Last of April in Uppsala Sweden
The last of April, otherwise called Valborg, is a holiday which is celebrated in Sweden. The holiday (though most people do not actually get it off), is basically a “coming of spring” celebration. Most of Sweden has to work during the day, but not in Uppsala. If you find yourself in Sweden for the last of April, the only place to be is in Uppsala. It is a full day of activities.
There is a strict set of guidelines that one has to follow in order to do everything in the traditional set (though in reality, it does not matter at all). You start the day off with rice porridge, strawberries and champagne. The funny part about this is that most students never make it to class first thing in the morning or never actually get up before 10, except for today. Breakfast has to completed by 8:30, because at 8:30 you head to the centre of town for the boat races.
The boat race is a little special. The tradition goes back 20 some odd years when a couple of engineering students were out drinking (as students do) and decided that they were going to build a boat to float down the Fyris river which goes down the centre of town. Every year since then, students have built boats out of Styrofoam. The night before the big “race”, everyone builds their boat in the soccer field of a local high school. At 9 the next morning the race begins. The boat are usually creative. I have seen everything from a huge longhorn cow, the Millennium Falcon or a bowl of spaghetti from the Italian exchange students. It is not so much a race, but more of float down the river and through the rapids. Most of the boats are destroyed going down the rapids, which is part of the fun.
After the race, everyone either heads to the local System Bolaget (the only place in Sweden to buy alcohol) or home for a little rest. At noon it is time for lunch. The traditional lunch of cooked potatoes and flavored sill is on the menu. The best place to have it is around the castle (only problem with this is that there is no toilets, 10,000 drinking students…). The food is important, but the most important part is the snaps and beer/cider.
At 3, all students gather below the library, located by the castle. The president of the University walks onto the balcony and makes a speech. No one can hear what he says, and in reality it does not matter. He then takes off his hat, which all students have, and waves it. Followed by all 10,000 students take off their caps and do the same. Then all at once everyone starts to run to one of the nations (student clubs) for Champagne.
Up to this point, it is pretty standardized. All students will be doing this with very little variation. In the evening, the activities will vary. Most people will do one of four activities. Every nation has a ball with a nice meal and lots of drinking, though you have to buy your tickets in advance for it. Another option would be to have/go to a personal party with lots of drinking. The final two are for the more boring type of people. At 7, the best choir in Uppsala, who is having their party in the castle, will come out and sing traditional spring songs. This is a nice option, even if you go to a party. The final event for the day is traditional for all of Sweden, they have a bonfire. The biggest is out by Old Uppsala. Of course, usually more drinking is involved for this as well, but you could also bring the family.
So if you find yourself in Sweden in the end of April, you need to try it out!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Top Ten Things To Do In Ft. Worth Texas
10. Fort Worth Zoo
This is truly a world class zoo. I can remember the first time I went, the big cats were in cages which are now used for parakeets (my uncle got peed on by one of them). Wednesday is the day to go, tickets are half price.
http://www.fortworthzoo.com/
9. Cowgirl Hall of Fame
Located next to Will Rogers Coliseum, this museum is dedicated to the cow girl. They even have a Jessie, from Toy Story fame, doll.
http://www.cowgirl.net/
8. Bass Performance Hall
This beautiful performing arts center opened up in 1998. It is located in downtown Fort Worth. On the outside of the building are two 48 foot angles made from Texas limestone. Inside, it is known for it excellent acoustics. It also plays host to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and Robert Earl Keen every December.
http://www.basshall.com/
7. Water Gardens
Finally they are opened back up. They have been closed for a couple of years due to a tragic accident that happened there. So now is your chance to enjoy the beauty of them.
www.fortwortharchitecture.com/water
6. Stockyards
Perhaps the best of Fort Worth and the most historical. At one point in time the cattle pens went on for miles. They have saved some to hold the 20 longhorn cattle which get moved through town every day by some cowboys. The shopping area has a great store to try some Texas wine and plenty of stores to get that cowboy hat you have been wanting to have. If you stick around in the evening, try dinner at cattleman’s and then head over to Billy Bob’s for some country dancing.
