This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
OKWe may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.
If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:
The US Election
I’m still limping my way through life, but I’ve come to understand that the sciatic nerve is the largest in the body, and when it gets pinched, there are plenty of places where it can cause some serious pain. Saying it’s better might be a stretch, but I convince myself that things are slowly heading in the right direction.
However, the relatively normal steps to the grocery store still turn into uneven, jagged ones on the way back. Kind of like walking home from the bar in the old days. Quasimodo walk, if you will. I know friends who have it much worse, so sometimes I feel a bit guilty for being so whiny. If my Aunt Lillemor were alive, she would have said, “such misery, poor child, better to be dead.”
I feel quite weary and tired of all the speeches. It’ll be nice when it’s over.
I once studied political science and political history, and even back then one of my lecturers (brilliant Swedish journalist and author Britt-Marie Mattsson) explained that when it comes to American society, the real threat to democracy isn’t the rising nationalism/patriotism or the increasing polemics that President Reagan at the time liked to revel in. Instead, the threat was well-camouflaged in the power that corporations, through their lobbyists, hold over elected officials.
She argued that corporations influence jobs, schools, healthcare, and living conditions far more than presidents or members of Congress could ever dream of. I remember thinking: then representative democracy is just an illusion, a show designed to keep the public in line and under the delusion that their participation in elections matters.
Perhaps it’s not so surprising that only about 65% of eligible voters in the U.S. bothered to make their choices last time. In the most recent Swedish parliamentary election, the figure was just over 84%.
Both of today’s American presidential candidates solemnly promise to reduce inflation and lower the cost of living. Swedish politicians do the same. Big promises, little follow-through.
But who really bears responsibility for inflation and the rising cost of food? I’ve actually looked into this a bit.
In 2023, food giants like ICA made a profit of 6.4 billion SEK. Another one, Axfood (including Willy’s/Hemköp) earned 3.35 billion SEK, and COOP brought in 109 million SEK.
So why is everything more expensive and the contents smaller (= shrinkflation)?
And what about housing costs? Why haven’t interest rates dropped more? Did the poor banks have a tough time in 2023?
• Swedbank: 43.6 billion SEK in profit. • Handelsbanken: 24.3 billion SEK in profit.
• Nordea: 90 billion SEK in profit.
• SEB: 21.7 billion SEK in profit.
• Danske Bank: 106 billion SEK in profit.
How did our darling energy companies fare in 2023?
• E.ON Sweden AB reported a profit of 1.6 billion SEK.
• Vattenfall had a profit of 10.4 billion SEK.
• Göteborg Energi made 373 million SEK.
• Öresundskraft AB brought in 1.2 billion SEK in profit.
And how did the insurance companies do in 2023
• Folksam: 3.2 billion SEK in profit.
• Trygg-Hansa: 2.5 billion SEK in profit.
• If Skadeförsäkring: 4.1 billion SEK in profit.
• Länsförsäkringar: 3.8 billion SEK in profit.
• Skandia: 2.9 billion SEK in profit.
Even though we don’t have the same level of corruption as in the U.S., I suspect we’re heading in that direction, which is, feeling increasing powerlessness and despair.
Politicians are dancing to the tune of corporations.
In case you didn’t know, Sweden also has a lobbying industry, and it’s growing. But unlike in the U.S., there is no mandatory registration for lobbyists in Sweden, which makes the extent and costs of lobbying harder to map here.
Still, I hope Kamala Harris and her team win this election. Even though I don’t believe there will be massive improvements for my American compatriots, I do have more faith in her ability to tackle the country’s long-standing problems than in the alternative, who has more or less made it clear that he plans to do the opposite. Ignore them.
Additionally, I seriously believe Kamala can grow into the role of a tough but peacekeeping world leader.
The photo above is of me tending the rickety bar at Cantina in Riksgränsen 1989. Cantina is a repurposed old WWII bunker.
Bird’s Eye View
There’s a lot going on in the world today. And if we’re to trust the media, most of it is really negative, pessimistic stuff. I can’t wait for the election to be over, for the many armed conflicts to be settled, the rampant inflation to be reversed and for the climate crisis to just go away. None of this will happen, though. Why? We’ve been conditioned to embrace, almost relish in the dung of our times.
Here’s my reasoning:
1. Humans have engaged in cruelty and conflict since we first began walking on two legs, long ago.
2. History constantly repeats itself – whether in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, or Myanmar.
3. We do not learn from our violent past, as if tragedy, mass death, and destruction weren’t the inevitable outcomes. It’s always going to be the same more or less calamitous ending.
