How I Spent My Summer Vacation, part 2

This is how I spent my summer vacation. Part two includes horses, midnight swimming, rock n roll, sunshine and good food.

Where did that last week go? I guess I spent it sleeping in, reading books, hanging out in the sunshine and going to the stable to ride and hang out with the horses.

 The Headlines at Debaser.

 At the beach.

Late night swim.

Pia and the horses.

 Coffee with Baby Darth.

 Delicious dumplings.

 Salt Mama Bear and DJ Undertaker at Debaser.

 Chocolate covered strawberries for breakfast.

InkFashion Magazine, sunscreen and sunglasses.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation, part 1

This is how I spent my summer vacation. Part one includes swimming, cooking, Copenhagen, ice cream, sunshine, punk rock at West Coast Riot and a performance of Decamerone in the park.

The sun and the summer showed up just in time for my vacation which made it a little easier to leave the office and turn off my work phone. A few days ago I got the feeling that I was wasting my vacation doing nothing but looking at all these photos make me feel like I kinda got a lot done in a week after all?

Sunflower I planted in Mom's garden.

Went swimming.

 Cooked a veggie BBQ.

 Went shopping in Copenhagen and got ice cream. 

Eating ice cream by the lakes in Copenhagen. 

 Sisters chillin' by the lakes. I have new sunglasses from Tres Noir.

Yes, I know you had to get a new umbrella because this one has ruffles.
You can never have too many ruffles. Just look at the Parasol Protectorate.

 Went to Gothenburg and West Coast Riot. First band I saw was Street Dogs. Badass.

 West Coast Riot was in a new location under Älvsborgsbron.

 Hell yeah, we're at West Coast Riot!

Checked out Against Me! Laura Jane Grace was fierce!

 Why are Kerry, Punky and Jake so happy? Because we're watching Rancid!

 Rancid live in Gothenburg!

Yup. Sailor and Tequila are cats and live with Hanna who let me stay at her place in Gothenburg.

 Read Buffy season 9 on the train home.

Got a 20Belows tee and revamped it.

 Urban Dalmatian Daisy.

 Checked out Decamerone in the park with Malin, Malin and Daisy. 

We had a fancy picknick too.

Golden Memories of Summer

Summer used to be a lot sunnier than this. It seems we're getting a lot of rain, harsh winds and not enough sunny days. There's also not enough Gyllene Tider on the radio.

Gyllene Tider was a Swedish pop group famous for catchy songs about teenage love, life in a small town and summer nights. Remember Per Gessle of Roxette? Gyllene Tider (1976-1985) was his first band. If you grew up in Sweden during the 80s and 90s you know most of their songs by heart. They did a one-off reunion gig in their hometown Halmstad in 1995 and I was there.

Mom dropped me and my friend Tove off at the gig and we promptly snuck into the bathroom in the nearest McDonalds and changed our clothes to something more rock n roll. And then we ran into Mom an hour later...  lucky for us she just found it funny.
It was a great night and a great gig. Gyllene Tider did a reunion tour the following year and another big tour in 2004. But it's the classic pop songs from their heyday that I love. Gyllene Tider is the sound of summertime love, teenage dreams and life in a small town.

Happy Midsummer!

Midsummer is a big holiday in Sweden. We eat pickled herring and new potatoes with sour cream and fresh chives, drink snaps and have fresh strawberries for dessert. There is also dancing around the maypole and a bunch of other traditions.

I've had a great time hanging out in my mother's house by the sea. Plenty of food, nice walks and wild strawberries (smultron) in the garden.
This morning we went for a swim in the sea and bought breakfast rolls on the way back. The water was 16 degrees Celsius - a bit cold but it's still a great way to start the day.

Sunset by the sea.

Miniature Shetland ponies chillin' in the sunset.

Smultron!

Going for a morning swim.

In case you're wondering where I've gone...

My sister got married this weekend and the weather has been fabulous, so I've been doing a lot of this during the past two days.

Yeah, summer is definitely here.

I long for...

...summer, sunshine and the open road. I long for roadtrips in cars that are packed full of merch, sleeping bags, snacks and coffee. I don't mind working for hours; packing, driving, unloading and setting up, because I'm talking to new people and catching up with old friends.

I don't mind the long days and the endless summer nights. I don't mind living of junk food from gas stations and coffee, sleeping in the van or hiding the days earnings in dirty socks.
I love the music, the atmosphere, my friends and the feeling of being on the road.

Hello open road.

Dreaming of sunshine

I know Christmas is right around the corner but I can't help longing for summer. Winter can be beautiful but right now I feel the need for warmer weather, longer days and sunshine.

Ah... this is more like it.

MMS

Some messages just make you smile. Like these images of my mother's dog Pax on vacation in Fallnaveka.

Early morning in Småland.

Another early morning in Småland.

Summer Playlist

It's a bright sunny day in Sweden and I'm in the mood for some punk n roll. Here are some of the bands I'm listening to right now;

Kings of Nuthin'

Billy Talent

The 20Belows


Hitchcocks

The Gaslight Anthem

If you have Spotify you can check out my summer playlist, as always it's a work in progress.