Sverige i augusti...

Sweden in August


...Some true Swedish summer nights are left still. When I read online one time that these can feel "Mediterranean in character," I thought it was an exaggeration. It wasn't, some of the nights I've had in Lund and Stockholm earlier this month have felt almost tropical, with a warmth you rarely feel at night in Santa Barbara.

...Crayfish parties. I've already mentioned that I got to experience one, but really, everyone is in on it and most people I know or have met here, Swedish or not, have been to one this month.

...People go back to work. They've been out of the office, work piling up, soaking up the sun at their summer homes or elsewhere... don't try to get much of anything administrative done around here in the summer before mid-August. You should be vacationing during July, too.

...Near the end of the month, leather jackets with jean shorts. There's a chill in the air so you want to be prepared but you know what? It's still summer, so you want the sun on your skin wherever you can get it.

...Small beach towns start running low on their ice cream selection, they don't mind since they don't need to order more soon, there are fewer people passing through, tourist shops have shorter hours, the summer houses aren't filled and bustling much anymore.

......Students go back to school. This student town has been hectic with the rush of students coming to university... running around town in crazy theme outfits announcing their first year status or engineering degree, stocking up on alcohol at Systembolaget. They pick up their brown leather bags full of books and must have less leisure time, more reading time. Obviously, I'm included in that. Busy days ahead.

Everyone in California is talking about how the unusually foggy summer has blossomed into a wonderfully hot late one. I've been getting a pang or two of jealousy, missing it. But really, I'm so content to be here, biking into a blustery September with my scarf flying in the wind.