Gothenburg and Lucia day

Hello all!!

Well, as you all know, me and Isaac went to Gothenburg on Friday. It was really lovely! It was quite a cold day but we didn't get any rain and it only snowed very lightly for a little while. We got there early and visited the "old town" where we found this military fortress at the top of a steep hill and apparently it was first built as protection against the Danish people, and then in the 19th century it was used as a prison, and now it's a museum! So since it was at the top of a hill we got a really great view of the city as you'll see in the pictures. It was pretty cool inside as well.

Then we went and saw the animal park! They have a huge park that has a section where they keep goats, deer, moose, horses and sheep! It was really cool to see the dear and moose that close!

Then we went to Liesberg park (it's an amusement park that they set up as a christmas village in the winter). But before we got there, we ran into some people we know from Lund so we all went together! It was really nice. And at the park that night they had a Lucia choir concert which was great. Apparently in every city in Sweden they have Lucia choirs of seven girls and I guess they sing every year at Christmas and then they all get shipped out to Stockholm for some big festival on December 13 (official Lucia day). So that was nice to hear them sing, they were quite good.

Then after that it was time for me and Isaac to go home. We were supposed to arrive home at 11:30pm that night, however there were some delays with the trains and we didn't arrive in Lund until about 1am. However, I had been sleeping on the train and, being the absolute brilliant mind that I am, when we got off the train in Lund, I saw a sign that said "Malmo" and immediately thought we were at the wrong stop. So me and Isaac rushed back on the train only to realize that we actually were in Lund. perfect. So long story short, when we arrived in Malmo, at 2:30am, we couldn't get a train back to Lund until 6am, so we had to take a $40 taxi. It was either that or be homeless for the night.

Then the next day it was Lucia day and a bunch of us from our corridor and some others went to the cathedral in Lund to see the Lucia concert. It was basically a choir concert with Swedish Christmas music. It was very nice. Then later in the evening we went to Kalmar Nation for the traditional Swedish Christmas dinner! It was quite nice, although when we got there, for some reason the people who work at the nation had made "seating charts" and all our friends were seated at different tables. WELL, we weren't having any of that, so despite their protests, we changed the names around so we could all sit together. I didn't pay $50 to sit next to someone I don't know for the entire evening. NO THANKS. But it all worked out and we ended up having a very nice night.

AAnnnd I think that brings us pretty much up to date, and for the rest of the week it's study study study until exams are over and then we're off to Germany and Hungary!!

I'll be sure to update again soon,

TTFN

love,
Rachel