There's something about them that appeals to me, be it the savoury smell of food, fun laughter, roaring music, assortment of sale items, or simply the feeling of nostalgia as I look at children playing on the kiddy rides.
It's a relief that in addition to Midsummer parties, there are also annual festivals and carnivals held in Karlskrona as well as our nearby towns.
Now, I get the chance to experience that nostalgia feeling once more and this time, it's my own kid flying on Dumbo, jumping on the trampoline and riding on the carousel. Doubly touches my heart.
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Marine Day
I've never imagined that I would be keen in a Marine Day Open House since being a sailor was probably one of the last on my ambition list.
That was before I became the wife of a sailor.
Now that I've gained slightly more awareness of ships, submarines and the navy, I have developed a whole new respect for the military and a sense of pride in the work they do. Well, being a jobless-and-no-income SAHM who only knows how to blog, ya'd better be proud of ya man.
It was the Marine Day last Saturday in Karlskrona. The sun was shining on the sea and the sky was a beautiful blue. For the only time in a year, people were allowed to stroll in the naval base and take guided tours into combat ships and even submarines.
We may have missed seeing our National Day Parade live on the floating platform but we were treated to an air force display right here in Karlskrona. The hubby was amazed to see the fighter plane plunge head down at an incredible speed or fly past while maintaining a 45 degree upward angle. As for Angel, she was enthusiastic about spotting the plane or the helicopter from among the clouds and would exclaim "There! There!" every time they appeared.
We only managed to go on board one ship, HMS Stockholm, because the queues were way too long and with a bulky stroller and sleepy toddler, one hour of wait and tour was all that we could afford. We were guided by a friendly crew of the ship, which is armed with torpedoes, one 57mm cannon and several machine guns and eight RBS15 anti-ship missiles.Naturally, the hubby was curious and asked many technical questions about their anti-submarine capacity, which I didn't even bother to decipher in my brain because I couldn't. I did what a wife could do, carry the sleeping toddler, listen and pretend to nod in understanding, and at the very least, stay by his side till the end of the tour.
If I could write my ambition list all over again, it would probably remain the same.
There was an area dedicated for kids and themed Pirate Land where kids could go on treasure hunting, get pirate swords, try fencing and go on pony rides too.
Guess what? It was Angel's 4th pony ride. Yeah, tell me about it. The mom hasn't been on any pony or horse yet.
Angel's favorite game was the obstacle course which she wanted to play over and over again. While others were busy counting the pieces of gold and getting points for their station, she was contented with climbing through tunnels and walking on the balancing beam.
My darling, mommy hopes you will be able to face any hurdle in your life with the same courage, joy and determination that you showed today.
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Sail Karlskrona
Sail Karlskrona, or Sailet it is called in Sweden, is a local tradition that take place here in Karlskrona. First held in 1980, it was originally an event where sailboats from around the world made their way to the Karlskrona harbor.
In recent years, it has evolved into a festival that also comprises of an amusement area, live band and food stalls.
The first thing we looked for when we arrived was F-O-O-D. I was jumping for joy that our house was a stone's throw away and that meant we did not need to cook that day. Hooray!We came across an array of food stalls selling international food from Spanish paella, Thai curry, French crepes to Polish pierogi.
This was the stall that captured my attention most. Burgers, I've eaten dozens in my life. Maybe even hundreds. But kangaroo, camel and crocodile meat burgers? I get it that kangaroo meat has only 2% fat, is rich in proteins and can lower my cholesterol level. But every time I picture a kangaroo, I think about the lively, hopping mommy kangaroo with a cute little baby joey nuzzled in her pouch. So thanks but no thanks for now.
We enjoyed our Thai lunch tremendously as we felt the sun warming every inch of our skin and admired the blue waters while our girl was taking her sweet afternoon nap.
The happiness of that afternoon was boosted by witnessing a beautiful rainbow crossing the blue sky.
For Angel, she was in paradise that day as she took ride after ride, laughing incessantly on every one of them.
This was the memorable pink elephant which could fly up if you pushed down the lever and held it in place. Alas Angel was too small to reach it comfortably and had to stretch out her arms, leaving her with minimal strength to hold the lever down. In the end, she kept bobbing up and down, making all of us guffaw, even the guy in charge of that station who ended up helping her to fly using his main controls and giving her double the usual time just to hear more of her giggles.
Too much energy to spare? Go for the trampoline! It makes you kick, jump and laugh simultaneously as proven by Angel, a definite way to burn off that extra oomph.
Judging from the pictures, you probably think that we spent half our time at the kiddy area.
B-I-N-G-O.
And probably more than half our money too. Considering that it costs 200kr (S$40) for six rides.
But give me a chance and I'll still do it all over again, just to see my girl exude the happiness that she did.
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Ronneby market
On the topic of carnivals, we also drove to Ronneby, a town situated around half an hour's drive from Karlskrona to visit their annual market.Which was by the way made up of similar stalls, similar kiddy rides and even the crew faces were familiar.
We realised that this carnival probably travels around Sweden but that doesn't stop us from wanting to visit it and obviously Angel loves every opportunity she gets on the rides.
We paid 40kr for the hook-a-present game which at least guarantees you a win every time. Angel chose a blue bag and brought home a little gray pony.
This was a first for Angel, a giant inflatable slide with steps to climb up and a slippery slide on the other end. I was initially skeptical if Angel could finish climbing up the long flight of steps on her own, but ended up she did it not once, not twice but at least 5 times. *beams* Even though she was slower than some of the other bigger kids, the most important thing was that she did not once give up halfway.
I have to say the slide was really steep and the ride down got a little too accelerating. Some of the girls who were older started screaming and even a couple of boys refused to slide down when they were at the top. The first time Angel did it, she got a huge shock. Yeah, you can see that she almost wanted to tear up. But lo and behold, after a couple minutes, she was ready to bring it on again and she rocked it time after time. That's my girl.
You probably know this game where you get three balls to knock down 10 cans. Sounds easy but in order to win, all the cans must fall off the shelf. Which reduces your winning chances by 90%. I never did believe it was easy and so when the hubby said he wanted to get an Angry Bird toy for Angel, I was like "Phaf. Are you serious?"
Whaddaya know. HE DID IT IN ONE TRY.Yeap. And made it look so easy. *jealous*
While it was Angel's second solo trampoline experience at Sail Karlskrona, it was her first ever here in Ronneby. She looked smaller than all the other kids and we half thought she was going to start to bawl when the guy started strapping her in the harness. But no, it seems like I keep underestimating my kid sometimes. She had such a fun time trying to jump up and down on the trampoline though her legs were a little too short to reach. Nonetheless, she didn't want us to help her and kept saying "I jump myself ok!"
Yes dear, mommy realises you are starting to be independent and like to achieve things by yourself. I will give you the freedom to do so but any time you need a hand, remember that mommy and daddy are always here for you.
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Check out Angel having fun at the carnivals in her new video here!
Seeing all her smiles, I think I'm loving carnivals even more. Do you?
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