The Passport Appointment
Today we drove to our passport appointment in San Francisco. We had an appointment at 10am, which we were actually on time for (amazing). When we got to…
The journals
A life in little moments.
Our journeys through Sweden, one day at a time.
55 storiesNewest moments first
10PM Summer Stroll
Last night I took the dog out for a walk. It was around 10:30PM. The sun was near the horizon but it was still an hour away from dipping below the hills.…
Swedish Midsummer Party
Today we went the a Swedish midsummer party in Kuivakangas, a village just south of Juoksengi. The day started off with some games, and a quick pony ride.…
Ride to the River - Part 2
After checking out the river and the ‘beach’, I thought I’d ride north to see if I could find anything interesting. After a few minutes I found a cool…
Ride to the River - Part 1
Took the camera and rode my bike around the village today. This is the first set of photos. I started by heading down to the river. It’s amazing to see…
The Ice is Breaking
Today the river ice began to break up and float down the Torne River here in Norrbotten. It does not look as though it will be as sensational as it has in…
Kukkolaforsen in the Spring Thaw
Well Spring finally came to Norrbotten. The river water is rising and the ice is breaking up. Here is the first set of photos from the ice break. These…
Arctic Circle Webcam
Kalle just installed a webcam at the Arctic Circle in preparation for Walpurgis Night, a holiday celebrated on April 30 where people light huge bonfires.…
Return of the Swans
Today while driving to Luleå, I spotted a guy standing at the edge of an opening on a frozen lake, fishing! Naturally I had to pull over and take a photo.…
Ice Fishing in Juoksengi
Today Kicki and I entered two ice fishing contests out on the Torne River in Juoksengi. The ‘Juoksenginappet’ and the ‘Polcirkelnappet’. The day started…
Playing in the Snow at Pullinki Ski
Well we finally went to Pullinki to play in the snow. Pullinki Ski is the closest, (um… only) ski area close to us. It’s less than 10 minutes north of…
Tornedalsloppet
Tornedalsloppet is a 45 kilometer cross country ski race from Svanstein to Övertorneå, held on the last Sunday in March. The track goes through the fields…
Instant Access to Searchme.com’s New Search Engine
Hey! The company I work for, Searchme, Inc. just announced the release of a new Visual Search Engine! It is still in Private Beta, which means you need to…
Photo posted on Övertorneå‘s website
There were some really nice Northern Lights last night. Despite the -22 degree weather, I decided to stand out in a foot of icy snow to try and capture…
The Jokkmokk Market
As noted in the previous post, Kalle, Kicki and I drove to the ‘Coldest Market in the World” yesterday. The Jokkmokk Market. The market was huge, packed…
Driving to the Jokkmokk Market
Yesterday Kalle, Kicki and I drove to the Jokkmokk Market in, well… Jokkmokk. Dubbed the “Coldest Market in the World”, the Jokkmokk Market was started in…
Day Trip to Aavasaksa
We woke up to a beautiful sunrise this morning and thought it would be nice to climb the Aavasaksa Lookout in Finland to enjoy the view, so we drove…
Moose Sighting
Jessica spotted a moose standing along the side of the road today while we were driving to Haparanda to do some shopping. We zipped passed it but decided…
Driving off the Road
Oops! Jessica’s grandfather drove into a ditch today while driving to the house during a snow storm. It is pretty hard to tell where the road is when…
Sunup… Sundown
This is a series of stills taken at noon on January 6th 2008. It was the first time this year that we could see the sun came above the horizon here in…
First Sunrise of 2008
Today the sun popped above the horizon for the first time in over a month. The first sunrise of 2008! It was only visible for about a minute, then it was…
The Beginning of a New Year
Well today is January 1st 2008. A new month, and a new year. Jessica and I were wiped out from last night’s New Years Celebration on the river, where we…
A -20c Morning Journey
It was -22c this morning at the house, and the sun was still just under the horizon. There were just a few clouds, or maybe it was fog, and all the trees…
River Crossing
Today we drove about 10 minutes south to Kuivakangas and walked down to a place where we were going to cross the river. We have done it in the summer…
Fresh Blueberries
Today Jessica’s Grandfather Elof brought us a HUGE bucket of fresh picked wild blueberries. These are the real blueberries too, the ones that really are…
The Big Day
The past two days have been the worst two days of my life, but I need to put that behind me and move on. We have been packing for a month, but severely…
One Year in Sweden
Today we left for Sweden, for a one year long adventure. We will be living in Juoksengi with Jessica’s parents, Kalle & Kicki. We made the decision less…
