A train ride to Goteborg

On the way to Göteborg: A concerned Leise and some water

Love,
D

Spring in Stockholm?

It's almost too good to be true...Spring? Is it really here in Stockholm?

The signs are all over the place!

The tentative crocus blooms...

Pretty, overnight flower carpets...

A weekend of sunshine!

A dearth of ice floes in the city...

More and more pedestrians...

Overjoyed Swedes relishing in the need for sunglasses...

And perfect weather for mini Renaissance fairs! (Or Viking fair...if you will)

Headgear, past and present.

There were even some battling knights for everyone's amusement.

Check out that leather skullcap.

The first weekend of spring seemed like a good time to grab a meal at Max Burger, where you can choose your burger based on its cost in CO2.

I decided to skip the guilt and order from the Climate menu! Minimal CO2 emissions when you make falafel I guess.

A less environmentally friendly meal, but just as delicious. Maybe more..?

Semla buns (cream bun on the right) are delicious, by the way.

We took a walk around the piers near the Royal Palace.

And attended the Lust & Vice show at the National Museum--a collection of erotic art through the centuries. This terrific pixelated nun's butt points directly at the front of the Royal Palace. Some curators somewhere are sharing a big chuckle.

The square in front of the Nobel museum, and site of Stockholm's Bloodbath in 1520.

...they say the rain water sometimes still runs red here....

It's great that Sweden holds no delusions of tropical warmth and instead provides blankets for everyone. So practical.

In Gamla Stan. Beautiful old city built on medieval trash!

Bicth

"Sweden needs more competent English teachers."

Malaga, Spain

I spent a week visiting K in Malaga and a different K in Paris 10 days after I arrived in Stockholm. This being my first real trip to Europe I decided to try and see as much of it as possible.

In Spain, K met me at the airport and after a short train ride, a walk through the old town center and up a really long staircase we reached her beautiful apartment.

The view from her balcony.

The picturesque alley she lives on.

Culture shocks #1 and 2: There is Dunkin' Donuts in Europe and they have espresso sized cups!

She lives right near this old plaza and imposing theater.

Tea break!

It has become clear to me that Cville's Mas really is a rip off. Real Spanish tapas in real Spanish portions.

Yum.

Nothing like some morning coffee and..

..a plaza of people to watch!

The Malaga museum is under construction and in the meantime the building is covered with this vertiginous and disorienting image.

I explored the Alcazaba, Malaga's Moorish fortress and the castle that was later added on.

Getting to the castle involved a steep hike, but the views were breath-taking.

The bull ring. Later that day K and I saw some fighters practicing inside with a bull dummy on a wheel barrow.

This landscape is definitely more green than Stockholm right now, so I felt right at home among the beaches, mountains and bushy tropical plants.

Some Stockholm