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