Västerås

My view from a nice café:

 Sweden is beautiful...

Västerås

Cruised around Västerås for a bit today... Lots to see and do downtown - good shopping, good food. Not to mention the fact that it's absolutely beautiful. There's an old church in the middle of the city from the year 1100... Lots and lots of pictures and stories to follow.

Coldplay

Perhaps the best band in the world today:

Midsommar

Midsommar (Mid-Summer) is the be all, end all of Swedish culture. It's perhaps the biggest and most important holiday in the country. This year, I got to experience it. 

The day started relaxed... My girlfriend and I took a scenic drive through winding country roads to our friend Jennifer's house where we lounged around, talked to friends, and played a fiercely competitive round of croquet...

During midsommar, girls wear flowers in their hair... And this is how they make their crowns.

We just messed around for a while before having a Swedish lunch... Swedes love fish, and at this time of the year it's essential. We had potatoes, some raw fish (which I didn't like), all kinds of salads, and cider. Typically Swedish on the typically Swedish day - it makes sense.

 After lunch we went to the city center where a maypole was raised... It's an ancient (phallic) symbol of fertility (can you see it?) that is supposed to signify a good harvest because the ground has been fertilized. If it's not enough of a strange symbol to begin with, once it was raised we all joined hands and danced around it, singing traditional Swedish songs.. See the video below for some action shots.

"Sure is a big one"

Hung out with these people for the day

We went swimming after in the coldest water imaginable. You really have to take advantage of the summer months while they're around. Then we did some more eating - desserts this time. The day was full, in a good way. Lots to do, but relaxing the whole way. 

All in all, it was a perfect way for me to spend my first midsommar. Whether or not I dance around one of those giant poles again is a matter for debate, but the point is that I've done it once and now I can cross it off my list of "Swedish things to do". 

Happy Midsommar all.

Swedish flag comin' out of my head

Click The Picture

A blog of songs written by my very good friend and housemate. Listen and you will love them.. Click the logo or here to go there.

Mullsjö

This week I went on a trip to "Mullsjö" with my girlfriend and her family. It's a place about four hours away from Västerås (where they live and where I'm staying while in Sweden) but the drive was beautiful. Ten minutes into the trip I knew it was bound to be relaxing the whole way. We drove past scenic countryside with serene little houses and villages marked by the ancient steeples that disrupt the horizon in the best possible way. 

I had a bag full of Swedish candy to keep me satisfied most of the way... Until the candy actually acted opposite to its intended purpose and made my stomach twist a bit..

When we got there we drove up to a house that my girlfriend's great-grandfather built. It's a great old place that is set up on a hill and looks down over a little village and lake.

It was late when we arrived, probably about 10:00 pm, but Swedish summers are full of bright nights - the sun hardly sets.

 Inside the house I enjoyed all the old rooms and could tell that it is a place full of memories. The vacation home is big and would make the greatest hide and seek stadium of all time.

I liked looking through some of the old books that lined a bunch of shelves in the living room. They were pretty much all in Swedish, but a couple were English... But any old book is cool to look at.

 Sweden is a beautiful place to take a walk..

Eating strawberries with milk and cream is a Swedish summer must. And seriously, it tastes incredible.

After lounging around, relaxing, and doing nothing for hours on end for two days, we headed home refreshed and ready for another week of adventures.

Smultron

My girlfriend showed me these tiny berries called "Smultron" that grow in Swedish gardens. 

They're really good, sweet little berries that you sort of just pop in your mouth, squish with your tongue, and swallow. 

The strangest thing with these berries is the Swedish tradition of collecting them, and putting them on a straw of grass.. It seems a bit peculiar, but it is kinda handy to just keep them all in one place.

My girlfriend is a pro at doing this... 

Finished product is exactly what it seems to be: small berries on a straw of grass. But they taste good and they're easy to grab from the garden. I like 'em.

Sverige

I've been in Sweden for about four days now... I still have around two weeks left, which is really nice because at this point, I do not want to leave. It's absolutely gorgeous here - the buildings are nice, the streets are clean, the people are friendly... Some of the places almost seem like little fairy tale villages, where everything is pretty much perfect and happy little elves live in trees and bake cookies or something like that.

There's a lot more for me to see, but here's a glimpse at some of the buildings in Västerås, where my girlfriend lives:

Very old church... A Swedish king is buried here. 

Staying Creative

29 ways to stay creative.

Sverige

I'm headed to Sweden today! I can't wait!

Hackett

Hackett. Behind the scenes of spring/summer 2011 menswear shoot.

Gloves

These gloves would help the cold too. Fox River