visingsö
finally a day off! last week, i really wasn't able to sleep past nine, but today i was hard-pressed to roll out of bed when my alarm went off at ten despite the blindingly bright light outside my window. started to get dressed before heading down for breakfast and then realized i was not in a rush - why get dressed when there is no hurry? omelet in my pajamas, a slowly sipped cup of coffee over a chapter of the two towers and then i got dressed to face the day. katie and i rode our bikes down to the harbor and waited twenty minutes for the next ferry. left our bikes near the vättern fisk stand and walked across in passenger hold. as we were sitting on the dock waiting to board i heard the familiar but seldom-heard cadence of english speakers behind us, looked at katie and we asked under our breath - americans? that's odd. this is a tourist place that swedish people visit, not other nationalities. how odd. spread out on two benches in the pedestrian quarters and then, after a few minutes delay, the half dozen benches around us all filled up. in a content silence, we looked at the visingsö advertisements lining the walls, then i start to hear the same two guys behind me starting to talk about pitchfork and then fleet foxes of all bands. not two minutes latter, this guy (whose name turned out to be brendan) asked, so are you girls american or canadian? the banter continued on about the island, sweden, why we were here, where each of us was from, what we are/were studying. lars used to live in portland and now lives elsewhere in oregon. brendan lives in montreal, studied computer science and now has a 'real job.' both were surprised that i was from texas but didn't have an accent. what charmers. they, along with everyone else who had flooded the cabin, were on the island for a family reunion. as we were leaving the ferry, the guys invited us for a drink if we ran into each other again in gränna (which was inevitable) and i subsequently lead katie and myself away on a roundabout path to get to the main drag. priced lingonsylt and near beer (less than 4% alcohol per volume, which means it doesn't have to be bought or have its price marked up by the state systembolaget) at the konsum and then went in search of souvenirs. lots of indecisiveness and slowly made purchases, interspersed with coffee breaks from our thermos, free biscotti from the bakery, packed peanut butter and jordgubbsylt sandwiches, and a photo opp with a troll.
as soon as we got to the first gift shop, it was swarming with people, so i stepped outside while katie made her purchases. lo and behold, who was there on the bench outside but lars. it took katie a few minutes to complete her transaction and rescue me, but i had no intention of getting a drink with these random guys in the bustling village of gränna. finally bought some polkagris for the family and rounded out the souvenir shopping with the exception of something 'viking' for my dad. i'm hopeful that i will find something in stockholm, though. came back, loaded down with gift bags, carlsberg near beer, groceries and candy and took the 3:45 ferry back to the island.
the ride back was much less eventful and much less social, but the choppy waters were lulling me to sleep. once we docked, we realized it was raining outside and were going to have to bike back, soaking wet, extra baggage and all. luckily, the forest road kept us mostly dry and the most rain damage came in the form of wet bike seats. had some remnants of our morning coffee heated up and i watched mad men while resisting the urge to nap. as soon as i started the latest episode of true blood, mike showed up so we decided to cook dinner ahead of schedule. katie attempted the stir fry and then we supplemented the sesame nuggets with a side of mashed potatoes with veggies. whiskey and apple juice followed by lindt caramel intense (i even let me southern accent slip in front of everyone when i said caramel) for dessert then said goodbye to mike. tried to finish true blood but talked to billy instead, then finally wrapped up the episode over tea. i've been writing and talking to jess ever since, but now it is time to read and attempt to fall asleep.
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