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Tuesday, September 10, 2013

witness

http://cucinasvedeseperitaliani.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/surstromming/

Monday, September 9, 2013

Mission almost accomplished

Hi good fellas!
I will talk like a storyteller. but first of all I need a soundtrack...Selection is quite easy:

After three months of long and hard research in all the supermarkets...looking for informations among my collegaues, I was really discouraged. there is no way to find the object of my research in this part of Sweden. I am sure you know what I am referring to. The title of this blog, is the final goal of my permanence here and apparently my efforts were giving no results up to last Friday.  In order to accomplish my last attempt of success, I couldn't do it alone, so I asked the help of a valid support: Silvia from Geneve:
her arrival in Lund gave a new enthusiasm to my mission, and soon after her landing in Sweden we took the car for a long trip:
Destination: abroad
Country: Nimis
In this micronation, created in 1996 (nimis), storytellers talk about some hints about our beloved surstromming. The mission was not easy; the place is quite hidden on the coast and no arrows were indicating the way except for some yellow N on the trees

...but after a long walk of 30 minutes, on the shore of the sea, this was the scene that impressed our eyes:
 At a first glance, some Veneto-Italian could define it as "ruinazzi" but...going a bit deeper in the details it was clear that tides were not able to create such a construction. Tunnels, wood tunnels were departing in every direction. Some of them, so tight that the bagpack was hardly passing trough the holes:







Once reached an open-to-the-sky place, we could look backward.

a systems of fortification erected by an artist? the opera of a crazy genius? the signs that we are not alone on the universe? no answers to my questions. But of course it was our destiny to be here that day and that time. and even more it was written in the pages of fate that I would have climbed the highest tower and there, right on the top of it could experience the contact with HIM!


The box stinks even when sealed....it means that is going rotten and it is better to wait that it is totally spoiled before eating it. With no reflection, my hand put it in the bag...me and Silvia ran away from Nimis before serious consequences could put our life and (mine, hers, and the one of the Sustromming) in danger.
as soon as we reached a calm place, the stress cumulated in our bones was finally vanishing
 and a deep sleep took its place:






Now, I want to show you that the "rotten flavoured box" is safely in my place and to do this, you can see on the background the post I am writing



The expiring date says clearly: best before 31/12/2014, but we could think about the meaning of "best" in this context: does it mean "good", "not so bad", "better than a slap in your face", "simply disgusting"!?..who knows, but of course you are invited to the surstromming tasting contest that will be held in Farges in the new year eve of 2014! for the time being the can will be kept in the fridge in a controlled environment, waiting for its maturation!

Changing subject I am getting closer and closer to my departure from Sweden, today I booked the ferry-boat that is gonna bring me from Ystad to  Swinoujsce in Poland from where I will drive to Berlin to spend on resting week with my friend Silvia (anotherone), before my final docking in Farges! I still have to figure out how to load the trunk of my car, but considering that:
- I didn't buy new fancy or posh clothes
- I go back home with the same stuff I came here
- my car has the same dimensions of three months ago.
I realize that I could stop thinking about that!
Great then!
See you soon!

Sunday, August 18, 2013

The Baaaaaand!


"The Baaaaand" was shouting Jake Blues, listening to the sermon of James Brown in Blues Brothers! and The Baaand is what is gonna play in ESS next thursday! the 22nd of August the first gig of Loading Dock Band (John: mandolin,  Zvonko: mandolin, Dave: banjo, Ken: lead fiddle, Andrea: guitar, Anders: guitar)  is gonna take place in occasion of the "End Of Summer Fika"!
As you know our playlist is a country-ish/bluegrass-ish/celtic-ish/Irish-ish and whatever sounds a bit old and "ish" and is not blues or Jazz...The office is full of banners advertising the show...so, I think there is no room left for running away...I will keep you updated with whatever material from the event!
Long time I haven't posted anything, but honestly....nothing happened in the last 3 weeks! ahaha no I am jockin'; the thing is that the exceptional summer of this year was inviting all the citizens of the Gulag (the name of the "Klostergardern student house" where I and other coleagues live) to stay in the park and enjoy, like lizards, the warm evenings.
The Gulag

I think I never had as many BBQ as in Lund...days and days with the face covered with a fine coal make-up, like a train driver of the 19th century!! Today, fortunately, is autumn...rain, wind and coat-on...so I have time to write some lines!


