p * a * c * k * i * n * g

packing.

again.

for the nth time.

starting to develop a routine.

one box to Australia.

one box to Sweden.

one suitcase to bring along.

very.

heavy.

boxes.

mr celsius

The weather is a prankster. One week ago Eden Prairie experienced temperatures around -10 Celsius. It was windy too. Totaly uncosy.

Yesterday: +25 Celsius. I went out jogging around 6pm. In shorts and t-shirt.

sweet.

stockholm abroad

since i am leaving this country in a few days and the weather is exceptionally wunderschön, it felt like a sweet thing to do: a roadtrip.

a small one.

fill up the ford with gasoline - cheaper than anywhere else. half an euro per liter. sick! we don't want this, bush.

anyway.

i decided to go to wisconsin. driving to another state and all that you know, a very cool thing to do. right.

i had a big map of minnesota and wisconsin, with all the roads and bigger towns indicated. not the small ones. i headed south-east to cross the mississippi and visited such fun places as hastings, cannon falls and something i wanted to see: vasa. nothing much, just a couple of roads. many farms. and cows. like in småland.

the pioneers in minnesota were mostly german, scandinavian and irish. it is also what you can find in this towns: irish pubs and items of infrastructure called bavaria and småland road.

i got an icecream in one of the towns. the size was medium. the price was $2,12 - with tax - and the european size was xxxxl. it could feed a whole family on a sunday walk.

driving along the mississippi is not a boring thing to do in the springtime. the view is great.

i went on to wisconsin. it was dark already, 8pm, but still warm, 15 degrees C.

empty roads.

45, 50, 60 miles per hour.

then i see the sign.

Stockholm
Population 97

20 miles per hour. an open bar. park the car.

i walk into the pub. it is not difficult for people to recognize a stranger. i must smell alien from as many yards as visibility allows.

everybody says hi. very much like in the song of dawid bowie.

cool.

i get a beer. weissbier from munich. hehe, i'm home.

there is a band playing blues. a local band. the best f***ing band i've seen during the five months in this Godforgotten country. and they are playing in stockholm, wisconsin. population 97.

they are really f***ing great. they just need a producer. or not. i don't tell them.

i talk to two of the guys at the bar, they are both of german descent. we are laughing when i say that i am from sweden. the original one.

i get to look in the photo album that the bar has compiled. there are photos from all the special occasions of the last year. st. patricks, midsummer and all others. there is a cometogether on every midsommer when people come from far away. cool. interesting pictures. if you know the people on them. i watch anyway, turning two pages at once to make it go quicker.

one of the guys is drinking beck's light. Prost! -he says - we are both having german beer.

i drink up, shake hands and say goodbye. they say goodbye too. everyone is looking at me as i walk to the car. the whole town. everyone in stockholm. population 97. i hurry to the car.

in another hour something i am back in eden prairie. it takes only one hour from stockholm to eden prairie.

stockholm, population ninetyf***ingseven.

with some speeding of course.

modern art, put it in the museum

The Museum of Modern Art was good, but nothing compared to the Guggenheim - if you're in NY and have time for only one single museum, choose the Guggenheim, you won't be disappointed! You'll see paintings. You'll se photographies. You'll wander seven floors up in a spiral, not ascending a single stair. You will be tipped off taking pictures. You will not be confused.

coco dreams

Johanna and the coconut

back in da eden

So one is back in the eden after a gorgeous ten days on manhattan, the land best described by it's ipod density - around four per capita.... here is a shot from the apple store on the 5th avenue - this is the place you come to see tourists, nerds, apple's industrial design for masses and to check your email :)

btw, if you're looking for something to put into your ipod - try with the similou with "all this love".... the spring is in the air.... :D

arrived at jfk

Great cheers from jfk new york!!!! There were only twenty people on the airplane - among them two jewish boys carying huge toy-cars (bigger than them). They were to big to put in the compartments (the cars not the boys... well both i guess) so it took some time to figure it out for the flight atendants. We were sprayed with a hot shower to defreeze the aircraft and finaly one hour delayed and I had some two-three hours quality sleeping time - the first time I have slept on a plane!!!! Yeeeeeeey!!!! :D

report from minneapolis airport

there are people here wearing shorts and t-shirt, obviously they are not going to canada but rather dani cali....

some czechs and jewes too - obviously heading to nyc or chicago as this son of poland is :D

cheers!!!!!!!

