Gränna

Yesterday had the day off from classes (again!), so I decided to take a day trip to Gränna. Gränna is a town adjacent to Jönköping, just a little further down the shore of Lake Vattern. It is quite a charming place! I found a great hiking trail/lookout, and was able to take this photo of Gränna from above. No, the ocean is not in this picture, it is the lake!

Gränna

I found a beautiful place to hike, so I decided to start off my day that way. There are a lot more photos in my Picasa album, so check those out. I am definitely coming back here in the spring...the forest was so beautiful. I found this lovely little pond and then, the sun came out!

Gorgeous sunshine

I also discovered that February is NOT the time to visit Gränna - it is definitely a summer tourist destination. A lot of the shops and attractions were closed for the season, but I still enjoyed walking around the town and enjoying its "cuteness." Gränna is cited as the first town to manufacture polkagrisar, which is basically peppermint stick candy. It is a little bit softer than your average candy cane, and now it comes in a plethora of flavors and designs. Out of the twenty polkagrisar manufacturers in town, one was open yesterday! I walked in exactly when the guys were starting a batch, so I got to watch the process. It was really fun! I have never seen sugar look like silly putty before.

I also visited the Gränna Museum. It was really neat! There is an exhibit on Gränna history and one on arctic expeditions. The other trademark of Gränna is that it is the hometown of S.A. Andre, the first man to attempt to explore the North Pole with a hot air balloon. The story is rather tragic, but the exhibit is really interesting because thirty years after the expedition failed, someone found the balloon, his diary, and all of the other remains. Thankfully there were no bodies present at the museum! The exhibit also has information on more recent arctic expeditions, which is quite interesting as well!

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Today, I had a great Swedish class. The two hours completely flew by! I came home this afternoon and decided to make vegetable soup for what turned out to be a very late lunch. I got a little "chop happy" and made enough soup to last me a week! I just returned from the gym, which was much needed after yesterday. I received a FANTASTIC package from Mom, who incidentally has gift with international mail - that box made it in a week. I decided to celebrate "Fat Tuesday" a day early with glorious Whole Foods PEANUT BUTTER and a spoon. It was definitely one of the best days of my life. I should probably start on my Swedish homework before I forget everything I learned this morning. Peace!

PS - Eagerly awaiting Super Tuesday results!