The Minnesota Noices

Category: Travel

  • The Great Swedish Adventure

    The Great Swedish Adventure

    It took a lot of time and a few reminders from Anne of Green Gables (“It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will,”) but we finally convinced my folks to make the trek to visit us in Sweden! They still think Lund…

  • Summer Travels

    Summer Travels

    Bryant and the younger one did the big travels this summer. They went to Iceland, Colorado, and Minnesota. Iceland We took advantage of the IcelandAir “layover” program on our way from Sweden to the US. We stayed 2 nights and had 2 nice experiences, along with some decent food. In Reykjavik, we saw a famous…

  • Karlskrona, Port City

    Karlskrona, Port City

    We opted to include the neighboring county (region) of Blekinge in our summer ticket. It’s very accessible by public transportation, though it’s a bit far for a day trip, so we haven’t seen much of the area except for Sölvesborg. That charming town in Blekinge was described in this earlier post. With Bryant and the…

  • 21st Anniversary!

    21st Anniversary!

    Using our summer ticket, we took advantage of a last minute overnight package deal to a spa hotel in Båstad. Skansen has all the traditional elements for a very Swedish holiday. We arrived in time to explore the town and enjoy a beach stroll before dinner. I felt that room 713 was a good omen…

  • Midsummer Mania

    Midsummer Mania

    Summer is flying by and it’s hard to believe we’re now past the solstice! And though it is too dry, with some burn bans and water restrictions, the weather has been very nice for being outside. Stephanie and I gathered elderflowers together and each made a batch of fläder syrup. It was easy but took…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…