Lately on Insta...

I thought I'd get back into the routine of blogging again by recapping what we have done lately with the help of Instagram (as many other bloggers do). So here's what we've been up to:

1. Visit by my aunt and uncle, Bicke and Anders - lego building with Harald. 2. Overnight trip to Luxembourg with Anders and Bicke - ferris wheel at one of the Christmas market in Luxembourg City. 3. Carousel, mulled wine and walking through the old parts of Luxembourg City. 4. Vianden Castle in the north of Luxembourg, near the German border. 

5. Time for this year's Secret Santa/julklappsbyte! 6. First advent calendar with little presents ("paketkalender") for the kids. 7. Beautiful Christmas lights in Stockholm on one of my 5 (!) business trips to Sweden during October-December. 8. First "lussekatt" (saffron bun) of the season on my latest Stockholm trip this week.

Royal Greenhouses of Laeken

One of the first days of May we made an excursion to the royal greenhouses at the Palace of Laeken, Serres Royales de Laeken. The greenhouses are only open to the public for a couple of weeks every year (this year 18 April - 9 May) so it is a very popular destination. We first went there on May Day and arrived around 10:30, one hour after opening. The queue of cars to get to the parking lot was so long we gave up right away. Instead we returned two days later and made sure to get there even before it opened. In retrospect it was very good to be even some of the very first visitors, since we had the pushchair with us in the greenhouse and they can get pretty cramped when they fill up with people. Here comes a cavalcade of photos from these beautiful place (it's a shame not even the park is open all year or at least parts of the year).

The Palace, on our way to the greenhouses

I think the greenhouses as buildings are really beautiful. Design by architect Alphonse Balat.

At a distance I thought the greenhouses were made of copper that was covered by verdigris but it is actually green paint that has flaked off and worn down by wind and rain.

The devil is in the detail?

Cool tree

It seems like all royal parks has an Asian garden.

Inside the green houses

No access to this one except a peak in the window.

More plants than flowers in this section.

Entrance to the secret garden

Chasing a curious one-year-old.



No caption necessary

You can't see it in the photos but many flowers had begun to wither. I think the best time to go is the first week.

The only thing that was perhaps missing were signs with names of plants and flowers.

I like these flowers on both sides of a staircase.

The path ended in the big greenhouse.

March Points in April

Oops, over a month since I last wrote. Time sure flies. Will try to sum up what has happened this past month.

• We have had several instances of very nice weather. A weekend of 20 degrees a few weeks ago and then again this whole week. I'm very envious of Peter who is not working and is free to spend all day outside if he wants to. The kids seem to enjoy all the time outdoors too, and not having to wear a jacket.

  

  Harald at our local playground

Nature's beauty

• Peter's sister with family visited in mid-March (unfortunately it was pretty cold on the Saturday but Sunday was pretty nice). It was the first time they visited us (not Brussels though) so it was nice to show them our home here and our neighbourhood. Isolde and cousin Olivia (2 years old) played really well together, and Harald was almost keeping up with their pace (it will be fun to see all three of them play together in the summer when Harald is a bit older).

  

  Three cousins and little artists

In March we made several visits to Parc Malou playground with the neighbours and also hung out at each other's place, including tapas lunch at their place and waffles at ours. P. and I also try to take the metro home from work together (in the morning she leaves earlier than me as I drop off Isolde at school).

Hanging with the neighbours in Parc Malou



Parc Malou



Buddies

Waffles!

Our get-to-know-new-people drink on 8 March was a success. I think we were 22 adults and 12 children (under the age of four) in the end. It looked like people were enjoying themselves and I have played family match-maker following the event. I took some pictures with the regular camera (all photos in this post are with the iPhone) but haven't not uploaded them yet.

I went on an overnight work trip to Sweden and there was no storms or other mishaps this time! That is fortunate because otherwise I'm not sure the Commissioner would want to travel with me again! We stayed at a beautiful hotel in Uppsala that I can really recommend. Very nice name too ;)

My room had a cosy window niche with views of Uppsala cathedral

Peter attended a job hunting seminar the Commission organises for spouses and met some new people at the same time. If we stay here after this year, which we hope to do, he will need to find a job here (but working remotely for his present employer could also be an option). I had the day off to take care of Harald and I chose a day of beautiful weather with 20 degrees - the next day it was miserable and raining!

