It was a normal enough Tuesday. Busy, of course, culminating in Swedish class.
It was our final Swedish class of this “season”, with a recommencement in two weeks. Thus, we had a few things to eat and drink, including some Swedish meatballs. Yummo!
As part of my homework for Swedish class this week, we were asked to write a brief article about a place we have visited from the perspective of a tourist. I wrote a brief article about Saltsjöbaden, a town on the Baltic near Stockholm.
So I wrote the following… which is translated below.
I mars besökte jag Stockholm, Saltsjöbaden, Norrköping, Helsingborg, Malmö, Gävle och Sandviken. Stockholm var underbart, men Saltsjöbaden var den största överraskningen. Saltsjöbaden är tjugo minuter med tåg från Stockholm. När du anländer, dominerar Grand Hotel landskapet. Byggnaden är stor och vit och mycket vacker. Från hotellet tittar du ut över skärgården. I mars var skärgården fortfarande isbelagd. När vintern blev vår, var det vackert att se växter under snön. Jag åt några vilda bär som komma upp då. Jag tillbringade mycket av min tid med att gå naturen. Tyvärr ramlade jag och skadade mig lite. Snön görde att ratt det inte gorde så ont. Saltsjöbaden är populär på sommaren också. På väggen på Grand Hotel kan man se ett fotografi av kungen och drottningen när de bodde där. Kungafamiljen hade också jaktmarker i närheten. Det var lugnt och vackert och en av de bästa delarna av min semester. Saltsjöbaden har nästan nio tusen invånare, men endast ett fåtal butiker och restauranger. Jag gjorde min shopping i den närbelägna fortorten, Fisksätra. Liksom många “end of the line” platser, det var många nya invandrare där.
And the translation is…
In March, I visited Stockholm, Saltsjöbaden, Norrköping, Helsingborg, Malmö, Gävle and Sandviken. Stockholm was wonderful, but Saltsjöbaden was the biggest surprise. Saltsjöbaden is 20 minutes by train from Stockholm. When you arrive, the Grand Hotel dominates the landscape. The building is big and white and very beautiful. From the hotel, you look out to the archipelago. In March, the archipelago was still covered with ice. As winter turned into spring, it was beautiful to see the plants under the snow. I ate some wild berries that were emerging. I spent much of my time walking in anture. Unfortunately, I fell and injured myself a little bit. Snow doesn’t hurt so much. Saltsjöbaden is popular in summer too. On the wall of the Grand Hotel, you can see a photograph of the king and queen when they stayed there. The royal family also had hunting grounds in the area. It was quiet and beautiful and one of the best parts of my vacation. Saltsjöbaden has nearly nine thousand inhabitants, but only a few shops and restaurants. I did my shopping in the nearby suburb, Fisksätra. Like many “end-of-the-line” places, there were many new immigrants there.
We were also asked to write a piece about an article we found in a gossip magazine. My copy of “Svensk Damtidning” was full of the royal wedding. It was hard to find anything else, though I did locate an article about a Swedish born actress, Helena Mattsson who had recently appeared in an episode of “Desperate Housewives”.
Artikeln handlar om svensk födda skådespelerskan, Helena Mattsson. Helena var nyligen i “Desperate Housewives”. Hon spelade “Irina”. Hon sa att hon var mycket glad att spela rollen, eftersom programmet är en favorit. I programmet spelar hon “Irina” som är en rysk “gold-digger”. Artikeln säger att hon har blont hår och enorma himmelsblå ögon. Hon är från Stockholm, men bor i Sherman Oaks i San Ferando Valley i Los Angeles. Hon bor med sin fästman, modefotografen “X”. Hon hade en roll i den svenska thrllern “Strandvaskaren” 2004, och sedan studerat film i London, Los Angeles och New York. Hon säger att hon var tvungen att ändra sin svenska accent för att få fler roller.
And the translation is…
The article deals with Swedish-born actress, Helena Mattsson. Helena was recently in “Desperate Housewives”. She played “Irina”. She said she was delighted to play the role as the program is a favorite. In the program, she played “Irina” who is a Russian “gold-digger”. The article says she has blond hair and huge sky-blue eyes. She is from Stockholm but lives in Sherman Oaks in San Ferando Valley in Los Angeles. She lives with her boyfriend/fiance, fashion photographer “X”. She had a role in the Swedish thriller “Strandvaskaren” in 2004, and then studied film in London, Los Angeles and New York. She says she had to change her Swedish accent to get more roles.
According to a colleague, one of the episodes she features in screened last night on Australian tv.
For both pieces, I received “bra” (which means good).
Progress in Swedish remains at a steady pace. I suspect it would increase dramatically if I lived there.
So overall, a fine day.
