All language subtitles for trav1

They say to travel is to live.

Well, maybe, if a day at the airport
doesn't suck the life out of you first.

I mean, where else would you be
told to arrive two hours early,

only to become dangerously
close to being two hours late?

Still, I think my travels
last year were good for me.

They seemed to
broaden my outlook.

To a degree.

So now, I'm taking on what is apparently
a must-do for any respectable traveler.

I'm doing Europe.

All right. Where
are we, exactly?

I'm going all continental

from the very top
to the very bottom.

I'm heading off the beaten track to
discover some real hidden gems...

Are you getting this?

And embrace this budding
spirit for adventure.

Look at me. No hands.

They're right here.
What is this, the bow?

I'll be educating
my taste buds...

Wow, that was so good.

Grapes are ready.

And trying to live like a local.

Welcome to my village.

This is insane.

I just saved your
life. Remember me.

I'm packing any worries
in my luggage...

Here they come. Here they come.

You never know what the body's
gonna do when it's in abject terror.

I don't think I've done anything
quite like this since I was a kid.

And I'm about to utter three
words I've never said before.

Ready for takeoff.

Every journey has
to begin somewhere.

I came up with that.

Mine starts up here, at the
northernmost tip of Sweden,

with the whole continent of
Europe stretching out before me.

That's a daunting thought for
someone who isn't too well traveled.

For the first leg of my
epic European adventure,

I've flown 6,000 miles
across seven time zones,

from Toronto to a little town
called Gammelstad in Sweden,

that's so far north, I'm barely
30 miles from the Arctic Circle.

I've heard when you're this
far north, the sun doesn't set.

How can you live without night?

Normally, if you're having a bad
day, you know it's gonna end.

I mean, I'm a creature of habit.
I like night following day,

but the Swedes may have
a different take on it.

Here in Sweden, they
celebrate the longest day

with the biggest festival
in their calendar.

Midsummer.

But before I can join in
the weekend holiday fun,

local guide, Robert, is taking
me to my hotel in his taxi.

- Is this how you do it?
- Yes.

And I'll happily cough
up a sizable tip,

if we make it there
without taking on water.

Let's go.

Got a lot of river here, Robert.

It's the second-largest
river in Sweden.

It's 580 kilometers long.

It's massive.

In the 1500s, when Sweden
started to modernize,

we used the rivers for logging.

So, the logging industry
is a big industry here?

Yeah, we have a lot of trees.

And he's not kidding.

There are something
like 87 billion of them.

That's more than a third
of all the trees in the US,

squeezed into a country
roughly the size of California.

The trouble is, all that
forest also means...

Mosquitoes.

- Mosquitoes?
- Yeah.

We have more than 47 different
breeds of mosquitoes.

Forty-seven different
kinds of mosquitoes?

- Yes. Yeah.
- Wow.

What do people do,
mostly, up here?

The outdoor life is
really big up here.

In the summer, we go out on the rivers,
we go kayaking, boating, fishing.

In the winters,
we go ice fishing,

we go in the forest,
snowmobiling and so on.

The life here is very extreme.

Like a lot of city folk, my idea
of extreme is having no Wi-Fi.

So, arriving in a place where the
main road is a river is unnerving,

to say the least.

For now, we're getting
close to your hotel.

To the Arctic Bath.

I'm guessing with a name
like the Arctic Bath,

this isn't a hotel
for the faint-hearted.

Designed to resemble a logjam,
the hotel caters to people

who want to experience the
finer side of the wilderness

for just under $1,000 a night.

Showing me around is Jessica,

whose family have lived in
this unique part of the world

for generations.

So, this is it.

I have to say,

this is one of the strangest-looking
structures that I've ever seen.

A floating ring
containing a restaurant,

Jacuzzis and a sauna.

And at its center, a plunge
pool into the river Lule itself.

You see the net that
comes around here?

It's to keep the pikes from coming
in, biting your toes when swimming.

- Oh, really?
- Yeah.

So, this is where you
will stay. Come in.

This is your room.

Big window.

So you can get all of
that sun, all night.

And what do we have
covering the windows?

I mean, is it...

- Well, you have the blinds here...
- Yeah.

But why would you
wanna use them?

Well, I mean, for...
let's say, sleeping.

Well, if you're here, experiencing
the northern Swedish way to live,

you should leave
the blinds open.

- Leave the blinds open?
- Yeah.

I might need it just
a little darker,

- But...
- Yeah.

My mom and I are doing some baking,
this traditional bread that we make.

So, if you want, you should
stop by to pick up some bread

to bring for the celebrations.

- You can meet my mom. Say hi.
- All right.

