each morning ingrid prepared my breakfast. i felt like a queen. especially since she bakes all the bread herself. the strawberries look ordinary, but the insides are deep red with sweet juice that stains your fingers.
it is right that she bakes her own bread here. on this island where care and attention to detail is casually extended to each act.
the wild green onions and arugula grow on the island. jonas tended to lunch and dinner each day. i liked to watch him in the kitchen mindfully and slowly making preparations.
for breakfast and lunch, everything is put on trays and brought outside.
as i’ve said before, swedes worship the sun’s warmth. they want to be under our golden star as much as possible.
stockpiling their vitamin D for the long winter ahead.
moppa watches quietly from his various stations, but sometimes moves in for a pet. he is a contemplative dog.
sometimes he swims across to the mainland to visit ingrid’s brother and his family who live just across the water in their own remote outpost.
ingrid put me up in this small cottage across from the main house. it is about 300 sq. feet. the bathroom is outside there to the right in the building with the tiny square window. i slept deeply each night. the stillness of the island and smell of the sea keeping me in a deep slumber till morning.
the houses have been cleverly constructed all around the rock. decks built for ease of walking to and fro.
another view of my small house. i’ve made brief videos of the interior/exterior. see for yourself! ( again – no editing just a quick upload )
i made small vignettes of what i could see from my back deck. little seascapes.
the thing i love about this house is it is designed so that each person living here has an opportunity to be alone or together. the space is made for coming together, but also moving apart.
soon it was time for a visit to ingrid’s studio which sits a bit further from the main house.
it is tucked into the sloped rock facing the sea.
collaged & sewn cards ingrid made. how good they look altogether in a group!
the studio is filled with ingrid’s handiwork. her creative world is rich. in another life she was owner of a fabric printing business. even printing orders for svenskt tenn. which is kind of a big deal, but ingrid made light of it. she has piles of linen fabric everywhere from her fabric printing days. i am bringing home a few pieces from her collection. my favorite, a simple piece of white linen printed with blue stars.
jonas & ingrid had to go to the mainland for an important annual town meeting. while they were gone i amused myself by working in my travel journal, making videos, listening to the rain & thunder, watching the sea change colors, napping. in other words very taxing activities.
wait. i’m forgetting something aren’t i?
the part where the narrator of the story lowers herself down a ladder and goes for a swim in the skagerrak sea.
that!
sea temperature? 61 degrees. in other words only 7 or 8 degrees cooler than our freezing pacific in southern california at this time of year.
let’s compare the atlantic ocean shall we? approx. 80 degrees. veritable bath water!
so yes, it was v.v. cold, but not as cold as i feared.
the water is deep. there’s no wading in. you lower yourself in your birthday suit down the ladder which does a bit of swaying and you simply push off into the deep.
ingrid gave me some good advice:
if you see any jellyfish, swim away from them
uh. okay.
fortunately she gave me a full jellyfish report each morning. there were none!
there was however a cute dog who stole one of my shoes while i was whirling about on jellyfish patrol in the water.
i found it halfway up to the house on the path.
this is the sauna house. a warm shower awaits those who brave the cold sea.
ingrid says this about swimming in the cold sea. i carry the lovely freshness with me
that is a direct quote. i know cause i wrote it down the second she said it!
the way she talks about the sea makes you WANT to submerse yourself in the experience. to sink fully and deeply into the clear water.
i did and i have stored it away in my cellular memory.
which is really what travel is all about isn’t it? doing things that are a bit frightening, taking chances, discovering new cultures, and retaining that feeling that all these things bring.
we were alive and this is what we did.
with love from sweden. xo.
p.s. ingrid’s blog is HERE
You might be in heaven! Except for the jellyfish and birthday suit, when I die I want to reincarnate there, because it looks like my Nirvana…
Mary Ann, thank you for sharing. I was enraptured — and I gotta know is Ingrid’s island on an ancient lava flow? The way the rocks look … anyway, so beautiful and I loved the peek at where Ingrid creates too!
How can you stand to leave!!! So lovely.
OMGoodness this was an extra lovely post!
So, so, so very beautiful and thank you for writing down the phrase, “I carry the lovely freshness with me.” Eerily perfect for your time in this special place in the world.
Better and better. Beautiful island. Beautiful friends. Beautiful words. Beautiful you! You’re weaving a spell around us all.
where is the cottage located? I think I want to retire there….
I can’t tell you how excited you are making me for my own trip to Sweden in September! It’s like seeing movie previews. Love all the interesting things you find to take photos of.
no way!!!!! You lucky duck!!!!! Ingrid’s place looks amazing. I want to sleep in that bed with the windows wide open, I want to sit in that swing, I want to play in that studio, I want to cuddle that dog, I want to eat that lunch, I want to watch from the sauna while someone else swims in that freezing sea! I love your face at the end of the video. You are bursting with joy and happiness. What a slice of paradise.