4. The media’s “product” is cruelty and conflict, profiting by pushing old “news” and compelling us to follow and engage with it.
5. It’s better to disconnect from the news, especially when it’s just “reruns” without clear right or wrong – and when getting emotionally invested won’t make us feel any better.
I’m not saying that we should all “ostracize” and ignore all the people in pain. But in my mind, there is no question that most of the suffering on our planet is unnecessary and that there are solid solutions for how to end 99% of it. But since the folks in power refuse to do so, I just think life is way too short for me to spend so much of it absorbing the sad and tragic stuff.
So, soon, I’m going to turn off the media “hose” and take more of a bird’s eye view of life to focus on improving my health, physically, mentally, spiritually, and creatively. And you know what? I find great solace in knowing that while we as a species might not be around for much longer, Earth and most of its non-human creatures will abide.
Met the above little fella on July 20, 2012, when it posed ever so patiently right outside my studio on Salongsgatan here in Malmö.
A Nervous Month with Sciatica
Sunday. Malmö. Not Madeira.
If you saw me right now, you’d be wondering what the heck I’m up to. I’m writing these loosely thought-out lines in bed, lying face down, naked, on a rainy Malmö afternoon.
To get into a somewhat reasonable writing position, I’ve propped myself up on three large pillows.
The radiator, which normally sits at 1, is now cranked up to 4, and there’s a faint, yet pungent, smell of mustiness in the room that usually only gets tolerated when one of us has been floored by a stubborn cold.
On my right, bare buttock, there are two black electrodes attached. Further down, on the outer side of my right thigh, two more are glued.
The electrodes are square and look like large bandaids, with the distinct difference that they’re connected by thin wires to a small, plastic remote control with a display and several pushbuttons.
At the top of the tiny screen, it reads “Massage,” and by pressing one of two arrows, I can increase or decrease the electrical tension that makes the muscles in my right buttock and down my thigh either contract or relax.
You can hardly see the muscles moving under the skin, but if I increase the current enough, Charlotte says she can see tiny “ripples” on the skin around the electrodes.
Down at the bottom of my right leg, there’s a heating pad wrapped around my foot, held in place by the belt from my old, worn-out bathrobe.
Without the heating pad, the foot is completely numb and cold. It mostly feels like a heavy lump of ice, and my normally graceful stride is currently a distant memory.
On the bedside table, there are two kinds of tiger balm, a tube and a jar, along with a large glass bowl where packs of Advil, Paraflex, Etoricoxib, and Dolcontin are jumbled together.
I don’t like looking at the pile of meds, much less taking them, since all they’ve managed to do so far is make me a) constipated, b) overly loose, or c) foggy-headed, and a messy combination of two out of the three.
None of the pills have helped me with the pain, which is rooted in my lower back and then shoots down my leg, all the way to my, currently, thawed big toe.
Somehow, by some unexplained mechanism, I’ve managed to pinch the otherwise fairly anonymous sciatic nerve, and it seems it’ll take a miracle to un-pinch the bastard.
I’ve been dragging myself around with this paralyzing condition for nearly four weeks, and I’m literally and figuratively sick of it.
Unlike the grinding ache that arthritis brings, and which I’ve patiently lived with for over a decade, the sharp pain triggered by the sciatic nerve is an infernal hell.
It’s nearly impossible to describe pain; it’s such an intensely personal experience.
But try imagining someone sticking a long, rusty screwdriver into the middle of one buttock and then twisting it in wide circles with powerful motions. Now imagine they left the tool wedged there, so you couldn’t walk, stand, sit, or lie down without it pressing deeper.
That’s how it’s been for almost a month for me.
You can probably picture all the situations where that screwdriver makes it hard to do normal things without either squealing like a stuck pig or whining like an old wildebeest.
Whether the situation is akin to a month-long labor I’ll leave unsaid… but in a delivery ward, at least there’s nitrous oxide – which I’m thoroughly convinced provides much better pain relief than anything in the arsenal of pharmaceuticals piled on my bedside table.
One step forward, two steps back.
The worst part has been the uncertainty. None of the healthcare providers I’ve spoken to or met with know more than I do about how long this will last. Yet there’s no shortage of well-meaning, but unfortunately completely useless, advice (and some outright quackery).
