Memorial Day weekend couldn’t have been “Sweder’’ on Coney Island, where the summer beach season heated up on Sunday.
Lisen Rehnlund Magnevill, of Stockholm, was overjoyed the sun was shining.
“I was worried about bad weather,’’ she said. “I just hoped for the best and came with my bikini in my bag.’’
She’s in New York to visit her hometown friend Anna Johansson, who is attending school here.
“We love the sun. So long as it stays like this, we’ll come back every day,’’ Magnevill said.
The two 27-year-olds felt adventurous enough to at least think about trying some of the rides.
“We might go on that sling thing, with the ball that goes flying,’’ said Johansson, referring to the “Slingshot.’’
“We might want to have a beer or a shot first.’’
On a somber note, the Marble Collegiate Church on West 29th Street held a Memorial Day Mass attended by some of the sailors in New York for Fleet Week.
After the service, Rear Adm. Margaret Kibben, the Marine Corps chaplain, said, “We stand on the shoulders of men and women of faith who have given everything they have so that we can have everything that we have.’’
Cmdr. Scott Bowman, who is stationed in Virginia, came with his wife and two kids.
“Memorial Day is always special because you give thanks to those who sacrifice more than yourself,’’ he said after the service. “That’s what the admiral preached about, people who made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Navy Lt. William Bearden, stationed in Mobile, Ala., paid a visit to the Intrepid.
“The people of New York City have been awesome and very welcoming and super accommodating,’’ he said. “Everyone’s been bending over backwards to say thank you. I’m very happy [Fleet Week] is back.”
Stu Gelband served on the Intrepid in the early 1970s.
“Any time we have a Veterans Day or a Memorial Day, it brings out a lot of veterans and family of veterans,’’ he said. “Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t remember the era of Vietnam and World War II. This rekindles some of those memories.”
Meanwhile, President Obama jetted to Afghanistan for a surprise visit Sunday to make clear that the United States was likely to maintain a limited role even after its combat mission ends this year and America’s longest war comes to a close.
“America’s commitment to the people of Afghanistan will endure,” he pledged.
With Post Wire Services.