Norrviken, Frog Stains, BBQ, and Woodworking

Last weekend, a Swedish colleague and his family invited D & J over for a barbecue at his home in Norrviken. Norrviken is just north of Kista and is a clean small community that developed on a thousand year old trade route next to a shallow swampy lake. In recent years the lake has dried up so that it's now about 3 kilometers in diameter. It's still a great spot for summer swimming and winter skating. Norrviken also borders a large forested park which is a favorite mountain biking area.

The most interesting thing about Norrviken, however, is the annual 2 week period of frogs. They emerge from the swampy areas of the lake and overwhelm the streets and neighborhoods. The city puts up signs to warn motorists of the road hazard (both to protects the motorist from sliding on squished frogs and to protect the frogs from death by Volvo tires, I suppose). The mass migration of frogs reminds me of the Mormon crickets in Utah. D & J once encountered them on a desert road in Utah and the wheel wells were full of blended cricket parts - it couldn't be helped.

The hosting family showed extreme hospitality, like all our other Swedish friends. They had a nice large yard with fruit trees, many flowers and a vegetable garden. The houses in the neighborhood were built in the 60's during some boom years for Sweden. The houses are brick which most Americans would prefer over wood, but in Sweden, wood or stucco is usually preferred. The gutters are made of copper! Imagine that today. The interiors, like most Swedish homes and buildings, have a special warmth and feeling of wood.

The hosts have an interesting life story that includes many foreign sojourns, notably in Ohio and Japan. They also own a 27 meter long freighter boat, which they spent 10 years refurbishing and actually lived on in a Stockholm marina for several years before buying the house. They take a 2 week trip in the boat each year into the interior of Sweden via a series of lakes, canals, and locks. The trip is with a group of other small freighters, all joining as a community.

The barbecue is very popular in Sweden, and is considered an American pastime that Sweden has imported. The host was a little nervous BBQ'ing for the "expert American." However, it was excellent and the American expert is not so expert. They BBQ'ed roast, wieners, and bratwurst. The dinner itself also included fresh cheeses (Sweden has great cheeses) and fresh breads. One of the delicious cheeses also had a sharp aroma. So sharp the Swedes call it balcony cheese because you should leave it on the balcony to keep it from smelling up the house. I tried it and liked it. Just goes to show you that you can't judge a cheese by it's odor... well not totally.

The dessert was glass (the Swedish words for ice cream) covered with fresh strawberries. So far every dinner D & J have had at a Swedish family's home has been excellent and this one maintained that standard. D & J worry that they can't come close to matching the culinary skills of the Swedish hosts, especially since D & J have a temporary kitchen and are less familiar with where to buy certain ingredients (all the ingredients are in Sweden but sometimes the Swedish words are not in our dictionary, especially spices).

The garage in the basement, like D's in the US, had been converted to a woodworking shop. Only this one had several industrial sized tools like an 18 inch joiner, a shaper, 20 inch bandsaw, and planer. He bought these from a Swedish tool maker for cash to get a really sweet deal. He also used German Festool routers, the brand D considers top-ot-the line. In the US, Festool's are about 70% higher than their competitors. But they are so much lighter and have higher precision than the other brands.