Active vacation

For having a vacation, I have been very active. I have gone through every drawer and every closet in the apartment, throwing out and re-organizing items. I have been to both the mall and Ikea to get boxes for storage. Ikea had some really practical large cardboard boxes that are so flat that they fit under the book cases. They are perfect to have maps and oversize genealogy documents in. There was also a large fabric box that looks very nice on top of the wardrobe in my bedroom. I got some plastic boxes and candles also. It was a heavy load to carry on the train, but I made it. It's easier to get to Ikea now, they moved to a mall area outside Malmö that I can get to by train. The new catalog has just been published, so the place was packed with people.

This Monday I made a trip to Helsingör (Elsinore). I haven't been in the center of that town for ages. I took the train to Helsingborg and then walked on to the ferry to get across (takes 20 minutes). Helsingör depends heavily on Swedes buying alcohol there (it's cheaper than here). I wasn't interested in that, I went to the clothes and second hand stores instead. I got a pair of jeans cheaply. It was a nice visit, the town is old and the shopping is a little different from home.

Friday I spent at the archive. There is a new database published, Swedish deaths 1901-2009. It's not complete because it was a volunteer project, but most of the people I was looking for were in it. Let me know (via e-mail) if you have any search requests for this database. There are also several databases with Swedish burials that can be used as a secondary source. In addition, the 1880 Swedish census is now searchable by name.

After the archive I walked to the library, which is on the other side of town. My colleagues took the chance to complain about their work situation. I sighed. I do understand them, it had been crazy with people getting sick and others being forced to take leave for personal reasons. Next week they will be two people doing six people's jobs. I wished them good luck with that.

This past week a new TV series started, Who do you think you are. They have earlier shown this program, where Swedish celebrities have searched for their ancestors. This time it's the American version. In the first part Lisa Kudrow travelled in the footsteps of her Jewish ancestors. Definitely worth watching, very interesting.