In Sweden, we have one week off from school around late February, and this particular break is referred to as “Sports break”. Needless to say, it’s a break where everyone typically takes to the outdoors and goes skiing, ice skating etc.

My own sport breaks meant a loaded car, half a backpack full of tapes (my brother and I had a large collection to listen to during the ride) and everyone’s eyes set on a week up north. When finally there, we’d normally spend half the week downhill skiing and half the week cross-country skiing, and for breakfast, we were allowed to have as much store-bought, sweetened granola as we wanted. Dinners were wonderfully simple and widely popular among us kids – fish fingers and mashed potatoes, meatballs and pasta, and pancakes right, left and center. No prestige, no expectations. Instead, we popped into the local grocery store in colorful ski jackets and blushed cheeks every late afternoon to pick up whatever felt quick and easy after a full day outside.