Reminises on Scotland and Sweden.

I have been home for a week now and as I sit writing this I am awaiting a call from the hospital announcing the birth of our new little grand daughter!

There are no wash cloths or top sheets in Europe, as far as I can tell.  This makes sense from a water conservation standpoint but seems a bit strange to us Americans.  The bathrooms are cleaner in Scotland and in Sweden than they are here, maybe we should have to pay for their use too.  One learns to carry change pretty quickly!  No toilet seat covers again makes sense from an ecological point of view but I did miss them.... a lot!  I visited my first large unisex lavatory in the Uppsala train station.  Strangely enough, it didn't seem strange.

Salad in Scotland and Sweden did not come in large sizes as over here and most often did not include dressing.  Vegetables seem like an afterthought, especially in Sweden.  The grocery stores we visited in Sweden were much better stocked (more choices) than those in Scotland but we were shopping in Skye and Oban which are smaller than Uppsala.   A near grocery disaster in Uppsala:  I wanted some butter, but not too much so I was scanning the dairy case for a small package.  I found something that looked like a cube of butter in two different "versions" (the packages had different colored labels).  Trying to distinguish the differences and find familiar words was proving difficult so I asked a fellow shopper for assistance.  Most younger people in Sweden speak excellent English, but this woman was about my age.  She told me that it was for making things big.... it took me a moment to figure out that it was yeast... Yes, she said, yeast (jäst).  That would not have been good on toast!  She kindly showed me the butter (smör).  Robin and I noticed as we were looking at the menu in Grinda, toward the end of our trip, that we understood most of the menu items!  Dill is very big in Sweden; Gravad lax is very good; raw salmon cured with dill .  I saw a lot of shrimp, in salad, in sandwiches and whole in a bowl!  Räkor is shrimp....  Both countries had venison on the menus in many places.

Hej or Hej Hej (pronouced Hey or Hey hey) is the greeting in Sweden.  I still find myself saying it!

People in both countries were very warm and friendly.  They wanted to know where we were from, what we thought of their homes and food etc.  Uppsala was very comfortable, it felt like a place I would be happy to live in, if only the winters were less harsh... and dark!

I was surprised by the diversity in Sweden.  I saw a number of brown and black faces, considering the history and the population.  Sweden did accept a number of refugees from Iran and Iraq and also have a number of Romani people.  The children in Sweden were remarkably well behaved.  The family unit appears to be very important to the Swedish people.  Also, this is going to sound weird, the livestock there were beautiful!  They looked like 4H projects! 

If I had an extra suitcase and some extra money I could have come home with a boatload of clothes from Uppsala.  The clothes in Sweden were really cute!  I was sorely tempted by the woolens in Scotland and had to keep reminding myself that I live in California, and would end up admiring the lovely woolen garment from the hanger.  There were some great "hariy coo" slippers in Sky that I wanted to get the grandchildren but was spatially aware enough to recognize that I had no way of getting them home!

I am in love with the west coast of Scotland!  The mistake we made was moving about too much; trying to see too much.  I would like to go back and stay put for a week or two, taking day trips out from a base and really get to know a community.  Glencoe was fabulous, I really want to see more of it, as was Mull and Skye.  I can see another trip to Scotland in my future!  Maybe using Oban as a base town for a week or two. The photo day with Sam Jones of Islandscape Photography on Mull was a highlight of the trip.  I would love to sign up for one of her two day workshops and spend a couple of nights on Mull.  I also really want to get up to the Orkney Islands to see Skara Brae....

So many places to go; so little time and money!