Umea in Pictures

Walking around town today I was taking a lot of pictures and decided to post them to a blog because I think pictures are a lot more fun than reading a long post. I picked a few things that I think make Umea different and things that I have noticed are different in Sweden from the U.S.

Biking is extremely popular here. Bikes are everywhere. I have heard even snow does not stop most bikers. Hopefully I can be as hardcore as people here and bike to school even in the snow.

Exploring campus! Orientation starts tomorrow!

These blue buses are everywhere and go from campus to town and everywhere else. So if biking in the snow proves to be too much for me, the bus is an easy alternative.

The brown sugar I bought for my chocolate chip cookies. Something about it is much different than the brown sugar I'm used to, but it's yummy anyways.

                                           

The city center. It's beautiful with a little fruit and vegetable market and shops all around. The building in the background is the Old Town Hall.

                                       
In this picture it is a little hard to see but the glass box building in the center says Umea 2014. It is a symbol for the fact that Umea Sweden was picked to be the European Capitol of Culture for 2014! It means there will be lots of special events in the coming year. However right now it also means lots of construction, as you can see in the distance.

Mjukglass! Also known as icecream! I just had to post this because if anyone knows me, they know I love icecream.

In the summer lots of restaurants in Sweden extend their seating outside. In winter of course these disappear and indoor eating will become the norm. But usually these places are packed, especially on the weekends.

Cheese is very expensive here. These are the cheeses that are on sale this week, but they are still expensive. Sad, because I love cheese. Also accidentally in this picture you can see the Swedish prices!

They have Ramon noodles here! I thought any college kids would appreciate this. However even though it is cheaper here than most things, it is nowhere near as cheap as in the U.S. And the lack of nutrition it provides makes buying it in Sweden a bit silly.

They change the names of movies here to Swedish! It makes me giggle. But most movies are kept in English and they add Swedish subtitles. This is because most people speak English here.

Just an extra photo, but we mailed off some save the dates today! Only to the European side of the family (no U.S. ones yet), but still an exciting moment, so we had to take a picture. :)