I’ve spent the last three days elbow-deep in fellow travel blogs, twitter, Facebook – you name it, I’ve been there. I’m setting the computer down and slowly backing away (as Martin has started to complain that he misses his wife) but before I do, I’d like to introduce a little thing that I’ve fallen in [...]
“I’m really fat right now!” Martin declared, out of the blue. This honest expletive was made last night during our evening sauna. Grabbing a little (microscopic, really) bulge on his stomach, he looked up at me in a slight state of shock. Having been a life-long skinny guy, this new addition was a bit [...]
We’re on a little detour from our trip – a month spent at Martin’s parent’s home in Northern Sweden – which means two things: home cooked food and free, limitless internet. So, I’m eating all the stodgy food I can fit in while finally getting around to back-end work on the website. First up: [...]
You packed your bag two weeks ago, boarded a plane on your own and flew to a country you’d never been to before. You ate food you’d never eaten, baked bread like a champ and brought a little San Diego sunshine with you. Thank you, Mom. Thank you for making the long trip to [...]
We all (and by all, I mean anyone that isn’t Scandinavian) know what a proper sauna is. It’s a hot room that you sit in for a while, then move onto something more stimulating, right? Well, it took marrying a Swede to realize that I knew exactly nada-nothing-zilch about saunas. They really know how [...]
Martin’s family have been in the wood business in one way or another for a number of generations. Rolf, Martin’s dad, is a carpenter – just like his father before him. We took a stroll down memory lane with a visit to the family workshop a few days ago. Rolf and his brother Curt gave [...]
An old Swedish proverb says, “A couple that braids together, stays together.” OK, fine. That’s not necessarily a Swedish proverb. Actually, I’m not sure anyone has said that before, but I’m saying it now. So, on that note, here’s my recipe for relationship success: a touch (aka a few bottles) of wine, a [...]
Yes, I promised that my last post on the subject would be my last. Well, call me what you will – a liar, a hater maybe – but the Diaper Pants rant is back. This time, it’s a Swedish edition. I saw these for sale in Lulea, northern Sweden’s largest town. The reflection [...]
You may have noticed that I call Martin out on his nerdiness a lot. I do it because I can. If a wife can’t use the internet to poke fun at her amazing husband, where can she? In the name of fairness, I have to make a confession: I’m a nerd, too. I [...]
I stand corrected! Can you believe it? The baking house, in which we baked a boat-load of bread last summer (check out our video of it here), is not a Swedish tradition – it’s only a tradition in this area of Sweden. So, as I said, I stand corrected. I guess it’s just these [...]
I’m an American. I’m not an Australian when I’m in Indonesia. I’m not a Canadian when I’m in Vietnam. I don’t sew another country’s flag on my backpack in an attempt to conceal my nationality. (Yes, I’ve seen that happen) I’m a traveling American woman and guess what? That’s OK. I don’t have [...]
The arctic circle is a latitudinal line that defines the top 1/8th of the earth as the Arctic. As you can expect, it’s damn cold up there. Beautiful scenery abounds, as there is far more nature than inhabitants. But, like I said, it’s damn cold. Most people visit in summer, when temperatures are more bearable. [...]
Martin’s family lives far from everything – except the Ice Hotel, of course. So, what’s the Ice Hotel, you ask? Only the coldest, sweetest hotel this side of the arctic circle. We hit it up today and much to our surprise, it was actually amazing (though a wee bit smelly). Check it out…
My Mom is here for two weeks, staying with us in the Engstrom family home. That could be a very scary thing, considering neither of the parents speak the same language. In-laws together, who can’t understand one another for two weeks? Possible recipe for disaster. Thankfully, they love one another – as you can [...]
Last time it was the “How to slaughter a moose” video. This visit it’s foxes strung up on a house. Northern Sweden is light years away from where I grew up. How did the girl from sunny southern California end up with a boy from northern Sweden? Fate really does have a fantastic sense [...]
You know the saying, “to fly by the seat of your pants?” Well, that's been our philosophy for most of our adult lives – before and after meeting, falling in love and marrying. We're now taking that idea on an extended round-the-world trip. Follow us as we share the good, the bad and the downright nasty of life on the road.
