It feels a bit like wonderland lately, with so many teas and outings and social invitations that we can’t keep up! I feel like I should take advantage of every opportunity this autumn because, come winter, things will slow down. So the party goes on, and my introverted self will have to hang on a little longer. I slept for 11 hours straight after this busy week! That hasn’t happened in years.

Brunch at the long jetty which is “remarkably long” – I couldn’t find out how long. We never get the timing right to eat here, and this time we arrived on time but with no reservations so we had to eat upstairs. Seems like the best seat in the house to me!?!

Reservations are also an issue for Alice och Katten, the Wonderland-themed tea place which has intrigued me for ages. Finally a friend suggested it and followed through with said reservation and it was lovely. We know for next time that we should order one or two pots of tea for the table to share! Baby Max was a joy, scones and cakes, so-so, Alice atmosphere A+

Lots of people are buying places in Eslöv, a small town which is more affordable but still has easy access to Lund by train, and bike. I went to visit some friends and delivered baby Daniel’s pumpkin hat, my best one so far!

I’m sold on this German-engineered All-In-One kitchen appliance, Thermomix, demonstrated by my friend, Carole! We made the most amazing Butternut Squash Soup and savory custard simultaneously! We even made the vegetable broth base, a paste which can be stored for a long time in the refrigerator and then added to recipes as needed. So I don’t need to ask friends to smuggle in anymore heavy jars of Better Than Bouillon! And no more preservative cubes…the Thermomix can make it!

You clean and peel veggies, prep ingredients, but then the machine does the rest with auto settings from the wi-fi, it weighs, chops, mixes, steams, sauteés, whips and can even velouté (and also sous vide, which will hook Bryant) with very little mess, all at one time. It’s almost the Jetsons. Carole had her first one for 15 years and recently upgraded to the internet connected model. Stephanie already owns one, too, though she left it in Spain. Too bad Google Meets won’t make for a good cooking party, because I think all of us should have one of these babies!

The new knitting exhibit at Kulturen is fun. We got there right before closing one day so I’ll go back for a better look. Their gift shop is always a favorite and I think the restaurant has reopened. It’s still on my list. Also heard there is a cafe in the basement of one of the University buildings that’s very nice. Mostly locals know about it. I can see why they might keep quiet about some of these places. Tourism has picked up a lot in the last few months. It’s hard to get photos with all these people getting in the way, lol!

This area was the Kungshuset botanical garden. Some of the trees were planted in 1889, and some, mostly evergreens, in 1868 when the rune stone ring hill was installed using 7 local stones. The largest stone reads something like “Sven and Torgot made this in memory of Manne and Svenne, God rest their souls, but their bodies lie in London.”

Free concerts all week (Oct 18-24) and one ticketed professional concert each evening, but, alas, the venues filled quite quickly and I only made it in to one free concert! Next year we know to get the pre-paid pass. Bryant and I did manage to get tickets at the door to hear Det Norske Solistkor and it was magical! My favorite was Ørjan Matre: Orphic Songs, but there aren’t any recordings of it available that I could find.

I thought there was another free concert as part of this morning’s Högmässa High Mass at the cathedral. It was just the regular church choir, but it was an interesting experience. I tried to sit in an inconspicuous location, the back row of the first section, thinking that it would be crowded all the way at the back but I didn’t realize the multiple processions would put me in the center of the event! It was all in Swedish, of course, but I followed along OK without understanding much.

The homily is given from the pulpit to the left so I essentially sat right in the front, even though it seemed like the back when I chose the seat. All of the processing ended right next to where I was sitting. The people at the front turn around to face the center, putting me face-to-face with the far back section, argh! And it lasted for and hour and a half. The choir was a good church choir, not like the professional singers of the other concerts, but nice. And it was fun to hear them in the cathedral.

