We spent a beautiful wintry month living in Malmo in January while Mark worked in ustwo’s Swedish office. We wined and dined with the team on several occasions and met the newest edition, baby Ossian. Lynzi Mac also popped over for a break in Malmo and we all had a weekend in Copenhagen together.
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The Swedish need no encouragement to celebrate any occasion. They make a really big deal out of Mid-summer’s Eve and on Saturday we were invited to another great Swedish tradition…a Crayfish party. This celebrates the time that they harvest the seafood and seems as important a part of Swedish tradition as Christmas is to us.
Rowan and Marcus hosted the party at there flat and put on a wonderful spread. Our starter of quiche was delicious and washed down with a lovely punch that was a violent combination of various alcoholic spirits. The way to dissect, suck and peel our crayfish was demonstrated beautifully by Marcus. We all got stuck in making sure we slurped loudly and of course remembering to chop off the heads of each crayfish consumed as a trophy. Not wanting to blow my own trumpet, but at 13 I think I was officially the winner! Every now and then we sang a traditional song and necked a shot of snaps (Swedish tipple.) We also had home-made sushi, not a normal addition to crayfish celebrations but delicious nonetheless.
The party went on into the wee hours where we entertained ourselves with face Art and playing unrecognisable tunes on a tiny piano for everyone else to guess. On our return home the club night in the basement of our hotel was in full swing, so we joined in dancing on the smallest, sweatiest dance floor in the world. A great night was had by all and despite really deserving it we didn’t have a hang-over!
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On Saturday we took a trip across the Öresund (the Öre Strait) on the bridge and Tunnel that connects Sweden with Denmark. A bit like going from Bristol-Wales across the Severn bridge but this took a bit longer and the difference on the other side was more pronounced. The Swedish accent is quite strange, but I guess we have become acclimatised to that, the Danish however sound like a tape in reverse when they speak. We had been on holiday here before so were not particularly bothered about seeing the sights, we just meandered around, drinking beer, eating food and enjoying the sun as last time we visited it was snowing and freezing cold. After our delicious tapas meal we bought ourselves a Danish for pudding, but here they just call them pastries. In the main square there was a basketball tournament going on so we sat and watched several games. The competitors varied greatly in ability, some were like a bunch of old dads doing it for a laugh and others looked like the Harlem Globetrotters. One Scandinavian team were very entertaining to watch and what they lacked in height they made up for in showy dribbling and over-sized clothes.
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I became an honorary member of the UsTwo team on Tuesday when I was asked to help Rowan (office manager) paint the company logo, as designed by Lis (my uni flatmate) on the wall of the meeting room. It was a really fun experience and I think we did a grand job brightening up the space. We were however somewhat distracted by the repeating testicle motifs Lis kept slipping into the design, see if you can spot them! The other photos are different views inside the office and the outside ones are of the team having a ‘fica’ break consisting of coffee and cinnamon bun things. To thank me for my handy-work Marcus and Rowan very kindly treated me to a delicious meal of slow cooked piglet - thanks again guys.
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On Sunday we sadly had to leave Bruksvillan and head back to Malmo. I had driven us there (first time driving on the wrong side of the car and road) so we had taken the most direct and simple route. On the return journey however as Mark was driving, we decided to take a road trip around Skane (pronounced Skoona) the most southerly of Sweden’s regions/counties. After breakfast and a 3km walk in the forests we headed off in Gaby, our Audi A3 1.9TDi hire car. She is fantastic and I have almost as big a love affair with her as I do Brenda. We headed south to Ahus, where Absolut Vodka is produced and then down to Simrishamn. This was described as a small fishing village but is far more beautiful than expected with small pastel coloured one-storey cottages, a sweet harbour and some lovely restaurants. Anyone that knows me knows how much I love food generally, with 2 of my favorites being seafood and pancakes. Our lunch was my idea of heaven on a plate. I had an open prawn sandwich and Mark a ‘Smokey Mountain’ which was basically a 5 egg pancake with cranberries and crispy bacon piled on-top. I know that sounds strange but trust me it was a taste sensation and definitely something I will be trying to recreate when I return home. We had half each and couldn’t stop smiling.
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One of our friends Aimee Lax (meaning salmon in Swedish!) had recommended a great sculpture park that she had visited previously. I had tried to research it on the net but with no luck and by total coincidence it was a 5 min drive from Bruksvillan. Christer was very enthusiastic about it, so despite Mark suffering with a cold and feeling like crap I dragged him round the park. It was a beautiful castle surrounded by forests where the sculptures were hidden like treasures for you to uncover. Our particular favourite was the woman squatting down for a pea by the lakeside, reminded me of the ramblers. They also had an Antony Gormley figure (Angel of the North creator) which Mark seemed to bond with. The artworks on the whole were very interactive and we had a really enjoyable afternoon.
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We just had the most fantastic weekend staying with Annette and Christer at their guesthouse in Ostana, an hour and a half North East of Malmo. (visit their website as our photos don’t do it justice) It is a beautiful setting in stunning private gardens on the banks of a river with a house crammed full of lovely artwork. Our evening meal was smoked salmon and boiled potatoes and was honestly the best smoked salmon we have ever tasted. After the meal we had coffee in the garden with 2 other guests on a walking holiday (you’d love it here mum) and posed for a photo with Christer, who was a very friendly and knowledgable host, not just about Sweden but Cambodia and Thailand too, useful for the next leg of the trip.
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The Swedes love their nature and it felt the fitting thing to do when here to stay by some water and soak up the natural surroundings. Bruksvillan was perfect for this and with its own private swimming platform I felt I should do some training for the Swimtrek. It was surprisingly warm and many locals swam in the waters despite it looking, in colour, like black tea. The setting made it a great experience but I’m afraid the thought of creatures and rocks beneath meant I wasn’t brave enough to put my face in. This doesn’t bode well for the Swimtrek.
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For those interested in ships these are some medieval “Koggs” - trading ships that were used on the Baltic in the 14th century. They take trips out from Malmo’s Harbour. Dad, I put the lighthouse image up for you as they kindly painted it in Sunderland colours.
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Last night 10 of the Us Two team and their partners went out for dinner in a lovely restaurant under the Turning Torso. We had a really enjoyable night with live music and great food. Mark had some impressive looking wieners and I had a delicious fish called Roding. After the meal Klas (to the left of me on the group photo) gave Mark and I some of his Snus, pronounced ’snoose’; a very small teabag filled with tobacco that you put under your gum and top lip. He looked super cool with his in and you couldn’t even tell it was there. Mark and I did not look quite so smooth however. We both spat it out when we could no longer feel our gums.
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