Things I love about Sweden!

Tonight I have to pack up my computer. I wanted to have my blog current so that when I arrive in Malaysia I can truly look forward and think about my future adventures and experiences. As my very last post, I thought I would write a bit about some of the things that I have really come to love about this beautiful country.

When I first came here I was a different person... scared, nervous, lonely, irritated by my unfamiliar surroundings and frustrated by my lack of knowledge just trying to maneuver around the grocery store. For the first month or two I really missed home! Now that 2 1/2 years have gone by I am amazed at how different I feel and I know that Aaron and the kids feel the exact same way as I do. We love Sweden!!!

I have loved...

drinking the amazing clean water that comes out of the tap in the kitchen!

trying all the yummy candies, chokladbollar, kanelbullar, pear soda and maribou candy bars!

roundabouts!

that almost everyone in Sweden knows english!

the colorful flower shops that are everywhere!

that the people of Sweden love their outdoors!

that the people of all ages love to exercise!

the scenic running trail just outside my front door!

to look out my window and see deer in my yard!

that my kids can feel safe most anywhere at all given times!

the international school experience!

that you can travel so easily all over Europe!

the wonderful friends I have made!

H&M because it is the only store I can afford!

fika! 

that my children can be independent with the subway and train. I am not a taxi driver!

all the unique traditions of Sweden!

being involved with the missionaries!

the inlets of water from the baltic that wrap all around Stockholm!

all 4 of the beautiful seasons!

looking out to the backyard at Mirjam's house

my running trail

deer eating the fallen apples and probably getting drunk off of them :)

H&M, only about a thousand of them within 10 miles!

a flower shop in Gamla Stan

One last thought...For the past several weeks I have, at many times, had to hold back the tears as the realization of leaving Sweden has come to more of a reality. I have given lots of hugs and said many goodbyes to some dear friends. Our last Sunday at church was particularly an emotional one for me as I was able to share my feelings in our monthly testimony meeting. I struggled to get the words out but felt very privileged to share my testimony in Swedish as a token of my love for the Täby ward. But one thought came to my mind through this entire process and that is that I feel so grateful to be sad! It shows that I, and my family, have truly lived here. We have made this a positive experience and Sweden has left a huge impression on us all. These last few years will forever be engrained in our hearts. And as you will hear in Sweden when saying goodbye... Hejdå!

more goodbyes :(

It is the day before the movers arrive and Melynn

decided to have a last minute get together with some friends at our house.

 Jaxon got an invitation from his buddy Caden to go ice skating and have a sleepover.

Since Darby was out of town during our farewell party at the Strauss' home, Aisa wanted to make sure that they stopped by today before they left for their vacation to Paris. Aisa's son Ren was in Darby's grade and they were good friends. It was so nice to give some final hugs and well wishes. Mike Layne was their driver, Marco tagged along and Mitchell was going with the Strauss' so that explains the few extra in this photo :)

Later that evening we had one more dinner with the Wimmer family. 

I think I am officially wiped out of all my emotions. I have cried so much this week that I feel exhausted but also like I am now ready to go. All my goodbyes have been said!

Julgransplundring

Viktoria Siebke had invited us over to her home for Julgransplundring!

taken from another website..."Julgransplundring", which literally mean "plunder the Christmas tree", is a Swedish tradition that goes back centuries. On Tjugondag jul (20 days after Christmas Eve) is the tradional day when all Christmas trees and decorations are taken down, and the candies and cookies that decorated the trees are eaten.

 Typically when the Christmas tree is first put up and decorated, the family will also add some decorations that hold candy inside which in Swedish is called "smällkarameller". Viktoria (in the above photo) is showing how these candy decoration holders are made. 

The kids had lots of fun with their creations and then stuffing them with candy!

 Here is Maggie with her Christmas tree decoration.

 Next, we took off all the ornaments from the tree.

taking off the lights

 However, the candy ornaments were left on the tree.

 Then it is time to dance around the Christmas tree to some traditional songs. I understand there are many songs and you could dance for a very long time, going around the tree, around the house, outside, to the neighbors house etc... We just danced around the tree to a few songs in which Viktoria also explained the meaning of the songs.

Marcus and Charlotte, enjoying the festivities.

After the dancing then the Christmas tree is thrown out and the kids can eat the candies. 

What a fun way to end the Christmas season!

Farewell Party!

Aisa had invited the American families from the ward to bowl and then come to her home 

afterwards for dinner as a farewell to our family. It was the perfect send off! 

Melynn with Maggie Wimmer

The kids crew (minus Darby) at bowling and at the Strauss' home later on. 

Darby was visiting a friend in London.

The Mom's... Aisa Strauss, Mila Layne, myself and Lana Wimmer.

                      The men of our 4 families that represent team America... Michael Layne, 

   Cooper Wimmer, Aaron and Bruce Strauss. Great group of guys and wonderful friends!

Täby Ward

Täby Ward (Täby Församling)

A few weeks ago some of the sisters in the ward took me out to an 

amazing vegetarian restaurant for lunch. I love these sisters! 

above...Veronica, Aisa and Viktoria. below...Susanna, myself and Lana.

Because we had enough english only speaking kids, Jaxon was able to be in a 

primary class were he knew what was going on. 

Here is a photo that Cooper Wimmer (their teacher) took one day in class.

These same primary kids also have older siblings which makes up the Sunday School class that I teach each week. My students are also the same group of kids that attend Seminary every Monday morning at the youth center downtown. All of them attend SIS and walk to school when Seminary (and breakfast) is over. Moia Layne was not in attendance that day unfortunately. This is a photo I took one Monday morning when it was my turn to teach. The 4 set of parents rotate this assignment.