- Okay. Thank you, Jessica. Thank you.
- Thank you.

Baking bread is just one part
of the Midsummer preparations.

Every year, this tiny
town transforms itself

to welcome thousands
of revelers.

And Jessica has told
me to go and meet one,

Eva, in the town square.

Ever get the feeling you've
come a little under dressed?

- Hi, Eugene. Hello. I'm Eva.
- Hi. Eva.

- Yes.
- This is my husband.

His name is Göran.

- Göran? Nice to meet you.
- Yeah.

- Yeah. Come and join us.
- Okay.

We are going to
prepare for Midsummer.

Okay. So, what we were seeing
here is just, what, a rehearsal?

Exactly. That is
what we are doing.

Midsummer is almost
like our national day.

It's the day that
everybody celebrates.

We are going to dance
around the maypole.

What does the maypole
have to do with Midsummer?

Because life starts in
summer, and some people say

that it's a phallic symbol
and you raise it up.

Where I'm from, you
usually have a drink or two

before getting down
to this kind of talk.

- Okay.
- Yeah.

So, it's a pretty thing and
it's also a phallic symbol.

Exactly.

I see. And then you
just raise it up.

And you h... As you see,
it's a pole and the bar.

And at the end of the bar, you
will also hang two circles.

And you can guess what
they could symbolize.

And when... Well, we could...
we have an imagination.

I think you could help
us decorate the maypole.

- I certainly will.
- Yeah.

Well, this is awfully pretty.
What, do you just step over here?

Should I just step
over the thing?

I'll be with you in
about five, ten minutes.

- Shall I take your hand?
- Here.

- Great.
- Thank you.

- At the bottom.
- On the bottom?

- Put them on the bottom.
- Yes.

- You can hold it.
- Yeah.

- I've got a string here.
- That's it.

- But will you make sure that...
- Your hands okay?

My... So far.

- Look at this. See?
- Yeah.

The flowers come out
around Midsummer.

The sun brings life to
flowers and to people.

So, there's a lot
of action Midsummer.

Definitely is.

Around 22nd of March was the most
common date of birth in Sweden.

- Really?
- Really.

Midsummer and nine months after.

I think I know why they now
get so excited about it.

It's all becoming crystal clear.

The flowers on the pole, I think,
are just, you know, dressing on the

on the salad, so to speak.

But the salad itself is,
"Come on, baby. Let's go."

Well, this is one of the best-looking
phallic symbols I think I've ever seen.

All this discussion of salads
and dressing is making me hungry.

So I'm heading to the bakehouse to
meet Jessica, and her mom, Jane.

I hear I can't turn up to
the festival empty-handed,

so we're gonna bake bread.

Okay. Welcome to the
baking of the mjukkaka.

- Okay. This is, what, "haka"?
- Mjukkaka.

- Mjukkaka.
- Yeah.

It basically translates
into soft bread.

So, Jane, you've
been doing this...

- Oh, yes. I've been...
- for quite a while.

- This isn't your first loaf of bread.
- I used to bake 180...

- A day.
- A day.

That's a big dinner.

This is kind of
our signature bread

and she's very particular about
how it's supposed to be made.

- Yeah.
- Okay.

- Yeah.
- You can take some flour and put here.

- Okay.
- Just a little.

- Gonna give you this one...
- Yeah.

And take this roll pin.

- Uh-huh.
- You have to be soft on your hands.

- Gentle hands.
- Yes.

Gentle hands. Yeah.

Well, if anybody has
gentle hands... See?

Jane, does your husband help
you when you're baking bread?

He's not allowed to do
this because he can't.

They look like this, and
then we can't sell them.

My fiancé is... No,
he can't come here.

He uses way too much flour. No.

They are good at cooking
food but not baking.

- Yeah.
- Why do I have the feeling

I might be the next man
banned from this kitchen?

How long have you
been married for?

Is that a... I've been
married for 46 years.

- Wow.
- Yeah.

- That's...
- Not bad.

- No, no, no.
- Okay.

That's not bad.

- You have any tips?
- Well...

- Up here, not there. Only up here.
- Up...

That would be one.

Listen, I would say.

- Listening would be good.
- Yeah. Listening.

- Yeah.
- Yeah? That's good?

- You have to listen to me.
- That's what she got out of it.

Okay. Yeah?

- How's that?
- The shape is supposed to be round.

- Jessica.
- Eugene.

- More here, and less there.
- All right.

Uh-huh.

I don't know whether it's a Swedish
thing or, you know, whatever,

but, no, these women are
very strong women, you know?

They don't take a lot of guff.

