Welcome back to the second edition of Titan's/Emery's newsletter!!
Many things have happened since I left MD. It honestly feels like I've been gone for a month, but it's only been like a week tops. Will be a long post but feel free to skip to the pictures hehe.
First, I should introduce you to the second main character of this blog, my very best friend since childhood: Hanna! Here are some facts about her, in no particular order:
She went to Tulane, but lived in Vermont (which is why I've been to Vermont so many times)
We met when we were four years old walking our brothers to the bus stop in Maryland, and have been besties since. She moved to Vermont after sixth grade, but we were badass at long distance friendship and have had so many cool adventures because of it
riding (horses) through the mountains and vineyards in Chile
getting drunk on the Jersey Shore (and also the Adirondacks and the outer banks)
many hikes
She is Swedish! Duh.
Her family is my second family-- we stayed with her Mormor in Gotland
She's allergic to pine nuts
She's three days older than me
She loves Harry Styles and she just went to see him in NYC
I love her more than I love Chesterlander, for context.
Here are some photos of us:
Aren't you glad you now know who the best person that exists is? That's her.
NOW on to our adventures from the past week!
Here's how the departure went:
I took a flight to Boston, Hanna took the bus from Hanover. Another flight from there to Iceland. Then from Iceland to Stockholm, where we took a train and then a tram.
Finally arrived at Lotta's house!! This is Hanna's mom's (We call her Mama Mia) best friend from Childhood. So cute, and hanna and I already have plans for her kids to visit me.
Wandered around Stockholm for a few days
Went on a ferry to Gotland, an island off the coast of Sweden in the Baltic Sea, to see Mormor in Visby.
Stockholm:
Lots of vegan food
"Fika" which is basically Swedish tea time/siesta where you just have a coffee and a cookie/pastry, which we have now partaken in every day
lots of coffee
Not sleeping well because jetlag
Met Henry the Frenchie, Lotta's puppy
Stayed in a guest apartment in Lotta's complex
Lots of bridges-- there's a lot of water in Stockholm which I had NO idea
Took a boat out to Vaxholm, an island in the archipelago, to see cool stuff and have a picnic
All swedes wear black ALWAYS... it's weird
Went out dancing
Most women are blonde. I like Stockholm for that.
I made a friend, Doug, from the north! He said I had "good energy" (?)
Hanna has a good line: "I've never kissed a Swedish man!" She used it twice in one night.
We got drinks off an old Norwegian man in a bar that was really a circular tent on the sidewalk
The bar was FULL of Norwegians??
Doug introduced us to Ricky, the DJ, and Ricky took us (reluctantly) to another bar he was playing at after
Hanna says Ricky was cute, I think it's because he was wearing white (and looked like her ex boyfriend).
Another bar after where I used my Swedish skills to say "Nej" when they asked us for a cover and we didn't have to pay!!
Also I learned many Swedish words! Mostly to refer to dogs, other animals, and flowers, and adjectives to describe dogs and flowers.
Went to the ABBA museum!!
Went to Skansen, an open air museum and zoo
Gotland:
Mormor!! My extra grandma <3
Boats make me sleepy apparently
It's even colder here oh my gosh so windy
Botanical gardens-- my favorite, I learned so many colors in Swedish
Museum of Gotland
story time!
in 1250 the people in Visby started building a wall around the city because they were feeling special and had some money because they're in a good trading port in the ocean. Wanted to keep out the 'countrymen' aka farmers
Farmers of Gotland are understandably a little hurt and start a civil war
the wall is finished in the early 1300s and the farmers lose the civil war
on July 22nd 1361 (like 50 years later max) the Danish king sends his army to Gotland like "F*ck you Sweden! We want this island now!"
the Farmers fight back in their chain mail and their silly heavy outfits but they get pushed all the way back to Visby but oh no! the Traders have closed the gates!!
the Farmers are absolutely slaughtered by the Danish against the walls of Visby; 2000-5000 people died grisly deaths
Once the Farmers are all dead, the traders open the gates, let in the Danish, and give up Gotland to them. The Danish leave on August 28th of the same year
The king gets immediately bored of Gotland and never does anything with the island, the traders live on happily, and then in the mid 1600s there is a peace treaty that just gives it right back to Sweden
like WHAT???
Vegan crepes!
More fika!
Hanna learned about her great great grandpa, who was in the gold rush in Alaska in 1892
Laundry because all our warm clothes are so dirty
Went to a littler island near Gotland
Sand dunes, beaches, fossils, awesome rock formations, tide pools
found a fossil shell (400 million years old!!) and a living jellyfish (a little sandy but doing his best)
Met Hanna's great aunt and uncle, had coffee and then went over to their place for dinner
Went for pretty walks through the town and water
Mormor cooked amazing food for us but was very stressed about my veganism
Everyone was speaking Swedish at breakfast and I just sat there smiling and nodding (I'm excited to get to England lol)
Mormor really got into the Queen's funeral procession
PHOTOS!!
Ya'll's updates!!
These made me so happy to read please send more <3
Demo hopefully survived a hurricane?? Moving in with lots of roomies good luck with that
Astro survived COVID potentially with a new haircut (I'm sure it looks great)
Wilder for some reason has an AOL email address? what year is it?
Asiago prefers homemade cashew ricotta (even though she's the least-vegan vegan that I know) and had a job interview!!
Here is this edition's google form!
Okay! I'll update after London!! Much love <3
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