Home is where our beds and TV are

Add Iceland to the short list of places I will never, ever, EVER visit again. Granted I've only been to the airport, but the frustrating processes and the lack of food choices are enough to keep me out for the rest of eternity. There's a single place that sells sustenance, in prepackaged sandwich form, and its "vegetarian" choice is heavily contaminated with mayonnaise - the world's most vile substance. Therefore, my lunch looked like this:



I always said I was a potato chip vegetarian.

The flight from Reykjavik to Seattle was longer than expected, but fairly uneventful. The unfortunate thing about IcelandAir is that they don't offer free food or beverages, even on long transatlantic stretches. Hungry folks must either bring their own or purchase things onboard. Starving due to the above conditions, I shelled out for a five euro ($10) veggie wrap. We were seated next to a woman who could have been Bobby's mom's twin. She was chatty (and thus could also be my mom's twin) and asked us all about our trip. Once she discovered Portland was our final destination and we were going by car, she told us about a young UK exchange student she'd met at the airport. This student was on our flight to Seattle, but will be starting school at Reed College on Monday. Our seatmate asked if we might be willing to give the young lady, named Frankie, a ride back to Portland with us. We agreed to meet her and decide from there. She seemed quite cool (and perfectly normal, in case you were wondering, mom), so we got ourselves a passenger. What can I say? I love to sell Portland.

Our passenger (and new friend) Frankie was grateful for the ride, and we spent the journey telling her all about the city we love. With our ETA too late to hit any beloved Portland restaurants, we stopped at a Burgerville in Centralia or Chehalis (I always mix those two up). We dropped her at her hotel in Portland, and told her to look us up if she wants to grab a beer once she gets settled. Sure enough, she's already added me on Facebook. Ah, modern technology.

We arrived home around 11:00 last night, and were greeted by a pair of lonely cats who'd been kindly watched by my former coworker Mindy in our absence. Jet lag being the beast that it is, I woke up around 4:45 this morning and have been running around putting the house in order ever since. I made myself a giant American-style breakfast featuring FIVE strips of Fakin' Bacon instead of my normal three (I missed the stuff), and my typical toast and tea.



No cheese sits atop the jam. I save that treasured tradition for when I'm in Sweden. It just wouldn't taste as good here. Now I'm alone for the first time in two weeks. Bobby's gone off to work. It's eerily quiet, so I'm thinking about meeting Lorien and Xander at the fabric store later. Our trip was indescribably fantastic, and my reviews of Way Out West are currently in progress. The first one should be posted by Monday at the absolute latest, which is also the first day of my new job. I miss our friends in Sweden already, but am comforted by the fact that we'll see each other again soon.

Sweden Day Ten

We're sitting in Erica and PJ's living room. Our bags are packed and piled in the corner. It's time to go. I'm sad about it, but at the same time I feel like we've been gone for a month. I miss our cats.

Yesterday was our anniversary, and we spent most of the afternoon wandering around town while Erica and PJ prepared their house for a mysterious event. We stopped for coffees, and received very appropriate latte art:



We visited the local design museum, which features free entry and a rotating series of displays.







We were due back at the apartment around 5:00, but were a bit late due to my insistence that we stop at the FACE Stockholm store and buy some makeup. I got the world's most expensive glitter, but it's not like glitter goes out of style. At least in my house it doesn't. We stopped at the System Bolaget on the way back to collect beer and cider. Once we returned to the apartment, we were confined to the living room for a while. Finally, the big reveal happened. A traditional Swedish crayfish festival was happening in our honor. Erica and I had artichokes and quiche while the other guests attacked the mountain of spindly-legged creatures at the center of the table. After a quick lesson, Bobby was a professional crayfish enjoyer. There are also songs that accompany this celebration. They're to the tune of various Christmas songs, like O Christmas Tree. We learned to sing them. Each song is followed by a shot of Aquavit (known as snaps), and we joined in that tradition as well. I, however, can't do shots, so mine was more a sip of Aquavit. However, I finished my little bottle like a champ. I didn't get any photos of this event, but Erica will share hers with me.

