Team Albright

Are there gators in Liverpool???

2011-01-15T17:37:00.000-08:00

Questions abound.

I mean I know life is going to change...dramatically. I know what I think is important now [including football (of the American persuasion), football (of the rest of the world persuasion), beer, golf, good food] will likely not be so important 3 - 4 months from now. But what will? I am sure that sleep and sanity will be hot commodities for Team Albright, but how much of yourself get's to stay? I like a lot of my personal interests, but also recognize that the addition of a wee Albright will put many others in perspective. Just which ones will remain? Will I be too sleep deprived to properly introduce Shimmers to my Gamecocks or my Blues? Or will my need of rest mean that Shim ends up a Liverpool supporting Gator? I'm willing to become a tee totaling vegan if it means that won't happen. And I'm pretty sure we have to leave Stockholm before Shim gets any sort of association with AIK.

So, in summary, I guess you'll be happy to know that my only concerns about our coming addition is his/her athletic allegiances. It may seem silly, but it's true. I just don't know how I'd deal with a Pool supporting Gator.

Press Release: The newest recruit

2011-01-12T09:25:00.001-08:00

Jan. 11, 2011 - For Immediate Release

At a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden yesterday, representatives for Team Albright announced the recruitment of a long sought after third teammate to join the existing team.

The team's patriarch, Brad Albright, commented on what this new signing means for Team Albright.

"We are truely excited about the addition to our team and are confident our newest recruit will help us become a more well rounded and most importantly, a more competitive family unit."

Ms. Lago Albright, the team's matriarch, commented that the process of bolstering Team Albright's squad was far from a smooth road.

"The negotiations, while pleasant and enjoyable at the onset when we made the decision to bring on another team member, were not without difficulties. So trying was the process that about 2 months in I would find myself physically ill to the point of nausia and crying at the most mundane occurrences". Mrs. Lago Albright added, "I also had to keep crackers by my bed".

It is unclear whether or not the newest addition will be joining the men's or women's squad for the upcoming season. News from team insiders suggests that no information will be forthcoming on this matter until the scheduled signing date of May 8, 2011. Regardless of sex, it is doubtful that this new addition will provide support in the short-term for Mr. Albright's home brewing operations. On the prospects, Albright commented,

"It's too soon to tell. I'm hopefull that after 18 - 21 years of grooming he/she will have developed the pallate to contribute to some truely special brews. These skills take time to develop though and we won't be rushing into anything".

Team Albright is confident however that the newest addition will strengthen their squad in the areas of food consumption and human waste production. Reports suggest that such gains are known to come at a cost. The team's stats in the area of nightly-sleep-hours are expected to take a huge hit in the short term.

For inquiries please contact: Team Albright at www.teamalbright.blogspot.com

The Year in Beer: Best of 2010

2010-12-21T01:18:00.000-08:00

A buddy of mine has a tradition of putting together a "best of" list for music every year (http://www.youknowthisaboutme.blogspot.com/). He also puts together some pretty enjoyable soundtracks for lazy Sundays. Peep it. He convinced me I need to put together a top 10 beer list.

The rules: I had to try these beers for the first time this year. That's the only rule. This has excluded some like N'Ice Chouffe, which I first tried last Christmas but it has easily become my winter warmer standard. But I'm a stickler for the rules. As a side note, my spell checker is set to Swedish and I can't change it. These past 2 years have taught me that I have a finite capacity for language. Every advance in Swedish has come at the expense of my English. So you'll just have to deal with any type-o's.

But first, I'm doling out a couple side awards...

Best session: Place: My apartment. Beer: Anchor Steam Liberty Ale. What happened: US v Algeria. Landon Donovan. You say stoppage time, I say crazy time.

Best non-drinking beer related experience: Hearing my home brew bubble for the first time. Me to my wife in complete seriousness, holding back tears of pride: "I don't think I'll be this happy until I feel our first born kick in your stomach." As I have yet to experience the latter, I can't say whether or not that statement is true.

And now to The List...

#10. Gotlands Bryggeri - Wisby Sleepy Bulldog Pale Ale: I had to get a Swedish brewery in here and Gotland puts out some nice high quality stuff. Nothing too earth shattering, but this one was my standard summer session beer this year. Refreshingly hoppy with strong citrus notes.

#9. Pontoon Brewery - Hop on Board IIPA: There's no picture for this one as it was a very limited release of 55 bottles, of which I drank approximately 50. That's right, it's my beer. To be honest it was fantastic. A super hoppy double IPA, dry hopped with Cascade...mmmmm. Could be a case of being blind to my own shortcomings, but I loved it and that is what this list is about. So shut up.

#8. Mikkeller - Texas Ranger Chipotle Porter: The first of 3 Mikkeller beers on this list. When it comes to Mikkeller, I'm somthing like a combination Beiber/Twilight crazed tween (sidenote: Thank you Atlantic for keeping the Beiber/Twilight histeria off our frozen shores). If you aren't in the know about the father of Gypsy Brewing, check out this article in the Washington Post. Back to the beer. I've had a Chipotle Porter before at Rogue in Portland. It was very much a novelty beer and heavy on the spice. Since pretty much every beer Mikkeller brews is a novelty beer, there's an attention to detail here that really works. The peppers act as sort of a substitute for hops, cutting the maltiness and only appearing as a faint burn on the way down. It really made me sad to finish the bottle.

#7. Rogue - XS Imperial IPA: Had this one at the Stockholm Beer and Whiskey Festival this year. I had eyed it for a couple years but could never justify the pricetag. A combination of homesickness and the fact that I can't buy Rogue here made me pull the trigger. My drinking companion was a Swede we met in Seattle who has since moved here, and at first sniff we were transported back to the Emerald City. That's why this one gets on the list.

#6. Mikkeller - Vesterbro Red: On tap at the Mikkeller Bar in Copenhagen. This one wasn't my first choice, but a crowded bar led to a misunderstanding with the bartender and this was the result. Perhaps it was his way of telling me I was about to make the wrong choice and he took measures into his own hands. Thank you Lars or Kjell or Anders or whatever your name was. This amber ale was spot on. Crisp, hoppy and a touch of sour. I went back and had another despite the excellent range of beers on tap.

#5. Nognes - Imperial DunkelWit: I don't know what kind of beer this is. Dark, syrupy, hoppy, citrusy, cardamom, but at the same time it has characteristics of a light Belgian wit. It's that combination and undefinable taste that makes is so damn interesting. And at 10% ABV, you don't have very long to try to figure it out before your senses start to go. This Norwegian brewery puts out some pretty wild stuff so keep an eye out for them.

#4. Great Divide - 16th Anniversary Wood Aged IPA: I wasn't sure about this one, but special edition US micro's are few and far between over here, so I had to pick it up. I think I was expecting a crisp hoppy IPA with hints of oak. What I got was an IPA that was equally as malty as hoppy. It was interesting enough that I had to go back for another to try it out without any preconceptions. In the end I really enjoyed that balance of sweetness, hoppiness and high octane. A very enjoyable sipper.

#3. Brouwerij De Ranke - Guldenberg: When I'm not drinking something on the crazy experimental US side of the spectrum, I'm seeking out the time tested Belgians. This one is a fantastic example of the Tripel style. One of De Ranke's few non-sour beer offerings, they got it so right they didn't need to muck around with anything else. Although thier Bitter XX does get an honorable mention this year.

#2. Gouden Carolus - Cuvee Van De Keizer Blauw (2010): This Belgian dark strong ale is up there in best of style. Brewed once a year on Charles V's birthday, taking the regular Gouden Carolus as a base, the quality of ingredients and ABV gets a kick up with fantastic results. Great for cellaring and I have 2 of these puppies ripening right now. Plan is to pick up a 2011 and 2012 and try a vertical tasting in a couple years. At 750 ml a bottle, I'll need some help, so book your tickets to Stockholm.

#1. Mikkeller - Beer Geek Brunch Weasel Imperial Stout: This was also the last craft beer I've had this year and was a pick-up from my recent trip to Copenhagen. Coffee & chocolate dominate with a little kick of spice and vanilla. There's the added bonus of knowing that the coffee beans used in this one have passed through the digestive tract of a Vietnamese weasel creature. There are flavors and nuances here I guarantee you have never experienced in a beer before.

Honorable mention: De Ranke Bitter XX, Mikkeller Santa's Little Helper, Mohawk Barley Wine 2010, Pontoon Brewery Stockholm Amber, Mikkeller American Dream, Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti.

Until next year, SKÅL!!!

Vacation weeks 2 & 3 (of 3)

2009-07-27T04:13:00.000-07:00

Just got back to Stockholm after our Southern/West Coast swing and am getting ready to pack up and head out on the final leg of my long vacation to Seattle for a few days.

After the first week of boating and messing around at the summer house, we took off for a week long road trip to the Southern part of Sweden, Skåne and Österlen. It's truly a beautiful part of the country, and a bit different than any other part. Reminds me a lot of Nebraska by the sea oddly enough. Wide open fields right next to rocky seascapes, and the weather seems to be a bit more temperate than the rest of the country.

