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One thing we Brits could learn from the Swedes is how to have a good bonfire. Then again they seem to have more occasions to practice. Last night was one of them - Valborgsmassoafton (or Walpurgis Night). Whilst the bonfires apparently once protected Swedes from witches, they now mark the beginning of spring. The weather was certainly playing along yesterday with beautiful blue skies and sunshine, even if the temperatures are still not particularly high. The sun had brought the Stockholmers out in force though - all the local restaurants and cafes now have pavement tables which seem to be well patronised (particularly those that provide blankets!).
I started my evening with a leisurely stroll south through the city then along the water at Strandvagen towards Djurgarden, ultimately headed to Skansen, Stockholm's open air history museum/amusement park/zoo. It's an interesting place and one that I probably need to revisit when the historical buildings are open (I was there too late last night). I did have a wander around the animal enclosures, managing to spot a few reindeer, an elk that bore an uncanny resemblance to Cyril Sneer, some seals and a exhibitionist peacock, although the bears were being a bit
elusive.
Armed with a bag of freshly made sugared almonds I settled in to wait for the bonfire lighting - a nice view over Sodermalm and the south of the city, sunset, a chamber choir singing Swedish songs... shame I hadn't dressed warmly enough yet again! Finally I spotted movement over at the side of the stage - firemen getting themselves ready. Naively I thought they were getting ready to douse the flames if they got too big, but no, turns out they were the
firestarters 😊 Wads of rags and a can of petrol certainly make short work of a pile of wood! There was a certain amount of traditional ceremony around the actual bonfire lighting, but in the end the firemen had to step in to do it properly. That said, they did have to do some dousing of shrubbery when the flames got going. Having hung around for such a long time, I had ringside seats but had to step back pretty quickly - it didn’t take long to heat up! The flames were even visible from the bus stop at the bottom of the cliff as I headed home.
Other news this week -
I’ve got an apartment! It’s a 2-bedroomed place on the north west edge of Sodermalm with nice views over towards Langholmen across the water. It’s in a pretty old building but seems to have been recently done up so is thankfully free of frills and tat 😊 I saw it first on Tuesday lunchtime, courtesy of a very smooth estate agent called Bjorn with walnut tan and red Camaro. He then proceeded to call me pretty much every half hour until contracts were signed and sorted on Wednesday night! But it must be karma - the landlord is a Mr Bolton...
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