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abendgulesI love visiting Nordmark, and enjoy every trip - even when one of us has been sick. I've always been treated with great kindness and courtesy, and every visit reminds me of the high standards for medieval recreation that Nordmark enjoys and considers routine.
I think it's partly the SCA culture, but partly from the Swedish love of crafts and making stuff, where kids are taught knitting, textile arts, woodwork and other skills in school as core curriculum. Aside from chocolate, the nice souvenirs (not the tat) are linen and wool textiles, woven, knitted, felted and embroidered, along with small wooden items like boxes or cheeseboards. I'd have gladly spent a week browsing fabrics around Sweden
I once told![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
helwig that I got one year of domestic arts in school, at age 13, and she said, 'that's far too late! we spend one year on knitting alone!'
It's humbling in that regard - I'm reminded that I'm an ok clothier, but seeing the beautifully finished outfits in Nordmark always puts me in my place, but in the best possible way.
Sweden is a shoes-off-at-the-door country, like most of Canada. When you're typically wearing shoes for weather outside, it's only civil to take them off at the door. I think Swedes must invest a lot in slippers, or else wash a lot of socks.
The drawback of this is the great sprawl of shoes you end up with at entrances to event sites, and the bottleneck that occurs as everyone takes off their beautifully accurate medieval shoes with the leather laces that don't undo easily. This occurs at every door, at every occasion - for each meal, for each trot across the site between buildings, each time you had to nip into the loo.
I askedliadethornegge if people choose slipon shoes w/out laces as a result. She said no. She likes her zip-up boots, but Ed takes 15 mins for every outing to lace and unlace his sturdy hiking boots.
Next time I go to Nordmark, I'm finding medieval slip-ons...and taking my Finnish slippers.
The feastgear washing-up station is outside - don't know if this is because space is full, or on request, with two tubs of water and some scrubbies. I'd never seen the washup water freeze overnight - or the teatowel either.
I already mentioned the dogs in Stockholm. The dogs on site were two of the most laid-back and relaxed animals I'd ever met. Searching online, I found they looked at bit like the pics of these Swiss mountain dogs, only with longer coats. They were obviously used to dozens of strangers passing through their home, and were utterly untroubled - they sniffed, and then moved on, without trying to ingratiate themselves or look for attention.
They seemed to do a couple of circuits a day to inspect the grounds to see if anyone had dropped anything important, and then entertained themselves elsewhere. They did frisk a bit when An Important Human drove in and headed to the house, but otherwise seemed happy to lounge - Robert found himself rubbing a huge expanse of canine belly at one point.
The site cat was a longhaired tabby, equally untroubled by strangers, who submitted patiently to being scooped, and was happy to plant wet mucky paws on anyone's chest in return.
Pricing for goods is weird: you know that things like food in restaurants and alcohol will be higher than at home, but sometimes you still get the math wrong...and sometimes it's even weirder than you think.
On arriving in Stockholm, we drop our bags in the biggest lockers we could find at the train station (70+60SEK for 2 lockers = 130SEK, about £13, for up to 24 hrs. It's a bit steep, but beats the heck out of hauling armour around town, and we're on holiday, so I don't care.
The next lockers we use are at the historical museum, for daypacks and coats. These lockers are 1SEK (about 10p)...and you get your coin back when you open the locker. At the Museum of London you pay £1, and you don't get it back, for the same service.
Back to Stockholm Central: we stop at a cafe, which proves to be Copenhagen-themed, for smorgenbrod (openface sandwich, beautifully presented, like in a good restaurant). The sign says 3 smorgenbrod for 115SEK, and with drinks its about 150SEK (£15 or so). That's a snack for two people of excellent quality food - pickled herring and cheese with capers for one, rare roast beef and horseradish on another, salmon and creamcheese on a third. Very yummy.
The next day, at the foodcourt, I'm hungry, and we spot another smorgenbrod place, where I order another three of these treats to share with Robert.
