This time of year, the Scandinavian light is magnificent. Days are long: sunrise today in Stockholm is at 4.11 am and sunset at 9.17 pm. That’s 17 hours of daylight, but in reality, the light stays in the sky much longer than even what those times describe. Nice, huh? And up north by the Arctic Circle in Kiruna, the days are even longer: sunrise is at 2.22 am, sunset 10.53. It’s crazy. And the days are only going to get longer. Right now, the sun wakes me up around 4.30. So I put on my eye shades and try to get a few more hours of sleep if I can. But it’s hard to resist the light…

Tulips and grape hyacinth in Debora's garden.

A daffodil umbrella.

Tulips reaching for the sun.

I’ve been working a lot lately – most nights until 11.30 or so and also on the weekends on a few writing projects that I need to finish up. (Yes, that freelance life is glamorous, isn’t it?) On top of that, Robert and I need to change apartments again. (Yes, this will be our fifth move in less than two years for those of you who are keeping track. We are insane.) We’re also dealing with some tough situations with both of our Dads. So I guess it comes as no surprise that this spring has been a stressful time for me. But my family of friends here in Stockholm has been there for me and have had us over for dinners and laughter. Just what I needed. On Sunday evening, we went to Debora and Stig’s house. Even as the shadows were looming, Debora’s garden was beautiful. I snuck outside for a few minutes to admire it. Her yard was such an oasis of calm. Also just what I needed.

One source of stress: Ready to assemble moving boxes. That pile stands almost as tall as me.

My tuna salad at Miss Voon.

On Tuesday, I finally got to the Stockholm restaurant that I’d been dying to go to since it opened a few months back. I’d been looking forward to Miss Voon as I’d read good reviews and the cuisine is described as Asian fusion – one of my favorites. I’d even recommended the place to a lot of friends. But as I am so often disappointed by eating out in this town, I was nervous about going.

While I wanted to be wowed, I wasn’t. It was just average. OK. I was there at lunch and I had the tuna salad, so maybe it wasn’t the most representative choice of the restaurant’s talent, but still. The Asian noodles and tuna were buried underneath the lettuce and coriander in a rather ordinary looking presentation. And as there was just a hint of dressing on the salad, there wasn’t much taste to it at all. I was there with my friend Debora who swore that this salad was usually good, so we asked for some dressing to be added on the side. Instead, our salads came back drowning in dressing with even more dressing on the side. Yikes. It was definitely not subtle, nor was it that inspiring. I felt so let down.

Miss Voon is part of the F12 group and I generally find their restaurants to be some of my favorites in Stockholm. So I am willing to give the place a try again. I’ll let you know what happens.

On a roundabout related note, I was reading a very funny expat blog that I recently discovered. It’s written by a woman from the Netherlands who lives in Moldova. On a recent post, she had a link to an older post that featured great quotes about countries. The first one is about Sweden. And it just couldn’t have been more appropriate:

“Eating in Sweden is really just a series of heartbreaks.”  Bill Bryson

So thank you Bill Bryson for the laugh.

The pineapple tulip of Stockholm's Humlegården park.

And the gorgeous flower beds surrounding the pineapples.

Walking by Humlegården today, I saw this gorgeous bed of tulips in full bloom but couldn’t quite figure out what some of the flowers were. Coming up for a closer look, I decided these taller flowers had to be some sort of a tulip, but to me they looked like the top of a pineapple with tulips hanging upside down from it. So I am hereby calling them pineapple tulips. Of course, I am willing to be educated about what these things actually are.

Meanwhile, most of the trees are beginning to show traces of green. The building here is Stockholm's Stadion – one of the venues for the 1912 Olympic games.

The Katla volcano in Iceland.

Continuing on my theme of what I’ve enjoyed about living internationally, here’s part two. And in case you missed it, you can also check out part one of fun things I’ve gotten to do thanks to living in Sweden. Even the process of pulling together these photos makes me realize all over again just how lucky I am to have the opportunity to live abroad.

