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| Erin through a garden window at Sofiero. |
Graduation Day
Unfortunately, I missed the start of the event when graduates from various schools come pouring down the Kärnan castle steps. However, I did make it to city center just as a flatbed truck was parking on the main road. Decorated with Swedish colors and tree branches, this truck held a dancing DJ and was blasting club music. Dozens of well-dressed graduates wearing what appeared to be sailor hats climbed aboard with bottles of champagne and proceeded to dance and shout. Hundreds of people lined the streets, many holding large signs of their graduate as a little kid. Eventually, more and more trucks formed a kind of parade, some carrying as many as 50 or more dancing grads who threw confetti, blew whistles, and danced to "Turn Down for What." It was so exciting!
The short video below gives a little taste of the Grad Day parade; if you're at work, you might want to turn down the volume on your computer.
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| "Don't act like you're not impressed." |
Swedish National Day and Non-American Football
The next day was Saturday, June 6 and The National Day of Sweden. I'd read that this day is not widely celebrated, but many shops and restaurants were closed anyway. Wedding ring shopping was postponed yet again.
We had tickets to see our first football game at Olympia Stadium that afternoon, which is a 20ish minute walk from our apartment. I noticed with some humor that the spectators drank coffee instead of overpriced, low-quality beer in plastic cups like they do at every sporting event in the US. They also constantly sang and chanted in unison -- and I do mean constantly. There was one guy with a megaphone leading them all; the poor guy's face was purple 20 minutes into the first half, and I could see the veins popping out of his forehead from 30 feet away.
At halftime, a group of men came out on the field wearing what appeared to be plastic bubbles covering the upper half of their bodies. A sprinkler was turned on, and the men began kicking around a ball while they slipped and fell on the grass. We later met one of the bubble wearers at our favorite bar. He was completely dressed in Swedish colors, including a blue and yellow wig that looked like a mop head. He was super friendly and chatted with us a bit and clinked his glass with ours before turning back to his friends to sing a loud, drunken Swedish song. We didn't realize that Erin had unknowingly snapped a photo of him before we'd even met; that's him in the second pic below. Skål!
I'm happy to report that Helsingborg beat the pants off Åtvidabergs 3-0.
After we left the football game and before we met Friendly Swedish Bubble Man, we made our way on foot to the square outside Dunkers Kulturhaus and caught the last 20 minutes of the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra performing a free concert for a crowd of quiet observers. One female opera singer came out for a song and gave me the chills. They closed the show with the Swedish national anthem, "Du Gamla, Du Fria," while everyone within earshot stood, many singing along.
This unexpected concert and the Graduation Day celebration are perfect examples of what I love about Swedish culture: there is always something going on here that encourages being outdoors, being active, and being together as a community. It all feels very genuine and refreshing and I'm so grateful to be experiencing it.
Return to Sofiero
We closed the weekend with a return trip to Sofiero to see their brilliant rhododendrons in full bloom. The first pic below is one I took of the castle in early May; the second is one I took this past Sunday.
This is yet another instance of pictures being unable to capture the true beauty of a place, but hey, I do what I can.
Next week's blog will detail our adventures in Iceland. Stay tuned!
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