Magnolia blossom on my day off

Our flat in Sweden is free now from April and we're looking for a new tenant in case anyone is interested?!

My mother visited the very last weekend of March. My aunt was supposed to come along but unfortunately she has problems with her back and needs surgery and had to cancel. Hopefully she can visit in the autumn instead. My mum arrived on Thursday evening (a bit delayed after having been rebooked via Copenhagen) and Friday she was home with Peter and the kids (I had to work unfortunately), and while Peter took Harald for his weekly swimming session she baked cinnamon buns with Isolde. Isolde had been talking about baking with grandma for weeks, so she was very happy. They also made some Easter crafts and went to the playground. Saturday we went to Gent, a town about an hour's drive from Brussels. It was a lovely day weatherwise so perfect for an excursion. We had lunch outdoors at one of the restaurants in the square by Saint Bavo cathedral. Sunday we checked out Bois de la Cambre, another big park in Brussels, and then spent the rest of the day in our regular haunt Parc Malou where we were also joined by the neighbours.

 

Story time with mormor in the balcony



Pretty canals and houses in Gent



More houses along canals



A bottle in a barrel of ice can be lots of fun!

Isolde went to her first proper birthday party last month! She has of course celebrated little friends' birthdays before but I mean the first real kid party where she's invited and parents are only invited as chaperones really. Her classmate Félix had invited Isolde and one other girl from the class. Félix's mother tried to do a few games with them - and I was surprised that Isolde accepted to be blindfolded for one of them! - but mostly they just wanted to play freely. Isolde lasted about 75 minutes and then she wanted to go home :)  I'm really happy she was invited and I hope to organise a playdate or get-together again soon. Félix's parents seem very nice, and it would be good to know some Belgians as well (the father is Belgian and the mothre German but moved her as a child or teenager).

We were thinking of booking some holiday activities, so-called stages, for Isolde for next week, the first week of the Easter holiday, in order to try what it is like as we will probably need it during the summer when school's out (mainly August as we'll be in Sweden in July - school starts again in September) and Peter will have started working. However, in the end we thought about it a bit late and the most obvious one, which is held at Isolde's school (which I just found out about actually), was fully booked. So she will stay home with Peter and they will have to think of some activities on their own. 

 

Last time I wrote that we were going to do a daytrip on one of my days off, but we ended up having colds all of us so we stayed at home and also missed a colleague's carnival party. We did pop into our neighbours for their "neighbours' fika" for their friends living in (or soon moving into) our building or in the neighbourhood. Now we have at least been to Gent but we still want to go a bit further away and stay overnight somewhere. Top three on our list I think is the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Haarlem and the Hague), Luxembourg and Champagne in France. And it looks like we will be doing a roadtrip to Münich in Germany with our neighbours over the Ascension weekend at the end of May.

Harald is completely CRAZY about computers and he has already broken the screen of Peter's work laptop and both iPad screens, one of which had to be fixed but the other one is just a crack underneath the glass in one corner. He gets absolutely miserable if he can't play with them. It is annoying and cute at the same time. He also really likes to help out with the cleaning :)

Favourite toy

My friend H. who I actually met for the first time here in Brussels almost 12 years ago was here for a work trip again and we went back to the pub where we met!

Lately Isolde has not wanted me to leave when I drop her off at school in the morning, but at the same time she is very happy about going to school while we are still at home in the morning and also on the way there, and everyday she tells me "it is fun in school, mummy", so I assume it is just a matter of missing me and finding it a bit difficult to say bye, even if it is just for a few hours. She's been in a very cuddly mood lately and telling me she loves me. They have a substitute teacher right now as well, who seems to be very good, but she doesn't help the children to stand in the window to wave to the parents like the regular teacher used to do. However, this week Isolde has been Miss Mischief at home and has also had trouble sleeping (I think it is partly growing pains), but she doesn't mind me leaving her at school in the morning. Maybe she's tired of us and just happy to be away from us parents for a few hours, these parents who try to rule over her and tell what she can and can't do! :)

Bois de la Cambre

Finishing with a picture of Harald and me!