We started off with a 2 night stay with some friends of Cecilia's parents outside Malmö. In addition to their fine hospitality, we enjoyed a round at Bärsebäck Golf & CC, site of the SAS Masters Cup (which just finished). My golf season kicked into high gear here and I shot my best round ever, a 9 over par 80. It was enough to drop my handicap to a respectible 14, which subsequent rounds would show is probably too low. Crappy thing about the Swedish handicap system is that you can lower your handicap pretty easily with a good round (I went from 18 to 14.1), but when you play 3 crap rounds after that (which I did), you don't raise it nearly as quickly (I'm now at 14.3 despite 3 horrendous rounds). So with my one-time fantastic round, I basically shot myself in the foot for the upcoming company tournament in September where I'll have to play on a 14 handicap.

After our stay north of Malmö, we pointed the Volvo east towards Simrishamn to meet up with some of Cecilia's old friends and tour the countryside, including a beach stop, tour of an apple orchard, a couple small fishing villages and ending at a great little B&B in the middle of nowhere where we enjoyed a great dinner. Highlight was the parmasean cheese sauce served w/the steak Cecilia had. Tasted fantastic and the chef gave me the recipe which is embarrassingly easy. Cream, paramsean cheese and a bit of lime juice. I'm going to give it a go tonight to see if I can recreate it.

We took off early for another round of golf among the apple orchards and along the sea at Lila Vik. Not the worst round in the world, those would come later. Cecilia did have a brain fart which made for a good laugh around the 13th hole (see picture below for explanation).

After our round, we meandered along the coast south towards Ystad, stopping at about every antique store and flea market on the way before finally arriving in Ystad. It was sort of a last minute decision to stop here and we booked a room a couple days in advance. A wildly popular detective series ("Wallander") was filmed here, and now the Brits are doing an English version. All English actors speaking English, but its set in Sweden and all the characters have Swedish names. If it doesn't sound strange, take my word for it, it is. Anyway, the cast and crew totally booked 2 hostels for about 2 years and that on top of it being high season, we were left with the one hotel room left in an ancient hotel on the main street. Sounded good, until we got there. The receptionist said it wasn't a double, but 2 single beds. "Fine", we thought, "we can just push the beds together". Wrong. The room was essentially 2 closets they combined. 2 single beds, with a 1/2 wall separating them, and, the kicker, 2 mounted TV's on either side of the 1/2 wall. The 2nd kicker, the toilet was in a closet. 3rd kicker, so was the shower, only a different closet. By far the strangest hotel room we ever stayed in.

A nice meal and we were off the next day for some outlet shopping on our way back to Stenungsund. Our final week there was spent at the summer house just relaxing and doing a bit of gardening, which continuously surprises me how much I enjoy weeding. I could sit there all day just turning dirt. Cecilia and Carl-Axel kept interrupting me with dinner and other small trips though. In the end, I got most of one entire flower bed done and it's looking good considering it was basically a lawn when I started.

That was it really, 3 weeks and we made a few trips, but in the end it felt like we didn't do too much. I don't think Cecilia was ready to head back to work today, but I think I will be when I get back from Seattle. That said, I need to do a bit of packing before I leave tomorrow.

Cecilia doing her impression of the Turning Torso in Malmö

Another shot of the Turning Torso. Its an apartment building apparently.

At Clas & Kerstin's house outside Malmö. Theme for the vacation: Pimms Cup.

Enjoying some freshly made Gaspacho after meeting Cecilia's old friend Maria and her boyfriend Frederik. I don't remembering it being quite as blissful as the expression on my face would indicate. Good though.

Cecilia sampling some of the Applemust from Kivik's Musteri

Relaxing and deciding what to have for dinner at our B&B in Österlen.

Golf at Lila Vik.

Even though I look good, I don't think I hit the green here.

So there was a little sign next to this green "contraption" advertising smoothies. Cecilia was disappointed when, despite her best efforts, no smoothie came out of it. "It" being the BALL CLEANER. Cecilia is catching on to golf quickly, but apparently still has a way to go.

Cecilia was a bit overly enthusiastic about the poppies we found. I did check her bag for contraband.

The hotel. You can see the double TV's hanging on the wall.

Ales Stenar - These extremely old rocks in a formation that no one know's definatively why they are there.

Down the hill from the rock circle thing towards a little harbor where we enjoyed a fantastic lunch of....

Fresh Ale (shelf life 3 months), potato salad, shrimp salad, 2 kinds of smoked makerel, and freshly baked bread. Delish.

Back at the summer house, admiring my flower bed work.

It don't get more Swedish.

Crayfish dinner before we left the West coast. Delish.

Wine on the train. I'm finding I love riding the train between Stockholm and the west coast. Even though we rode the slow "milk train" and it took almost 5 hours, it's more enjoyable than flying.

Swedish vacation (week 1 of 3)

2009-07-12T05:14:00.000-07:00

(don´t judge grammar or spelling, this was hastily put together on our way out the door...) *

The first week of our summer holiday in Sweden has come to a close. If the first week is any indication, the remaining two are going to be fantastic.

We began last Saturday with a comfortable ride on the fast train from Stockholm, first class. Apart from the free coffee and slightly wider seats, I'm not sure what makes it first class. Crossing the breadth of the country in 3 hours is nice (it would take considerably longer to cross the length but we'll save that for another vacation).

A (terrible) round of golf at our home course in Stenungsund Sunday morning before readying the sailboat for our trip to Åstol, a small island in the western archipelago. We had a pleasant 2 hour trip to the island Brattön, where Cecilia's sister and family have their summer house. Cecilia and I spent our first night, which for me was one of fittful sleep, on the boat, and we departed for Åstol just after lunch. With I at the helm and Carl Axel as navigator we made the hour and a half trip through some relatively choppy waters and arrived at the disgustingly picturesque harbor. A few Pimms Cups (the quintessential summer drink) and a change of clothes and we were ready for what brought us here: Daniel Lemma at the smokehouse.

For those of you who don't know, Daniel Lemma is a Swede of ethiopian descent who's rise to fame (in Sweden) came when he penned the soundtrack to a hilairous film here. He's enjoyed moderate success with his subsequent releases but hasn't quite made a name for himself outside his homeland. I've been a fan ever since his first release and his song, "If I used to love you" was what Cecilia and I had our first dance to at our wedding (5 years ago in August!!!). The venue for the show was a 75 or so capacity dining room at a retaurant where smoked shrimp are the specialty. Between the friends/family, all you can eat shrimp, and the fact the venue was so small I could have refilled Daniel's water glass without getting out of my seat, it was easily one of the best musical experiences of my life. After the show I had a beer and a chat with Stephan, Daniel's very talented muti-instrumental backing musician aboutBreaking into the US and the music industry in general.

The plan was to leave the next day, but the weather was so fantastic and having nothing really to do, we poured a few more Pimms Cups and laid back in the harbour and relaxed for another day.
After making it back to the mainland, we loaded the car up and headed out to the summer house at Råö, which has been in Cecilia's mother's family for 3 generations. Cecilia is taking up the project of interviewing her grandmother about the history of the house for a coffee table book to be published in a very limited run (of 1, so don't be looking for it in your local Barnes & Nobel any time soon). We spent the next 2 days gardening and doing odd jobs around the house and its looking pretty good.

Today we are taking off for a roadtrip down south to Skåne, where the dialect boarders on Danish, for some golf and sightseeing.

The Swedish is coming along now. I can more or less follow any conversation I hear, with varying degrees of comprehension. I can almost always figure out at least generally what people are talking about. Speaking has proven to be the most difficult, but my interactions with Swedes have ceased to begin with "Pratar du engelska?/Do you speak English?" and I'm taking a stab at getting my message across, with varying degrees of effectiveness. When things get a little over my head I just pretend I know what people are talking about and just nod. It reminds me of how David Sedaris described learning French. Whenever someone would say something, he'd reply, "d'accord/ok" and see what happens. Fortunately I haven't found myself in my underpants in a doctors office waiting room, surrounded by fellow fully clothed "waiters" as a result of my faked comprehension, unlike Sedaris...yet.

Enjoy some pics from the last week...and the video of DL playing at Åstol at the bottom (if it ever finished loading...)

*computer froze so this is getting uploaded a week after it was written...(Cecilia)

a lovely couple.

Captain and skipper

Daniel Lemma and Stefan

Åstol...what you see is the extent of it.

It looks nice, but not nice enough to tempt me. Its not the Florida or South Carolina or Indonesia bathwater temperatures I am used to.

The family enjoying mackerel at the summer house.

Summer houses, 1/2 marathons and world records

2009-05-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

So not much new has been going on in these parts. I ran Göteborgsvarvet, the 1/2 marathon in Göteborg over the weekend. I set 2 records.

1. Largest 1/2 marathon in the world with over 60.000 runners. It showed. I was in the last starting group and was constantly hopping hither and yon about the course avoiding the slow(er) runners. Needless to say, I wasn't entirely pleased with my time, but considering I only trained 3 days for a 1/2 marathon, 1:51 is fine. It wasn't enough to beat the 3 other guys I was running with, which meant taking charge of the kitchen for the making of the paella after the race. T'were good.

2. Largest Ukulele ensemble playing the same song for 5 minutes. We played some song that aparently Scando's know but I have never heard it. "Rock around the world". Cecilia even picked up a spare uke, learned the 3 chords and joined in with over 650 other ukers. T'was fun.

Jaime and Laura (friend from HS) are coming over Kristihimmelsfärdsdag break. That's Ascension day for you not in the know or as I like it, the literal translation of "Christs Sky Journey Day!" I have a 4.5 day weekend because of it. We are heading out to the Archipelago and are praying for sun.