Soon the party disbanded, and reconvened up the street at Debaser to see Daniel Johnston play some songs. We rounded out the evening with many hugs on Debaser's back patio,





and are preparing for our goodbyes to our gracious hosts. We'll be home in Portland late tonight, and back in Sweden as soon as possible.

Sweden Day Nine

Our time in this wonderful place is drawing to a close. We're trying to cram in as many excursions and social visits as possible, but it's never enough. Bobby and I spent the early part of yesterday walking around central Gothenburg before our bus ride south. We took some photos of our observations. It's a very nice city, and was well worth our visit. Alas, we were too busy to visit Liseberg (the amusement park south of the city), so we'll have to go next time.











It was a three hour bus ride back to our home base, and the bus had a Wi-Fi connection! Bobby edited his photos while I read David Sedaris. Erica and Sandy collected us at the bus station and took us to a nearby falafel restaurant that specializes in vegetarian chicken and fried hallomi cheese. Once we returned to PJ and Erica's, we learned Gothenburg had been hit by torrential downpour as soon as we left. The streets were flooded and the city had descended into chaos as people tried to navigate the water-soaked terrain. It's amazing that it happened so quickly after the festival while we were safe in a cozy apartment watching movies.

Today we had a late lunch with Erica and Madeleine. Baked potatoes with two toppings for 60kr. Can't beat that! I had cheese and jalapeno sauce. Bobby had roast beef. Nom nom nom.









Erica had to go off to work, so we went over to Madeleine's for a while. We listened to music and looked at some old photographs, and I drank tea. A fine afternoon. Once we went back across the street, Susanne had joined us on her way to roller derby practice. I was delighted to be a spectator, and she had me introduce myself to her league. I told a few stories about my days as a roller girl, and tried to help Susanne adjust to her new set of Reidell Wicked 365s. Those skates were the devil to break in, and I haven't forgotten about it. The Crime City Rollers are delightfully nice, and offered to find some skates for my big American feet if I'd like to practice with them. Watching their drills made me miss derby like crazy, but I politely declined. They said I'm welcome back any time, though, and I may take them up on that some day.



Tomorrow we are being kicked out of the apartment for a few hours. Our friends are up to something. They promise us a surprise when we return, so we'll occupy ourselves for the afternoon. Tomorrow is our last full day here. It came too soon.

Sweden Day Eight

With aching feet, we arose yesterday for the final day of Way Out West. We arrived around noon, just after the gates opened for the day.



I posed for a photo at the entrance, next to the VIP/Press line.



We headed for the VIP/Press area for a few minutes, and snapped some photos before too many people arrived.





After that, Twin Shadow was first on our schedule. We had some time before their set, so we watched the sound check from a nearby beer garden.





We sat with some of the other photographers waiting for pit access, and chatted for a while. One was from LA and had been living in Stockholm for the past few years. Twin Shadow was good, if a little tired from playing all night in Norway the night before. I was glad to finally see them.

Next came The Tallest Man on Earth, whom I really liked. We caught a Swedish singer over on the smallest stage, then Noah and the Whale followed. I liked them very much as well. They had cute Beatles-esque suits and played a cover of a Robyn song.





After this block of music, we grabbed two falafels for lunch.



We headed back to VIP to wait for Madeleine, and were joined by Anna and Dennis as well.





Dennis and I chatted about what we like so much about each other's countries. We both said food. I said the food here tastes like it's made of food. He said he loves our hamburgers. Different strokes. I ordered beer and wine in Swedish, and the bartender said "nice try." My Swedish is hit or miss I guess. Other bartenders have told me it's great, but maybe they just thought I was cute for trying.

Once we left the press area, it was time for Wiz Khalifa.



Though he was great, we couldn't stay long. Pulp was next, and they are the band I flew thousands of miles to see. I was determined to get as close to the front as possible, so we had to go early. I shot some photos of the eager crowd:





And I waited. Though the rest of the day flew by, time slowed down as Pulp's set approached. They started right on time, and Jarvis Cocker told many jokes during the performance. The first three songs were from later albums and were pretty calm, so I got a few decent photos.