Daddy’s Here
I arrived in Sweden by myself this time. Jessica and Zoe have been here for a month already, but I stayed home to do some work. I’m glad to be out of the…
Tuomaan Paja Gift Shop
Tuomaan Paja is a really cool gift shop/ restaurant on the Finnish side of the Torne River. In the winter you can drive across the frozen river to get…
The First Week
Jessica and Zoe left for Sweden a month before I did. I was still looking for a job, and finishing up a contract project. Kalle and Kicki were thrilled to…
Today We Almost Died
Today we almost died! I tried to pass a really slow car while driving to Övertorneå with Jessica and Zoe. I waited for what I thought was a good spot then…
A Dog and a Party
8:30AM Jessica’s Uncle Ronnie came by with the dog to say hello. We walked to the market with Zam & Zoe. Had some lunch Slept again Kalle made a Birthday…
Switching to Swedish Time
SWITCHED TO SWEDISH TIME (9 hours earlier) 1:55 PM Zoe fell asleep nursing. 2:05 PM Just finished our first Swedish hamburger of the trip. 2:10 PM Zoe’s…
Arrived in Sweden
12:38 AM Boarded the last plane. The girl with the window seat sat somewhere else with her boyfriend, so we had all three seats. 12:48 AM Departed from…
Here we go again
5:30 AM Jessica’s parents called to wake us up. 6:19 AM Mom came by to drive us to the airport. Zoe was still very warm and fussy, but we decided to go…
Quad Play
Today Lisa and Charlie brought a shiny new quad over to the house for me to ride. Lisa’s brother just imported it from the US. Oh sounds and the smell…
Midnight Sun on the Torne River
Yesterday was June 21st, the longest day of the year. Below the Arctic Circle that just means the day is longer than the rest, but above the 66th parallel…
The Journey Begins
OK, our third visit to Sweden, this time with a four month old baby. Hey, how hard could it be? hahahaha.... We had no…
Our Last Day
Our last day in Sweden. We took a taxi to the airport, then hung out at a bar for a couple hours. After a quick de-icing of the wings, we were on our way…
A Big Lake, Cats, and Burger
We slept in till noon today! Nice. Then we drove out to Görvälnområdet, which is a huge lake. (I think so anyway). Henrietta had two cats that seemed to…
A Day in Stockholm with Friends
Henrietta and her sister picked us up at the airport in Stockholm and then we were on our way to Jakobsberg. After a rest and something to eat we jumped…
Heading to Stockholm
I got up early this morning and climbed up on the silo for a panoramic view of Juoksengi. Then at 3pm we jumped on a plane and headed for Stockholm to…
Northern Lights
We are leaving for Stockholm on Friday, so today we walked around with the dog and took some more photos of Jessica’s village. At around 9:30 Jessica…
A Snowmobile Mishap
Today we took off on the snowmobile again. This time we went way up into the hills where we got some great views of the northern mountains. At the end of…
Borrowed a Snowmobile
This morning we borrowed a snowmobile from a friend and Jessica and I cruised around the many snow covered trails behind her parent’s house. We were out…
The Ice Hotel
We left the house at 6:00am and headed for Jukkasjärvi, a small village in Northern Lapland, Sweden that builds an entire hotel out of ice every winter!…
Ice Racing
Kalle and I drove an hour and a half to watch a car race on a frozen lake. When we arrived at the town we found a small hand written sign that said the…
Ice Fishing Contest Today
Today there was a big ice fishing contest on the river, so we walked over to check out the excitement! When the gun went off all to competitors ran to…
A Quick Visit with Santa Claus
Today we drove to The Arktikum, Santa Claus Village and Santa Park in Rovaniemi, Finland, about an hour and a half away. We showed Santa where San Jose is…
Today We Walked on Water!
No clouds in the sky this morning but it is -16C degrees! I made some strong coffee then Jessica & I watched the news about Iraq. I hope they get the hell…
Time to Relax and Rest
The temperature was -3.5C/27F this morning! The sky goes from bright sun to dark and cloudy every 15 to 20 minutes, with short snow flurries thrown in…
Heading to the Arctic Circle
This was another busy day. We returned some clothes and bought some more, then we packed our bags and headed for Juoksengi at the Arctic Circle. Our 3…
A Busy First Day
This was a busy day. We took several photos, ate more burgers, bought some new clothes at H&M, toured an old military bunker deep inside a mountain, went…
From One Plane to Another
Well we arrived in Stockholm, grabbed our luggage, and checked it right back in. Then we hopped on another plane to Lulea. I sat next to a man from…
Leaving San Jose
Here we go again. Another vacation in Sweden. This time we left San Jose at 6:00am. The flight was on time and went well. We had a few hours to wander…
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