May 27 – June 19

On this page I’ll be posting words and photos from my first time visit to Sweden. I’ll be visiting a dear friend in Stockholm and will spend some time in other parts of the country. I’ll try to update daily as much as possible.

(Feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the page.)

June 20

I’m writing this from home, the day after the long journey back to Wheeler Hill. I awoke at 4:00 AM yesterday in the Stockholm apartment that was home for three weeks. The so-looked-ahead-for journey now a memory.

I’ll take a few days at home here to reflect and then post those reflections. For now, I just want to chronicle the last day in Sweden and the journey back.

That last morning I got together again with Michael Brannäs at Mariatorget, where we first met a few days earlier. I gave him a book of my memoir, “Becoming Who I Needed to Be” and he showed me a book of his photographs that had been published. It was a wonderful collection of black and white photos of people he had photographed over the years. Politicians, musicians, comedians, actors, writers, etc. A number of photos were of American personalities, as he had traveled to the States a few times.

Michael’s Available Books

We both valued the connecting we had done. Here are a few of his words he posted on his Facebook page:

“So we met again today, Michael goes home to the United States tomorrow. An absolutely wonderful guy, a famous Poet in the States. We exchanged books, and I got his fantastic Poetry book about his whole life, in the form of a 100 page poem… And he liked my picture book,especially when there were a few American people…. He contacted me, because I was reading a book, and there was a camera next to me. There you go… What you can get involved in, a magical meeting. And he was just as excited as I am… Yes, that man will live long inside me…”

I had taken some photos of him and a couple of pages from his book that featured some people I was familiar with: Mick Jagger, Jimi Hedrix, etc. Unfortunately, later that day I left my camera on a bench I was sitting on. When I realized it, about ten minutes later, I quickly headed back to seek it, to no avail. So those pictures, and others, are now in the possession of someone else.

That evening we had supper at home and I packed up my belongings for an early, early morning departure.

Terry and I had a few words privately and then I took a pic of us, which I hadn’t done previously. (See pic below.) We have lived different lives from each other – she a city person, me a country person. But we both valued the importance of our relationship back in those days so long ago. We were both an important part of each other’s life. We also value the relationship we have now.

The next morning I left early and had a mostly uneventful, smooth journey from Stockholm to Wheeler Hill. I did have a nice conversation with Manuel, who sat next to me on the flight from Copenhagen to Toronto. He teaches at a college in North Bay, Ontario and he, along with students, had been in Oslo for an international field trip. He enjoys reading poetry so I gave him the last book of mine I still hand on hand, the memoir.

Carolyn was waiting at the Toronto airport for me. We had a long ride back home, made longer because of rush hour timing in Ontario and road construction. We stopped in Buffalo to get a Bocce Club pizza and then arrived home just about at dark.

This was the Daily Spontaneous Poem I wrote before heading to sleep, after having been up for 24 hours:

Daily Spontaneous Poem #3440 (6/19/2024)

twenty-four hours ago

waking in Stockholm

walking down city streets

making my way back

just now

arriving on Wheeler Hill

near full moon shines through thin clouds

fireflies flicker on hot summer night

So now, back home, the journey behind. In a few days I’ll post a page with reflections of the three weeks away.

June 17

Met with Bengt for lunch. He rode the train into Stockholm, and after a bit of FB messaging that wasn’t working right, we finally connected. We both had Salmon Pudding, a classic Swedish dish. Salmon, potatoes, onions, mild, butter, eggs. It was delicious.

It’s been a pleasure to get to know him a bit. We obviously have the poetry connection, but beyond that, the conversation flows easily with him. He, and Gertrude, are coming to the US for the Beat Poetry Festival that’s held at the end of August in Connecticut. If I can change a few plans already tentatively made, I may try to attend it.

We also talked about him coming to the States next Spring. I told him I could probably arrange a couple of readings for him.

Afterwards, I ambled over to the cemetery at the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene. One of the first things I saw was a sign with a poem on it. It also stated there were five poets buried in the cemetery there. I found the sites for four of the poets.

