These pictures are from the last day in April, when many people in Sweden have community bonfires. The tradition is that the fire is supposed to ward of the cold and snow of winter and bring in springtime. It is some kind of Pagan tradition. It was fun and the fire was so huge.
We also visited a viking graveyard. They make large mounds for the vikings instead of burying them underground. The bigger the mound, the more important the person. Apparently with vikings, the only way to go to heaven is to die in battle, otherwise you will be reborn again until you do. I don't have any pictures, unfortunately, but it was a beautiful place, with many mounds of stone and dirt as well as some old walls to a church.
I have been learning quite a lot of things about Sweden, though I am not fully aware of it, because these traditions are just a part of life here and not so spectacular to the people around me. It is pretty cool. Sometime I will come back, visit more places, and learn Swedish. I know a few words and phrases, but I have a lot more to learn.
I am coming back to the US with Oskar in tow on June 8th. That is so soon, I am having a lot of anxiety. Maybe a relaxing summer at home, lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons, will be nice. I hope to make a few trips to see friends in various places (mostly NC) who I have missed dearly. And of course, I will be glad to see my family again. Over the summer, I will also spend some time planning my next adventure. I have many ideas, but I need to focus on one so I can plan it out in time. Unfortunately, travel is not so easy with all the issues of money and visa requirements. It is such pain, even if you have the best of intentions, for some reason, immigration people I think just want to make things such a problem. Well, we will see how it goes.
These pictures are from the last day in April, when many people in Sweden have community bonfires. The tradition is that the fire is supposed to ward of the cold and snow of winter and bring in springtime. It is some kind of Pagan tradition. It was fun and the fire was so huge.
We also visited a viking graveyard. They make large mounds for the vikings instead of burying them underground. The bigger the mound, the more important the person. Apparently with vikings, the only way to go to heaven is to die in battle, otherwise you will be reborn again until you do. I don't have any pictures, unfortunately, but it was a beautiful place, with many mounds of stone and dirt as well as some old walls to a church.
I have been learning quite a lot of things about Sweden, though I am not fully aware of it, because these traditions are just a part of life here and not so spectacular to the people around me. It is pretty cool. Sometime I will come back, visit more places, and learn Swedish. I know a few words and phrases, but I have a lot more to learn.
I am coming back to the US with Oskar in tow on June 8th. That is so soon, I am having a lot of anxiety. Maybe a relaxing summer at home, lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons, will be nice. I hope to make a few trips to see friends in various places (mostly NC) who I have missed dearly. And of course, I will be glad to see my family again. Over the summer, I will also spend some time planning my next adventure. I have many ideas, but I need to focus on one so I can plan it out in time. Unfortunately, travel is not so easy with all the issues of money and visa requirements. It is such pain, even if you have the best of intentions, for some reason, immigration people I think just want to make things such a problem. Well, we will see how it goes.
No comments:
Post a Comment