything seems fine so far with me and Iggy Piggy (our baby’s name so far).  Unfortunately, I’ve experienced more pregnancy symptoms this time around.  I was able to ask Ann-Cathrine more about Sweden’s system, most of which I had already learned about prior to this visit. 

            There is a Home Birth Group in Sweden.  They are mostly active in a few cities further south, although there are a couple of people here in Umeå.  There are only a few home-births a year in Umeå and only 1 in 1000 in Sweden.  Water births are illegal in Sweden.  A baby died in a water birth at home about 20 years ago and they have been illegal since.  I did talk to the one midwife in town that will do home births.  She works at the hospital and is very proud of the space they have there.  She said that they have ONE water tub that is available for laboring in with candles and music… and if the baby is born in the water, accidents happen.  However, there is just one, so there is no guarantee that it will be available.  She suggested that I visit the hospital in August or September and decide if I want to labor and deliver there.  If not she’ll meet us at our apartment in the fall.  I’ll likely decide on the hospital.  We live in a tiny apartment with no tub.  The thing that I think is odd is that you have a different midwife for the prenatal care and the labor and delivery.  I was so comforted when Stacy (midwife for Amelia) arrived at our home.  I’ve talked to one other local, who is part of the Home Birth Group, who also thinks it’s odd.  Overall, pregnancy and birth are taken more lightly here than in the US, which does have its pros.  Although I am looking forward to my next appointment (May 28^th) which is at 18 weeks – TWO MONTHS – from my last, where we’ll have an ultrasound and use the doppler for the first time to hear the baby’s heart beat.  I’m feeling great now at 13 weeks pregnant, nearing the end of the first trimester.  I’m looking more pregnant but Chris says that people wouldn’t assume that I’m pregnant because I’m in that in between phase of looking pregnant and looking like I have a big tummy.  ;)

            I’m thankful for the health care coverage here.  There was a typo in my immigration paperwork so it took longer than normal for me to get into the system.  However, I did get into the system just in time to schedule a 10 week pregnancy appointment.  Apparently as soon as a woman becomes part of the system they also get scheduled for a womanly check-up.  I also received a letter from the downtown health clinic stating a day and time for an appointment.  It was scheduled a couple of weeks after my visit to Ålidhem hälsocentral.  Ann-Cathrine asked me if I had received mail regarding an appointment since she knew that I had just recently entered the Swedish health care system.  I told her that I did from the downtown clinic and it was scheduled in the next couple of weeks.  I didn’t need to go to it since I was seeing her.  She had me sign some papers that I was switching to Ålidhem.  I kind of assumed that took care of my downtown appointment and I kind of dropped the ball by not calling and canceling my appointment downtown.  I received mail from the downtown clinic a few days after my proposed appointment.  It was a bill of 150 kroner ($22) for NOT SHOWING UP.  This got me to call and explain (and they dropped the charge).  People don’t slip through the cracks here, especially if they are frugal like me.  I was told that I won’t have to call for an appointment for Amelia’s annual check-up.  She’s in the system so we’ll get a letter with a day and time for her appointment… at the downtown clinic…unless I fill out some paperwork.

 Amelia got the chicken pox!  I thought the outfit she picked out was kind of funny.   At first she wasn’t phased by them but then spent a day an a half with a fever.  We had lots of snuggle and reading time.  She quickly got back to her silly self.