Wien, Vienna, Klimt, Schiele

Wow, how to start with an update about my time in Vienna. Here I sit in the overly nice hostel that Sara found for us (were talking LOCKERS in the rooms, free WiFi and computer, its indescribable). The woman who owns the hostel is a sweet and funny British woman who was confused by our use of "bathroom" and "to be down with." And after three days of endless walking, museum visits, plats, churches and the underground..I have seen so much and really grown a fondness for Vienna in all its beauty. What I can tell you about visiting Vienna: don't be fooled, EVERY BUILDING LOOKS IMPORTANT, alas it is just a facade..and a building that looks like an amazing art museum is most likely some government building with a small placard near the door written in indecipherable German. An adjustment with coming from Prague (where most sights are fairly concentrated) to Vienna is that a lot more things are spread out and require the use of the underground (and thus I have rekindled my love for underground transportation).
Our first day we were literally (but not really) thrown off of our 5 hour bus ride into Vienna with absolutely no idea where we were or how to navigate the city..which lead 5 of us to stand in front of an underground map for about ten minutes trying to figure out where to go. After an underground trip and twenty minutes of walking we finally found our lovely little hostel situated on the 4th floor of a building. We then walked towards the center of town and visited a couple of beautiful churches (Im not usually one for church visits but considering I havent visited one in almost 2 years, I found it necessary). I love churches when looking at it from an artistic and historic point of view, rather than religious. I love the stained glass, the arches, the paintings and high ceilings; sometimes you can't help but feel a little something when visiting certain churches.
Our second day was when the real tourist-y activites commenced, with much enthusiasm as well as an early wake up call. Our first stop: Shonbrun Palace where we took an audio tour, I hate to say that once you´ve seen one palace you've kind of seen them all but the gardens behind the palace were unbelievable. Not only was there a long stretch of green grass with various colored flowers planted in certains patterns, but also there was a large, dramatic fountain at the end. Breathtaking is the only word to describe it. After, Amy, Sara and myself went to Upper Belevdere Museum which had advertised the largest Gustav Klimt collection. In high school when I was taking an art class, I used Klimt's intricate backgrounds as inspiration for my pieces..so it felt absolutelz necessary to go see it. And man, was it worth every step and Euro I paid. I've seen Monet, Picasso, DaVinci among many other talented artists, but no other artists has given me the chills and almost made me cry..especially when I saw "The Kiss," which was illuminated showing the most beautiful of gold. Not to mention I was also introduced to an artist who I believe was friends with Klimt: Egon Schiele..his work is dark and extremely beautiful. Our last stop on our very long day yesterday was Sigmund Freud's house and study which was filled to the brim with diplomas, books, pictures, and original furniture. Despite the fact that the buidling was very poorly ventilated, seeing Freud's house was really great.

And this long, indescribable journey of condensed descriptions ends today. Sara and I decided to wake up early this morning to shower, so we both woke up at 6:45 a.m. to start battling the demon that is the water heater that has been known to cause many problems and break many hygiene hearts. We fuss around with it for about 15 minutes before we both decide that we wouldn't be able to stand for a freezing cold shower and I decide to just stick my head under the faucet and wash my hair. I kid you not, I have never felt water so cold in my life. After a failed attempt at an early morning shower we set out for the Roman Museum and yet another audio tour. It was a really amazing museum, once again filled to the brim with many artifacts and information..so much so that it becomes even more difficult to grasp the idea that Vienna once looked like that. Next, Sara and I visited the MUMOK (some modern art museum) where we discussed our views on minimalistic art..which is always an interesting conversation topic. Hearing that the Leopold Museum housed even more Klimt and Schiele, that was our next stop and I found myself incredibly overwhelmed (but at the same time very happy) with all of the visual stimulation. And our last stop of the day was a Mozart Museum that is in a building that he also had previously lived in. I ended up with mixed feelings about the museum..I don't understand the desire to make every sort of exhibit modern, with screens and installations. Hell, I'd be happy as a clam reading a ton of blurbs on the wall. The audio tour was incredibly hard to follow, jumping from topic to person to topic to person..leading us to often skip over certain rooms when their accomodating audio clip lasted for longer than five minutes with a man speaking in a British accent. Seeing his actual apartment was probably the best part (not because there was actually anything in there, of course) but just to know that he had lived there and our feet were standing on the same ground.
All in all, in two days, we visited 7 museums..my feet ache and I have been nothing but exhausted at the end of each day but I wouldn't take back a single day of my trip to Prague and Vienna. Both cities are indescribable in their beauty and have so much to offer to anyone who comes to see them. And by around 4 p.m. tomorrow (Sunday), I will be back in my little raincloud also known as Lund, Sweden..ready to start school on Monday. Au revoir Vienna!

