Örebro...

So we've lived here for nearly 3 months and I've told you about the locals, the shopping, basketball, and numerous other things, but I haven't discussed much about the overall city and it's history! So it here it goes...

Orebro is a beautiful city said to be in the "heart" of Sweden, however it's more southern Sweden if you ask me!  It has a population of nearly 140,000, making it the 7th largest city in all of Sweden.  It is said that there are immigrants living here from over 150 countries, making up about 16% of the population.  I guess this is why the English language is so well known, gotta stay universal!  It has a great location, being about 2.5 hours from Stockholm (Sweden's Capital) and about 3.5 hours from Gothenburg and Oslo.

It is a very laid back city.  The people are VERY family orriented.  The work/home balance in very important here, something I wish us Americans could learn more about.  During the day they take breaks to enjoy one another over "fika" which is a time when people come together for coffee or tea and a sweet of some sort.  This break is in addition to the normal breaks and lunch. Must be nice! Stores open kinda late in the morning and close early.  During the weekends they open between 10-11am and close at 4pm so employees can go home and enjoy their families.  Most cafes and small stores are completely closed on Sundays.  If someone has to work before 6am or after 6pm during the week, or on a Saturday after noon, they get paid time and a half. If they have to work at any time on Sunday or holiday they get paid DOUBLE pay. And this is everywhere, whether the establishment wants to pay it or not.

It is known as the "Town of Cycling" in Sweden.  I can certainly see why.  Here, cyclyists have the right-away, get out of their way cause they surely won't be getting out of yours.  You see more people riding bikes and walking than driving cars.  So take a in a deep breath of fresh air, it's CLEAN!

There are a few tourist attractions, the largest being the Castle.  With Orebro being nearly 700 years old, this Castle has been around for awhile.  You can tour inside a portion and even have lunch in the cafe.  A wing however is unavailable to public viewing because a person we'd call the "Mayor" back home lives there.  It's a beautiful landmark, and we enjoy seeing it everyday on our walks.

The weather is quite cold.  Between November and March the highs don't go above 40 degrees, and that is on a good day.  It's dark and gloomy, with the sun disappearing in mid summer. During the winter the sun rises around 8:30am and sets close to 4:00pm.  Certainly took time to adjust to so few hours of daylight.  The summer hits it peak in July and August with a high of 72 degrees.  I've heard that this is a beautiful time to see the city because it is so green!  How could it not be with all the snow and rain.  However, if you visit in the summer you better learn how to sleep with the sun up.  The sun rises close to 3:30am and sets a little after 10pm! So you only get 5 hours of dark.  Weird, right?

Once we got used to the city and lifestyle here, we really started to enjoy it.  It's been a lot of fun and has taught us a lot.  Although it's not even close to a third world country by any means, it's taught us to appreciate the luxuries of home!

Stockholm, the Capital of Sweden

Yesterday we had the pleasure of traveling to Stockholm for the day.  We were up bright and early to catch the bus at 8am.  After a 2.5 hour ride, we arrived in the city! Stockholm is a collection of islands connected by 57 bridges.  It was sure beautiful and full of history.  The weather was tough in the morning, but it quickly improved.

Fresh Fruit Market

Brrr....

When we arrived at 10:30am it was a windy, 32 degrees of humid cold and snowing! We thought  we made a bad decision.  However, after walking within along the tight, small streets filled with shop after shop, the wind was blocked and all was good. The shopping disrict reminded me of any urban city within the US.  Nice shops, H&M literally at every corner, and cool little restaurants.  They even had Hard Rock Cafe and TGIF Fridays.  We walked around the area a bit, explored a mall, but knew this city had far more to offer than shopping so we ventured out a bit.

After asking a local for suggestions (I'm getting brave in my old age), we headed out to Gamla Stan, Stockholm's "Old Town"  It is here that we struck gold, and I am so happy we didn't miss it.  We explored the Royal Palace where the Swedish Royal family works and plays.  It's guarded by armed soldiers (one had no problem getting into position when Jayden ran under a barricade, SCARY) at multiple points.  We also saw the Nobel Museum, where the Nobel Prizes are presented each year, and lastly the National Cathedral.  This little island was so cool and old.  I for once enjoyed experiencing a bit of history more than shopping.

