I'm finding I only have time to make quick notes at the end of each day, and I doubt I'll have time to write them up nicely until I get back.  So I figured I'd throw the raw notes up here for anyone interested knowing what we're up to in something approximating "real time", and I'll replace them with my usual witty prose later.  This also acts as a backup in case my notes get accidentally deleted and I forget what we did.

Day 0 = Mon 16 Dec

• Travel to Malmö
  • Dans Taxi to Central Station
  • Oresundtag to Malmö
  • Windmills in the sea, not sure why people are complaining about having them 30km away
• Scandic City
  • Named after an unfortunate incident at an office Xmas party
  • Slightly 70s, a bit Sugarshaker, but cheap and well located
  • And only one with a kitchenette for Carl
  • Fingers crossed the breakfast is up to scratch
• Lunches
  • Got lovely salads for Emma and Chris
    • Ordered in Swedish but fell at the first hurdle of "understanding what they say back"
  • Hungry Jacks (Burger King) for Erica and me
    • Come around the world to be reminder fo Brisbane
    • But Erica was in a strop so the Malmö felaffels will have to wait
• Walk
  • Gustav Adolfs Torg had construction
  • Which side of the street to walk on
    • Crossing roads
  • Stortorget was beautiful as always, though the carparmm in the middle (while non doubt very practical and beneficial for the locals) gets in the way of the charm ever-so-slightly
  • Littatorget was the nicest.
    • Stopped in for a happy-hour "storstark" which was jättesmaklig.
    • Enjoyed the ambience. Asked if I could sit "outside", but realised that all the couches and tables were technically "outside" - they were simply surrounded by a pillow-fort of unbrellas and perspex wind-guards to keep the heat from the heaters in.
  • Walked back through the graveyard park and spotted the OG felaffel place near the canal.
  • Discovered that I'd been demoted from having a bed to sharing a fold-out couch with Carl because Erica had chucked a wobbly about the feng-shui or something.
• Emma and I went out for supplies at the ICA.
  • Discovered "Vintermamma" - apple juice with ginger, cinnamon and cardamom which you drink heated up as an alternative to glögg.
  • Scandinavian supermarkets (in city centres) are lovely little warrens of spaces that have to fit into old buildings, a nice change from the Australian warehouses.
  • Bought Varmkorv on the way home from hole-in-wall. Lady serving had little English so enjoyed the challenge of communicating in our terrible Swedish. Once again, I can speak it better than I can understand it (but then again, I've always been better at talking than listening).
• Back home and watched some Swedish TV (with a Finnish discussion of the Georgian crisis thrown in).

Day 1 = Tue 17 Dec

• Scandic breakfast
  • They looked after Carl really well, bringing him food from the kitchen so he could avoid the buffet.
• Tretorgsgången
  • Kids being annoying
• Walk to Malmöhuset
  • meditation in the sun
  • Felafel from OG felafel place
• Met Lovisa and Magnus
  • Walk to Malmöhuset and museum
    • Learned about how the Swedes nicked Skåne off the Danes
  • Lillatorget and Jättestorstark
    • Dinner

Day 2 = Wed 18 Dec

• Raining
  • Walked to Triangeln
• Off to Lovisa and Magnus's place
  • Walk in the rainy broadleaf forest
  • Visit to 17thC Castle
  • Dinner of wild boar and good company

Day 3 = Thu 19 Dec

• Last Scandic breakfast
  • They were so awesome catering for Carl's allergies
• Train to Örebro
  • Faced backwards so listened to Star Guitar
  • Yet again the backpack showed its value
  • Saw the Swedish countryside change from Skånes broadleaf forests to the pine'n'birch of the rest of the country.
  • Also saw a moose.
  • People hogging 6-seaters
• Örebro
  • Met by Anders, Agnete and Annika
  • Cellar dwelling
    • Jul lights everywhere
  • Coop (Coop-a-doop)
    • Ärtsoppa