Oh I guess I haven't blogged since going out to the summer house. It was awesome. Hasn't seen many visitors in the past year and a half so there was a lot to be done. Found out I actually like gardening. Who knew. Throw the iPod in, some tasty jams (the Staple Singers or 70's Ghanian funk will do the trick) and I can weed with the best of them. Really looking forward to spending some time out there this summer. That and golfing (as soon as our damn shipment w/my clubs gets here).

K. Must clean before Jaime gets here tomorrow. Hej då!

Walpurgis(!!!) night. Wikipedia it. I don't know what it is, but it involves fires and like all good Swedish holidays, copius amounts of booze.

I basically weeded the whole time we were there. I guess you could say I was the Constant Gardener.

...see

View out over the water from behind the house. It's nice in case you can't tell (and I'm still weeding down there by the Volvo).

Swedish brine shrimp and a little Rose. Pre-grill staples.

Amped for the world record try (w/Camila's sambo Eric, dressed in hideous GAIS colors)

Ceecers picking up the chords

"High five for great success!!"

Paella and sangria while watching the Eurovision finals (which were crap). I won't even bother explaining what it is for the North Americans, but ABBA won it with Waterloo a long time ago.

What one looks like after 21km and a few drinks...not so patiently awaiting the 2am korv.

The Daily Show

2009-04-24T06:39:00.001-07:00

Found this link on the English language Swedish news site I follow over here. Man I love the Daily Show.

http://www.thelocal.se/blog/20090423/436/

Tina

2009-04-20T01:21:00.001-07:00

Last night Cecilia, Carl-Axel and I hit up Globen (Stockholm's appropriately named big indoor arena) to check out one Tina Turner, born November 26, 1939 in Nutbush, TN. That makes her 69, going on 70. It's truly amazing what exercise and a boatload of money can do for your appearance. She was a fantastic performer and still has full control of her trademark rough and raspy voice. It was good to hear some of the old classics of days with Ike, but I wasn't too much of a fan of the later solo stuff. One very strange moment came with "We don't need another hero", the song she wrote for "Mad Max and the Thunderdome" where she starred along Mel Gibson. She came out dressed up in her outfit from the movie, and sang next to a 7ft tall roid popping "dancer" decked out in what appeared to be a futuristic characature of a Trojan warrior outfit. I was dumbfounded.

However, she more than made up for it on Proud Mary and Nutbush City Limits. I didn't realize how excited I was to see Proud Mary, her rendition of which is pretty high up there in the list of Iconic performances in Rock history (see link above). I'm glad I got to see it. Me and the 60 year old lady in front of me were definately enjoying ourselves.

On another completely unrelated note, my most recent gastronomic gem of a find is Kräft Ost, or literally Crawfish Cheese. It's a delicious blend of spreadable cheese, bits of crawfish, salt brine and dill. Sounds repulsive, but tastes so mmmmmm. Great after concert snack.

On a sad note, my cousin is in the hospital in Cleveland with a mass in her brain and is going to have surgery this week. It's pretty serious. My thoughts are with you Steph.

(mmmm....fishy cheese)

(Enjoying a beer at intermission. Intermission at a concert you say?? I'm convinced they were watching out for all the old folk's and thier overactive bladders. I think I saw maybe 10 people as young as Cecilia and I there. It's a shame kids today don't respect the classics...what with thier heavy metal and rap music)

(Tina)

(Fancy retracting arm thing that took her over the crowd during Nutbush City Limits)

3 months in....

2009-03-27T02:05:00.000-07:00

2 paychecks in to the new job here and they haven't let me go yet. It's a small victory each day. Things are a bit slow, so hopefully this pesky little financial crisis will get itself cleared up and we can all go back to being productive.

Won free tickets to a stand-up comedy show a while back from the English news website here in Sweden. What I didn't know when I got there was that the opener was in Swedish ("headliner" was a Brit). I settled in for what I thought was going to be a loooooong 45 min of staring blankly at a guy doing his damndest to make me laugh. Fortunately my comprehension has picked up a bit since moving here. I laughed at everything I understood, which was about 10%. Unfortunately for the guy, everyone else only laughed at about 20% of his jokes. That means, I'm 50% fluent right??

I've all but quit the free gov't sponsored SFI language program. It's just not structured enough for me. I had 1 good teacher for a while, but even she couldn't compete with the constant flow of new students with varying levels of comprehension. I'm studying at home for a while and I think I'm going to pay to go to a class at the "Peoples University", folkuniversitet. Classes are a modest 2.000 SEK (~USD250) per 10 session class. Hopefully the old economic principle of free ridership (WARNING: that is the first of many in what is likely to be the blog post for how not to use hyperlinks) holds true and classes will be better/more efficient if students are forced to pay.

The only other thing keeping me from attaining fluency are these damn Stieg Larsson books. I have never really been one for crime thrillers, but I'm certifiably addicted, about a year later than everyone else in Sweden. It's like reading the DaVinci code after Tom Hanks went off galavanting after the holy grail on the big screen and EVERYONE already knew the story. It's exactly like that actually. The cinematic interpretation of the first book is in theatres now, with the very talented Mikael Nyqvist playing the Tom Hanks role. In fact, if anyone is looking for good foreign movies, he's got a couple really good ones: As it is in Heaven and everyone's favorite pre-almost-too-disturbing-to-watch Moodysson film, Together about life in a 60's commune in Sweden.

Winter looks to be on the way out, but as I've been warned by many a Swede here, there is really no telling in April and May. We could be in for more snow, which seems pretty unlikely to me, but then again, I've spent the majority of my life in tropical climates...it hurts just writing that. I didn't know how good I had it.

Anyways, we had a great Easter break, and I use "break" to the fullest extent of its meaning, boardering on "hiatis". Somehow a Sunday holiday turned into a 5 day weekend. For being a pretty non-religious society, they like to celebrate the religious holidays...in the most pagan nature worshiping ways of course. Apart from the symbolism of eating lamb, there is really nothing "churchy" about it. We went out to Cecilia's aunt and uncle's summer house about 2 hours outside Stockholm in the archipelago. The spot is amazing, and despite my aforementioned tropical upbringing and the fear of all water colder than body temperature, I managed to hop in the just above freezing (3degC/37degF) water after a litte bastu/sauna. Unfortunately, I wasn't intoxicated to the point of numbness.

Here's some picture of what is hopefully the end of winter and begining of spring, taken over the last month or so...

(Cecilia outside our apartment building here)

(Walking up some old streets on Södermalm, where we would like to live)

(Very suprised to see this since they are all but failing in the US. Maybe the only Tully's in the world serving Nacho's. Unfortunately they found it utterly incomprehensible that "dirty chai" could exist...."but a chai doesn't come with espresso!!" " No, @$%^, buddy, but amazingly enough, if you dump a shot of espresso in an ordinary Chai beverage, you can make a whole new and doubley wonderful beverage". I stomped out in disgust, which Cecilia quickly reprimanded me for. )

(Spring arrived bringing cucumber mint cocktails)

(Cecilia's uncle's house. We stayed in the little house in the foreground....

...with a sweet view of the water)

(Heading out for a run with the Lago's)

(Breakfast on the water)

(Sunset on the water)

(Despite the thin layer of blubber, I am not ready to traverse the arctic waters)

The Grind...

2009-03-10T02:39:00.001-07:00

Been a while, but nothing much has happened in a while. Cecilia started working and is already too busy. She has some fun projects though. Working with the Brittish Embassy and a beer importer to launch Fuller's new beer for the Swedish market and doing the opening of the new Kosta Boda glass hotel(http://www.kostabodaarthotel.se/). Me, I'm valuing the Trade name of a swedish chewing tobacco product. Fun times.

My classes at Svenska för Invandrera (SFI or Swedish for Immigrants) started. I think usually people on contract get private language lessons, but my company didn't want to and I didn't really want to push it...after all they gave me a job without a proper interview, so....Besides, I wanted the "real" immigrant experience. By that, I mean what all the political refugees from countries not-friendly with the US experience.

SIDENOTE: It’s a real debate here on the efficacy of their integration process. Swede's are being accused/accusing themselves of being racist, the integration programs are failing and highly skilled workers in areas of need are being left on the sidelines while they deal with the Swedish bueuracracy. Case in point (which is sad or hilarious depending on what mood you're in): A friend of Cecilia's works at a large engineering firm here. They are experiencing a severe shortage of qualified engineers, so what do you do. You go to where you know the engineers are. Where is that? Driving taxis in Stockholm, of course. They gave their engineers some jingle and had them go jump in taxis in Stockholm and see if the drivers were engineers in whatever country they came from. No joke.

So back to the Swedish lessons...They've gotten off to a very slow start. Have to get your personnumer (SS#) to sit for an assessment. Got that after a week. Went for my test the week after. Waited 2 weeks after that for class to start. 1st class wasn't class, but another assessment test that concluded exactly what the first did with regards to my placement. I show up for my first "class", and the group was going for a field trip...ice skating. I'm not against ice skating, but at 5:30pm, in my suit (yes, this isn't Seattle with chino's and fleece jackets) mentally prepared to begin my long journey to fluency, a jaunt around the rink with my new classmates is not what I had in mind. How does that lesson look? (Foreigner: Oj, jag faller!/Ow, I fall Teacher: Nej, du föll/No, you fell). Anyhow, me and a Cuban guy I met at the first class/2nd test who was supposed to start in my class was of the same opinion as I was, so we sat in on another class while ours went off gallivanting around central Stockholm.

