Some wild flowers and grasses in Sweden that can be found in the Philippines

Yesterday, I and my husband visited our friends who lives about a mile from us. The weather was very fine. The sky was blue and clear. It was about 20 grader and a lot of grains from the trees were falling around.

I and my friend, Joan, together with my daughter, Jolene, and her dog, Buffy, decided to take a walk to the nearby lake. The sun was rising and it was pretty warm. But it was fine for us because the winds were also a bit colder.

Soon is really summer here in Sweden! The leaves of the trees are starting to be greened and a lot of grasses and flowers are blooming. I felt interested and took some photos on our way.

Maskros

These yellow flowers grabbed my attention first.
 I usually see them on our way home but here they are so
 many and I really think that they are beautiful.
These are like "Daisies" in the Philippines but it is
sad to know that swedish people hate them. They are everywhere! That's their reason.

I usually see a picture of this flower in the mobile especially in samsung galaxy. This flower is also maskros. It becomes airy as shown in the picture when it starts bearing seeds and soon spreading them away with the help of the winds. Most of the people are getting alergies with this flower during summer season. 

Styvmorsviol

I found these flowers along with wild grasses. They are so beautiful. They look like butterflies but the problem is, they don't fly! I have seen these in the Philippines. The only difference is that they crawl there and here they stand.

Liljekonval

People who like the smells of perfume will like these flowers. They smell good that many Swedish people including my friend are waiting for the flowers to bloom so they can seek and pick some of them in the forest. Honestly speaking, I like the flowers but I'm feeling dizzy with the smells. It is because I don't use perfume. They are like a dozen of small white jingle bells that hanging on a stem. The leaves of these flowers are like " dahon ng lampuyang" in the Philippines.

Kabeleka

These flowers are growing near the water's area. They are like "kangkong" in the Philippines. The only difference is that the flowers and the stems are little harder compare to "kangkong".

Strandvial

I saw these flowers near the road and they are beautiful! They can be compared as peanut's flower or "mani-mani" in the Philippines. 

Vitsippor

These flowers can be in yellow and blue colors but white sippors are the most common and can be found everywhere. They are the one of the spring season's signs.  A lot of people like these flowers. We cannot found this in the Philippines. I just want to add this here because it is interesting.

The following flower is unknown to me. They look like frankenia but they are small and they grow up between the high grasses, where I found them. In the Philippines, we can find this flower in the ricefield.

Dryopteris oreades / Ormbunke

These are not flowers but they can have flowers sometimes. They are like "pako-pako" in the Philippines.

Wild grass

Like in the Philippines or other counties, grasses can be found everywhere. The only thing that surprising me is that, I maybe have seen these grasses in the Philippines!

  

My first life in Sweden

My first autumn

I visited Sweden as a tourist in October 2010. It was an autumn. The leaves were getting older. No! I mean, they were ready to take off to welcome the winter.

 I didn't see any snow yet but it was extremely cold. My boyfriend was standing at the airport and waiting for me with a piece of a thick jacket for me to wear. I didn't had any idea that it was so chilling. This made me remember any korean novels on tv which I usually watched home in the Philippines. Now, I could feel the smokes that were going in and out my mouth everytime I opened it. Finally, we walked in to his car and he drived us home. It was so tiring that I slept immediately when we reached our home. In the morning when I woke up, I couldn't see any neighborhood to us. It was an awesome experience that we're living in a peaceful nature. I am very sure that I am not in the Philippines anymore. I  received my first boquet of red roses as I enjoyed sitting in the table for breakfast.

The sun shone brightly as I tried to help my boyfriend clean our backyard. It was still cold. Surprising! What the sun is doing? Well, I really don't know. It is just the way it is.

 By the way, I would like to share this wonderful picture which I first became interested with. In most of the garden here in Sweden, people can see this old lady. I really don't know what she's dealing with but it is so funny.

My first Winter

In the first week of November, I finally saw and touched the first snow. I couldn't believe that they were like cotton, flying into the air. I thought that I could gather some of them and make "halo-halo" (it is a Filipino delicacy which the ice is grind to be finer and mixed with milk and fruits). But it wouldn't that easy. Snow is known to be the air-cleaner as my boyfriend said, that's why it should not be eaten because it is dirty.

Just before the snow became heavier, we visited a zoo in Borås, Sweden. Here is one of my favorit photo there.

In the month of December in 2010, the snow became heavier and it was so high, almost in many meters. Many people said that it was extremely much snow by that time. I could admit that it was amazing to look at snow, it made the nature white everywhere. This was how I feel for the first time. But later on when I finally discovered that it became ice when it hardened, I felt exhausted everytime I slipped on it. I hated it.

The lake hardened with ice was full of white smooth snow in January 2011. This was the time when I started to learn my first ice ski.

I learned to drive ATV and practiced it in the lake in February.

Because of our curiosity, I and my friend Joan tried to taste the frozen waterfall's ice that's flowing from the forest.