I guess that inspired me, so I wrote this poem while sitting on a bench there:

fifteen minutes ago

sitting on a bench

Mariatorget

watching walkers-by

men, women

babies in strollers

shoppers with bags of stuff

lives in constant motion

 

now on bench

Church of Saint Mary Magdalene

one old man with dog, cane

ambles his way out

wood pigeons

wander about for food

tall trees, old tombstones

going nowhere

Evening, Terry, Charles and I had dinner at a fine restaurant just down the street. My treat, for them letting me stay at the house throughout my visit. Good food, beverages and conversation.

The two meals out today were the only meals, other than pizza when I visited Bengt, that I’ve eaten out. We’ve had good, healthy, simple food at the house and even when I’ve been there alone I fixed my own food for meals. When out for most of the day I bought lunch material from stores to eat while out and about.

So, one more full day here then I head back out over the ocean and return to Wheeler Hill on the 19^th.

June 16

Took a metro ride north from home to Sundbyberg, considered one of  Stockholm’s oldest satellite towns. I wanted to see what another area nearby was like.

Sunday, late morning, and very few people were on the Metro cars I rode on. A change from the usually mostly full cars I have been on.

I never made it into central Sundbyberg. I walked out from the station onto pathways that led by different apartment buildings. Then a path veered off toward some woods, so I wandered that way. For the next hour or so I walked around on paved pathways that wound around through parkland. There were numerous benches along the way and areas where families could picnic, with fire pit areas. I stopped at various benches to just sit and observe while soaking in some of the sun’s warmth.

When I came out of the park area I came upon apartment complexes. As I approached one I heard a familiar sound that took me back to my college days in Buffalo.

What looked to be a father and son were playing table tennis on an outdoor table! I pictured in my head playing table tennis at Norton Union, on the campus of SUNY Buffalo, many, many decades ago. There, and in Clement Hall, one of the dorm buildings. I spent maybe as much time at the tables as I did in classrooms. Then another memory of the female student who would sometimes watch us playing in the dorm building (I was a commuter student.) Her name is lost to me, but I do remember heading out with her one night to a remote area of the golf course across the street. Ah, what memories that haven’t been thought about for ages can suddenly resurface!

Back in present time, I was impressed with how much green space there was in this area. Vacant land lined a main road I was walking on. In the field were a few flowering plants that also grow back home: Viper’s Bugloss, Muskmallow, Red Raspberries, Comfrey, Bedstraw and Coltsfoot leaves.

I boarded the metro to return home, having spent a pleasant four-hour outing in Sundbyberg.

After getting off the metro I bought another basket of fresh strawberries from the stand I’ve been buying from for the last two weeks. Also another package of frozen blueberries. Now I have my breakfast set for my final two mornings at Terry’s house.

Later, before sunset, I took another walk from the house into a park a few blocks away that I walked in before but from a different direction, Skinnarviksberget. Again, paved pathways, trees, grassy areas, benches and some nice views across the water. It is wonderful that there is so much green space in the cities here, at least in what I have experienced. Helps to balance out the bustling business of the city streets.

June 15

Terry and Charles out to the country for the weekend. I stayed back in the city.

After my usual breakfast of strawberries, blueberries and bread I headed out to an art gallery where Bengt was going to be. A friend of his, Ulf Lundkvist, had an opening there. It was a pleasant Saturday, weatherwise, and a lot of people were out walking the streets of the city and sitting outside at tables in front of the plentiful cafes and restaurants here.

Ulf’s paintings were intriguing. My favorite was North of Gavle (See below pic.) It took me back to my youth and how I often played alone, creating my own games and sports activities. I spoke to Ulf about it and he said that the inspiration for the painting was a glimpse he got of  a scene like that as he was riding the train. A two second look that stayed with him. He, too, said it had a similar connection to his youth. Ulf has also collaborated with Bengt, combining Bengt’s poetry with his artwork. At the gallery I browsed through a book of haiku of Bengt’s paired along with some of Ulf’s drawings. Unfortunately (for me,) the book was in Swedish. Again, a similarity with Bengt as I also had a book of haiku that was illustrated by an artist, Debra Dick. “Zoo Haiku” was published by Paper Kite Press and has been long out of print.

