04: Exploring around Stockholm!

Believe it or not, but being in Stockholm in the winter doesn't inspire one to get out and explore neighboring towns. However, the spring has brought some spectacular weather, and finally we had a free weekend to take advantage of it.

04/26: Vaxholm Island

Stockholm is part of a larger archipelago consisting of 30,000 islands. On a lazy Sunday we chose to take a boat out to the touristy Vaxholm Island. The island is really cute, and so we spent the afternoon in the park picnicking and drinking wine. Here is an old fort from when the island was one of Stockholm's main defensive positions.
We also found a mini-golf course, which naturally was awesome!

I didn't take many photos, but it was a real fun time. There are apparently numerous places out in the archipelago to see, so this afternoon was more or less just about us getting introduced.

04/30: Valborgsafton in Uppsala

The day before May Day is traditionally a huge student celebration. The university towns of Lund and Uppsala are known to take it particularly seriously. Last year I attended the event in Lund, however this year we decided to head to Uppsala, a town just north of Stockholm.

Lund's traditions basically are isolated to just going to the park and getting hammered. Uppsala was a lot more complicated. The day began by going to the river to watch a boat race. Students make their boats and each have a theme. They then row down the river which requires going over a pair of waterfalls. Thousands of people line the river, particularly near the waterfalls, hoping to see the boats topple over. Here are a few boats engaging in a vicious water fight.
A very tasteful boat making light of the pirate situation in Somalia. Yes ... they have painted their skin black. Very PC.

Here's a photo as one of the boats is going over the waterfall. Notice the action shot of the diver jumping in to help the folks after their boat turned over or was demolished. Safety first!

Heroes in a half shell!

Uppsala cathedral

After this we headed to a park surrounding an old castle. We then uncorked the champagne.
Me with Björn and Ulrika.
An American guy, Henning, who is spending 6 months to a year here came and joined us. Here we are playing flys-up, which was awesome.
Eventually it was time to head home, however as you can see from Ulrika's expression, some weren't finished partying.
The trip was awesome, and a lot of fun. But it also reminded me that even way the fuck up here, I can still get horribly sunburned.

After having been to both Lund and Uppsala, I have to say that Uppsala was an excellent experience. They had much more tradition compared to Lund. However, the park where we picnicked was much less crowded and so it lacked some of the craziness that I witnessed last year. All in all, it was good times.