In my first "real" class that wasn't ice skating, things went very slowly. We went through some exercises, sat around a table in groups where we were supposed to be conversing in Swedish, but mostly just staring at each other and speaking English when we did talk. How the hell do you describe what you do in Swedish when you've been here for 3 months and what you do is bioinformatics. What the hell is that you ask? Me too. I'm still not sure, but apparently it involves genomes and writing computer programs (so the people in my class aren't dumb). Anyway, when you struggle to come up with "Jag är hungrig/I'm hungry" describing bioinformatics is a ways off.

Once we were done staring at each other and speaking English, the teacher went around the room and asked us how we learn best to figure out how to structure the class. Normal answers all around, going through exercises, speaking with the teacher, etc. Then we come to 2 Indian IT consultants. We spent the next 45 minutes while they told the teacher how to teach. I could go into details, but the whole process exhausted and frustrated me and I don't want to relive it. I ended up gnawing my fingernails to stubs to keep me from jumping out of my chair and bludgeoning them. Suffice to say, they desired a bit more structure in their lessons.

After all this, I've come to the conclusion that my quest for Swedish is going to be largely an endeavor I embark on by myself. Free lessons are great, but if they go too slow and cause near aneurisms, I think I can do better on my own, with the help of my live-in tutor. Since then I've been reading and translating whatever material I can get my hands on and just last night found Lätt Svenska Nyheter (Easy Swedish News or as I call it, Svenska Nyheter for manniskör som är dum i huvud/Swedish News for idiots). I'm reading that and reading the articles out loud for Cecilia and doing a bunch of Swedish-talking in the house, so things are progressing....in spite of SFI.

Here is a picture I took from my phone on the way to the tube from home this morning. Nice and snowy.

Senare
B

Apartments, Language and TV in Sverige

2009-02-11T10:08:00.000-08:00

This weekend we went around to take a peek at a few apartments on the market just for fun. The whole process of purchasing an apartment here is wildly different from what I imagine it to be in the states. Places get listed about a week before the viewing. Viewings are almost exclusively on Sunday afternoons and Monday evenings. You write your name down if you are interested and the broker contacts you on Tuesday to start the bidding process, which lasts roughly a day. You bid against other interested parties, where the price you get can go up by 10 - 40% depending on the level of interest and the starting price itself. The deal is done on Wed or Thu. So, impulsive behavior is a must if you are going to get anything. Fortunately both Cecilia and I have impulsive tendencies. The 2nd place we looked at we wanted to buy. The only thing holding us back was about 3 million kronor.

On what is sure to be the first of many comments about language difficulties, I am having language difficulties. I thought learning a bit of Spanish in South America would help me when I came here to learn Swedish. That may still be the case as I don't start Swedish classes for another 2 weeks. However, right now it's backfiring. Whenever I stop thinking and try to let my subconsious Jens do the work, my subconsious Raul takes over. He's always right there to say, "No gracias" instead of "Nej tack". Hopefully over time Jens will get in some workouts and take Raul out. I imagine he'll do it out of jealousy of his fabulously lush mustache. What's that you say? Of course I don't miss my facial hair.

On another note, TV here isn't too bad. For some reason they have Family Ties on every night. In the two episodes I've seen they've covered my 2 favorite things...gambling and drinking, and I almost got to learn some valuable life lessons. Don't drink or gamble. Family Ties can be a downer but you can't really take it seriously as it is set in the 80's. What a rediculous time. Tom Hanks (I forgot he was Elise's (the mom) brother) made a fool of himself b/c he was an alcoholic and they had an intervention. Then Elise went to Atlantic City for an architecture conference and played Blackjack all night. That's when I knew I couldn't take it seriously. Blackjack?!?! Everyone knows you play craps at the casino. Silly Family Ties.

I promise next time to have pics of our pad. Stupid memory card won't load and the Simpson's just came on.

Later,

B

Not visiting this time, or Welcome to the LotNM

2009-01-23T02:11:00.000-08:00

So after a few weeks back stateside visiting friends and family and supporting the struggling airline industry through exsessive weight-overage fees on our luggage, we've made it to Sweden.

Through all the chaos of traveling for the past few months I really hadn't had the time to internalize what was going on. Sure, I managed to get a job (barely...GT Sweden put a hiring freeze in place shortly after I signed) and we managed to rent an apartment (our last day in Buenos Aires), but when we landed I found myself pretty well mentally unprepared for the move. It wasn't really untill about 2 hours left of the flight to Stockholm that it hit me. I was looking out the window thinking, "Gee, it's getting on to morning here and I can't see the sun rise". Then I realized, "You are moving to Sweden, Brad, land of the midnight sun". What the PR/Ad folks at the tourism bureau don't mention is that this also means that Sweden is the "Land of the Noon Moon" (LotNM as I will now refer to it during the winter months). This was the first time I figured out that this wasn't just one of the many visits I've made to the LotNM. I was here to stay.

Passing through Immigrations, the officer looked at my passport and asked if Cecilia and I were traveling together. "Yes." How long would we be staying. "uhhhh, we live here now", as in as of right now this minute, we just started living here. Crazy. It blows my mind.

Going to work for the first time on Monday to be present at the bi-weekly staff meeting to introduce myself and meet everyone briefly. They are giving dude a phone; a real fancy touch screen, pull out keyboard, microsoft mobile smart-phone, that I'm sure they expect me to do all sorts of "smart" things with. And I got notice that I'm going with the department on the annual ski trip to the French Alps in March. From almost not getting a job to all that, things seem to be shaping up pretty well.

Now if C can just land something we'll be set. Considering she's at an interview as I type this, we're hopefull on that front as well.

I'll keep updating occasionally, and I'm sure as I start to work and learn the language and get to know the LotNM a bit better there will be some humorous stories.

Later,

B

New Years and final days in BA

2009-01-05T07:13:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe that 3 months in South America is coming to a close. In just over 24 hours we´ll be on a plane to the U.S. of A., where in our absence, my compatriots have elected on Barrak Hussein Obama, II as leader of the"free world", other government heads decided to give billions of dollars to failing auto makers, said dollars did a bit of a turn around relative to other major (and some minor...ie Argentinian Peso) currencies, and the price of oil dropped 50%. Quite a lot has happened in these past three months.

After spending Christmas in Mendoza, we came back to BsAs to pick up Russ, have another dinner at our favorite steak restaurants with some new friends we met in Mendoza, and catch our boat to Uruguay where we´d spend NYE at Punta del Este. Our host in Punta was a semi-retired Argentine photographer who was a character to say the least (who picked us up at the station in his 1978 Peugeot 404. Extremely hospitable and we felt more like a part of the family during the stay than as guests in his hostel.

After New Years, it was back to Bs As to round out our stay and finish what we hadn´t done on our first visit, namely visit La Boca and the Boca Juniors stadium and eat at our favorite steak restaurant again, one last time.

3 months is a long time to be away and we are both getting anxious to get started with "real life" again. We´ve thoroughly enjoyed every moment here and have only 1 more day to get robbed. Enjoy some pictures.

B

With our American friends from the winery tour in Mendoza at La Cabrerra one more time (we went back again after Uruguay)

Just outside the old colonial gates of...you guessed it, Colonia (de Sacremento)

First visit to the beach in Uruguay. Pretty nice beaches.

Russ and Brad touring the peninsula on a pretty blustery day.

I´m convinced this person had some ties to Seattle. It´s in the same font!

Russ´first Matè experience. In the words of our host Abel (pictured), "It was emotional". Yerba Matè is the national drink of Argentina and Uruguay and is a sort of tea. Could be mistaken for a cheap bag of weed, and tastes pretty bitter at first sip. These folk´s go through anywhere between 2 and 5 liters of the stuff in a day, depending on who you ask. The matè cup and thermos are a fixture on any self respecting Argentine/Uruguayan man´s person at all times.

In addition to lodging, Abel´s daughter, Nora, who had set up camp (literally in a tent in the front yard) with dad for the summer, offered yoga in the front yard (Camilla in blue, Cecilia in Orange, Erik in green)

Self made lounge chairs at the beach

Cecilia and Camilla enjoying the sun.

Futbol on the beach on 12-31-08. The swede´s beat Freddy, Nora´s boyfriend, and I in a tight match 6-5. They had a 1 person advantage for half the game though before I took Cecilia out with a foot injury.

The ladies ready for NYE in matching dresses. How cute.

Me, Cecilia and Erik, enjoying some NYE champagne. Erik enjoying it a bit more than everyone else it seems.

La Boca district of BsAs, after returning from Uruguay. Houses were originally painted that color from leftover paint used on the nearby boat docks. Houses now painted in that color to attract tourists. It works.

In La Bombadero, the Boca Juniors stadium. For all you N. Am´s not in the know, it´s probably the biggest club in South America, and produced Diego Maradona, arguably the best football player ever and arguably the most famous Argentine ever...Evita Peron included. How can you not be when you won a world cup for your country, scoring 1. arguably the greatest goal ever, a 1 on 8 march down the field, and 2. the most infamous goal ever (a hand ball that was ruled a goal...so named the "hand of God"), you end your career and begin a life of binge eating/drinking/cocaine abuse, almost die and befriend Fidel Castro, come back from near death and get elected to coach the national team. What a life.

Diego´s star outside the staduim. Cecilia´s foot is now blessed. We haven´t gotten her a ball at her feet since this picture, but I´m expecting big things.

