Surströmming, Crayfish And A Boat Ride

The day after landing in Sweden, we were taken to the Nystrom's cottage on the Baltic Sea for a sleepover.  What a treat that was!

"Skol!"

As you know, Joe likes food.  Especially local delicacies.  To prepare for our trip to Sweden, Joe researched surströmming; fermented herring in a tin.  Mats and Elisabeth were kind enough to indulge him and we had a surströmming tasting party down on the beach.

Joe opened the tin in the sea in case it exploded all over him.

"It doesn't smell that bad!" 

We ate the surströmming on Swedish bread along with tomatoes, onions, sour cream and boiled potatoes.  And had glasses of schnapps and beer at the ready.

"Skol!"

IT TASTED BEYOND TERRIBLE!  I couldn't eat it.

Neither could Mats.

Joe and Elisabeth were the surströmming King and Queen.

When we woke up from our afternoon nap, there was a crayfish party waiting for us!

AND THERE WERE HATS!

Elisabeth shows us how it's done.

Not only were there hats, but there was singing throughout the meal.  Joe and I couldn't sing the Swedish songs, so we sang 'O Canada' in English and French.

Sunday morning started with a swim, followed by a boat ride to have a picnic lunch on one of the 25,000 islands in the archipelago.

Thank you Mats, Elisabeth and Lovisa for an incredible weekend.  We will never forget your kindness and generosity.  Enjoy your time in Canada!  We can't wait to hear all about it.