i was excited about my trip west across sweden. i reserved a ticket on the high speed summer train.
first class in a solo seat w/ a table. less than 80 USD. they are cheaper the further in advance you book them so i booked mine from home.
my fellow passengers drifted off to sleep quickly. i was less accustomed to the rollicking nature of the train.
at first i was a bit worried about motion sickness. the train was really flying around the curves.
i put thoughts of recent train accidents in the u.s. out of my mind.
and fixed my eyes on the storied landscape.
besides, no one else was wasting sleep over it.
i got some blogging & travel journaling done, but not as much as i’d hoped. i couldn’t stop staring out the window.
soon the 5 hour trip was over and we pulled into the strömstad station.
i saw ingrid at once. here she is marching towards me with a pastry in the box for fika back at her house.
this was our first time meeting, although i have known her online since 2010. the handful of people i’ve met via blogging is growing. it would potentially be much larger, but i’m afraid i’m not that interested in meeting people i don’t know. it’s the introverted part of me. has nothing to do with shyness, but extroverted types sometimes have difficulty comprehending the desire of introverts to be immersed in their own thoughts. i write about it here because i think the desire to be by oneself needs a voice. so i’m giving it one.
when i do decide to meet people, i trust my instincts about such things and am not nervous.
right away ingrid said she had some old cottages to show me. excellent!
oh just leave your bag here and we’ll walk up this lane
whaaaa? i’m from LA. we don’t leave our bags in lanes, cobbled or otherwise.
here are some of strömstads oldest houses. some built in the 18th century.
this area is known as bukten. it is strömstads oldest remaining quarter.
pastel exteriors and ornate wood trim set the mood. drifting white curtains let you know there’s more than meets the eye.
ingrid insisted i walk behind one of the houses to take in the garden view. while i was admiring everything one of the cottages’ owners appeared.
this is the first of quite a few local swedes ingrid would strike up conversations with while i was visiting. most she knew, but in wanja’s case, they had never met.
i’m charmed by small town life and listening to the lilt of swedish. so these run-ins were lovely.
wanja (pronounced vawn-yuh) was so pleased that we were interested in her garden. she hospitably invited us inside to have a look at her cottage.
inside? huh?!
i tried to hide my glee.
here she is, the exquisite wanja 83 beautiful years of age. look at that bone structure! those eyes!
i asked permission to take photos to use here on the blog and she politely agreed.
without expecting visitors, her house was in a state of natural, lived-in elegance.
in an internet age of stylized photoshoots i present to you an unvarnished real house of a real woman in strömstad, sweden.
wanja moved here by the sea permanently about 15 years ago.
norwegians make up most of the town’s tourists & residents in the summer. but in winter, the year-round swedish residents go about their lives.
blomsholm, just north of stromstad has relics from the stone age to the middle ages, which include bohusläns (the name of this swedish province) largest stone circle and the third largest stone ship in the area. i didn’t visit, but think it would be a very worthwhile walkabout for a future adventure.
best of all, it’s a part of sweden that sees few non-scandinavian visitiors.
the harbor is filled with norwegian boats bearing norwegian flags. we are after all only a few miles from norway out here on sweden’s westernmost shores
in the winter there are very few who stay through the cold months. i can imagine the wild beauty one can see as the seasons change.
i stopped in each room and quietly took it all in.
naturally she has on old catterpuss to warm her feet at night.
this was my favorite piece in all of the house.
but of course all of it made quite the impression.
i was moved by wanja’s kindness. it meant so much to me, this glimpse into her quiet life.
wanja’s wet bathing suit was hanging outside on a hook from her morning swim.
we gave our deep thanks, said our goodbyes, and soon enough made our way to the harbor to get on ingrid’s very own good ship lollipop.
got on is really a silly way to describe boarding the boat. i’ve done a really good write up of it in my travel journal which i’ll show you eventually.
until then, let’s just say it is about 16 inches below the dock and it requires a bit of faith and courage to step down onto the thin rail you can see in the pic below.
ingrid’s husband jonas gripped my hands firmly and down i stepped. just like that.
i pretended like it was no big deal, but it kind of scared the crap out of me.
i sat in the back and felt like i was IN THE WATER. we glided over the dark clear surface, then picked up speed and i got my first taste of salt spray. fantastic!
i held on tight as the little boat plowed through the wake of larger vessels. slap, splash, wee!
thoroughly exhilarating and…
the smell of the sea intoxicating.
i made a short video – unedited… (no time for that right now!) see for yourself
i was in a dreamworld. ingrid & jonas’s house was almost too much to take in. from the train ride, to the boat ride, wanja’s house, and now this. a string of earthly delights.
i am pleased to introduce moppa the best dog in all of sweden. each morning he accompanied me to the pier for my solo swimming adventure in the skagerrack sea.
i. love. this. dog.
their island is only a short boat ride from the train station & harbor in stromstad.
i unpacked while ingrid prepared fika.
jonas prepared our dinner that night.
i have more island posts coming. for now i’ll leave you with some of the island’s wildflowers. they scent the path to the dock where i went for my morning baptisms in the skagerrack sea.
happy saturday from stockholm!
Concurrence with everybody else (a bit behind in response, still catching up); one of your most moving and magical posts. Agreed. I’m not sure what was my favorite part, but I think it might be the photos of the railroad tracks and the humble station, and the non-glamorized European-ness of that. Almost nothing mentally sends me to Europe more than seeing the non-polished day-to-day photos of ordinary trains and ordinary things. And Mr Hound, the your swims in this sea that you went on. You bring us Essence of Life, MAM.
