May 3, 2024
First signs of Swedish Spring (finally!!)
Hi everybody!
It is May and finally, spring has arrived in Sweden. We had to wait a looong time for spring to arrive. It felt like winter would last forever at some point. My family from the Netherlands were sending me pictures of them sitting outside in the sun in shorts at the start of April already and we still had snow. Sweden is beautiful and a great country to live in, but sometimes winter can be very persistent.
However, for a few days now, we have had sunshine and 10+ degrees, which is very warm to us. If you ever heard about stereotypical things about the Swedish people, you might have heard that they go into this kind of “hibernation mode” in winter and when the first spring sun arrives, they suddenly are alive again. Well, I can confirm that this is true. People are out on the streets and in the park, just standing there with their eyes closed, soaking up the sunshine. Suddenly, they all start wearing light-colored clothes and everybody is in a good mood (me included ;). In the forests, the ground is covered in flowers and the sun is up until 9pm, which lightens up everything.
As we know by now, Swedes like to find every reason to celebrate, and therefore, they of course have a day to celebrate the start of Spring. On the 30th of April, there is something called “Valborg” and on this day, even though it is not a national holiday, everybody (students mainly) goes out to the parks to drink and play games. Unfortunately, I was pre-occupied with going canoeing all day that day (which I did not mind at all). But in the evening I joined the traditional bonfire that was held at the river in town. There were a lot of people and the fire was actually on the water! People came by kayak to light it and we stood there watching it until it burned down. It was also one of the first nights where we didn’t have to wear a thick sweater, so it was really nice.
All in all, Swedish spring is treating us very well. The trees are finally starting to blossom in bright green and soft pink flowers. Nature is starting a new season, and it is a new beginning for us as well. I feel very grateful to experience spring in Sweden and I would recommend everybody to stay or come back for it as well!
Enjoy the sunny days people!
/ Fleur, Master of Science for Sustainable Development
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Why don’t continue the conversation with us?
Start with checking out:
Our programmes, the application process, webinars, and our Instagram and Facebook account.
Still left wanting more?
Book an appointment with our recruitment coordinator at infocenter@liu.se.
