Exploring Linköping and Lucia

Wow! Woke up at 9:30 AM and breakfast ends at 10. We head to the breakfast before showers. There is a hot food table with eggs, bacon, korv, baked tomato halves and then herring choices. The cheese and meat table is 10 feet long. Many breads and knäkebröd of course. Yogurt, cereal and toppings are at the next table. There is juice, smoothies, water, coffee and tea. Yummy.
We pick up Karli and go to town to explore. Nice city. The walking street is gorgeous. It is very cold. -3° C. Karli buys white socks for Lucia and a scarf for me. We eat lunch and it is still snowing. The streets are filled with people. It gets dark about 3 PM. It is funny because most all the shops close and the lunch places change to dinner prices. People are definitely trying to get to their destination before dark.

We take a breather in the hotel room. BBC International is great. Hearing news from a world perspective instead of one strictly from the American viewpoint is very refreshing. I experiment with wireless on my Ipaq. It works!

Karli texts us and we go meet her in town. She is practicing for Lucia but is ready the 6:00 performance. We go inside and sit down. It is a small banquet type room with a stage. I look back and I think I see Peter Andersson. He is the professor who was at UW last year as a visiting professor! We talk with him before. He invites us to Fika or lunch this week and wants to give us a tour of the University.

The performance is wonderful. The Lucia girls flow in singing of course. They surround us and it is amazing. I had no idea the choir was so accomplished. There are 21 in all. They eventually perform on the stage. Karli is singing a low alto part. What a treat. I feel like if nothing else happens on the trip, I'll be happy. This experience of seeing her singing in a Lucia program in Sweden is the most wonderful memory of all.



She has another show at 8PM. We take her to eat at a Chinese Restaurant. It is good, very expensive and beautifully decorated. Some of her choir comes by singing on the street. They are trying to talk people into coming to their 8PM program. Cute. Singing is so much a part of the culture here, no one thinks singing girls on a street is an unusual sight.

The next show is as beautiful as the first. It is like a dream.

After the show we are invited to a "sittning". It is with the Linnea Choir and guests. We sit in the same room only they now have it set up like a dinner. We are at a long table seated next to another couple. The woman is on the committee to choose Fulbright Scholars. Very interesting couple. We don't really know what is happening but we try to watch everyone as do what they do.

They sing a little then eat then sing some more. It is absolutely beautiful. We eat grött and jam with bread and cheeses. They play games too. They pass around a tomte hat, a Lucia crown and an advent box with candy. They sing and then stop. There are certain things people do if they get the items when the singing stops. It is fun. I am so impressed with what strong singers they are. Each one is amazing.

We go back to Karli's room and call home. No one answers. Oh well, we will call tomorrow.

We get to bed at 1 AM. Yikes!

Still snowing....