 Before the winter ends, I and my boyfriend went to the middle part of Sweden, where we visited Åre. A lot of people were renting skis and riding with them in the slidest point of the mountain.

I could have rent this scooter but it was enough with the Picture..hahaha!

My first Christmas

It was my first time to have a white christmas and celebrated it here in Sweden. It was not the same in the Philippines. It was cold with the wind here but it happens all the time. What I mean is that, I didn't feel it, just that. Christmas in the Philippines is really different! I received a piano from my love.

My first summer

During the spring season in april 2011, I flew back to the Philippines to process my visa. I gained a temporary Residence visa after a month of waiting. I flew back to Sweden in the middle of July, which exactly is the summer season. Midsummer in Sweden starts in the middle of June. And here continues my journey. We brought our housecar with us together with our bikes to our summer vacation in some corners of Sweden which people usually visited during the summer here.

My first visit in one of the beach here in Sweden. I didn't really remember where this place was but I really had enjoyed biking here. The sand was brown and fine but it was hard. Some of the people were bathing in the sea but I didn't think it was clean to bath there, a lot of seagrasses were following on the waves and some stayed on the seashores.

                             

        Visit to Båstad, where a lot of people were naked and trying to sunbathing.

Summer in Strömstad, Sweden with my boyfriend's friends. Here I am sitting and grilling with my love.

Summer in Koster Island on west cost of Sweden. We needed to ride on the ferry to reach this place. It is about 10 km west from Strömstad.

We brought our bike with us and biked to the mountain side of the Island to reach the highest point.

We even took a bath in the cold water of the oceans. We were not alone there, there were some people who sunbathing in that area as well. The water was surprisingly narrow but it was green and crystall water.

We had also visited some of the boat channel nearby. It is a lake builded around the land for boats to travel in. It is like a road for boats but it is filled with water. The boats can travel almost whole over the places in Sweden without using the oceans all the time.

Boat Channel in Trollhättan...

Here is a small boat channel which I didn't remember where it was. But I saw most of the boats were coming from Norway. How do I knew? There were flags in the boats.

  Some of the gota channels had we not visited this year but we did visit them the following year.

 We also went to west coast, there some of the boats hired for a parking. We biked to some areas and took some memories.  

 This place was amazing. I really thought I'm on the moon!

  We also found an area of stones near on the way out from that moon-liked-area.

 Here is another place which I visited but the problem is, I didn't really remember where this was. It was a kind beautiful there. It is near the ocean with fresh air and a lot of hard rocks in the seashore. No sands can be found here.

In August 2011, we looked at some car's show like tractors and trucks.

 Doing offroads adventure with jeep were followed the next summer, my second summer. There I really had have fun!


STOCKHOLM, Sweden

My first visit to Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden in September 2011. Here is a place where all songs is always done, Skansen!

I could see the GLOBE right there..it is "Globen" for Swedish. It is a place located in the middle of Stockholm where most of the big events are held, t.ex. are concerts, shows, and many more.

The reason why we visited Stockholm was...to look at Sharon's Cuneta Concert! It was my first time!

  My first day in school

I started Learning Swedish in October 2011 in Alingsås. Some of my close friends and classmates were: Chanakan, but I usually call her "Ning", she came from Thailand. I also have another thai friend and her name is Kob but I didn't have her picture. She is also kind and much shy.

 Here is Amina. She is a somalian but she grew up in Holand. She is nice and friendly. She really have a lot of friends. She speaks very good Swedish.

 How I wished to have their ( my others classmates ) pictures here but it is not easy. I just want to mention some of my classmates whom I didn't have pictures. Sula is from Brazil. She is the smartiest in the class as I think. She is friendly and silent. She didn't talk so much but she talked a lot during discussions. Adina, she is from Romania. She is Beautiful and intelligent. She is one of the smartiest student in our class. Naydi, is from Puerto Rico. She is also Beautiful and smart. She can play guitar and sketch. I actually had seen them in her walls home. She is also good in Swedish. Geraldine is one of a kind. She can speak very good Swedish and one of the smartiest student in our class. Sunny is from Korea. She is nice and can very good swedish. She is also active like Adina. Troy is from Australia and he is also smart in our class. Yui is from Thailand but she can pronounce "r" that's why I am really proud of her. She is smart and industrious. Richard and his brother Vivian are also my classmates. They can speak france but I forget where did they came from. They are friendly and the difference between these two brothers are; Richard is talkative while Vivian is a shy person. Katerina is from Grace. She is a biochem. She is also nice and friendly. Nicole is from US and she is kind and patient. I had a lot of classmates the first time I seated in my first class but I didn't recall everybody.

 These are my first experiences during my first visit in Sweden:)     

 

How to apply tourist visa to Sweden for the first time in Manila, Philippines

Visiting Sweden for the first time with a sponsor/host

Note: A sponsor/host can be a relative, friend, or your partner in Sweden.
-These advices are based on my experiences when I applied for a visit to Sweden for the first time.