Bengt and Gertude came by and we had a nice conversation. Spoke with Gertrude a bit about her experiences in the US and about gardening. Bengt and I made plans to get together on Monday to talk about poetry and publishing.

From there I wandered around on some streets I hadn’t been on before. Another busy pedestrian street full of people, shops, cafes, etc. I had my camera with me but didn’t feel like taking photographs. Just wanted to absorb the afternoon scene straight and not from behind a lens.

I didn’t take photos, but will post some assorted ones that I’ve taken over the last almost three weeks.

June 13-14

My morning routine here in Stockholm is pretty much the same as it is back on Wheeler Hill. I start the day with a pot of organic green tea and my morning ritual. The ritual consists of pouring the first cup and setting my phone alarm for 73 seconds, which is my age. Then I focus my energy on a specific person while I look at the tea in the cup. After the chime alarm goes off I sip the first of the tea. In this way, I start the day off by thinking of someone other.

After the ritual I usually peruse the news online then move on to other work on the computer. Here, it has been some publishing work at times, but pretty much every morning (except yesterday) I do what I’m doing now, working on words about, and photos from, the previous day to post on the Sweden Webpage.

Terry and I had pea soup for lunch, which is a Thursday tradition in Sweden. I just read that one theory is that it dates back to 1577 when King Eric XIV was poisoned by eating pea soup laced with arsenic. This was on a Thursday, so people started eating pea soup on Thursday to honor the poisoned king.

Afterwards, we went for a long walk and talk, stopping here and there to take in the sites and for Terry to share a bit of information about what we were looking at.

I am trying to stay present in the moment while knowing that I’ll be leaving Sweden in a few days. It crosses my mind that it is very likely that this will be the last time Terry and I will see each other. Back home, when I departed from a friend I was visiting, it’s never been with that feeling. Here, with Terry so far away from Wheeler Hill, that thought has entered my mind.

The following day I took a train ride to Gavle, about an hour and a half away. I did so primarily to visit the Joe Hill Museum, and also to explore a different place in Sweden.

The train ride was comfortable and smooth. Gavle is about 105 miles away. The first 2/3 of the journey, after leaving Stockholm, was primarily through farm fields and a few villages and cities. The last 1/3 of the way the terrain was much more forested.

Joe Hill was born in Gavle and left for America in 1902. He was a songwriter, poet and speaker for the IWW, or Wobblies. I first learned of him, decades ago, by hearing Pete Singer sing the song, “Joe Hill.” Here’s a link to Pete singing it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_yC4ffyGiw

I’ll let the song and below pictures from the museum tell the rest of the Joe Hill story.

Beyond the Museum, I had a very pleasant impression of Gavle. Again, I’ll let the pics do the talking.

(Click on thumbnails to see a larger image)

June 12

After breakfast and morning computer work I headed out from the apartment to visit City Hall and go up the Tower there.

On the walk over, I decided to not take metro this time, I stopped for awhile and sat on a bench at Mariatorget, or St. Mary’s Square. I sat there for about a quarter of an hour watching the passersby, the pigeons, the high cumulus clouds drifting by. While doing so, I had this realization that I have become the classic old guy sitting on a park bench observing the world going by.

This thought made me think of the Ferlinghetti poem where he mentions the old men on the park benches. I had to look it up after getting back home. “The Old Italians Dying”. Here’s a link to it:

https://www.scalponefamilytree.info/OldItaliansDyingPoem.htm

While sitting there I noticed another older gentleman sitting on an adjacent bench who had a camera and a book with him. As I got up to continue my walk I stopped by him and mentioned his camera, saying most people now use their phones instead, and showing him my camera. That led to an enjoyable conversation with him, Michael Brannäs, a retired professional photographer! After our first few words he asked if I was an artist. Yes, a poet.

We talked about photography, writers, children and grandchildren (and his four great grandchildren,) hitchhiking, his travels to America, etc. He gave me his business card and we have already connected online. Here’s his Facebook page if you’d like to check him out:

https://www.facebook.com/michael.brannas

When we said goodbye he mentioned that maybe someday he’ll come knocking at my door. And maybe he’ll hitchhike to get there!