Merry Christmas from Mendoza

2008-12-26T09:34:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to everyone from lovely, stiflingly hot Mendoza Argentina. It was 86 degrees in our hostel room when I woke up this morning. Needless to say it´s a bit difficult to get into the Christmas spirit. Mendoza has been a great place to spend a few days over the holidays though. After one day hike, which I swear will be my last hike in a while (I ¨forgot¨my hiking boots in our last hostel so no one could make me hike anymore) we settled into to some pretty lazy days filled with lounging by the hostel pool and enjoying the fruits of the Mendocinos wineries. Rented bikes one day to tour the wineries which was an experience. We only made it to 3 wineries in 6 hours despite the fact that they are no more than a few kilometers apart. Christmas was nicely subdued. Small Swedish style jul bord and a mini-white elephant gift exchange between Cecilia, Camilla Erik and I.

Waiting to take off on the bus back to Buenos Aires to meet Russ and head out for Punta del Este, Uruguay for a few days over new years. Hope everyone is having a great holiday.

B

Bingo on the bus from Bariloche to Mendoza. Just one of the many ways to keep yourself occupied on the 19 hour bus rides. Another is watching terrible American B movies that the sound will inexplicably switch to Russian half way through.

Erik and I in a heated game of ping pong against a couple of Danes.

Interesting sign along the wine route. Bad things must happen to the right.

Our very ¨touchy¨waiter at the first winery, Christian serving Erik, or Vigo (Mortensen) as Christian was so fond of calling him. He told me I didn´t have the actors face, more like a producer.

Sitting amongst the vines enjoying one of our purchases.

Cecilia with our police escort on the way back to the bike rental place. We spent too much time in the vineyard drinking so we were the last tourists back along the route and aparently its not the safest road.

Christmas dinner at the hostel on the 24th.

Adventour in Bariloche

2008-12-19T06:50:00.000-08:00

Last day here in Bariloche which has been our home for the last two weeks. Getting on the night bus to Mendoza (wine country) this afternoon where we will be spending Christmas. Our last couple of days in Bariloche was filled with fun activities. Eric, Brad and I went river rafting one day where Brad had his second near death experience after choosing the "more adventurous" boat, falling in the water and ending up underneath the boat when trying to come up for air, twice, and then getting caught by a whirlpool on the third attempt. We had a great time though and after reaching the Chilean border (the river runs through both countries) we enjoyed some traditional Argentinian asado before heading back to Bariloche.

Camilla and Erik arrived on Tuesday after spending a couple of days in Buenos Aires, great to see them!! We rented a car one day and did the "Seven Lake Route", enjoyed some amazing views, a very cold swim and a short hike. Yesterday we went horse backriding in the mountains, it was so much fun, and a bit dangerous (helmets are apparently not for gauchos and so not for tourists either). First time I have been on a horse without a helmet and riding "Western style" was totally new to me but we figured it out after a little while. We were out for 5 hours climbing all the way to the top of the mountain where the ski lifts are and rode through a gorgeous forest before reaching a cliff where we had lunch, steak sandwiches cooked up by our guide on a little grill. Later we galloped on gravel roads with crazy stray dogs running after us barking. The trip ended very unfortunate when Brad experienced his third near death experience on this trip. With 10 feet left to the gate where we stopping, Brad´s horse was in full gallop and as he assumes we are going straight the horse apparently wanted to turn towards his stable (sharp right turn) which it did and Brad flew off the side together with the saddle that came off. It was a scary moment but fortunately nothing was broken, head didn´t hit the ground. A very sore butt and back was the result and Brad is not looking forward to our 18 hour bus ride today.

Erik and Camilla joining us meant the addition of another ukulele for the "concerts" we have been having at the hostel the last couple of nights. Who knew backpacking would make me take up playing the violin? The amazing people at our favorite hostel of this trip Penthouse 1004 includes Javier who had a violin and a guitar and got us all playing instruments and singing while sipping wine after dinner. Fantastic.

C

The staff at the hostel, Javier, Cecilia and Gladis

Refugio Frey in the national park

On the bus to the river for some rafting

Down South

2008-12-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

It´s been a while since we´ve been in contact. After an extended stay in Puerto Madryn we headed down the west coast to Rio Gallegos, the furthest south anyone in our little group had been. That´s about the only thing memorable about the layover there, b/c an hour or so later we were back on a bus for a 4.5 hr trip northeast to El Calafate, home of the Perito Moreno Glacier. A couple days there doing a little trek on the ice (culminating with one of the most memorable scotch on the rocks I´ve had) and we were off for El Chalten, the national capital of trekking. Not sure what had been the capital of treking before because Chalten was only founded in 1985. Maybe 800 people inhabit the town, and I think that´s being very generous. Apparently not having had enough hiking, we laced up our boots and took off for 3 days, including one overnight. With that overnight, we officially entered the echelon of full-on backpackers. The scenery was nothing short of breathtaking as you can see below.

While on the map, the route from Chalten/Calafate to Bariloche looks straight forward enough, it isn´t. There are only 2 bus companies that operate that far south on the Routa 40, Argentina´s Route 66, that stretches nearly the entire length of this massive country. We chose one about which I had read a scathing review on another travel blog by some Brit. I chalked it half up to this guy being an insufferably pessimistic Brit, and half to a bit of truth. As we had gotten further south, our plush bus rides had gotten a bit less plush with the absense of hot meals (or any meals for that matter) and wine. And those were on the main bus lines operating well traveled routes. I was expecting the worst and the first day confirmed those expectations. The novelty of traveling up this legendary road where Ché once rode his motorcycle was not enough to make up for the cramped bus with no A/C, no bathroom, and a complete lack of scenery. True we had been spoiled with fully reclining seats, hot meals, movies and booze, and we were coming from the amazing scenery of Southern Patagonia so we were a bit spoiled. The only thing saving us from insanity on the first 12 hour leg was that Eric had brought with him a seemingly endless supply of books and when we weren´t reading, the combination of the constant jostling of the bus traveling on unpaved roads and the 90 degree heat knocked you out. We were either sleeping or reading for 12 hours that day, when we weren´t running behind shrubs to relieve ourselves. But we were assured that this wasn´t the ¨regular¨bus, and that the ¨regular¨ one had bathrooms. More than once I wondered why then we paid the ¨regular¨fare.

After a stay in Perito Moreno (town, not Glacier 12 hours south) we were greeted outside our hotel (yes hotel!! The first on our trip. Our room was noticably devoid of bunk beds and communal bathrooms) by a fully equiped bus, complete with TV´s, working A/C and reclining seats. The second leg of our journey would be better. An uneventful 12 hours later we arrived in Bariloche, toasted ourselves for having completed the marathon journey at the hostel bar with too many cervesas and passed out. We changed hostels after that first night being unimpressed by the big-company-run-hostel experience and opted for a smaller, unadvertised one on the top floor of a dilapidated apartment building close to the water. This place is amazing. Huge terrace overlooking the city and the lake and the mountains, huge kitchen equiped with 3 full gas ranges, large prep areas and (Cecilia´s favorite) prep bowls. We immediately booked all our remaining time in Bariloche, waiting for Camilla and Erik (Dec 15th) at this place.

After our 2.5 weeks down from BA to Southern Patagonia, we´ve been pretty pooped. We´ve taken it easy the last few days, making a trip to a little hippie town a couple hours south for a Jazz festival. Learned that hippies are hippies all over. Dirty dreadlocked parents with filthy little naked hippie children (Eric thinks the national pasttime is not fútbol, but baby-making, not only prominant among hippies, although more pronounced) drinking beer, smoking dope, selling ¨hippie crafts¨and generally being at one with the earth. Just like the hoards I would see at Phish concerts in my college days....only in Spanish.

We´re trying to get ourselves up for doing some more hikes while we wait, but the balcony view and proximity to the beach is making it difficult to get off our butts and do things. Enjoy the pics of our last couple weeks down here.

-B

PS I finally shaved off most of the beard I´ve been growing for 3 months. I have a bit of post-partim depression, but I´m working on a Key West/Captain Morgan inspired number now. Still a work in progress, but you´ll see in our next group of photos.

View of Perito Moreno Glacier outside El Calafate. Pieces the size of busses break off and splash to the water making quite a sight.

Cecilia treking on the Glacier

Brad trekking on the Glacier

The north face of the glacier (with enhanced blue function on the camera, which captures it more appropriately than normal settings)

2 happy kids on a boat by a glacier.

Eagerly anticipating the enjoyment to come...

Enjoying the enjoyment previously eagerly anticipated...ahhhh scotch on a glacier. I got a double since Cecilia doesn´t do brown liquor. Made for an interesting trip off the glacier.

2 kids outside a candy store...Patagonia style. That´s Lamb "al cruce" (Lamb on the cross)

The one horse town of El Chalten

Rock hopping towards another glacier in Chalten

By the glacier after rock hopping

Cecilia in all her hiking glory. Mt. Fitz Roy in the background.

All loaded up with camping gear. If Cecilia and I are backpacking, Eric is Plastic Bagging.

2 fun boys contemplating fun times.

2 fun boys having fun times

Breakfast at the Fitz Roy view point

Fitz Roy from the camp site

More breakfast by the peak. We took our camping stove up and made coffee. Fantastic.

Sunrise over Patagonia

The only time we remembered to take out our camera on Routa 40. Multiply this times 24 hours and you get the idea.

Ok, I lied. We did take out the camera one more time. Lucky shot this. We were cruising by on the bus and caught this guy just as he was waving by chance. If herding cats is tougher than herding sheep looks, I would love to see that.

