crayfish party

okay so this is a little late, but i'm just going to post multiple blogs today.

Last weekend I got to go to a real Swedish crayfish party! Apparently it's a big thing out here because it's like the last major event of the summer (which is kind of sad because it happened it August. I guess summers don't last forever here). Christian took me and Mel out to the Swedish archipelago (a series of islands off the coast of Stockholm). It was seriously one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. The ocean was more of an inlet so the waves weren't very harsh and there were all these rustic red cottages around it. Red buildings are kind of the Swedish trademark.

When we got there we played a Swedish game (can't remember the name) where you basically throw a piece of wood and try to knock down another piece of wood with it. Like all games it sounds really stupid when I try to describe it but is really fun to play. When I get back I'll have to find or make it. Then we went to the area to eat and I got to try crayfish! It was so much work to get at like a tiny bite of meat but it was delicious.

Swedish meals are so much fun to eat because we had to wear funny hats while we did it, and they have the tradition of singing and song (usually about drinking) and shouting "skål" and taking a drink of snaps, which is a really strong alcohol. Combine this with the fact that with a bunch of Swedish males you have to fight for any food you get and I was feeling a little dizzy by the end of the meal, but I managed to eat enough bread to survive.

The rest of the night was pretty much just a party with dancing. Later a bunch of people went swimming, but this only lasted like five minutes because even though it was pretty warm, it was still Sweden and it was still after midnight.

The next day as we waited for Christian to get the energy to drive back to Uppsala, we just hung around the cabin watching movies, going swimming, and eating. It was gorgeous because it was raining a little bit and the views were just incredible. Some summer in the future I'm coming back and renting a place on one of these islands because they are amazing.