The visa for visiting Sweden as a tourist is called a Schengen visa. It is a visa valid for a maximum stay of 90 days in a 6-months of visit. This visa is also valid when entering the other Schengen states.

Here are some simple steps when applying for a Schengen visa to visit Sweden:
1. Be sure that you have your passport ready. You must also bring the photocopies of your old and new passport.
2. Book an appointment to the embassy of Sweden in Makati or you can book an appointment through another embassy which represents Sweden such as Switzerland's embassy for your interview. Set your appointment 3 months before your intended flight to give time for waiting for the decision of your application. The decision can be made in a week but most of the time it takes months, depending on your application.
3. A sponsor must sent you a copy of invitation letter which inviting you to visit him/her in Sweden, his/her civic registration certificate, a proof of financial record ( the latest 3 months of flowing cash in the bank account ), a work certificate from his/her employer, a copy of your round-trip plane ticket ( note: don't buy the ticket first, just book it ), and a copy of your Medical Insurance. Please note that he/she must also send these to the embassy through e-mail before the appointment date. ( NOTE: All must be translated in English )
4. The applicant must fill-up the following forms personally: ( just click to the below to show and download the files )

http://www.migrationsverket.se/download/18.56e4f4801246221d25680001154/blvisa_119031_en.pdf
http://www.migrationsverket.se/download/18.51d465a612bb43eca6480003592/bl_fam_239011.pdf

5. Together with the requirements in number 3 and 4, you must bring 2 identical-couloured passport sized photos with White background. Please note that you should not staple these on the forms, just give them these together with the forms instead. You must also bring the exact amount of Php. 3,300 for the visa fee or else you got trouble because they don't change if you have bigger than the said amount. ( Note: The fees can be changed, so please check the embassy's website for the updates.)
6. Bring your original documents with 1 photocopy of each.
7. You need to appear personally in your appointment. Come atleast 1 hour before your appoitment time because you need to fill-up the additional questioner which can be obtained in the reception of the visa section or you can ask the guard for this.
8. Note: Bring your ID, example is postal ID or work ID. You need this to be able to use the elevator to go up in the visa section area. You should also look out for your attire, slipper or sandals is not allowed inside the building.
9. The interview are nervousing especially if you knows nothing about your sponsor so to be ready, talk to your sponsor and ask about the things you don't know about her/him.
10. After the interview, you must wait. You should pay the fees. After paying fees, you don't need to pick your passport back. They need it for the visa sticker. You can ask them if they can send the passport home to you when it is done. You need to pay extra for the delivery. You can also pick-up the passport personally in the embassy. They usually call you when it is done to inform you if it is approve or not.

Visiting Sweden without a sponsor/host

A person can also visit Sweden even if he/she have no inviting person in the country. The following are the requirements:
1. A Valid passport
2. Enough Money to support yourself in your whole stay in Sweden
3. Medical Insurance
4. Accommodation ( if you have book a hotel )
5. Round-trip plane ticket (note: you don't need to buy it, just book it)
6. Visa forms ( you can e-mail the embassy for the forms )
7. The embassy will ask you additional requirements

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I hoped I can help.

My first application to Sweden

Most of the people are getting problems when it comes to travelling outside the country. There are lots of things to consider. Money places the important role for doing papers or documents for passports and visas. Time and patience are also important when dealing with the processing. This usually happens especially if this is your first time. Here is the story of my first application in 2010.

I live in a province called Antique in Panay Island. Early in the morning, I travelled to kalibo in about 1.5 hours to process my documents in NSO ( National Statistics Office ). I stood in line and it was first-come-first-serve bases. Noise, sweats, papers, foods, waters, and smells were involved. So many people were there by that time. Everybody wanted to finish the transactions as fast as possible but there was no choices but to wait for their turn. I finally took my documents after a half-day of waiting. Then I walked to NBI office nearby and took a certification.

The next day, I went to the municipal and took some documents I needed from there which were brgy. clearance and police certification. Then I proceeded to Iloilo.

The trip to Iloilo took about 8 hours but it was not enough to be in rush for getting passport application. I stayed a night in Sta. Barbara, there lives my aunt. I travelled to Iloilo proper at 5 in the morning and waited outside the DFA office  efter 45 minutes of the trip. I am one among those other's sleepy faces whose waiting there. Everything went well with the requirements. After 2 weeks of waiting, my passport had finally arrived.

I booked an appointment for my visa. The embassy was located in Makati. By that time, Sweden embassy was represented by the embassy of Switzerland. I applied for a 3 months tourist visa to visit my boyfriend in sweden.  After a few weeks, a bad news had arrived. It was denied.

I tried to apply again after 2 months with a lot of supporting documents and it went well.


For those filipinos out there, especially those with partners in Sweden, be patient for all the trials that comes in your way while processing your papers. There can have a lot of jealousies from others but there is the reason behind all these, a success! Your time and patience can result for a good future for you and your partner.