Tuesday morning, our first offical day in Kumla, we walked around the city center of Kumla shortly for about an hour. We enjoyed the bakery, a few boutiques, flower shops, etc. Then eventually we made it over to the Holm's house to catch a bus to Orebro, the nearby larger town. I showed them briefly my bedroom, and what's become my home here. Finally, my mom sees where I put my head down :) We waited a bit for the bus (always unsure of the times), but eventually made it to Orebro. We had plans to go see the Orebro Castle, which I had never been to either. This castle was built in the 16th century, and was very beautiful! We took a tour, and learned about the history of Kings and castles and that time period. In this castle, I think we laughed the hardest on the trip. There was a question asked by our tour guide, and Katie answered with "Prostitues!" That was not the answer, lol. Ask any of us for further details if you want, it was hilarious. We left the castle and toured around Orebro. We didn't have that much time for this town, as we needed to figure out the bus back to Kumla, and dinner, etc. We enjoyed a nice cocktail right on the river, before we made it back to the bus stop. It was a great day!
Wednesday, we toured Kumla. By now, you know it's a very small town, but very fun for the type of shopping my mom and aunts like to do. Little bakerys, boutiques, garden shops, etc. I had passed back these shops a few time, but we enjoyed each one and even made some new friends in the stores. Think we kinda stuck out, as 5 loud blondes speaking english and store hopping. It was a fun afternoon of casual shopping, and not having to rush or get lost. For dinner, we headed back to the Holms (about 30 min. walking), and Lasse and Susanne had prepared a huge dinner for our family and theirs. Lasse's parents, sister Sara and her family, and my family all together, it was a party! It was natural, easy, and just exciting to see my two families really getting to know each other. Thankfully, the weather held out so it was a long night of stories and more laughing. Lasse's father Frank was generous enough to walk us back to the hotel :) To this day, my Swedish family is constantly complementing how awesome my family is and how much fun we had. I agree. Lasse's sister said, "no wonder you are the way you are!" Yes, I am blessed with so many amazig women in my life to look after!
The next day, unfortunately it was raining. We were supposed to spend the day up at Torpet, Lasse's cabin. Instead, he was so generous enough to give us a personal driving (dry) tour of Kumla and Orebro. He grew up here and obviously has so much pride in showing the best. He took us to Old Orebro, where we did a little more shopping and toured a small museam. He then took us to this small mountain top, about 10 minutes driving up, but you can see all of Kumla. Too bad it was raining, but it was still cool. He then took us all back to the house, where he prepared pickled herring and pototes. He of course, didn't forget to serve us Schnaps either, Skol! After lunch, we all went up to the cabin and toured the property. Like I've talked about before, this cabin is very old, but very well maintained by Lasse and his father. They spent months cleaning and preparing the for the Irelans, so nice! Lasse then prepared dinner for us, which was a mouse and deer stew and potatoes. It was his goal to provide this day as Swedish as possible. It was easy to see how much fun and pleasure he had to do this for us. Like I said, it was all just so easy and fun to all be together. We had a nice evening at the cabin, and everyone loved the property, especially the double outhouse! We always went in pairs...
The next morning, Lasse drove us all to Hallsberg to board a train to Gothenberg on the west coast. We couldn't thank Lasse and Susanne enough for this whole week with them, everything they provided. We really got the personal treatment, and we can all say we're family enough. Lasse said goodbye, and see you in CA!
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