As you can see, I was very close to the stage. Maybe five or six people back in a sea of 20,000. This is where my story turns ugly. (Mom, don't panic. I'm fine.) Once those first few songs were done, Jarvis said "we're about to play a dance song that used to be about the future, and now it's about the past." I knew it would be "Disco 2000," as did the rest of the massive crowd. As the opening notes played, a crush of people began dancing furiously, singing along and jumping on top of each other. It was chaos. Many people were clamoring to get out, and couldn't. They were trapped dozens of people deep in this madness. My heart started racing and as exited as I was to be there, a scrolling marquee began running in my head. "Breathe slow, stay calm, stay upright, survive," it said. I protected my face and my bag, and moved with the crowd until the song ended. It's been a long, long time since I was so terrified at a show. Fortunately the calm returned. Pulp ended with "Common People," as is expected, and I was ready to get out of there and go find Bobby. However, as I tried to leave, every single person began rushing toward the stage. I couldn't understand why. Sure, Kanye was up next, but that wasn't for two hours. There was no way out, it seemed, but I needed to escape. I couldn't get trapped by this mob. This is when the roller derby instincts kicked in. I exploded through the rushing masses, clawing and hip-checking to freedom. High on adrenaline, I ran past the last few people to find Bobby, who was standing at our agreed-upon meeting place. I think I had a pretty serious look of terror on my face, because he seemed a bit worried when he saw me. Still, I made it, and I got my stupid front row spot for a band that hasn't played together in 15 years. Lesson learned. Don't do that again.

We rested in the swanky press center (which Bobby discovered earlier in the day), and I guzzled water while we waited for Kanye to go on.



He closed out the festival, and we trudged back to our hotel. It was quite an adventure, let me tell you.

Sweden Day Seven

Well, yesterday was, without a doubt, the most incredible day of my whole life. Sure I'm tired and sore, but who cares? As I keep telling Bobby, when will we ever have this opportunity again? We press on. I'm proud to say we made it to every single act we wanted to yesterday, except for the two club performances. There were some minor hiccups at the beginning. They wouldn't let us in with our water bottles, so I had to go back through security and check them for the day for 40kr (about 6 bucks). Bobby got bad information about the photo pit for Ed Sharpe, but we got some pictures from a distance. They were great, but we had to head over to a different stage at the halfway point to catch Christian Kjellvander. Here I am waiting for his set to begin. I was in the front, so I got to be on the Jumbotron. Whee!



Leaving early became the theme of the day. Mr. Kjellvander and his band were enthralling, and Bobby liked them too. However, he had to leave early to line up for the Avett Brothers photo pit. The Avett Brothers were unbelievable, but we had to leave after three songs in order to rest a few minutes before Janelle Monae. Of course, she was amazing too. Once her set ended, we got our first real break. We ate some mediocre festival food (I was drawn in by the sign) and drank wine in the swanky VIP/Press area.



We found Anna and Dennis, and later, Madeleine.



After about an hour, the madness began again. Fleet Foxes were next on the schedule, and Bobby disappeared into the photo pit. I was tired, so I decided to avoid the crowd and enjoy their performance from the Jumbotron while sitting on the ground.



Bobby came to join me and review his photos:



Shortly after he arrived, two ladies from Ed Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes sat next to us. We left them alone, but a fan came and asked for one of their autographs. He had neither pen nor paper, so I tore a sheet from my notebook and handed it over. The guy seemed grateful.



Robyn followed Fleet Foxes. The thing with Robyn is that in the US, she might sell out a 500 to 700 person venue. Here in Sweden, she sells out sports arenas. Once I got into this crowd, there was no getting out. For that reason, hers is the only set I saw from start to finish. You're looking at a sea of thousands of people, all singing along to "Dancing on My Own." It was quite something.



I was pretty near the front, and as close as I felt comfortable. Any nearer to the stage and I worried I'd be crushed to death by screaming fans, so I kept a reasonable distance. Obviously Bobby's photos will be much better than this. He actually scored the best spot for Robyn, so the shots are fantastic.