Our Musical Extravaganza continues…On Friday night we went to Malmö to join with some of the MN to Malmö group (all relocated from Mpls for jobs at IKEA) to see our friend, Dom (Bry knew his partner from Target and now IKEA), perform in Glada änkan The Merry Widow. It was a fabulous show and tons of fun even though we didn’t understand a lot of words. Luckily, the show is more about the music and drama, so it didn’t matter. We also read a synopsis in English and watched a few YouTube clips of a London production. Dom was a star in his roguish role, and, on top of having an incredible voice, he learned this role in SWEDISH while also working his other high energy job. He is setting such a great example of embracing a new language and culture. The kids were both suitably impressed and enjoyed the show, too. Dom arranged for us to meet some other cast members after the show and made us feel like special guests. Another lovely experience.

Bry and I continued our exploration of the west coast, a bit north of our Glumslöv hike. It was just as scenic.

After our hike we stopped for a quick lunch at Fish and Chips in Lomma. It was too cold to eat outside, but the food was tasty.

It was past time to clean the patio wall, a chore that we put off all summer. I started noticing a greenish tinge last Spring but never got around to cleaning. The wall, which is visible from the living and dining rooms, was looking pretty sickly and I didn’t want to spend all winter looking at it. We need to turn off the outdoor water soon, so Bryant hooked up the power washer and we took turns blasting away what I think is mostly algae. Hopefully not much paint! Algae reminded me of the Agardh algae collection, which I learned about at the Botan.

Carl Agardh studied algae in the early 1800’s and began an important collection that is now part of Lund University. His son, Jakob, was also a botanist and designed blueprints for the “new” botanic gardens in 1862. The octagonal Agardhianum is being restored. It’s such an unusual building, with a rectangular wing on four sides of the octagon. I can’t wait to see the interior! Here’s the patio before and after.

On the drive back from Ängelholm we stopped at this nature reserve in the village of Glumslöv. The trail we took leads through lovely hillside pastures to the sea. There are several stone age monuments nearby as well as 2 barrows dating to the iron age, which served as the graves for the family groups who worked the land. The Island of Ven is visible in the distance, and the coastline trail looks like a great adventure for another day. Glacier activity resulted in rare flora and fauna in the valley and along the cliffs. Signs said spring time is especially good for seeing the unusual specimens so we’ll add it to our list! And another castle to check out sometime.

Bryant and I often walk to Broder Jakob’s for coffee and baked treats on Saturday mornings. It opens earlier than most bakeries and I love the atmosphere. The colors and decor are my style, with creamy white, and pinkish beige walls, high grey-blue ceilings, soft, elegant lighting, lots of plants and vintage photos. I just love relaxing inside or in the patio nice weather. I’ve never taken pictures because it’s always full of people and it feels awkward to photograph them. Then the man sitting at a table across from us arranged himself in the perfect vignette. He looked so much like a painting that I pretended to take a selfie and took a photo of him over my shoulder. I’m still amazed at how a portrait composed itself! Doesn’t he look like an impressionist painting?!

We walked through Stadsparken on the way home and saw the grey heron who often perches on rocks or trees by the pond. The fall colors really made it pop, though it’s too bad I never remember a zoom lens.

On Friday we meant to go to Copenhagen for their big Kultur Natten but it runs from 6-midnight and in spite of our good intentions (I even had a little afternoon nap and energy drink) we just couldn’t muster up the energy to deal with transportation, long lines, and big crowds. So we went only as far as Malmö to meet Bryant for dinner in the City instead. We made new discoveries even though we’ve been in the area many times. Never noticed the Lion Passage before! We were so frustrated with google maps telling us to turn right when there was no street! It was quite funny later in the evening as we came through the passage from the other side on our way back. Then dinner at the place we ate (Ruth’s, formerly Bastard) when we came to Sweden the first time almost 2 years ago! Still great food and those two got their oysters.

Saturday afternoon we drove to Ãngelholm to visit the candle factory but it was closed! I can’t get used to Swedish opening hours. So we went hat shopping and walked around the picturesque town.