The last few days have been wonderfully warm and sunny. It's the time of year when we usually prefer lighter dishes and the Danish speciality koldskål is perfect. Since it's not available from the stores here in Sweden, we usually make our own. For approximately four people we use 1 litre of "filmjölk," 4 (pasteurized) egg yolks, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar, and a few tablespoons (to taste) of lemon juice. We usually serve it with small, sweet rusks called "kammerjunkere," and some fruit, in this case blueberries. It tastes great!

The last few weeks have been busy and we're now in the middle of packing all our belongings for the move on Friday. There will probably be a few journeys to and from our old apartment and the new house, but I'm really looking forward to the change. A lot of things still have to fall into place, but it feels good to get started.

It has been a warm, lazy day. Since it's the national day here in Sweden, the children have had today off from school and most work places are closed as well. It does feel rather lucky since we're not really in the mood for anything wild at the moment. We have done the laundry, though, so I guess we've been at least a wee bit productive.

Late last night we returned from our visit to Berlin and it has been great. The children really have enjoyed exploring a big city and we have walked and walked and walked. The first day we took the tube to the Potsdamer Platz and then walked in turn to the Holocaust Memorial to the Brandenburg gate to the Reichstag to the Unter den Linden to the Gendarmenmarkt (where we shopped for chocolate at the amazing Fassbender & Rausch) to the Museum island (where we took a tour on the Spree) to the Alexanderplatz (from where we went up the TV tower) and then back home to our rented Moabit apartment. The next few days were equally filled with events — and walking — and I have to admit that my feet do have some blisters, but it has all been worth it. The weather and the company has been wonderful, and it has definitely been the perfect way to celebrate the fact that I've now successfully finished and defended my PhD.