Walpurgis Fires

April 30th

The celebration of Walpurgis Night, or Valborgsmässoafton in Swedish (“Valboree”) is so ancient, there are many reasons given as to why it appears on the calendar.  Some say that the tradition stems from rural communities as they would bring their animals out into the fields this time of year, and fires were lit to scare away predators.  Others claim it as an important spiritual holiday of fertility and rebirth, as it is the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice and the eve of the pagan holiday Beltane.  Of course, the early church authorities recognized this, and canonized Saint Walpurga, who is best known for fighting back the tide of witchcraft.  If the masses cannot be purged of their pagan rituals, just give the holiday some proper Christian context.

 Regardless of its origins, it is seems rather intuitive as to why it should be celebrated here in Umeå.  Once the snow had melted, it was time to light the fires ushering in the spring!  Old doors, broken chairs, and other wooden refuse were piled up, and multiple trees were stacked atop them to a height of about ~20 feet.  A choir was assembled (Swedes love to sing) and began to sing “Spring Songs”, like “Längtan till Landet” (“Longing for a country”):

 

The winter raged among our fjällar;
drift flowers melt down and die.
The sky smiles in the spring's bright nights,
sun kisses forests and lakes.
Soon it is summer here. In purple waves,
Gold plated, shades of blue,
lie the meadows in today's flames,
and in the grove dance källorne.

Yes, I come! Greet, happy winds,
Out to the country, out to fåglerne,
That I love them, birch and linden,
lake and mountain, I want to see them again,
see them as in my childhood,
follow the creek dancing to clarified lake,
thrush singing in the pine forest groves,
Water play around the bird's bay and oh…  

  

Thanks, Google translate!  Well, there were a few untranslated words (in bold) I’ll have to ask someone about, but the overall meaning should be clear.  Spring is finally here!  We’ve never been so excited to see a lawn.  We’ve also recently seen ducks pairing together, birds making nests, a few flowers, leaves beginning to emerge, baby lambs, and tadpoles.

PONIES!

Walpurgis Revelers (some well past their bedtime)

European coltsfolt - the first wildflower we’ve seen emerge!  Also called ‘son-before-the-father’, the flower emerges before the hoof-shaped leaves.  It has traditional medicinal use as an expectorant for coughs and bronchial infections.

spring at the 63rd parallel… the long thaw

Påsk (Easter)

Willow and birch branches are decorated with feathers during the Easter holidays.

  

Sweden has the highest candy consumption in the world and so the Easter bunny in Sweden brought Amelia lots of candy!

Saturday is Lördagsgodis (Saturday candy).  It’s custom to only eat candy on Saturday.  I think lots of candy is eaten on Saturday, and maybe only a little candy on other days.

 

at the coast April 15th

 

Ostnäs Naturreservat, April 22nd

Our 20^th century tape-deck Volvo wagon drove us out for another adventure.  We were met with a snowy muddy road that was impassible.  (That’s the second time that’s happened this *spring*.)  Our 21^st century cell phone came to the rescue.  We plugged into the satellite map which showed us a little arrow of our location and gave us directions to another nature reserve further out along the coast.  The little arrow confirmed that we were taking the correct turns down muddy unmarked roads.  We reached the end of the road and could tell that water was nearby just a little beyond the trees.  We saw no signs and not even a sign of a trail at first but then spotted a path that someone else walked along pulling a sled.  The sky was filled with fog and gave a mysterious feeling to the place.  The birds were making a ruckus just up ahead.  We followed the sled path and discovered the cause for the commotion.  It appeared the sled had dumped off a LARGE pile of fish remains.  We didn’t get too close for fear that the multitude of crazy seagulls would attack us.  We continued on to walk along the sinuous rocky coastline.  As we headed for the shore we post-holed through slush.  The slush claimed one of Chris’s shoes.  (He doesn’t have proper snow boots.  He wears the same low hiking boot every day of the year.)  He pulled it out and dumped out ice water.  Apparently we were walking through a boggy area.  Amelia and I both laughed at the site but then I realized that water was indeed ice water and it might be bad for Chris’s foot and put an end to our day.  Good thing Chris is super tough in the cold (unlike me wearing snow boots and snow pants).  He continued on with frozen feet.  He did however say, “This is why all those people (that we passed on the country roads) are walking and running on the paved roads.”  He also added, “I’m going to have dry feet next weekend.”  It’s been a common theme (Chris’s wet feet) this spring since we’ve been walking instead of skiing.  I’m buying him snow boots for next year.

