Umeå is vying to be Sweden’s nomination for the 2014 European Capital of Culture. So I headed off to find the best sights in town and the day began well, spectating a beach volleyball match on a make-shift sand pit in the city centre. The sunny morning ensured visitors, and sports-casual sandals, were out in full force. You know the type – cushiony sole complete with velcro strap – worn by both world travellers and people with arthritis.
Joining 18 others, who had come as far as Australia, America and Sundsvall for the guided city walk, I counted no less than 14 donning the popular foot attire and the majority opted for socks as standard. In two hours, we were herded around the town to see some unmonumental attractions including the Scandic hotel, the Telia phone shop and the place where electricity was first produced in the city.
We were also given a concise history on wood-panelled architecture but here I lost concentration and was distracted by the ’The Claw’ – one of my fellow guidees who really should have gone with the sock option.
The Claw: Not a pretty sight
Slightly unenthused, I decided to find the sights and sounds of Umeå that could better entertain the big-wigs from the European Culture Committee.
First stop was the phallic-style flower wood carvings which serve as an inviting entrance to the park. Here, an impromptu folk music duo was serenading a sizeable audience with a catchy song called ‘Hip Hip Hurrah, för Kungens pung’ (Hip Hip Hurrah, for the balls of the King).
Indeed, what constitutes art and culture has become a contentious issue in Umeå. And here I have to confess, a certain design piece left me a little confused. Entitled ”Nobody puts baby in a corner” the neon sign was inaugurated in 2008 on the wall of the city’s Vasa Church. So far I can only conclude the church hall doubles up as a venue for salsa practice in paying homage to the second best line from the movie Dirty Dancing. I personally would have opted for ”I carried a watermelon” but each to their own.
The confusion continued back in the hostel kitchen where I met a Swedish lumberjack who becomes my first nomination for ’most-surreal-person-I-have-met-on-this-trip’ award. Looking like he’d just come from a ZZ Top concert, we engaged in a spot of small talk while the kettle was boiling. I don’t recall how we got onto the subject of philosophy but I do remember him saying, ”David Icke is an icon” and I simply couldn’t resist leaving it at that.
Nobody puts baby in a corner: Ok, but can anyone explain why?
Icke, a former English TV presenter turned proclaimed Son of God has since disappeared from British screens but is travelling the world with his conspiracy theory talks. He must have done a gig for the Swedish Wood-Cutters Association as I was lectured for an hour on the secret plots of the global elite and how we are being poisoned into passiveness by the evil that is fluoride.
All the excitement from the day’s cultural awakenings were starting to make me sleepy so I brushed my teeth and dutifully went to bed.
“I carried a watermelon” has cred, and highlights your deep knowledge of the film…. but “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” is THE line of the film
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Those toes need some help. They make me feel like I’m prim and properly pedicured. Thanks.
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Good blog
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