Fact 1: Whenever I spend time in cities, I find myself drawn to green spaces. Whether it’s a park, a forrest, or some other kind of nature. That’s where I like to be.
Fact 2: I’ve hardly been to any of the Scandinavian countries (except that one time when Lars and I decided to hit the bars for a night in Sønderborg, Denmark).
When Arne sparked my interest in Stockholm a few months ago, and I found a place in the middle of nowhere, one hour south of the city, it felt good. "Nature home, human welcome."
And so I drive north this time. After 9.5 hours of cruising through the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark I cross the border with Sweden and meet up with my college friend Kjell in Malmö. Kjell and Maria do a great job of making me feel welcome and Kjell shows me around their city and introduces me to some of his friends. A great start to my Swedish adventure.
The next day the journey continues to Malmköping. It is raining all day and I wish I could say that I am thoroughly enjoying this part of the trip. The sky is gloomy and my windshield wipers are working hard to keep my vision clear. After another 7 hours I finally reach Malmköping. To reach the AirBnB I have to drive a few miles off the main road and I'm thinking to myself: “Tell me again why did I have to drive 16.5 hours, to be in the middle of nowhere? We have places like that in the Netherlands.” Until I see the house.
I find myself in an oasis of calm. The house has a large living room with comfy couches, a fire place and lots of pillows. There is huge outside porch with a hammock, a bed and a table. The kitchen is filled with vegetables and smells like fresh brewed coffee. As far as the eye can see, there is something green outside. The house is occupied with three cats, dozens of chickens (good thing I brought eggs from the grocery store..) and is filled with wonderful people. There is a group of people from the Netherlands, England and the United States, that is on a “workation”. The atmosphere is warm, the vibe is good and the interest in each other is real. This place feels great. We have dinner together and play authenticity games. It’s a little scary and confronting, yet eye opening. I’m curious.
The next day I drop my new friends off at the airport. Too bad we couldn’t spend more time together, but I’m sure we’ll meet again.
So now it’s just me here. There are two women that live here as well, but they’re not always around. I decide to explore the area and am amazed by its natural beauty. At five minutes from my front door there is a forrest and a lake. I knew that there would be a lot of nature, but I didn't expect anything as beautiful as this.
As I’m wandering through the forrest, singing out loud (there is nobody that can possibly hear me anyway), and enjoying my new habitat thoroughly with a big smile, two deer decide to cross the road, right in front of my nose. What an amazing place.
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