6. Thanks to my job on Scanorama magazine, I traveled to Reyjkavik, Iceland. This volcanic island is a land of extremes, from its landscape to its people to its light. Waterfall, geysers, hot springs, mud pots and the continental divide, this land simmers with underground activity. The Blue Lagoon is my vision of what a spa on Mars might look like – it’s both magical and odd. It was only after Robert and I had been floating in the murky waters of the lagoon for about an hour that we realized that everyone around us was getting a lot of action. Some sort of aphrodisiac  must have been in the air or water?

Vineyards in the Moselle valley.

7. A German friend from Swedish class got married to a Swedish man in the German wine country outside of Mannheim. And lucky for us, we got to go along for yet another special event. The ceremony was at a historic town hall and then immediately afterward, they sawed a log together to signify the tough work they would need to do together in their marriage. There were homemade cakes and champagne and then more later when we got to the hotel. It was a crazy hot day and the day after was even warmer as we did a sparkling wine tasting in a vineyard by ancient Roman ruins. We went to a few wine festivals and yes, we drank a lot of wine. It was such an amazing trip in a beautiful part of the world and we were lucky to get to see the sights with the locals.

Enjoying the archipelago view from the front seat of a helicopter.

8. I’ve gotten behind the scenes tours and done food and drink tastings at all sorts of interesting locations around Stockholm, from castles and palaces to the city hall. But one of my very favorite press trips ever was one that I did for Volvo. After cocktails at the luxurious Grand Hotel, I was picked up by a yacht directly outside the hotel. We drove out to our very own archipelago island and got to swim and use the sauna. After a spectacular meal outside, we were picked up by a helicopter to go back to town. We landed on a helicopter pad on the water right by Gamla Stan (the old town). I’ve never felt quite so much like a rock star.

Dog sledding at the Arctic Circle.

9. I’ve travelled to the Arctic Circle four times, twice in the winter. Summer is amazing thanks to the 24-hour light. But winter, now that is something really special to experience so far north. (Actually, I am partial to going in the spring when there is still plenty of snow around, but the daylight hours are long.) Snowmobiling, ice fishing, dog sledding. Reindeer hanging out on the roads and cooked up for dinner as well. What’s not to like about being in a winter wonderland?

10. Thanks to Robert’s work, we travelled to Shanghai, China and stayed for two weeks. It was so different from anything I expected. And I loved it. People were curious and friendly and asked to have their photos taken with me. Shanghai was this crazy mix of old world vegetable carts being pulled by hand on busy highways next to giant skyscrapers. Because I missed my flight home, I had to spend two days in Beijing on my own. Even after all the exploring I had done on my own in Shanghai, it was a little overwhelming at first. But I hiked the Great Wall of China by myself. In the snow of November. And that was awesome.

Continuing with my recent mode of questioning where I am going to live, I’ve realized one thing for sure – I love living internationally. I’ve gotten to do so many things that I never imagined doing. While I am thinking that I might like to live somewhere else in the world, I am very happy living as an expat. Here’s why:

Doing the frog dance on midsommar. We are demonstrating the frog's little tiny ears.

1. While I’ve certainly had my ups and downs about living in Sweden, where else could I have done the frog dance around a May pole at midsommar, learned Viking drinking songs, been to pagan bonfires and seen the midnight sun? This is a quirky, beautiful country.

Heading out for the last day of animal viewing at Motswari Game Reserve in South Africa.

2. Because I lived in Stockholm, I got to go on safari in South Africa. How’s that happen, you ask? One of the first people I met in Sweden was Annelie. She is South African. When she got married to her Finnish husband, it was on a game preserve outside of Johannesburg. And the next day, we went on a safari just outside of Kruger National Park. On day one and on our very first time out in the jeep, we saw two lions take down a buffalo. It was amazing, terrifying, powerful. And to this day, this is one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done in my life.

Look closely. That mirrored object in the woods is actually a tree house in the Arctic Circle.

3. Thanks to being on assignment for  Condé Nast Traveler, I got to stay in a luxury tree house in middle of the woods in the Arctic Circle. That would have never happened if I lived in Cincinnati. By the way, the camouflaged Mirrorcube is the most visually spectacular tree house you ever wanted to see. Accessed via a swinging bridge, the room is supported by a pine tree growing through it and feels like part of the forest.

One of Amsterdam's infamous canals.

