Home - Final thoughts

I am home now,  It was a long flight, but it was also a long vacation.

I have returned to some very sad news: the unexpected death of the 40-year-old daughter of my good friend Nancy. This morning I will attend the celebration of the good life of a much-beloved woman, Stephanie Drevlow O'Rourke.
http://www.startribune.com/obituaries/detail/95113/?fullname=stephanie-(drevlow)-orourke

I have returned to Minnesota from the naturally air-conditioned country of Sweden, just in time to enjoy the warmest weekend in Minneapolis this summer. Temps in the 90's and tropical humidity is quite a shock to the system after 6 weeks of temps never higher than 74F and at that temp, the Swedes were HOT!
The more often high temp any day was 68, with some of those rainy days reaching only 55!

My gardens and lawn look wonderful, thanks to my sweet neighbors, Maggie and Rod, Larry and Bonnie. I have ripe tomatoes, broccoli, and peppers; and the butternut squash are looking super for picking in he fall! Flowers are blooming triumphantly for my return!
Laundry is done, I have had to rebuild a pond pump that froze up in my absence, and I have replaced the Tivo that died in a power surge with a new DVR. Grocery shopping is done, and nearly everything is back in its place.

It is great to travel, and also great to come home. I am looking forward to seeing all my kids, grandkids, and more family tomorrow at a BBQ at my son and daughter-in law's house tomorrow.
My trip was quite a success! It was fun, exciting, restful, and educational!
My sister and my brother joining me made everything even more special and memorable.
I visited places where my ancestors lived and I walked the same roads and paths that they walked on. I learned how these people lived, and  about the conditions that caused them to leave their home and country, in most cases never to return.
We saw ancient churches, castles and manor homes, art, forests, lakes, and wildlife. One day I caught a glimpse of a moose! I picked a gallon of wild blueberries, sampled wild raspberries and saw lingonberries growing wild in the forest. (not ripe just yet) We also picked chanterelle mushrooms.

Things I learned:
Swedes are very friendly and very adaptable to switch to speaking English.

Sweden has incredibly dense forests!

The country of Sweden is VERY rocky! Huge boulders are everywhere and the homes are simply built around them. Many homeowners have large segments of their property  as exposed rock surface.

Wildflowers line all roads in Sweden! Instead of mowing the sides of roads like we do, wildflowers are allowed and encouraged to grow wherever they want It is really pretty.

Other than major highways, most roads are very narrow.

When driving around Sweden with a GPS, DO NOT set it to SHORTEST route......you will be very sorry...(see my post with the title "HELP!!!! for more of an explanation.

Paved roads are VERY well maintained......I am quite ashamed of the state of the roads in America.

Swedes like coffee and drink it often....Most, however, seem to add a large amount of milk. I personally prefer my coffee black and not quite so often.

I ate quite a bit of fish, but very little pickled herring! I like herring, but it was only served at a few breakfast buffets.

Fika is a necessary part of a Swede's day. Cheese is served at every meal.

Paper plates, plastic and styrofoam cups and plastic eating utensils are nearly non-existent in Sweden. Any place that serves food also has chairs and tables available. 'Take Away' food is rare. Sitting and savoring food, talking to each other is preferred.

Swedes will very frequently pull their car off the road and relieve themselves at the side of the road. (I actually HAD to do that one time!)
I only had to pay to use a toilet 1 time.

Old American cars are quite prevalent, especially out in the smaller cities.

I Love round-a -bouts -  A very efficient way to keep the traffic moving.
I only was honked at 1 time while driving! Swedes are patient and polite. I can see that this traffic system could work very nicely in rural areas where roads cross and there is not heavy traffic. I am not sure how good this would work in high traffic situations.

The population density of Sweden is about 54 ppl/sq mi.  Compare that to Minnesota - 66.6/sq mi, Florida - 350.6/sq mi, California - 239.1, Washington DC - 9856.5/sq mi!

Sweden is a wonderful country to visit, whether you are of Swedish ancestry or not!

I will return, and I am hoping that some of the friends and family I have met will be visiting me here too!