Polskmärket is the annual medal testing event for Swedish polskdans. Entrants "dance up" through a sequence of levels, before a committee of judges, not in competition with other dancers but in comparison with the established standard of the traditional dances. The medal for the first year's uppdansning is bronze; after passing five levels, a dancer wins the "big silver" medal.

Ilse and John danced up for their bronze medals in summer 2011. We practiced all spring, trained at a workshop in Furudals bruk the week before the event, and finally danced up in Brunnsvik in August.

All of it was wonderful. We'll be back.

• A little more about our trip
• Polskmärket site
• Linda's and Ross's story of uppdansning to big silver
• Santa Barbara and Ventura County Scandinavian dance classes and events