Great Friday night in Malmo for the opening act of the Caryfish Festival....basically the festival works like this:
  • you bring your own food;
  • you bring your own beers;
  • you bring your own shots (maaaaaany shots);
  • if you are lucky u can grab a table, if not you bring your own and also chairs;
  • YOU CAN PARTY!
Bizzarre, I know, but at least there are no lines at the food boots. I have to say that the atmosphere was quite tipsy and,  at a point, I was able to make a friend (after what I forced him to do I don't know if he still calls me "friend") drink a shot made with the salty water pouring down the crayfish.."it was really disgusting and I wanted to punch you!" (he told me after he woke up from the faint). A part from this really interesting experiences, the festival is really cool and the concerts line-up is amazing and, more than this, it is free (give your hands to the word "free")! http://malmofestivalen.se/.
To conclude the post I attach hereby a picture taken from the Malmo Central Station (the automatic voice of the train normally announce it "Màlmò Centrooooooole") that made me understand that, eventually, Sweden is not a very dangerous place to stay!
Looking at this picture I realized that I am wearing the same clothes of Friday, so I think It is a wise choice to tell you that "I am gonna blow this popsicle stand" (I learnt this new phrase to say in a really rude way...it is time to leave this place, thank you Steph, Dave and Alex for the urban English lectures!) to take a shower!
Ciao Ciao

Sunday, July 28, 2013

XXX

Hei Hei,
it is tremendously hot here in the south (of Sweden), I couldn't sleep well tonight because of this!
Something that I learnt in Geneva, and is valid here as well, is that each and every silgle sunny day has to be enjoyed as if it were the last one on earth..tomorow may be raining (and infact today is gonna rain).
here you are a photo summary of the activity of the last weeks.
Heading to the Landskrona Marina

Captain Polat

Docking in Ven Island

Welcome in Ven

A landscape of Denmark from the top of Ven's Harbour





yes yes yes...I tried for the first time sailing. Of course I wasn't alone...and the experience of the crew made the journey easy and funny. My contribution to the trip was to keep the beers while Dave was working on the sails..and i think I did it well. Anyway it was an amazing experience and I hope to try it again...of course my memories fly directly to one of my favourite movies (sorry but it is an Italian one)



and I don't know if I looked more like Fantozzi or Filini...

Of course in these weeks my dear friend Guitar was always with me, and it happens more and more often that I go to work with the guitar case on my shoulders. Every Wednesday the ESS "Loading Dock" band make its reharsals and I started to join the band..Furthemore, thanks to my friend Dave, I started to participate to the Lundavagen 42 sessions that take place in a bar in Malmo. I find it simply awesome: you can stay there, drink one or two beers (or even three if u are thirsty), play, sing, clap hands,  whatever it makes a sound is welcome. Which kind of music do we play? that is super funny; I didn't know but it seems that in Sweden  Folk   music is incredibly popular...so I am dipping into these:


Aren't they amazing???
I was also asked to play some tunes during these sessions...I started with a "Sanfrancisco Bay Blues" and "Singing the Blues" but I think that I got more success when I started "je so pazzo" by Pino Daniele, so in conclusion I think that I will work a bit more on some Italian songs in order to share them with Lundavagen 42 crew and to make the world to understand that Eros Ramazzotti and Laura Pausini aren't the only artists that we can export! ahaahahah
ciao ciao!



Thursday, July 18, 2013

SONG OF THE DAY

When you wake up with such a song....the day starts in the right way

Sunday, July 14, 2013

4th WEEK

Hi,
a link that describes this week:
 

 



for the first time of my life I played rugby (Lucio C would be proud of me, I know)...one of my coleagues is French, another one is British...result, instead of the good old football match afterwork, what if we play rugby?..what if...what if, I never played before, but ok let's give it a try. 
  • Easy version for beginners, touch rugby: no tackle just touch and stop the game: done
  • a bit more difficoult, walking rugby: normal rules, but not allowed to run: contacts are quite hard, but ok, my "teachers" are taking care of me.
  • Final match "normalrugbybutguysdon'ttackletoohardAndreathatisthefirsttimeforhim": 20 minutes...run as the hell, full of blue tatoos on my body and ribs like this (Andrea's ribs) more or less
The funny thing is that most of the times I committed suicide in the sense that falling - alone - I hurt my chest with MY ARM! result of this first contact: no sleep for two nights, friday night I had the fever...and moving on the bed was a real curse...next time (I already confirmed that I will participate again) I will be more careful with my strongest opponent: myself...
The evening ended with one beer with the team....no no it wasn't one, maybe two, mmm no I think more three...well I don't remember exactly, but it was really funny indeed.
hopefully now I recovered and today I was able to ride the bike and play the guitar again, so I would say that all the important things are fine, I have smoe insingicifant rpoblemsm to slpel teh wrods, but I can confrim thta I ma ok!
ahahah great!
 
I close saying that sun is shining outside but days are getting shorter and shorter (someone told me 7 minutes per day that is a lot!) and I can celarly see it, I am a bit sad because of that....
Ciao ciao! 
Andrea "Colin McRib" Polato