Now I'm on my way northwards with the train. I'm re-discovering Norrland with its cold, snow and darkness. It's Sweden accentuated, concentrated with more of everything that makes it different from my present home country Belgium: big distances, few people, fresh air, spruces, pines and lakes but also people who are very "natural" and don't care about being polite (but luckily about being friendly). My parents and I spent this afternoon with my former German teacher. He is now retired but remains a bastion of civilisation in this northern country playing jazz and giving private language lessons. Talking to him describing the lack of interest for languages in Sweden I'm glad to have managed to escape. Being a bastion of civilisation has its charms but it's also very challenging in the long run because it's like continually trying to sell something to people hat they don't want to buy. I don't think it's my calling. Now back to my crochet.
Right now I'm sitting by the fireplace enjoying the little remains of a lovely lazy Sunday. I went to church in the morning. On foot in spite of cold temperatures but it was lovely in the sun. It's a 30 minute walk up the hill. My first time experience of going to this church of my childhood all by myself - so far it was a family thing. It's something else to be an individual and to be "the daughter of". And so far, in the Lutheran church of Alnö I've always been the latter. I was the only church attendee without a task in the service. So I felt important. : ) I think of the song of Frank Sinatra when I see this! I'm so happy when I see this - even if I don't plan to ski - because this is the way it should be in Sweden at this time of year!
Love from Sara Something less nice was the stomach flu I seem to have picked up on the way. There were a lot of little kids on both flights (I went with Lufthansa, via Frankfurt) so I guess one of them might have passed it on to me. So, as I was laying there in my bed unable to even drink a sip of water without immediately throwing it up, my very enthousiastic father came up with the idea that I should have some fructose! I refused though until the throwing up had ended. Then he told me he once in his childhood on the farm outside Göteborg probably saved the life of a cow in that way: it had a stomach flu, his family feared for its life but my Dad went to the farmacy and bought fructose with which he fed the cow and it swiftly recovered! Well, of course when I heard it I ended up having some, and it nicely stayed in my stomach without coming up the wrong way.
So, somewhat weakened by this short but intense flu I am now entering the Christmas season in my snowy home country. I wish you all a very blessed Christmas and happy new year! Love Sara I've spent some time sewing lately - I'm actually already on my second sewing machine in only two months. But the first one, luckily, was reimbursed by the company selling it! So I treated myself to a simple Singer and continued creating a lovely sitting/sleeping space in my livingroom. A little bit Swedish Carl Larsson-alike, no? I don't particulary fancy Carl Larsson but I end up imitating his style - I guess it's in my Swedish blood! Of the four elements water is definitely the prevalent one in Belgium today. Drizzling turned into pouring a while ago. The real Belgian cliché-weather that is luckily more myth than reality for most of the time. But exactly hundred years ago the people of Leuven would have given anything for rain I think: that's the day when the German invaders put fire to the town and burnt down big parts of it and killed hundreds of people. Also the university library with all its book treasures were destroyed in the flames. An event that aroused a lot of anger in all Europe. Yesterday a friend and I joined a commemoration of this sad event on Ladeuzeplein in Leuven. Mozart's Requiem was performed along with "The Sack of Leuven" a modern oratory in four languages (very Belgian that is!) with clear references to Stravinsky Firebird. Enjoyable, but kind of cold to sit outside during 3 hours (clothewise I was not very well prepared as a friend spontaneously "dragged me along") and I pity tonights audience who have to endure rain too...
Thank you for all kind reactions and commentaries and "likes" concerning my Limburg bike ride. That's warming! Yes! I'm becoming confirmatioholic just like the rest of my generation! So what about this: last Sunday I biked to Tervuren (15+15 km) and today I went to Brussels (30+30 km) and I'm planning to do so for the rest of this week during which I nurture 12 disciples uh... interpreters with the Swedish language. This can only be summarised with this masochist song by Povel Ramel (Hey! The Swedish word for masochist "självplågare" has no sexual connotations - for that we would use the simple word "masochist". So... can it be that the Swedish langue is richer than English in this area and if so what does THAT say about us Swedes????). For the Swedish speakers and understanders among you: enjoy by clicking on the picture!!! Last Thursday I went off and biked all the way to Hasselt to friends of mine. After spending the night in their home I continued eastwards through "bike paradise Limburg" to the little village of Kessenich close to the river Maas which at that place separates Belgium from the Netherlands. My goal was my very good friend and her Chinese husband who just had a baby girl. It was just lovely! They normally live in China so it was wonderful to see them. Yesterday I eventually could not keep myself from the foolish adventure of biking all the way back to Leuven in one row: 116 km (about 72 miles) slightly uphill and with the western wind in my face... So I'm quite tired now. And "it" means: to go around the island of Alnö by bike. It's 40 VERY hilly kilometres and it took me almost 2,5 hours with the city-bike which we have borrowed from our neighbour. I did it this morning at 6 am and now my limbs still feel like over-cooked spaghetti. I probably needed that! As you can see on the pictures we've done some socialising the last days: Dad and I saw Göran and also we invited the wonderful musicians Dan-Gunnar and Karin for coffee at our home. We watched a 15 years old recording from a musical play about the history of Alnö in which Karin and her daughter participated. I was amazed at parts of the libretto: the concluding chorus praised Sweden in a way that brought my mind to the nationalistic socialism I've seen exposed at the museum of national history of Tirana. And as you can see, the Saw mill monument (Sågverksmonumentet) at the centre of Alnö speaks a bit of the same Eastern-Europe-pre-1989-language. Well, not that there is nothing to be proud of. The life of the saw mill workers and other workers was radically changed to the better through their organising themselves in trade unions. Göran can testify to that! He started working at an Alnö saw mill after 7 years at what he calles "The university of Hovid" (the village school at the northern part of the island) so he knows what this hard work is like. This weekend I went on an adventure! When going to Sweden I really felt a strong desire to go to Lapland, because it's one of the few counties I've never ever visited. As previously mentioned, the north has never attracted me very much - I thought I lived in a place that was northly enough and never wanted to go further. But after going to Ångermanland a week ago I kind of got inspired. And as my ex-student Ingrid (a Belgian living in Lapland) came to visit me last Friday I decided to join her on the way back and to spend the weekend with her in her little house in southern Lapland. Heeeey, now we're on youtube!!!! Pls go to our Herz Schmerz-page for a nice overview. Enjoy!
|
Categories
All
Archives
September 2016
|