I completely agree with your mention of introverts. I recently bought a house by the sea, a thousand miles away from home. I am a teacher, so am able to spend a few months here in the summer 🙂 People don’t understand my need for solitude. I’ve had to gently explain to one neighbour that I really don’t need company throughout the day 🙂 Puttering around, by myself is what I do need….so hard to make people understand 🙂
83? No way, Wanja looks wonderful.
What a wonderful trip you are having!
It’s so wonderful!!! I LOVED Wanja’s sweet home. What a wonderful time you are having!
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I am having so much fun with you on this voyage. was the water cold? I love the dog. What a face.
This is just lovely. Thank you, Wanya, for allowing us a peak into your wonderful home. That clock in the dining room is fantastic. Love the phrase, “natural, lived-in elegance” – describes her house perfectly!
I so loved this post – thank you for the armchair travel.
I am left….simply….breathless…
I’ve just gotten caught up on your Swedish adventure and feel so lucky that you were willing to bring me along. I’ve wanted to visit Scandinavia for the longest time, but money and opportunity have not permitted so far. Thanks for being so generous with your adventures.
PS I’m a fellow introvert, so I know all about living in one’s head and feeling put upon by an intrusion when one is perfectly happy with one’s own company.
Fabulous post and pictures. Thanks for sharing Wanja with us – what a special person she must be. Can’t wait to read about more of your Swedish adventures.
I love the Art Nouveau wallpaper behind the nude painting (love that too). Thanks for sharing this wonderous world with us MAM!
This is truly amazing! I love it all and want to be there. And I SO completely understand the introvert’s world view – are we twins separated at birth?
What a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a gift, to get to meet Wanja and see her exquisite home.
Wow.
Thank you for taking us along. Thank you.
Experiencing extreme travel envy here! Wonderful post–thanks for sharing! (and love that dog!)
My Goodness what a beautiful place – I want to go to there. And this:
“it would potentially be much larger, but i’m afraid i’m not that interested in meeting people i don’t know. it’s the introverted part of me. has nothing to do with shyness, but extroverted types sometimes have difficulty comprehending the desire of introverts to be immersed in their own thoughts. i write about it here because i think the desire to be by oneself needs a voice. so i’m giving it one.”
Amen sista. Thanks for giving it a voice. Enjoy your travels.
It’s such a cliché, but this post was absolutely perfect. Everything. And when I looked at the serious, inquiring face of that dog… If on earth paradise exists, it is this, it is this, it is this.
So kind for Wanja to invite us into her home,and what a lovely home it is!! I could feel myself bouncing along the waves and the smell and feel of sea spray ,salty on the lip!
Ingrid and Jonas’s house looks enticing with that view through the windows from one side to the other and Moppa, the perfect companion to adventure…
All viewed while sipping port by the fire in my old villa in country New Zealand in the middle of winter.
Thankyou all for sharing!!!!
ohmy! Wanja’s garden! The lace, windows, her entire home…so now I want to go to Sweden. Everything is so quaint, cozy, and feels very low key from your photos. It is good to lead a quiet life and work with your hands. I love quiet. thanks for sharing.
What a lovely journey to meet up with these gorgeous, generous Swedish women! And that dog! What a sweety pie!
Lovely homes, flowers, all eye candy. But the train trip would have rocked my world. A life long love of trains makes me want trains as the common mode of travel.
Thanks for taking the time to share your adventures. I would love to visit any/all the Scandinavian countries.
Can’t wait for the next episode of MAM’s Travelog of Sweden.
MaGicaL.I love the generous spirit of these wonderful people and you for sharing the world with us.
I want to go back to Sweden immediately and find my own little house like this. I think 30 years away is far too long, don’t you? Thanks for this lovely piece of your journey.
Oh My Goodness. You can SEE..all the way through that house to the SEA!!
I can only dream of living in a story book cottage by the sea…filled with delightful things that bring joy and happiness every waking moment. Such a lovely woman…to allow us.. through you..into her home. That wavy glass view accented with crisp white lacy curtains…swoon!!! Too many beautiful things to comment on, for you see, I fell in love with it all!
I look forward to seeing more of this wondrous adventure…Thank you for bringing me along!!
Oh,oh,oh,oh,oh…..oooooooohhhhhhh,this was the best adventure yet! Wanda is so beautiful and her home reflects it. And every picture set the ‘story time’part of my brain on overload. I would love to thank you in person but as an INFJ kinda tricky ;). So nice to know you would completely understand this :)))) Keep it real Adventure Girl!
Missy from the bayou
WOW!!! loveee every single photo and every single word you write!!!
THANK YOU FOR SHARING….you are AMAZING!!!
Cant`t wait to see your travel journal…
What a beautiful home I could move in there right now. You’ve taken us on a wonderful journey to far. Enjoy the next stage
I can’t get the smile off of my face after reading this post! Thank you so much Mary Ann for sharing your travels with us! Oh…can you please bring me one of those chandeliers and maybe that clawfoot bathtub too?!!!
Aaaaah……how enchanting! It’s not possible to sit here looking at your post without having a huge smile on my face. Impossible, I tell you!
this is one of the best blog posts I’ve ever read and I, too, love that dog! Thanks for your generosity to take the time to share all of this.
Mary Ann, thank you so much for sharing your travels with all of us out in the blogosphere. Your journals and travels have inspired me as I prep for a big trip in eight weeks to South America with my parents, and your days in Sweden are making it possible for me to wait that long until we go!
This post is just amazing. Love the photo’s and I can feel the warmth of the people you have met and introduced us to. Cannot wait for the next installment.