Torkrum / Drying Room

I'm not sure if this is a Northern European thing or if it is only for Sweden, but in the basement of our flat, right next to the laundry room, is a "Drying Room."

This is a GREAT invention!  Essentially, it is a room with a dehumidifier and drying lines.  Then a fan circulates the air to the dehumidifier, and your clothes are air-dried in a few hours instead of all day/night!  FANTASTIC!

 The first time we did laundry here, my girlfriend said, "Ok, so we'll put these items in the dryer, and hang these items in the drying room."  I said, "The what?"  She looked at me with what might have been pity or dismay that I had lived my life without such a basic, but obviously wonderful element.  Then she gave me the run-down of how it works (see the diagram).

One interesting thing about living in a country other than where you were raised is that you notice all sorts of basic things that you would otherwise not spend a minute thinking about... like how you dry your clothes!

Semla & Fettisdagen (Semla & Fat Tuesday)

I've been planning a post about the delicious and fun "semla", and today is the appropriate day for it!

Ever since I arrived last month, I have seen these buns filled with what looks like whipped cream for sale everywhere.  They seem to be such a part of Swedish culture that they even required the contestants on "Biggest Loser Sweden" to look at a plate full of them without eating them.  So, I asked "what are those buns?", and of course heard the response, "Oh, they're called "semla"!  You don't have them in the USA?"  We don't have them in the USA, but they are delicious so I don't think the country would mind if they made their way across the Atlantic.

 Semla in a bakery window

But...what are they?  Well, they're a sweet bread bun that they cut the middle out of.  Then, they mix the middle bread with a marzipan-esque mix called "mandelmassa" (literally translated into "almond mix/mash").  Then, they put the mixture back into the bun, top it with whipped cream, put the top part of the bread back on it, and top it with powdered sugar.

 Cross-Section of Semla

Apparently, there have been variations to the mixture, such as adding vanilla pudding/custard, cherry pie filling, etc., but the traditional swedish variation is the mandelmassa mix.  I think that the recipes for semla vary based on family, just like cookie/cake/brownie recipes vary by family in the USA.

They start selling them after Christmas, but Fat Tuesday (Fettisdagen) is the day they traditionally started selling them.  Then, every Tuesday until Easter, you eat these buns - think of it as kind of like a break from the fasting that was/is supposed to happen during the Easter holiday.

Homemade Semla (tastes MUCH better!)

Now after writing about semla, and looking at the pictures, my mouth is watering.  I better make my way to the bakery ASAP to get one for myself and celebrate Fettisdagen the right way!

Around Boras #1: Centrum / City Center

There are two main areas in the city that I'm familiar with:  Centrum / City Center (downtown) and Knalleland (shopping area with large retailers).

For reference, I found these maps! (click here for a better pdf version).

The first part of town I'll talk about is the City Center.  Similar to most European cities, and unlike most American cities, the downtown here is vibrant and alive, so it is fun to walk around - especially early afternoon on the last Saturday of the month (the typical pay day is before the last weekend of the month).

The Centrum area has a big square with shops around it and a very large old building called "rådhus" (city hall).  If you walk through the square, you'll come across about two blocks (in any direction) of local shops and cafes.

I should point out one interesting thing.  Do you see on the photos how some areas have snow, and some are perfectly clear? (the photos were taken on the same day)  Apparently they have heated sidewalks through the central area!  It's just warm enough to keep it clear from ice - pretty cool, huh?

If you walk away from the square (towards the McDonalds from the square), you'll be walking towards the Central Station.  You'll cross over a small river - on the other side of the river, on your way to the central station, is an independent theater called Bio Röda Kvarn.  Below are photos of the Bodhi sculpture (the theater is right behind it), and Central Station.

There is MUCH, MUCH more to talk about regarding Centrum, but this is just a start!

Around Boras

I realized this morning that if you happen upon this blog, there's a good chance you're visiting or moving here, and you googled or otherwise found this via searching.

Then it dawned on me that general info - not the "official" stuff that you can find on the very good city websites (like the wikipedia page or the Boras Stad page) could be really awesome for you (it would have been awesome for me when I was planning on moving here!).   So, I'll do a series of these "Around Boras" posts!

Borås Basket: Get Ready to Bounce

Last week we went to a basketball game, which I was looking forward to since I like pro basketball.  It was -11c (12.2 f), when we walked across town to "Borashallen", where the basketball games take place.  Despite the chilly walk, I'm glad we did - it was awesome!

In the photos below, you can see that it is not the biggest sports arena in the world (about the size of many high school gyms in the US), but as a spectator, I'd rather it be smaller but packed full than huge and feeling empty.

There were something like 2,800 people there, and there was great energy.  The team itself is very good!  We *killed* Uppsala 104-72, with three our players scoring in the 20's.

As for the atmosphere in a Swedish basketball game.  It is a lot different than the US!  The fans clapped every-single-time our team scored.  All the fans.  EVERY time!  In the US, everyone will clap after a good run of scoring, or exceptional defensive or offensive plays, but here, it was very encouraging.

I was blown away at the passion of the players, too.  In the US, once you get beyond college level, the players are laissez-faire; kind of going with the flow unless they can make themselves look good.  Here, the players were into the TEAM, and were really into it.  I have never seen so many technical fouls (one guy even stomped on a guy when he was down on the floor because he fouled his teammate).  So...maybe there could be a little more balance between passion and controlling it!

Another thing to note was how many sponsors are peppered on the team jerseys and shorts.  It makes sense to me, but it reminded me of nascar or bull riding, where they have many, many sponsors instead of one or two major sponsors.

Anyway, you should DEFINITELY check out a Borås Basket game if they're playing.  Check out their schedule at their website, here.

Sculptures!

Boras has TONS of public sculptures throughout the city.  A lot of cities (especially in the US) have "sculpture gardens," which are essentially parks with all their sculptures in them.  But Boras has them throughout, and you can even do a cool "sculpture walk" and explore the city while seeing them (check out this link!).

I've included just a few, but will probably post many more in the future.

Walking to Borås (2008) by Jim Dine

Ute (2005) by Charlotte Gyllenhammar

Mate Hunting (2008) by Marianne Lindberg De Geer

 Declination (2004) by Tony Cragg

First of many!

I've been in Boras for 1.5 weeks now, and I thought it was time to start a blog about all the things that I'm seeing / doing / experiencing.

I've traveled and lived in many places around the globe, so this won't be a "culture shock" expose, but a positive blog about what it's like here.  I'm looking forward to learning more about Boras and Swedish culture! 

If you're not from Sweden, I hope you find it interesting and informative.  If you are from Boras (or even Sweden in general), I hope you find everything I write and/or photograph at least somewhat amusing!