Hello from Örebro!

The ice skating was great fun! It is much harder than it looks. We were able to skate on one of Sweden's biggest lakes, lake Vänern. It is frozen solid. Emma told me the ice is so thick, it could comfortably hold a car even though you could see large splits in the ice. In fact, people sometimes drive cars out onto the lake and lock up the wheels on purpose for an unforgettable ride. We also walked through the city park called Mariaberget, which includes many historical buildings, a petting zoo, and a kids playground. I enjoyed it tremendously.

Listen to the crunch. A path has been cut through the snow for skating.

Jonatan told me a little bit about his work with Melodifestivalen today as well. Photography is his hobby and he was able to step in and help this year when a fan website needed people to cover the event. He has been traveling around to all the qualifiers in Sweden and will be in Stockholm too. He said he took about 3,000 photos at yesterday's rehearsal and 8,000 in Malmö last week. Of those, he will get about 100 usable photos. I also thought my backpack was heavy. Seeing Jonatan's backpack helped me put things into perspective. He carries around a lot of equipment to get the job done. You can see some of his handiwork here at Poplight.se.

I said goodbye to my second set of CouchSurfing hosts a few hours back and have arrived in Örebro. I've also settled into my hostel for the evening. The Ritz Nightclub opens its doors at 10 p.m. and closes at 2 a.m, so the night has just started. The club plays a blend of 80's and 90's music with a touch of today's tracks. This evening, they have promised to play several Ace of Base songs as well. Bonus. There is no word yet on when Jenny Berggren will take the stage.

I've been getting my recording gear ready to use by emptying used memory and replacing batteries. I expect to run through a lot of both. For now, I will head out shortly in search of more of my favorite Swedish foods before the club opens up.