Changing of the Guard: Farewell & Hello

This was the day that Ruthie and the gang headed to Amsterdam on their way ultimately to Brussels and the music festival, Tomorrowland. We had such a great time with them but we had the arrival of our dear friends from Seattle, Kathy Kline and Louis Holtzman, to look forward to. Before everyone was mobilized that morning, Ruthie came with us for a lovely walk in a wooded parkland that skirts a golf course in Altorp. It was a special time for just us three – we so love Ruthie’s adventurous spirit and look forward to many more worldly adventures with her.

Kathy and Louis arrived just before we were heading to the airport to get Ruthie and friends on their way, so we put our friends to bed and made the airport run. It was a perfect day for this as it was cloudy and gray so we all didn’t feel like we were missing out – it was actually a nice, relaxing transition after all the running around.

Once Kathy and Louis were rested we took them to Taby Centrum – the very big indoor mall not far from the house – for a traditional taste of Swedish fish dishes. Richard had kindly left us some vouchers to try Melander’s – a chain that is well-known in Sweden for fish specialties. It didn’t disappoint. That night I got completely hooked on the traditional shrimp salad (skagenröra) which is, unfortunately made with loads of mayonnaise (!!!) and dill – but sooooo yummy on thin crackerbrot. Andrew is happy with any and all forms of smoked salmon (lox, gravlax, you name it) and Kathy had a super-rich traditional fish soup.