Kräftor!

I had the good fortune of being invited to a crayfish party last night! The Swedes have traditional parties/events throughout the year and the premier of the crayfish harvest in Aug. is one such party. Groups of Swedes gather to eat crayfish (salt and fresh water varieties), and a lot of other delicious things (like quiche or the “egg pies”). And along with the eating there is much more to enjoy; first off, crayfish parties are colorful affairs and silly hats are often made to wear at the celebration!

(Astrid, Amelia and Simon)

The best part, however, is the singing! (And this coming from someone not known for having any musical ability.) Throughout the meal, eating and talking stops and everyone sings, a mix of the poetic and the silly. At the end of the singing a toast is shared…skål! Last night I had the pleasure of toasting with liquor flavored with elderberry or “fläderbär”. (Incidently, I also learned how to make a non-alcoholic lemonade-like drink from the elderberry blossoms—of which grow in profusion in the Duluth area).

My luck to attend such a lively event was thanks to Alison Aune. UMD has the distinction of having two Fulbrighters in Sweden! Alison, a friend from Duluth, is teaching and presenting her art in Växjö as part of the visiting scholar fellowship. Alison, along with her kids Linnea and Kjell, were visiting a friend in Göteborg and hence my invitation…lucky me!

Alison and Linnea

Along with the festivities, I may have made a good connection to go mushroom picking and ice-skating (on area lakes once the cold arrives). Two other Swedish traditions that I don’t want to miss out on.

Anyhow, I must share how much I appreciate the traditions of eating and singing and drinking. It seems to me that many of these events coincide with changes in the natural world, a way of celebrating the bounty and the beauty; for example, the Swedes celebrate both the winter and summer solstices. I love the idea of celebrating seasonal events—real worldly events…a definite environmental connection!

Anyhow, back to fish…I did learn that the bounty of Swedish crayfish is no more. Disease has wiped out much of the Swedish crayfish and subsequently, Swedes are forced to import much of the crayfish they eat (some of what we ate last night was from Turkey). Fortunately, not all of the crayfish are gone, in fact my friend Maggan was setting out yesterday to “fiska kräftor” (fish for crayfish) at a lake North of Ljusdal…I’ll see if I can get a picture from her adventure.

The final note from the evening regards alcohol and transportation. I overheard a conversation last night at the party, one woman mentioned that she and her husband were taking the bus home from the party because they had both opted to drink the alcohol; they would leave the car and pick it up in the morning. This behavior is in synch with my stereotype, if a Swede drinks, they do not drive. And, speaking of drinking and NOT driving, let me tell you about my bus ride back to Göteborg! 5 of us made our way from the suburb of Mölnlycke where the party was held to Göteborg proper. The midnight bus ride was the most raucous bus experience of my life…aside from our small group, everyone appeared to be in the age range of 18-24; and when I write “everyone” I mean MANY (thousands!? Sure seemed like it); I have never been on a bus so full! People on each other’s laps, people standing on the steps, the aisle was so full as to not allow movement. As noted, it was crazy wild and loud—singing, pounding, yelling and a fair amount of beer drinking; it was a mobile party with a few misplaced old-timers like me. You might think it was out of hand, and I guess it could have been viewed as such…I, however, was impressed…no fighting or nastiness and the best part, no one was driving, drunk or sober! I actually thought it was crazy fun—20 minutes where I felt I was a part of a grand celebration. What a great night in Sweden.

One more photo of my neighborhood from a different angle to end this post (note the tower, I took the earlier photo of my neighborhood from that vantage point: