It is 17 days until we depart for Copenhagen. All of our reservations are set and all we have left to do is figure out what to pack.


During our 17 day trip we will be visiting the following places.

• Gothenburg, Sweden
• The island of Styrsö, Sweden (a short ferry ride from Gothenburg)
• Ekeby, Sweden - where Roxanne's Mom's ancestors are from
• Boxholm, Sweden - where Roxanne's Dad's ancestors are from (about 15 miles away)
• Horred, Sweden - home of Ekelund Weavers
• Malmo, Sweden
• Copenhagen
• London
• Cruising the Norwegian coast for 7 days (Eidfjord, Alesund, Geiranger, and Bergen)

We leave the evening of June 20 from Newark airport, arriving in Copenhagen the morning of June 21. From the Copenhagen airport we will rent a car and cross over the Øresund Bridge to Sweden. We will be heading to Gothenburg (Göteborg in Sweden). Once we are in Gothenburg we will park our car and take a 15 minute ferry ride to the island of Styrsö, where will be spending the Swedish Midsummer holiday. Here is a description from wikipedia.

In modern Sweden, Midsummer's Eve and Midsummer's Day (Midsommarafton and Midsommardagen) were formerly celebrated on 23 June and 24 June, but since 1953 the celebration has been moved to the Friday and Saturday between 19 June and 26 June. It is one of the most important holidays of the year in Sweden, and probably the most uniquely Swedish in the way it is celebrated. The main celebrations take place on the Friday, and the traditional events include raising and dancing around a huge maypole. Before the maypole is raised, greens and flowers are collected and used to cover the entire pole.

Raising and dancing around a maypole (majstång or midsommarstång) is an activity that attracts families and many others. People dancing around the pole listen to traditional music and some even wear traditional folk costumes. In addition, many wear crowns made of wild springs and wildflowers on their heads. The year's first potatoes, Soused herring, Chives, Sour Cream, Beer, Snaps and the first strawberries of the season are on the menu. Drinking songs (Snapsvisor) are also important at this feast, and many drink heavily. When Sweden got its National day (6 June), discussions were held about making Midsummer the Swedish national day because of the strong civil celebration on this day.

We found the house we will be staying at on Styrsö using the web site www.airbnb.com, which is a place people list rooms, apartments, and other rentals for travelers throughout the world. Here are some pictures the owners of the house we will be renting sent us.