Valborgsafton (Walpurgis Night) 2019

30 April 2019

Every end of April, there will be selected areas in Sweden that build a bonfire (called as 'majbrasa' in Swedish - pronounced as 'mai-bra-sa') to welcome spring. These are selective places to ensure controlled burning. This year, the two public places are in Skansen (this one needs an entrance fee) and Rållis Park (the informal name for Rålambshovsparken). I was lucky that there was a bonfire near my neighbourhood. It was a 2km walking distance. Not too bad. This was my first time seeing the bonfire. I missed it last year because I was away for a short getaway to Dalarna. I also missed the part on how the bonfire was lit up. My partner informed me that kids throw candles into the pile of sticks and voila, the bonfire is up! 

A bit of history on this special day. The history behind Valborg - to celebrate Saint Walpurga, a nun in Germany who studied medicine and battled “pest, rabies and whooping cough, as well as against witchcraft." She was canonized on 1 May. They celebrated her on this day with a bonfire and the fire also scares away the witches. 

As I was approaching the place, I could hear singing and I saw a stage where the singers were singing classical songs to welcome spring. There were lots of food stalls, game stalls and apparently, lots of drinking session as the next day is a public holiday. All these were managed by the Scouts.

This is a manual carousel that is managed by the Scouts too. Kids sit and the Scouts run around the long branch and the kids gradually move up as the rope twists itself around the branch and the kids get down as the rope untwists itself. Pretty cool! I have never seen this before in Malaysia.

We were there from 7.15pm to 9.15pm. I found it amusing that as I stepped one foot away from the set-up boundary (for the fire), I felt cold. It is as if the heat is controlled. Maybe that is how it is with dry air. Next year, I will definitely get there 15 minutes earlier to see how the fire starts.

Culture Night Stockholm 2019 - Part 2: Bergrummet (The Mountain Room = Toy Museum)

27 April 2019

The evening walk continues from Strindberg Museum to the Toy Museum. I was informed that this museum relocated from Västerås. Apparently, this is the biggest toy museum in North Europe with no Internet available under the mountain. It is not an actual mountain but it is located under a hill, a very small hill. There is WiFi, though. Entrance fees cost SEK140, so I am happy to be able to enjoy this without a fee on Culture Night. However, it is free if 3 generations come on a Tuesday.  

Culture Night Stockholm 2019 - Part 1: Tessin Palace's Garden, Strindberg Museum

27 April 2019

Culture Night is here again! Free entrance to most cultural places - museums, theatres, opera, culture schools, churches. It depends if these places open their premises to the public for free. Photography Museum still requires a fee! I have heard great reviews on Photography Museum and I have not gotten the opportunity to step inside, mainly because I don't wish to pay for the fees yet. Culture Night starts from 6pm to midnight. Stockholm was bustling with people that evening! 

We went to 3 places. The first place on the agenda was Tessin Palace's Garden. I have never heard of this place before. One has to queue up the day before to collect the ticket to enter into the palace. Without the tickets, one is only limited to the garden. I did not find anything spectacular in the garden except that the garden has lovely tulips.

The Tessin Palace (Swedish: Tessinska palatset) is a baroque town house located in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm. Located next to the Royal Palace, it is facing Slottsbacken, the major approach to the Stockholm Palace, and flanked by two alleys, Finska Kyrkogränd and Bollhusgränd. The mansion was constructed between 1694 and 1700 by architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger. The building was inherited by Tessin's son Carl Gustaf Tessin who had to sell it in 1750 for financial reasons. The palace later became property of the crown and has been used as residence for the Governor of Stockholm and later Governor of Stockholm County. Source from Wikipedia.

Tastebud : Relais de la Gare (third time)

26 April 2019

French food for lunch today at Relais de la Gare. This is my third time here. I am on a mission to try all of its dishes on the menu. Today, I chose steak tartare - raw beef served with egg yolk, cubed beetroot, caper (a type of plant that is native in the Mediterranean) and onions. The 4 dots are mustard sauce and the green round plant is a caper. SEK163 / RM81.50.

