Easter

This weekend was really special! I expected to have a boring holiday after deciding to stay in Piteå and not travel back down to Stockholm to stay with Anne, Tove, and Emma. I knew I'd be going down there at the end of this month and thought it would be wise to stay up north, save some money, and try to be productive. But, the weekend turned out much differently than I expected…full of new friends and lots of adventure!

On Friday night, many of the students left in Piteå went over to Mirjana’s place for a pot luck Easter dinner party. I made some chocolate chip cookies (which are considered very “American”. They never make them over here!), and enjoyed a night with a great group of people. The best part about hanging out with musicians is that at every party there is always crazy people singing and dancing around…

every good holiday revolves around the food, no matter where you are!

I love that everything is always candle lit here. Thumbs up from Jenni, Simon, and Bjorn

They are all named Andreas. It's my "go-to" guess when I forget a guy's name here :)

and let the dancing begin!

The real adventure started when Arvid picked me up on Saturday morning to spend the rest of the weekend with him, his family, and their friends at their summer house in Renholmen (about a 30 min. drive south of Piteå). I had no idea what to expect…besides the fact that I was promised a ride on a snow scooter. I packed my winter pants that I bought at the Red Cross, a hat, gloves, and sweatpants, and hoped that I wasn’t in over my head!

When we were driving down the back road to the summer house, for a minute I wondered if I should trust a guy that I met on an airplane and only know through some email correspondences…haha...only because it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere and there was snow and ice everywhere! But, as soon as we got to the summer home I knew it would be a good weekend. His family was wonderful, and the surroundings looked as if they were staged for a movie.

After chatting for a bit, we got our snow gear on, and headed out to the snow scooter. I had no idea what was going on, but just tried to learn by observing and followed the group. Arvid’s parents rode on the actual scooter, while Arvid, Anna (his sister), and I sat I the sled attached to the back. It was wild! We drove around the coastline for a bit, looking for a site to spend the day. Swedes celebrate Easter on Saturday, so there were a lot of families out cooking and relaxing. We soon found a great spot, and set up a fire and the reindeer fur to sit on.

This is where we spent the day

Then, I got to drive the snow scooter all by myself for the first time!! Arvid drove first, but then it was my turn. No lesson needed…just go! It was so much fun, a little scary to begin, but once I started to trust the machine it was a piece of cake! I even drove it all the way back to the campsite without a mistake.

Soon, another family close to the Åströms joined us, the Lundholms. They were equally as nice, and very easy to talk to. We had some Easter champagne (haha), some more snacks, and then Arvid, Tim, Evelina and I went on another snow scooter ride. Arvid and Tim drove at first, and we went a lot farther than the first trip. Then, it was the girls’ turn to take over! I actually ended up driving up the mountain (almost) all by myself (Arvid had to intervene a few times when the turns were really sharp and there were a lot of trees around…haha). The few from the top was amazing!

Tim and Evelina had all the right gear!

The view from the driver's seat!

Ah! so much snow!

amazing view!

Soon it was time to head back to the house to search for eggs, take a sauna, watch the hockey game, eat dinner, and enjoy the company. The entire evening was lovely, and filled with a lot of laughter. The dinner was so good! For starters we had hardboiled eggs, bread, salmon, other means, caviar, herring, and many other yummy things (very Swedish!). I actually didn’t realize it was just the first course right away! Then, they brought out moose fillets with goose liver with a red wine sauce. The meal was complimented with some Finnish snaps…and the best part was that they would sing a song before drinking it throughout the meal! I loved it! After the meal, we hung around and even played a few card games. They quickly learned of my incredibly quick reflexes when playing the game ‘spoons’ :)

getting ready for dinner!

hanging out after the day of "a lot of fresh air and sun" not "too much fesh air and sun"...because there is no such thing!

The next day we decided to go up to the Lundholms’ summer home which is on an island north of where we were (about a 20 minute ride on the snow scooters). We loaded everything up, and were on our way!

passing some people fishing!

There are only about 35 houses on the island, and most of them stay within the families that have owned them for years. The light house on the island was incredible and quite unique (so I learned). Tim gave us a great tour and we all hiked through the snow that afternoon enjoying the scenery.

The lighthouse

at the top!

Arvid and me

The lovely people that shared their traditions with me :)

We went went back to the house and decided to go on one more scooter ride. I got to drive wherever I wanted! I was getting a little more confident, so I drove a little faster. I just didn’t want the day to end! I can’t even describe how cool it was to be outdoors, enjoy such great company, and see a part of the world I didn’t even know existed.

After another lovely afternoon of food and sitting out in the sun, we left the island to go back to Renholmen. I was sad to say goodbye to the Lundholms, they were such kind people! Hopefully I will be able to see them again in the future.

sitting the sun!!

When we got back to the Åströms, everyone was so tired! I thought we would head back to Piteå right away, but relaxing was just too nice! We chatted a bit more, and then Arvid, Anna, and I played poker. Let’s just say…that my card playing skills prevailed once again, and I have bragging rights for the next few weeks :) I also joined them for dinner before having to say goodbye and head back up to reality.

Even though I only spent 2 days with them, I felt like I had known them forever! And, as we drove back it felt like I had been away from Piteå for much, much longer than 2 days. I think that is a sign of a really special experience, which I will be eternally grateful for!

The memories are even solidified in the Swedish newspaper ‘Expressen’. Arvid’s dad is a photographer, and they called him on Saturday asking him for a photo of a family celebrating Easter in the snow. He took a big group picture, and they printed it! Arvid and I stopped at a gas station and I picked up 5 copies...

As I tried to get settled back in my apartment, it was quite hard to comprehend the adventures of the weekend. I still can’t believe that they invited me into their Easter tradition with such open arms. Even more unreal than that is the fact that Arvid and I met chatting on a flight, and now we know so much about each other! The world sure is a crazy, and very small, place.