They just like to do things their
way and make sure it's right.

And if you're not doing it
right, get out of the way.

Forty-seven varieties of
mosquitoes here in Sweden.

In the oven it goes.

- In the oven it goes.
- Yes.

- One, two, three.
- Oh, no.

- This is not a good thing.
- Hold it.

No. This will be ugly,
but put it in anyway.

Jessica's nothing,
if not encouraging.

Okay, it's not gonna win
any prizes for how it looks,

but the secret's in the tasting.

- It's good, right?
- Wow.

There is actually a
folklore tale about bread,

that women back in,
like, the 18th century

used to sleep with a loaf
of bread under their arms

to sort of boost
it with pheromones.

And then they were to give it to
the person they were going to marry.

And if they ate it, they knew,
like, "Okay, this is the one."

That's a horrible tale.

If you don't see
it, it's very nice.

See? You can't judge
a book by its cover.

And I'll tell you what else is
difficult to judge this far north.

Bedtime.

This, to me, is actually
the definition of sadism.

You know, how do we torture a guest
who really wants a good night's sleep?

We'll put in a set
of blinds like these,

that don't really close and
don't really block out the light.

And you think if anyone
could design a system

that blocks out the light
and does it quickly,

it would be the Swedes.

Now, this is where you might
expect to see some beautiful shots

of the sun setting, but it won't
do that for another six weeks.

Even at midnight, it's like Mother
Nature can't find the off switch.

I guess when you live somewhere that's
so dark for so much of the year,

you need to make the
most of the sunlight.

Well, you might be surprised to
learn that despite having no night,

I've emerged rested
and invigorated.

I discovered the eye mask.

They had them laid out.

I've never used one
before, never needed one.

Put it on, slept like a baby.

Yeah. So it's all good. It's
actually quite a vista here.

During the Midsummer
holiday weekend,

Swedes flock to
the great outdoors.

So, today, I'm heading
out into the wilderness

to really live like a local.

Turns out the way you do that
here isn't quite what I expected.

I'm going to meet
a moose caller.

Jessica was kind enough
to set that up for me.

I'm really up for doing everything that
I can under the umbrella of discovery.

Here we go. Here we go.

Now, I've never seen a
moose back home in Canada,

which is a surprise,

considering an adult male
can reach 7 feet tall

and weigh a thousand pounds.

But, like me, they're shy.

So it takes someone
special to lure them out.

Like a man who can
talk to a moose.

I hear he has his own
cabin in the woods.

I think of him as kind of a
Grizzly Adams kind of guy.

I don't think this gentleman would be
coming out to greet me in a sports jacket.

- Hello.
- Hello, hello.

- My name is Mikael.
- Mikael.

- Yeah.
- Eugene.

- Nice to meet you.
- And nice to meet you.

I think you should borrow this one
because we have a lot of mosquitoes.

- I've heard.
- And you don't want them to eat you up.

Okay, this look is not gonna
get me the cover of GQ,

but if it keeps the
mosquitoes away, I'll risk it.

So, I think we should
take a walk in the wood.

What do you think about that?

- Then we...
- Take a nice quick walk.

- How about that?
- Yeah. And I can show you my living room.

You are doing the moose-calling
activities under the mating season.

So, the bull moose is coming in and think,
"Oh, I have a nice girlfriend here."

And he get really disappointed when
he see the little fat guy from north.

Little fat guy from the north?

I hope he doesn't mean me.

I've heard a moose can
run 35 miles an hour.

So, disappointing one
seems like a bad idea.

If the moose come,
don't move at all.

Maybe I should stand behind you.
Like... Would that be a good thing?

Yeah, you do whatever you want.

Do you feel happy now?

So then we start to
call in the moose.

It sounds like you're ill.

Don't laugh at me.

- I'm really serious here.
- No, no, no, no, no.

It takes some getting used
to because when you hear it,

- you think, you know...
- Yeah.

You should get to a drugstore
or something. But it's...

Do you like to try it?

Don't try this in Toronto.

In Toronto?

It seems crazy
trying it in Sweden.

- That one works.
- Is that good?

That's good.

I don't see anything.

Normally, it would
take how long before...

- Maybe three, four hours...
- Okay.

Because it takes long
time for them to walk.

Okay.

What if you have
dinner reservations?

- Or, let's say...
- Yeah.

- Forget the dinner.
- Forget the dinner?

Yeah.

Do you see anything yet?

- Anywhere?
- Nothing.

Well, we've been
stood up by a moose.

It's a low point, but Mikael's still keen
to show me why Swedes love nature so much.

In Sweden, for some people, when
you run around all the time...

