Glad Midsommar!

There's a popular joke in Sweden: On a rainy day, when you're trying to do something outside with friends, someone will inevitably say, "Swedish summer... best day of the year!" It's funny because it's true. Although we've had lots of sunshiny days here, even in summer there's plenty of grey and rainy days.

The Swedes seem immune to crummy weather. If there's a barbecue scheduled, it goes ahead rain or shine. We sat outside in a cold drizzle eating hamburgers at a lab cookout recently.

We were warned that on Midsommar, Sweden's biggest summer holiday, there wound be no surrender and no retreat. If the rain came down, we'd all dance and sing and feast in the rain!

Waiting for the dancing to begin

Posing by the maypole. In the rain.

First, we attended our town's Midsommar celebration. It was located at a small, outdoor museum near the river that runs through Strömstad. I was surprised that in all our adventures around this small town, we'd never even heard of it before.

We poked into the few buildings and were reminded of Kulturen in Lund and the Vitlycke Museum. The small cafe served a typical Swedish menu, perfect for fika: coffee, waffles, cinnamon rolls, and cake. Ice cream cones and sodas for the kids.

Fika. Outside. In the rain.

The crowd gathered around the maypole was ready to dance as soon as the music began. Savannah and I had spent the morning learning Små Grodorna so that we would be prepared for at least one song.

The girls and I danced along as best we could. After half an hour of dancing in the rain to songs we could barely understand, we were ready for a break. I think the locals were just getting started!

Dancing around the maypole!

Back at the lab, we headed over to the white building where the students were enjoying their Midsommar celebration. We found them on the covered patio, seated at a long table, feasting, drinking, and singing.

They'd prepared a feast of Swedish delights: several quiches, deviled eggs, a cheese assortment, breads, fruit, meatballs, and fish. Someone convinced me to try the pickled herring, a Midsommar tradition. They assured me that the mustard version (of the four or five on offer) was the one I should try. I hesitantly put a bite-sized amount on my plate. I ate it on top of a slice of hearty bread. I did not require a second serving.

Each guest had a booklet of numbered songs. Anyone could stand up at any time, give the number of the song, and we were all expected to sing. At the end of each song, we were all expected to take a shot of snaps, any one of a variety of very strong alcoholic beverages being shared around the table.

I repeatedly snuck the girls' Sprite into my shot glass so that I could toast along with the group without having to drink what tasted and smelled like jet fuel. And to avoid becoming ill from the incredible amount of singing and toasting.

The hosts also provided an abundance of cut flowers and supplies for making floral crowns, which many of us sported throughout the evening.

Midsommar selfie

After the feast, it was time for games and dancing. The students held relays using the maypole to race around. They danced around it in circles, the Swedes leading with traditional songs and dances and others adding anything else that would work, like "Head, shoulders, knees, and toes" or The Chicken Dance. I joined in for one more round of Små Grodorna. Once everyone was exhausted, it was time for dessert. And coffee. (It's Sweden, there's always more coffee!)

Traditional Midsommar dessert: Cake with strawberries

At this point, some of the students returned to the feast table for more singing and toasting, but I was lured back home to put the girls in bed. The party reminded me of the days when Jeremy and I lived on Skidaway Island in Georgia, hosting and attending student parties at the marine lab there, while he was working on his PhD.

I'm so thankful to be invited to join their celebration and enjoy a proper Midsommar party, with all the associated traditions. But I'm also glad for an excuse to go home early and leave the late night partying to the younger generation.

Daftöland

You have never seen two more excited children in your life.

They're so happy, and they haven't even gotten in yet.

Daftöland is our small, local, pirate-themed amusement park. We have driven past it almost daily since we arrived in Sweden. It sits at the corner of an intersection that connects our group of islands to the town of Strömstad. Sometimes, we pass Daftöland multiple times a day.

Daftöland has been closed since we arrived; it's only open during the summer. The girls have been counting the days until it would open. They waited three months. In those three months, they've been gazing lovingly at it each time we pass, memorizing the various attractions visible from the road, planning what they'd ride when they finally made it inside.

*squeeze!*

Recently, the park must have been making a promotional video. They were filming a group of people enjoying one of the park's more thrilling rides. On this day, we discovered that what we had assumed for three months was a plastic sheet covering a swimming pool or wading pond was actually a giant inflatable trampoline that we had only ever seen in its deflated state.

Swedish pirate log ride.

