Sweden and Finland

I lost my shoe in the sea. I’m guessing that the Danish mermaids are now using it for a silly underwater flip-flop tag football with the fish. Nooo, I didn't lose it because of alcohol consumption. I lost it because I was being silly and taking jumping pictures (where someone takes a picture of you right as you are jumping) near the edge of the ferry, which took us from Sweden to Finland. It just flew right off my foot. Sad, sad. However, I never liked those flops anyways.

I haven't updated my blog in awhile because I didn't really have internet connection while away. We took a tour of Sweden and Finland for 8 days. Basically to sum it up, I can say that it was amazing, exhausting, and a great bonding experience. They are fantastic countries that I probably never would have visited if it weren’t for this trip. The countryside of Finland was gorgeous, as was the countryside of Sweden. There were lots of trees, lots of dramatic skies, lots of lakes, and lots of rolling hills. What I really enjoyed was Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. I had no idea what to expect so I didn’t have high expectations. So the city obviously exceeded all expectations. It was a beautiful, interesting old medieval city that has so much to offer. I hope to one day go back. Two days there was not enough.

I ate so well on this trip, compared to what I eat in Copenhagen (basically crap). They provided us with two meals a day, and they were good meals! We went on two overnight ferries (to and from Finland). The ferries had an hour long all-you-can-eat-and-drink (wine on tap) buffet. Woohoo!

Besides eating, drinking, and some exploring, we saw many amazing buildings. I'll attach pics later (I'm still going through them seeing how I took so many!). Lots and lots of sketching took place. I've never sketched so much in my life!

I experienced the Finnish sauna culture (click on link for more info). Apparently every family and single person has a sauna. It’s a big part of the culture. We had a sauna near our hostel in the middle of nowhere in Finland. It was amazing. You sit in the sauna while all the toxins sweat out of you, then go jump in the ice cold lake, and then repeat as necessary. I repeated twice.

I finally had a chance to hang out with locals on this trip. Some of us Americans made friends with some local Swedes, who took us dancing. I can now say I’ve danced in a Swedish club to Ace of Base (a Swedish band) with a Swede. What girl doesn’t want to be able to say that!

I’m sure I have so many more stories from the trip, but it’s really hot in this computer lab and I have tons of school work to do. Pictures will be attached later......