Hello Prague

So since I have access to a computer, and am also about halfway through my Prague/Vienna trip, I thought that it would an appropriate time to update since it's all still fresh in my mind. A group of probably around 13 UC kids arrived in Prague at around 10 p.m. Sunday night, and after figuring out that the public transportation to our hostel was far too complicated (not to mention not in English), we all cabbed. Sara, Jeff and I woke up bright and early Monday morning to start our excursions, and having arrived at night and gone straight to the hostel I had no idea what Prague even looked like. Waking up and leaving the hostel in the morning was such a stun in the best way possible: the architecture in Prague is indescribable, gothic, dated, cathedrals with tall spires, cobblestone roads and TONS of restaurants. We explored for a couple of hours before deciding to take a very comprehensive (and fairly reasonably priced) tour around Prague. The most fantastic of sights being Prague Castle, situated on a hill (when most of Prague is flat) with the most spectacular, breathtaking views of the city. I also apologize in advance for my lack of photos accomodating this post, I don't have the connector cable for my camera or my computer to upload photos. It's hard to put into words how simply beautiful Prague is.
Our second day in Prague, Sara and I decided to take it a little more leisurely: we went to a Salvador Dali & Alfons Mucha exhibit in the morning which was absolutely lovely..there weren't many pieces of Dali that he is most famous for, rather some of his sketches and other "simpler" works. I've seen very little of Mucha's work so it was certainly a treat to see some more, the way that he paints women is fantastic. After the exhibit, Sara and I wandered around more and came across a vegetarian Indian restaurant where she ate, and after watching her eat and smelling all the good smells of Indian food, I too, gave in and had samosas, some sort of lasagna and spring rolls (didn't know they were considered Indian). We had talked with some other of the UC kids in the morning about meeting up at this island in the canal at around 3 to go paddleboating, and while attempting to find the right bridge and island, Sara and I bump into Cyrus and Daniel and we all walk over together. We wait around for 45 minutes at the park, rain coming on and off with no signs of our friends when we decide to take out a 4 person paddleboat ourselves. I kid you not, paddleboats are probably the most underated form of sightseeing everrrr. This paddleboat had two seats for peddling in the front and then two lounge chairs in the back. About halfway through our time on the water, Sara and I switched with the boys and enjoyed the sporadic rain and amazing views of Prague that were all around us. Later that night, after a nap and shower, all of us head to Le Chapeau Rouge, a bar/club that some of the UC kids had been to the night before. The decor inside was pretty crazy and it was a really fun atmosphere, not to mention it was great to have a group of us out together at night. I soon became a sucker for their aaaaamazing pina coladas and we quickly found the dance floor downstairs where they were playing the uhh..most interesting selection of music. Regardless, it was a really fun night with some really great people.
Which then leads me to today, our last full day here in Prague. Jeff got a self guided tour of old Prague..which seemed to be more trouble than anything else considering the directions and descriptions of where to go seemed to have been translated into English from Google translator. Anyways, we got to see some remains of old Prague, left over in a mall and an underground nonetheless. To backtrack, Prague has the best exchange rate ever: 20 czech is 1 American dollar, also, on the first day I discovered in a market in one of the main squares these sausage that have been everything I've been wanting since I've gone to Sweden (and have never been able to find) hence the fact that they became a staple in my everyday eating here.

And here we are, it's Wednesday and I'm sitting in an internet cafe somewhere in Prague, and at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow morning I will be headed on a 5 hour bus ride to Vienna until Sunday. Prague, you have certainly treated me well and I bid you the best adieu.

Swedish Invasion

To start off with the most important topic: the Swedes and Internationals have arrived! As UC students living here for pretty much 2 weeks with not many other students, we greatly anticipated the large influx of students arriving this week. I was amazed to be walking and biking around the city these past couple of days to find that there are sooo many more people in Lund, making it feel a lot more like the lively college town I've heard it is. I also actually have THREE corridor-mates on my side: two girls from Holland (Jose and Kitty) and one guy (Alex) from Southern Germany. Yayyy!

