Living La Vida Lunda: A blog abroad

The Minnesota Noices

  • Zealand’s Forest Tower

    Zealand’s Forest Tower

    Our Gotlander was unable to make it home for the Easter holiday this week so we decided on just a short trip that’s been on the list since we first arrived in Sweden. It’s so close by that we always think we’ll get to it one day but we never do! Because it’s across the…

  • Reading the Riot Act

    Reading the Riot Act

    First a few library photos from my travels…For a variety of reasons (OK, I confess, mainly Instagram and Youtube) I haven’t been reading as much over the past few years. I’ve always relied on libraries for the majority of my reading material, both print and audio books. In Sweden, the selection of books in English…

  • February 2025 Travel

    February 2025 Travel

    And we’re back with another little dump of travel fun. December was “being sick, and Christmas family time”. January was a lot of work in the office (no fun photos there!). So, on to February, where I was in Amsterdam and Barcelona. Amsterdam was a normal work trip, but there were some fun side-quests, like…

  • November 2024 Travel

    November 2024 Travel

    Jen has been suggesting that I catch up a bit on sharing things that I have been up to, in light of all the adventures that she is having. November was a big travel month, so here is a fly-by of some notable things that happen to have some good pictures First, a week in…

  • København-Frederiksberg

    København-Frederiksberg

    Melissa’s 50th birthday gave us an excuse for another Øresunds Bro crossing and a day of adventure with said birthday girl, Erin and Glen, who was introduced to the American group awhile back (along with his Swedish husband, Anders). Glen and Anders met in Copenhagen and have spent a lot of time there so he…

  • Till nästa gång, so long

    Till nästa gång, so long

    Living abroad in a community made up largely of expats means saying goodbye more frequently and in more ways than I had imagined. It has been far more challenging than language or cultural differences. This quote sums it up for me… “You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart always…

  • Winter sewing project complete

    Winter sewing project complete

    This winter was very mild in Lund, with only a couple of minor snow events and few freezing temps. We were hoping for some ice-skating weather but we seem to have missed the narrow window for that. Instead, many dreary winter days were spent on my first big sewing project. The accumulated tee shirt souvenirs…

  • Winter limbo

    Winter limbo

    It’s not really Winter weather but certainly not Spring. And while the days are getting longer, it’s quite dreary, with an occasional sunny hour here and there to give us hope. But then the daily crush of bad news leaves us heavy hearted, so we look for distractions and new hobbies to distract and give…

  • Saint Paul, Solo

    Saint Paul, Solo

    January flew by with a quick trip back to Minnesota. Though not a popular time to travel, the January trip offered a chance to fill prescriptions, restock some favorite products that we can’t easily get in Sweden, and catch up with friends and family. The kids were busy with the start of a new semester…

  • Jolabokaflod

    Jolabokaflod

    The Icelandic tradition of the Christmas book flood has been part of our holiday celebration for the past 10 or so years. We started taking the girls to a local book shop to choose their own books on or around Christmas Eve as a way to support independent book sellers. Wild Rumpus, Red Balloon, Addendum…