Sunday. Evening. Söder.

After an early morning dip in Öresund, which also helped shake off the remnants of yesterday’s party, I walked to Malmö Central and settled into car 7, seat 31 (window), and I looked forward to a long train ride up to the capital. My companion for the day was What a Fool Believes – Michael McDonald’s autobiography, narrated by the man himself. Michael’s scratchy voice made even the announcements about signal failures along the way sound almost soulful.

Once in Stockholm, all I wanted was to rinse off the travel dust in a sun-drenched Årstaviken, where the water was perfectly cool.
Right now, it’s Peak Sweden – those rare summer weeks when the country is euphorically seductive. As I like to say this time of year, all is forgiven. I often think about how much more pleasant Sweden would be if the weather were like this for at least half the year. Or as the old boxer Ingo once put it – I would have settled for a quarter.

I’m here to keep working on my book Before I Forget, but also to catch up with friends and family – as far as calendars and logistics are able to align.
And of course, I hope to get a chance to meet my friends puppy Zinken. I’ve already said hello to a few four-legged friends here in the city, so I feel prepared. After all, Zinken is a distant relative of our own Torsten “Lillisen” Raboff.