Be Swedish!

That call to the Swedish people was from their first King and is still ingrained in the culture today.  We buy Swedish strawberries, though they cost 25% more than the ones from Belgium.  We will miss the midsummer festivities, but the traditional celebrations will be on Friday and Saturday.  Even Ikea has the traditional swedish summer buffet.  And no apologies are made for being traditional, so in many ways, that is nice, coming from the Canadian society where tradition is being thrown out in education, holidays, and national dishes.  Too bad.

I have SO enjoyed the functional cycling -- to the grocery store, to the train museum, to downtown, to the garden center, to the bank, to the liquor store, etc.  I may find one of those uncool front baskets for my little green bike.  With the distances around town being about 5 km to anywhere, one does not need to 'gear up' -- including no helmets as most of the riding is on cycle paths or the sidewalk which is shared with pedestrians.  I think that is probably the key to better integrating cycling into our urban culture -- teach the walkers and riders to co-exist as they can talk to each other.  That's not really possible with the cars.

We were walking with Kieran this morning and pointing out how Sweden is different from home.  That's why I travel -- I want to see what is different in other parts of the world.  He noticed that cars here have big fog lights in front, the compost bins are brown, mailboxes at the houses are blue, etc.  Even now, he is gaining an appreciation for alternative lifestyles.

Wonderful railway museum complete with minitrain!  And, the cake buffet at Hemlingsby was very tasty -- only 60 K (complete with unlimited coffee or tea), very strange when a coffee anywhere is easily 20K.  But Hemlingsby is the municipal outdoor recreational area where Richard runs hill repeats on the ski hill, and outdoor activity is encouraged for all age groups.   Bonus encouragement!