It is my first time with steak tartare and I had an inkling that it was raw but I did not expect it to be entirely raw. Surprisingly, it did not taste anything weird. I stared at my plate for a while wondering loudly how should I eat this and I got pointers from a diner who sat next to me. Mix the egg yolk in the meat and then blend the other ingredients in gradually.

Strangely enough, it did not taste anything at all. It felt odd to be eating raw meat. I went back and googled about this dish. There were some reservations about raw meat containing bacteria. However, there are many articles that state that this dish has the least possibility of food poisoning as only high end restaurants with high standards of hygiene serve this meal. Then, my sister told me that symptoms of bad bacteria i.e. E.Coli will appear after 3 - 4 days. So, I kept a watch on myself. Thankfully, I am really thankful that I was alright, but the product of the food digestion did not smell very pleasant. 

I am definitely not trying this again!

Cherry Blossom Flowers and Ulriksdal Slott

22 April 2019

Today's activities - Walk to Ulriksdal Slott (Ulriksdal Palace) and along the way, to stop by at Kungsträdgården to see the cherry blossom trees.

The cherry blossoms are out and it is time to pay them a visit! This means that it is spring! Last year, I went there on 1 May 2018 and this year is 8 days earlier but only half of the trees have bloomed. They are the same flowers but they are still as pretty as ever. Kungsträdgården was crowded. The flowers bloom for 10 days only and wither as soon as the weather gets warmer. 

Drama: Förlovningen (The Engagement)

16 April 2019

I watched a play last evening at Dramaten (The Drama) formally known as Royal Dramatic Theater, Sweden’s national scene for spoken drama with my friends from Kulturkompis. The last time we met, it was to watch Opera. This is our fourth meetup. During our first meetup, I was informed by the group leader that we meet 4 times within 6 months. The first time - Millesgarden and the second time - Hallwy Museum.

We watched the play inside a small theatre which was behind the huge theatre. The small theatre was built in 1945. I have officially lost count of how many plays I have been to within this one year and I am very sure there are more theatres that I have not stepped inside yet. 

We watched a 1 hour 45 minutes play entitled ‘Förlovningen (fur-lov-ning-en)’ (The Engagement). Can you see the title of the play? It was so hilarious. The audience was laughing a lot including me! It was about a man who was to be engaged and has an affair with a night club singer (who has admirers in a form of a general and legal clerk). The man was caught in the end but his new wife forgave him because she sees her new husband as a man now as he has had other women and not just a childish boy. 

Tanzanian Film Festival

13 April 2019

Volunteer duties with Kompis Sverige - watch a Tanzanian film, fashion show and performance from its local artistes and enjoy its local food. The event was held in a school hall. 

The event started with a speech by the Ambassador. Then, a 1 hour and 15 minutes film that depicted about staying to your culture although you are in a new country - the film was about Tanzanians living in Sweden who try to balance out their culture and Swedish culture. 

The film is a product of a one-man show by a Tanzanian actor, Issa who moved to Sweden 5 years ago to his wife (the lady in blue) and he wanted to continue his acting career in Sweden. It was difficult for him and he produced the film solely - equipment, editing and directing.

Look at their colourful accessories! I was very tempted to ask how much each costs.

We were treated to sumptuous local food. A lady noticed I filled my plate twice and she commented that the food must be nice. I said it really is and asked her who cooked them. She said that it was herself and a few friends who cooked at home.  

'The Waves' by The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

13 April 2019

Today's volunteering activity with Konserthuset (The Concert House). I love concerts. This concert is different from the usual concerts as it has a huge screen with a soundless film being played and accompanied by the music from the orchestra. The concert is titled 'The Waves' (Vågorna in Swedish) and the film showed marine life in its habitat, the pollution that is killing the marine life, and strong waves at the end of the film. 

Our tickets were 3 rows from the front. So, you can imagine that my neck was aching after the concert. Haha!