On the way from there to City Hall I got caught in a downpour. I found a narrow archway leading into a courtyard to stand under. Rain was falling and dripping down inches from me on both sides, but I didn’t absorb any more wetness while standing there. A little thunder and hail accompanied the rain.

Stockholm’s City hall is not just a functional governmental building. It is considered one of the masterpiece buildings in the city and is one of the most visited. There are grand rooms, mosaics, historical references, etc. The Nobel Prize dinner is held there annually along with numerous weddings throughout the year. You can only view the building while taking a guided tour. I chose not to do that. Instead, I wanted to go up the Tower, which is also only accessible if you buy a ticket. You are limited to 45 minutes total. The Tower is about 350’ tall and affords an excellent view of the city. What I found as interesting, if not more so, was the walk up the tower. There are nearly 400 steps, mostly of brick, and quite a few slanted passageways to walk up. It is quite narrow, too. I could have easily spent more time just in the passageway. There are pics below.

After the Tower visit I found a dry place to sit and have lunch, under the shelter of the promenade area of the Hall that extends out to the waterfront. Smoked salmon, whole grain roll and oranges. Perfect.

I wandered a bit more then slowly made my way back home for the evening. Good conversation with Charles and off to bed, with another six-mile plus walking day behind me.

June 11

On the advice of Bengt and others, I paid a visit to the Vasa Museum on the island of Djurgården. The island contains museums, historical buildings, an amusement park, fields and woods, etc. It is extremely popular, with 10 million visitors a year. The island is a short 10-minute ferry ride away from Gamla Stan.

On the ferry ride I had a pleasant talk with a woman from Germany who is a professor who teaches film editing there. She suggested I should visit the Writers Union in Stockholm. I mentioned to her the movie script that was written about my US Route 20 journey and how it hasn’t found a home yet. She encouraged me by saying it can happen almost suddenly and that maybe when I get back home it will have found a place.

Once again, a pleasant spontaneous connecting with someone who is not Swedish.

The Vasa museum houses a 17^th Century warship that is the oldest, most intact ship in the world. It was built in the years 1626–1628 and sank on its maiden voyage, after traveling less than a mile.

The ship was commissioned by the king and was to be the crown jewel of the Swedish war fleet. It sank because it was top heavy and couldn’t withstand side-to-side swaying. There was concern about this by many who worked on its building, but the king was impatient to have it join the fleet, which was engaged in a war with Poland-Lithuania. There was no one who could express the concerns with the king, so he ordered it to set sail. The result was disastrous.

The bronze cannons that were on the ship were salvaged in the 17^th Century, but otherwise the Vasa was undisturbed until the mid-20^th Century, when it was brought up from the depths in 1961, mostly intact.

I didn’t know exactly what to expect when I decided to take the advice that Bengt and others gave me. It is not quite to the same level of amazement I felt when I got my first glimpse of the Grand Canyon, but similar. That first view of the Grand Canyon was one of indescribable awe. In person it is so much more than any prior knowledge of, or experience of seeing pictures of it, would lead you to think.

I knew the Vasa was a large ship, but I wasn’t prepared for how large it was. It is mammoth! Beyond the size, I was impressed with the craftsmanship and artistry that went into the building of it.

I won’t go on here with describing all that I saw. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Here’s a link to a page on the museum’s website that has a lot of information:

https://www.vasamuseet.se/en/explore

Afterwards I walked around the island a little and came across to waterbirds on nests, a Great Crested Grebe and an Eurasian Coot. Also a coot and a very young one swimming around the reeds.

I then wandered over to the Central Terminal to locate where I will be catching the express train to the airport early in the morning on June 19. The terminal is a huge place with various levels, stores, café’s and can be overwhelming to navigate if not familiar with where to go. As I leave very early on the 19^th, I want to make sure I know exactly where I’m going at 5 or so in the morning. I found the entrance to the express train. Now, I just need to do a trial run from home on the metro to see where I get off that and how to go from there to the express train entrance. I’ll do that tomorrow and then won’t have to be concerned about it anymore. There’s another week here yet and I want to stay as present in the moment as possible.

June 10

The streak of dry, sunny weather that accompanied me the first twelve days while here has ended. Today was mostly a grey, rainy day. I went out for a couple of walks between showers but also got caught in one.