http://www.fortworthstockyards.org/
http://www.billybobstexas.com/
5. Cultural District
It is actually a hard call on which one is better in Fort Worth, the Cultural District or the Stockyards. I guess it depends a little on what type of mood you are in. The cultural district hosts three world class museums. The Modern Art Museum, in their new location, was the worlds first “modern art” museum. Up until a few years ago, it could have easily been a skip, now it is well worth a visit. The Kimball Art is studied around the world in art history classes. The collection is amazing and improving consistently. The museum is unique in the fact that they will sell part of the existing collection once they have a new/better piece to replace it. My favorite museum though is the Amon Carter Art Museum. It is packed solid with Remingtons and Russells. The museum focuses on the Americana style of art and hosts the largest photography collection in the United States. The story of Amon Carter is worthy of a museum in and of itself. The man was a legend.
http://www.fwculture.com/
4. Log Cabin Village
Often missed, this little gem of a place is located across the street from the zoo
and is a perfect location on a hot summer day. The trees make the area cool and the stroll through pioneer cabins is enjoyable. The staff are well educated and a pleasure to talk to.
http://www.logcabinvillage.org/
3. Colonial Golf Tournament
The week after the Byron Nelson in Dallas, the Colonial is one of the premiere golf tournaments in the PGA tour. The major players will usually play in it and the 13th hole is the best place just to sit with a margarita and watch the players/people go by,
2. TCU game
At one time TCU athletic program was a joke, that is not the case anymore. TCU football is consistently a good team. The basketball and baseball program have improved over the years. When school is in session, you can usually find some sport going on. If not, head over to the campus anyway and try some nachos at Cario’s. The restaurant may not look like much, but it is authentic Tex-Mex.
http://www.tcusports.com/
1. Stock Show
Every February all of Fort Worth shows up at the Will Rogers coliseum to watch the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. They have something for everyone. If you want to see a rodeo, then this is the one to go to (even if you are going to cheer for the animals, though I would not recommend cheering for them too loud).
http://www.fwstockshowrodeo.com/
Almost made it on the list:
Main Street Arts Fair
May Fest
Omni (Imax)
Night life in downtown
Botanical Gardens (especially the Japanese Gardens)
Casa Mañana
10. Fort Worth Zoo
This is truly a world class zoo. I can remember the first time I went, the big cats were in cages which are now used for parakeets (my uncle got peed on by one of them). Wednesday is the day to go, tickets are half price.
http://www.fortworthzoo.com/
9. Cowgirl Hall of Fame
Located next to Will Rogers Coliseum, this museum is dedicated to the cow girl. They even have a Jessie, from Toy Story fame, doll.
http://www.cowgirl.net/
8. Bass Performance Hall
This beautiful performing arts center opened up in 1998. It is located in downtown Fort Worth. On the outside of the building are two 48 foot angles made from Texas limestone. Inside, it is known for it excellent acoustics. It also plays host to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and Robert Earl Keen every December.
http://www.basshall.com/
7. Water Gardens
Finally they are opened back up. They have been closed for a couple of years due to a tragic accident that happened there. So now is your chance to enjoy the beauty of them.
www.fortwortharchitecture.com/water
6. Stockyards
Perhaps the best of Fort Worth and the most historical. At one point in time the cattle pens went on for miles. They have saved some to hold the 20 longhorn cattle which get moved through town every day by some cowboys. The shopping area has a great store to try some Texas wine and plenty of stores to get that cowboy hat you have been wanting to have. If you stick around in the evening, try dinner at cattleman’s and then head over to Billy Bob’s for some country dancing.
http://www.fortworthstockyards.org/
http://www.billybobstexas.com/
5. Cultural District
It is actually a hard call on which one is better in Fort Worth, the Cultural District or the Stockyards. I guess it depends a little on what type of mood you are in. The cultural district hosts three world class museums. The Modern Art Museum, in their new location, was the worlds first “modern art” museum. Up until a few years ago, it could have easily been a skip, now it is well worth a visit. The Kimball Art is studied around the world in art history classes. The collection is amazing and improving consistently. The museum is unique in the fact that they will sell part of the existing collection once they have a new/better piece to replace it. My favorite museum though is the Amon Carter Art Museum. It is packed solid with Remingtons and Russells. The museum focuses on the Americana style of art and hosts the largest photography collection in the United States. The story of Amon Carter is worthy of a museum in and of itself. The man was a legend.
http://www.fwculture.com/
4. Log Cabin Village
Often missed, this little gem of a place is located across the street from the zoo
and is a perfect location on a hot summer day. The trees make the area cool and the stroll through pioneer cabins is enjoyable. The staff are well educated and a pleasure to talk to.