Chris’s feet got a break from the wet slush while we rock hopped along the coast.  The land and rocks reach out like fingers into the coast and create a curvy coast-line with inlets of calm water.  A moose disregarded the curves.  We followed tracks that came out of one inlet of water, straight through the snowy land and back into another inlet of water.  We didn’t see the moose (which is probably a good thing) but we did see a Grus grus! (Eurasian Crane: at 100–130 cm (40–52 in) long, with a 180–240 cm (71–96 in) wingspan (thanks Wikipedia!).  People walking along dry paved roads don’t get to listen to the waves of the sea or rock hop and might not see a Grus grus or check out moose tracks.  Although we do see lots of moose crossing signs along the side of the road.  Perhaps Chris’s feet would prefer road-side wildlife viewing, but we’ll see if he’s ready for another slushy adventure after spending a week in town. We are attempting to check out the nature reserves listed on the county page- there are lots of them!  I look forward to returning to them once the snow is gone to see how the landscapes change.   

green at last!

Chris got his wish.  The following two weekends his feet remained dry.  It’s a treat to see that the snow is melting away and we get to discover the GREEN plants that had been hidden away all winter long.

new plants to discover!

giant ant hill

I even got to lounge on the beach.

What we consider spring is finally here.  We’ve never been so excited to see a lawn!  We’ve also recently seen ducks pairing together, birds making nests, a few flowers, leafs beginning to emerge, baby lambs, tadpoles…

I understand why they wait until April 30th to celebrate spring rather than on Spring Equinox, March 20th.

More about Walpurgis Night (April 30th) on another blog.

Turdus pilaris and her nest outside our bedroom window.

Chris transplanting out at Turmalinen, where we are gardening.

pregnant in Sweden!

April 23, 2012

pregnant in Sweden!

A momma at the Ålidhem playgroup looked up the phone number for the Ålidhem hälsocentral for me.  She explained that I should call between 8:30 and 9:30 and leave a message on the voice mail and a midwife would call me back. 

            After I listened to a bunch of Swedish I thought I got to the point where I was supposed to leave a message.  I must have been successful, a midwife called me back.  I told her that I was pregnant and wanted to schedule an appointment. 

            “What’s your personnummer?”  With that she has all my information.  “You have been assigned to the downtown health center but you are welcome to come here.” 

            I went to a 10 week appointment at the nearby health center and met Ann-Cathrine, the midwife that will be seeing me for my prenatal care.  She’ll care for me during my pregnancy but when it’s time for labor and delivery I’ll go to the hospital and be in the care of a midwife (whom I’ve never met) that happens to be working that day, or a doctor if there are complications.  That’s the standard way for pregnancy and birth.  Everything seems fine so far with me and Iggy Piggy (our baby’s name so far).  Unfortunately, I’ve experienced more pregnancy symptoms this time around.  I was able to ask Ann-Cathrine more about Sweden’s system, most of which I had already learned about prior to this visit. 

            There is a Home Birth Group in Sweden.  They are mostly active in a few cities further south, although there are a couple of people here in Umeå.  There are only a few home-births a year in Umeå and only 1 in 1000 in Sweden.  Water births are illegal in Sweden.  A baby died in a water birth at home about 20 years ago and they have been illegal since.  I did talk to the one midwife in town that will do home births.  She works at the hospital and is very proud of the space they have there.  She said that they have ONE water tub that is available for laboring in with candles and music… and if the baby is born in the water, accidents happen.  However, there is just one, so there is no guarantee that it will be available.  She suggested that I visit the hospital in August or September and decide if I want to labor and deliver there.  If not she’ll meet us at our apartment in the fall.  I’ll likely decide on the hospital.  We live in a tiny apartment with no tub.  The thing that I think is odd is that you have a different midwife for the prenatal care and the labor and delivery.  I was so comforted when Stacy (midwife for Amelia) arrived at our home.  I’ve talked to one other local, who is part of the Home Birth Group, who also thinks it’s odd.  Overall, pregnancy and birth are taken more lightly here than in the US, which does have its pros.  Although I am looking forward to my next appointment (May 28^th) which is at 18 weeks – TWO MONTHS – from my last, where we’ll have an ultrasound and use the doppler for the first time to hear the baby’s heart beat.  I’m feeling great now at 13 weeks pregnant, nearing the end of the first trimester.  I’m looking more pregnant but Chris says that people wouldn’t assume that I’m pregnant because I’m in that in between phase of looking pregnant and looking like I have a big tummy.  ;)