Here, without any drinks, it totals 427SEK, or about £43. Again, they're beautifully presented, and just as fresh and delicious as before, and the service is charming and effortlessly English-speaking. I can only assume: location location location!
But the next stop for food (since these are really snacks, not filling meals) is at a bifhus, which we take to be a steakhouse, and we manage a steak-and-potatoes meal for one person, basket of deepfried snacks for another, and tea, for 150SEK again. It's reminiscent of TGIF or a surf-and-turf restaurant for families: has a salad bar and a 'glassbar' (ice cream bar) that is self-serve.
Finally: at the airport, land of the captive consumer: a sandwich is 79SEK, a small salmon salad is 69SEK, so we're again in the 150SEK range to feed 2 people, lightly (but beautifully, of course).
At the same place, a single espresso is 10SEK, and a double is 19SEK, and then lattes and cappuchinos are into the 30SEK+ range - so the basic coffee is £1, and then you're paying less than Starbucks charges for designer coffees.
So apparently whatever laws govern food pricing in Sweden do not apply the same way to coffee.
In the historical museum in the post-period display of import goods, it's explained that Sweden leads the coffeedrinking world.
I'd have thought the Arab world, the Turks, the Greeks, almost anyone would drink more coffee than Swedes, but apparently not. So it's a staple possibly in the way tea is a staple for Britons, and I hadn't realised it. We certainly had excellent coffee there - liadethornegge had a clever electric perking pot, and even the coffee made for breakfast at the event was excellent (in England you'd be handed a tin of instant...).
Land of snacks: on this trip I discovered that Swedes have an inner hobbit, that they feed with a very flexible meal called fika (feeeeeee-ka, with appropriate ornamentation).
I'd heard of it before as 'snack', but apparently it's even better than that because it can start anywhere from breakfast onward until after the last meal of the day, and can serve as sweet or savoury. We'd been headed out to visit the assorted fika sources of choice when I got too uncomfortably sick on Monday morning, and was really disappointed to miss them.
Saturday candy: I'd never met Swedes who played practical jokes, but I thought someone was trying one on as we were packing up. On Sunday as we were tidying, the cook of the event offers me a bar of chocolate (huge, dark, delicious-looking), and I said yes, what's the occasion? She said, it's not Saturday.
I must have looked utterly blank. She explains that she didn't want to take it home, because her kids aren't allowed sweets except on Saturdays. 'We don't want them to have too much', she said. Sola and Thomas agreed this was the case, as did Eva from Arnimetsa - same practice there - and as a result you have 'Saturday candy' which you're allowed.
I really wasn't certain if I believed them - what kind of ideal disciplined liberal paradise is this?? But their earnestness convinced me.
I said I couldn't see it catching on in the UK!
I mention this togoncalves and J while showing them my loot, and they laughed at first and then said, well actually, that was the case when I was a kid. You weren't allowed fizzy drinks except on Saturday said Gonz, and J said something similar. So it must have been common, at least in some places, to save sweets for special occasions, even in the UK. I've never seen it enforced these days...
Giftshop and donation box at Uppsala Cathedral is unlike any other I've seen in England, and I've been in my share of cathedral gift shops.
The donation box was an electronic kiosk, where you could donate by card and target your funds - choose where you wanted your donation to go, whether it was ministry, music, building care, teaching, etc etc. It was incredibly direct, and straightforward, and I thought it was brilliant.
The giftshop had the strangest selection of gifts imaginable. There are the predictable books about history, building, Queen Margareta's golden gown, gardens; there are postcards and calendars; there are lovely silk scarves printed with the pattern from the golden gown's brocade, in three different colour ways. There are bibles and other devotional items.
Then there is the 'What would Jesus Wear?' pop-out magnetic paperdoll set. Your friendly-looking Jesus can dress in traditional white, or jeans and tie-dye shirt with a WWID necklace, possibly a suit (can't remember)...and finally a crown of thorns.