So in Sweden there's a tradition called Kraftskiva where everyone eats crayfish and drink schnapps. Jennifer, Kristen, myself, and Gaby were invited to a crayfisheating/schnappsdrinking dinner that we gladly attended initially wearing heels that we quickly abandoned once we saw that the dinner would be outside and in grass. Here's a word of advice for those who are interested in drinking "traditional" schnapps: don't. The kind that we purchased tasted like dill and something you could have gathered from your garden, smashed up and called it alcohol, but hey I guess you've got to experience the tradition while you're here, right? The crayfish on the other hand..I have a major aversion to eating any sort of animal that still looks like an animal. So, as it should be, I had crayfish on my plate that I stared at for quite some time debating whether or not I wanted to actually tear it apart and eat it. Luckily for me, the girl sitting next to me (a Swede), offered to help me out so I ate the meat off of the arms/legs...not too bad but I won't be jumping at the prospect at crayfish the next time I see it on a menu. In addition to drinking mass amounts of schnapps (in addition to wine/beer/other alcohols), there are also songs that you sing as a group at which the end you take a drink. If you can only picture the 4 Kalifornien girls sitting around a table celebrating a Swedish tradition and trying to sing Swedish songs, quite amusing, really. What I've loved about my experiences so far in Sweden is that most everyone I've met from Sweden is very accommodating, interesting and simply awesome overall.

As I've mentioned before, Lund University has "nations" which are similar to the Greek system we have in the states except that both men and women are in nations. There are many ways that one can help out at a nation, you can bartend, you can be at the front door, check items, or the best..work in the kitchen. Which is exactly what Kristen, myself and Jennifer did last night at Wermlands Nation. Although none of us officially "belong" to a nation, we are allowed to help out and get compensation (i.e. free alcohol and food). So when our friend Kaj was desperate and persistent about needing people to work in the kitchen and make hamburgers, three Kalifornien girls were there to save the day! Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into. From about 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. we were running, cooking and sliding around the kitchen making burgers and fries..among other bizarre concoctions. Tickets would come in with food orders and we'd be trying to decipher not only some of the language but also the handwriting. I was initially in charge of mixing the hamburger meat, and I really, really really don't enjoy touching raw meat. Not to mention when the onions were added in, my eyes began burning. Moral of the story is, I am reminded why I do not enjoy the food industry, cooking, and why I would never want to work in a restaurant ever again. All and all, the experience was a good one, and along the way we had a lot of good laughs, and some good food as well :).

Lastly, TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY OF SVENSKA! Although I really enjoyed the class, I loved our teacher Mai, and the people in it..I do not enjoy waking up for a 9 a.m. class every morning (no offense Svenska, it's not you, it's me). So tomorrow we will have a final exam (hence my new blog posting to further avoid studying), and then my class in complete. After tomorrow, I am free from school and responsibilities for another 10 days before I officially start my semester here; which means that I will be traveling to PRAGUE AND VIENNA beginning late on Sunday.

Rain Rain, Go Away

So many awesome things have transpired since I last blogged..one of the best ones being that I am officially travelling to Prague and Vienna next weekend! We have ten days off between Svenska class and university classes starting, so in true UC student fashion we banded together and decided to travel around. At first there were a few separate groups, some of the guys wanted to visit some Eastern European countries such as Lithuania, some wanted to go to Prague, and some (including myself) were interested in the closer countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, France etc. Something clicked in most of us when one of the guys mentioned Prague and then to Vienna, Austria (with some who had more time then going on to Budapest). It makes perfect sense for me to visit Prague with it's beautiful, almost Gothic-like architecture as well as Vienna..two places I haven't visited in my previous European excursions. Next struggle: okay so we want to go to these awesome places but how are we going to get there and where are we going to stay? Here enters Sara, an amazing, on top of it kind of gal who researched the cheapest flights, the cheapest transportation as well as the cheapest hostels and sending us all of the information. After a few minor complications, I am fully booked and scheduled to travel to Prague from the August 22nd-25th, and then to Vienna until the 29th. Live it up, right?