 I don't have lots of pictures from our weekly visits to the Täby ward (who usually brings a 

camera to church?) but I do have one of Lilla Stefanciw (above) and her daughter Mia (below). They were going to the states for several weeks so I made sure to get a photo before she left since I would be gone by the time she got back. Came to find out later on that she was able to spend an afternoon with Ashtyn and Wil while she was in Provo!  Lilla had been my visiting teacher and a leader in the young women's program.

 We love the missionaries in Täby. Aaron was the ward mission leader so we were 

able to get to know them quite well. They came to our home many times for dinner.

This photo was taken on our last Sunday in Sweden with Elder Mangum. 

He is an awesome missionary and going home in one month!

During my last Sunday in Relief Society, the women presented me with a book filled with letters and pictures from many of the sisters in the ward. I look forward to sitting down and reading it page by page but Aisa took it back so she could finish writing in it;) ha ha

Prague and Istanbul

The day after Christmas we flew to Prague, Czech Republic for a short 2 day visit 

and then flew on to Istanbul, Turkey for another 5 days.

Prague

Shortly after getting settled into our hotel in Prague, we ventured out into the city. One of the first things we see are these cute missionaries singing at one of the street corners. Of course, we had to come over and introduce ourselves and say hello.

We found lots of food vendors and were intrigued by the different things they were selling.

 These look like potato chips on a stick! It is called Bramborové Spirály.

Jaxon tried Langose (above) served with ketchup and grated cheese on top.

Wil has earned the award of best eater on this trip! There was a couple of times when he had ordered food off the menu and had no clue what he was ordering. So adventurous!

The food above is of mashed potatoes with cabbage.

Many of us ordered this big sausage on bread.

At first we were mesmorized by this display! 

However, there must be a solid metal structure that they are sitting on.

Photo taken in the infamous Old Town Square of Prague.

These look good...must try!

They are called Trdlo. Yes, it is spelled correctly.

Beautiful gingerbread houses and cookies for sale in the Christmas Market.

The Tyn Church

This was the most fascinating feature of the Old Town Square- The Astronomical Clock. 

It was first installed in 1410 and still works today. Some of the things that it can tell you is the time, day, zodiac, sun, moon and star position, and month. The clock chimes every 15 minutes but at the top of the hour the two little windows open up at the top and you can see statues of the apostles peek through and rotate around inside.

We walked to the top of a tower on one end of the Charles Bridge and this is the view from 

that tower overlooking the river towards the Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral.

Melynn was met up with her old friend, Tereza, from SIS
who is now living in her home country.

The clock at night.

One of the many statues on the Charles Bridge.

We came upon this beautiful place, St. Nicholas Church.

Jaxon heading up to the steps towards the Prague Castle.

In front of the castle!

Our little gang (minus Aaron) inside St. Vitus Cathedral.

The front of the Cathedral

Goodbye Prague, it is off again to the airport we go!

Istanbul

Hagia Sophia

It was a Greek Orthodox church, then a mosque and now a museum.

inside Hagia Sophia

back to street vendor food- a big cold cinnamon roll and a cheese skinny bagel.

the front of the Blue Mosque

Some of the seens from our boat tour along the Golden Horn and the 

Bosphorus Strait that leads to the Black Sea.

The Rumeli Fortress- built in 1452.

After the boat tour we found this great restaurant and tried apple tea 

which is a very popular drink in Istanbul.

We also discovered that many restaurants serve this poof bread before the main meal.

A meal is never complete without Baklava!

Every night we found ourselves gathered around for some card games. 

So nice to just relax after a lot of walking and sight seeing!

The Basilica Cistern

This particular column also contained carvings to look like Medusa.

Dinner that day included a fun presentation when they brought out a dish that
Aaron and Wil decided to share. They ordered the Testi Kebab
which is basically a stew that is cooked in a clay pot. 

Theodosius Obelisk-built over 3500 years ago. Came to Turkey around 400 AD.

We discovered a great dessert restaurant called Hafiz Mustafa.
Most of the menu is pre-made so you can get your food fairly quickly after ordering.
We all enjoyed our desserts with hot chocolate!

Jaxon had chocolate Baclava.

The restaurant makes an assortment of Baclava and Turkish Delights.

Photo of our entire group in front of our hotel, Armagrandi Spina Hotel. 

I would say that it is not the nicest hotel and we were not crazy about the morning breakfast but the location was amazing! We were right in the center of everything 

and never had to take a taxi or any other transportation.

Standing in front of the Topkapi Palace- 

the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for about 400 years of their 600 year rule.

The tile work in the Palace is common in the many churches and mosques in this area. 

So beautiful! 

Found another great Turkish restaurant...these women are rolling out the dough and cooking it on the spot after ordering (great appetizer). It can be filled with different ingredients. Jaxon only wanted cheese so he basically ate a quesadilla :)

Entering the Grand Bazaar. Feeling a little intimidated and holding on to our wallets! We visited the Spice Market a couple of days before coming here and at that market someone tried to pick pocket Aaron. Actually, they did pick pocket him but all they got was some local brochures :) ha ha!

Picture below is the girls standing in front of one of the hundreds of shops where you can by ceramic dishes and vases. So many different colors and shapes and sizes and varieties. It is difficult to choose which one you would like to take home but we managed to do it.

Our last night in Istanbul we had to hit our favorite dessert spot again! 

Aaron ordered Kunefe, a cheese pastry which they make on demand so it is nice and warm.

We took some more treats back to enjoy while playing our nightly card games.

Good times were had by all!