4. Living in Europe, I can take quick trips to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome, Vienna, Munich. I’m still thrilled beyond belief that I can experience so much by taking about two-hour plane trip. At this point, I should probably try to act more blase about that, but I’m not.

5. When taxi drivers ask where I am from and I respond, they never believe me. “No, you don’t sound like an American. Where are you really from?” While I find it rather amusing that they don’t believe me, I have to wonder why they think I would lie about that. It’s a strange thing and I don’t know why, but it makes me laugh.

To be continued…

Spring is bursting out all over. These daffodils were on the campus of KTH.

Tulips at Djurgårdsbron.

“The water. I need to get to the water.” A frantic, desperate looking Russian woman grabbed my arm as I passed her on the street. She’d first said something incomprehensible to me in Russian, then switched to a barely recognizable English.

I pointed in the opposite direction she was heading as I assumed that she meant the sea and she was literally two blocks away from the Baltic Sea. But she clearly had no idea where she was. I recognized her lost look – I think I wore it permanently for the first six months I lived in Stockholm. I’ve been there so many times. But what’s funny is that people ALWAYS ask me for directions. I take it as a compliment – that I must look like I know where I’m going. Robert thinks that it’s more that I look approachable and like I might actually be able to help. Which I suppose is all true in some kind of  way.

Now that it’s heading into prime tourist season in Stockholm, I will be getting these questions just about every day. It’s kind of fun.

And of course, the tourist invasion also means that spring is here and summer is coming. The flower photos are just more signs of spring.

The walpurgis eve celebration on Riddarholmen, with Stadshuset in the background. Photos © Robert Corkery 2012.

Winter is done. Over. We burned it out of town last night. Today is valborg or May Day in Stockholm. It’s a holiday and last night was walpurgis eve or bonfire night. All over Sweden, fires were lit to burn off the last of winter and launch us into spring. Let’s hope it works. I like the symbolism of the night in all its many facets – that you are literally burning or getting rid of all the winter junk in your yard, including the branches and leaves, and I also like the idea of celebrating the move from one season to another. For students, valborg means freedom – exams are over and they are getting ready to graduate. And for me personally, I like the idea of getting rid of old baggage and moving on.

We went with a group of friends to the Valborgsmässoafton on Riddarholmen in the center of town. It was absolutely packed with people. Traditional songs of spring were sung as usual. But then, rather inexplicably, karaoke of the very worst kind started – sappy songs sung by people who can’t sing. And that’s when our group of eight decided it was time to move to the pub.

The pyre.

The crowd with Lake Mälaren and Södermalm in the background.

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Playing dress up at the mohippa studio.

We are so groovy. That's the bride on the right, by the way.

Meeting people I would not ordinarily have the chance to meet. That’s one of the best parts of living as an expat. On Friday night, I went to a möhippa – a bachelorette party. While I knew the bride and a handful of the other guests, I had never met most of the women before. But with that common link of being expats in Stockholm, we all connected during the course of the night and I had a blast. Plus, I met some amazing women.

Much like in the US, a möhippa is a big excuse to have fun with friends. We started the night at Mohippestudion, a party room designed for hen parties. While the bride got a makeover, the rest of us drank champagne and chatted. Then we all went into a giant closet where we got to change into outfits, shoes and accessories to pose in for a photographer.

Fueled by champagne and playing dress up, we had so much fun. I went for two groovy 1970s inspired outfits and one Marilyn Monroe dress. Next was dinner and American-style shower games. And we ended the evening at a local dance club. I was exhausted by the time it was all over. But I had a big smile on my face.

The möhippa group.

An up-close look at the cherry blossoms. This photo © by Robert Corkery. All others © by Sandra Carpenter.

They’re back! This week, the cherry blossoms have been in full bloom in Stockholm and Kungsträgården is packed with people checking them out. People of all ages and nationalities are there – in addition to Swedish and English, I heard Russian, Japanese, Finnish, Spanish and German. And everyone is taking photos with their cameras and phones – in front of me at one point, I counted 50 people posing with the blossoms. There’s something magical about this time of year. The blossoms are gorgeous, but even more than that I think they’re a sure sign of spring and people are happy to be outside again.

I loved these guys in kiminos.

Striking the Iphone pose.

It's spring at last!

Checking out the results.