- Yeah.
- Sometimes you run a little too fast...

- Uh-huh.
- So you leave your spirit.

So, sometimes, you must
stop a little while.

Wait for your
spirit to come back.

- Right. Yeah.
- Yeah. And some people said,

"It can be ångestdämpande to be
out in the forest, relaxed and"...

Ång... Ångestdämpande is
being out in the forest,

- being more relaxed?
- Yeah.

I have to be honest, this is a very, very
heavy mosquito thing out here right now.

- Yeah.
- So I'm not...

I'm not really, you know, as
relaxed as, let's say, you are.

Well, Mikael, thank
you for taking me out.

It was really nice
to have you here.

What's your percentage of actually
getting a moose to respond?

Under the mating season,
it's really good.

I guess some guys
have all the luck.

Oh, well. Maybe I'll
see one back in Canada.

Finding my ångestdämpande proved
to be as elusive as seeing a moose.

But my day immersed in
nature isn't over yet,

and maybe I can discover it
with the help of Robert...

Hello.

Who's promised to take
me on a nice river cruise

to a Midsummer's eve barbecue.

- Well, kayaks.
- Yeah.

I thought there might be a motorboat,
like the one we had the other day.

But that's...

That's also... Sometimes we will do
motorboating, other times we do kayaking.

Well, my lucky day.

- Yeah.
- Life jacket? There you go.

I wanna make sure when I get to the
other side, I'm still breathing.

- Yeah. It's a good idea.
- Yeah.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

Whatever happens,
you never panic.

- Uh-huh. Never panic.
- Never panic.

You never know what the body's
gonna do when it's in abject terror.

- Don't panic. No.
- No. Don't panic.

- Whatever happens.
- Two of my favorite words.

Take the paddle and push out.

Perfect. Very good.

Now, I've been up a few creeks in my time,
but at least today, I've got a paddle.

You know, one of the things that I love
about getting out on the water like this...

- Uh-huh.
- No mosquitoes.

No mosquitoes?

I love that.

- How does it feel?
- It feels pretty good. Silky smooth.

Yeah? That's nice.

I think this is something
I was born to do.

This is actually quite pleasant.

It's probably the most relaxing
I've been since I've been here.

There's a word for
that too, isn't there?

"Ångestastrapende."

Yeah, how do you spell it?

We don't have that kind of time.

Ångestdämpande.

Yes. Ångestdämpande.

Which is getting a total
hit of peace and relaxation,

and generally being
anxiety and stress-free?

Oh, yeah.

Just go with the flow, and
that's something we do also

when we are out
kayaking like this.

Go with the flow.

Going with the flow
is food for thought,

but right now, my thoughts
are on actual food.

And in Sweden, they say when the
snow melts, the grills come out.

They say it in Swedish, though.
Thought I'd point that out.

- Hey, everybody.
- Hi.

The pilgrims have landed.

Mikael.

- Hello, Eugene. How are you?
- Mikael's already here,

which makes me think either
he can run faster than

a 35-mile-an-hour
moose, or he drove.

- Hi.
- This is my son, Emil, here.

Emil? Nice to meet you.

- And that's my wife, Anna.
- Hello.

- Anna. Really nice to meet you.
- Anna? Nice to meet you.

What's it like
living with this guy?

I mean, is it just... is...
does he just drag you out there?

If you're not coming,
we're... You know?

We're hiking into the woods
today, whether you like it or not.

"Stampenande"...
"Ångestampenande"... What?

Ångestdämpande.

- Ångestdämpande.
- Yeah.

He tried to explain
it to me in the woods,

but we were so busy fighting mosquitoes,
I wasn't quite getting it, you know?

Ångestdämpande.

The idea that you can use something
to relieve stress and anxiety.

The fact that here in
Sweden, it is nature,

I kind of twigged to that when
I was on the river in the kayak.

Kids are awfully cute.

- Thank you.
- Let me see how big you are.

Let me see how big you are.

- Oh, my goodness.
- He's smiling.

Yeah, I think he's ready
to go out on the river.

I can take him out and
give him some tips.

Having started to find
my ångestdämpande,

I'm now in the right frame of
mind for tomorrow's big event.

The Midsummer festival.

It's time for a Swedish
celebration of the sun

and everyone's ready
except the sun,

which looks like it might
not turn up to its own party.

This downpour brings a whole new
meaning to going with the flow.

I mean, the idea that
you're celebrating the sun

and you can't see it
is something that,

you know, books can be
written about, I guess.

But they're totally excited about
it and I think it'll be fun.

- Hi.
- Jessica.

Welcome to Midsummer.

Well, thank you so much.

