Spring back with Valborg

An event that almost every person waits during the year is Valborg (30th Apr, Saturday the last). Its a festival celebrated in Uppsala to mark the end of winter and the onset of spring and man is it something to blog about!

Its a cold country, Sweden. Sunlight is a real treasure round here cos the winter is harsh and biting, with almost no sunlight. So, when winter dims out and the sunlight gets louder, people have arranged a day to celebrate the onset with a great big bash. Basically, the entire town turns to one big party hall. No one stays home, the old and the toddlers alike. Individuals from the inbetween age group are the most active and creative and reckless. Adds to the fun. This event is so popular around here that two days prior to the event, the Nations organise handing out guest passes for students from outside of Uppsala to have entry to the student clubs and bars.

The day starts at 9 AM where people get together by the river line that runs through the heart of the town centre. People grab juicy spots to witness a raft parade. What this is, students handcraft rafts made of thermo bead boards and plywood to shapes of their interest with a theme. These rafts start at a point upstream of the river and run along the gathered crowds. The vikings on their crafts flash their attire while the crowd roars with either laughter or encouragment depending on the theme. An array of pictures that follow will show you how myriad the themes were:

 A capsized raft with a killer message. Atleast the guys had a great sense of humour. The phallus however makes this picture unsuitable for underaged lot.

 A Scoop Crane raft.

 Pulverised by the little rapid fall.

 A bit of drama showing his sense of pride

 Unbalanced rafters trying to gain new balance.

 Some just wanted to cool off.

 Duracell bunnies and their charge at the turbulence.

 My personal favourite- Lloyds and Harrys from 'Dumb and dumber' on their Mutt Cutts

 .. needless to say, they were too dumb to handle the drift.

 The Royal flush.

 Couchsurfing dudes

 Lego land

 The Flintstone craftsmanship seemed Jurassic for our time.

 The radical TMNT.

After that it goes numb for a while, when all public goes scattered looking for a picnic spot in the parks around to open their packed baskets of grub. It was a day of Champagne and relaxing. I was hoping that it would be bright and warm and was in my shorts. The forecast was cloudy and windy and it went cold at times.
From then on it was the consumption of beverages. Beer mostly. The nations had their versions of entertainment, most with music. Vastgota nations had a band going on. Some pictures from there:

 With an entry fee of 150 sek, one could have been a part of this madness. Champagne fizz being showered everywhere, it was a day like no other.

A mad band on a rooftop just next to the stage. This reminded me of the Woodstock look

Raving music also at the well packed Stockholms nation. The music was reverberating the whole place up. There was a perpetual shower of Champagne.

 The best part was at Norrlands nation. They had a swing band ready with gifted singers who played classic American swing and Jazz music. Thats my kinda music and the crowd had a small but dedicated fans. Nothing like good music for drifting souls.

 People couldnt help but dance along on the sides of the street. Happy feet all over.

When they got to the song 'I'm a Gigolo' by Frank Sinatra, the crowd went mental. I must say, the singers had a spark.

 The singers did a lil' bit of a jive and twist themselves.

One girl in the crowd got possessed by the music.

The very much spic'n'span Uppsala was covered in litter. Anything went that day. And then I saw something interesting.

 I saw these two kids on the left who had large bin bags with them. While under the supervision of an elderdly, most likely their mom, collected tin cans and bottles with value from the litter. For people who dont know- there is individual value assigned to recyclable packaging of beverages. They can use the recycling machines by any supermarket and get cash in return.

I quickly asked them, "Is this for your pocket money?". The guys said, " Park gets clean and we get money to buy candy".

I was much impressed by the response. Shows a great deal of civic sense encouraged by their parents.





So looking forward to proper summer.