My Weekend in the Archipelago with Don Johnson
Trip Start
Apr 18, 2007
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35
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Trip End
Jan 31, 2008
Tynning ö, Sweden
Monday, August 27, 2007
My "roll" came to a stop in the grass of a near by park and I sat for a bit blinking and orienting to my new surroundings. The nine AM sun was just beginning to warm the cobblestone streets and I felt lazy so I shrugged off Jonas' frantic pace and began to moasey down the street in the direction he had pointed. It wasn't long before my wandering gaze fell upon an elderly gentleman dressed to the nines, hat and cane walking with intention holding a rose in his hand. This curious prospect was too much for my overactive imagination to ignore mind raced with endless possibilities as I followed him veeeeeeeery sloooooowly down the avenue "Maybe he´s meeting his daughter, his grand daughter, a long lost friend, a favorite shop keeper a cherished wrinkled little old wife, an ancient unfaded flame....." My mounting notions romanticism were soon doused as I tailed him into a MacDonald's where he ate alone and finally to a public bench where the rose and my interest withered. I gathered the rose had been given to him and the romantic drama if any behind that rose and the man had been played out long before I first caught sight of them. Thus I spent my first half hour in Uppsala. The next hour was spent shopping for cloths and a camera (mine had died in Gothenburg), I guess I wasn't too anxious to pick up the tourist yolk again.
As I circled the unfamiliar city center searching for camera stores my eyes nearly popped out of my head when they met the gaze of a familiar face. Serendipity. Johan, a friend from Herräng, was just as surprised to see me as I was. We spent the next half hour catching up, seeing the city sights and
comparing camera prices before he had to get on with the rest of his day.
Alone again, I headed toward central station to drop off my bag as it was starting to hurt my back and as luck would have it I found a locker that already had some money plugged into it so the locker came at half price to me. (Quick note: I have not included a users manual on swedish luggage lockers as since they are made with Swedish quality and easy to use) Having laid down my burden I spent the rest of the day wondering from central station to Lineas' garden to town hall to cathedral to University to Library castle to botanical garden to palace garden to riverside city park wishing I had a camera, but enjoying the historic beauty of the ancient town all the same. And as the fading sun bathed the winding streets of Uppsala in pink and orange, I caught the evening train south to Stockholm.
In Stockholm I stayed with a Herräng friend named "Don Johnson" (Please note Don Johnson's name has been changed to protect the innocent. And why has it been changed to Don Johnson you ask. Because when I asked him what he wanted to change his name to that is the name he gave me.) Anyway, it was my luck that "Don," happened to be leaving the next morning for his summer home on Tynningö, an island in the archipelago just outside of stockholm and "Mr.. Johnson" invited me to go along. I had made some plans to dance and visit friends, but since everyone and their mother (just a phrase mom) had been telling me that I "JUST HAD to go to the Swedish Archipelago" and the opportunity happened to fall into my lap (as they often do), I quickly rescheduled with friends and headed off to the Archipelago Saturday morning with none other than "DON JOHNSON."
It was very beautiful, much like the northwest, unfortunately, my camera broke in Gothenburg, so I have no pictures to prove it and share the beauty of Uppsala, Stockholm and Tynningö with others. We stayed Saturday night and most of Sunday. We spent the day on Saturday: walking in the woods, sitting beach side and lakeside in the sun, cooking a delicious curry, lounging in his self mad hot tub, mortifying ourselves at Trivial pursuit and winding down by watching My Fair Lady, which I have never seen (Three thumbs up).
The next day began with a lazy Sunday breakfast in the sun...... Then came the manual labor. WHAT?! A girl's gotta earn her keep somehow! Mr Johnson plugged in his electric lawn mower and introduced me to his ever-expansive over-grown lawn........ After a moment of trepidation, I gave the mower a push and found it to be much easier than the last time I had attempted to mow a lawn....at the age of 8. Though I know nothing about landscaping theory, my estimation that "mowing a lawn is the messier outside equivalent of vacuuming a carpet and should be done with a similar technique," guided me to a pleasing result. And thus, 2 hours went quickly by spurred on by the warm sun on my back and the small tingles of jo I felt each time I devastated a particularly lush patch of mother natures artistry.
"Don Johnson" rewarded my hard work with an ice-cream and suggested a final walk down to the beach. Upon arrival at the beach, one can only imagine what went through "Don's" mind when the seemingly normal Sandra he invited to his summer home radically morphed into an entomologically obsessed child before his very eyes as I spent the next half hour announcing a blow by blow of the mortal struggle between a blood sucking stink bug and an unsuspecting caterpillar that I staged upon my beach towel. "Don Johnson" was eventually able to win my attention with the mention of food. So we ambled back to the cottage for a healthy dinner of pork and french fries. Then headed back to Stockholm for lindy in the park and played name that tune on the way. I spent another night at "Don Johnson" before packing up, visiting Stockholm University, meeting my friend Rikard for "fika" (a coffee break with a pastry) and finally catching the 20:00 train to Västerås.
