The File

15 May 11

Fun facts and figures, plus: invaluable advice on how to dance around a Swedish maypole.

RITES OF PASSAGE

MIDSUMMER
SWEDEN, 25 JUNE

Make like a pagan and celebrate Midsummer. The festival is still big in Scandinavia, and traditionally held on the closest Saturday to 24 June. As with Christmas in Scandinavia, it’s on the day before – Midsummer’s Eve, or “Midsommarafton” – that most people here mark this occasion.

If you’re in Sweden on Midsummer’s Eve, look out for traditional maypole dancing by day (the pole is called a midsommarstång, and is covered in green foliage) and an even more buoyant crowd of young drinkers than usual in the bars by night. You can learn some traditional Midsummer drinking songs, including Små grodorna (The Little Frogs), with an accompanying frog-style dance. Get practising.

TEXT BY THEODORA BLACKWOOD

THE NUMBERS

IMPRESS YOUR TRAVELLING COMPANIONS

1766 The year that the Prater amusement park opened in Vienna

6000 Approximate age in years of the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria

61 The approximate height in metres of the Prater’s Ferris wheel

7 Hills in Plovdiv, prompting its nickname in Bulgaria, “City of the Seven Hills”. Catchy!

29.1 Percentage of Vilnius, Lithuania, occupied by buildings

2.1 Percentage that is water

68.8 Percentage that is green space

20.5 Average high temperature in degrees Celsius in England in August

20.6 Average high in England in July

20.1 Average high in England in June

15.4 Average high temperature in England in May

YOUR SHOUT
ZADAR, CROATIA

THIS MONTH, WE ASKED:
What’s the best way to spend a hot day?

“Going diving off the islands” IVO RADONIC, RECEPTIONIST AT HOTEL BASTION

“Having a glass of wine by the sea” ANITA MARNIKA, BOUTIQUE OWNER

“Swimming and sunbathing with my friends” MORANA CIPEK, ZADAR TOURIST OFFICE

PACK YOUR BLAGS

HOW TO HAVE FUN WITHOUT SPENDING MONEY. THIS ISSUE: WWOOFING

WWOOF isn’t just the noise you make when you sit down after a long walk – it also stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, a group of farms that off er free food and accommodation in exchange for help. For instance, an olive farm in Italy is harvesting its crop. You agree to pitch in for four hours a day, so you’ll be working in the mornings, but you get to stay in a farmhouse for a week, eating home-cooked meals and quaffing your own weight in the local wine. Picking olives in a sunny grove isn’t really “work” in the emails- and-meetings sense, and you may even learn skills like how to make wine or build a barn. WWOOFing farms tend to offer you the use of bikes, surfboards, cars and the like, so make the most of your afternoon off .

I KNOW A LITTLE PLACE

THIS MONTH: CUNEO, ITALY

WHERE AGAIN? Top left of Italy, almost in France. It was part of France, back in Napoleon’s day.
GATEWAY TO: Italy’s lush Piedmont region, Turin, the Med and the Alps.
INSIDER’S VERDICT: This magnificently beautiful part of Italy, very similar in appearance to Tuscany, is a haven where you can meander among the vine- yards, sup the wine they produce in stone-walled castle cellars, and gorge on white truffles, cheeses, and rum-filled chocolates called Cuneesi.
TRY IT IF YOU LIKE: Impressive piazzas. The town’s main square, Piazza Galimberti, cuts a whopping 2.4ha through the heart of the city. The interior of the Sant'Ambrogio church has to be seen, too.
MUST DO: Try the world-famous local sparkling wine, Asti Spumante. The locals will be able to point you in the direction of a good bottle. TEXT BY MIKE PEAKE

BON APPETIT!

JAMÓN IBÉRICO DE BELLOTA / HUELVA, SPAIN

The world’s most expensive ham is pricey for a reason. Firstly, the pigs are fed only acorns, and kept in five-star pastures. It takes two years for them to reach the right age, and another three to cure the ham in sea salt. You can enjoy wafer- thin slices of delight at eateries in the town of Huelva, near the Portuguese border – the best farms are found around here, running north up through western Andalucia. If you want to take home a whole leg, better draw at least €1,500 out of the cash machine first.