Host Hospitality Night in Sweden
What a great evening! It was too short and we didn't even get back to our hotel before 12:30 am.
A thick line of people 2 deep and endlessly long was gathering as the buses got ready to drive us over the famous Malmo-Copenhagen bridge into Sweden. Despite the huge crowds, which we later estimated at nearly 3,000, boarding went smoothly and quickly and off we went to the other side. The bridge is quite long, 4 km, and is preceded and ended by a fairly long tunnel.
I had to wonder at the occasional car occupants thought that were caught between the line of 50 buses.
We were taken to the outskirts of a huge shopping centre parking lot. Strangely, there was no IKEA though we were in its birthplace.
The logistics of moving 3000 people from one country to another, changing buses in Sweden and then getting all of us to the proper host home is something that's hard to imagine. It didn't go perfectly and as luck would have it, Hans and I were the last dropped off and therefore the first picked up. Our hosts and additional guests were so charming we all longed for more time but it wasn't possible.
Here are some highlights:
The bus in front of us was serving wine to its guests! Not a highlight for us, but certainly for them. They were off to a castle as guests of a Rotary Club that was celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Our bus headed for Helsingborg, about 1 hour's drive north of Malmo. Along the way our Rotary host in the bus gave us running commentary on the countryside as well as a history lesson on Sweden and Denmark, who have now been free of strife for 300 years. It wasn't always so. In fact when our host Anders picked us up in Viken, we walked to his house and along the way he showed us some rocks which date back to 2600 BC which still have deep groove in them. It turns out these grooves were made by the people of the time to sharpen their stone implements. As weaponry became more sophisticated, these huge boulders were used to sharpen swords.
Anders house was very close and we were greeted by his wife Gunillin who welcomed us to their sunroom with a refreshing glass of chilled white wine. Dave Erdman from Hawaii was accompanied by his wife and 12 year old daughter so Anders thoughtfully invited a young niece of 14 to join us so Mahri would also have someone to talk to.
Dinner was salmon marinated according to an old family recipe which remains a secret despite my not-so-subtle hints that I would like to share it. However, while he wouldn't part with the recipe, Anders has offered to come to our house to prepare it and we hope to see this happen. For the first time, I had smoked salmon served with a sweet gravlax sauce made with brown sugar. No idea what else is in there but wow, was it tasty!
The main course was baked salmon with cheese and tiny new potatoes. To our horror we learned that new potatoes are highly prized in Sweden and sell for the shocking price of $150 per kilo!!!
The entire evening was a pleasure but much too short. We were the last dropped off and first picked up so our time was the shortest but even those who were dropped off first said the same thing. The fellowship is so special and the intimacy of a small group gathered over a delicious meal enhances all your senses. We left with regret just before 10:00 to catch the first of 2 buses taking us back to the hotel and finally crashed at 12:30.
A thick line of people 2 deep and endlessly long was gathering as the buses got ready to drive us over the famous Malmo-Copenhagen bridge into Sweden. Despite the huge crowds, which we later estimated at nearly 3,000, boarding went smoothly and quickly and off we went to the other side. The bridge is quite long, 4 km, and is preceded and ended by a fairly long tunnel.
I had to wonder at the occasional car occupants thought that were caught between the line of 50 buses.
We were taken to the outskirts of a huge shopping centre parking lot. Strangely, there was no IKEA though we were in its birthplace.
The logistics of moving 3000 people from one country to another, changing buses in Sweden and then getting all of us to the proper host home is something that's hard to imagine. It didn't go perfectly and as luck would have it, Hans and I were the last dropped off and therefore the first picked up. Our hosts and additional guests were so charming we all longed for more time but it wasn't possible.
Here are some highlights:
The bus in front of us was serving wine to its guests! Not a highlight for us, but certainly for them. They were off to a castle as guests of a Rotary Club that was celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Our bus headed for Helsingborg, about 1 hour's drive north of Malmo. Along the way our Rotary host in the bus gave us running commentary on the countryside as well as a history lesson on Sweden and Denmark, who have now been free of strife for 300 years. It wasn't always so. In fact when our host Anders picked us up in Viken, we walked to his house and along the way he showed us some rocks which date back to 2600 BC which still have deep groove in them. It turns out these grooves were made by the people of the time to sharpen their stone implements. As weaponry became more sophisticated, these huge boulders were used to sharpen swords.
Anders house was very close and we were greeted by his wife Gunillin who welcomed us to their sunroom with a refreshing glass of chilled white wine. Dave Erdman from Hawaii was accompanied by his wife and 12 year old daughter so Anders thoughtfully invited a young niece of 14 to join us so Mahri would also have someone to talk to.
Dinner was salmon marinated according to an old family recipe which remains a secret despite my not-so-subtle hints that I would like to share it. However, while he wouldn't part with the recipe, Anders has offered to come to our house to prepare it and we hope to see this happen. For the first time, I had smoked salmon served with a sweet gravlax sauce made with brown sugar. No idea what else is in there but wow, was it tasty!
The main course was baked salmon with cheese and tiny new potatoes. To our horror we learned that new potatoes are highly prized in Sweden and sell for the shocking price of $150 per kilo!!!
The entire evening was a pleasure but much too short. We were the last dropped off and first picked up so our time was the shortest but even those who were dropped off first said the same thing. The fellowship is so special and the intimacy of a small group gathered over a delicious meal enhances all your senses. We left with regret just before 10:00 to catch the first of 2 buses taking us back to the hotel and finally crashed at 12:30.
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