Andersonville!

I love a history lesson!

"Andersonville's roots as a community extend well back into the 19th century, when immigrant Swedish farmers started moving north into what was then a distant suburb of Chicago. In the 1850's the area north of Foster and east of Clark was a large cherry orchard, and families had only begun to move into the fringes of what is now Andersonville."

The yummy Swedish Bakery. I have fallen in love with a coffeecake called the "Butter Ring". It is kind of a high cake made of the traditional Danish dough with streusel and powdered sugar on top.

A walk along the many interesting little shops on Clark Street. "The Paper Trail", "Toys Et Cetera", "Women & Children First" bookstore and more. And don't forget the "Swedish American Museum & The Brunk Children's Museum of Immigration". http://www.swedishamericanmuseum.org/.

Lunch at "Ann Sather". A starter of hot apple cider with mashed apples in it and rimmed with cinnamon sugar. Yummmmmmee!

A wonderful assortment of breads and cinnamon rolls tempted us through our meal.

Erickson's Delicatessen. A must stop for Swedish delicasies. Lingonberries and a Carl Larsson cookie collector's tin filled with Swedish Pepparkakor drew me in!

An old Swedish custom is to place a Swedish Pepparkakor in the palm of you hand. Then, Make a wish. Using the index finger of your free hand, tap the cookie in the middle. Swedish tradition says that if the Papparkakor breaks into three pieces, your wish will come true. If the Papparkakor does not break into three pieces, you'll just have to savor the cookie in smaller portions.

Here is the symbol of Sweden, the Dala Horse. A wonderful day, yesterday, with friends!