The "spex"

On May day there was a performance by a very unique group of actors called the Lundaspexarna, spex for short.  It translates to Lund Jokers, and that is exactly what they are.  The acting troupe was established in 1886 and they have been performing since.  There are approximately 100 students from Lund University involved, and they put on 2 musicals a year.  What is so unique about the musicals is the improv.  After a performer sings his song, and it is a he - they are all men - even the women parts are played by men - if the crowd really liked it, they clap till he sings again, but it's not the same words only the same melody.  If they liked that version they clap till he sings again, also different words.  The iterations are often politically or socially charged, and the crowd laughs hardily.  ESS had free tickest available and that sounded like the right price for me!  The name of the musical is Uarda.  It is loosely based on the Moses story.  It took place in a castle downtown that is now a university building.

The ticket said 4:00, so we got there at 4:03.  What the Swedish word before 4:00 said was probably, "Doors at" because we stood in line for the auditorium to open, and the play didn't start till after 4:30.  The halls had murals like this indicating a fun night at the theater.

Here's the main room

It was time for the show and we were ready!

Of course the whole thing was in Swedish, but we enjoyed it.  It was a lot of fun to clap until the performers performed again, and the way the other actors reacted to the clapping was quite good too.  One performance that was repeated was a bass singer.  By the 4th time he sang his voice was so low it was hard to imagine noise was coming out at all.  The last song in the show was Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.  Of course the lyrics were adapted to fit the story, but the result of the song was extremely entertaining and it involved a comical "paper, rock, scissors" battle.  We sat next to the sound guy, and all involved came out for curtain call.

We will certainly attend the fall show!

Valborgsmässoafton

On Thursday April 25, I was meeting with a Danish architect, Jan.  We meet every Tuesday and Thursday.  We were discussing moving our meeting time from 10AM to 9AM and the next meeting being on Thursday, May 2.  He asked me if I would be sober.  A strange question I thought, but given that I knew we had off work on May 1 for May Day, I just assumed it a funny comment.  A few days later a Finnish lady at work asked me if I knew about Valborgsmässoafton. ??? Well, I'm going to have to go with no.  She started explaining about the party on April 30 that signified the end of Winter and beginning of Spring.  I turned to my trusty friend Wikipedia, which explained it all (click here).  The English word is Walpurgis Night, and the Swedes just call it Valborgs (the "g" is silent).  It turns out that in Sweden the college kids really make quite a party of it and about 25,000 people come out to the city park to celebrate.  Now the "sober" comment is making a lot more sense!

Chris found a lot of news stories discussing the activities, and we decided we would make a day of it and see what all the hoopla was about.  I got 3 hours off early at work on 4/30, so the plan was for Chris to meet me at Centralen and we would walk over to the park.  I was so shocked to see that on my way to work at 8:30, the park was already full and tons of people were walking toward the park with chairs, coolers, and bags in hand.

Chris met me at 3:00 with a surprise picnic!!  We headed to the park and found a spot for our picnic.  The streets were crowded!

Just as we got inside the park, we saw a sunny area and decided to go ahead and claim a spot.

It was an awesome picnic with all my favorites, cheese, nuts, fruit, and crackers!  He had packed utensils, napkins, and dishes.

You may notice that I'm super bundled up, and you may also recall this is suppose to be a welcome spring celebration.  Have a look at the temp...

Maybe you can't read it, but the "feels like" reads 38!!  What a lovely day for a picnic =/

As soon as we lost the sun, we were up and moving.  We walked on through the park.  That's when our fun people watching picnic ended and some disgust set in.  As we walked, we began to see nothing but garbage.  Everyone had just thrown all of their trash on the ground. It was repulsive.

My friend Bea, from work, is very upset that I'm showing these pictures.  She is so embarrassed that this is what I'm showing the world.  Chris and I have been to a lot of festivals of way larger magnitude, and have NEVER seen anything like this.  Between the day and the night, bobcats came and scooped up all the trash.  At night, there is singing and the traditional bonfire lighting.  Chris and I decided to go home, drop off the picnic supplies, get some more layers, and head back for the singing.

Apparently someone was watching!!  It's interesting how you can still get entertainment out something you can't understand.  So this fairy said some words, then the bonfire to send winter away was lit.

We had a great night and were glad we went!

