On Friday, we got a ton of work done and were able to call it a day early. A perfect opportunity to finally do some sightseeing around Boras.

Boras has its roots in textile, so it is reflected in much of the city.

We first headed to the market which was celebrating the start of the weekend with a festival. The roads were closed and the street was packed with people. The vendors were selling everything from souvenirs to clothes to flowers and food.

I met up with a lovely Greek couple there too. I was able to speak some Greek to them and learn about his recent arrival in Sweden from Greece and their baby on the way. We had such a good time talking I lost track of time and had to catch up with the team.

After the market tour, we walked some more and saw the famed Pinocchio statue. Its purpose or meaning in Boras is quite unclear but it is quite a sight. Several restaurants around town bear its name as well and it has become quite the attraction despite its unknown origin.

After that, we headed for another short walk (Boras is a very walking town) and found a wonderful Thai restaurant for dinner. More on that with the food post to come.

Stefan drove me to check if my bags had arrived on Day 2 and on the drive back to the office, the subject of sports came up. A large bus passed in front of the plastered with Aphotos of the local hockey team. We talked about hockey and sports in general and I found out he was a huge fan of the local soccer team, Elfsborg. Jay had already instructed me that I had to come back with some soccer souvenirs for Thane as the team had one the championship not too long ago.

Turned out, that same football team had a big match that very night. We decided a few of us would go to the game, braving both the cold and the rain. I went and bought a new Elfsborg scarf to cheer on the team (and it was a futurAAe purpose, too, black and yellow for the Steelers and ‘Dores).

There were 14,200 people in the stadium. It took us awhile just to get to our seats. We were way under the canopy so we were protected from the rain and cold. When we made it to the top, we had to climb across this beam to get to our seats. Notice the hand rails.

The game was action packed. Final score was 3-2 and we won! It was a good thing, because Stefan looked rather anxious when the score was not in favor of Elfsborg!

The team did great and the pace was fast. Stefan told us that most of the exceptional players get picked up pretty quickly by the higher paying leagues. They continued to do well most of the game but at one point Elfsborg had a shot at an empty net, the whole stadium was on its feet, and he missed. Ugh.

The rain was really coming down but we were nice and protected in our upper level seats.

This was the winning goal.

During half time, we went to the main area and I got Thane a T-Shirt. It says, “When I grow up, I want to play for Elfsborg.”

After dinner we went to Burger King, because at that time of night the options were McDonald’s or Burger King. I am not sure how much things cost but I did notice some differences to the menu…mainly doughnuts and beer.

At work the next day, I wore my Elfsborg scarf all day, in the office. I got many compliments and lots of people saying they had also been at the game. When I went to the H&M store later that day and checked out with some goodies for Mara, the same cashier who on Tuesday had greeted me with a very English “hello” started telling me how much my purchase was in Swedish. I am a local already!

When I arrived, sans luggage, I expected to make my way to the hotel via a taxi but I had people waiting for me when I arrived. That was easy…although I had dressed for comfort on the flight, not seeing clients, but I (hope) think they understood.

I went back to the hotel and freshened up with a quick shower. There was all of one towel and a bathmat in the room. The towel has heated, so that was relaxing after the long flight. I got back into my clothes that could walk to Stockholm from here and ran to H&M. I found a bunch of cute things but settled on something that would get me by a day or two without my luggage (good thing, it was more than 24 hours) and headed back to the hotel. I did not get much time for sightseeing around the square before heading to the office for the first time.

It was very damp and a medium rain was coming down.

The streets in this area are all cobblestone.

There are lots of sculptures all around town.

Even in the rain, there was an open air market in the square, selling womens’ clothing.

And then there are the indoor stores!

I was very excited to get a look around but I did come here for work so as soon as I was once again presentable, I called work and they made the less than 8 minute drive to pick me up. Boras is very much a walking city and things considered far away are greater than or equal to 10 minutes away by car.

I got a quick tour of the office but luckily was not expected to be functional on Tuesday. We headed to dinner at a nearby English pub. As soon as we walked in, people could tell we were Americans. They had a Trivia contest and we chatted for a few minutes with the host. We were only able to answer one question, about Nicolas Cage, where the movie quote was in English. The host jokingly told us not to yell out the answer.

They had a decent selection of beer so I went for the one I saw a good bit of people drinking.

At one point, I had to use the “loo” so I made my way to the back. This was my first challenge since arriving in Sweden, a very English speaking country. There were only words on the bathroom doors. I chose the one I thought looked closest, and went for it, looked right so I went in. I am pretty sure I was right but have since learned that bathrooms here tend to be pretty standard, male or female.

Dinner was fish and chips and quite good and filling. I managed to stay up until about 9 pm before falling into a fitful sleep and waking up at 2 am to talk to the kids and Jay only to fall asleep shortly before the 6 am alarm.