11/3 – Ice Yachting and Orange Mystery.

I had almost forgotten how much I love it. Ice yachting. Must be some kind of self-defence mechanism. If I haven’t done something I really enjoy for a while, it’s like I forget how much fun it is, which then results in that I don’t really miss it anymore. Quite emotionally practical most of the time, and makes it even better when you suddenly get to do whatever it was you’d forgotten how much fun it was. Like ice yachting. Swooshing along the ice with the wind curling around your glasses to make your eyes tear. The water from on top of the ice, with these tiny, tiny ice pieces in it, splashing in your face, making you feel like you’re a convertible a hailstorm. Doesn’t it sound great? Not? Well…it is. Thanks dad for a great morning on the ice.

Got the same feeling around Christmas about a year ago, when I took the cross-country skis down from the attic for the first time in way too long. For a few weeks around Christmas and New Years, I spent hours and hours in the tracks. My hometown area had the best winter since the 80ies and I re-discovered my childhood cross-country skiing tracks. One track a day, with a bigger smile on my face for every mile in the snow landscape. 

As I was enjoying all the different tracks around the area I kept meeting and seeing all these family out on for a winter holiday day in the wonderland and still, just like 25 years ago, they’d all fallen for the big orange mystery. It would be interesting to find out how it all started: Let’s see what we’re going to do here? Cross country skiing or ice skating for a few hours, with gloves and hats on and the lot. And let’s try to bring what we want to take along, in our pockets without big bulky rucksacks. Do we need to bring a snack? Sounds like a nice idea. After all it’s quite a full-on sport. So what do we decide to bring? Something, which is easy to keep in our pockets? Something, which is ready to be eaten without peeling, for example? Something, which can be eaten without making a mess? Something, which doesn’t really freeze if it’s really cold? Nah, skip all that. Let’s bring oranges! Of all the fruits in the world, except for coconuts possibly, oranges must be the most unpractical edible item to bring when going winter sporting. Since generations and generations back, Swedish families have always brought their dear oranges along though. And I don’t think anything will ever stop that. We love our oranges when we go cross-country skiing and without them it wouldn’t be a proper family day in the snow, would it?

29/6 – The most Swedish of them all, with flowers in your hair and little frogs.

My plans for Midsommar had been set ages ago, thanks to my lovely mother turning 60 on the very same day as Midsummer Eve. A logistic plan of the more ambitious kind had been set up for the Thursday to be able to make it from work offshore Denmark to the summerhouse in the archipelago of Stockholm in time. Not only did it involve back-up flights and helicopters flying as planned, but also amazing friends who were willing to put up with a slightly dictating tone and airport pick-up arrangements to make it all come into action. The minute margin plan was completed when we galloped down towards the taxi boat from the car park and were the last passengers to jump on board before the boat left the harbour. Twenty minutes later we all had a glass of wine in our hands and the most Swedish weekend of them all could begin.

A weekend of eating, drinking, throwing wooden pieces on other wooden pieces, a.k.a. kubb, and of course also the traditional skipping around in a circle around a tall cross while waving our hands at our ears and singing about little frogs. Those of you who are Swedish know exactly what I mean. Trying to explain the dancing around the flower decorated midsommarstång comes through just as weird as trying describe the Lucia celebrations in December, with the boys in nightgowns and white cones on their heads. And for those of you who aren’t Swedish, I won’t even try to give you a picture of what was going on in the parks and on the meadows in Sweden last weekend. You just need to make your way over here another year and experience it together with us; Spinning around yourself while clapping over your head and running around in a circle holding hands, with flowers in your hair of course.

The combination of even birthday and midsummer turned out to be a winner. Family, old friends, new friends, never-ending food and drink supply, hula-hoop performances and a jet fighter surprise, which will never be forgotten by the birthday girl, made it the most memorable midsummer ever. Morning swims in the bay, discussions and conversations shooting across the tables and generations, litres of coffee and heaps of sticky buns, philosophical chats while walking through the forests, sunbathing on the deck, colourful drinks and entrecotes on the BBQ, treasure hunts for drunk members of the party at early morning hours and relaxing on the cliffs by the light house while watching the boats sail past – I couldn’t have wished for more. 