Bike Riding

As you know, Chris was quick to hop on his bike and hit the road.  I on the other hand hadn't been on a bike in close to 30 years, so I was less enthusiastic.  Chris had really been wanting me to ride with him, and I had put it off for a couple of weekends, but finally I was out of excuses.  Chris had discovered that Staffanstorp was a bit bigger than we had first thought, and wanted me to go check out a new grocery store he had recently found.  Saturday morning was nice and sunny, so we saddled up.

The first attempt to get going required a little help, but after some practice and some coaching tips, I was off and going.  I'm not going to say it was pretty, but I didn't fall off or crash into anything, so I call it a win!  We made it to the store and parked our bikes out front.

We spent some time walking around learning the products.  To my surprise I found a brand called Neutral that has unscented lotion, soap, shampoo and conditioner!!  We hit the mother load.

After we bought a few needed items, we headed out for more bike riding.  My bike has a basket, so I took the groceries.  It made for a little more of a challenge, but I managed.  

Outside the grocery there is a field with cleverly planted crocus.  You may have noticed in our other pictures that it still looks like winter here, which it does, but this is a sign that spring may actually be on its way. 

That white building in the back is a restaurant.  They do a Sunday brunch in the garden.  Hopefully when it warms up we can come check it out.  Speaking of restaurants, bike riding builds up quite a hunger, so we stopped for lunch at an Asian restaurant in town.  The sun was so nice, we decided to sit outside.  Chris has been quite pleased with his occasional lunch out here because it always involves some sort of Asian cuisine, from curry to sushi.

Here's a happy Chris!

After lunch we continued riding.  Chris had found a pond that he wants to take Charlie to, so we rode over that way.  Things were going well, we were riding along, and suddenly I heard a pssssssssst.  It seemed curious, and obviously Chris heard it too, because he turned to check on me.  After some inspection, we discovered a flat tire from what appeared to be dry rot.  Oh well, I walked the bike back, it wasn't too far.  Hopefully we can walk it over to the cycle shop and get a new one soon.  Until then I'm on foot.

2 - 0 Malmö FF

One thing I have always wanted to experience is a fotboll game in Europe (that's soccer to the rest of you Americans). I have always been fascinated with the crowd interaction at European games. Of course, I hoped that if I ever did get a chance to go to a game in Europe, there would be more singing and flag waving and less cursing, rioting, and molotov cocktail throwing. I am pleased to say that yes I went and the home team won!

The game was Monday night and after having our stuff delivered to the house that morning, I was ready for some relaxing. I attended a Sweden Networking lecture about a week ago, and after the lecture the speaker introduced himself to me. We joked that I was a little out of place since I am one of just a couple of men in the Family Forum group with the ESS. I was in fact the only male in attendance that day so it was fitting. We chatted for a few minute,s and my like for soccer came up. He then made the suggestion that I should join him for a Malmö FF game that was coming up on Monday. Of course, I said YES! So here is a little recap.

Micael met me at the bus stop in Malmö, and we walked to the game. We arrived in enough time to grab a hamburger and a cold one before kickoff at the sports bar outside the stadium, O'Lealry's. Here are some pictures of the "new" stadium. This is the third season that they have been in the stadium. Compared to US stadiums it is rather small, I believe it holds somewhere around the 23,000 range. It was much different than walking into Neyland Stadium to watch the VOLS play an SEC game that's for sure. And don't any of you haters say it's because the home team won. GO VOLS!!!

After a quick bite we made our way into the stadium. Here is something you don't see in the states, betting at the stadium. I guess one of the ways it works is that you can bet on a win and by how many goals each team is going to score. I have never been much of a gambler, but maybe next time I'll give it a try.

We then made our way to our seats. Micael had arranged for the tickets and did a wonderful job, midfield and two rows up, not too shabby. Here are some pics of the game. In case you wonder about the sprinklers (like I did) it is common in the Swedish league for the home team to wet the vistors' side of the field that they will be defending in the second half. It is meant to give the home team a faster pitch to play on for the second half. Those sneaky Swedes!

At the end of the game it is custom for Malmö FF to thank their adoring fans for their loyalty and support during the game. Here are a few of videos of the fans that I managed to get during the game.

I had an amazing time! The crowd was in it the whole game, and I didn't get hit with anything or by anyone. I call that a win, win, win! Big thanks to Micael for inviting me to the game and showing me how they do fotboll, Swedish style!

I hope to go to several more games this season and in the years to come. I'll have to keep you all updated as to who my favorite Swedish team and players are. Hej då!