Skåne calling

Each year when Easter rolls around, I'm surprised by how much a 4-day holiday can do to break up a long winter from the start of a struggling spring. This year, spring is still struggling, although I've heard promises of a turnaround from tomorrow(!). One can only hope.

Anyways, a quick glance back at our Easter adventure in the southern Swedish region of Skåne...

Swedes+Easter=feathers everywhere

First of all, let me explain that Easter in Sweden is a little bit like Halloween in the States. Except everyone dresses up as the same thing - an Easter witch. Just imagine the cutest witch you've ever seen knocking on your door: hankerchief tied around the head, freckles and rosy cheeks painted on the face, long skirts with aprons over-top, and a of course a broom in hand for fast get-aways. 

The kids make dozens of little "Happy Easter!" cards to hand out at each household. How sweet is that? In return, they get candy. We had two covens of witches at our door the Thursday before Easter, and sadly, were incredibly unprepared with zero candy - but they just smiled and wished us a Glad Påsk. My heart nearly melted!

Okay, back to our Easter road trip. We headed down to the charming town of Helsingborg on Friday, stopping for lunch in a tiny village called Gränna, home of the infamous Swedish peppermint candy, to break up the 6-hour drive. 

the view from Kärnan - and that's Denmark across the water

Perhaps it was because of the warm, sunny weather, but in the 20 hours we were there, I fell in love with Helsingborg. On the map, it's Sweden's closest point to Denmark in the southwest corner. Between the two countries is a 20-minute ferry ride across the sound of Oresund. With a population of 100,000, it's the perfect size - and so beautiful! 

Our friends J&J showed us the best of Helsingborg on Friday night with a gorgeous, sunset dinner at Sillen & Makrillen (thanks guys!) and drinks at one of the downtown clubs. And on Saturday, NS and I wandered through downtown and climbed to the top of the medieval tower, Kärnan, the highest point in the city.

afternoon tea in the suuuuuuun!

We said goodbye to Helsingborg on Saturday afternoon and headed to Örenäs Slott (castle) for an incredible champagne weekend. Afternoon tea (with champagne); truffles in our room (with champagne); oyster hors d'oeuvres (with champagne); a 7-course dinner; and brunch the next morning - yep, that had champagne, too. 

I've never had so much bubbly - or food - in my life, and in such a beautiful setting. The castle overlooks a grassy ridge over Oresund sound and is surrounded by farmland. It was divine. And a slightly different experience from last time we were there in 2010 ;) Thank you J&M for an amazing wedding gift we will never forget!!

On Easter Sunday, we visited dear friends in the neighboring town of Lund to celebrate baby H's first birthday, and then drove onward to stay with NS' grandmother in Malmö for the night. 

Our trip ended with a stop in Nimis, a place unlike any other I've ever been to. In the summer of 1980, a very eccentric Swedish man named Lars Vilks decided, among other unusual projects, to start building an enormous, castle-like structure out of driftwood - and call it Nimis. He's been nailing away ever since. From my understanding, this castle has actually been declared a country of it's own, proclaimed so by Vilks himself. 

To get to Nimis, we had to drive out to a remote spot along Sweden's west coast. Then hike through a forest, following a series of yellow "N"s painted sporadically along the way. The trail eventually sloped down to the water's edge, and then, all of a sudden became a tunnel of driftwood haphazardly nailed together every which way. The tunnel continues downward - downward - downward - and then starts upward to several shakey towers (which of course we climbed). 

We climbed all over this chaotic structure, and when we'd had enough climbing, we found ourselves "surfing" along the nearly vertical, leaf-covered ground leading down to Nimis (this leaf surfing was not quite intentional, but rather a slightly indirect route out).

Nimis was quite an experience, to say the least, and a very memorable end to our southern escapade through the wild side of Sweden.

Stockholm is waking up again

Spring is in the air. Summer really. Not so much in the temperature, but more in the whole ambiance of Stockholm. The sun helps. But it's more the attitude. 

Schools are closed this week for Easter. And the streets are a bit sparse in the mornings. Some offices have signed off already for the occasion. This Friday and next Monday are national holidays, but I guess they figure why wait? In fact, some offices are even off next week, too. Easter is certainly a big deal for a country with so little religion. 

Not that I'm complaining. It's glorious! 

Half of my office is empty. My received emails are down by about 3/4. And this is just the start of the season. The pace will only slow down more as summer gets closer. May is scattered with sporadic, mid-week days off (also religiously affiliated). And once June hits, the offices won't be full again until September. I swear it's true.  

photo inspiration: GAE

 

These coming 4 Easter days off could not be better timed. To celebrate our temporary freedom, NS and I are road-tripping down south to Skåne [pronouced Sko-nay - emphasis on the Sko], the southern region of Sweden. Strangely enough, Skåne has been a part of Sweden for less time than Finland. Sweden's deep south - another world, some say. We shall see for ourselves.

Anyway, I'll be back next week to tell of our travel adventures. And God willing have a bit of color - come on sun!!

April in Stockholm

Saturday was the first day of warmth I've felt in, let's see, about 6 months. Stockholm spring comes a couple weeks later than spring in most of Europe, and much later than the spring I'm used to back home. But sure enough, it doesn't disappoint.

view of Gamla Stan (old town) from Skeppsholmen

Stockholm is truly a beautiful city, and in the sun, even more so. On Saturday I strolled around for hours, trying to soak in as many rays as possible along with everyone else in the city. It seems that everyone has been in hibernation for the winter, and they've all just woken up. 

Walking down the street, there are dozens of people standing completely still, eyes closed, in the middle of the sidewalk with their faces tilted toward the sun. Get me some Vitamin D! It looks silly at first, until you realize, yes! that's exactly what I want to be doing right now! Or rather, I'd love to lay in a park in my bikini, but lets not get ahead of ourselves, it's only 15 degrees C (60 F). But it's only a matter of time. 

one of many people soaking up the sun... and me trying to discretely take a photo of it

Another new development in Stockholm is the amount of light we're getting. It gets light around 5:30 am and dark around 8:30 these days, something I'm used to in the middle of June, not April. I'm definitely not complaining, though... just anxiously awaiting the days when it's never really completely dark. And the month of summer holidays everyone in Sweden gets... I have to say, the meters of snow just might be worth it all. 

March Forth

Today is the only date of the calendar year that is a command. March fourth. March forth. I'd never heard it until the guy who sits next to me at work made the announcement this afternoon.

I have one thought about this anomaly: we have come to that time of year when the coldness of winter has finally worn down just about everyone. Even I, lover of snow, am excited about the prospect of spring. And flowers. And waking up to the sun. And light dresses. And being outside. And all the other things warm weather brings. I haven't checked, but someone told me the Farmer's Almanac has predicted (dare it be true?) another mammoth snow storm sometime this month. Well, all I can say is that this time of year, with or without another blizzard, there's only one thing to do and that is to March forth.