While drinking wine and listening to the birds singing at 4 o’clock in the morning in company of the best of friends, it’s an absolute no-brainer – there’s no other place on the planet I’d rather be. 

Summer 2011 Photos

24/12 – Winter Wonderland or Christmas Chaos?

It all depends on if you’re already where you want to be, or if you’re still trying to get to that particular place. And now we’re talking strictly geographically. Europe seems to be in chaos because of the white fluffy stuff I was so missing last year. 13 centimetres of snow in England and the radio stations are running “walk-on-snow” courses for the citizens who have to leave their castles. 

Somehow, I managed to sneak through the European airports and train stations on my way from Copacabana to Uppsala last week without much of a hassle at all. Sure, got an hour delayed from the French capital, but considering the airline’s past record, that can almost be classified as “better than expected” than as a delay. Another hour from Kastrup – easily killed with coffee – and some 20 minutes from Stockholm central station – more coffee. It feels like I’m the only one in Europe being that lucky at the moment though. A bunch of colleagues on their way home to their dear ones, got stuck in Paris a week before me, another bunch in London a few days ago and friends seem to be stuck in various trains, buses and airports all over the place. Only worry in my life at the moment is that it’s still a bit too cold to expose my warm weather spoiled lungs with a cross-country skiing session through the glistering fairy tale land. A month with +35 degrees and sunshine does not really prepare your body for -22 degrees and snow. It’s 1 year, 8 months and 28 days since I last put my well-worn Fishers on, grabbed my favourite poles and had to accept how much I’ve lost in the tracks during the last 10 years. Can’t wait to check if I’ve managed to get some of it back by magic during the last while, or more likely, get totally exhausted, frustrated and extremely sore absolutely everywhere the day after.

Except for my body being way out of place with the cold climate, watching dolphins in the water during the afternoon coffee breaks didn’t really bring on the Christmas spirit. Not even Charles de Gaulle gave any hints of the holidays being around the corner last Wednesday.

To cure this, the last few days have been spent on high efficiency Christmas shopping, daily intake of saffron bread and glögg, peeling potatoes for Janssons frestelse and making sure the herring gets pickled the right way. 

Ginger bread house is now in place, tree decorated with red baubles and candy canes, front porch cleared from snow for Santa, all treats for loved ones wrapped and the first slice of Christmas ham was served last night with a glass of red. Think I’m ready – let’s bring on a real Swedish winter wonderland holiday.

Merry Christmas!

12/5 – My new black beauties and swoosh, swoosh like Ms. Longstocking.

No need for words, right? Jab, jab, direito, direito. Jab, direito, cruncha, cruza.

At the end of March, when I had my parents, brother and brother’s friend visiting, we all squeezed into a car to go to Petrópolis. The expectations were sky high after all the praise the town gets in tourist guide books, which had only been increased even more by colleagues and friends here who claimed that it is soooo picturesque, and soooo nice. Having a hard time to see a town, or to me a city, with more than 200,000 people as picturesque, but that might be some kind of Scandinavian damage to my brain. To Petrópolis’ defence, the drive to get there was very scenic, and the museums we went to, which weren’t closed for renovation like most of them, were definitely worth a visit. Especially, the Imperial Palace, which was literally like entering a different era. Eh…duh…that’s the whole point with it, but anyways. Well kept, authentic furniture, clothes, pictures, lots of history and best of all – the floors. Like a dream! Massive wooden floor boards out of this world. Imagine having just a little room somewhere with wonders like that, will put it on my dream list for future living, together with gas stove and high water pressure in the shower.
Thanks to the wooden artwork we were supposed to walk on, I think this was my second closest time being like Pippi when she washes her floors by skating around inside with soap everywhere. To protect the amazing floorboards, you get these gigantic slippers with furry soles. And they make it impossible to move your feet in any other way than sliding around with ice-skating moves, quite a sight to watch the girls who showed up in stilettos to be honest.

And the closest time being like the strongest girl in the world? Probably about 10 years ago when I was enjoying having moved out from my parents and decided to clean my bathroom in Luleå, with scrubbing brushes on my feet, just like Pippi, and just because I could without anyone telling me not to.

May 2010 photos

Romantically glistering on the hillsides from a distant at night, scary, rough and a bit ugly from the outside, full of normal people trying to live normal lives from the inside. They’ve got the best view in town and are often overlooking the poshest areas of the marvellous city. However, they are also totally left to keeping their fingers crossed and wish for some luck when nature, the police or the big guy feels like it.

