Even the bugs and birds are different

There's something very interesting that I've noticed since being here.  There are no screens on any window.  The windows simply open to the outside and allow for the breeze and whatever else to drift in.  In the U.S., homes would quickly become infested with flies, mosquitoes, etc.  However, this situation does not pose a problem here.  The animals prefer to be outside, so while a small gnat may fly indoors, it simply pokes around for a minute or two and then exits back through the window.  Yesterday at work, a bird flew into the office.  No one seemed to mind.  So I watched.  The bird's friend soon followed inside.  They flew around the office, and then flew back outside once they were finished exploring.  Simply intriguing.

Kayaking in the Baltic

It was time to journey out of the city into the country side.  Ten of us boarded a bus, then another bus, and then one more bus, which led us 2 hours north of Stockholm.  Our final destination was a very small town, which almost reminded me of upstate NY.  Except for the fact that all of the signs were in different languages, of course.  We walked to the harbor and rented kayaks.  After gearing up and organizing 10 people, we lowered our kayaks into the water and set out for a journey in the Baltic.  The air was crisp and the sun was warm.  When we began, I was wearing a fleece.  Not even 20 minutes in, I shed down to my t-shirt.  We kayaked through deserted islands, watching birds fly through the sky, and jelly fish float beneath us.  We pulled ashore onto a rocky island where we ate sandwiches and cookies, and bathed in the sun.  After our break, we continued on back to our starting point.  It was a wonderful 4 hour paddle.  Once back at shore, we sat in the sun outside of the Graddo Bryggcafe.  It was yet again time to board the bus(es) back to Stockholm.

  

Island exploring

I've been delinquent in my blogging... what can I say? It's been a busy start to the semester. Outside of school and work, I've still managed to have plenty of fun.  The theme of the past couple of weeks seems to have been 'exploring the Archipelago'. 

Last weekend, Roos and I took a ferry to Vaxholm (an island in the Archipelago).  It was a beautiful, sunny day, and only light jackets were in order.  We met in the city center and hopped the 1.5 hour ferry to Vaxholm.  We spent the entire boat ride outside, watching the gorgeous water side homes and country side go by.  Once we reached the island, we took a very short ferry ride to Vaxholm Fortress.  As Stockholm is a port city, this fortress was built near the entrance to the Archipelago in the 1500's to provide security.  The fort is now open for touring.  There were hardly any other people there, making touring the fort more mystical.

Back on the main Vaxholm island, we walked the streets and then found a Swedish restaurant on the water.  We sat outside and feasted on salmon, shrimp salad, and beer.  Life could not be any better!  After our late lunch, we returned to Stockholm via ferry.  What a great 'Sunday outing'!

 Vaxholm Fortress

View of Vaxholm from the top of the Fort

        

My 1st Swedish cray fish party!

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a cray fish party.  With real Swedes.  In Sweden.  What an experience.

I offered to help prep for the party and was sent to the store to buy cray fish table cloths, cray fish party hats, cray fish napkins, and an assortment of other cray fish decorations.  That is when I realized just how popular cray fish parties are here... when they mass produce these products with cray fish print and sell them in the grocery store.  After prepping, Ewa and I arrived at Andre's apartment and started setting up the table with the goods.  An extremely large bowl over filling with cray fish, cheese, salad, bread, beer, akvavit, akvavit, akvavit, akvavit....

Once everyone arrived we sat down for the meal.  I was told meals last for hours in Sweden, and I was about to find out why.  Next to my plate was a song book filled with traditional Swedish songs.  We began eating the juicy, flavorful cray fish when all of our shot glasses were filled with the first round of akvavit.  It was time for song #1.  We all sang the first song together (it was in Swedish so mostly gibberish was coming out of my mouth) and ended the tune with "Sköl" and a shot of akvavit.  Holidays in Sweden are always filled with food and singing.  I remember this from midsommar.  It allows the families to spend a lot of time at the dinner table together, telling stories and laughing.  The more akvavit that is consumed, the more stories that come about.  Well, many songs, much food, and even more akvavit later it was time for the evening to come to a close.