On the day Daftöland finally opened, it was a holiday weekend. All of Sweden was there. We opted to wait, despite the pleading of our children. The park's hours for the first month were odd, it only open certain days and sometimes closed early. So although it had opened, we kept driving by. And waiting.

Finally, one day last week on an afternoon when we had nothing else going on, the girls said, "Why don't we go to Daftöland?"

And so we did.

"I am MOANA!" (That's our default.)

The children were so overjoyed you would have thought that we bought them a pony. I wish I had written down the exact words they said. They said things like, "I think my heart is going to explode!" And, "There is never a day when I have been happier in my life!" And, "I can't believe my dreams are finally coming true!"

Swedish pirate teacups.

They were VERY excited at the idea that they were going to an amusement park that their friends back at home would likely never visit. I reminded them of the many things on this trip that their friends would probably never do (live in Sweden, go to school in Sweden, go to ANY of the places we've been fortunate to visit IN SWEDEN). They were not swayed by this at all.

Swedish pirate stomach-drop ride.

The inside of Daftöland was much as it looked from the road. For friends in the States, I'd compare it to Boomers in size, but cleaner and higher quality. And more piratey.

Giant Swedish pirate skull.

Although we'd seen the trampoline area from the road, seeing it in action was a shock. It was so different from any trampoline park back home. Here, there was one, giant inflatable surface. Surrounding it was only dirt with some wood chips in it, and around that a low wall made of rocks. Yes, rocks. The only safety instructions we saw were signs telling users to remove their shoes.

That small silver circle is a slash through a shoe.

In the States, there'd be a waiver you'd have to sign before you could get anywhere near the trampoline. Then, they'd sell you some special grippy socks. The trampoline would be divided up into several smaller trampolines (one per person, please) and there'd be an attendant there to monitor your use of the trampoline at all times. Oh, and it would be surrounded by padded walls.

All together now!

Another surprise: Self-operated rides. There was one that is similar to a ride we've been on a LEGOLAND, where you pull yourself up a tower. At Daftöland, there was no worker managing the line or helping people get in and out. At one point, my kids couldn't figure out how to unlock themselves from the seats. Another kid came over and said, "Push" in Swedish, while pointing to a button.

Operated by pull-power.

Another ride shocked us not only because it had no attendant, but because of the ride itself. We'd seen the top of this attraction for months, while driving by. We could see that there was some sort of little car on a slide, but couldn't see the whole thing. I thought it was like the "Super Slide" at the Del Mar Fair, only with a little car to ride in. It was not until we visited Daftöland that we realized what actually happened at the bottom of this ride.

First, you get pulled backward up a ramp...

...then you catch some air!

I cannot imagine this could ever exist in the United States. No attendant? People would try to stand up on the boat and surf down the ramp. People would try to flip the boat. People would DEFINITELY not adhere to the posted weight limit.

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

I can't quite reconcile the fact Americans are both more cautious AND more impulsive than the Swedes. The over-protectiveness at our trampoline parks seems ridiculous by comparison to the low-key rules here. Perhaps we need safety padding and attendants at every ride precisely because our default behavior is so reckless?

So yeah, we bought season passes. Watch out, Daftöland... the Americans are coming!

Vitlycke Museum

Last week, the girls and I visited the Vitlycke Museum, famous for its Bronze Age rock art. The Bronze Age in Scandinavia is from about 2,000-500 BCE. The rock art here is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; these are places chosen by the UN as being of notable significance to human history.

Of course the museum is stylish and adorable. It's in Sweden!

We started our visit in the small indoor museum. It held some Bronze Age artifacts, such as a massive bronze sword that someone found buried to the hilt in the sand beneath the sea. As with most places in Sweden, the museum is extremely kid-friendly. The exhibits are designed as a narrative of several family members. The museum also offered a scavenger hunt, a wall puzzle of some of the more famous rock art images, and clay for kids to make their own versions.

Daim ice cream cones in the museum cafe.

The girls' favorite part of the museum was the large outdoor space designed to look like a Bronze Age farm. Within a fenced area stood a few structures (a longhouse, a house/barn, and a workshop). There was a small garden and a large area with goats grazing.

Long girls outside the longhouse.

Interior of longhouse, aka best playhouse ever.

The girls begged me to let them play house in the long house. I hung out with the goats for a bit, then took a walk along a trail that was also part of the property. I walked to the "sacrificial bog" where a statue of a goddess stood on an island in the middle. It felt like I'd walked onto the set of the Princess Bride, everything covered in ferns and moss.