Almost as bad is how some days I think I can see a glimmer of improvement, only to have a severe relapse the next day, where moving more than a few meters at a time is nearly impossible.
Even just standing up to relieve myself can be so painful I’d rather embrace dehydration. Not to mention when I occasionally have to sit down….
Right now, I’m rather alone with my pain. “Nurse Charlotte” has fled the field hospital (the bedroom) for warmer, less whiny climes. Who can blame her?
My dear wife truly deserves a sunny holiday from her temporarily gray, pain-ridden husband.
Hell, I need a holiday from myself.
Today, I once again slowly made my way to our local store. It’s become my daily training routine since the nerve got pinched.
As usual, I had to pause a couple of times along the way to let the tingling in my buttock, leg, and foot ease off a bit.
I try to think positively; since I can at least manage to walk slowly and with a slight waddle to and from the store, I can’t reasonably be that sick. But as an occasional hypochondriac, I’m still not fully convinced.
The past few mornings, I’ve done a stretching session with various yoga and qigong poses, and even though it hasn’t led to any noticeable improvement, it’s felt good to move carefully without it paining me too much.
I’m now hoping that the combination of gentle exercise, the heating pad, tiger balm, and electrodes will get that otherwise quiet sciatic nerve to relax again and eventually return to whatever purpose it actually serves.
Not least, I hope that when Charlotte returns from Madeira in a week, she’ll be spared the sight of me lying on my stomach with electrodes attached to my bare butt.
For even after 26 years of marriage, that view can’t be something she longs to come home to. Rather the opposite; she’s half-seriously threatened to extend her stay on the island.
There’s Always A Silver Lining
Charlotte took this shot last night during our post-dinner walk along the promenade here in Västra Hamnen. Neither of us are supposed to be here right now, but sometimes, you do what you have to do and adjust accordingly. I’ll explain more at a later date.
I’ve kinda become an expert at formulating a plan b, c, and if necessary, c. And I think that’s what’s kept me alive and kicking for so long, i.e. my ability to make do with what I have instead of feeling sorry for myself and as a result, falling into paralysis. There is always a silver lining.
Flamingos of Camargue
I captured this hurried flamingo in the Camargue wetlands near the Étang de Vaccarès in the south of France. There were hundreds of these delicate birds in a large saltwater lagoon near the Rhône River delta, between the Mediterranean Sea and the city of Arles. It’s known for its unique biodiversity, including the iconic Camargue horses.
Torup Castle
From yesterday’s hiking excursion to a forest outside of Malmö where one of the highlights is always the magnificent Torup Castle which was completed in 1550. The castle is considered one of the best examples of Danish-Swedish Renaissance architecture in the region. For whatever reason, I have this thing about castles and the older they are, the more fascinated I am.
My Creative Output
Here are the books I’ve produced over the last 12 months. The Aging Man’s Survival Guide was initiated while we were in Greece, and I began working on the Portugal book – featuring images from about ten years of shorter and longer stays there – while we were in Italy.
Bangkok was mostly produced in Thailand this past summer, and I started working on the coffee table book Västra Hamnen last year in Vietnam. Finally, the book Varvsstaden was largely compiled here in Sweden during June and July.
I don’t measure my creative accomplishments against anyone but myself. These days, most of my friends, with a few exceptions, don’t work creatively or have creative hobbies. That’s not to say they can’t be creative – many of them are, in one way or another – but their day jobs are typically rational and structured, leaving very little room for the kind of projects that devour most of my waking hours. C’est la vie.
Therefore, I only measure and benchmark my creative output against what I’ve previously been able to produce, relative to a combination of my expectations and capacity.
As I age, my health is the key to my productivity.
As long as I eat healthy and keep my body reasonably fit, the creative ideas keep flowing and the thousands of decisions I need to make in say, the course of a book project, are executed without too much hesitation or overthinking.
I find that my photography books are fairly straightforward to produce. I’ve made over 20 by now, and although I don’t by any stretch of the imagination consider the process “easy,” my accumulated experience since the very first book in 2005 certainly makes starting a new book project feel a lot less intimidating and daunting.
I’m currently working on a new book right now, narrowing the image count from about 300 photographs to roughly 60 carefully curated candidates. Once that’s done, I’ll spend about two weeks deciding where to place each of the finalists on the book’s 90 or so pages.