Promenade Verte

Another Day

Another course day for me and a day of leisure for Peter and Isolde (the course is really great but I wish I had at least one day just strolling). In the morning they just went to the local playground but after lunch they visited the Swedish church for a weekly play group (where they offered semlor, cream buns for Shrove Tuesday!) and then ventured to Jermyn Street for some shopping (they had a buy-one-shirt-get-two-for-free-deal so Peter bought three shirts and one tie for only £86!).

When I got "home", we walked across the Embankment bridge to the London Eye for some London views from above. I've gone once before when the wheel was new but Peter had never been on it. It's perhaps not worth its ticket price but it's still something to check off the list. And I can watch Houses of Parliament and Big Ben at night over and over again! After the 30-minute ride we walked up to Covent Garden and Neal Street and spent quite a lot of time at Barbour - Peter bought a quilted spring-autumn jacket but I'm still deciding - before devouring moules frites at Belgo's. Finale of the day was a crêpe to share from the crêperie in Covent Garden on our way back to the hotel - Shrove/Fat Tuesday is Pancake Day in the UK after all!

Last Day

Time to go home tomorrow. As always, mixed feelings, but in the end, home sweet home, or "borta bra men hemma bäst" (away is good but home is best), as we say in Sweden.

Today we took it very easy. Ventured out around noon, walked down to the port, past the war monument.












Before strolling a last time on the Promenade and through the old town we had moules (of course) at one of the restaurants in the harbour. Isolde was a bit cranky though but luckily we were seated outside where baby cries get muffled in all the other noise.




On our way home we stocked up on olive oil and tried the local specialty socca, a chickpea pancake.

And, today was Peter's birthday but in the midst of all the Christening preparations and other stuff over the last couple of weeks I forgot to buy him a gift! Despite us talking about his birthday several times! Maybe "pregnancy/nursing brain" does exist?! Lucky me he took it well!

Via Anna's iPhone

Next Time in London...

I read an article (in the newsletter/magazine from Swedish Church in London) where news correspondent Per Nordangård* shares his London highlights. Having lived in the UK for four years, two of those in London, I have seen a lot of London but not these and I look forward to visiting some of these sights next time I go to London (soon I hope!).

• - Apsley House, the poshest house in London on Hyde Park Corner, alternative address "No 1 London". Apsley was the home of the Duke of Wellington (who defeated Napoleon) and is still home to members of the Wellington family.
• - Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, luxury shelter for (15,000) homeless dogs and cats (every year). Offers guided tour of all four floors.
• - The Clockmaker's Museum, at Guildhall Library in the City (London's financial district). It houses the world's oldest collection of clocks and has been recently renovated.
• - One of the most complete collections of dolls and toys in the world at the Museum of Childhood.
• - Fish & chips from the Golden Hind in Marylebone Lane (I used to live in Marylebone but never went to this particular fish & chips shop).
• - The Garden Museum at St Mary-at-Lambeth
• - The Hive Honey Shop with 700 different products and 20,000 bees at work
• - Kew Gardens (no, haven't been there yet), one of the world's leading botanic gardens
• - Little Venice - walk along Regent's Canal past canal boats, London Zoo and several parks, all the way to the markets and locks in Camden
• - Classical music and candlelight every day of the week at St Martin-in-the-fields in Trafalgar Square. This church also has a café and restaurant under the arches in the crypt as well as jazz concerts on Wednesdays.
• - The National Dining Rooms at the National Gallery for traditional British food.
• - Ports and wines at Berry Bros. and Rudd, a 3oo year-old wine shop
• - The Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace, displaying pieces of the royal art collection
• - Afternoon tea at the Orangery in Kensington Garden (been there but not for afternoon tea)
• - Ye Grapes pub in Shepherd Market, Mayfair, a pub with history and atmosphere
• - The Zest Gallery for contemporary glass blowing and design

* Nordangård has just published his fifth book, Den siste korrespondenten

Show & Tell: Four Things You Should See in My Town

This week's Show & Tell theme (from Maisoui this month) is Four Things You Should See in My Town. If you thought I'd show you my favourite haunts in Stockholm you'll be disappointed. Instead I will tell you about Södertälje*, the town I grew up and lived in until I was 19. My family and some of my friends still live there so Södertälyeah is still a big part of my life.


