You see people standing everywhere in just the smallest ray of sunlight
The street can be 99% covered in shadow, but there will always be at least one person standing in the remaining 1% of sunlight, facing the sun with their eyes closed. It might seem a bit strange at first, but during spring in Sweden, remember that we haven’t had much sunlight for almost a third of the year! Let them get “tanned” (well…) on those warm days — basically anything above 5 degrees Celsius.
People stop wearing their jackets really fast
“It’s boiling hot today!” I hear, as it’s 6 degrees outside and I can’t feel my toes anymore. The Vikings are used to the cold, but not so much to the heat.
People are much more open
People smile at you on the street and are much more likely to start a conversation with you. It’s Sweden, so there’s a great chance they’ll simply say, “It’s such nice weather today!” If you’re not sure how to start a conversation, just mention the weather — everyone does it.
Runners… runners everywhere!
I’m probably not the only one who ate too many semlor over the past month… It’s really great to see so many different people running in Djurgården and along the streets, whether they look like Olympic athletes or are just doing it for fun 🙂
It almost makes me want to start running too… but watching Netflix with wine and pizza in bed is another option! On a serious note, though — respect to all the runners out there. You rock!
Shops get ready for Easter
Okay, when I first heard about the Swedish Easter tradition, my reaction was a mix of amusement and slight terror. Instead of having a cute Easter bunny like in many other countries, Swedish children dress up as Easter witches (påskkärringar). This tradition is very old and dates back to the witch hunts, when people believed that witches would fly off to Germany to dance with Satan.
Yeah… But don’t worry — today it’s actually a very cute tradition. Children go from door to door and receive sweets, and of course there are plenty of chocolate Easter eggs as well!
