Backpacking

Have you heard about the 'Bremer Stadtmusikanten' (Town Musicians of Bremen), a fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm, where four overworked and ageing animals, a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster, making their way to Bremen. Then you know at least something about Bremen. The city was established by Charlemagne in 787 and was back then known as the 'Rome of the North', because it was used as the main base for Christianising Scandinavia. In 1358 Bremen was ready to join the Hanseatic League and in 1646 it became a free imperial city, a status it sort of still enjoys today as a 'Free Hanseatic City' (Freie Hansestadt Bremen).

The mid-size city of Bremen (550.000 inhabitants) offers a wonderfully relaxing short break, with its unexpectly impressive old town centre - with Art Nouveau and medieval buildings alike -, shop-lined mini-maritime quarter and lots of cafes and restaurants. Everything is within walking distance.

You might wonder why I am praising this city this much. Well, it's no wonder, I have been studying and living in Bremen for four years and had, of course, an excelent time as a student. During my studies I made many friends (lovely people) and one very special one is, Meike. We became best friends and enjoyed our student life together, with all that entails. After our studies Meike married to Carsten and they got two kids, Mieke, who became my godchild, and Caja.

The reason for visiting Bremen was, of course, to visit Meike, Carsten, Mieke and Caja, the Lilje family.They live in Liliental, in the nothern part of Bremen, in a lovely house. We arrived on Saturday and had fun, talking, playing games, eating good food and walking in the rain. Well, the weather wasn't too pleasant, it rained almost all the time. But equipped with an umbrella, it wasn't too much of a problem. On Sunday we had breakfast in the city centre of Bremen and we strolled around in the Schnoor quarter, a former maritime and then red-light district, which today has a quaint maze of restaurants, cafes and boutique shops. We even found a Christmas shop, a strange thing to see in the middle of summer.

We had a great time!!! Thanks, Meike, Carsten, Mieke and Caja!!! Hope to see you soon again.

Lots of love,

Sabrina and Fredrik

The 18th of July we arrived at Hanover airport where my parents, Inge (short for Ingeborg) and Helmut,

and my niece, Nele,

welcomed us. After an hours drive we arrived in Seelenfeld, my home village. I grew up in this tiny, tiny village and lived there until I was 21. About 300 people live in Seelenfeld and the closest mid-size town, Minden (80.000 inhabitants), is about 25 km away. Around Seelenfeld there are many small villages and the typical German country life (what ever that means) predominates.

The house where my parents live is quite big.

It used to be a farmhouse but it was rebuilt by my father, a passionate professional and private builder, during many years and now the house seems like a labyrinth. In fact, people have got lost there!!! Since there is enough room for several families in the house, my sister Andrea and her husband Michaėl

and their, for the most of the time, adorable kids, Nele and Joss, and their cat, Lotti,
live there too.

We enjoyed spending time together, talking, laughing, partying, playing, babysitting, singing, screaming, swimming, shopping, eating etc. See yourself!!!!

Thanks for a wonderful time!!!!

Love,

Sabrina and Fredrik

Gotland is Sweden’s largest island and lies in the Baltic Sea. It was a sovereign country for many hundreds of years until it became a part of the Swedish realm. The entire island is still full of ruins, artefacts and memories from its period of greatness during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages it was a prominent member of the Hanseatic league.

Gotland is a popular holiday resort for Swedes and foreigners alike. It offers beautiful sand beaches, hotels and apartments, good quality restaurants and cafes, a vastness of nature and events and festivities during the summer months.

Our friend Anna and her fireman, Erik, live on Gotland who we stayed with. Thanks for having us!!!! Erik, a real “Gotlänning”, showed us the southern tip of the island, with Anna we went to Visby, Gotlands province capital.

We also visited the Björk family (Tobias, Karolina, Vera, Alrik and Gunnar) at their ‘summer house’. A beautiful place!!!

At Visby we also visited Gotland’s Fornsal, a museum that has a collection of rune stones and other artefacts dating back over 8 000 years. Cool stuff!!!

We had a great time on Gotland!!!!

Love,

Sabrina and Fredrik

Stockholm has 1.7 million inhabitants and is Swedens capital. The city is built upon 14 islands and the water covers one third of the city area this is why Stockholm is often referred to as Venice of the North. It is surrounded by Lake Mälaren and by the Baltic Sea. The maritime life is an important aspect of the city. There are plenty of bridges, marinas and locks. The water is so clean that you can, in fact, catch salmon or take a swim in the middle of the city, just a few minutes walk from the city centre. Be aware though that the water can be somewhat chilly.

Stockholm has been our home town for 3 years and we loved to live in this Nordic capital. The city has a lot to offer from cultural events over shopping to activities in the nearby nature. Some of our best friends live in Stockholm who we wanted to visit and spend time with. We stayed at Karin, David and Anton’s place in Farsta Strand and met with David and Tobias one night. We hadn’t seen each other for quite some time and enjoyed a lot the get-together. A part from having fun with our friends, we did an awful lot of shopping (mostly stuff for our Russia, Mongolia and China trip) and NO sightseeing this time, therefore NO photos. Sorry!!!!

Many thanks to Karin, David and Anton for having us!!!

Loads of love,

Sabrina and Fredrik

We arrived in Sweden on the 14 of July and were amazed by the green and spacious landscapes, the fresh air, the tranquility and the somewhat cold blowing wind. We felt cold, but no wonder after having experienced constant warm climate for 3 and a half years. It felt great though to be back in Sweden.

For those of you who are not that familiar with Sweden, the country is located in the northern parts of Europe (you probably knew that already) and has roughly the size of California or Spain and twice that of the United Kingdom. Only about 9 million people live in Sweden, which means there is a lot of space! The Nordic country has vast areas of forests, beautiful lakes, scenic coastlines and idyllic islands. The wilderness areas of Norrland (northern parts of Sweden) have the legendary midnight sun in summer, where the sun never sets for several weeks, arctic mountains, marvelous hiking trails and….. lots of mosquitoes.

The day we arrived at the Arlanda airport in Stockholm (Sweden’s capital) we got a ride by Kurt, Fredriks uncle, who took us to Köping, Fredriks birth and hometown.

Köping lies in the province of Västmanland on the western shore of Lake Mälaren, Swedens third-largest lake. It is situated in a mineral and timber rich area known as Bergslagen. There are several forests at the outskirts of the city which has 20.000 inhabitants. Here you can do many sports and outdoor activities.

Fredrik’s mom, Helen, and dad, Lars, live in Köping as well as a big portion of the rest of the family and relatives. We stayed at Helens and Jonnys and enjoyed winding down after all that traveling on the American continent. We loved eating Swedish food (we probably gained about 3 kilos each) and spending time with the family. From time to time we went jogging in the nearby forest and enjoyed eating out for lunch with grandma (Mormor), Marie. We also visited Lars and Marita and their dog Sigge at their cute little summer house, now permanent home, at the Lake Mälaren.

We enjoyed it to the full!!! Who wouldn’t?

Lots of love,

Sabrina and Fredrik

PS: Kära familj, tack så mycket för den här gången. Vi kommer gärna tillbaka.