So, I decided to mostly spend the day at home. Caught up with some correspondence and publishing work and made plans for a few of the upcoming days. It actually felt nice to take a relaxing day after so many six-mile-days of walking.

Tantolunden Park is one of the places I did walk by today, as I have a few times now. Tantolunden is just down the block from the apartment here. (See map) It was created in the late 19^th Century. The park encompasses about 94 acres and is a mixed-use park with walking and biking trails, play and sport areas, a lot of wonderful trees and rocky landscape, and, uniquely, there are about 400 plots in the park with beautiful gardens and small houses.

In 1915 the city allotted land in Tantolunden to residents for the growing of potatoes during WWI. This eventually evolved into what is now a colony of small houses, each with a beautiful garden. Most seem to be of flowering plants and trees, but some vegetable plots, too. There are various lanes that traverse the area, some fenced, some hedge-lined.

There is a waiting list of at least 20 years to be able to be assigned one of these allotments. There is no electricity or water to the houses and one can’t stay overnight in them.

The below pictures are all from Tantolunden. On the map, the red icon is the location of the apartment that is home.

(Click on thumbnails for larger image)

June 9

Spent a few hours late morning, early afternoon in Gamla Stan, the old city area. Stockholm has 14 islands, with Gamla Stan being the oldest settled one, dating back to the 12^th Century.

I’ve posted a number of pictures below from the Old City. There is a lot to see there and I am sure I only touched on a small portion of that.

After getting off the train I walked over to the main square, Stortorget. The first picture is probably one of the most photographed scenes of Stockholm. The colorful buildings, the red one dates back to at least 1479, are centuries old. The 82 white squares on the red building are said to have been put there to symbolize decapitations committed under the order of King Christian II in 1520, in what has been called the Stockholm Bloodbath.

The picture of the inside of a shop on the square depicts artwork on the joists that dates back to the 1640s.

One building’s wall on Kakbrinken street contains a rune stone slab that dates back to about the year 1,000. It says, “Torsten and Frogunn had this stone erected after their son” who had probably died. It is not known when or why the stone was incorporated in the wall.

Another building has a cannonball lodged into its wall. This is on Skomakergatan, one of the two oldest streets in Gamla Stan. The story is that the cannonball was shot at King Christian II during the bloodbath.

The church tower is the German Church, St. Getrude. The gargoyles are supposedly a rare occurrence in Sweden. The words on above the gate of the church say: “fear god! Honour the King!”

The narrowest street on Gamla Stan is Marten Trotzigs Gard. At its narrowest it is only 36” wide.

The metal plaque on one building honors the birthplace of Carl Larsson, a famous Swedish painter from late 19^th, early 20^th Century. Earlier in the 20^th Century, when Gamla Stan had deteriorated and its historic value wasn’t yet appreciated, Carl said something to the effect if he had enough money he would buy Gamla Stan and have all of the buildings restored.

Sundbergs is a confection shop that has been in business since 1785!

I missed most of the Changing of the Guard at the Royal Palace, a daily event, but I did catch a few marching military personnel and a few numbers played by the military band.

After they were finished playing I heard more band music and came across an orchestra performing in Stortorget square in front of the Nobel Prize Museum.

Last pic is of the Wooden Horse Museum, which in actuality is more of a store than a museum.

I headed home after a few hours out and then did go out in the evening for a walk in the park, Tantoluden. More about that some other time. But, while out there, a beautiful double rainbow appeared after a very brief downpour. A great way to end the day.

(Click on thumbnails for larger image)

June 8

After twelve days here a first, rain!

I headed out late morning to walk over to the Hornstull Market I had read about. It is in the same area where I met Selin for fika the other day. Just as I got to the market area a light rain started to fall. Nothing too much, but the first I have experienced here. The days have been dry, and most of them at least partly sunny. Terry said I brought the good weather, as the string of fair days started when I arrived.

The market consisted of a number of food trucks and stalls and arts and crafts set ups. The food offered was quite varied, international in scope. All in all, the market was much less than I had imagined. But, it was a wet morning and the start of the season and still early, as it officially didn’t open for maybe an hour yet.

