December 13th

Skansen, Sunday arrival in Stockholm

After an 18 hour bus ride to Sweden the 70 NHL students accompanied by 4 teachers arrived in Stockholm on the 13th of December. After everyone stored their bags at the hostel a ferry took everyone to the nearby park Skansen to get acquainted with the country of Sweden and to celebrate Saint Lucia, the festival of light. Lots of Swedish people were visiting the park this afternoon. It felt as a warm welcome to Sweden and the long bus trip was forgotten right away.

Skansen is a small impression of Sweden itself. One part of the park is built like an historic village with a bakery, blacksmith, post office etc. The other side contained native animals like; moose, owls, cows and bears. In the middle of Skansen was a dancing area were people could join in a typical Swedish dances all surrounded by a Christmas market filled with the smell of delicious foods.
Many students and teachers joint this folkloric dancing, to enjoy tradition and to get warm. The atmosphere in the park was great.
In the evening, the regional Lucia was crowned with a candle hat followed by her singing a traditional song. At the end of the festivities was a big firework show. After this the students returned to the hostel to receive their room keys, followed by a night in the town.