Party "Hearty" Swedish Style
"Wasn't that a party..might have been the two, four, six pack I don't know but look at the mess I'm in..." Well, that song doesn't ring true in my case as I didn't drink so much. You're probably wondering what the heck I'm talking about. This weekend, I went on my little adventure tour to Sweden but you know what? The party wasn't in Malmo like I said earlier. Someone was obviously very confused, that person being me! I wasn't disappointed though as it's just another little stop in this adventure called life.
The festivities ended up being held in the city of Norrköping, a two hour train ride North East of Malmo in Sweden. Our voyage began at Copenhagen Central Station with a 45 minute train ride to Malmo, where we switched trains on route to Norrkobing. Riding in the train through Sweden made me feel a little sentimental as the landscape reminded me a lot of Ontario, Canada my homeland. The vast, open spaces, abundance of woods and lakes looked familiar but one look at the Scandinavian architecture lets you know that you are not in Kansas anymore.
My boss/friend and I slept most of the way in the train. When we arrived to the quaint city of Norrkoping (population 125,000), the first thing I noticed was how friendly everyone was. I read that it's known as "the small town with the big heart," and after my little trip I'd have to agree with that assessment whole heartedly.
Once we arrived at the train station in Norrkobing, we had no problem finding our hotel as it was about a 10 minute walk from the train station. We arrived 4 hours before the party started and had plenty of time to relax and get decked out in our Sunday best. I even had time to do some reading. I read a whole book, so proud of myself, now to remember it all.
The party itself, started at 7:00 p.m. and was held at "The Arbis Theatre," close to our hotel. The interior of this historical building was gorgeous with a capital "G." This old time theatre with high ceilings is reminiscent of the Moulan Rouge in Paris, France if you've ever been there.
We started the festivities with champagne and idle chit chat. Then at around 8:00 p.m. we dined on delicious Swedish meatballs, salmon, veggies, schnapps and grated potatoes. We were entertained by a lively broadway like show whilst we dined.
So as the night wore on, we mixed dancing and chit chat. It was interesting talking to the Swedes. I must admit, I can understand some Swedish but sometimes not enough words to understand what they are talking about? The dazed and confused look on my face said it all though, and then we'd just switch over to a mix of Danish/English/Swedish. Some Danes and Swedes understand each other's language as they are very similar. The Swedes tend to sing when they talk, though while the Danish language is more dry/monotone.
Some of the Swedes were asking me rather sarcastically,"so, this is kind of a dumb question but how do you feel about your visit to Sweden?" I answered honestly, "I think it's great and I've been really looking forward to it for awhile." I don't think that they thought I would think it would be too exciting to just take a 45 minute train ride to a country that is so close to Denmark but yet so far away...
People living on the outside, might think that there isn't much difference between Swedes and Danes but like Americans and Canadians, however subtle the differences might be, there are definitely differences.
As the night went on and the alcohol flowed, many guest's thoughts and opinions came to the surface. So some Swedes were telling me that they thought Danes are more open and relaxed concerning particular issues as opposed to Swedes, and vice versa. Some feel Denmark's politicians and the media in general, discuss sensitive political issues such as immigration and multi-culturalism policies into the ground while others feel the Swedes don't address these controversial issues enough.
On a lighter note, some of the Swedes mentioned they also liked the Bohemian fashion coming out of Copenhagen. I have to admit, I've been many places and the Copenhagen fashion scene is one of the best around. Some slight concerns they mentioned about primarily Copenhagen, was the litter on some of the streets. I'm not telling tales out of school here as this has been addressed numerous times here in the media. So, visitors and guests alike, give a hoot and don't pollute.
Anyhow, besides discussing the world's problems etc. we danced all night. The DJ started out with some reggae. We were soon "reggaed" out so he switched over to some real dance music(surprisingly no Abba) and we danced until 3:30 a.m. Being the dancing queen that I am, I feel I have mastered the running man and the twist. Then just when I thought the party was coming to a close, the party hardy Swedes said the party will be continuing at so-and-so's house. I said to myself, "are these people robots?" Thanks but no thanks as it was way past my bed time and I headed back to the hotel.
I walked by myself and left the rest of the revellers to party ‘til the sun came up. Again not the smartest move on my part but hey, I felt relatively safe, alone but yet not alone, in this warm and friendly home away from home.
