Day 94: April Fool's Surprises

Do you know what happens every year in Stockholm on the first of April? It is a most exciting thing. So exciting that I forgot about it's coming until April first arrived. We were sitting around the apartment and I was thinking about how fun it will be to go for long, lovely, bike rides soon and it hit me. The Stockholm City Bikes are put out in their racks for bicycling season on the first of April. I was so excited to realize this, I did a little happy dance. Okay, maybe it was a big, happy dance. I was almost so excited that I wanted to run out and get on a bike right away but it was a bit chilly outside and the warm, cozy apartment won out.

We actually have our own, personal bicycles but we usually purchase a season Stockholm City Bike card and link it to our SL cards (city transportation card for the subway, buses, etc.) so that when we are out and about in the city and we just decide, "Hey, let's grab a bike," we can just swipe our card in front of the card reader at any bike stand and go for a bike ride spontaneously. There is also a rack near my office so if the weather is yucky in the morning but clears up by lunch time I can grab a bike then and take it for a spin. It is fun to pick up food along my way and have a picnic in a nearby park before heading back to the office.

Just the thought of these coming days and memories of bike rides and picnics from past summers puts a big smile on my face (and makes me even more antsy for summer!). It was not really an April Fool's surprise in the traditional sense but a wonderful surprise that just happened to fall on April 1st. I did not personally receive a traditional April Fool's Day surprise but I pulled a fabulous prank on my husband. I just had to. As he sat in his bean bag chair relaxing and reading his iPad, I replaced what was left of his cheese doodles with styrofoam peanuts. It is nearly the same texture and weight. It was perfect, actually. I then casually sauntered into the living room with the bag and asked him if he wanted some cheese doodles, while I was crunching on one myself. Of course he did. I sat on the couch and waited. He finally picked up the bag and shook some into his hand. I nearly pee'd myself laughing. He did not think it was so funny but he did smile. He'd been had and I sat howling like a ten year old.

By the way, in Sweden you say "april! april!" instead of "April Fool's" when you play a joke on someone. But it is pronounced, "a preel! a preel!" with the accent on the second syllable instead of the first.