The family was celebrating Midsommar. A whole day of activities planned. Apparently my bud didn’t think to pack me. So I got left behind while everyone else went off to see thousand-year-old dragon carvings and dance around a maypole.
I’m not bitter. I’m just documenting.
The Sigurd Carving#
First stop: a forest path leading to what Nicholas described as “Viking runes or something?” when he was trying to convince me it wasn’t a big deal he left me behind.
“Viking runes or something” turned out to be the Sigurdsristningen, one of Sweden’s most important Viking-age rock carvings. Carved around 1030 CE into a rock face at Ramsundsberget, near Sundbyholm. It tells the story of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer, the hero who killed the dragon Fafner, roasted its heart, and understood the language of birds afterward.
So not just “some runes.” A thousand-year-old comic strip about a guy who murdered a dragon and ate its heart. Which, honestly, is the most metal thing I’ve ever heard.
The red paint isn’t original. It’s a preservation technique to make the carvings visible. But the carvings themselves are nearly a millennium old. Sigurd, the dragon, the birds, the whole saga, all etched into this rock face in the middle of a quiet Swedish forest. The kind of thing you walk right past if nobody tells you it’s there.
On the walk back, Pokin found wild strawberries growing along the trail. As you do in Sweden.
These are smultron, Swedish wild strawberries. Tiny, bright red, and apparently the most Midsommar thing you can eat. Three berries in a palm. Sweden does portion control differently.
The Runestone#
A short drive south, they stopped at a runestone standing alone in an open field near Larsbo.
Södermanland, the region around Eskilstuna, has the densest concentration of runestones in Sweden. They’re everywhere, just standing in fields and forests like furniture someone forgot to move. This one has the classic serpent-band design with runic inscriptions, probably a memorial stone from the 11th century.
Midsommar at Sundbyholm Castle#
Then the main event. Cousin Karin brought everyone to Sundbyholms Slott, a castle from 1648 on the shores of Lake Mälaren, where the town puts on a proper Midsommar celebration.
The midsommarstång went up at 4 PM in the castle park. Families spread out on the lawn. Kids ran around. Flower crowns everywhere. The whole thing looked like a scene from a movie where someone says “let’s spend the summer in Sweden” and then everything is perfect.
I would have looked great in a flower crown, by the way.
The Family Picnic#
After the maypole, everyone went back to the family’s house for a home-cooked picnic on the deck. Classic falun-red Swedish house with white trim, climbing vines, flower beds, apple tree with a Swedish flag in the garden. The whole thing.
Cousin Karin organized the whole day, from the dragon carvings to the maypole to this.
I know all of this because I looked at the photos. Because I was at the hotel. Because Nicholas couldn’t be bothered to toss me in his backpack for what turned out to be the most Swedish day of the entire trip.
Next time, I’m going. Whether Nicholas remembers me or not.