The Anomaly that is Swedish Fashion

I'm no fashion guru, but I have to comment.

I think I dislike this shoe more and more each day. I'd say 8 out of 10 Swedish students at my University wear this. Yesterday I saw 7 people in a row wearing the same shoe in different colors. Like one homogenous, walking advertisement for Converse.



The 50s are also alive and well here. A nerdy looking v-neck button down vest and collared shirt, combined with nerdy looking jeans rolled up at the bottom, some converse shoes, and a part or comb over hair for guys is a reasonably common sight. If it's not that, then we have the red pants phenomenon. Wow, the red pants phenomenon is unbelievable. I don't think you'll catch many guys wearing red pants in the US, but here, it is just part of everyday life. Here and there you get the bright greens and the bright blue pants on guys too. I'm not criticizing the colored pants though. Everyone should feel free to choose whatever color they'd like, free of gender or sexuality stereotyping.

And the girls are wearing these hideous shorts that also must be from the 50s. Where the waist line comes halfway up their upper body, the legs are rolled up inside out. And the butt part is so baggy it looks like it could hold a bowling ball.

I must admit, I threw in the towel and picked up a pair of shoes lately that increase my Swedishness substantially. For a bank breaker of $12, they will probably fall apart next week. However, these stunners also come in Red, White, and the surprisingly quiet color of Black.



Of course, H&M being from Sweden, plaid shirts are worn by just about everyone including the family pet. The word 'hipster' as it is thrown around in the US might as well be status quo here.

And since it is finally getting sunny, people are walking around with plenty of tans. Well, tan per se. It must be what they use in those fake bake machines, or the combination of the chemicals with the lighter sun deprived Swedish skin, but half of them come out looking orange. That's right, they all went to Syracuse University. Or, they could be from Mars, for all I know. Or drank too much Fanta. Not a nice color, however.

In general, I think that Swedes are pretty into their clothes and how they look. I'm not, so I provide a pretty biased and worthless critique....Guess that's why I look like a hobo! Well, on the bright side, at least I know they won't be calling me up to be an extra alongside John Travolta in the next Grease Lightning movie.

Sunny & Snowy København

What a difference 3 months make. Spring has arrived at last. Nyhavn in Copenhagen (København):

2011/01/07:



2011/04/09

Barbecue, International Style

When you get a large mix of people from tons of random countries together for a barbecue, you get a pretty wide consensus as to what to cook and how to cook it! But most of all, you get food that is soooooooooooo gooooooooooooooood.

Never seen this before! Put some bananas on the grill and once they are black and the skin bubbles, they are done. No effort and delicious:

Wrap peices of sweet potato in foil and put them in the coals:

Red peppers with eggs & bacon, Argentinian style:

A full grill:

I contributed some asparagus and was surprised that many had never tried it before:

Barbecue comes complete with mate:

Grilled pineapple:

Hobo packs (my other contribution), consisting of sliced potatoes, red onions, garlic, and some spices, and some cuts of beef:

Jakriborg, Sweden

Recently I took a small bicycle trip outside of Lund to one of the neighboring cities (village would be a more appropriate word). Once you hit the outskirts of town, everything changes rapidly to farmland. There are small towns in all directions from Lund, so many bicycle trips are possible. The great thing is that even once you leave town, there are bicycle paths along the highway and through the farm areas.

This trip I decided to go to Jakriborg. Jakriborg in fact was only created in the 90s, and by no means can be considered a typical small Swedish town. Two brothers created it based on their vision of what a city should be like. No cars allowed, no motorcycles, just bicycles and walking. Of course, it is small enough to walk from one end to another in 10 minutes or less, so it isn't much of a problem. It is surrounded by wall on one side, and farms on the other. A very strange place indeed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakriborg

No cars or motorcycles:


Main Plaza:





City wall:


Just outside Lund:


A park just before leaving Lund:


Leaving Lund:


This is what happens when someones bicycle breaks:


A random bench with a view of farms on either side, odd location:


Exiting the city of Hjarup: