Midsommar

B was off to Tokyo for midsommar this year, so I was on my own.  Sorta.  Victoria and Stefan were lovely enough to let me tag along with them (and Baby Daisy!) and Victoria's sister, who was visiting from the US.  Instead of going to their country house (as most Swedes do for Mid-Sums), we hit up Skansen, which is sort of a classier Scandi-version of Silver Dollar City.  OK, maybe not.  Skansen is part zoo (featuring Scandinavian animals, mostly... keep it local, yo), part historical village, and part garden/walking park with really good food options and a killer not-at-all cheezy gift shop featuring Swedish handicrafts (reindeer leather necklaces, anyone?).  Oh Skansen, sorry to even mention a Branson theme park in this paragraph.  Total mis-play.

Well, we had a bang up time at Skansen!  There was a glorious midsommar pole aloft, and loads of Swedes dancing and singing around it!  What more could one ask for?  Per tradition, I had a large plate of herring.... and then snaps.  We ended the day at Gröna Lund (OK, maybe this is fairer cross-reference to Silver Dollar City) and I even went on a roller coaster.  (I must confess, I was cajoled into it, it was paid for my aforementioned cajolers, it was a baby wooden one, and I hated EVERY freaking nanosecond.)

And now I give you, Scenes from Midsommar:

Bears!  And baby bears!  With fresh carrots!  

You wouldn't believe the luck with had with the animals on midsommar.  It was like they juiced 'em up/witheld food/something-else-enticing-to-animals to prep for the holiday throngs.  Because les animaux were on POINT!  We're talking lynx, wolverine, AND owl--front and center!  We even caught a glimpse of a grey wolf; even if he was sleeping, that totally counts!

This really sums up Skansen.  Charming, right?  The place is full of historical buildings that have been relo-ed to create a new/old village.  The only thing this joint is missing is some goats on the roof.

Snaps!  Some flavors are definitely better than others.  This is the "bitter" flavor and this Fernet-loving gal couldn't even handle it.  YOUCH, is it BITTER.  Give me an aquavit any day.

How cute is this sheep-ish playground at Skansen???

Beautiful old door carving just outside entrance to Skansen.

Grona Lund greeted us with this sunset.

A glimpse of Grona Lund.

I was home maybe by 11-something PM and this was the sky.  Longest day of the year, indeed!

This guy was already getting his Midsommar sleep-off on.  This is how the whole of Sweden feels the day after Midsommar.