There are the Holy socks - a pair of ordinary socks (ordinary for 180SEK) with whales scattered on them. Presumeably for walking on water?
There are the Jeez-its sticky notes.
Does the giftshop buyer have an amazing sense of humour, or do they not quite grasp the point of these items? I couldn't picture any of the designers of these treasures actually being devout. Maybe I'm just not hip enough.
Uppsala is certainly a cathedral worth keeping up - it has lovely painted walls and ceilings in each chapel and nave, in different medieval and trompe-d'oeuil patterns (ie painting on draperies, showing them 'hanging' from curtain rods high in the galleries). It occurred to me that the climate is much drier in Uppsala than in parts of England or the Low Countries. (The cathedral in Bruges has wall paintings, but they're running off the walls with damp and mould). So this paint would last much better than in damper climates.
The 16th and 17th c tombs, including Gustaf Vasa's huge propaganda tomb (announcing his own glory, displaying the arms of all the regions he'd conquered, painted around the walls in murals celebrating his achievements) are very fine, for those into late period clothing. I noticed details on sleeves I've seen only in paintings, though Lia argues that the rediculously full petticoats shown at the base of womens tombs are perhaps unlikely - it was a blank space that needed filling, so it was filled with an idealised view of ladies underthings, that don't acually fold or drape that way in real life.
It also has some excellent medieval carving preserved: supporting niches that might once have held statues, or maybe lamps, above head height. All the carving is on the underside, though knowing medieval masons the topside is probably just as decorative, even though noone can see it.
One of these carved niches is grimly and clearly poking fun at the Jews - the Jews are in their distinctive acorn-shaped hats (that's how you tell they're Jews in medieval manuscripts - they have these hats, and they're usually ugly), and two of them are suckling at a sow boar.
Next to this carving is an A4 notice summarising the church's position on anti-Semitism: that it was a historical evil that had run through the church, that it was an acknowledged wrong, and that it is not tolerated in modern Swedish lutheranism. But they've opted not to take down the carving, preferring to use it to highlight where the church stands now, which I found intriguing. Don't know if I'd find it intriguing if it was aimed at me.
I think it's partly the SCA culture, but partly from the Swedish love of crafts and making stuff, where kids are taught knitting, textile arts, woodwork and other skills in school as core curriculum. Aside from chocolate, the nice souvenirs (not the tat) are linen and wool textiles, woven, knitted, felted and embroidered, along with small wooden items like boxes or cheeseboards. I'd have gladly spent a week browsing fabrics around Sweden
I once told
helwig that I got one year of domestic arts in school, at age 13, and she said, 'that's far too late! we spend one year on knitting alone!'It's humbling in that regard - I'm reminded that I'm an ok clothier, but seeing the beautifully finished outfits in Nordmark always puts me in my place, but in the best possible way.
Sweden is a shoes-off-at-the-door country, like most of Canada. When you're typically wearing shoes for weather outside, it's only civil to take them off at the door. I think Swedes must invest a lot in slippers, or else wash a lot of socks.
The drawback of this is the great sprawl of shoes you end up with at entrances to event sites, and the bottleneck that occurs as everyone takes off their beautifully accurate medieval shoes with the leather laces that don't undo easily. This occurs at every door, at every occasion - for each meal, for each trot across the site between buildings, each time you had to nip into the loo.
I asked
liadethornegge if people choose slipon shoes w/out laces as a result. She said no. She likes her zip-up boots, but Ed takes 15 mins for every outing to lace and unlace his sturdy hiking boots.Next time I go to Nordmark, I'm finding medieval slip-ons...and taking my Finnish slippers.
The feastgear washing-up station is outside - don't know if this is because space is full, or on request, with two tubs of water and some scrubbies. I'd never seen the washup water freeze overnight - or the teatowel either.
