Bye-bye Sweden

Silver lining 

I had a wonderful summer in Sweden. First a few weeks together with my family in our summer house and then a couple of weeks on my own, visiting and meeting my Swedish friends in Västerås, Göteborg and Linköping.

My family and friends' help and care have been a silver lining in the dark cloud of my illness. I am truly grateful to all of you who did reach out and who had the courage and strength to support me. It has meant the world to me! 

Friends have always been important to me, However, during the tough months of illness, I have even more come to appreciate and value good, close friends. I am thankful to have many persons both in Sweden and Switzerland to have good and deep conversations with and of course also to relax and have fun with. 

Time with friends

One of the things I had missed the most during the last seven months, was meeting my Swedish friends. The last two weeks, I have really taken the opportunity to catch up and I have enjoyed dinners, glasses of champagne, 50 year birthday celebrations, coffee, deep conversations, long walks, laughs and of course your company!

A big thank you to my parents, Annika, Else, Johan, Marie-Louise, Lotta, Jonas, Ulrika F, Ulrika C, Vibeke, Stephan, Micke, Helena, Maria, Urban, Ylva, Karin, Patrik, Hasse, Johanna, Niclas, Tina, Joakim and Hans: you are the best!

#17 completed

Close friends

I am fortunate and extremely happy to have Else and Maria as close friends. We have known each other for a long time and share a lot of great memories from our yearly ginger bread baking, long walks and deep talks. We have gone through happy times and tough times, and what ever happens I know I can always reach out for their support. Else and Maria, below is for you 😄💖

Weekend tour

Last weekend, Else and Maria surprised me with a "girls" weekend tour to celebrate my 50th birthday. We started with horseback riding on Icelandic horses, at a friend of Maria's.

Riding on Angi

I am a complete beginner when it comes to horseback riding and last time I tried was at least ten years ago. I am even a bit scared of horses, even though my daughters have done horseback riding for many years. Last weekend's arrangement suited me perfectly: a calm, obedient, right-sized horse and riding in my tempo in the beautiful nature, south of Linköping. After this fun and enjoyable experience, I could even consider not to wait another ten years before trying horseback riding again!

Rimforsa Strand

The evening was spent at Rimforsa Strand, today a conference hotel, but with an interesting history dating back to the beginning of the 20th century.

Rimforsa Strand conference hotel

In 1907, Rimforsa Strand was inaugurated as a school for female students called: Fredrika Bremers Lanthushållsseminarium. It was one of the first schools to offer higher education for women in Sweden. Handicraft, gardening, domestic economy and small-scale farming were the topics that could be studied. Close to 800 domestic economy- and farming teachers graduated during the 55 years Rimforsa Strand served as a school. Luckily, a lot has happened the past one hundred years and women today have abundant study opportunities. Female engineers, like the three of us, could now wine and dine in this historical setting.

The day after, I got a golf lesson from Maria's son Niclas, who plays on the US college tour. This was a perfect kick-start of action 35, to restart my golf career.

Thank you Else and Maria for a great weekend! Action 17 is completed.

#6 completed

Champagne and good friends

Willie Gluckstern said: "In a perfect world, everyone would have a glass of Champagne every evening."

My version of that quote would be: "In a perfect world, everyone would have a glass of Champagne together with good friends every evening." Champagne is the ultimate celebration drink and if you enjoy it together with friends it is even better, as you have somebody to share the bubbly experience, discuss and laugh with. Yesterday, I was fortunate to have a glass of champagne with my dear friend Marie-Louise. Tina could unfortunately not join as planned, so this time we toasted virtually with her. I consider action 6 completed. However, it will require a da capo as I definetely would like Tina to join in person.
A bonus experience, was the guided city walk that Marie-Louise and I participated in.

City walk

I was born and raised in Västerås. In school we read about the city's history and visited the most famous places, such as the Dome, Västerås castle and the old town Kyrkbacken. I have always been interested in history, but I had, until yesterday, not taken the opportunity to enhance my knowledge and understanding about my old hometown, via one of the many guided city walks.

Västerås view

It was interesting and enjoyable to refresh my old high school history knowledge and to get updated information about Västerås. The guide was very good and shared her expertise in an entertaining way. I got so inspired and decided I needed to learn even more, so today I took a guided tour of the impressive, 13th century Dome! The past two days have definetely served as a great refill and extension of historical, as well as, modern city knowledge. Now I am even more proud of my old hometown, Västerås!

#16 completed

"Girls" weekend

I had the pleasure of spending a weekend with my very good friends Lotta and Ulrika. Even though we do not live in the same country any longer, we have maintained a nice tradition of spending a weekend together once a year. 

This year we went to Färna Herrgård for a spa afternoon and then stayed in my family's summer house a couple of nights. Färna lived up to its reputation as a small and cozy spa in an excellent setting in Bergslagen, Sweden. The mansion at Färna dates back to 1776 and it used to belong to the family that owned and managed the large iron mill at Färna. The iron mill is long gone but the impressive mansion and the beautiful park are still there. 

The best combo

The quote: "Life is too short to deal with bad food, cheap drinks, and fake people" summarizes our weekend. We prepared tasty meals and enjoyed nice wines. The weather was on our side and we could take long walks, swim in the lake and have fun!

We established a nice routine and started every morning with stretching or yoga excercises. Since I have not been practicing yoga before, this could serve as a kick-start for my action to give yoga a true chance. Up to me to maintain and practice.....

I am grateful to have Lotta and Ulrika as close friends. They do not only engage in deep conversations and provide emotional support, but also help to create good memories and a lifetime of laughter and fun whenever we meet. Thank you for a nice weekend! Action 16 is now completed.