Ljungby, Sweden - Polarsteps

I woke up this morning and Olivier had made a video compilation of birthday wishes, some of them from the people we've stayed with on our trip. I thought I was hallucinating because Michiel was speaking Swedish. Olivier got me an IKEA t-shirt with a selection of lovely little buttons. We decided to walk as little as possible for my birthday. After a curry breakfast, we immediately went to IKEA museum for some coffee and meatballs, and to wait for a bus. The bus driver was immensely friendly and offered to help us lift our cart inside. The hour long journey was through a forested area, and I stared in between the trees looking for moose until I thought I was going to throw up. We collectively wondered how the moose get over electric fences and how they fit through the small gaps between the trees. Upon arriving at Ljungby, we went to burger king to use the toilet and got a vegetarian whopper. It was freezing cold and raining. Although the rain didn't seem too heavy, the drops were fat and we got soaked very quickly. When we arrived at the Airbnb it was like being greeted by our grandparents. They let us borrow a couple of bikes and we went to the local indoor swimming pool, where we were traumatised by an extreme water slide. As we were waiting for the hot tub and the light was about to turn green, a hairy guy with the appearance of an overweight porcupine, eyes red, and a ratty little moleman, accompanied us. The latter looked like he was touching himself under the water so I got out, but Olivier didn't notice and stayed for the duration of the bubbles. It looked like a Cassius Marcellus Coolidge painting. Our hosts made us dinner for my birthday, and it was spectacular: big steak, potatoes, homegrown purple green beans, and bearnnaise sauce. We drank a grand total of four bottles of wine and got absolutely smashed talking about crime scene investigations, vaccinations, and the political and economic state of the world right now.