Day 1 Activities

A Swedish Summer Day

Our day started with meeting our group after breakfast at 10:30AM at the hotel lobby. We were a diverse group of about 20 from all around the world - Poland, Italy, Brazil, Costa Rica, and of course the states.

We were escorted to the trains. The trains in Stockholm are very efficient, very reminiscent of Tokyo. Usually the Swedes keep to themselves, and it's generally pretty quiet, but it isn't uncommon for people to carry on conversation on the train or take calls. However, when there are so many witnesses traveling to their activities, everyone notices. We say hello to all the wayfinders, other groups traveling and each other. It's honestly quite the witness. And our group seemed to be the loudest. I may have contributed to that energy. From the trains, we then were directed onto private buses and taken to the activity location -- Stora Skuggan

Stora Skuggan translates from Swedish to "Big Shadow" and is a large nature area within Royal National City Park. The park is beautiful and the brothers and sisters setup various locations for eating, games, pictures, and even a concert. Speaking to one of the coordinators, we learned that they needed to get permission from the government to setup an event like this. They initially tried to get permission from the government in a different location, but were rejected. But then got permission for this venue, which was much better. There were canopy tipi tents setup for the friends to enjoy their meal. They were prepared to spend 70,000 SEK (7,000 USD) for 2 of them. They received 3 at no charge. Jehovah really does provide.

What is a Swedish Summer Day?

That was the theme of our activity. We enjoyed various Swedish food - appetizers of reindeer, smoked salmon, and Swedish cheese pie. There was water, soda, and even beer. We enjoyed potato salad, sausages.

They setup challenge stations for the more exotic foods - pickled herring, Swedish Caviar, and the infamous fermented herring. Fermented herring, was the most challenging food I've experienced. I probably was the only delegate to take on the challenge twice, hoping it'd get better the second time around... It did not get better.

To wash out the taste, we had ice cream. They setup Fika stations - pastries that go with coffee. We enjoyed music, and Swedish folk dancing.

We enjoyed every minute of it. And we met so many friends from all over the world. It was a taste of what we will get to experience in the future. I hope everyone will get an opportunity to experience something like this.