The barricade Jayden ran under and the guard that put his gun into position!

The front of the Palace

Palace Courtyard with the Cathedral in the back

Chokladkoppen Cafe

To conclude our time on this little island, we dropped into a itty, bitty, "fika" cafe to warm up a bit and enjoy some tea, hot chocolate and fresh dessert! It was so yummy!

Fika

As our time began to dwindle down, we walked back to the shopping district to find a place to eat. I wanted something we hadn't had yet, and something we couldn't get back home. However, my husband saw the words, "BBQ Steakhouse" and nothing more needed to be said.  I took one for the team and agreed to eat there. Phil was in heaven with his life-sized ribs, Jayden loved his burger and I actually couldn't complain about my veggie "chicken" nuggets! As we sat and ate, we couldn't help but talk about how blessed we were to be in Sweden, experiencing one of the greatest capitals of the world. I will forever be thankful to God for this amazing opportunity.

The Ribs were HUGE!

After dinner we walked around a bit more, people watched and just enjoyed our time together in a place we may never see again.  God is good!

And baby makes 4!

On October 14, 2012 we found out that we were expecting baby number 2! We were both very happy because it's what we had wanted, and the age difference between Jayden and baby was perfect, 30 months.  At this time, talks of moving overseas were up and down.  Phil would receive calls of potential jobs, but nothing ever came of it, so my fears weren't very high. However, a month later, the call came that would change our next 4 months. As excited as I was to move, I was scared to do it pregnant.  I questioned how I'd see a doctor, what the cost would be, and I worried about lacking the everyday luxuries of home while pregnant (you know, being able to fix those midnight cravings for cherry icecream).   However, it's been a very easy transition.  Finding a doctor was manageable, fees were acceptable, and on January 29, 2013  we were able to have an ultrasound and found out our precious baby is a GIRL!

I couldn't be more excited for our new addition. I've been looking forward to dresses and bows since the minute I found out another was on the way. Not to say a boy wouldn't be awesome.  Phillip is excited but nervous...  After going shopping here in Sweden for her he stated no leggings (they're too tight) no see-through mesh, basicly only boring outfits. Is he crazy? The overprotective daddy syndrome has begun already and she is still in the womb.

How does Jayden feel about this?  Hmm..let's just say he isn't experiencing the same excitement we are. During the ultrasound he looked up at the screeen and said, "No baby sister, momma!"  We talk to him about her, he's felt her kick and things are getting better.  I need to do my research on the best way to make it the smoothest transition for all of us, specifically Jayden.  This 3 months of 24/7 time with him was a blessing.  Soon enough, there will be two and moments like this will be rare.

January 26, 2012- 19 weeks pregnant

Pink flowers from my momma, to congratulate me on my GIRL!!

The Reason We are Here!

After a comment from my brother, I realized I hadn't shared much about the real reason we are here...basketball!

Phillip during opening introductions at home!

Phil taking it to the hole at Uppsala

The main game is the same as back in the States of course. Phillip has a team made up of a majority of Swedish players, one from Serbia, one from Croatia, one that is American with a Bosnian passport (the trick is to see where you have family from and obtain a passport from that country so that you don't count towards the American limit). Each  team is only allowed two Americans on the team,  so that would be Darius Santee and Phillip. Phillip played against Darius for two years in college because he attended UNLV and they are both from Houston!

Travel time

Chillin on the bus :)

The team practices twice a day. Once in the morning, then they have lunch as a team then practice again in the evening. They typically have 1-2 games per week. Usually on Tuesdays and Fridays.  Games are on at 11:04am Albuquerque time and can be followed on basket.se if you are interested. For away games the team typically travels by bus. The trips are usually a 2 hour drive.  We are allowed to travel with the team, so that's really nice.  Jayden loves going on the bus, watching movies and playing on his iPad. He also really enjos hanging out with the guys. For the games that are further away the team will travel by train. Their budget is very limited so no flying for them.