Chicago

After two beautiful weeks in Ontario, I am now heading back to Minneapolis. The flight from Toronto to Chicago was delayed one hour and I had twelve minutes to run to the Chicago-Minneapolis flight. I had no idea how far it was, but my flight neighbour meant that the two terminals are connected, so one doesn't have to take the train as is the case going to terminal 3. Big airport! I did the run in astonishing three minutes, just to discover that this flight is likewise delayed. So I have some quality surfing time on O'Hare, one hour to midnight and still having a couple of states to cross tonight. It is -10 degrees Celcius in Chicago right now, but I see a guy in shorts, probably heading home from Vegas :) A Chinese girl is sleeping a couple of seats away, I don't think I want to know how many connections she missed today. Four guys wearing jerseys of Hungarys national team in some not yet guessed sport are here too, seems like half of the World is represented at gate number four, terminal one, Chicago O'Hare - waiting for a flight to Minneapolis.

Thanksgiving

Last Thursday was the big Turkey day - Thanksgiving. I celebrated at Nancy's sister's house in Waizata, just next to a long lake. The nature around reminds me of central Sweden, or Värmland, really cool :) The weather was extremely warm, +15 C, everyone being amazed, cause they usually shuffle snow at Thanksgiving.... We had around 15 people over, mostly Americans, but also a guy from Libya. There was the prayer, the turkey, the mashed sweet potatoes, pistache salad with marshmallows :$ and lots of wine. I had a bottle of Torres from Catalunya, making me miss Barcelona even more. The food was very good, as expected, but that marshmallow sallad.... was a new taste to me.

The Friday after Thanksgiving is called the Black Friday. This is a major sales day and some of the stores open already at 4 am. Since I thought that would be too early, I went there at 5 am instead. I didn't know before, that you could make Americans line up in a queue, but you really can. As long as you put really necessary crap on sale, it's a piece of cake. I found myself purchasing a minnesota vikings football jersey. And the dollar is still getting cheaper.... OH MY, OH MY.......

Natascha

Bob & wine

Natascha & Boris (almost)

From left: Nancy, not Nancy, Nancys sister....

Bob and wine again, the perfect combination....

Black Friday - extremely long line, 5 am

Rush for crappy portable dvd-players

Chillin' pig

Minnesota vikings dude!

Holiday

My first long weekend in the States - Today I am invited to a Thanksgiving dinner (actually two). I wonder how big the turkey will be? The Canadians gave thanks in October. Wonder how big Tigas turkey was?

Shopping big time

Today's attraction was the Mall of America, the largest mall in this over-sized country, which I explored together with one of my Danish colleagues visiting this distant office of ours. In numbers, this mall counts for 40 million visitors per year, 390.000 m2 gross area, 520 stores, 12.000 employees and 20.000 parking lots, as well as a theme park with two rollercoasters (yes, indoors). The most Danish element is the Lego store, although testing one of the red iPod nanos in the Apple store, someone had changed the menu language to Danish. It was not my colleague, which was really, really strange... The most Swedish element - the one and only IKEA. I like! We rounded off by dining at a family restaurant with a very specific theme - hooters. If you're just after the food, go anywhere else...

Big balls at Mall of America

Going to US

I am now officially on my way to the States. The Amsterdam - Minneapolis flight which I was supposed to take was cancelled, so I had to stay in Cph until now and am flying over Chicago instead. I've had four hours of waiting, but under controlled circumstances in the KLM lounge, with free food, booze and Internet. Dangerous :p States, here I come!