It's day five here of my Swedish adventure, and actually, I'm feeling right at home. Of course, I had the easy part. Kristy had the hard part in coming here alone, finding a place to live, finding her way around the city, making friends, and learning the language. All I have to do is follow her around (on the bus pass she bought me), and get to know her friends, teammates, and coaches. And that part has been pretty easy, since they have been VERY nice, and most speak very good english.
When I arrived Friday we went for a long walk around the park to try and keep me awake, and to get Reese a little walk after being crated for about 12 hours. Also, the sedatives I gave Reese at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport had not quite worn off, so it was good to get her some fresh air, and get the blood flowing. After the walk, I slept for a few hours. We woke up about 9:00 PM local time, and I was up. So we decided to go for a walk around town.
Saturday we took the bus to what was supposed to be a Christmas market. We were a little disappointed, because we expected more goods to purchase, and less food & drink stands. It was still good to get out and explore a little though, and we did have a drink they call Glogg. It's a warm berry drink, which can be served with alcohol, or without. We wanted with, but got it without. They also serve it with raisins and almonds, which you drop into the drink. It's very good. We headed back towards home and stopped at a grocery store on the way. Interesting that it looked more like an old warehouse from the outside, but was a pretty standard grocery store. We headed back to the apartment to drop our stuff off, and then headed over to Kristy's teammate Elin's house for a "baking party". There I met Elin, her boyfriend Robare, and Maria, a teammate of Kristy's from Norway. They were all very nice, and we had a lot of fun. After a while, the girls went to make cookies, and Robare and I talked. Poor guy probably was forced by Elin to hang out with me. I learned that he is on the AIK men's Bandy team. In our course of conversation, he mentioned that they might want me to come out and play goalie for their second team. I mentioned that I might suck. We'll see what happens.
Sunday, Kristy had a game in Kareby, which is about five hours southwest of Stockholm. We had to get up at 4:00 in the morning, which wasn't hard for me since I was already up for the last 3 hours not being able to sleep. We had to be at the Solna Centrum bus station, which is about a 20 minute walk, if you walk quickly. I had a hard time keeping up with Kristy, but we made it just in time to catch a ride from her teammate. Got to their home rink where we boarded the bus for Kareby. It was a beautiful bus ride, from Stockholm and it's lights, to when the sun finally came up and we drove along Lake Vattern, which is a very large inland lake. It almost felt like we were seaside. We passed some ruins along the way that almost looked like the remains of old stone castles. Once we got to the rink at Kareby, AIK tied Kareby 2-2 in a light rain. Although AIK dominated the game in my opinion, they just couldn't hit the net with their shots. The tie was like a win for Kareby, and they celebrated like they had just won a championship game. Also, AIK is the defending champion in Swedish Women's bandy, so they are the team that everyone wants to beat. The tie was disappointing, but not the end of the world, and AIK kept their undefeated streak at 17 games. The trip was fun, because it allowed me to get to know the girls and coach Oscar a little better, and helped me learn some names. During the trip I was constantly amazed at how the bus drivers could maneuver these big buses through the narrowest gaps, and as we pulled into the driveway for AIK's home rink, I was once again reflecting on how skilled they were....right up until the bus hit the corner of the building, blowing out one of the huge windows right next to where we were sitting in the back, and right where Elin had just been sitting. We got off the bus at that point, but as Kristy unpacked her bandy gear, I watched the driver try to get the bus unstuck from where it was, and break three more windows on the bus. It also did some damage to the corner of the buildings roof, which I'm sure the bus company will have to pay for. What an exciting way to end the day!
Monday night I took my bandy gear with to Kristy's practice, and worked out with the team. I was horrible, and my body just can't handle playing. :( My shoulder, which was seperated about 3 years ago while playing golf (don't ask), and needs to be fixed surgically, gave out on me quickly. Also, the spot where I had surgery for an abdominal tear in September is still giving me issues. I think I'm probably just getting too old to play goalie anymore. Still, I liked practicing with the girls. They just need to learn that they need to go easy on me. :D

That's all.