I already mentioned the dogs in Stockholm. The dogs on site were two of the most laid-back and relaxed animals I'd ever met. Searching online, I found they looked at bit like the pics of these Swiss mountain dogs, only with longer coats. They were obviously used to dozens of strangers passing through their home, and were utterly untroubled - they sniffed, and then moved on, without trying to ingratiate themselves or look for attention.
They seemed to do a couple of circuits a day to inspect the grounds to see if anyone had dropped anything important, and then entertained themselves elsewhere. They did frisk a bit when An Important Human drove in and headed to the house, but otherwise seemed happy to lounge - Robert found himself rubbing a huge expanse of canine belly at one point.
The site cat was a longhaired tabby, equally untroubled by strangers, who submitted patiently to being scooped, and was happy to plant wet mucky paws on anyone's chest in return.
Pricing for goods is weird: you know that things like food in restaurants and alcohol will be higher than at home, but sometimes you still get the math wrong...and sometimes it's even weirder than you think.
On arriving in Stockholm, we drop our bags in the biggest lockers we could find at the train station (70+60SEK for 2 lockers = 130SEK, about £13, for up to 24 hrs. It's a bit steep, but beats the heck out of hauling armour around town, and we're on holiday, so I don't care.
The next lockers we use are at the historical museum, for daypacks and coats. These lockers are 1SEK (about 10p)...and you get your coin back when you open the locker. At the Museum of London you pay £1, and you don't get it back, for the same service.
Back to Stockholm Central: we stop at a cafe, which proves to be Copenhagen-themed, for smorgenbrod (openface sandwich, beautifully presented, like in a good restaurant). The sign says 3 smorgenbrod for 115SEK, and with drinks its about 150SEK (£15 or so). That's a snack for two people of excellent quality food - pickled herring and cheese with capers for one, rare roast beef and horseradish on another, salmon and creamcheese on a third. Very yummy.
The next day, at the foodcourt, I'm hungry, and we spot another smorgenbrod place, where I order another three of these treats to share with Robert.
Here, without any drinks, it totals 427SEK, or about £43. Again, they're beautifully presented, and just as fresh and delicious as before, and the service is charming and effortlessly English-speaking. I can only assume: location location location!
But the next stop for food (since these are really snacks, not filling meals) is at a bifhus, which we take to be a steakhouse, and we manage a steak-and-potatoes meal for one person, basket of deepfried snacks for another, and tea, for 150SEK again. It's reminiscent of TGIF or a surf-and-turf restaurant for families: has a salad bar and a 'glassbar' (ice cream bar) that is self-serve.
Finally: at the airport, land of the captive consumer: a sandwich is 79SEK, a small salmon salad is 69SEK, so we're again in the 150SEK range to feed 2 people, lightly (but beautifully, of course).
At the same place, a single espresso is 10SEK, and a double is 19SEK, and then lattes and cappuchinos are into the 30SEK+ range - so the basic coffee is £1, and then you're paying less than Starbucks charges for designer coffees.
So apparently whatever laws govern food pricing in Sweden do not apply the same way to coffee.
In the historical museum in the post-period display of import goods, it's explained that Sweden leads the coffeedrinking world.
I'd have thought the Arab world, the Turks, the Greeks, almost anyone would drink more coffee than Swedes, but apparently not. So it's a staple possibly in the way tea is a staple for Britons, and I hadn't realised it. We certainly had excellent coffee there - liadethornegge had a clever electric perking pot, and even the coffee made for breakfast at the event was excellent (in England you'd be handed a tin of instant...).
Land of snacks: on this trip I discovered that Swedes have an inner hobbit, that they feed with a very flexible meal called fika (feeeeeee-ka, with appropriate ornamentation).
I'd heard of it before as 'snack', but apparently it's even better than that because it can start anywhere from breakfast onward until after the last meal of the day, and can serve as sweet or savoury. We'd been headed out to visit the assorted fika sources of choice when I got too uncomfortably sick on Monday morning, and was really disappointed to miss them.