The next bit of exciting news..I OFFICIALLY HAVE A ROOMMATE! Anyone who has talked to me in the past two weeks may or may not know that I am living in an apartment/corridor on the 4th floor of Spoletorp with no roommates. I'd gotten used to coming back to an empty floor, having the shower and bathroom all to myself, but I also didn't really feel connected to it because I would just be with some of the UC girls at their corridors. Yesterday, I am sitting on my bed when all of the sudden I hear keys struggling to open the door; there have been multiple building caretakers in and out of my corridor to fix things or change locks..nonetheless I went into the hallway to greet whoever may be coming in. The door opens and I see a tall woman with blonde hair, carrying a large backpack and an even larger suitcase. It's a true moment of surrealism considering that it felt like I would be living here by myself forever. After talking for a bit, I find out that my new corridor-mate's name is Kitty, she is from the Netherlands and goes to Utrecht University, where Maura is currently doing her year abroad! It doesn't take us long to head to the System Bolaget, which is where Sweden sells it's overly priced, highly taxed, wines, beer, ciders and hard alcohols. We decided on a bottle of white wine as well as a couple ciders then headed to the market and bought food for dinner, as well as some essential food items. Alert the masses: I have started using my kitchen, hallelujah. I actually have food for every meal now, and I feel more compelled to use my kitchen and eat in my corridor because I'm sharing it with someone. Kitty and I split the responsibilities for our first meal together: she made the guacamole and I made the pasta and we toasted our wine glasses to commemorate our first meal together.

How I Procrastinate On Swedish Homework..

I'm quite aware that I'm the most charming thang this side of the Mississippi.

Sverige, Sverige, Svenska!

Yesterday, I was determined by my own annoyance and frustration to finally purchase a bike. After Svenska class, a few of us were escorted by Hubert to a used bike store where the owner specifically likes to sell to students who can then sell it back and received half the price back. I found this lovely gold(ish) bike, and decided to test it out; if you know anything about me, you may know that I have a huge fear of falling off bikes...which comes easily with being a little over 5 ft. 1. My anxiety level skyrocketed when I sat on the seat to find that my tippy tippy toes were barely touching when I leaned to one side..and I saw that terrible, undeniable bike fall/fail I would have if I purchased this particular bike. So I nixed it and asked the man if he had any other bikes that were a tad shorter, he brought me to his underground shop into a room filled with bikes where I had to pass his 4 year old German Shepherd laying on the ground. He immediately showed me a bike that looked like it belonged to a 14 year old boy in a BMX competition, when I showed a lack of interest he showed me another blue bike which seat could be lowered to fit me. After paying extra for a basket (which is incredibly crucial, and pretty much the whole point of a bike), and a lock, I had only paid about $140! To make a long story short, riding around on a bike on cobblestones is not very easy on the baby maker or tush, but I believe that I'm slowly building up a tolerance. It's been really fun to bike to and from class, and it makes visiting Kristen, Gaby and Jennifer at Vildanden not as much of a daunting task. Since everyone has now gravitated towards getting bikes, we are beginning to talk of going to the coast (about 30 minutes away) on Saturday with some cider, beer and wine and hanging out at the beach for most of the day.

And today, some of us decided that we wanted to check out some of the thrift stores in the one

town..our first stop was an underground secondhand store that was FILLED with everything imaginable. The owner seemed very fascinated by us for one reason or another, asking if we were here to study and where we were all from. But I really enjoyed exploring all the nick nacks of the store..although I generally become immediately overwhelmed by a pack rat type of mentality. At another secondhand store we visited, Jennifer and Sara found a typewriter in an old case, and I also saw a Swede skating around the store in some secondhand roller skates.

I'm very much exhausted, but today was definitely a good day.

America: Home Of Excess

Here I am in my dark room at 2:30 a.m., trying to gather enough information that would be compelling enough for a blog post. I've acquired two crippling (note the sarcasm) issues since arriving in Lund: I've been extremely dehydrated, and waking up multiple times during the night. Call me crazy but after being blessed with the presence of a Brita water filter at home and Santa Cruz, drinking water straight from the tap seems like asking for a radioactive disease to me. I'm slowly starting to accept that I can't afford to buy $3 water bottles every day. It being 2:30 a.m. in the morning also means that it has been about a week since since I touched down in Lund on August 2nd, and I'm beginning to feel my first legitimate feelings of homesickness as I realize that I'm not visiting and just making an appearance in another country for a few weeks, rather that I'm really living here until next June and am making some social ties that will most likely last the duration of my stay. I have those surreal moments where I really stop what I'm doing and once again mentally process the endeavor I have undertaken by coming to Sweden.

So, some new developments in the past few days that I didn't mention in previous entries: I had an orientation with Linus Lindgren, the UC advisor at Lund University who has been communicating with us since what seems like the dawn of time. At the orientation we were debriefed on what our next few weeks would look like until the 10,000+ other students arrive on August 17th. I received my class schedule and was pleasantly surprised to find out that I got into 6 classes (when I only need 4) and will get to eliminate a couple in the following weeks.