View from the room of our hostel in Bariloche

Biking the Circuito Chico (little circuit) around some of the lakes close to Bariloche with a couple of Irishmen.

Outside a brewery in El Bolson where 70% of the hops grown in Argentina are grown. Perhaps the funnest of funboy moments on the trip so far.

Jazz fest in El Bolson. Surrounded by hippies. The naked babies are just out of sight.

Viewpoint on the circuito chico.

Iguazu Falls and Puerto Madryn

2008-11-24T07:54:00.000-08:00

What does waterfalls and penguins have in common? They make you giggle and say ooh and aaahh over and over again. Experienced both in the last week.

We took the (amazing) night bus to Puerto Iguazu on the border of Brazil and checked out the falls, including going on a boat getting completely drenched, I guess that was the ultimate experience of the amazing falls at this national park. Spent another couple of days in BA doing a city walking tour. Best tour we have ever done. Couple of young recent graduates who took you all over town and told you about the finance, politics and history of Argentina. Highly recommended if you are ever in BA. Invited to a pick-up game of soccer after Christmas with the same guys, we'll see how that goes. Erik and Camilla, bring your soccer shoes.

After another bus trip, this time 17 hours south we reached the small coastal town of Puerto Madryn where we decided to hang out for a couple of days. The 80 degree weather and nice beach helped us make that decision. The main attraction here is visiting the natural reserve at Peninsula Valdes. We spent a day there with a driver and guide taking us to different beaches showing us different kinds of wild life. The highlights included a one hour whale watching boat tour where we got to see some southern right whales up close (i.e. swimming under our boat) and a penguin colony. Watching Brad being chased by an armadillo was quite amuzing as well. We also saw sea lions and elephant seals.

Getting on the bus with destination El Calafate this afternoon where we will be switching out the bathing suit for crampons.

We`ll see if they have some Turkey at the next stop, otherwise chicken will have to do for Thursday´s festivities.

Hasta Luego!

Cecilia

Brad checking out the penguinos

On the boat looking for whales

Brad cooking up some dinner at La Tosca Hostel

Southern right whale swimming on her back

One should take tan lines in to consideration before buying hiking shoes

Brad and Eric at the beach in Puerto Madryn after riding our bikes in the heat

Devil`s Throat at Iguazu Falls (that´s Brazil on the other side)

The Argentinians know how to enjoy the small things in life; styrofoam coozie in Puerto Iguazu

Riding the bus is like being on an airplane here, only better. Movies, dinner, wine, champagne, blankets, pillows, toilets, amazing scenery (Schreff this is where you see the live cows, lots of them) and no turbulance

Buenos Aires

2008-11-19T04:59:00.000-08:00

9 days in to the Argentina leg of our trip and we are still loving it here in Buenos Aires. We´ve been taking it easy most days, exploring the city at our own pace. Eric has been a great resource here, both in pointing out great spots to eat and enjoy the city, but also in facilitating transactions when our spanish doesn´t quite cut it. He´s taking off with us today for our southerly journey through Argentina stopping first in Puerto Madryn for some whale/wildlife viewing, before heading further south to El Calafate and Puerto Mareno for some glacier hiking (apparently we haven´t had enough hiking after the 4 days in Peru). After that, its up to Bariloche to meet Camilla and Erik who are joining us for 3 weeks at the end of our trip. Mendoza for some wine after that, then back to BA sometime around Christmas to see anything we missed there before heading to Uruguay for New Years.

(On the terrace at our home base in BA ¨Casa Jardin¨)

Brunch w/Eric our first day in BA.

The streets of Palermo Viejo

I´m convinced there can´t be a better steak restaurant in BA than this one (¨La Cabrera¨)

The best steak meal I´ve ever had. 6 small tapas style sides with one gigantic steak. The menu reccomends you share. 2 got 2 meats for 3 of us. We´re going back here even though its a far cry from our backpacker budget. That said, all that beef including the sides ran 56 pesos or just less than USD 20. Not a bad deal. But, considering my lunch costs just under $3 (including a liter of beer) that´s a little pricy.

Plaza de Mayo, where the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo walk, protesting the ¨disappearances¨of thier kids in the 70´s. The military junta captured dissodents, tortured them, then dropped them out of planes in the Rio de la Plata outside BA. Argentina has somewhat of a tumultous history.

I counted 19 lanes on this road leading to the Washington Monument...errrr...Obelisk.

Typical ¨Parilla¨where all the meat gets cooked. There´s steak restaurants literally on every corner, and one of these grills on every terrace in BA.

Casa Rosada (Pink House) where Pres. Kirchner lives.

Protests close to Plaza de Mayo. People protest here contstantly. I think they´re teachers demanding more pay, since its tough to keep up with 25% inflation.

Argentina

2008-11-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

Everything everybody told us about this city is true. It was love at first sight, or should I say first steak? Anyways, we love Buenos Aires! The city is an interesting mix of Paris and Italy but in South America. Sometime it even feels like Charleston with cobblestone streets and outdoor seating everywhere (with the big difference that BA is cheap).

We got to the hostel around 8 pm last night after traveling all day from Cusco, Peru. We are staying at http://www.casajardinba.com.ar/english.html in the Palermo Viejo district and are enjoying a spacious patio and an apartment feel close to tons of bars (steak) restaurants, clothes and designer stores and parks. Like true Argentinians we went out to dinner around 11 pm last night and met up with Brad´s buddy from Charleston, Eric, who has been living here for the last 8 months. Enjoyed an awesome steak dinner with some Malbec wine, spontenous tango music and singing by the waiters and patrons and hit the sack around 4 am.

It´s really warm and beautiful here with it being spring in this part of the world. We are hanging out in BA for about a week and then taking the bus to Iguazu Falls (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls) before making our way down to Patagonia. Eric is done with work and will be traveling with us for a while as well. Pictures later.

Hasta luego,

Cec

Cusco and the Sacred Valley

2008-11-09T07:01:00.000-08:00

So we´re on our last day here in Cusco, Peru. Its a beautiful city, if not a bit too touristy. What can you expect from the biggest city closest to one of the worlds wonders though. We spent the first couple days not doing a whole lot as Jaseon and Way-Jam were getting acclimated to the altitude change before heading off on the Inca Trail.

While there are many routes to take, we booked long in advance and took the most popular route that takes you past multiple ¨lesser¨ruins on the way. In all, its a 4.5 day hike, covering about 26 miles and about 3 miles in altitude change. The 26 miles over 4.5 days isnt the challenging part. Throw in vertical hikes of 1,200 meters in a day and it gets rough (especially if you are fighting a stomach bug which Jaseon and C were). That on top of the fact that all four of us came to the realization that we don´t really like hiking the day before the trek and one completely overpacked backpack you have all the makings for a miserable trip. That said, the scenery was amazing and reaching Macchu Piccu was all the more gratifying for the difficulties.

We´re off to Buenos Aires (BA) tomorrow where we´ll be for about 4 days before heading up to Iguazu falls. Then back to BA to regroup for our overland trip down south to Patagonia for some more hiking at Parque National Torres Del Paine (http://www.torresdelpaine.com/ingles/secciones/02/c/galeria.asp) for some more natura wonders. Looking forward to meeting up with Cecilia´s college buddy Camilla and her boyfriend Eric in Mendoza around the 15th of December and Russ from Seattle around Christmas before heading to the Uruguay coast for New Years.

Later,

B

(Signs we were picked up at the airport in Cusco...¨Jaseon and WayJam¨

Jaseon took the liberty of making our sign as they arrived a couple hours before us...Ceece and Brad ¨the Donkey¨Albright

Insane halloween festivities the first night in Cusco. If you had candy, you were a target.

Amazing fresh juice stands at the market in Cusco.

Happy before the trek. I won the biggest bag of the group award. Not the award you want to win before a 4 day hike.

On the trail the 2nd day.

Llamas passing us on the way.

On the trail....

Well deserved mini bottles of wine after the 1st day.

Day 1.

Our guides at 5am last day of the hike, 1 hour from our first sighting of Maccu Piccu (MP).

The group at the MP. We hiked with a group of 16, some Americans, Brits, Aussies, a Frenchie and Quebecois guy.

i
7am at the Sun gate, our first sight of MP.

On the bus from MP, exhausted from the hike.

First day in Cusco, Peru

2008-10-31T18:11:00.001-07:00

Just got to Cusco, met Jaseon and Wayjam (explanation to follow) and experienced a halloween like no other. For those of you who have been to London and experienced the pigeons at Trafalgar Square...it was like that. Only the pigeons were little kids reaching into your pockets yelling ¨Halloween!!¨and taking candy. Pictures to follow. Like everything in South America, all sights are bittersweet. Amazingly cute kids dressed up, but some are just a little too eager for the candy, and that includes the 40 year old women that will join in the mob for a piece.

Just a quick post while the rest of the group is crashing early. Jaseon and Wayjam traveled 24 hours and are guarding against altitude sickness (we´re at 3,300 meters and they had a bad experience in lhasa a year ago) and Cecilia, well she can sleep any time.

Lates,
B

Last day in Quito, Ecuador.