Because of the rain, which started coming down a bit more regular and a little harder, I made my way back to the apartment. There, I did more writing and had an early afternoon meal of more cod chowder, bread and raw cauliflower with a dip I made up.

Late afternoon I headed out again, under a mix of clouds and blue sky. I decided to take a short train ride over to Ostermalm to explore that area on foot. I didn’t do much looking into it ahead of time other than look at a map and plan a rough route from the station. I often like to explore an area without doing too much prior research. Like to be surprised at what I discover.

So my first discovery, just around the corner from the train station, was an imposing old building, Salu Hall, that a lot of people were going in and out from. At the entrance way was a sculpture of a whole human leg. Hmm? I have since learned that the sculpture is called, “Up, up and away” (a leg in jump mode) by the sculptor Fredrik Wretman, and was part of a major renovation of the hall that was completed in 2020. The building was originally built in 1888.

Inside was full of food vendors and cafes. This was very obviously an upscale market. In fact, Ostermalm is considered the most affluent district of Stockholm. See photos from Salu Hall below.

After I had wandered around the hall for awhile I realized that the market was closing, so I headed outside to see what else I might stumble upon. After walking through streets full of retail stores and cafes, I came to the cultural area of Ostermalm. One of the many imposing buildings was the Royal Theater. There are a number of museums and other art institutions situated in the surrounding blocks.

I then walked through Kungsträdgården, the King’s Garden. The earliest record of this area as a garden goes back to the 15^th Century. The park contains cafes, a performance stage, statues and fountains. The centerpiece is the Fountain of Molin created in 1873. It contains the ocean god Aegir and his wife Rán with their nine daughters, all listening to the river spirit Nix playing his harp. A very impressive work of art.

From there I made my way to the nearest train station and headed back home. As I was walking (another six mile day, which seems to be about what I’ve done most every day here) I decided to ask Terry, when they return from their country place tomorrow evening, to suggest an area in Stockholm that is more working class residential that I can explore before I leave for home eleven days from now. There are museums I want to visit, saving those for some possible rainy days that are forecast ahead, and a few places beyond Stockholm. But, I would like to also get a more rounded picture of Stockholm that includes more than the touristy and upscale parts of the city.

June 7

After my breakfast, strawberries, blueberries and whole grain bread, and then doing a bit of writing, I headed out for another city walk. As I approached Hornsgaten, the main business street nearby, I heard a lot of boisterous shouting and car horns tooting and saw a truck driving away in the distance loaded with people. I realized it was a tradition I had read about previously, of high school students celebrating graduation. I wished I had gotten a better view of them.

My first destination was Skinnarviksberget, which translates to something like Skinner Bay Mountain. In the past, it was a place where workers turned animal hides into leather. Now, as it is the highest point in central Stockholm, 53 meters high, it is a vantage point for a view of the city surroundings. There are two easy paths that lead to the peak, which is mostly bare rock. There are a few pictures below that I took from there.

Wandering back down, I came across a huge building complex that I had viewed earlier and wondered what it was. I learned that it was the Munich Brewery that served as the Royal Brewery for over 100 years, with the last brewing done there in 1971. Now it is an event and conference center and also houses various offices and businesses. I had previously only seen it from the waterfront side of the building, an immense presence along the shore of the Riddarfjärden, or Knights Bay.

I then wandered through Gamla Stan, the old city area that dates back centuries. It is a fascinating area, but, like a few days ago, I was there too late in the day as the area was filled with people. It is a place I want to explore more and am planning to go there some early morning when it is less crowded. There are many interesting buildings to view and historic streets to wander about in.

From there I took a train back, stopped at a store for some groceries and then made my way home. I made my cod chowder (it was excellent) and had a relaxing few hours before turning in at about 10:30 PM. It is still a bit light outside then, so it seems “early” to head off to sleep. I wonder what the feel is in December, when light and dark are reversed.

(Click on thumbnail for lager image)

June 6

Morning at home getting some work done then breakfast and conversation with Terry and Charles. They are heading out to their country place today, staying for a few days. I elected to stay here in Stockholm. There are more places I want to explore and I have the meeting with Selin scheduled for the afternoon.