            I’m thankful for the health care coverage here.  There was a typo in my immigration paperwork so it took longer than normal for me to get into the system.  However, I did get into the system just in time to schedule a 10 week pregnancy appointment.  Apparently as soon as a woman becomes part of the system they also get scheduled for a womanly check-up.  I also received a letter from the downtown health clinic stating a day and time for an appointment.  It was scheduled a couple of weeks after my visit to Ålidhem hälsocentral.  Ann-Cathrine asked me if I had received mail regarding an appointment since she knew that I had just recently entered the Swedish health care system.  I told her that I did from the downtown clinic and it was scheduled in the next couple of weeks.  I didn’t need to go to it since I was seeing her.  She had me sign some papers that I was switching to Ålidhem.  I kind of assumed that took care of my downtown appointment and I kind of dropped the ball by not calling and canceling my appointment downtown.  I received mail from the downtown clinic a few days after my proposed appointment.  It was a bill of 150 kroner ($22) for NOT SHOWING UP.  This got me to call and explain (and they dropped the charge).  People don’t slip through the cracks here, especially if they are frugal like me.  I was told that I won’t have to call for an appointment for Amelia’s annual check-up.  She’s in the system so we’ll get a letter with a day and time for her appointment… at the downtown clinic…unless I fill out some paperwork.

 Amelia got the chicken pox!  I thought the outfit she picked out was kind of funny.   At first she wasn’t phased by them but then spent a day an a half with a fever.  We had lots of snuggle and reading time.  She quickly got back to her silly self.

barnbidrag/child support

We got notice in the mail today that our first monthly ‘barnbidrag’ deposit was made into our bank account. Google Translate translates barnbidrag to child support. It’s a different kind of child support than what we think of in the States. Chris is indeed Amelia’s dad and yes we are still living together. Barnbidrag is coming from the Swedish government. Even though they didn’t have any part in the birth of Amelia they are kindly going to help pay for some of her expenses. I think it is absolutely amazing that the government provides financial assistance to families raising children: 1050 kronor a month per child which is about $150. It’s helpful, but then I also remember that Chris is paying at least 40% of his income to taxes, so it’s nice to get some of that money back. Everything is so expensive here too that any little bit of financial assistance is helpful so that we can get out and do things. I just spent 100 kronor/ $15 for Amelia and me to play in the little indoor kiddie pool down the road, and the pool isn’t even a hot spring.

Other tax money goes to day care and maternity leave. Once the 18 month paid maternity leave is over then free daycare, including meals, starts up at 18 months until kiddos start kindergarten at age 6. However, there is a long waiting list (up to 6 months) for the free daycare. This is yet another way in which the government is family friendly. Or is it family friendly? I haven’t met a Swedish stay at home mom or dad beyond the maternity leave. I wonder if the deal is so good – having free daycare and a two income family – that it is too good to pass up or maybe it is so expensive to live here that you need two incomes. ?? I have noticed that Swedes have a way of doing things (very little diversity) so perhaps the work and day care system is just the way it is, just because.

In any case, from an out-sider's perspective their system seems to be working. People dress nicely; have lots of vacation time; the downtown shopping area is large and bustling; all schools including Universities are free; and everyone has health care. I'll try to dig deeper and get the in-siders' point of view.

our first adventure in our *new* old car

We bought a Volvo wagon! I couldn’t go any longer without a car. The longer and warmer days are making me stir crazy to get out of the city! Today the Volvo took us out to the coast to the Strömbäck-Knot nature reserve. We did some walking and playing in the snow at the shore’s edge and some skiing.

