Stjärnornas krog is a beer-bench-filled cantina serving food and drinks from 12-01 each carnival day. Three different bars and live music keep the spirits high. Every couple hours, Lundagård returns to take stock, measuring the energy and level of drunkenness through nothing but self-reported honesty.
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Saturday 23:30
It is finally dark outside and people are returning from the concert. In total, the krog has sold over 713 500 SEK worth of food and drink today, an increase from last night. The crowd inside the tent area is dancing, and people are energised. We even got a Haiku from one of the security members:
The queue was long
But the mood was super great
In the pub, stars shine
Saturday 21:30
The people inside the tavern are leaving to see Icona Pop, and the queue is full of people realising the stage is too full to see Icona Pop. Lundagård is receiving increasingly questionable advice: “If you feel like you need to puke, it’s important to drink a bit more but not too much” and “Always remember not only to keep drinking, but keep swallowing”. One of the cooks informs me that he had six units before his shift. The guards praise the guests’ behaviour, except those trying to jump the fence: “If I don’t catch you, you can stay inside”.
Saturday 19:30
The people at the front of the queue has been waiting for 45 minutes, and there have been 3250 people in total in Stjärnornas krog today. When asked how many units students have drank, numbers ranging from 5 to 12 are prefixed with an “only”. Most have been drinking since getting up this morning. Five people told us to have a resorb tonight. Particularly chatty tables want the readers to know: “It’s important to be positive”, “Do crazy things”, “Everyone should do an ironman”, “The readers are beautiful”. The tennis ball from earlier has found its way into someone’s food, knocking their beer over in the process.
Saturday 17:30
Over 2800 people have been in and out of the area today. Some are choosing to skip the carnival’s other attractions: “It’s important to stay here, mark your territory so you don’t have to get in line again”. The average student is 8-12 units deep, and the strategy remains largely the same; “Drink so you don’t fall asleep”, “Start early and just keep going”, “Never stop drinking”. One table brought a tennis ball to entertain themselves. Another table is trying to beat their streak of 24 beers a day last carnival, to 32 beers a day this year.
Saturday 15:30
The sun is out and the whole area smells vaguely of sweat and karneöl. The parade has just finished, and people are happy to be seated. The queue into Stjärnornas Krog has already gone past the designated barricades. Most people in the parade wagons claimed to be at least eight units deep, but that sentiment isn’t reflected by the crowd in Stjärnornas Krog. For most, the day is just getting started after the concerts and dansen the previous night.
Friday 21:30
Over 5000 people have visited the area today. The overarching energy is drunk but exhausted, and the students are still on the best behaviour. People are social, and the reporter gets invited to long chats about people’s love lifes, beer vs ciders debates (beer to still hunger and cider for taste), and a joke about a snail that unfortunately fell flat.
Friday 19:30
The queue to Stjärnornas krog is temporarily closed due to the area being at full capacity. At the time of writing there are 900 people inside. In total over 3700 visitors have been to the bar. The people near the front of the queue have been standing in line for an hour, but everyone is in good spirits.
Parents with kids inside commend how kind and respectful all the students and guards have been, and advise to bring noise-cancelling headphones for the younger children.
Many inside the area are over 10 units in, and the advice revolves around “discipline, you just have to power through”. Others are using the opportunity creatively: “I’m on antibiotics right now so I can’t drink, but I will ‘drunk text’ my situationship”. Some workers inside are reaching the end of their shift soon, “We have to catch up, at least one unit every 10 minutes”, “competing against each other makes me want to drink more, and gets me past the gag reflex”.
Friday 17:30
The brass band Bonnkapälle is playing. The spirits are high, and the queue is even longer. Around the tables, visitors are building towers out of their empty cans. People are well-behaved, and the feeling is one of “salongsberusad” (tipsy) camaraderie.
Loads of insights are being handed out for free: “we just have to keep motivating each other to drink more”, “alcohol really does help in a heartbreak”, “drink away the tiredness and never stop”.
The band members, some of whom have been travelling from Linköping since 3:00, describe themselves as “very homoerotic, with loads of love”, and a student describes making eye contact with them during the performance as “sensual”. Despite the drinking, parents describe the atmosphere as fun and safe, and say they are happy to be able to bring their kids here.
Friday 15:30
There is a long queue to enter the krog. The guards are praising how polite and civil the crowd has been, but the student body has split into two distinct camps. The first camp believes in pacing themselves now and go hard later. This is particularly popular amongst those working today or at the train tomorrow. The second camp likes to respond with “yes” when being asked how many units they’ve consumed today. They believe in drinking “all day, every day, all weekend”, as described by one student.
Friday 13:30
The area is full, and the ambition is high. The average student is 2-5 units in, and many have already had pre-drinks at home. Three different students we talked to set the goal of consuming 25 units by the end of the night. Many have to work later in the day. Everyone plans to keep it up for the entirety of the weekend.
