Happy Midsummer!

Not long after arriving in Sweden, I heard rumors about the celebration of Midsummer.  Most refer to this as the longest day of the year (but my husband would argue that all days are equally long) so let's call it the day with the most hours of light to make everyone happy!  Anyway, Midsummer is the biggest holiday here next to Christmas.  Needless to say, I very was excited when our family received an invitation to a Midsummer (aka Midsommar) party!

As the holiday approached, I was informed that it "always" rains on Midsummer's Eve...the day when most celebrations occurred.  Although this was not great news, at least my expectations were set appropriately.  We woke up on midsummer's eve and, as promised, it was raining.  As we packed up and headed to Marie and Henrik's house, things looked quite bleak.  

Don't worry- I'm not driving!

When we got to the party, the table was set beautifully (inside) and the first round of eating was about to begin.  I had heard stories of "traditional" midsummer fare, which includes eating sil (pickled herring) and drinking different types of schnapps (the Swedes call it 'snaps').   This spread did not disappoint!  There were several different types of sil and many small bottles of snaps (perhaps you need to drink some of the hard stuff to help get down the sil!)

I tried this one....

Snaps, anyone??

In addition to the traditional midsummer food and drink, we had the traditional midsummer drinking songs.  Our lovely hostess had printed out the song lyrics (there were several non-Swedish folks at the party), so that everyone could join in!  The children were in the adjoining room, trying to ignore the behavior of their parents!  

After lunch, we carpooled over to the next town to watch girls with flower wreaths on their heads dance around the maypole (another Midsummer tradition).  Yes, it was still raining, but a little rain doesn't stop the Swedes.   Or does it???   Much to our dismay, when we arrived at the celebration and got out of our cars, we discovered the celebration was cancelled....because of the rain. 

Now what??

So, we headed back to our friends' house and, of course, we needed to re-fuel!  Coffee was served along with a traditional strawberry cake and American style chocolate chunk cookies (yes, I made the cookies, and no, chocolate chips are not readily available in Sweden...so I improvised).  

Nils helping with the cake

A couple of the men built a small (but adequate) maypole while the girls (and my hubby) made flower wreaths for the girls to wear as crowns.   There seems to be many ideas as to what this midsummer pole symbolizes....you can do your own research on this one.  The fact that it's a "pole" may provide some insight into some of the theories.

Isn't it cute??

Jeff and Hanne are very focused on their wreath making!

After all of the wreaths were made, the girls had to show them off in this group photo.

What a pretty bunch! (the girls AND the flowers)

Believe it or not, the sun finally came out around 5:30 p.m.  One meal and one dessert down and one more meal to go, several of us decided that a nice long walk was in order!

Blue skies at last!

After enjoying some outdoor activities, Henrik fired up the grill as Fredrik made some Caipirinhas (a traditional Brazilian drink).  Since I was going to be the one driving home, I skipped the earlier snaps and enjoyed one of these as my "token" drink of the day.  Very good choice on my part!

YUMMY!

After the BBQ and one more dessert (and some candy, or "godis"as the kids call it), it was time to wrap it up.   I went searching for my girls and found that one had already called it a night!

Great couch you have here, Marie!

Our first Midsummer party was memorable and full of good food, great company and finally even a little bit of sunshine!

Ok.... I found one more thing that I have to share (hoping not to offend any of my Swedish friends).  This IKEA commercial (created by the Germans, banned in Sweden) is full of silly stereotypes of the Midsummer celebration.  It is too funny not to share....enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I5BGsK5ZAU

Massage therapy...kind of

ok....I know this is a little bit of an odd topic for my blog....but I feel it's a story that must be shared.  A few weeks ago (before our vacation), the hubby had booked a massage appointment for me (bonus points for that one!).  It had been months (full of much packing and unpacking of boxes) since my last "professional" massage and I had knots on top of knots in my back!

I have to admit I was slightly leery as I approached Sabai Thai Massage....maybe I had watched too many movies with seedy massage parlors....but necessity pulled me in the door.  I should also mention that the aforementioned hubby had visited this same establishment a few times himself, so it had better be legit!

Looks ok, right?