I’ve got a couple of other books in the works, but I’m going to keep a lid on them until I’m further down the road…
Bokmässan 2024
Happily exhausted, that’s how I would summarize my feelings after the weekend’s intense book event in Göteborg. Considering the incredible competition and the tiny space I was allocated to showcase “The Aging Man’s Survival Guide“, I still sold a surprising amount of books.
My heart filled with joy each time someone came up to me to buy a copy after reading about it in the fair’s program. Getting to talk with so many fellow men my age about stuff we go through in this stage of life was also really inspiring.
Meet me at Bokmässan (Book Fair)
I will be presenting and talking to visitors about my book “The Aging Man’s Survival Guide” at Bokmässan in Göteborg on September 27-28, 2024. You can listen to the book’s background and my author’s presentation by scanning the following QR code. Looking forward to making new acquaintances and meeting some old friends while at the annual book fair at Svenska Mässan across the street from Liseberg and near Gothia Towers, where, back in the mid-1980s, I worked in a bar on the building’s top floor. This was when there was only a single “tower” and it stood out like nothing else in Göteborg. Which I’m hop
ing my book about aging men, an under-discussed topic if there ever was one, will do as well.
Abisko National Park
This is from my hike the other week up in Swedish Lapland where I stayed at the always formidable Abisko Mountain Lodge where I enjoyed many great meals and a selection of delicious beverages. I’ve always wanted to experience the fall in Lapland, so this was a bucket list trip and a most creatively inspiring and fulfilling assignment.
Aly Raboff & Me in Copenhagen
The other day I had yet another inspiring visit to Copenhagen, arguably the most beautiful of the Scandinavian capitals and definitely one of my favorite places for spontaneous, serendipitous walks.
The summer has made a surprise but most welcome return to this part of the world, providing the perfect opportunity for me to show Copenhagen to Aly, my young cousin (second cousin once removed) whom I’d never met before.
Despite her short European trip, Aly took the time to fly to Copenhagen and then catch the train to Malmö, just to spend a couple of days with me, Charlotte, and Elle. It was such a treat to get to know Aly and connect with her side of the Raboff family.
After walking some 35k steps around the sun-drenched Danish capital, including a long lunch at “Reffen”, we ended the day with a spicy ramen soup in Malmö before walking back to Västra Hamnen on somewhat tired, but nevertheless happy feet. A wonderful day to remember, for sure.
New Book: Bangkok
Here’s an excerpt from my new book about Bangkok that is now available to order at Amazon.com or at Amazon.se:
“I vividly recall being overwhelmed by the intense traffic, the cacophony of street vendors, tuk-tuks, and motorcycles, and the vibrant street life. Everywhere I looked, something was happening – food vendors, bustling market stalls, and locals going about their day, all set against the backdrop of temples and towering skyscrapers. The heat and humidity were overwhelming, but the Thai capital’s energy was intoxicating and addictive.
Even now, nearly four decades later, each visit to Bangkok continues to inspire me. I’ve watched the city evolve over time, with new, transformative projects rising amidst ancient neighborhoods. Bangkok’s unique blend of old and new never ceases to fascinate me.
This book is not your typical guidebook. Instead, it provides a visual taste of what you can expect when you visit Bangkok – a sensory introduction to its contrasting impressions, from the lively street markets to the peaceful sanctuaries of its golden temples. My intention is not to tell you where to go, but rather to offer a glimpse of what makes this city so captivating, allowing you to immerse yourself in its vibrancy – before you even set foot there!”
From Abisko Mountain Lodge: Why I Love to Travel
A long time ago, probably when I was about 25, I had a profound insight that has since never really left me. See, I realized that since there is only one planet that I can explore and that until someone provides solid evidence of an afterlife or reincarnation, how can I not want to travel as much as possible during my relatively short time alive, meet new people and experience the almost incredible diversity Earth has to offer?
Yes, I get that it can be scary to leave the comfort of home and the reassuring predictability daily routines provide. To many, even more frightening is the concept of solo travel, which I certainly can empathize with, especially for women. While just thinking of visiting a new city or traveling around a new country gets me exhilarated, I do grasp how this can also be an emotionally overwhelming exercise that some just choose not to engage in.
We are all different and who the hell am I to judge, right? To each his/her own. For whatever reason, I know that far from everyone can travel as much as they want to. But as long as I can afford to and politics or health don’t hinder me, I’m going to keep on keepin’ on. If you know what I mean.
Back to my inquisitive neighbor.