2008-10-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

The plan was to head to the coast after the jungle but after eating some bad chicken we spent a few days going back and forth between the bathroom and the bed instead. Will hit up a beach in Uruguay instead. Decided to stay in Quito for the remainder of our stay in Ecuador and we have covered a couple of museums, amazing churches (including a wedding), the presidential palace, Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world), enjoyed some amazing food and view over Quito´s old town at cafe Mosaico. If ever in Quito, don´t miss it. We have also learned past tense and a bunch of verbos irregulares so we no longer have to constantly speak in present tense. "Yesterday we eat at restaurant" just doesn´t sound good. Last night we also went to a really cool wine bar, Pobre Diablo, and listened to a Latin jazz band and had too many glasses of red wine for Spanish lessons at 8.30 this morning. Spending today packing our (growing) back packs and running errands before our 7 am flight to Cusco, Peru tomorrow where we are meeting up with Wei-Jean and Jason. Can´t wait. The Inka trail is next. Keep your fingers crossed that we make it. Should have spent more time at that gym back in Seattle, what´s it called again?

Inside La Compania de Jesus. Seven tons of gold was
used to gild the walls, ceilings and altar

Don´t visit the botanical garden in October,
the flowers are dead and they still charge you $3.50

Brad managing to balance an egg on a nail at the Museo
Solar Inti Nan (ekvatorn)

Quito with Cotopaxi in the background

Brad checking out Guyasamin´s amazing art
at astounding Capilla del Hombre (Chapel of Man)

Casa de president Carrea

Me where the last version of the new constitution
was drafted.

Ecuadorian Jungle

2008-10-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

We´ve heard alot about busses in Ecuador enough to make the decision to be wusses and not take them at night, or not go to the north by the Columbian boarder. If you are going to get hijacked, it seems a night bus in FARQ country is the best place for it. So, we decided against the more adventurous jungle trek which takes you deeper into the jungle to see more potentially deadly fauna (and quite possibly flora for all I know). To get there requires either a night bus into FARQ country, a plane ride (mucho dinero), or a night stay in some FARQ/Oil country outpost that the guide book didn´t speak to highly of. We opted for the trek which is described by the tour company as being for travelers "who seek a little more comfort in their rainforest experience". I like to think that by "a little more comfort" they mean "not getting all your crap taken from you at knife point by Columbian rebels in the middle of the night".

So that decided, we went to the main bus terminal to get our tickets for the trip. Our spanish is coming along nicely (Cecilia speaks in all transactions of any importance), and we purchased our tickets for the 7am bus, assuring ourselves a seat. Upon completion of the transaction the so far gentle Ecuadorian ticket lady glared at us, arched over the counter, wide eyed and told us sternly to watch our bags in the morning and not to get robbed. At least that was what we think she said. We´re not entirely sure if she meant just at the bus station or on the bus as well. If it was the later, it doesn´t serve as a very good marketing material for her bus company, but that´s probably why she waited until after the tickets were paid for.

Friday morning, a 6 hour bus ride from the Quito highlands, down to the jungle. I´m not sure how busses make more than about 3 of these round trips a piece because almost half the roads were unpaved and extremely bumpy. The scenery was remarkable, as around every turn there was another view of the expanse of jungle below us. We arrived in Tena, the closest town to the jungle lodge we booked and made the short trip to the lodge via taxi. All taxis are 4WD pickups due to the road conditions noted above. Conditions are so bad that one night we were there, protesters took to the roads and were throwing rocks and shaking passing cars in an effort to raise awareness to their conditions. Apparently money does flow into the region from the petro companies, but rather than use it to improve roads and schools, local officials are pocketing it. Hence the protests.

Highlights included "canyoning" which amounts to climbing up narrow cravases in the rocks. I´ve never seen Cecilia so petrified, the view from the lodge while sitting in hammocks having beers, eating fat white grubs, and the last day of climbing waterfalls. Here´s a collection of photos. Oh and we made it back without being robbed ;)

(Roads on the way to Tena...this is a bus coming the other way)

(Enjoying the hammocks, the view and a beer)

(Reading...I´m plowing through books like its my job...at the expense of my ukulele practice)

(It´s humid in the jungle)

(Queen of the Jungle)

(Never seen my wife as scared or dirty, but she made it up the wall)

("Sexy lips" of the jungle)

(Collection of insects/spiders we encountered at the lodge)

(Mother tarantula living by the staff quarters...protecting a nest of 20 eggs. Glad we were here now and not a couple months later)

(I think once they get to a certain size you can´t call them grasshoppers anymore)

(In the house of an indigenous tribe with our guide Alex in the cammo shorts)

(How to Eat Grubs pt 1: Collect them from the forrest and put them in a giant palm leaf)

(How to Eat Grubs pt 2: Cook in fire for 10 - 15 min)

(How to Eat Grubs pt 3: Remove from fire)

(How to Eat Grubs pt 4: Try not to vomit on your hosts. Most difficult step by far)

(True story: That kid gave C a beetle which she found to be alive and promptly dropped it. He picked it up, said, "Comida" (food), and just as promptly, peeled off the legs and ate it. That´s the beetle in his hands there.)

(Short hike from the lodge)

(Fruit used as a natural paint/dye)

(Said fruit in action on our faces)

( Da da da DAAAAAAAAA da da daaaaaaaaa. Da da da DAAAAAA da da DA DAA DAAA!! (Indiana Jones theme))

(Cecilia in a waterfall)

(Brad in a waterfall)

(Water hurts dropped from that height)

(Both of us in a waterfall)

BEST POST YET!! The Market and Futbol!!

2008-10-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

So my trip has been made. We saw Ecuador play Chile in a World Cup qualifying match. But first Cecilia says I have to blog about the market we went to on Saturday.

Otavalo is a little town 2 hrs north of Quito, reached by bus. Rather than go all the way to the south end of town to the bus terminal, Pancho said we could flag the bus down on the highway. Perfect. We do that all the time in Seattle. Just wait on the 520/I-5 onramp and flag the first bus to Bellevue that comes along. So we were all prepared for that. Pancho drove us to the highway and helped us flag the bus. He waited by the curb as we pulled off and we waved out the window like we were on our way to the first day of school.

(On the bus to Otavalo)

Then there was the question of where to get off. The bus we chose just dropped us off in much the same manor in which it picked us up: on the highway, barely stopping. We managed to catch another bus into town and made our way to South America´s largest craft market.

(Fish fry Ecuadorian Style)

(Spices in bags)

(Cecilia trolling for treasures we desperately need and definately have room for in our bags)

We left telling our host that we were most interested in seeing the market and would probably not buy much at all....

(Cecilia holding up all the stuff we weren´t going to buy)

That´s just what didn´t fit in our backpack. Now comes the task of figuring out how to get alpaca blankets out of South America with our limited baggage space. Cecilia is convinced it can be done.

The Otavaleños are an interesting group. For the most part, folks seemed to be doing well in terms of health, etc. Of course there were a few beggars wandering around, but thats not out of the ordinary, as a blind man was navigating the small aisles in the fútbol match the next day. Aparently, the have maintained thier indiginous culture while establishing an economy based on these crafts that has allowed them to gain political power and elect the mayor and other provincial posts. So that´s good.

On to the important stuff. The next day, we went to the Stadio Olympico to watch Ecuador take on Chile. In World Cup Qualifying, Ecuador was 7th, with Chile in 5th, 4 teams from the region qualify. Sharing a group with the likes of Brazil and Argentina makes the remaining 2 spots very competitive. As there are no assigned seats beyond sections, we were told we should arrive early to stake out seats. Apparently early in this case means 3 hours before the match. So there we were, sitting on our concrete seats 3 hours before kickoff, ominous clouds looming on the horizon. It didn´t take long for those clouds to arrive and bring the rain that came down on and off the the entire 5 hours we were there. It didn´t seem to dampen anyone´s spirits though. With 2 hours to go, the "general" section unfurled a giant flag that covered the entire section.

("Ecuador...My Country")

There was no shortage of sights and sounds while we waited for kickoff...

(Airport is RIGHT in the center of town)

(In a show of hospitality, the home team allowed the opposing team´s tunnel to deflate...while they were in it)

(The cops were running low on TP, so the fans kindly gave them some of thier extra)

($2 beers beat the crap out of $8 beers at Qwest of Safeco fields)

Finally came the national anthems....

The game itself was great. I´m sure there were more than a few puzzled Ecuadorians wondering who the hell this gringo was shouting at the top of his lungs in English at the ref´s, the opposing team, and directing the Ecuadorian team to push the ball to the wings and stop working everything through the middle of the pitch. There was no shortage of action in a game that saw 3, count them 3 red cards. 2 for Chile and 1 for Ecuador. Even playing almost the entire game with a man advantage, the Ecuadorians only manged a 1-0 victory (primarily b/c they refused to take my advice and spread the field). In the end, they got the 3 points they needed to take them to 5th in the tables. Big game coming up on Wed against Venezuala in Caracas. Hopefully C and I will find a raucus bar somewhere to take that one in.

If you made it to the end of this marathon post, thank you for indulging. Upcoming highlightsthis week will be doing nothing, saving the money we spent in Otavalo, and preparing for our trip to the Jungle this weekend.

Espanol

2008-10-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

We have developed a routine which includes desayuno at 8 am, Spanish lessons with private teacher Jaime between 8.30 11.30 am at our house, almuerzo with Pancho around 1 pm, siesta, homework, trip to town for beer/coffee etc and checking out a museum or new neighborhood and then I beat Brad playing cards while having some vino tinto.

