Midsummer madness - Sweden here we come!
'Trees...lake...trees...lake...trees...lake...lake...trees'
A Swedish Volvo driver’s eye view
View the Flickr photo set for this trip
Imagine being out on a beautiful still lake in a canoe at 2am, the sun is below the horizon but it is still light. That’s my enduring memory of my fabulous time in Sweden.
Just as London isn't a fair representation of the rest of Britain, visitors to Sweden should get out of Stockholm and see as much as possible of this beautiful country.
We travelled 7 hours north of Stockholm along the E4 road in a rented Volvo and stayed in Harnosand for midsummers (midsommar) which in Sweden is celebrated on the 24th of June each year and is the longest day of the year.
There are some interesting Swedish traditions that need to be practiced on midsommars eve. Firstly you need to make a 'fertility pole' which is a cross with two testicular flower garlands on each horizontal. Next prepare some flower garland headwear, and when the stage is set (moonshine has been consumed) you dance around the pole singing the traditional song:
Små grodorna, små grodorna är lustiga att se.
Ej svansar, ej svansar, ej öron hava de.
Kou-ack-ack-ack, kou-ack-ack-ack, kou-ack-ack-ack-ack-ack.
This is a song about a little frog with no ears or tail - poor frog…
It has actions to accompany it and is a whole lot of fun!
Getting pissed on moonshine, dancing around in the sunshine and eating Elk steaks on the barbie, sounds fun huh.
Whilst the sun does go down at about 11:00 it stays light until sun rise early the next day. So bedrooms have blackout curtains to block out the light. At about 2:00 your body is telling you ‘hello ello, something’s not quite right here I’m tired…’ but your mind is saying ‘whoo more moonshine’.
After a few days in Harnosand, spent enjoying the sunshine and eating Tip Top ice creams we headed south to Galtstrom.
Galtstrom is a remote area where fortunate folk have summer houses. We were staying at one such summer house in the woods two minutes walk from a little beach looking onto a brackish body of water. A tennis court and canoe at our disposal. If this was heaven God needs to sort out the mosquito problem before I totally renounce Satan.
The Swedish people were very friendly and lived up to their stereotype as a good percentage of those I met were blonde, blue eyed babes (male and female). The people I met were very laid back and all spoke excellent English. British rock/indie music is really popular and many Swedes travel to Britain to study or work.
The food
Herrings are a national favourite, lemon herrings, pickled herring, herring with chocolate sauce may exist for all I know. Another common dish is a huge frankfurter sausage slathered in cheese severed with a tomato sauce. Breakfasts are great...flat crisp bread with pate, cheese, pickles, and or ham. Or some Greek yoghurt tasting stuff from a carton which you have with jam, on cereal or as it comes.
Alcohol and imported food and goods are generally expensive so don't expect to pick up many bargains unless you want some Volvo spare parts.
The Swedish landscape is vast and beautiful. In Britain so-called countryside is in the main farmland divided by hedgerows or managed woodland. Sweden like Canada is abundant in real wilderness - natural forests, lakes, rivers and marshland. This houses an equal abundance of wildlife, Elk, large birds of prey and we were lucky enough to see a Beaver swimming for cover in a stream.
Sweden is easy to get to from London and flights can be as low as £30 each way with RyanAir. Take a long weekend, hire a car if you can and explore this spacious and beautiful country.
Jamie O'Connell
(Many thanks to Maja, her friends and family for the great time)
