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Location : Arild(near Helsingborg), Sweden.
Lund
You know, it's funny but it seems most of the travellers I meet while on the road are from this region of Sweden - Skane. So it has been a real privelege to be able to see what life is like over here. Lund is a pretty quaint town, very pretty, cobbled streets, old buildings, etc.
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Like most European towns/cities, there is always a cathedral. When I first saw the cathedral, I quipped to Anna, "The church looks rotten" and she laughed. Well, I was being a bit cheeky but I suppose that's how it's supposed to look - old and rustic.
Sarah's Birthday Dinner Party
Last night I went down to Malmo for the birthday dinner party of a girl I met in Kuala Lumpur, Sarah. She's so lovely as when I met her - bubbly, cheerful, a bit crazy and so good for a laugh! It's been a while since I have heard so much Swedish being spoken around me it felt like I was back on Perhentian Islands for a while. Bless Sarah and her girlfriends because they tried so hard to stick to speaking English(to be polite) but they constantly drifted back into Swedish. Even one of the drinking games we played contained a punishment for anyone caught speaking Swedish instead of English. However, the more wine they drank, the more Swenglish they spoke! I totally understand the difficulty in speaking another language other than your mother tongue because there have been many times when I speak Malay with my mates on the island simply because I keep forgetting we should be speaking English to be polite to the foreigners in our presence!
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At the dinner party, it felt great to witness how some Swedish birthday celebrations are organised - it's all about eating GOOD FOOD and drinking. I never knew Sarah was such a good cook! She had just spent one year in Italy and she picked up Italian cooking. On the buffet table she prepared, the food was mostly Italian dishes but there was also Japanese sushi(along with soya sauce and wasaaaaaaaaabi) and Thai sesame chicken with sweet chilli sauce. Yum yum yum..... Isn't that so culturally sensitive? It makes me wonder if most Swedish citizens are like that or am I just lucky to have Swedish friends who have been to Asia.
One other thing that surprised me was the fact that I always thought there were not many smokers in Sweden. I'd imagined that I would feel like what I felt a little when I was travelling New Zealand - if you were a smoker in NZ, you would be a little bit outcast. Again, this could be the fact that I just happened to have hungout with non-smokers during my time in NZ. Well, my mates here in Sweden smoked quite a bit during the party, I suppose just to be sociable. I doubt if any of them are serious chimney career smokers like me.
Tonight, I'm staying overnight at Arild, a little village near Molle or Helsingborg. Anna's parents have a house on a hill overlooking the ocean! Will take more pics to show you guys soon....
Posted by Ripcord at November 25, 2006 06:32 PMfrickin smokers :)
Posted by: stevie at November 26, 2006 09:00 PMAaaah...
It's been a fair few years since I was in Helsinborg; my grandparents lived there and I visited every few years. Haven't been back since they passed away. I also had an aunt in Lund.
I just realised that it's been 6 years since I was last in Sverige, I must make a trip back soon...
Have fun there, bring me back a Dajm ice cream!
Posted by: Someone else at November 26, 2006 09:20 PMNice PINK shirt.. lovely :)
Posted by: brains at November 27, 2006 03:55 AMhei there ... yes i'm from 'there' :) ... can't seem to reply via pda yahoo mail. So this shd do for now. Mail me ur msn mgr. tt'd be best! talk to u soon ...
Posted by: philomena at November 27, 2006 11:54 AMNice pink shirt indeed! On the snap between Andrias and Sarah, were you standing on the phone book? ;-)
I visited Stockholm 3 years ago, very nice city and in October the streets were not crowded. But I can't remember having seen such cute ladies you met at this birthday party! I was wondering if the Swedish girl was a pure cliche. I am glad you revive the myth :-))
have a safe trip back. Will see u back in KL next yr if u're still there.
Seems like the pink shirt made a few comments....what's wrong? i'm trying to get in touch with my feminine side... =)
Posted by: Ripcord at November 28, 2006 01:20 PMThe pink shirt is nice.. that is why it had a few mentions.. and nice pink sweater in the following posting too .. pink seems to be in at the mo for you.
Posted by: brains at December 1, 2006 03:20 AM