Latest sunset of the Year
Growing up in Sweden, I learned early on to attach safety reflectors to my winter jackets and school bags. However, during spring and summer, no-one wears reflectors and shops don’t stock them. Who needs reflectors when dusk turns into dawn and the sun is up again after about 6 hours? Even in southern Sweden, it wasn’t until August that the nights turned pitch black so that I could not find my way home from the parties without bike lights. I have to point out though, that it is safer to use bike lights and safety reflectors in the twilight hours too so you don’t get hit.
Years later, when I lived in Geneva, Switzerland, friends visited mid June with a suitcase full of pickled herring, small fresh potatoes, snaps/aquavit and other must-haves for a Swedish Midsummer celebration. The warm summer night was perfect for a backyard party. However, by the time we got to the strawberry dessert we realized something was very wrong. Everything tasted right, but something felt wrong. It was too dark! It was pitch black. An evening that slowly, slowly changing into morning without a dark night in-between turned out to be as important as herring and strawberries for that “real” Swedish midsummer feel. And, yes, some of the local guests who came by bike needed their bike lights to find their way home afterwards. If it had been today, I would have given them some safety reflectors too!
The Longest Evening is Not at Summer Solstice!
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