We’re back from Sweden! As expected it was a good but ultra-busy trip, and I’m exhausted. I need a good holiday now, haha!
When you live abroad, visiting your native country isn’t necessarily relaxing. Enjoyable, but it can be exhausting in many ways. Travelling here and there to see friends and family, getting organised to see as many people as possible… being out and about and out of routine, and trying to keep up something that reminds of our usual eating and sleeping habits. Talking of which – how do people sleep with 26+ degrees inside? Did we have 26+ degrees inside when we lived in Sweden?? Let’s say that good sleep was a luxury during this trip (and I remember I felt the same during last year’s trip).
But it still was a lovely trip. It was good to see our families, and I’m happy I got to spend some extra time with my sister, and to see some good friends I haven’t seen for years. I also joined a music session and played some concertina!
Photography happened, although not as much as I had hoped. But photos were taken, so let’s dig into it.
As usual, most photography happened when I was out walking. Really, I need to get back to taking photos in my daily life activities. I don’t know why i got out of that – especially now when I have a camera that can handle high ISO if needed.
My best walks were in the area where my in-laws live. Nothing beats a walk in the countryside, it’s as simple as that. The photo above shows the main road that leads to the village, but I turned right before that to get on the gravel roads for a loop my father-in-law had recommended.
This main road is about as wide as our main road at home, but the difference in traffic intensity is HUGE. Our road at home is like a motorway in comparison! This little road in Sweden was kind of… desolate, and I loved it.
My father-in-law had described a 5 km route that I tried to follow., but the 5 km route became 10 km. I underestimated the distance I had walked and continued straight on when I should have turned right. Then I came to a populated area I didn’t recognise, and after a chat with my husband, I learned I had to turn back. But I regret nothing! The walk was fantastic. June is by far the best month to visit Sweden. The days are very long, nature is thriving but leaves are quite fresh and not everything is in full bloom. It’s the start of the summer and the vibes are full of optimism.
The day after I went for a real 5 km walk, through the village and then turning right to get on a gravel road that leads back to where my in-laws live. And more lovely gravel roads!
Skepplanda – nature and music
On the Friday I went to a friend who lives in the countryside north of Göteborg. They grow bare root roses and have a fantastic garden, much of it set up to be self-sustained with a huge variety of insects and plants, and the garden is built to attract the right species that will create a functioning ecosystem. It’s a stunning place to be on a good summer’s day and while my friend had some work meetings, I enjoyed myself walking around in the garden which has a lot of different areas. They also have a little pub for private events, the most recent one was Harry Potter-themed.
The one and only thing I miss in Ireland (not counting friends and family) is a real forest. In our area we only have something similar in small patches, but it’s not the real thing. I was surprised to find there’s a forest just next to my friend’s garden (apparently some trees habe been cut down and that’s why it’s visible now) and just looking at it was satisfying!
This was my view while I sat down on a stone to relax and prepare for the evening’s music session:
Here’s how the day ended (screenshot from a video):
I had a good time playing music (Irish and other Celtic) with some people I know from years back but haven’t seen for ages, and other people I haven’t met. I was mostly too intimidated to kick off a set but eventually did, and even if I’m not brilliant with the concertina, it was fun and I didn’t do too badly. Listening to the recording, I realised I play about half as fast as I think I do! Sigh. As if it wasn’t hard enough as it is…
Göteborg
The days in Göteborg taught me how much big cities aren’t my cup of tea anymore. But I was there mainly to hang out with my sister, and we had some good times over coffee, lunch, dinner, drinks, and lots of walking.
Haga is always my favourite area to visit, because it has independent shops and cafés instead of the usual chain companies, and it’s an old-style area that used to be the working class quarter. Even if many buildings are new or renovated, they are built to fit with the old wooden buildings. It looks very pleasant and I always enjoy walking there and staying for a juice or coffee. Some people probably say it’s too “touristy”, but who cares? It’s pretty, and it’s the home of the best cafés – especially today when the chain Espresso House has purchased almost all other cafés in Sweden.
If you’ve ever heard of the dinner-plate-sized cinnamon rolls, this is where you get them.
The day after I went back to Göteborg to see a friend, and had actually planned to spend the day doing street photography. But when I got there I wasn’t at all up to it! It was windy and not particularly warm, and I was tired and annoyed by the crowds. I’m so not a city person! Perhaps another time I’ll be in the mood for street photography… or perhaps I’ve lost interest in it.
Dalarna
The last stop before going home was to visit my parents in Dalarna. They will be 80 next year, and last year they moved out of their house and into a small apartment. When we saw them a few months later, they seemed very low and I worried so much about them that I went back for a week in the autumn.
This time, despite they said they were fatigued after a cold (or Covid, or whatever), I found them much happier and more vibrant. My mother was all around the kitchen making meatballs and my stepdad immediately asked for tech support with the new TV.
We stayed for a few days, including Midsummer’s Eve which we celebrated with salmon, Janssons frestelse and strawberry cake.
Last year the village seemed very tired. We didn’t see a lot of people, businesses were closed, even the award-winning camping ground was closed. But it was the earlier in June before summer holidays start so we hoped that was the reason. This year they were fixing up the square with a seating area, and a little stage for outdoor events. They’ve also had artists make wall paintings here and there and I was happy to see some ambition!
We enjoyed some walking here too. It’s a small village and really the vast forest areas in the region are much more interesting, but it’s always nice to walk to the lake.
I hope you enjoyed my little photo dump. I’m a bit sad I didn’t get to do more “proper” photography, although I’m not even sure what I mean with that. Perhaps the more focused photoshoots when I go out and stop every 4 metres to take photos and come home with 400 photos. This wasn’t the right kind of trip for that but I’m sure there will be opportunities later this summer.
I hope you are doing well! I’m joining the Wednesday words & whimsy link-up with Min of Write of the middle, currently hosted by Deb and Sue.
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