Our charter bus

Fyrishov Gym at Uppsala

The gyms that the team plays in vary from town to town. Some are very nice and big, others look like a YMCA back home. The first game we traveled to was very nice. Eco was playing Uppsala Basket. They played at a gym named Fyrishov which reminded me of the big community center in Santa Fe. It had a restaurant, a water park, and a bowling alley. The second game was at Norrkoping Stadium Arena. It was quite nice.  Like a NBA arena with a restaurant court side, a VIP lounge and stadium style seating. They are going to be playing in the Euro league next year so they have to play in a nice place.  Eco Orebro's gym is like a typical High School arena.  It is not very big, not very fancy and there isn't a very big fan following :(  They are in the renovation process so hopefully it improves.

Warming up at Uppsala

Uppsala

Game at home

And he scores!

Norrkoping Stadium Arena

Ok, enough about the arenas, on to the games! Right now the team is 5-19! Not very good, but each game they are improving. They are 4 games out of the playoffs right now. In the last three games they have lost by one point, won, then lost by one point again so they are right there to get on track.  The team is made up of a lot of talented players, but with 11 new players this year, the chemistry is still lacking. It's as though certain players only pass to certain others and its frustrating to watch. These are professionals, playing to improve their personal stats in order to get a better contract next year so the result is selfish play at times.


The coaching is very different from Alford and what Phillip has been used to. I don't know much about the X's and O's so I can't say much, I just observe a lot of differences.  I hear the fans express their frustration each and every game with the outcome of the games. They are paying a good amount of money to watch a team that continues to lose so it's difficult. From the first game I attended til now, attendance has really decreased. However, there are only 3 home games remaining, so I think the hope lies in next year.

Regardless, Phillip is living his dream. He is playing professional basketball, experiencing a world outside the US with us and learning a lot about this business every day. We are truly blessed!

View from the bus

As Jayden would say, "Go ECO!"  

Our Little Studio

When we moved here I was excited to get a nice, fully furnished apartment!  What better than a free home to live in?  Maybe I got my hopes up a little too much.

We stayed in the hotel owned by the president of the team for nearly two weeks. It wasn't bad.  It was a basic room with a king sized bed and all the other normal things a hotel has. However, it wasn't like a traditional room you'd find in a US hotel. It was more like something you'd find at a Bed & Breakfast. I didn't mind it so much though cause there was free breakfast in the mornings and a grocery literally across the street.  But we were spending too much on eating out being that we couldn't cook any meals so we decided to ask to move out!

Our Street

When they showed us the apartment available it left A LOT to be desired.  My first issue was that it was a 20 minute walk to the nearest grocery store. My second issue was that it was literally one room with ONE full size bed for all three of us to share. It reminded me of a studio you'd find in NYC!  No bueno :(  We thought about it for a few days, and even though it was away from town, it was only 10 minutes from the gym vs 25 we'd travel from the hotel so we decided to take it.

The apartment is small. When you walk in you see the bathroom that only has a shower (no tub) a closet, then the entrance to the main room.  From the main room is the kitchen.  It looks like your everyday kitchen except everything is TINY!  It is the perfect size for Jayden. His head goes up to the middle of the freezer! LOL, guess they don't shop at Sam's Club and don't require a lot of room to store food like we do back home :)

The kitchen

Another view of the kitchen

The main room

Looking out of kitchen into the main room

View from the front door into the studio

Looking from the main room to the front door

The bathroom

 We live in a building that looks like it could be a house from the outside, however once inside you realize it houses 6 small apartments.  They provide one washer and dryer for everyone to use so we have to sign up for times to wash laundry. But... the soap is free, so we can't complain! We live on a street that has a combination of apartments like ours as well as one family homes. The homes are actually fairly large and nice, although not my style!

Our Street

A home on our street

I can't complain with what we have. It's warm, it's free, and although it is small it has everything that we need.