Once Robyn's set ended, I made my way through the mob to find Bobby at our arranged meeting place. We went to the smallest stage to see IAMAMIWHOAMI, but were underwhelmed to say the least. Headed back to the VIP area and found Anna and Madeleine, who were waiting for Dennis so they could go see Prince. We left without them to get a good spot, and saw this:



It basically says "No cameras are allowed at Prince. Respect that." We knew already, of course, and it was kind of nice to watch a show together. If the crowd at Robyn was bad, the one for Prince was 100 times worse. We were jam-packed with nearly every festival attendee. After a few songs, we moved back quite a bit, but there was no relief to be found. I'm sorry to say we only lasted an hour at Prince, though I hear he played for several. Later, he showed up at a club at 3:00am for one of his famed after-shows. I gotta hand it to him, the guy is twice my age and has more stamina than I do. Then again, he didn't spend 12 hours covering concerts and traipsing all over a giant park. We dragged our weary bodies back to the hotel and collapsed.

Today's agenda: Twin Shadow, The Tallest Man on Earth, Jayhawks, Noah and the Whale, Wiz Khalifa, Pulp, and Kanye West. We might not make it to everything, but I can tell you I will fight my way to the front of the crowd for Pulp, and will wear out my voice singing along with the Common People.

Sweden Day Six

I'm sitting in my hotel and getting ready to go to day two of Way Out West. It's sunny and lovely outside, and we had a very nice breakfast in the lobby. Last night, we tried to get into Storan to see Destroyer. However, the queue was massive and the place isn't very big. Anna texted that she and Dennis were at Trädgår´n to see Warpaint. and The Radio Department. Since it's a much larger venue, we decided to try for that instead. After another long line, we were some of the last people to get in. The place was packed, but I found Anna near the stage. Bobby chose a photo spot, and our festival coverage began. Anna shared her wine with me, and later bought me a glass. I met some of Dennis' friends when he came back from the bar. Anna and I also split a cactus lime cider, and Bobby got some photos of us dancing between the two bands. This isn't a great photo of me due to earplugs and bad angle, but whatever:



One awesome thing about concerts in Sweden: they don't turn on the house lights and shoo people out when the band stops playing. Instead, the DJs begin and a dance party erupts among the stragglers. We've got some great crowd photos to include in last night's set. On the way home, we found another WOW poster, and I decided to show it some love.



On the schedule today: Ed Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Christian Kjellvander, Janelle Monae, Fleet Foxes, Robyn, IAMAMIWHOAMI, Prince, Little Dragon, and Zola Jesus. Ambitious schedule with 12+ hours of live music. If there's a heaven, I'm in it.

Sweden Day Four

"Jag är en amerikansk tjur i ett svenskt porslinsbutik."

Translation: I am an American bull in a Swedish china shop.

Madeleine took me and Bobby shopping in the main part of town today. We checked out some fun stores and I bought a few things for our house. I bought a butter knife that says "sluta smörar" (stop buttering) and a big printed textile thing that says "din mamma jobbar inte här" (your mother doesn't work here). On the way back to Erica and PJ's, we stopped at the System Bolaget (state-run liquor store) to replace the beer we've been drinking. We also bought a small bottle of rum to take to Way Out West. As we were putting our purchases in my reusable shopping bag, the rum tumbled out and shattered all over the floor (and my pants). I turned purple and said "förlåt!" (I'm sorry), and was totally prepared to walk away without rum. However, the cashier told me to go take another one. For free! I love Sweden, even though it seems I can't come here without breaking something. Big, clumsy, stupid American, that's me.

We made it back to our home base without incident, and now I am updating all of you while Bobby takes a nap. I slept terribly last night because some stupid telemarketer decided to phone me at 1:30 in the morning. Of course, it's not 1:30 in the morning where he called from, but when my phone rings that late at night, all I can do is panic. The call prompted me to panic about my phone bill, so I got up to make sure I didn't have a zillion dollars worth of data roaming charges. Then I couldn't get back to sleep. My brain was going all over the place, half in Swedish, and thinking about too many things. Then the telemarketers called again. No sleep for me.

Earlier today, Bobby and I went over to Sandy's house for brunch. She cooked an amazing set of things, which are pictured below. We were joined by Madeleine, Erica, Sanna, and Håkan. Brunch looked like this:







Of course, I felt right at home when I walked into Sandy's living room:



Tonight, we will make some dinner and head over to Debaser for a free concert with a local band called Hårda Tider (Hard Times). Tomorrow morning, we leave for Way Out West!