The longest day of the year has passed and from now on the days will slowly grow shorter. In Sweden people are still waiting for some warmth of summer. Here are some photos from the Midsommar holiday in Sweden. The traditions are strong but rather homogenized with families around the whole country making the midsummer poles and dancing around them. I wonder how this tradition became the dominant one and what other traditions may have died out. This year was particularly rainy, but still fun with children tying flowers onto the pole and then dancing around them like frogs.

Öland is a very long thin island separated from the mainland of Sweden by the bridge from Kalmar. Kalmar is dominated by a castle where a treaty was signed in 1397 to unite the Norwegian, Swedish and Danish kingdoms. This union lasted officially until 1523. This Midsommar was my first visit to this very popular Swedish tourist destination. The southern part of Öland is a UNESCO heritage site with quaint villages surrounded by pastures and the Baltic Sea. At the southern tip of the island is the Ottenby ornithological station, and a picturesque lighthouse. The sunset at 10 pm on the solstice day was stunning. But apparently a lot of people had the same idea to spend Midsommar on the island: I have never seen a traffic jam like that in Sweden going home over the bridge.

No more traveling for a while, and I am focusing on getting some writing done. I have heard similar things from professors on sabbatical: procrastination is inevitable.