http://www.logcabinvillage.org/
3. Colonial Golf Tournament
The week after the Byron Nelson in Dallas, the Colonial is one of the premiere golf tournaments in the PGA tour. The major players will usually play in it and the 13th hole is the best place just to sit with a margarita and watch the players/people go by,
2. TCU game
At one time TCU athletic program was a joke, that is not the case anymore. TCU football is consistently a good team. The basketball and baseball program have improved over the years. When school is in session, you can usually find some sport going on. If not, head over to the campus anyway and try some nachos at Cario’s. The restaurant may not look like much, but it is authentic Tex-Mex.
http://www.tcusports.com/
1. Stock Show
Every February all of Fort Worth shows up at the Will Rogers coliseum to watch the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. They have something for everyone. If you want to see a rodeo, then this is the one to go to (even if you are going to cheer for the animals, though I would not recommend cheering for them too loud).
http://www.fwstockshowrodeo.com/
Almost made it on the list:
Main Street Arts Fair
May Fest
Omni (Imax)
Night life in downtown
Botanical Gardens (especially the Japanese Gardens)
Casa Mañana
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Taking it Easy on the Brazos
My mother and M have wanted to try kayaking out for a while. I am no expert in the sport, but I have done it multiple times at camp. M is always in good shape and my mother goes to the gym at least three times per week. So fitness is not going to be an problem. We start with a little test run on a pond and now they are ready for something more adventurous.
My Father's work is right next door to the Brazos River. Through the years he has made friends with all the neighbors. One of them is an old man who owns about a mile of river front property. He also owns about a mile of property on Lake Granbury. The property is beautiful. If we could manage somehow to buy this property, I could settle down in one place for the rest of my life. The property is just that beautiful. It truly is God’s country.
The day is sunny, but the wind is blowing and it is a little cold. Nothing too bad. We set off down the river. We have a cell phone in a zip lock bag to call when we get close to the pickup point. It is about 8 in the morning when we start. We have drinks and snacks for the morning. Since we have not looked at a map, we have to guess how long the trip is and how much time it is going to take. We are guessing it is about 5 miles down river, and that we will be at the highway 67 bridge at 11 or 12, just in time for lunch.
The Brazos really is one of my favorite rivers, if not my favorite. It is a nice calm river to go on. One of my dream trips, that I will take some day, is to canoe/kayak the entire river- from the source of the water until it reaches the Gulf of Mexico. Kind of a “Goodbye to a River” extended version (“Goodbye to a River” is an amazing book by an author named John Graves. I would highly recommend reading this classic of travel/Texas literature). End of March is a good time to be on the river; it is not too hot, nor is it too cold; their not too much water, nor is there too little.
Everyone is doing well on the river. We are floating along. After about 2 hours, we take a break and eat some of the fruit that we bring along. In our mind, we have about 1 hour to 1.5 hours until we are at the pickup point. The wind has been with us for most of the morning and we are feeling good. We continue for another hour when we thing that we see the bridge. I call my father and say that we can see the bridge in the distance and that we will be there in 15 minutes. As I look closer to the bridge, I can see that it is obviously not the 67 bridge, but the rock quarry bridge. This may not sound important, but it is very important. We thought that we passed the rock quarry bridge 1.5 hours ago. The quarry bridge is the half way point.
We pull over to talk about our situation, though there is not much to talk about. What can we do about it? Absolutely nothing! There is no bridge that we can be picked up on until we reach 67, so we are in for the long haul. That is ok though, everyone is feeling good and the wind has been behind us the entire way. Our luck, of course, was about to change.
As we were going under the bridge, I was on the phone with my father telling him that he did not in fact need to pick us up because we are only half way there. This was a very bad plan on my part, because this was the only place thus far in the river where we have a strong current and deep water. The back of my kayak hit a tree branch and I flipped the kayak. The water was strong enough to sink my kayak instantly and I was soaked. This also meant that everything in my back was also soaked. No problem, we placed everything into zip lock backs. I swam to the shore and pulled the kayak to where I could touch the bottom of the river, drained it and did a quick check of everything. Phone- ok, food and water (what little remained)- ok, new digital camera sealed in a zip lock bag- floating in a zip lock bag full of water. I must not have closed the bag tightly, the camera was ruined.
By the time I caught up to the ladies, I was already dry, but the there was not to do for the camera. It was now noon, the food was about out, we were starting to run a little low on water and to make matters worse, the wind had changed direction. We were now kayaking into the wind. This makes a huge difference. When one kayaks with the wind, life is good. When one is kayaking against the wind, life sucks. Especially after one has only kayaked half way when we thought that we were almost finished.
