I barely made it home from Burkina Faso and Ghana, before it was time for me to get on the road again, this time to celebrate midsummer with my master’s class in Leksand. It was the last thing we would do together as a class, before many of my classmates started scattering across the world, back home or on to new adventures. Elli grew up in Leksand, which is in deep Dalakalia in central Sweden close to the Norwegian border, among the forests, lakes and mountains. It’s the perfect place to go experience a real Swedish midsummer. A great end to these two eventful, intense, tough and amazing years that we’ve had together as a class.
The landscape around Leksand was so beautiful, with the hills and the pastures, and clear blue Siljan lake down in the valley.
I made friends with a bunch of cows.
On Midsummer Eve, I taught the others to make flower wreaths.
In the evening, we went down to Leksand (Elli’s childhood home, where we were staying, is in a small village up on the mountain, about 15 minutes drive from Leksand town). There, they were raising the Maypole. Once it was up, we took part in the largest midsummer dance around the Maypole in Sweden.
On Midsummer day, the sun was shining and there was midsummer celebrations in Elli’s village.
Kate and Vivi helped raise the way smaller, but still really beautiful village Maypole, and then we did some more dancing.
We went swimming in chilly Siljan.
Magical.
And then came a thunder storm. We got to experience the whole palette of Swedish summer weathers: warm and sunny, cloudy, drizzly and cold, and the crazy summer thunder storm.
And whenever not occupied by cooking, eating or doing some traditional Swedish midsummer stuff, games were played in the garden.
On our last night there, at the stroke of midnight, we surprised Jessica with a song, gifts and a birthday cake consisting of her favorite tuber: potatoes.
It was a great weekend. I was exhausted, from turning in my thesis and the Volta trip, but even I could enjoy myself, in this beautiful place, among these amazing people. Really, a worthy end to this incredible class.
Katja Malmborg 