EuroTrip

November 27-29: Stockholm

So excited to see Drottningholms slott and the rest of the royal grounds, even if King Carl XVI has allegedly had massive orgies in celebration of successful elk hunts and Mafia-run sex parties. I feel like that just comes with the territory of being both a king and King.

November 30-December 6: Amsterdam

Speaking of kings, Amsterdam itself might be great, but the main attractions here are Claire and Thomas. Shenanigans will prevail.

January 6-11: Barcelona

Average temperature in January: 55 degrees Fahrenheit. This is an exponentially better choice than Norway, the original destination.

Christmas and New Year's in Gothenburg

I'm also hoping to fit in a quick trip to Berlin and Wittenberg in December for a bit of a religious pilgrimage. Luther and I go way back. I played him in our church's rendition of the history of the Reformation (still waiting for my Oscar, that "so help me God" speech was powerful stuff, especially when paired with the imitation bowl cut), and when our confirmation class went to see LUTHER: THE MOVIE (okay, it's just called Luther but it's way more effective in all caps and with a colon), Colin Keyser dumped an entire jumbo tub of popcorn on my head. 14-year-old boys are AWESOME.

Looking good, you portly iconoclast, you.

Fact-A-Day Pt. 7

T-1 Day FACT

Gothenburg, a major port city with an extensive network of waterways and industries, was designed by Dutch architects and originally had a vast system of canals that rivaled that of Amsterdam. The canals have since been filled in, but the city remains very much dependent upon the ocean, especially for seafood. Feskekörpa, fish market, translates literally to "fish church;" the daily fish auction at 7 AM is considered a tourist attraction. As someone with a severe case of ichthyophobia, I'm a little worried about the ubiquity of fish (starting in late August, there is a Crayfish Festival, a Fermented Herring Festival, and a Salmon Festival), but also eager to finally conquer my fear. The first attempts, going to APO semiformal at the National Aquarium, proved relatively successful, so who knows? Maybe I'll be a seafood fanatic come June.

BONUS FACT: The streets of Gothenburg are heated from underneath to prevent egregious buildup of snow on the roads. This seems a lot more efficient than throwing salt on the roads at the first signs of winter weather.

Fact-A-Day, Pt. 4

T-4 Days FACT

November 6 marks Gustav Adolf Day, a commemoration of the death of Gustav II Adolf at the Battle of Lützen in 1632 (I finally learned how to type accents on a Mac! I am very pleased with myself). Gustav II Adolf, grandson of Gustav Vasa, who made the Lutheran State Church the official church of Sweden, oversaw the the acquisition of Baltic territories, establishing a glorious kingdom. He also okayed the death penalty for those who converted to Catholicism, which was much less heady. He ultimately met his demise two years after entering into the Thirty Years War, back when those who made the decision to go to war actually had to, well, go. The Swedes celebrate Gustav Adolf Day by eating a chocolate or marzipan medallion of the fallen king; there is also a statue in Gothenburg of Gustav pointing to a spot on the ground in which he declared, "The town will be here," and it is a place of much dancing and celebrating every sixth of November.

Heady, right? I'm waving my finger out my bedroom window and proclaiming that it is the future home of Haackville, but my minions are a bit slow on the statue-erecting.

This is a really, really spotty and abridged recounting of Sweden's glory days, but I have a really poor sense of history thanks to European history teacher in high school who only talked about China, spent 20 minutes a class saying "um" (we did the math), and was overall just really, really really dumb. Like, probably dumber than those AXOs who recounted their mixer to us one night on the LA Quad:

"It was a mixer, you know? Like, a tossed salad. Tossed salaaaaaaaad!"

Vegetable Amalgamation, or Greek Social Function?