November in Lund

I am coming to the end of my time here in Lund, with less than four weeks left. The time seems to have slipped by, as have the hours of sunlight and the warmer winds of summer and early fall.
















The leaves on the trees have lost their bright fall colors, and have begun their process of turning rejoining soil. The bare trees are beautiful silhouetted against the grey sky that looks like it is about to dump snow on us, but has yet to do so.












There is still some green that has managed to stick around despite the cold weather and it sticks out among the browns and grays that seem to have taken over the town.













I now understand why there are so many colorful houses and bright lights around. The sun is definitely showing itself less these days, starting to set at around 3:30, and I know it is only going to get darker in this last month that I am here.

This past weekend the city of Lund was lit up to bring in the holiday season. There are candles in practically every window downtown, and decorative lights are strung across all of the shopping streets. Somehow, even though the cold winds are sweeping across the streets and freezing my nose off, the lights everywhere make me feel warmer and even happy to be outside in the cold.







Sitting in a café and letting a latte warm me from the inside while surrounded by fantastic friends seems like the perfect activity in these cold and dark late-November days.












Sarah, Maria and I spent hours in Café Ariman the other day reading, knitting, writing and discussing our futures, while slowly sipping our over-priced drinks. It is going to be hard to leave this amazing place!

Winter at the Småland Glass Factories

The flat farmland surrounding Lund turned to snow-dusted fields and then to snow-covered forests as we drove north to Småland, the area just above Skåne. The wintery wonderland made me nostalgic for Vermont, and think about Christmas. And although the three and a half hour drive in the bus was a bit tiresome, the scenery and the forests of central, southern Sweden made the trip worth it.

The international office at LU organized a trip to visit the glass factories of Småland, which Sweden is apparently famous for. The chandeliers in the Kennedy Center in D.C. were made in Orrefors, one of the factories we visited. We stopped at three factories, Kosta Boda, Målerås, and Orrefors.

At Kosta Boda, we watched as the teams of glassblowers magically created decorative colored vases, delicate long-stemmed champagne glasses, and everything in between. We were allowed to stand very close to the artists, and watch as they went about their work.












A guide gave us the history of the factory, and context to why the factories were located there. Two hundred years ago, before other sources of heat could be used, wood was how they heated the glass, and Småland, with all of the forests, was the perfect area, and located in the center of the southern part of Sweden the glass could easily be transported. The factories used to use sand from Sweden to make the glass, which gave it a greenish tint, but as that is a sign of impurity, they now import sand from Germany. What a funny commodity to import!

At the two other factories, we didn’t get a tour, but we were able to look around in their factory gift shops where they have the “imperfect” pieces for purchase. Everyone loaded up on Christmas presents and holiday gifts for family and friends.

Prague, November 9-12

Prague. Enchanting. Timeless. Magnificent.
I visited Prague this weekend with a group of UC students. It was not an organized trip, we just planned it on our own, and all decided to come on the same weekend. We flew into Prague on Friday afternoon, settled into our hostel, and walked to the city center just as the sun was setting. Maria’s friend who had just visited Prague suggested a restaurant, and that is where we ate dinner. It was a cozy little place that seemed to attract a more dressed up crowd, but our meals with pasta, wine and tiramisu cost about $6usd. We were definitely all asking ourselves why on earth we chose to study in a country where you pay that much for a café latte. After our meal we walked to the Charles Bridge, the famous pedestrian bridge across the Vltava River. Since it was dark and around dinner time, the usual crowd on the bridge had dissipated somewhat, and looking over the water at all of the lights that illuminate the castle, buildings and streets gave a feeling of enchantment, as well as the Christmas spirit, coming a bit early.
We walked up the other side of the water to the castle and looked out over the whole city. I found it amazing that I could see so much of the city because it is on so many different levels. As we climbed up a staircase, which seemed like more of a street for pedestrians, we found a little café selling hot, spiced wine. I gladly bought a cup that warmed up my whole body. The view from the castle was ever more special since I was drinking a hot cup of wine, and I felt like it was December already and everyone was getting ready for Christmas.


We stopped by the John Lennon wall, which used to be a huge painting off his face, but he has been mostly covered up by other paintings now. It is still quite beautiful though, and is much more than just Lennon.


We made our way back to the hostel through all of the sparkling lights and chilly winds, in the beautiful city of Prague. We ended the night in a little bar where beers were about fifty cents apiece.


It snowed at night, and I ran outside in the morning to feel it, even though there wasn’t very much. The Clown & Bard hostel where we stayed serves a free breakfast, which consists of hard-boiled eggs, toast, cereal and an assortment of condiments, as well as coffee, tea, whole milk and juice. It was great not to have to find a place to eat so early in the day, and our $12usd/night really paid off! The breakfast was served in the basement of the hostel that also doubles as a bar at night. It is a great way to meet people from all over, and I definitely had some interesting conversations.


After breakfast, we braved the cold and rain to see all of the sights we had seen the night before, only in the light. We climbed all of the way up the church tower and looked out over the whole city. The view was incredible, but the sky was a little hazy, and photographs could not catch the beauty of the scene, although I made many attempts.



Since we were a lot of people, there was quite a bit of time spent waiting for others, and that got a little frustrating. The cold made the waiting even harder, as did the rain. It never stopped us from exploring, though, and I really feel like we saw so much in the three days we were there. I would love to visit again in the summer sometime, when the sun stays up past 4pm, and you can feel your nose, fingers and toes.

Gdansk, Poland October 28-30

I went with an international student organization on a cruise to Gdansk, Poland. Because it was a cruise, we only spent a day in Poland, and the rest of the time was on the boat.
Gdansk is the city where the solidarity movement against Communism began in Poland. Our first stop was Solidarity Square, with a huge statue depicting the movement against Communism. The tall statue going up represents the shipyard workers, who went on strike and started the solidarity movement. Each of the three structures going up break out of the hard cement that represents Communism, and get more sturdy and solid as they get taller, showing the strength of the movement. There are carvings showing the workers themselves as well as dates of certain important events that took place. There are concentric circles that go out around the statue which represent the waves of Communism falling around the world.



























Our young tour guide told stories of seeing men with guns at every street corner while growing up, and how common it was for people to just disappear. Poland was very unstable in the transition from Communism, and there were many deaths and tragedies. It was a very interesting trip, and if I go back to Poland sometime, I would love to see a different part to compare. I am glad that I had the opportunity to visit there, even if it was only for a day.