The Minnesota Noices

Category: Culture

  • Puglia Part 2: Masserie, the farmhouse estates

    Puglia Part 2: Masserie, the farmhouse estates

    Another highlight of our Apulian food adventures was the masserie, 16th century fortified farm estates, where we learned about the arts of cheese, and olive oil production. Here we are at Masseria Cappella in the Valle d’Itria, where several of us attempted to form mozzarella knots and pouches of burrata. It wasn’t easy, particularly with…

  • Puglia Part 1: The Culture of Food in Puglia

    Puglia Part 1: The Culture of Food in Puglia

    I can’t say enough about our trip to the region of Puglia (pool-ya), the heel of Italy’s boot. CJ and David really know how to celebrate turning 50! This food tour was led by Sophie Minchilli, the daughter of one of CJs favorite food writers, and was limited to 12 participants. We were super fortunate…

  • Cooking Club/ Lund city tour

    Cooking Club/ Lund city tour

    As spring unfolds rapidly in south Sweden, the AIC heads to Höllviken, a coastal suburb of Malmö, for April’s cooking experience. It’s nearly as much fun to see other people’s houses as it is to cook and eat together, and this time around we visited Karin, perhaps the most “Swedish” member of the international club…

  • Spring Art Crawl and Sculpture Park

    Spring Art Crawl and Sculpture Park

    It seems like Spring is the time for art exhibitions in Skåne. Unfortunately we did not make it to the most well known one in our area, Österlens Konstrundan, but it remains on our to-do list. We enjoyed beautiful weather for Easter weekend. Bry made a return trip to Söderåsens National Park, this time with…

  • Countdown to Italy

    Countdown to Italy

    We’re embracing the Easter staycation this year since the eldest is in the thick of exam season, and Bryant and I are anticipating our food tour of Puglia in a few weeks to celebrate the Vandersons’ 50th birthdays. March delivered another short-lived snowy afternoon as we flirt with genuine Spring. It’s great to see patios…

  • Impressions

    Impressions

    We are easing into Spring with variable weather and longer days. Nori is adjusting well, finding all the nooks and crannies our apartment offers with only minor disruptions and growing pains. She enjoys playing fetch, keep away and “the floor is lava”, traversing furniture with incredible dexterity, but she can usually be found napping on…

  • Nori, the Siberian Forest Cat

    Nori, the Siberian Forest Cat

    One of the biggest reasons to buy an apartment in Lund was that most rentals do not allow animals, and the youngest Noice has been wanting a cat. So now that we are settled in our own place, 6 month old Katara aka Nori, joined the family on Feb 28. After careful consideration and much…

  • Keeping busy in Lund

    Keeping busy in Lund

    Just north of our apartment building, along the railroad tracks, is a park where I walk most days (photos from September) with the monument, a pond, and paths around the burial mound known as Lerbäckshög which is loosely translated as Muddy Stream Hill. Here is a translation of the above text…The site, with the highest…

  • Winter excursions

    Winter excursions

    Melissa had a passport appointment in Copenhagen so Erin and I joined her to see more of the city across the bridge. I hadn’t even seen the obligatory mermaid of HC Andersen fame. That was fun if a bit anticlimactic. We wandered around the 17th century fortress or Citadel and then Christiania, the infamous hippie…

  • Exploring Vienna

    Exploring Vienna

    Vienna was excellent for a weekend trip. The Noicelings did not enjoy the Viennese Waltz muzak as we boarded our early morning flight. I thought it was a nice touch to set the mood for Austria. We arrived in time for brunch and I wished, not for the first time since moving to Europe, that…