Charles showed me a book of Chinese poetry translated into Swedish that he had. I couldn’t read it, but was interested in what poets were included. I knew some of them, but there were quite a few new ones to me. While looking at the contents I suddenly thought about Google Translate, thinking I might be able to read the book that way. It worked! I am looking forward to reading the book.

We all left the apartment at the same time, they walking off to catch a bus to the country, I walking over to Vurma, the café where I was meeting Selin. The café is by the waterfront of Liljeholmsviken, or Lilies of the Valley Bay.

The café was crowded, both in and out, but we were able to get a corner table inside. Macha Latte and a chocolate cake for Selin, tea and blueberry pie for me. To be honest, the beverage and food were totally secondary. We sat there for probably close to two hours (wasn’t keeping time) in constant conversation. When we decided we should probably leave the café, we then walked for about an hour, circling a small island adjacent to where we were. Again, I didn’t notice much of what we walked by, as the conversation continued unabated.

Our visit lasted for about three hours. Over that time we learned a lot about each other. I spoke of life back in the states, she of life in Turkey. Dreams, plans, inner and outer vision, traveling, writing, yoga – all touched upon. I even read her a few poems while in the café. I left her with a copy of my poetry book, there is only this moment, which contains what many people have said are Zen-like poems. I thought she would maybe find some of the poems relevant. We may try to get together once more before I leave Sweden.

After we parted I walked around a bit more then did a little grocery shopping for the next few days. Bought some cod and will make a fish chowder tomorrow, which should give me a few days of an easy to warm up and eat main meal.

June 5

Yesterday, a day of solitude and peacefulness. Today a people day.

I left the apartment to take the train to Vasterhaninge, about 30 km south of Stockholm. A Swedish poet, Bengt O Björklund was going to meet me at the train station there at noon. John Burroughs, a mutual American poet acquaintance, had connected us when he learned I was going to Sweden. Bengt is a Lifetime Beat Poet Laureate, along with Gary Snyder, Bob Dylan, David Amram, Anne Waldman and about 20 others. John Burroughs, who I read with in Buffalo last year, was the US Beat Poet Laureate at the time.

I walked over to the train station and found the right place to wait for the incoming train. There was almost nobody there and the time of arrival for the train I planned to catch kept changing. 14 minutes. 11 minutes. 17 minutes. 4 minutes. 12 minutes. I wondered what was going on, when two young guys approached me and explained that there was a problem with the train and showed me an announcement on a phone about there being a problem with the switching of tracks. This led to them trying to work out an alternative route to get me where I’m going. As we talked, I learned that they both were from Morocco and were now living in Stockholm. Amine and Hamza. I still wanted to give time for the train to maybe show up, so we talked awhile, learning a bit about each other. Amine would love to travel to the US and has a dream to do so in five years, when he is 28. They were both interested in the fact that I was a poet. I recited a short poem of mine for them and Amine immediately said “metaphor.” They also asked me if I had any advice for them. I simply said, “hold onto your dreams and make them happen.”

A train did arrive, but not the one I wanted, but one they were waiting for. So, they hurriedly boarded and said goodbye and I walked off to another station, as Bengt had called me and we made alternate plans for where he would pick me up.

At the station, we both immediately recognized each other (not a hard thing to do in our case) and went off to his car and headed to his house. The conversation flowed smoothly and we had a wonderful seven hour visit, sharing food, beer and poetry. I met his grown daughter, Tuva, and his wife, Gertrude.

We exchanged a couple of books and I was intrigued with the fact that one of them was memoir in poem form, similar to my memoir, “Becoming Who I Needed To Be”!

It was good to share poems orally with each other. He has a sonorous, singing voice that I’m sure sounds wonderful when he gives public readings.

Here’s a link to his Facebook page if you’re interested in checking him out:

https://www.facebook.com/bengt.o.bjorklund

Bengt and Gertrude will be coming to the US for the Beat Poetry Festival in Connecticut at the end of August. I would have invited him to come over to our area and would have set up a reading for him, but they will only be coming in for the three day festival.

After saying goodbyes, I walked over to the train station for a ride back into Stockholm. The train was back in running order. I had a smooth ride, reflecting on the visit and hoping we’d get another chance to get together before I fly back home in a couple of weeks.

