19 September 2023

Today was the day we had been looking forward to for quite a while (the last three years. in fact) . We might have missed their wedding, (which was the catalyst for this whole Scandinavian adventure in the first place), but we were finally meeting up with Linnea and Gustav in their hometown of Vaggeryd, in the southern part of Sweden.

Our train didn’t leave Stockholm til 2:20 pm this afternoon, so we decided to fill our morning over at, and around, the main business part of town, not far from the station. We hadn’t spent any time here in the previous two days so we had lots of exploring and walking to do.

But first we had a coffee date. Quelle horreur!! Our great coffee shop from yesterday is closed on Tuesdays!!! We looked for an alternative venue and ended up at Coffee Espresso. 7/10. Passable!!

We searched for and found “Järnpojke” or Iron Boy (in English known as the “Little boy who looks at the moon”) He is only 15 centimetres high and is, therefore, the “smallest public monument of Stockholm.” ( Google)

The Sculpture is said to bring luck if you give his head a rub ( I did!) or offer a small gift. (Grahame found a $2 coin in his pocket) our luck is assured.

Back at Castle House Inn, we packed our bags and headed off in cloudy, mizzly conditions. We dropped our bags at the luggage lockers and paid twice for the privilege. (Where’s Emily when we need her?) and set off exploring the CBD. We found Sergei’s Torg (or Square) with its distinctive black and white paving and its tall obelisk and then got a little lost in all the underground shopping malls that led off it.

Coming up for air, we made our way to the Östermalms Food Hall. It was early and the vendors were still setting up but it looked fabulous. We were definitely coming back here for lunch.

There were more churches to see,

….. more great buildings to admire……

…… and then this!

It was about now that I realised something dreadful was happening. I actually noticed it a few days ago but ignored it in the hope it would go away. Alas, no! In fact it was getting worse!! My very dear old red Oboz hiking boots that have taken me on two and half tours to Europe, many hikes and traversed many many kms have sprung a leak. Given that they are the only real shoes I have with me, this was cause for panic. The more we walked, the more my shoe was falling apart. I debated trying to fix it with superglue and bike puncture patches ( if I could find such a thing) before I reached the inevitable realisation that they were not long for this world.

Voila!!! A Helly Hansen Outdoor shop, with a 30% sale. Goodbye Red Oboz, hello greeny yellow Helly Hansens. The salesman happily disposed of the old and watched me walk out of his shop in the new.

Grahame was being very supportive of my new purchase, and I was a little suspicious. I realised that he had his eyes on something a little more expensive, and the answer was NO!!

I did allow him a nice lunch back at the food hall, though.

It was time to head back to the train station, and Grahame led the way. There may have been one or two terse words about going the long way round , or even just the wrong way.

But me and my new shoes followed him anyway.

Once we were at the station, collected our bags from the lockers and out on the platform, we were back on speaking terms.

Our very fast train left on time and swooshed us through the Swedish countryside There were lots of forests , lots of lakes and waterways and lots of little red farmhouses dotting the countryside. But mostly I saw the back of my eyelids!! Its been a big few weeks!!

Swoosh!! It was very peaceful!

Linnea and Gustav met us at their little local train station and ushered us back to their house. We had lots to catch up on and we still have a lot more to go.

I’m off to sleep now. Those eyelids looked mighty good earlier.

Swoosh!!!