I’ve been a fan of your blog for quite a while and have signed up for all your classes and love every single thing about both. But I never thought I would experience and enjoy travel with you! I wait for your posts every other day with eager anticipation. I now have Sweden on my travel bucket list and I have you, globetrotter MAM and cultural ambassador Ingrid to thank! Your cottage at Ingrid’s is gorgeous and Ingrid’s studio with that view and her artwork are stunning. Thank you both!
This is the best post ever! Great stuff! xox
I could sit in that swing for hours, just watching the light and the waves!
Ingrid has a beautiful studio ~
Thanks so much for sharing!
oh…. It looks so beautiful.. and the water so clear and cold!!
Crisp and fresh and just wonderful, Thanks for sharing your trip in lovely Sweden with us 🙂
oh my! I’m speechless and screeching with delight at the same time.
What a treat for you to be invited to Ingrid’s lovely home. It looks like paradise to me. I miss living near the sea so much.
I can’t wait for the next episode of MAM, Globetrotter.
Ingrid’s home is magical! I am so glad you shared all of this with us.
I’m so enjoying your travel dispatches. O, such a Beauty-full Island and exquisite dwellings! You brought the lovely freshness on through. Thank you. x x x j
Thanks for being a fabulous travel guide and sharing your adventures!
Those cunning little windows. The cold sea. Two years ago I swam in a cold spring – I remember it every time i shower and turn the hot off for just a quick second of feeling it again. I really wanted to go down that ladder.
Lovely, lovely, lovely post. Reading it felt like a meditation. Your words and images captured so well the beauty of being in beauty-surrounded by loving gestures (ingrid and husband making you breakfast and lunch) and lovely interiors and scenery..
I totally agree, there are some things we simply must try, when traveling, that we would not, could not, do at home. Like leave our bag alone on a cobbled lane, or swim, in the buff, in a cold clear sea…………
Thank you for sharing a glimpse at the cellular memory of your journey….. I can feel my own cells rearranging themselves, just a bit……….
Ps — love that tiny clip of you at the end of your video — demonstrating that you are feeling what I would be, if I were there corporeally…….. 🙂
“We were alive and this is what we did”..Oh Mary Ann, this entire trip has been the most soothing, calming adventure. Today, a friend was over and we travelled your post together…her saying, “wait, go back to that photo again”..over and over. Ingrid and Jonas and Moppa live in a wonderland, and I feel like I’ve been there with them and you. SIGH..
each & every adventure you share is good, better, best & bestest…..you go on adventure so often…..once to land….and many more times reading through your pictorial journals…..thanks for taking time to show us Sweden.
Wonderful, fabulous, I am so happy and thrilled for you Mary Ann, and I thank you again for sharing!!!
Waoooo…waoooo…waooooo! Que lugar tan precioso. Gracias por compartir este fabuloso viaje. La casa es preciosa, el lugar fabuloso ..Ingrid una gran anfitriona. El pan recién hecho..ummmmmmmm.
I agree heartily with Melinda and Diana. I also feel like I am looking through your very eyes and all your other senses. I can feel it, smell it, taste it, hear it. I now will dream of Sweden.
So, so lovely – I too am in awe of you and your amazing travels. This looks like a particularly wonderful journey. 🙂
‘we were alive and this is what we did’……wrote it down immediately.
Missy from the bayou
Thank you so very much for taking us with you! I so admire your curiosity and courage for just going places — it made a real difference for me when I spent two weeks in Italy last Christmas! Keep traveling, please?!!!
How beautiful and wonderful that you are sharing this with us. I just adore your blog…such a great treat! In your absence Los Angeles and surrounds had heavy rains Saturday…complete with thunder and lightening. For several hours!! In. July. Wow. Keep having a magical journey!
love your posts from Sweden. I’m happy you got to meet Ingrid. Her house on the island is fab. Looks like yiu had a great time.
I’m going to Istanbul with her in september.
This is perfection. I feel as if I am in Sweden with you…
How fantastic your trip is being! I have another artist friend who does round-robin trades with Ingrid, so I’m familiar with her and her work. Her place is absolutely awesome ~ how very lucky for you to get to experience it all! Have a fab rest of your trip! xo
I caught my breath throughout this post, awed at the beauty and simple perfection of Ingrid’s house, guest cottage (those tiny windows!!) and studio. This has been such a fun trip to travel with you vicariously. What lovely people you’ve met and lovely places you’ve seen.