Reading in the shade 🍃

The photo shows a Swedish news anchor at 7 PM on Midsummer's Day. After finishing reading the news and handing over to the weather forecast, she suddenly put on a Midsummer flower wreath, which made me burst out laughing.

Midsummer festival is over, and now the days in Sweden are getting shorter. However, it's still the season for the summer sun. Children have long summer holidays. (According to the principal, summer homework is to swim a lot and eat a lot of ice cream. (　ﾟдﾟ)）

In the region where I live, today's sunrise is at 03:30 and sunset is at 22:10. A long day in a short summer. Nearby outdoor pools, lakes, parks, fishing, boating, barbecues. Campsites are also bustling with people. Smiles of all ages radiating in the summer light. Laughter echoing outdoors even at night (sometimes from drunks). There's a strong determination to enjoy the fleeting Nordic summer by more than 100%!

While observing the Nordics' summer switch, I tend to inhabit the "shade" when the sun is too enthusiastic. A summer where I can read an interesting book in the shade, feeling cool without the cold or humidity. It's a completely satisfying, nothing-to-complain-about summer holiday.

The three books I read in June all related to World War II and Germany, and it seems I somehow gravitate towards choosing them. In particular, one book, set in Germany during World War II, though fictional, largely follows historical facts and features real-life characters. The descriptions of the lives of German people and the state of the cities as the war situation changed were depicted with great realism and drew me in. The word "Meissen porcelain" even appeared once 💘.

When I actually hold and examine Meissen pieces that have survived two wars, I wonder what kind of history those plates and cups have gone through to reach the present day. This story further fueled those musings.

I also have a personal background music for when I muse about old Meissen. My personal fantasy is that the "lightning strike" in that song refers to "bombing." After all, Bremen, the city where the song is set, was severely damaged by air raids and other attacks during World War II.

Speaking of Germany, Andreas, a German friend who lives near Munich and just contacted me, is driving to a lake in Italy starting tomorrow. He said it only takes about 4 hours, so he goes there often during the summer. He asked me about my summer plans. ... It felt a little frustrating to answer that I was painting the house and didn't have much else planned. Maybe I should say that I'm going to study the Tripartite Pact this summer.

I've strayed from the topic. Preferences vary from person to person, and I'm not a big reader or music expert, so recommending anything feels presumptuous (lol). But if anyone is interested, here are some references. The title of the book is "Hitler's Armored Train." The song is "Bremen" by a band called Quruli. This is the encore version of their concert with an orchestra. With an orchestra from Vienna, and a Japanese band and chorus. Their joyful performance is wonderful ✨. You can listen to it on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIABSz01OV0

Well then, everyone, Japan is also heading into a hot summer. Switch on and stay well!