Downtown Örebro

After I finished up my thesis defense and opposition, I spent some time with my fellow soldiers in battle but later headed back to Örebro. (I almost just wrote "home" instead of "back" because despite the fact that I've spent much more time in Linköping, Örebro is where I feel most at home, thanks to Christian's amazing family).  We went out to celebrate the fact that I got my masters (go me!), and had a delicious meal.  Afterwards, we were all feeling particularly stuffed and had a really nice walk downtown.
One thing I've noticed from all my picture-editing lately?  I'm kind of obsessed with taking pictures of birds.  Also, these are the last pictures taken on my old, kit lens (since Christian and his lovely parents gifted me with a new one as a graduation gift!!!).
I'd also like to point out that I edited hardly any of these.  Maybe that means I'm getting better?  (it probably just means I was lucky with the light).















isn't that the prettiest public restroom you've ever seen?

my new lens!

Mysebo

I really enjoyed my time at Mysebo (Christian's mother's parents' summer home), and was only sad that we only spent a couple of days there.  It was relaxing, calm, and beautiful.  Christian and I plan to go again this summer and visit with his grandparents. I especially loved going out on the boat, the archipelagos are gorgeous!
 















Christian snapped this shot- fika time!



















wild swans were everywhere- I was obsessed with them

I love that there are wildflowers everywhere- I used these to make my flower crown











card time!









photo by Fred, Christian's mother's father

Midsommar

During the Midsommar weekend, Christian, his parents, and I went up to Mysebo, his mother's parents' summer home.  That was a bit of a mouthful... Although the weather wasn't so great, the rain did stop for a while.  I got some nice shots of the celebration; a post on Mysebo will come tomorrow (I think).

Also...these pictures look better than usual because my wonderful boyfriend and his generous and sweet parents got me a new lens for my camera as a graduation present (I just got my masters!)...however, I'd also like to think it's because all of my photography practice is paying off

I did partake in a bite of sill (definitely not my favorite), but did don a flower crown and generally enjoyed the merriment.  Here's an article to explain more about the holiday: http://www.thelocal.se/7665/20110622/
 

Svampen

The day after the wedding, a few of us went to Svampen, a water tower in Örebro that has existed since the late 1950's.  It's a fun place to visit because you can see the entire city from the viewing area, and there's also a cafe.  We had some fika, and just enjoyed a lazy Sunday afternoon.  Doesn't Christian have such a gorgeous family?

Christian's cousin Sara, she's so sweet and pretty :)

Svampen, which means "mushroom" in Swedish

Anton (Christian's cousin) and Charlotte

yet another self portrait

view from the top

Stefan, Christoffer (Christian's cousin), Henrik (Christian's uncle on his father's side), and Christian

Swedish flag

view of the church

Wedding Preview

On Saturday, we attended Hanna and Erik's wedding, it was such a beautiful day full of love and happiness.  It was really touching to see how overjoyed they were, and to have their family and friends celebrate in their special day.  The one thing I wish was different was that Christian was a better dancer (I love him, but he stepped on my toes multiple time).  I took over 1,400 pictures...so I'm going to pick a select few photos in a couple of different batches.  I'm so honored that I got to be a part of their special day!
Also, big thanks to my friend Mats who let me borrow his telephoto lens and his 50 mm that took great pics in dim lighting :)

they entered on a horse and carriage  

sHanna had such a beautiful bouquet (and a truly gorgeous ring)

They both had rice stuck in their hair after this

Vilmer was such a cutie!

Thunderstorms

Just a quick post today...
After watching the thunderstorms, I decided I wanted to capture them, however, this is not an easy task.  I stood on the balcony for about an hour, and was only to get one shot (there's a reason for the phrase "fast as lightning"), but still thought I'd like to share

It's kind of weak, and doesn't really show how dramatic it looked, so I'd like to show a clip of it that I took with my flipcam:

you can see it in the last four seconds.
Lester is actually getting used to all of it, and still prefers to sleep outside, even when it's pouring outside.  I actually greatly enjoy the rain because it's so darn humid here.  Everything feels sticky and muggy and gross...humidity was at 89% this morning! (all of this on top of the sun rising at 3:50 am...no joke, so hard to sleep!)

Christian snapped this pic of Lester stretching...I thought it was too cute not to share!