Baby goats!

Heading out on the nature trail.

The goddess.

Finally, we made it to one of the rock art sites. By this point, we were all a bit tired and cranky. And looking at carvings in rock, especially when you are not allowed to touch them or climb on the rocks, is a tough sell for any kiddos.

Just one of several sites.

She wants to touch them SO. SO. MUCH.

A boat. Most sites were near the sea; sea level was higher then.

Top: One of the most famous images, The Lovers

Overall, it was a lovely day trip back in time. Four thousand years ago is beyond my ability to truly wrap my brain around. I'm awed at the depth of human history at our fingertips here in Sweden.

One Day in Lund

Jeremy invited me and the girls to tag along with him on a collecting trip, and we jumped at the chance to visit another part of Sweden. He needed isopods from an area near Lund, one of Sweden's oldest cities. It's approximately 5 IKEAs hours south of where we live in Tjärnö.

That's Lund at the bottom. We live up by the border with Norway.

Lund is very close to Malmö, Sweden's 3rd largest city. It's also home to Lund University, Scandinavia's oldest university, whose early history began in 1425. Today, it's home to about 40,000 students and is considered one of the top universities in Europe.

We learned on this trip that this is what Swedish graduation hats look like. Who knew?!

We arrived on a grey and drizzly Sunday evening. The town was quiet, most of the shops and restaurants were closed for the night. We found a place was both open AND popular, so we gave it a shot. I believe I had the best veggie burger of my life (and as a Californian and former long-time vegetarian, that's saying something). The place was sort of like a non-chain version of the restaurant Islands, so we felt right at home.

Of course we ate at a place called "Surf Shack"... in Sweden.

The next day, Jeremy was up early and off to fetch little ocean beasties. That left us girls one precious day to explore the city. After our disastrous day in Hamburg, I left the hotel with back-up plans upon back-up plans... prepared for the worst, while still hoping for the best.

Fairy tale entrance ahead.

Trying out the seating in a city square.

Many people rode bikes, we saw people carrying groceries, flowers, even a dog, in their bicycle baskets. Lund is absolutely beautiful. Every step felt like walking into the past, or possibly into an episode of Game of Thrones; Lund was founded around the year 1000!

Old town girls.

We started at the town's most famous attraction: Domkyrkan, or Dome Church. It's Lund's magnificent, thousand-year-old cathedral. It's size and beauty were overwhelming.

Lund's Domkyrkan

Visiting the crypt under the church.

Next stop, a local bakery for a quick mid-morning fika. As with many Swedish restaurants, the coffee was strong and the cups were bottomless. Our fingers were coated with buttery deliciousness after we each scarfed down a freshly baked croissant.

After a bit of a walking around the city (pass the train station, check out a little flea market, make a quick stop in the gigantic toy store), we stumbled upon another church. This was the Alhelgonakyrkan (All Saints Church). Although I don't know much about architectural styles, the differences between this church and the cathedral were immediately apparent. (The All Saints is gothic revival style, and only about 100 years old, while the cathedral is Romanesque and ten times older. Thank you, Internet.)

Checking out the balcony seats.

We found the Sunday school play area!

We had planned to return to the Cathedral for the noontime show of its astronomical clock. Jeremy finished his work and met us there.

Little figures come out of the door and circle around Mary and Jesus.

After the clock show, we headed over to the Saluhallen for lunch. It reminded us all of Liberty Public Market in San Diego: many different types of cuisine, all under a single roof.

Pastries!

So. Much. Cheese.  Mind = blown.

In the afternoon, we chose an outdoor museum called Kulturen. Most of the museum consists of a variety of buildings dating from the Middle Ages all the way up to the present-day. It was perfect for short-attention-span visitors, such as our children. They could run up to each one, explore the interior, and move on to the next. Being outdoors on a gorgeous day was an added bonus.

And you thought Ancient Runes was just something J.K. Rowling made up.

A little bit of dress up.

Jeremy had to get in on the dress-up action.

A little more dress-up in a room full of old toys.

I think this was Miracle Max's place.

Ye Olde Smithy.

Jeremy's favorite was the dark and creepy toy tour.

I wish we'd had one more day. Lund is a gem and there were dozens of little shops I'd have liked to poke around in and cafes I'd like to sit in. Savannah kept saying, "We need to come back!" I'm not sure we'll make it back to Lund, but it would certainly be worth trying.