Week One - Lund, Sweden: Part 1

I flew into Copenhagen a little over a week ago and took the train from Denmark to Sweden via the Øresund Bridge with my friend. From there we went to Lund, Sweden where I've spent the past week. My first day here was hectic but fun. My friend took me to a Viking festival where we camped and spent the night. I met some new people, and tried some new foods and even bought some gifts at the market.

My brother loves swords and sword fighting so I thought he might enjoy a little sharp gift from the market~ (Shh, don't tell him!)

One of the people I met let me borrow an extra dress they had so I wouldn't be "naked" as they say, at the festival. It was a little chilly that day so I didn't mind that it was made of wool.



I also got to see a Viking battle reenactment.

It was both entertaining and funny. Luckily I had my friend to translate the jokes and comments. At the end they all lined up, took a bow then charged straight at the audience screaming and wielding their weapons!

I also tried some alcoholic drinks, since I'm of age legally in Scandinavia. Everyone had fun having me take sips of different drinks ( beer is terrible by the way, haha). I also tried something they call "burnt almonds" or "brända mandlar" and a special toffee candy on a stick. The almonds were incredible! They were roasted and candied in what tasted like honey, cinnamon and happiness. They're definitely best served hot.

It was also that day that I discovered the Skåne sun.

I'm about 5,000 miles away from home, farther than I've ever been before, so of course there will be geographical differences, but the sun here is something all it's own. The sun rises in the summer around the same time in Virginia, 5am, but sets around midnight. This has tortured my circadian rhythm. I get tired around the same time I do back home (9-10pm or 21:00-22:00) but it's still bright and cheery outside. In addition, the people I've hung out with all stay up until it's dark. I can't say all Swedes stay up late like this during the summer months, I'm sure there's plenty of early birds like me, but it's a change I didn't expect.

Another thing is the glare. I told my friend that it was oddly bright outside and they told me it's probably because we're so far north. I'm not used to the glare. I don't feel like researching the percentage of glare based on region but it seems like a logical answer to me. Now, I practically live in my sunglasses, or else I'll be the only one in the group squinting like I got dirt in my eyes.

My babies since I got here

"Their sun" (my nickname for it) also wakes me up really early. I've been slowly turning into a morning person over the past year but I always wake up really early here. Early for me that is.

I'll leave it here for now. Part 2 coming soon.