Hey, hey and guess who's back?
So it's been a while but I've finally found time and without my last host family nagging me about it, I've been a bit slow to finally do it. But, alas, here it is! Ready to roll! It's been a busy week so get ready for a really long post!

(Okay, bear with me here, my computer isn't letting me rearrange the photos and so I'll just label them what they are and give a date. Sorry about that, technical difficulties and such...)

For Easter, I went down to Southern Sweden with the Wetterlundh's and we toured around for a bit. We left on Thursday 17th April and drove down to Skåne. The first stop was Steneshuvud, or Stonehead, where we had a pretty good view of the effects of Spring on the once cold, snowy weather. From there we visited heaps of little fishing villages spread out along the coast before ending up in Simrishamn where we stayed the night. 

The next day, Friday 18th April, we set off and saw the Ales Stenar, or Ale's Stones. This "stone ship" is dated to be formed in approximately 600CE and forms the outline of a ship. Afterwards, we went to the southernmost part of Sweden, Sandshammaren. We sat on the beach and drank in the sun. From there we went to Glimmingehus, which is a Medieval Fort built in the 1500's, and toured the inside of the building, including defense mechanisms and passages, bathrooms and dining halls. That afternoon we went to Lund, and after a brief tour of the city including the gardens and the Church, we watched a movie ("Noah" for those who are curious, it was... interesting) we stayed the night there. 

On Easter Saturday, the 19th April, we headed off to Båstad for "Påsklunch", or Easter lunch, with the extended host family. In Sweden, Easter is celebrated on the Saturday and so this was the big day. Although I didn't wake to a chocolate egg hunt, I still received plenty of candy and ate heaps of food. Like, heaps. Especially at Easter lunch, where we had an Authentic Swedish Smögåsbord. I ate marinated raw herring, drank Påskmust (I don't know how to describe it, it's just... Påskmust) and raw salmon, as well as some more 'normal' things, like roast lamb and other cold meats. After eating more than 4 serves of lunch and dessert we drove to Halmstad to stay at Charlotte's Parents' house. 

On Sunday, the 20th, I was given the grand tour of Halmstad and after many walks on the beach I eventually sat down in the sun and wore shorts! SHORTS! In 20°C! I don't know what's wrong with me, I must be becoming a viking! That afternoon Fred, Ebba, Göran and I went to another football match (the first was in Stockholm a few weeks ago and I discovered my love and support for Djugården) and this time I chose to support Halmstad. 

On the Monday we stopped off at Fred's Parents' House for a quick lunch before heading back to Stockholm. 

On Tuesday it was Fred's birthday, and after waking him up singing Happy Birthday in Swedish and eating a delicious Birthday Dinner, I changed host families. Now I live with the Leijonhufvud family just two train stops away from where I used to live; not too much of a difference.

After settling in, I went to Gröna Lund in Stockholm, the 24th April. It was awesome. Gröna Lund is a theme park and one of my exchange student friends managed to get us 10 significantly cheaper tickets (meaning it cost me $4 entry) into the park before it opened to the public. I went on a wooden rollercoaster with Sam and we watched heaps of other adrenalin junkies flip, twist, turn and drop their way into fear and fun. 

On Saturday this week, the 26th, Sam and I went into Stockholm to chill in the city. We walked around Djurgården and rode the old style trams around the city. (Photo's below).

And finally, today, Sunday the 27th, Sam, Macca and I made ANZAC Biscuits and Lamingtons for my friends at school to try. I also learnt that my cooking skills are severely lacking so I hope they like them... 

My host parents and I also went for a walk around my new neighbourhood and I saw them loading boats into the water ready for summer and the disastrous effects a beaver has on the local flora, including felled trees and lots of woodchips. 

The Church in Lund

One of the study buildings

A nice fountain

A typical Lund-ian street

The view of the coast from Stenehuvud

More from Stenehuvud 

And yet still more from the top

The coastline from the location of the Ales Stenar

Ales Stenar

The beach at the base of the cliff

More of the Stones

The water near Ales Stenar

More Coastline

Glimmingehus - The Fort

The 'moat' around the Fort

Skåne is very flat...

Looking back on the Fort

More of Lund; this tower has a story. To demonstrate his power, a king rode his horse inside the building, right to the top of the stairs however once at the top, the horse wouldn't go down and so to get it out they had to kill it. Now, instead of being a symbol of his power, it's more of a memorial to the horse.

The beach on the West Coast

More West Coast Beach

Where Fred and I stayed at Charlotte's Parents' House

Looking out at one of the many islands

From the Hotel, south of the photos before

Whenever I find statues of important people, they always seem to have seagulls standing on their heads... 

Looking from Djurgården towards Stockholm across the water

Skåne country roads

One of the fishing villages we stopped in

A typical house of the area

More of the Fishing Villages

More again of Fishing houses

These walls are actually protected and so it's illegal to remove them. Anywhere in Sweden (Not sure about anywhere else...). You can find all sorts of these walls around Southern Sweden all in varying qualities and conditions.

Southern Sweden is full of Churches... full. I saw so many churches as we drove through. And each is different, though they have similar elements. 

The town of Simrishamn

Another marina in a fishing village

A map of the east coast of Sweden

This is the clock inside the Church at Lund. It shows all elements of time, from the year, date, day, time etc...

This is one of the restaurants on the water at Djurgården. Each one is beautiful

THE BEAVER HAS BEEN HERE!

Well, that's all for now, until next time, 

The Swedish Adventurer.