Sunday, March 3, 2013

House & Home

Yesterday, I had another peek at the Swede's lifestyle.  Pete and I had tickets to House & Home expo, the biggest in Sweden.  It was held near the new mall, Emporia.  Pete's sister works in a tile company.  The company had a booth in the expo so she got free tickets for it.  The expo ran from Thursday to Sunday.  We played badminton on Friday so we decided to go yesterday instead.

We knew it was going to be crowded since it was the weekend so we went there early.  But, even though we were there at around 10, there was already a crowd at the entrance.  Masses of people were standing outside the revolving door.  The door wasn't exactly the most efficient in getting crowds of people inside.  Every so often, because there were too many people, someone would accidentally trigger the sensor and the door would stop for awhile.  After a few minutes, we were haven't managed to move even an inch forward.  I was so cold since it was very windy, but luckily, a side door opened for people with tickets.  That was us!

Inside, there was another long queue to buy tickets and at the coat room.  We were happy to skip both queues.  We headed straight into the exhibition halls.  It was huge.  Just like the Expo back home.  For a minute, I felt like I was back at home.  I used to go to a few with my friends and family but this one is very different.

The first section we saw had booths promoting hot tubs, jacuzzi and pools.  A quick glance next to this section were booths for tiles and roofing.  There were also booths for heaters and fireplace, flooring, stairs and windows.  Basically, you can find anything you need to build your own home.  All under one roof.

There are also stuff for areas outside your home.  There were many booths that sold seeds, bulbs and seedlings.  These booths had quite a lot of customers, indicating how popular gardening is here.  I also took the chance to buy a few packets of seeds for my garden.  I picked up some new seeds such as pumpkin and butternut squash.  I wanted to get some bulbs to plant flowers but I don't know which to get yet.  There were a lot of varieties that were sold there and they were so beautiful.  But Pete and I wanted to concentrate on planting stuff that we can eat.  So, we walked through without buying any.

I also saw some companies that design home gardens and I love their designs. They gave me some ideas for my own garden, if I have one in future, that is.  Some booths had furniture and accessories for the garden too.  Looking at them, I am reminded of my parents.  I know they would love the stuff there.  They spend a lot of time every day at their garden so I know they would go crazy if they were here.  There was also a small section where they sold kitchen gadgets and tools.  I bought a set of three reusable non-stick baking mats since I bake a lot.  I wouldn't need to buy the disposable paper ones any more.

All in all, I enjoyed myself there.  Although it was crowded, the most crowded place I gone to since I have been here, it was manageable.  We had room to walk without bumping into other people.  It's not too noisy even though there were a lot of people.  There was even a small stage next to the entrance where a live band was playing.  Pete said that there are other expos held here each year, even an erotic one.  That would certainly be an eye-opener for me, wouldn't it?       

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