I thought you might
need an umbrella.

Yes, it appears that the sun
might not be coming out today.

No. This is typical Midsummer.

- Uh-huh.
- It's supposed to be a little bit rainy,

otherwise it's not
really Midsummer.

And I guess you want
the real experience.

I want as true an experience
as we can get here...

- Yes.
- For Midsummer.

The highlight of the festival
is the raising of the maypole,

followed by dancing, drinking

and, well, whatever dancing and
drinking leads to afterwards.

But first, Jessica
wants me to embrace

a rather different
Swedish tradition.

I thought we could start off with some
Swedish fika, if you would like to?

- Swedish fika.
- Yeah.

It normally involves,
like, a pastry and coffee,

but it's really just a moment to relax,
sit down, have a chat with a friend.

- This, I like.
- Fika is the best.

Some of the things on
offer at the festival

are a real treat
for the taste buds.

- You like it?
- I love it.

And then, there's this.

The Swedes love pickled herring,

a pungent, fermented fish,

usually served as part of
a buffet or smorgasbord...

Hi. Could I have a
taste of the herring?

And Jessica is really
keen for me to try it.

You peel the fish?

- Yes.
- Yes.

Boy, this is... Can't wait.

You can eat with the
bones, but it's not...

No. You don't want the bones.

What do you think?

It's really good.

- Are you sure?
- Yeah.

- You're not joking?
- No, no, no.

Not joking?

And post herring,

Jessica has something
to wash away the taste.

Here we are.

We're joining Eva and Göran
for a traditional toast

before the raising
of the maypole.

So, my mjukkaka, I think I
did a pretty damn good job.

- It's delicious. Really. Very good.
- Is it not good?

- I like it very much.
- Good.

Well, see, it's not
that difficult...

- No. You were really good at it.
- Baking bread.

- Right?
- Yeah.

So, there is a schnapps,

but we need to sing before
we are allowed to drink it.

- I hope you practiced.
- Göran?

- Lovely.
- Lovely.

- Good schnapps.
- Yeah, good schnapps.

Well, it's Midsummer.
You have to.

The sense of fun, right?

If you have a tradition that has been
going on for several hundred years,

it's a part of
being who you are.

I am Swedish and my
parents did this,

my grandparents did this,
their parents did it

and their grandparents did it.

And it's a happy time of year
and somehow takes hold of you.

There's an irony to celebrating the
sun when you're soaked to the skin.

Singin' in the Rain has
nothing on the Swedes.

In most parts of Sweden, there
is men lifting the maypole up.

But in the north of Sweden,

we have really strong independent
women who can do it themselves.

Like your mom.

Yes, my mom is a very
strong independent woman.

And there it is.

Yeah!

Should we climb up on this
so we can get a spot maybe?

They're dancing around.

Oh, my God.

This is the frog dance.

Okay.

This is how the noise
they made... they make.

Of course, nothing says
Swedish Midsummer more

than dancing like a frog.

This was a French marching tune,

but the Swedes turned it
into a much-loved folk song.

I love the fact that they're
doing it with such glee...

- Yeah.
- In this weather.

I don't know whether I've seen
anything quite like this before.

Only in Sweden.

The weather doesn't matter to us. It
could be raining, it could be sunny.

We will still be
here celebrating.

I gotta be honest. I'm actually
having a ball out here.

- Yeah? Really? I knew you would.
- Yeah, I don't think I've done anything

- quite like this since I was a kid.
- No. No.

If my little grandson James, you
know, and my daughter, you know,

and my son were
here, and my wife,

I would have been dancing
around the pole today.

Seeing this, in this weather,

just makes me love these people.

It's a pretty funny concept of the
maypole being a phallic symbol.

It's tough, equating that with a family
celebration, but it goes beyond that.

It's the fertility that
goes, actually into the soil,

fertility of the soil
brings out the flowers

that go on the maypole,

brings out the
food that you eat.

This is what this
holiday is about.

I think that's what the go with
the flow thing is here in Sweden,

that you just have to appreciate
when stuff is working for you.

Get through the winter 'cause you know
the sun's gonna be coming out one day,

and it gives you a glimpse into the
soul of the Swedish people, I think.

It is that major a thing.

Learning to just
go with the flow

might be the most important thing
I'll take away from my time in Sweden.

I hope it serves me well, as I
continue on my European odyssey.

Next time.

Scotland is my mother's country and
she lived here until she was 13.

That's a workout.

Your family would've come
here to celebrate with others.

It's a feeling that
I've never felt before.

Here they are.

Well, it's as close as you can
to touching your own family tree.

Good health.

Mama.