Work : Presentation Techniques Course at Åkeshof Slott

8 April 2019

Today, I had the privilege to stay in one of the rooms in the premise of Åkeshof (Aw-kays-hov) Palace (in Swedish, it is called Åkeshov Slott). To me, this does not look like a palace but more like a mansion. I was here for a Presentation Technique Course and I did learnt a lot. You can read about my progress in this post. Anyway, I am writing this post to share how the castle looked like from its inside, the room that I stayed in and the food that I ate. It is not that I get to enjoy this environment often, so I took photos. In fact, I was the only one in the group who took photos. Yes, this happens when you move to a new country and experience new stuff. You take photos that locals think it is nothing unusual. 

The castle is located just next to a train station called Åkeshov. Extremely convenient. 

Upon arrival, I took coffee in a uniquely-designed cup.

The paintings here are not as elaborate as the ones in the Royal Palace (that is a huge palace). 

Swedish Milestone - 5-minutes presentation

Last 2 days, I attended a Prensetation Techniques course and I surprised myself with another personal milestone for my Swedish. I presented an impromptu 1-minute talk titled 'My time as a photo model' and it was not from personal experience either. I created the story and just blabbed on. I was so nervous and I spoke so fast. The trainer told me to slow down. This, I never expected that I could talk so fast in Swedish in front of 8 people. 

Then, I prepared a 5-minutes speech (35 minutes preparation) where I presented a proposal on my job service to a company. The last time I prepared such a speech was in December 2018 where I prepared a 6-minute speech for my national exams a week and half before and I had to memorize my speech. For the 5-minutes speech, I did a bit of impromptu adjustment and after 2 times seeing myself in video, I know what I should work on. 

I spoke a bit slower and I was less nervous, but I could present a job-related proposal in Swedish. I was extremely happy and proud of myself. This, I never thought that I will experience this now. But I did not know that I could either until I was put in the situation. Naturally, this is thanks to my colleague who brought me along for meetings and a proposal presentation. I could have never achieved this much within this short time without her, and my partner too whom I spoke Swedish to everyday. 

Yes, I am jolly proud of my progress. 1 year and 10 months. 

Opera - Skapelsen (The Creation)

5 April 2019

Volunteer activity with Kompis Sverige at an opera play titled Skapelsen (The Creation) - how earth was created in 7 days, love stories narration of 4 couples and the play ended with a real wedding solemnisation and an after party. Different couples will be wedded at every performance slot. I wondered if it is a free wedding, though. There is a live orchestra for you and you have a willing audience to witness your wedding. Why not, right?

The first day in the play reminded me of Tarabas from The Cave of the Golden Rose where everyone is clad in dark clothes and in a dark place.

I like this 1.5 hour play as it has English subtitles for the opera at separate screens (my Swedish is not at a level that I can understand Biblical words). I wondered if this is done for every opera play in this theatre. This is my first time experiencing this in all my theatre's visits. 

This is the story 4 couples - the first was a Palestinian man who was separated from his Syrian girlfriend due to the war and reunited in Sweden after 5 years. 

Kung Roger Opera

2 April 2019

Today, I watched an opera for the first time at the Royal Opera, titled Kung Roger (King Roger), thanks to Kulturkompis. I went with 2 friends from the group (where we meet 4 times in a span of 6 months). Depending on tickets availability, we get to enjoy these cultural events without a fee. I have met up with this group twice. This is our third outing together. The first time - Millesgarden and the second time - Hallwy Museum.

This is my first time in the hall and it is beautiful! It looked so grand.  

I expected an old school opera performance but instead I got a modern scene with the king in a suit, fantastic technical props, Matrix-like scenes, Swedish subtitles (opera was in Polish) above the stage which was a bit inconvenient because I have to shift my gaze to the top to read the subtitles to the scene to watch the play and a huge screen above the stage that showed a snake trying to kill the king (in the beginning). Sometimes, I got tired doing that and decided to focus on the play. No photos and videos allowed during the show, so I only took a picture after the opera ended. There was an orchestra below the stage that accompanied the entire opera.

Tastebud : Supper

4 April 2019

I enjoyed team meetings because it ends with food and I do not need to worry about the cost. Today, we had our team meeting after lunch and it was followed by dinner at Supper Restaurant. It is a South American restaurant. This is my first time trying a South American meal. We were given champagne at the bar.

I love the plate's patterns. I realised that a part of the wall is made of tiles.