A Sunday afternoon at Kafé Myran

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Since I moved to Ryd, I always wanted to go to this little café called Myran (the ant) in Ryd. Never have I thought this wish would come true, a day before I leave Sweden.

It was a cloudy Sunday, not a particularly nice one to be honest, but the sun gave its best to show up from time to time. And we decided, we have nothing better to do, so why not explore Ryd’s student life to its fullest. We went to Kafé Myran.

Kafé Myran is a small gray-blue house, hidden between laundry room and dormitories, but can be spotted by the keen-eyed among us, when going to Hemköp. The moment you enter, you feel like you have been travelled in time and ended up in a mix of second hand shop and cozy grandma’s living room. Old couches, pictures of the royal family and ridicolous laws. “Dragspel förbjuden”. Some people I know would be very sad about that.

Kafé Myran offers several fika varieties and delicious 5 kr coffee (at least for me it was, after having lived on caffein pills for the last few weeks). On Sunday they also serve 25 kr brunch. “Everything from waffles to soup“, assured us the student working there that day. We put a tabel and some folding chairs outside and I enjoyed my very last day in Ryd. Unfortunately, brunch was not served that day because most students were already in their well-deserved holidays. But it didn’t matter, I enjoyed my coffee more than ever and in the middle of Ryd, I got this very special student-ghetto charm.

 

©Kafé Myran

©Kafé Myran

What I will miss about Sweden..

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Once I saw a “Will miss list” online of someone who moved back home, after being abroad for a while and mentioned all the things that will be missed. I somehow found it very cheesy at that moment, but now I decided to do one myself.

What I will miss about Sweden:

– Sauna Sundays: Sauna Sundays were the relaxing break during the week that I will definitely miss.

– Microwaves: Yes it is true, I got used to the microwave that I never wanted to get used to.

– Nuts: I will for sure miss that easy snack that you could grab in the exit of every supermarket. Salty cashews for ever!

– My own bathroom: It was a luxury I never had before and oddly enough it was very satisfactory to know, that I wouldn’t bother anyone when singing in the shower.

– Ovve: I will very much miss the easy procedure of getting dressed by just putting on the Ovve that I like so much and that is so comfortable and practical.

– Competitions: Linköping offered a broad range of crazy competitions you could take part in: choir competitions, rope pulling, high heels races, movie competitions, sandcastle building, dart, paint ball, sleighing, ginger bread house building and carting races. If you didn’t take part, you could still share the excitement by watching.

– The cruise ships: I already discovered and enjoyed those cruises before I moved to Sweden, the daily (surprisingly affordable) cruise ships, that run to the neighbor countries of Sweden. With its entertainment on board, surrounded by the soothing sea, it is like a different world to me.

– Double screen: Once you get used to the double screen, you just can’t work on the single screen anymore. It will be hard to get used to this again.

– Polar bread: I fell in love with that sweet, soft bread that basically melted in one’s mouth.

– Stad i ljus: I really like this common ending song of every party where you get together with strangers singing your heart out.

– Albin Jonson: You will be missed my lovely old and rusty Monark bike with the special bell and the spacious basket.

– The Swedish language: As weird as it might sounds, I will miss this strange language. As a German speaker it was definitely a language that could be learned and I would love to continue learning it.

– Same sex toilets: I really enjoyed to not have to wait queuing for an eternity just for a toilet.

– Internationality: I have never spend time with so many people from all around the world before and it is very enriching.

– Friends: Of course I will miss all the lovely people I met during the year.

 

Swimming at Blå Lagunen

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Today was probably the hottest day I have experienced since I moved to Sweden.
And therefore me and a bunch of other people decided to go swimming. Very close by, about half an hour by bike from Ryd, is a small lake, called “Blå Lagunen”.
It is a nice place to just chill, enjoy the precious sun and to cool down in the water.
I would definitely recommend going there by bike since you can enjoy a very beautiful scenery on the way there: the lush green of the surrounding fields, the blooming flowers and the red houses that pop up from time to time. Also today is Sweden’s National day, so you could spot Swedish flags everywhere.

For me, this day was certainly what I needed after the long winter.

My Swedish playlist

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One of the things I like the most about living abroad, is the new music you encounter.
Since August last year I have been collecting Swedish music, kindly introduced by my Swedish friends, and added them all in my playlist, called “Sverige”.
I don’t say they are the best songs, but I am emotionally attached to all of them.

Let me share my playlist with you:

  1. Dansbandstechno – COOLA KIDS & Dunderpatrullen   A classic and one of the first songs, that I learned to sing the chorus of.
  2. Tillbaka till Hawaii – Eddie Meduza   Apparently Eddie is a crazy guy, whose songs I especially got to know because we sang this song in my choir from time to time.
  3. Satellit – Ted  This song was so often played at Schlaget that I could not not like it.
  4. Jag kommer – Veronica Maggio   A song known by everyone that visits a Kravallen from time to time.
  5. Han som tuggar med öppen mun dör – Slagsmålsklubben   I heard the song, which means translated “The one, that chews with an open mouth, dies”, for the first time on a lonely Swedish island. Don’t ask me why.
  6. Aqua Aqua – Fricky   Yes, Swedish Rap is a thing. And apparently when Fricky performed at a Kravallen last year in Linköping everybody freaked out.
  7. Genom eld och vatten – Sarek   Another classic, known from Melodifestivalen (the Swedish Pre-Show of Eurovision Song Contest).
  8. Boten Anna – Basshunter   I was honestly singing along with German lyrics until I moved to Sweden.
  9. Strövtåg i Hembygden – Mando Diao Somehow this song represents the traditional and beautiful side of Sweden.
  10. Stad i ljus – Tommy Körberg   The last song of every Kravallen and probably the one I feel most emotionally attached to.

 

©Brandon Giesbrecht

When bikes decide to strike…

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I am not complaining. Albin Jonson, my lovely old Monark bike, was my loyal companion throughout the whole year. And I am surprised it even survived the long winter. But why, of all the time during the last year, did it decide to get a flat tyre now? A week before I am leaving?

Usually, it is not such a big deal. Linköping University and FR Ryd offer various options in case the bike needs to be fixed. There you can borrow tools, spare parts and get advice. Under the motto “helping to do it yourself”. Fr Ryd is usually open Sunday evening, LiU offers workshops two evenings during the week (I don’t remember when exactly). Well, emphasize on “usually”. This opening times of course don’t apply on holidays, which have already arrived to Sweden.

Another story, I just remembered now and I want to tell you:
To be precise, once my lovely bike already decided to strike. The chain got stuck in the wheel and it was impossible to get it out. Therefore I could not even push it, so I left it on campus. The next day when a friend came to help me fixing it, it was gone. Someone stole a broken bike, smart. “Well, problem solved”, I thought and walked home. But when I passed McDonalds, Albin Jonson was waiting gleefully for my arrival. And, on top of everything, the chain was fixed. This is how I like thiefs.