Saturday candy: I'd never met Swedes who played practical jokes, but I thought someone was trying one on as we were packing up. On Sunday as we were tidying, the cook of the event offers me a bar of chocolate (huge, dark, delicious-looking), and I said yes, what's the occasion? She said, it's not Saturday.
I must have looked utterly blank. She explains that she didn't want to take it home, because her kids aren't allowed sweets except on Saturdays. 'We don't want them to have too much', she said. Sola and Thomas agreed this was the case, as did Eva from Arnimetsa - same practice there - and as a result you have 'Saturday candy' which you're allowed.
I really wasn't certain if I believed them - what kind of ideal disciplined liberal paradise is this?? But their earnestness convinced me.
I said I couldn't see it catching on in the UK!
I mention this to
goncalves and J while showing them my loot, and they laughed at first and then said, well actually, that was the case when I was a kid. You weren't allowed fizzy drinks except on Saturday said Gonz, and J said something similar. So it must have been common, at least in some places, to save sweets for special occasions, even in the UK. I've never seen it enforced these days...Giftshop and donation box at Uppsala Cathedral is unlike any other I've seen in England, and I've been in my share of cathedral gift shops.
The donation box was an electronic kiosk, where you could donate by card and target your funds - choose where you wanted your donation to go, whether it was ministry, music, building care, teaching, etc etc. It was incredibly direct, and straightforward, and I thought it was brilliant.
The giftshop had the strangest selection of gifts imaginable. There are the predictable books about history, building, Queen Margareta's golden gown, gardens; there are postcards and calendars; there are lovely silk scarves printed with the pattern from the golden gown's brocade, in three different colour ways. There are bibles and other devotional items.
Then there is the 'What would Jesus Wear?' pop-out magnetic paperdoll set. Your friendly-looking Jesus can dress in traditional white, or jeans and tie-dye shirt with a WWID necklace, possibly a suit (can't remember)...and finally a crown of thorns.
There are the Holy socks - a pair of ordinary socks (ordinary for 180SEK) with whales scattered on them. Presumeably for walking on water?
There are the Jeez-its sticky notes.
Does the giftshop buyer have an amazing sense of humour, or do they not quite grasp the point of these items? I couldn't picture any of the designers of these treasures actually being devout. Maybe I'm just not hip enough.
Uppsala is certainly a cathedral worth keeping up - it has lovely painted walls and ceilings in each chapel and nave, in different medieval and trompe-d'oeuil patterns (ie painting on draperies, showing them 'hanging' from curtain rods high in the galleries). It occurred to me that the climate is much drier in Uppsala than in parts of England or the Low Countries. (The cathedral in Bruges has wall paintings, but they're running off the walls with damp and mould). So this paint would last much better than in damper climates.
The 16th and 17th c tombs, including Gustaf Vasa's huge propaganda tomb (announcing his own glory, displaying the arms of all the regions he'd conquered, painted around the walls in murals celebrating his achievements) are very fine, for those into late period clothing. I noticed details on sleeves I've seen only in paintings, though Lia argues that the rediculously full petticoats shown at the base of womens tombs are perhaps unlikely - it was a blank space that needed filling, so it was filled with an idealised view of ladies underthings, that don't acually fold or drape that way in real life.
It also has some excellent medieval carving preserved: supporting niches that might once have held statues, or maybe lamps, above head height. All the carving is on the underside, though knowing medieval masons the topside is probably just as decorative, even though noone can see it.
One of these carved niches is grimly and clearly poking fun at the Jews - the Jews are in their distinctive acorn-shaped hats (that's how you tell they're Jews in medieval manuscripts - they have these hats, and they're usually ugly), and two of them are suckling at a sow boar.
Next to this carving is an A4 notice summarising the church's position on anti-Semitism: that it was a historical evil that had run through the church, that it was an acknowledged wrong, and that it is not tolerated in modern Swedish lutheranism. But they've opted not to take down the carving, preferring to use it to highlight where the church stands now, which I found intriguing. Don't know if I'd find it intriguing if it was aimed at me.