So, if you're ever in Södertälje, you shouldn't miss:

1) Tom Tits Experiment

Tom Tits Experiment is a hands-on science museum for all ages (so you won't be stared at if you go there without any accompanying kids, trust me). It has four or five floors and a park full of showcases and experiments answering those questions you have always asked yourselves: what does a brain feel like? How heavy is a pregnant belly? How to make your own space rocket? You can play with water, try bicycling on a rope and go up in a hot-air balloon. It also has a great shop with fun, pedagogic, genuine toys (far from the Toys 'R Us crap).

If you're wondering who Tom Tit was "he was an imaginary figure who carried out a range of scientific experiments in the French magazine, l'Illustration, and in several books published at the end of the 19th century".


2) Sydpoolen

Sydpoolen is an adventure water park type place but of the indoor kind and thus a bit smaller than some of the outdoor kinds, or proper water parks; I guess adventure pool is a more appropriate name. It also has a gym, a spa and other stuff adults like; especially when those adults have grown tired of the slides and the wave machine, which is likely to happen a few hours before the kids do. I haven't actually been there for a long time (read: years) but I hear people visit Sydpoolen from all over so it seems to remain popular. When I was little we had to go to Eskilstuna for an adventure pool so I remember how happy were were when they rebuilt the place and transformed it from a regular pool house to an adventure place (when I was ten if I remember correctly).


3) Torekällberget open-air museum


Torekällberget is an open-air museum, also called living history museum, à la Skansen. Torekällberget is much smaller though as it's only representing life in town and country over the last few hundred years from Södertälje and its vicinity (the county of Södermanland), while Skansen is supposed to represent all parts of Sweden. Torekällberget doesn't have a Swedish (animals) zoo like Skansen but has typical Swedish farm animals - goats, pigs, cows, etc. - in the country part of the museum, which doubles as a petting zoo. I especially like the old store in the town part where you can buy old-fashioned bisquits and sweets. I've also always been fond of the old school and the automobile exhibition (hope it's still there!). There is also a very good restaurant and a smaller café/lunch place for hungry visitors.


4) The anthroposophy community


There is a big anthroposophic community in Järna outside Södertälje. Anthroposophy is a spiritual philosophy based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. It emphasises inner development and an approach to the spiritual world that is similar to that of the scientific investigation of nature. The anthroposophic centre in Järna is well-worth a visit. You will see interesting architecture, eat good organic (and often vegetarian) food - or buy some locally grown products to take home - and perhaps see a play at the culture house. There is also a school (Waldorf pedagogy) and a hospital, mainly for palliative care.


* For those of who don't know, Södertälje is located southwest of Stockholm and it's part of the greater Stockholm region but more of a separate town than a suburb. The tube doesn't run that far but a commuter train will take you from Stockholm to Södertälje in 45 minutes and a car in 25-45 mintes depending on from where in Stockholm you start and on traffic.

Images from Vaksalaskolan, Sydpoolen, Torekällberget and Antroposofi.info

US Road Trip Part 3: Washington D.C.

We arrived in Washington D.C. around 2.30pm and were very happy to see our stylish hotel, the Palomar, located by Dupont Circle. We had managed to find a good price for an executive room, almost as much as a regular double room.

As you can see I look pretty happy and I also match the interior pretty well! :)

The bathroom was not too bad either!

Old restored colonial houses towards a modern background. There is a name for the neighbourhood/street but I can't remember it or find it - anyone knows?

