Scandinavia bound at 600 mph

It's been a while since I've posted. I didn't post on Ireland and missed having the recap to remember the details of my adventures…so jumping back on the bandwagon and here goes. My friend, Matt, is the PM for a great little product called the HP Mini 2140 and he was nice enough to loan me one for this trip! So, I have half the weight of my mobile workstation to lug as I travel Sweden, Oslo and Copenhagen. So far, this thing rocks!!! Here's my little setup on the plane. I even had room for my meal next to it!

Today, we woke up early and Oscar took Alison and me to IAH to catch our fight to Newark. We relaxed in the president's club, had a 9am bloody mary and worked on our master cheese collecting skills. I think our chico sac is completely overflowing with cheese and cracker goodness! Oh, and we discovered the hazelnutty goodness of Nutella. If you haven't tried it, run to the store and pick up a jar…YUM!!

I also called and chatted with my mormor. She is the absolute best!! We are so much alike and it makes me hopeful that I will call or stop by and visit with her more. I mentioned that I was going to call her the night before, but was afraid 10:00 was too late…she laughed and said, 'oh, that's like noon to me!'. I think I know where I get my night owl-ness. She gave us a few tips about going back to the smorgasbord as much as we'd like and how to saw good day (gudog) and thank you (taksamika). Her mom was from Stockholm and had the last name Magnuson, so we'll see if I run across any distant relatives. I'm a total mutt of ethnicities from around Europe…but I've always felt so, so close to my mormor and many of the customs and traditions I cherish from my family and will definitely pass to my own family are from mormor, that were passed from her mom. When she was little, her mom didn't speak any English and lost her site when she was older, so my mormor would read the Swedish paper to her. We always have a smorgasbord for Christmas, with appetizers, cold foods, hot foods (including Swedish meatballs) and rice pudding with raspberry sauce. There are 2 almonds hidden in the bowl and the people who get them win a prize. Somehow it was always Beca and me…so weird! J We always had a centerpiece with candles and little angels twirling around too. Looking forward to see if the culture and people seem similar to her.

After a quick stop in Newark where I picked up my FAVORITE Swedish delicacy…Swedish Fish (haha)…that brings us to now, on a plane somewhere over the Atlantic near Reykjavik, Iceland.

I watched Australia the first 3 hours, not what I expected, but a cute movie with some nice scenery. Took a little nap with John Mayer singing me to sleep. There is something about his music and planes for me. I can just listen to him on shuffle the entire way. When I was in Taiwan a few years ago, I was listening to Brian and Kara Connelly's wedding CD and fell in love with 3x5 and been hooked ever since. My other favorite travel artist is Damien Rice…he evokes more emotion through his voice that anyone else on my iPod. Being on the plane for these adventures can make you a little stir crazy, but there is something about the peace and quiet, before the hectic travel schedule, of having 7.5 hours to yourself. To just relax and close your eyes with no distractions and lose yourself in a song, it's nice.

Looking forward to the adventures this trip has in store…see you in Stockholm! Here's the plan…