I don't think there's one thing worse than having your birthday on the 1st of January. Oh wait, yes there is. Perhaps having your birthday on Christmas day. I mean who is going to give you two presents on the same day? It's easier to just writing "Happy birthday and Merry Christmas" in the same card. But be that as it may, we have a family friend who has her birthday on New Years Day, and this year she turned 60. So it was a big deal. Lots of people. Lots of Food. Lots of Drinks. Lots of Presents and then there was also Lots of Wind, Lots of Cold and Lots of Snow.
But it wasn't just a regular day. Her dream was to rent the lighthouse in a place called Fenörein in Oxelösund on the East Coast of Sweden. We were all going to sleep over in the lighthouse too. Now I don't know about you, but that was exciting for me to hear. I mean how often do you get to sleep over in a lighthouse?
We arrived on Monday night 31 December, and I was wearing nearly all the clothing I owned, to prevent my toes and fingers from freezing off. I have never in my life been as cold as that day. The wind was howling. The entire place was covered in ice. I have never seen ice on the rocks, right next to the ocean. It was amazing to see. It was a bit dark already, so the visibility was not so good and I couldn't wait to see it for real the next day when it was light.
The lighthouse was built right on this overhang of rocks above the freezing ocean, and was all toasty and warm inside, so I couldn't wait to take off all the layers of clothing I had on, for the walk from the car park to the lighthouse 500 metres away.
The party was great, and we had a fantastic time. It was really nice not having to drive anywhere afterwards, or go out in the cold again. Well there was the one time when we decided, after a lot of wine, to go and smoke some cigars in celebration. I found out that it's really difficult to hold a cigar when you can't feel your fingers. But it was fun anyway.
The following morning was beautiful. Snow and Ice all over the rocks and all over the trees. I went for a walk in the forest nearby, and for someone who comes from a country without snow, I was speachless. It was truly fantastic. What a great place to celebrate your 60th birthday.