Almost the same time we arrived at the hotel, members of my extended aupair family arrived as well (they live in Virginia Beach, about a three hour drive from D.C.), and we headed out on the town with them. Here's me with Amy and her children (from the left) Ella (10 years old), Kyle (15) and Jack (12). Amy used to be married to my aupair mother's brother so these are the cousins of my aupair children. I have known them since Kyle was 3 and Jack newborn and Ella wasn't even born, and Amy and I have become close friends! Amy and Kyle visited me in Sweden about five years ago and the last time I met up with them was in October 2004, which as the last time I was in the US before the trip this summer.

We walked A LONG WAY that afternoon, from Dupont down to the White House along the Mall past the Capitol and up to Union Station where we took the Metro back to the hotel. The kids didn't complain a single time, well, towards the end when they were getting tired and hungry. The 15-year-old talked to Peter constantly throughout the 3-hour walk while Jack kept to the side - as illustrated by this photo. You could tell he was listening but he's in this (pre-)teen mood.

I think the Capitol is such a beautiful building.

Capitol detail.


This is one of my favourite photos from the trip (taken by the Capitol lawn).

Ella was so funny taking photos with her mobile phone constantly - and concentrating hard!

Animal life in the capital.

In the evening, after dinner at a Thai restaurant, the grown-ups had a few drinks in the hotel var while the kids watched a movie in the room.

The next day we jumped on one of these hop on-hop off sightseeing tours, which took us past National Cathedral (pictured) and through Georgetown where I have never been before.

The trolley also took us down a street in D.C. that houses almost all embassies, for example one with a statue of Winston Churchill - guess which one! :) We also passed by Sweden House, which is not in the ambassadorial street but down in Washington Harbour (I didn't manage to take a picture of it though).

We also went past all the sights we had seen by foot the day before - the White House, the Capitol, etc. - but I'll spare you another set of photos. A new building for us though was the US Supreme Court of Justice. A grand building that was unfortunately covered by scaffolding when we were there.

We got off the tour bus in "museum street", the road that runs along the Mall and has all (or most of) the Smithsonian museums. Peter went to the Air and Space Museum (and for example saw the capsule that landed the astronauts from one of the Apollo spaceflights back on earth) but the rest of us had been there before so we went to the Holocaust Museum instead. It was actually Kyle and Jack who wanted to go there, otherwise I hadn't even known about it! Unfortunately we only had two hours there as Amy & the kids had to get on the road again, otherwise I would have stayed three or four hours. I think that is what you need to really see it all. It's one of or maybe even the best museum I have ever been to so if you're going to D.C., it's a no-miss!

After Amy & kids had left, Peter and I hopped on the trolley again and saw the Jefferson Memorial from afar...

...and went past the World War II Memorial (there is also a Vietnam memorial as well as a Korean War memorial but I have seen those on previous visits so we skipped them).

The Lincoln Memorial is a must of course!

And a visit with President Abraham Lincoln himself! He sure was a tall man!

Here's the view of Washington Monument and the Capitol from the Lincoln Memorial. The picture is pretty dark but the weather wasn't as bad as it looks, it was just very grey and we did get a few drops of rain later in the early evening when returning to the hotel.

The final stop on our tour of D.C. was Arlington Cemetery where many American soldiers are buried. Initially all Americans who had served the country were buried there but as they were running out of space they changed the "rules" so that only those killed in battle are given their final rest in this cemetery.

Presidents qualify as well of course. This is - I dare to say - the most famous grave at Arlington Cemetery, that of John F. Kennedy, where an eternal flame burns.

Jackie Kennedy and two of their children (those that died as infants) are buried next to JFK.

One of JFK's famous quotes.

Another well-known tomb, that of the Unknown Soldier.

That evening, our last of two in D.C. we met up with my friend Nonna (whom I met at Oxford), at Kramer's Café Kramer's café. I hadn't seen her since November 2004 so that was fun!

Kramer's had some fun drinks on the menu but we were too full to try one :(

After Kramer's we went to a pub where we saw this funny sign.

The next morning we got up at 6am to drive up to New England! To be continued...