It's been really interesting to explore the Lund nightlife so far as my first weekend has come to an end. In the states at university weekends tend to consist of house parties, kickbacks or if you're 21..a club or bar. Since we've been here we've gone to two nations (fraternity/sorority combination) where there is music, a dance floor and a bar. Experiencing a few nights in a European college town vs. 2 years at an American university, I've come to realize how excessive we are in most everything we do (and in this case the amount that college students drink in order to have a "good" time) and how the Swedes tend to be more minimalistic. It all started when I began shopping for different things for my room and kitchen..I realized that the shampoo&conditioner bottles were around the same price in the states, if not a little bit more, for a visibly smaller bottle. I realized it with toilet paper and paper towel, their packages..smaller, the sizes of the rolls..smaller. Even in convenient stores they don't have the wide array of water bottle and soda sizes, they tend to be smaller. I kid you not, a "large" coffee beverage here is certainly a medium in the states (and even then, some places only have two size selections in Lund). I bought tortillas today and got something like 4 in a package, whereas in the states I struggle to finish the smallest package option of 8. Which leads me to my final observation of our excessive drinking habits: sure I've seen a couple people fall over because they're too inebriated in Sweden, but it seems that the Swedes often times won't drink to the excessive nature that I've noticed American college students to. As a country we seem to like everything super sized, in bulk, to the maximum, the limit and over the top.

As my clock on my desktop slowly creeps towards 3 a.m...I'm beginning to realize that sleep is probably the better (and necessary) option at this point. After almost a full 7 days of being in Sweden I already feel like I've seen, and experienced a lot and I'm very anxious, as well as excited, to see more.

An American Girl in Sweden Part 1.

So it is no stretch to say that since I started my Swedish Language class with other UC students on Tuesday, my Swedish experience has catapulted into pure amazingness. When you're in this type of situation, you all band together, it's fascinating and great at the same time; and I've enjoyed every second with my new friends since then. I greatly enjoy my Swedish teacher, Mai, she's an older woman with blonde hair and large dimples on either side of her face. She always dresses rather chic, always accentuating an outfit with the traditional black. She speaks to us completely in Swedish, with accompanying hand gestures to maneuver us through the language. Mai has a pretty incredible sense of humor and an even better laugh and smile, and always manages to make the class pretty bearable and funny.

A large part of Lund University student's lives are the "nations," which is a sort of blend of a fraternity and a sorority. Different nations do different activities, usually consisting of the general pub, club and bar nights. Last night, a lot of the UC kids went to Lunds Nation for their party in the "Penthouse" of the corridor with a beautiful nighttime view of Lund. We get to the door when two security guards tell us that there are only three people upstairs, I then tell one of the guys that I'm going to head home..at which point he coaxes me into staying..guess I'm a little gullible. Slowly people start flowing in until is the epicenter of Swedish-ness: all beautiful men and women, generally tall, generally blonde hair with undeniable eye for fashion. It almost hurt to be around so many attractive people at once. The DJ was playing great remixes, and at one point I was singing an Eminem song with some of the UC kids while the Swedish kids tried to follow along and it began sounding like gibberish. The music stopped playing at 2 a.m., and we went to two different houses after that with some of the Swedes..only to arrive home at 4:45 a.m., with a class at 9. Oh to be in Sveeden.

It's a Fibertäcke Sval, duh

I was most displeased to come into my apartment with the hope that there would be some bedding left from the person who lived in my room before me, only to find that my mattress was bare. With little time and energy to shop yesterday, I decided I would just deal with it for one night, until I was pleased to find a left over duvet on top of the washer and dryer in the kitchen and decided that would suffice as a blanket. I then came to find that not only was it left over but it also was apparently left to be washed and smelled like male B.O. Don't ask why or how, but I somehow dealt with it and also slept with it from midnight until noon the next day.

