Cheers

Midsummer was spent in the north of my island. My friend Ove and his wife owns an old station-house from the days when there was railroads here. They are long gone.

Midsummer in Sweden is, along with Christmas, one of the most sacred and loaded times of the year, each has its own traditions. Midsummer has to be celebrated outdoors, which makes it vulnerable to bad weather. We meet, dance, eat, play, have coffee and so on outdoors and hope the rain keeps away. The party can go on all night through, if possible but ours ended at midnight when I drove home to sleep. There is a large consumption of alcoholic beverages usually but I kept sober because I wanted to sleep in my own bed after the long journey. The main greets you welcome to the meal, where you will find pickled herring of several tastes, freshly boiled potatoes that just came out of the ground, pie, bread, salad, there are many variations. After the light meal we went for a swim, then coffee and cake, a game of boule and then some grilled food in the evening. We were lucky with the weather, it gave us a still, mild evening. 

When it got dark, we went for a tour around their huge garden, all the family are doing ceramics, one way or another, they made an exhibition in the garden with small and large sculptures that was lit by solar charged lamps, giving a mild, faint light. Absolutely magic. Midsummer is a time when all natures little people come out, as they do around Christmas.