The simplest answer, for me anyway is that at 61, challenging myself with trips keeps me awake, alert, and alive. I have zero scientific proof that my travels are in any way suppressing symptoms of old age or stopping the physical deterioration or the onset of dementia that theoretically could start manifesting itself any day now.
But I feel unscientifically confident it is staving off some of the aging stuff.
So, I am not careless but also not overly cautious or so worried that I turn down the opportunity to embark on a new adventure. Above all, I try to always show respect for local people, their customs, and cultural expressions with the lofty ambition of being a good “ambassador” for both my gender, my country and for what I consider to be some kind of universal civility.
Purpose and Passion.
These days, as I travel, I bring along a purpose that reaches beyond what I see, smell, feel, and taste. As I have a passion for writing and putting my loosely generated thoughts into coherent words, essays, and the occasional book, I always have a few creative projects stored in my backpack.
I started writing my latest book, a comprehensive guide about the under-discussed topic of male aging, on the beautiful island of Rhodes shortly after I turned 60 last year. As it happened, I completed it at the very same Greek hotel some eight months later.
I am currently working on two new books, a memoir of sorts with the provisional title “Before I Forget…” and a book about fears and phobias. I sincerely hope to dedicate some serious time to writing both while on the road this fall. Regardless of whether or not my books find any readers, the process itself has added so much value to my life. To me, writing doesn’t come easy. On contraire, it’s hard as hell. But it’s also a terrific mental workout.
If you’ve read this far, thanks for taking the time to do so, and even if you don’t agree with everything you’ve just read, I still hope you found some of my thoughts challenging if not inspiring.
Tranquility along the King’s Trail
To be able to spend a few days in a part of the world that is so beautiful and has meant so much to me, that has shaped an essential part of who I am today, is undoubtedly a privilege of the highest order.
I don’t know, but at 61 years old, it feels important to return to places like this.
I’ve tried to share my genuine and hopefully contagious joy and enthusiasm for being back in this extraordinary part of Sweden with many of the folks I’ve spoken with during yesterday’s hike along a stretch of the King’s Trail, Kungsleden, the very last part of the trail that has its grand finale here in Abisko (if the hike started in Nikkaluokta).
During last night’s dinner at Abisko Mountain Lodge, where I’m once again staying for a few nights, I enjoyed moose tartare, smoked Arctic char, and a delightful dessert called Crushed Dreams with crunchy cookies, blueberry jam, rhubarb, and a generous scoop of ice cream. Next to my table sat an American couple who also felt recharged and fueled up with inspiration from the fresh air and beauty of Lapland’s understated landscape.
Like most visitors, myself included, the couple were positively amazed by the vibrant colors and warm weather we are all enjoying right now. But perhaps most importantly, they were struck by the tranquility and inner respite they had experienced here in the very far north of Scandinavia.
In fact, that couple, both from the great state of Indiana, were so entranced that they had already started planning their next trip here.
And who hasn’t already done that?
Below Lapporten & Abisko Mountain Lodge
Currently in Abisko National Park, staying at the cozy Abisko Mountain Lodge where I’m being pampered and served one delicious meal after another. The rustic, relaxed, and extraordinarily friendly atmosphere makes this unique hotel an ideal base for long hikes in the stunning and surprisingly warm fall weather.
I’ve visited Swedish Lapland many times – especially in my youth when I worked several seasons at Hotel Riksgränsen, the legendary ski resort west of here, near the Norwegian border. Though I stayed at Abisko Mountain Lodge as recently as February 2022, this is the very first time I’ve been to Lapland in the fall. Experiencing and documenting the autumn’s vibrant colors here has been on my bucket list for a long, long time.
As soon as I arrived from Kiruna yesterday, I headed out for a two-hour hike toward the iconic Čuonjávággi, or Lapporten – the dramatic formation in the mountain range that holds deep cultural and spiritual significance for the North Sami people.
For many Sami, Lapporten is seen as a portal to the underworld, a gateway for souls journeying to the afterlife. It is a sacred place where people can connect with spiritual energies. This area is steeped in legends involving supernatural beings and ancestral spirits, adding to the mystical aura of Lapporten and the breathtaking landscape that I have the privilege of being in right now.
#abiskonationalpark #abiskomountainlodge #abisko #kungsleden #lapporten #čuonjávággi #hiking #swedishlapland #lapland #lappland #norrbotten #kirunakommun #torneträsk#norrsken #abiskoöstra#vandring #kingspath #autumn#foilage #höstfärger #norrland
SkyTeam vs Star Alliance
It’s been a long time since I was a Silver EuroBonus Member, but I still have some Star Alliance points to use up before SAS’s new SkyTeam frequent flyer miles program kicks in. It was kind of strange hearing the kind cabin crew mention the new cooperation, which I assume is part of the 20% ownership stake Air France/KLM has bought.
