My first week in Stockholm, it was literally sunny every single day. Each day I would traipse around the city enjoying the sights, the weather, and meeting new family members. And every time I met another family member they would tell me how lucky I have been with the weather. I started to respond that until Sweden proved me wrong, I was going to continue believing it was sunny and beautiful every single day of the year. Stockholm's weather took my bet and threw it back in my face.
During the entire second week of my stay in Stockholm it was cold and rained every single day. In fact, yesterday was June 2 and Stockholm enjoyed record lows in their weather temperatures. It was colder yesterday than it evidently was for Christmas here in Stockholm this past December. While spending time with my cousins, Annica and Peder, in their home yesterday, they even offered to light a fire in their fireplace!! I will watch my words the next time I dare to taunt Sweden's weather patterns ever again.
Today, predictably, I woke up to the lovely gray of a rainy chill. Despite this lovely Swedish weather, I was excited to be spending the day with my grand-cousin (my grandfather's cousin) and his family. After taking the bus, the subway, and then the train, Torbjorn, Ulla-Britt (his wife), and Hakan (their oldest son) picked me up from the station in Akesberg, Sweden. We visited with their younger son's family and then drove around the town of Akesberg to enjoy sights. Although Akesberg is still considered part of Stockholm, it is a bit more out in the country and thus boasts a higher density of those quintessential Swedish red stugas with white gables. Despite how frequent these homes and cottages are in the country, I never tire of seeing them. They are beautiful. We visited lakes, the sea, and a small town (basically a village) called Wira Bruk. This small town is famous in Sweden for its blacksmith. This town, with its blacksmith and metalworks, is incredibly picturesque and has been around longer than the United States has existed as a country.
After returning to Torbjorn and Ulla-Britt's home, Torbjorn, the distinguished chef that he proved himself to be, prepared a delicious dinner. Then, in glorious Swedish tradition, a tradition I have come to love, we all enjoyed a cup of coffee.
(I am off to Uppsala tomorrow. Here's to hoping to sunshine and warmth)
My grand-cousin Torbjorn and I
at the train station in Akesberg, Sweden