Apparently Spanish is easier than Swedish. Brad managed to talk through a whole transaction at the store after two classes. Took him a year to do that in Sweden. We are way passed una cerveza but just got to adjectivo posesivo y pronombres objetivos and I am a bit confused for the moment though. Staying with a family is the really the best lesson. We have to speak Spanish during breakfast, lunch and dinner. Watch TV and (attempt) to read the newspaper, play with Pancho´s sister´s grand kids who are happy to correct our Spanish while practicing their English with us. Also love the fact that we have traditional Ecuadorian food everyday which is delicious! Ceviche made with trout (forell en Suecia), different soups everyday and amazing juices including my new favourite Tomate de Arbol (Tree tomato).

There are huge class divisions in Quito and it's bizarre to one minute pass men dressed in expensive suits and the next watching a seven-year old carrying a baby while trying to sell you some candy or shine your shoes. We are getting a good insight to a middle class Ecuadorian home. Big house in the new part of the city with armed guards at the corners, car, live-in maid and kids taking all their classes in English.

They are talking about the debate and election on the news but in Spanish, ahhh wish we could watch it tonight. So curios. Wei and Jason, do you realize we will be starting the Inca Trail the day of the election? Brad put his ballot in the mail yesterday...

A few days in Quito

2008-10-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

So we´ve had a chance to dip our toes in Quito a bit over the last few days. Managed to get a little insiders tour from a gal from NY who was finishing up her orientation in Quito before she headed out to the coast to teach English. She had been staying with our host family for a month. She provided us with lots of good info and some scary stories. Needless to say, we won´t be taking any night buses in Ecuador. Something about the words,"high-jacking", "robbery" and "stabbing" that don´t sit well with us.

Saturday, we ventured into the old town and checked out all the old churches. Around every corner is another church from the 1600´s (and a nice lady telling you to wear your backpack on your front). Some pictures here. The most impressive sight was from the belltower of the Basillica del Voto Nacional. After climbing the belltower, you can cross the main church area (I know there´s a word for this mom, sorry) on a rickety wooden footbridge (See pic of Cecilia) and climb the tower. I was the only one to make this climb while C talked with some gals from the UK. Views of the city were amazing. In the background is Quito´s answer to the virgin on the hill in Rio, the Virgin de la Panecillo.

Sunday, we spent with our host family and studied up on our Español. Pancho (see pic of me and him below) took us on a Sunday drive around the city. With all the hills, there is no shortage of buena vistas over the city.

Coming highlights will (hopefully) include World Cup Qualifying match between Chile and Ecuador this Sunday, and a trip to the Amazon rainforest next weekend, followed by a trip to the coast the weekend after.

Adios! B

Quito - we made it

2008-10-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

Scroll down for English;)

Efter 15 timmars resande och snabbplugg av halsningfraser pa spanska anlande vi i Quito sent igarkvall. Pancho var som utlovat varldens trevligaste man och han hamtade oss pa flygplatsen vilket vi var valdigt glada over. Spanskakunskaperna ar smatt bristfalliga men det ar otroligt vad en termin pa medborgarskolan kan gora! Tyska och franska fraser dyker upp titt som tatt men basic spanish hanger fortfarande med. Efter att hjartklappningen, flamtandet och huvudvarken (pa grund av den hoga hojden som Quito ligger pa) lagt sig var v i redo for frukost med Pancho lagat av hushallerskan Soilita. Smatt forvanade nar det bjods pa Nescafe med varm mjolk (inget vatten) i kaffelandet nummer ett!

Vi hade varldens tur och traffade Cara fran New York som bott i vardfamiljen i en manad. Detta var hennes sista dag och hon agnade den till att visa oss runt i stan, hur man tar vagnen och massa saker man inte ska gora etc. Allt vi last och blivit varnade for verkar vara sant sa vi haller hart i vaskorna och lar inte ta nagra nattbussar i det har landet. Deras blev hi jacked forra veckan pa en langresa till kusten. Ej kul. Men alla e supervanliga och det kanns bra att bo i en familj. Speciellt nar dom har tva hundar, varav en ar den storsta Schafer jag sett; Dragu. Han ska tydligen ha raddat manga studenter fran bade det ena och det andra.

Imorgon ar det forsta spanskalektionen. Ska traffa Jaime pa Coffee Tree (ni som varit i Quito vet antagligen exakt var det ar). Pancho har erbjudit sig att komma med for att hjalpa till med upplagget av hur manga dagar i veckan etc vi vill ta lektioner da Jaime inte kan nagon engelska eller svenska heller for den delen.

Varmt och skont har. Ikvall blir det middag hemma med Pancho som tydligen har en systerdotter i Stockholm och varit i Goteborg for att kopa en Volvo till sin bror som bor i Italien. Varlden e liten. Vi planerar en 5 dagars djungeltripp om nagon vecka och aven en tur till kusten. Det blir nog till Esmeralda (med en dagbuss). Camilla eller Karin, vad hette den guiden ni akte med igen? Inte for att det ar brist pa organisatorer har men....

K, Brad is completely beat after 15 hours of traveling, head ache due to the high altitude, breakfast at 7.30 and a full day of walking. Oh and did I mention the large beer at lunch? So he is too tired to take care of the English version.

We made it and were extremely happy to see a smiling Pancho meeting us at the gate. Truly one of the nicest people I´ve met. We have our own room and bathroom. After all the horror stories we seriously thought we would get robbed as soon as we got off the plane so it feels nice to be in a house, guarded by the biggest German shepherd we have seen in addition to the locked gates and broken glass bottles spread out along the high walls in case somebody tries to climb in. Oh, and we are next to a day care!

We got really lucky and met Cara, a girl from New York, who has stayed with the host family for a month and she spent her last day showing us around town and told us all the do´s and don´ts. Everyone is really friendly here and we are excited about exploring the city. First spanish lesson is tomorrow at 10 am. My one semester of Spanish has actually paid off but we have a lot to learn before we head to the Saturday market to bargain for prices.

Planning a 5 day trip to the djungle probably next week and then another to the coast. We will be taking a day bus after learning that everything the guidebook said about the night buses is true. Cara's group of World Teach friends{s bus got hijacked on a trip last week...

Seattlites- thought we were in coffee coutry of the world so imagine our surprise when we were served Nescafe with warm milk (no water) for breakfast:)

So I guess we will miss the debate tonight, maybe we will hit up a bar and watch a soccer game instead.

Hasta Luego!

Cecilia

Later skaters...

2008-09-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here we are. All packed and ready to go. We both have a couple extra kgs/lbs in our bags, but when we get robbed a couple times, things should be a bit more managable. Yes that's a ukulele in my hands. I'm planning on learning it while we travel to have something to fall back on when the financial markets completely crash, the western world is brought to its knees and I can't get a job when we get back. I'll uke for my meals on the Stockholm subway.

Flight leaves at 6am PST tomorrow (10/1/08), and after a long layover in Atlanta, we'll find ourselves at the mercy of our host in Ecuador, Pancho. After a little worry spell, we finally got word yesterday that he'd pick us up at the airport, with signs. I've always wanted to have a sign waiting for me when I get off the airplane. So that should get our trip off to a nice start.

We'll follow up with another post as soon as we hit an internet cafe...in QUITO! For real...we're going. crazy.

B-out.

Moving Sale

2008-09-14T22:50:00.000-07:00

I helgen hade vi vår garage/moving sale. Hade sett fram emot detta då det är något typiskt amerikanskt men något jag aldrig varit med om. Vi satte upp skyltar i området och la ut en listning på Craig’s List (typ Blå börsen). Grannen några hus längre ner har garage sale varje månad och hade även denna dag så det var bra för fottrafiken. Halv sju på morgonen dök den första kunden upp!! Då hade vi inte ens fått upp allt. Vi spenderade hela fredagskvällen med att organisera och sätta priser på allt som vi ville bli av med och det var massor med folk hela dan. Jag hade blivit informerad om att det finns en del som spenderar helgerna att bara köra runt och fynda på garage sales och att det finns massa etikettregler om hur mycket man får pruta osv. Sju timmar senare var vi $900 rikare! Det är värt många hostelnätter i Sydamerika det. Kelly har hämtat soffan och nu börjar det bli tomt i huset. På torsdag kommer pack och flyttgubbarna och då är det bara en bäddsoffa, våra resväskor och ryggsäckar kvar.

Bokade oförskämt billiga biljetter till Sverige i januari - $250 enkel väg! Den 21 januari landar vi i Göteborg. Brad kanske får stiga av när vi mellanlandar i Stockholm om hans jobb går igenom. Arbetstillståndet är i alla fall klirrat.

Three weeks to go

2008-09-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

I quit my job today. It's a very liberating process and I recommend it highly. There were no slamming of doors or raising of voices, so I guess I should work on my technique for next time.

Now all that's left is to sell off (almost) all of our worldly possessions to help finance this excursion. A little word of advice when using Craigslist to sell things: Don't list something unless you really can afford to part with it that day. Posted our bedroom set yesterday afternoon, and we have someone picking it up today. As you'll note from the title of this post, we have 3 weeks to go. It's either air matress or pull-out couch from here on out. That's if someone doesn't buy either out from under us, and at this point, there is very little in the house that I won't part with for the right price. Sleeping on the floor will be good for Cecilia's back anyway...

Seven weeks to go

2008-08-12T23:02:00.000-07:00

Gave my notice today! Seven more weeks in Seattle and then we are off! A few things to take care of before that though, such as moving our stuff, vaccinations, packing etc etc. Can't believe something we have planned for for years now is actually about to happen. Can't wait. I will miss Seattle though.
- C