9/4 – ...

If you’ve got any property in Rio, the time to sell it would have been a couple of days ago. Sea view from the front porch and waterfalls in the backyard could have been added to any real estate advertisement without telling a lie. Is waterbed back in fashion?
No, seriously speaking, not much to make fun of about the situation. It’s all very tragic. And scary. The city is starting to dry up, the streets are clear and the water levels in the lakes are decreasing for every hour. The mudslides will probably continue for another while, hopefully not as unexpected as lately though. But it will take a very long time before everything is back to normal…if ever…for a lot of people. And as it always seems to be, when it comes to forces of nature, it is not the ones who have the most, who loose some of it. It is those who have the least, who loose everything.

I try to always remember how lucky I am: Lots of friends and family, perhaps geographically on the other side of the globe most of the time, but still always there. A job I enjoy and which challenges me and brings me to fascinating places – how about Kellyville, OK for example? Playing the sport I love (except for here, but temporary substitutes can be found) which also brings me to new places – ever wanted to experience dodgy canals in Belgium or swimming pools in Tampere?
However, if I’m ever close to forgetting that all my worries are definite luxury problems (läs i-landsproblem), things like the last few days make it even more obvious. Honestly, I think I must have been one of the luckiest ones off after the total chaos, which was ruling the city for some 24 hrs. I wasn’t even there. I was “stranded” in a nice coastal town with my parents and didn’t even get my toes wet by rain. A small drizzle during the last day, an extra night at the pousada before being able to return to Rio and making sure my parents got on the plane to Europe. Not even worth mentioning in the big context.

I don’t know if the pictures made it worldwide but sports nerd as I am, I have to comment on this guy wakeboarding behind a Hilux (very nice car by the way) on the beachfront on Tuesday. Right where I would normally drive to work, past traffic lights and with road signs in the background. You can call it making the most out of the situation, or being ignorant to the chaos around you, whichever you feel like choosing. Of course, he didn’t help anyone by his few minutes of sports exercise, but for sure, he didn’t make life worse for anyone either. He might even have brought a few smiles to some people’s faces.

5/4 – Recipe for keeping tourists mesmerized a whole morning.

1 ea Monday morning in April

1 ea picturesque touristy village by a quiet bay
50% white fluffy clouds
50% blue sky
Random amount of showers
1 ea catamaran motorboat
1 ea schooner
4 ea of smaller boats
3 ea sun bathing chairs
1 ea nice pool area
100% nice view of the bay
3 ea Swedish people, or any other tourists as of season
Optional: Sun block or cover depending on how much showers are being used.

Take the nice pool area and place it by the nice view of the bay. Make sure the village is in the background. Sprinkle the clouds on the blue sky above and add showers as of taste. Add the three chairs by the pool area without stirring too much. Place the Swedes on the chairs, facing the view. If the rate of clouds decreases, also make sure to add some sun block on the tourists. If larger amount of showers is preferred, instead of sun block, add a cover over the sun bathing chairs. Place the catamaran in the bay, not too far away from the nice view. Make a hole or similar in the hull to make the catamaran start sinking. Within the next half hour of so, gently add, one by one, the schooner on one side of the motorboat and the four smaller boats on the other side of the catamaran. Spend the next hour or two watching the tourists being mesmerized by the schooner and smaller boats trying to assist the sinking catamaran.

Important note: No additional tourists to be added on any of the boats and make sure the catamaran never completes the sinking process, but stays at the status of “about to sink” until it’s safely towed into shore.

19/3 – Itsy bitsy Caroline.

Itsy bitsy engineer was longing for some snow.
Was sent to Rio, which washed the plans away.
Out came the sun, and beach and wind as well.
Itsy bitsy engineer went kitesurfing instead.

The itsy bitsy blonde girl had sunshine every day.
Friends came to visit, and brought along the clouds.
With mates around you, the weather makes the same.
And the itsy bitsy blonde girl was happy in the rain.

Itsy bitsy Caroline was smiling every day.
Home went the buddies, and washed the smile away.
Then came the brother, and dried up all the rain.
The itsy bitsy Caroline is smiling all again.