Auld Lang syne

New years eve in Uppsala was packed, energetic and snowy! Needless to say, I was  in company of good friends and we had enough good food and drinks before we left home. The centre was packed with people despite the blizzard like snowing. Many were under the protection of alcohol in their systems I was guessing.

We didn't know if any of the nations were open to give us the party we were hoping for and to wander around in search for other parties would seem very thin. We rushed to the nearest and noisiest  club/pub. To my surprise the entry fee was only after 2200hrs yesterday in that particular club. The translated entry fee after 2200hr was roughly about £12 or $24 approx. Back in Britain, an equivalent pub would charge a ridiculous entry fee on new years eve. That was really nice that we got in before the fee began. The drinks were slightly over priced- a pint of beer starting from £2.5 to 5 and spirit cocktails from £6 onwards. It did make sense letting in people for free and then charging them slightly higher amounts for drinks. I am no judge. These are just observations.

We left that crowd in search of a better club at about 2300hrs. The town was still teeming with energy and flashes from cameras everywhere. It was weird when you had just been to town an evening before the 31st to see no one. We got into another joint and the entry was free! Later today I found out that there were only a handful of places that had entry fee and amongst them, the highest charge was £20. That is still decent for a night out like yesterday.

Heres the weirdest part- I was having a good time with new friends I had bumped into, in one of the bars and we were talking like there was no tomorrow. It suddenly struck me that it was almost 0000 hrs and I just had a look at my watch. It was 0015hr on my display! I quickly checked to see if it was right. People back home are used to a countdown to the new year. There was nothing of that sort here. The Swedish girl in the bunch told me that they don't it. Last new years eve, the bunch I was with sang 'Auld Lang Syne' the Scottish way, interlocking the arms with fellows on either side and hopping around. I missed that. There would either be a countdown or this song by the Swedish band, Europe- 'The final countdown'. There is no hype of such sorts here. I was probably the only guy sober enough to realise that such celebration was missing. Many of my friends found the same thing weird today in retrospect.

I thank the bunch I was with yesterday for showing me a great time. We had many interesting things that we talked about and shared jokes. I did make fun of some people with flashy attire. It was all good. Wish all readers a wonderful new year and hope everything works out well.