I shot this earlier today as the sun was rising somewhere just south of Stockholm. I was equally impressed with the beautiful landscape as I was with how surprisingly accurately my two-year-old phone was able to capture it.
From the Archives: Budapest
As per usual, while looking for something entirely different in my photo archives, I found this shot of the Danube River and the Liberty Bridge in Budapest. I captured the scene with my very first Fuji camera, the initial iteration of the company’s x100 series. I eventually sold that 35mm fixed lens camera and have since replaced it with the x100v. I’d love to return to Budapest sometime soon. During my last visit in 2016, I wasn’t eating meat of any kind, and now that I am dabbling in carnivorism again, I need to experience some of the Hungarian capital’s famous culinary delights.
Happiness
If you ask me, this is what happiness looks like. Believe it or not, I’m relatively easy to please. Give me a sunny day by the sea, a delicious shrimp sandwich with mayo, onion, and avocado, and a tall glass of chilled beer. +++ =
Photo @charlotteraboff
#shrimpsandwich #livetpåenpinne #räkmacka #räkor #västkusten #kajkantenvrångö #göteborgsskärgård #bohuslän #hotel #hotellife #rayban #coldbeer #draftbeer #prippsblå #kallöl #openfacedsandwich #picturesque #sweden #västsvenskaturistrådet #lotshuset
Vrångö
I’m currently on assignment on the island of Vrångö, a few nautical miles off Sweden’s west coast. I’m here to experience Kajkanten, an upscale hotel that offers guests an opportunity to stay in cozy boathouses in one of the car-free island’s harbors. The building with the black roof is where I’m writing this.
About 350 people call Vrångö home and so far, I’ve seen two small churches here but plenty of surprisingly large and truly beautiful wooden houses. The literal translation of Vrångö is Angry Island. I have yet to uncover why it’s called that.
Reunion in Göteborg: Those Were The Days
Gothenburg. Friday. Afternoon. Nostalgic.
After almost a week’s stopover in Malmö, it was time this morning to strap on the backpack again and board SJ’s express train to Gothenburg. Despite an almost empty train car, I got a seat facing backward, looking back – almost poetically symbolic – at what had already passed.
I was lucky enough to check into my hotel room extra early, so with my camera in hand, I set out on a long walk through Gothenburg, pleasantly warmed by the late summer sun and eager to capture some of the city’s most iconic spots in a beautiful morning light.
It would almost be a gross oversight if I didn’t eventually produce a beautiful photo book about Gothenburg. After all, I’ve had such a special relationship with this city – where I lived on and off for 20 years before moving south to Skåne and Malmö in the spring of 1998.
I can’t help but feel a bit nostalgic when I return and the sun is shining. What I don’t miss, however, is the persistent, gray drizzle that dominates the city’s weather for much of the year.
It was to my Aunt Lillemor in Gothenburg that I moved in 1978 when my mother passed away at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. And it was during those very first years in “Götet” that I got to know some of my oldest friends, three of whom I’ll be breaking bread with later tonight during this year’s second TWTD* reunion.
Some of our little group have known each other since childhood, but it was during our time at Munkebäcksgymnasiet that the bonds between us were truly forged. And despite living in different parts of the country, we’ve managed to meet up –albeit with varying frequency – for at least a couple of decades now.
Earlier this year, we ended up at Restaurant Lai-Wa, a classic Chinese restaurant in Göteborg that has been serving Szechuan Chicken and Fried Shrimp with Sweet and Sour Sauce since November 1975.
Tonight, it’ll be Greek food somewhere between Masthugget and Majorna.
It’s hardly going to be surprising that there will be many lively topics, varying in height, breadth, and depth. Above all, there will be plenty of laughter – often and hard. At each other, about aging, and about life’s countless absurdities. Hopefully, the restaurant’s other guests will be understanding.
Provided I survive tonight’s gathering… tomorrow it’s off to the cliffs, islets, and skerries.
I’m planning to spend a couple of nights in a converted boathouse on an island in the archipelago. Hopefully, there will be some salty dips in the Atlantic and at least one delicious shrimp sandwich while I’m there.
TWTD* = Those Were The Days