Everyone did good, no one complained (too loudly) and we made it to the end. Dad was there ready to pick us up with lemonade and subway. We downed it all like we had never eaten in the last 6 months. We did not do anything that evening. We had planned to go to the movies, but it did not happen. We just went home and let Dad take care of us. The next day we thought that we would be sore, but we were not. Already the next day we could laugh (with the exception of the camera that I ruined) at our day.
My mother and M have wanted to try kayaking out for a while. I am no expert in the sport, but I have done it multiple times at camp. M is always in good shape and my mother goes to the gym at least three times per week. So fitness is not going to be an problem. We start with a little test run on a pond and now they are ready for something more adventurous.
My Father's work is right next door to the Brazos River. Through the years he has made friends with all the neighbors. One of them is an old man who owns about a mile of river front property. He also owns about a mile of property on Lake Granbury. The property is beautiful. If we could manage somehow to buy this property, I could settle down in one place for the rest of my life. The property is just that beautiful. It truly is God’s country.
The day is sunny, but the wind is blowing and it is a little cold. Nothing too bad. We set off down the river. We have a cell phone in a zip lock bag to call when we get close to the pickup point. It is about 8 in the morning when we start. We have drinks and snacks for the morning. Since we have not looked at a map, we have to guess how long the trip is and how much time it is going to take. We are guessing it is about 5 miles down river, and that we will be at the highway 67 bridge at 11 or 12, just in time for lunch.
The Brazos really is one of my favorite rivers, if not my favorite. It is a nice calm river to go on. One of my dream trips, that I will take some day, is to canoe/kayak the entire river- from the source of the water until it reaches the Gulf of Mexico. Kind of a “Goodbye to a River” extended version (“Goodbye to a River” is an amazing book by an author named John Graves. I would highly recommend reading this classic of travel/Texas literature). End of March is a good time to be on the river; it is not too hot, nor is it too cold; their not too much water, nor is there too little.
Everyone is doing well on the river. We are floating along. After about 2 hours, we take a break and eat some of the fruit that we bring along. In our mind, we have about 1 hour to 1.5 hours until we are at the pickup point. The wind has been with us for most of the morning and we are feeling good. We continue for another hour when we thing that we see the bridge. I call my father and say that we can see the bridge in the distance and that we will be there in 15 minutes. As I look closer to the bridge, I can see that it is obviously not the 67 bridge, but the rock quarry bridge. This may not sound important, but it is very important. We thought that we passed the rock quarry bridge 1.5 hours ago. The quarry bridge is the half way point.
We pull over to talk about our situation, though there is not much to talk about. What can we do about it? Absolutely nothing! There is no bridge that we can be picked up on until we reach 67, so we are in for the long haul. That is ok though, everyone is feeling good and the wind has been behind us the entire way. Our luck, of course, was about to change.
As we were going under the bridge, I was on the phone with my father telling him that he did not in fact need to pick us up because we are only half way there. This was a very bad plan on my part, because this was the only place thus far in the river where we have a strong current and deep water. The back of my kayak hit a tree branch and I flipped the kayak. The water was strong enough to sink my kayak instantly and I was soaked. This also meant that everything in my back was also soaked. No problem, we placed everything into zip lock backs. I swam to the shore and pulled the kayak to where I could touch the bottom of the river, drained it and did a quick check of everything. Phone- ok, food and water (what little remained)- ok, new digital camera sealed in a zip lock bag- floating in a zip lock bag full of water. I must not have closed the bag tightly, the camera was ruined.
By the time I caught up to the ladies, I was already dry, but the there was not to do for the camera. It was now noon, the food was about out, we were starting to run a little low on water and to make matters worse, the wind had changed direction. We were now kayaking into the wind. This makes a huge difference. When one kayaks with the wind, life is good. When one is kayaking against the wind, life sucks. Especially after one has only kayaked half way when we thought that we were almost finished.
Everyone did good, no one complained (too loudly) and we made it to the end. Dad was there ready to pick us up with lemonade and subway. We downed it all like we had never eaten in the last 6 months. We did not do anything that evening. We had planned to go to the movies, but it did not happen. We just went home and let Dad take care of us. The next day we thought that we would be sore, but we were not. Already the next day we could laugh (with the exception of the camera that I ruined) at our day.
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