funnyvalentine

This is one of the most beautiful places I’ve lived. There’s tons of beautiful nature all around you, and you live, work, etc. on a series of islands, so, if you like the ocean, then this is the place for you. The swans all have their babies in the spring, and it’s beautiful. It’s a small city (60,000 or so people, total), and not one I would recommend for vacation during the long, dark Swedish winters, but it’s quite livable otherwise. The ABSOLUTE BEST interior design store in the city is to the right (if you’re facing Wayne’s) and across the street from the Wayne’s Coffee downtown. Also, the Wayne’s Coffee is pretty good, as well as the 1344 (“tre/ton for/tee fee/ra”, in Swedish) Café. Both have reasonable prices and great places to sit. However, other than those and one pizza joint downtown, whose name escapes me right now, I would recommend eating mostly at home. Not because the food is bad here, but just because you can save a lot of money by eating things from the Willy’s or the LIDL grocery stores, which are really close to the “centrum” (downtown)and ridiculously cheap. Keep in mind, also, that things close really really early here, so it’s not a “get out and party” place, but more a place where you can learn to live simply and be closer to nature and nice people. Also, unlike in Stockholm and “Göteborg” (Gothenburg), most people will not automatically speak to you in English, so it is good to learn some Swedish ahead of time. You can search for free courses over the net. Then, once you’ve learned enough to start practicing it with others, check out spraychat.se . Just know that the way you write Swedish and the way you speak it have very little relation to each other, once you factor in the language’s tonality (it sounds like you’re singing when you speak…or like you are putting the wrong emPHAsis on the wrong sylLABle). Hmm…what else? OH! Go to the Stortorget. Go to the Stortorget. Go to the Stortorget. Really. And, while you are there, check out Glassiären Ice Cream (the place with the bright green awning), which is, as I understand it, only open during the summers. They make their own waffle cones, and they have the BEST, weirdest ice cream flavors. Try “persika kardemumma,” which is peach cardemom (sp?)-flavored, and AWESOME. So is the almond-banana flavor (“mandel banan,” in Swedish). Also try “Apelsin sorbet,” which is a really tart/sweet orange sorbet that tastes a thousand times better than the kind you had when you were a kid. OH! And you can rent kayaks to go around in the ocean for about 25 or 35 crowns an hour, and I haven’t done this yet, but I know people who have, and they universally loved it. They also say to “pay extra for the fancier kayak, or else you will spend a lot of time in the water.” Keep it in mind. Sorry, I don’t know where to rent the kayaks, but, once you learn Swedish, you can ask the locals yourself!