Today was dedicated to Kristen and I furnishing our rooms to the greatest of our capacities (and wallets). We went to a sort of department store in Sweden and looked around the bedding, only to find that we couldn't distinguish between a pillowcase, duvet, or the variations of sheets. This confusion led me to begin taking things out of their packaging in order to investigate. In the end, out of frustration I decided to nix the idea of a flat sheet and went for just a fitted sheet. After shopping and coffee, Kristen and I also went to the grocery store near my apartment and across from the train station and began making our way around. After putting random items in the cart, we came to the juice, milk and yogurt area..which is where things began getting a little fuzzier/overwhelming for me. Most of the juices were named similar things, not to mention fusions of different juices, I ended up deciding on apple, orange juice and mango (I think). Yogurt came in a variety of packages, including cartons that look exactly like milk cartons, with a variety of flavors. And then, there's the milk situation. I had heard from a Lund returnee that the Swedes are very big on a certain type of milk that tastes sour, they enjoy putting it on their cereals and sometimes even drink it straight. I had forgotten this detail until I was in front of the rather large milk section. Not only were the milks named different things but they also had different percentages..0,1 0,5 1,5 which added to my dairy anxiety. In this department, I decided on 1,5% mellanmjölk..which I later looked up to discover that it was indeed skim milk. Live it and learn it, I suppose!

A few things I have noticed about the Swedes and their culture thus far:

-their Fanta tastes superior to Fanta in the states

-like in other parts of Europe, drivers dislike pedestrians

-almost every every every store closes at 6 p.m. sharp, and they won't even give you a pity glance as you stare blankly at the locked door

-gladiator sandals are a bigger trend in Sweden than they are in the states

-the Swedes like to wear salmon(ly) colored pants

-most everyone from Sweden is beautiful

-they like random seeds on every type of bread product

-they make the most delicious chai lattes

Tomorrow's task: begin my Swedish language course at 9 a.m. sharp, buy a bike (and hopefully keep it from getting stolen), buy a phone!

Follow The Cobblestone Road

While I was one of the only ones awake on my flight from SFO to Heathrow, I decided to write about what I had been feeling/experiencing so far..

So here I am, sitting on the plane on my way to London (currently flying over Greenland) for a connecting flight to Copenhagen and watching Entourage. The sky outside is dark but in the horizon I see a beautiful blend of deep reddish/orange, green and blue. Let’s back up, I say goodbye to Maura, Alicia, Hallie, my mom and Ron, get through security and arrive at my gate a half an hour before the intended boarding time. I sit there anxiously staring at the wall;only to find that the “free WiFi” network doesn’t actually work and I’m left there with nothing to do.

A few minutes later, I hear my name over the intercom among other names, requesting I go to the front of the gate. I assume the worst: that they’re bumping me off my flight. Rather, the woman at the front desk hands me a new ticket saying, “We needed your seat, so we put you in Business.” I was stunned, said an obedient, “Okay” and walked back to my seat, feeling a little confused. Boarding time comes around and I get in line for the “Business” boarding door, I walk down to the plane where I’m greeted by a smiling woman, I show her the remainder of my ticket that says seat 12A, she points me down the row. Let me tell you, life isn’t all that shabby in Business class. I still have the window seat I originally requested, but my seat also came with a personal TV, an amazing amount of leg room, and a staff who are extremely helpful. I even got a little travel pouch with a sleep mask, socks, some lotion, tooth paste and a tooth brush. Perhaps I’ve racked up some karma that has led me to this point. The plane takes a while taxiing with my head up against the side of the plane, soaking up my last few visual memories of the beautiful California for the next ten months. As we take off, I look out the window at San Francisco; a city that I love so much, in all of its beauty and I begin to feel that unavoidable wave of emotion that comes with the uncertainty of leaving home for so long. The woman I’m sitting next to is on her cell phone when I first claim my seat next to her, and so far we haven’t spoken except for me to ask her to lower her foot rest so I can use the restroom for the first time in 4 hours after downing glasses of water; she obliged somewhat willingly and quickly fell back asleep. I’m listening to the music provided on the airplane, hearing the likes of Kate Nash, Kesha, and now Jay-Z's “Forever Young.” Among me are a ridiculous amount of sleeping people, I find that I can’t sleep on planes, I sleep for 40 minutes which feels like an eternity. Let me also mention that I have never seen so many people asleep on a plane at 5:30/6 p.m. California time.

UPDATE:

So I'm officially in Lund! Everything went pretty much seamlessly: no flight delays, no lost luggage, no crazy long custom lines, no wait for a train, no wait for a taxi. And I am currently reporting to you from my new room, sans bedding :(. I took a little time to walk around Lund without a map and just see where it took me. I love the feeling of Lund, it's quaint with its cobblestone roads, and beautiful architecture..I think I could certainly get used to this.