This was Sweden

Sweden is classy. Sweden is clean. Sweden gave us H&M, IKEA, and José Gonzalez. Somebody, selah and thank Him for Sweden!



What a joy to see my dearly beloved friend and favorite M-Div, Emilie Schneider. Her generous heart, familiar laugh and propensity for fika were a welcome reprieve from the daily reality of "all things new" in Madrid. Here Emilie anticipates a fika in this cozy café in the old town:


We stayed the first night with the dynamic Phil & Anna Close. Conversations with this Australian musician & Swedish intellectual were rich, deep, inspiring and never dull. Plus, they have two of the cutest little "Ausswedes" you'll ever see! Of the entire Close family I only have pictures of Micah; I can't believe it! I don't even have a picture of Anna's American sunroom. But anyways, check out this little bundle of amazing:


By the way, I can't even describe how much I loved the design of Anna's bathroom - I didn't take a picture but I will be copying it, tile for tile, when I get to design my own bathroom!

Can we just talk about how impeccably stylish everything is Sweden for a second? Honestly, I've seen bathrooms in fine dining restaurants in the U.S. that are nowhere near comparable to, say, the bathroom in the Swedish bus station. Style and comfort. Everything in Sweden has sleek lines and comfy cushions, including the Swedish metro.


Anyhow. Another example of exquisite Swedish style: Sophie, our prayer-wielding, pattern-cutting host for part of the weekend (her apartment could also be a page out of a design magazine). She took us to a thrift store that, not surprisingly, outclassed most retail shops I've visited. It had a refreshment table, folks: sweet iced tea served in a delicate, antique, pink glass pitcher, wafer cookies, and tea biscuits... all this with Astrud Gilberto played in the background. Emilie & Sophie strutting their "new" stuff:


Things I recommend in Sweden: Kaffekoppen, that thrift store whose name I can't remember, Hillsong Stockholm, the Spanish tapas, the prayer & worship session in the cozy church cellar in the heart of the Stockholm partying district, anything Anna cooks (even if she apologizes), wandering for hours through narrow cobblestone streets and this Sunday flea market:


Things I don't recommend: the changing of the guard, putting your feet up on the metro, or mispronouncing Bagarmossen. The less enjoyable side of Swedish perfection - being corrected by random Swedes who felt it their humble duty to set me straight! However, I will always treasure the memory of the older Swedish gentleman on the metro who asserted that Emilie & Sophie were from New York, and I was clearly Alaskan.

Anyhow, I'm already wondering when I will get to go back, shop, wander, maybe get a seat this time at Sky Bar, and take another fika! Stay classy, Sweden!