When I walked in, I was greeted by a polite receptionist and was asked to have a seat.  My massage therapist arrived shortly thereafter and off we went.   Now, for those of you who are familiar with massage therapy, you know that the therapist leaves you in the room to disrobe (except for the undies) and you crawl under a sheet or blanket and wait for her (or him) to return.   However, this massage table had no such sheet or blanket....just an averaged sized towel...so I assumed I was to attempt to cover up with that.  Apparently I was mistaken.  I quickly learned that I was to lie on TOP of the towel and then the therapist would cover me up after she came in the room.  Note to self...check your modesty at the door!

No covers???

I need to advise that if you are looking for a calm, gentle, relaxing massage...this is NOT the place for you!  Calling this a deep tissue massage was an understatement.  There were several moments when I thought the tiny little massage therapist had stopped to rest and an NFL linebacker had taken over!  If the top of the walls weren't open to the adjoining room, I would have considered crying, or yelling out in pain, more than a few times.  However, I refrained...not wanting to alarm the other clients.

Sound proofing the rooms would be a good investment!

That being said, this was the type of massage I wanted (or at least it's what I THOUGHT I wanted) so I really can't complain.   The last highlight of my torture....uh.. I mean massage....was when the therapist asked me to sit up on the table.  "This is a bit odd", I said to myself.  Then I thought that perhaps my 90 minutes of bliss was over....wrong again!  The tiny woman actually got on top of the table so she could better dig her elbows into my back and shoulders.   That whole configuration was certainly unexpected.  At this point you might be wondering,  "Didn't your husband give you a heads up about this unexpected deviation from the typical 'American' massage??"   Nope.  I guess he wanted me to be surprised!  Sharing the massage table with the therapist?  Yup....definitely surprised.

Although I was thrown a couple of curve balls during my first visit to Sabai Thai Massage, I was actually very pleased with the whole experience.  The therapist found, and conquered, months worth of knots and stress that had been largely ignored.   In addition, the prices are EXTREMELY reasonable....about $70 for a 90 minute deep tissue massage!   I will definitely go back....just call me a glutton for punishment!

Ahhhhhhh.......vacation!!

Our family was WAY overdue for some rest and relaxation!  Six months of living an ocean apart,  selling a house, and then packing up and moving to a new country.... yes, it was time to chill out!  The hubby picked Mallorca as our destination (after Googling the location...I was definitely in!)  The girls thought I was saying "My orca"....so when asked where we were going on vacation, they would always respond with "Mommy's orca"!  Not sure what to make of that....but we found it pretty amusing!

It was only about a three hour flight....similar to the Chicago folks heading to Florida.   We left early on a Friday morning and were sitting by the pool right after lunch.

Malena, CeCe and a new friend!

In addition to the pool, the girls spent a fair amount of time playing in the sea (mostly Malena) and building sandcastles (mostly CeCe).  The pictures don't do it justice....but the water was just beautiful!

Our little fish!

The girls also spent several afternoons at the Bamse (pronounced bahm' suh) Club....aka a two hour window where the kids play with other kids (supervised, of course) and the parents can close their eyes on the beach!  Since we were on a Scandinavian trip, all of the other children were from Sweden, Norway, etc. However, the language barrier didn't keep them from having fun and making friends.  In case you were curious....Bamse is a cartoon character and the "world's kindest bear".  He also has his own song which the girls continue to sing (and that I can't get out of my head)!

Rockin' the Bamse Wear!

We wanted a relaxing trip, so we didn't venture too far from the hotel (in fact, we had dinner at the same place down the street five of our seven nights... which is slightly embarrassing).  However, one evening we did take the bus to the next town and enjoyed some tapas.   The food was great and the girls tried several new things (we may need to wait a couple of years before we tell CeCe that she really enjoyed the "lengua")!  After the tapas, we stopped for some ice cream....which is an adventure in itself!

Life is good!

We also took a boat excursion which allowed us a chance to see more of the coastline.  The boat also had "submarine vision" so the girls could see some fish, coral, etc.

View from the boat tour

A little less glamorous....but much enjoyed by the girls....were the pony rides (strategically placed between our hotel and our favorite restaurant).   For just over 5 bucks, this was one of the highlights of their trip!

The family....post pony ride!

All in all, it was a wonderful vacation....great weather, family friendly hotel, and just some time to re-charge!  I would definitely head back to Mallorca if given the chance!

Farewell beautiful sea....

And good-bye Bamse!