Amelia has become a really good skier already. Today she figured out how to kick and add some glide to her step.

icy coast...




snow waves

spring is in the air

The short winter days are over. We’ll revisit them again along with the beautiful soft winter light next year. Lately the sun has been bright and gets high in the sky. Today the sun rose at 5:49 am and set at 5:46 pm. It’s hard to believe that in a few days we’ll have more light than darkness. We still have at least a foot of snow in town and there are no flowers popping up or trees budding, so it seems hard to believe that the first day of spring is next week, but we are enjoying the sunshine.

Here are some pictures of our winter life:

This is outside our front door. Amelia is getting more brave lately. There are 20+ foot piles of snow all around town and she has been enjoying climbing them and making slides down them. Yes, we wear snow pants every day!

We are fortunate to be able to ski from our front door into the forest near our home.

Amelia is enjoying taking a dance class and wants to play dance class just about every day. I add a little yoga so I get to do some yoga ;)

We've spent many hours doing arts and crafts. She particularly likes making fairies. She's drawn them, painted them, made play-dough fairies, and even fairies out of pipe cleaners.

In this picture she's sewing a bear. Thanks Grandma Cindy, Grandpa Klatt, and Emily! He is stuffed, has a bow tie, eyes, a smily face and has been named Sewy.

Thankfully there are indoor play areas. There has been lots of jumping on the coach and bed too.

There are several neighborhood centers around town and churches that have a space for children, young and old. The spaces are very nice with toys and kitchens and gyms. Amelia and I have been consistently going to two playgroups. The öppna förskolor/playgroups are for parents and children to attend. However, most of the children are under a year and half. Families are given 18 months of paid leave to be with the little ones. The time is split between both parents and I think it is required that the dad spends at least two months with the baby while the mom goes back to work. The 18 months do seem flexible though. The family can spread these 18 months paid leave time and work part time or postpone them. Once that paid time is over it seems very common that both parents are back to work and children go to förskolan/daycare, which is free. It seems very uncommon to be a stay-at-home parent beyond this paid leave. (There isn’t a lot of diversity in ways of doing things here in Sweden). The only older kids we see at playgroups are the siblings of the babies. The parents tend to reduce the older children’s time at the daycare to be with them during their paid leave with the new baby.

We have made some friends and learned about Swedish culture by going to the öppna förskolor. Amelia has learned some Swedish! Can you tell which song it is?

getting out of town

Thank you Europcar! I must admit, I felt like an adventurous 16 year old when I drove off the car rental lot. I just wanted to explore and drive out to the coast just 20 km away but still unseen after 6 weeks of being here. I felt a sense of freedom having a car!




It was foggy Saturday so we drove just outside of town to Leo's Lekland, a large indoor playground.

Upon entering Leo's, Amelia's eyes sparkled and she got an ecstatic skip in her step at the sight of the slides, tunnels, ladders, balls, bikes... Chris and Carrie had a lot of fun too!

Later in the day we drove to the coast. Amelia was passed out in the carseat, tired from play at Leo's Lekland, and the weather outside was dismal. We didn't venture far or hang around too long. At least I've now seen the Baltic Sea/Gulf of Bothnia.










Saturday night the clouds dropped their snow and then cleared away, giving the sun a chance to shine down on us! We drove north out of town to ski part of the Tavelsjöleden. (I think leden translates to trail.) Beautiful blue ski, no wind, relatively warm... magical! While we were skiing Amelia mentioned several times that she wanted her own skis (rather than sit in the Chariot). We stopped at the Vintercafe in the small town of Tavelsjö on the way home. Reindeer antlers hung on the wall and a ski race played on the TV. Once again Amelia said she wanted her own skiis...




On the way home, we stopped by a huge grocery store on the north side of town. It is kind of like a super Target with groceries and much more. Chris spotted some children's cross country skis on sale and picked them up for her. I was a bit shocked at his impulse buy. Seriously, he doesn't want to look at Blockett first (the on-line classifieds) or other places around town. I ask him about it. He says, 'Oh that is all too complicated here'. And we have a car now. As soon as we got home she tried on her skis and did some laps around the apartments. She likes the downhills! Alright, Amelia and I will do some skiing this week. Fun!
I do hope she will get into the Chariot again so Chris and I can actually do some skiing.