It is officially summer here in Sweden, but, after having spent time in Sicily and Greece recently at fabulous conference, I do find it a bit chilly. But the air is fresh and it is great for working and even doing some exploring. Those of you who are familiar with Swedish culture know that the Swedes celebrate the beginning of summer in grand fashion. The long daylight hours are also wonderful!
This past weekend, we had the pleasure of taking a train to the outskirts of the city of Gothenburg and we were treated to moose stew, made from a local moose, by a colleague of mine. The trick we were told is cooking the moose meat long and adding, would you believe, bacon, beer, and heavy cream. Our hosts took us on a long afterwards and we saw not only their 4 horses but the beautiful lake nearby, which is captured in the photo below. After the trek we had homemade apple rhubarb pie with vanilla cream - heavenly!
What I love about living in different countries and I have been very lucky to hold Fulbrights and various Visiting Professorships (in Sweden, Austria, and Italy) that enable me to do this, is the serendipity of new experiences, sights, people, and adventures. Being out of your usual comfort zone also fuels one's creativity and I love working with new collaborators!
Below are scenes from recent events in Gothenburg, Sweden, that I just stumbled upon when going to lunch or doing errands - from parades to a fashion show in Haga to waffles with blackberries being made and served outdoors to Mama Duck with her ducklings in my favorite park here, Schlottskogan.
And the photo below was emailed to me by a wonderful administrative assistant here at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg, who had taken the photo of the double rainbow last weekend over their summer home, which is a traditional Swedish red house. She told me 20 slept there together last weekend from children to grandmas.
Happy Summer, everyone!
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