Back home, I was pleasantly surprised to get an invitation from Selin, to join for fika tomorrow afternoon. She is the young woman from Turkey who I met while waiting for the marathon to pass by.

Fika is a cultural tradition here in Sweden.

“Fika in Sweden is when you sit with your family, friends or colleagues, and take a coffee or tea, often with something sweet on the side. Fika is Swedish for a coffee break, but it is more about socialising than drinking coffee.”
– Sofia, Sweden Travel Consultant

So, another day tomorrow connecting with another person. Tomorrow is National Day in Sweden, celebrating the country’s progress and patriotism. I’ll be curious to see what evidence there is of that celebration as I walk around the area.

June 4

Ferry ride out to Grinda was wonderful. I sat out on the upper deck, along with quite a lot of other people. Sunny, blue sky, light wind, warm temperature. No need for long-sleeved shirt, which I thought of bringing along, but didn’t.

The archipelago has more than 30,000 islands, and riding along on the ferry, we passed by, and stopped, at quite a number of them.

On one of the islands was Vaxholm Castle, a fortress that was built in the mid-1800s, though the first use of the place for fortification dates back to the 16^th Century.

Other island had houses on them, some islands so small that only one house was situated on them.

On the ferry I had a pleasant talk with a young woman, Gabriella, who was wearing a Tulane baseball cap. She was from the states and graduated from there in 2017. She came to Sweden mainly to run in the marathon. Gabriella arrived Friday, ran the race on Saturday, and was leaving Sweden later this evening. It was her first marathon and she doesn’t plan to do another. She completed it, but it was difficult, especially because it was so warm out.

We also talked about climate change, as that’s the field Gabriella has worked in and is going to be looking for employment in New York City. She is saddened by the lack of concerted effort by the world community, but feels it is important to keep trying.

Saw quite a number of saunas at water’s edge. Gabriella said she wished she knew one of the owners of them.

About 20 people disembarked at Grinda, including Gabriella. Most of the island is owned by the Archipelago Foundation and is kept in a natural state. There are trails and gravel roads throughout the island.

There are also a few farms and residences, along with an inn, cabins to rent and some other tourist businesses. The island is a popular Summer retreat and can get quite crowded, which, fortunately for me, Summer vacation time hasn’t quite started yet.  

When we got to the island, everyone else started walking on the road from the ferry dock. I went the other way and started following a woodland trail. The hike very much reminded me of hiking in Acadia National Park, with mixed conifer/deciduous woodlands and rocky shoreline.

The trail also continued, at times, on some of the island’s gravel roads. It was very pleasant, easy walking, with benches and water closets conveniently situated throughout the island.

I spent hours walking the trails and roads and only every once in a while came across other walkers. I ate my breakfast on a rocky prominence overlooking the water and my lunch at a picnic table set in a field used for camping, though no one else was there. The food I brought along to eat: smoked salmon, whole grain rolls, brie, oranges, and for a treat, some whole wheat digestive cookies.

All in all it was a wonderful day of mostly solitude and peacefulness. A welcomed contrast to the hustle and bustle of Stockholm.

June 3

Took an easy day today, just walking around the neighborhood. After two long days in a row, with a lot of miles under my feet, it felt good to not walk as much. Still ended up walking about 4 miles though.

I spent a little time on Hornsgatan, the business street a few blocks from here. Blocks and blocks of a variety of businesses. I decided to take pictures of every business on one block of the street. Pics below.

As I was nearing home I passed a woman sitting outside a café and reading a book. I walked by a bit and then stopped. I often will go up to someone reading a book and thank them for doing so, instead of reading from their phone or some other device. I wasn’t sure I should do this here because of the reticence of connecting with strangers. But I decided to anyway and walked back to her and said “excuse me” and when she looked at me I said “English”. I then thanked her for reading and we had a nice little chat. No reticence from her side at all. She said she has two children at home and that makes it hard to read much. So, she was reading while on a work break. We talked a little more and then she wished me a pleasant stay in Sweden.

This exchange gave me a little hope. Maybe I won’t get any connection with other from walking by on the street, but maybe approaching someone with something specific in mind is the way to go about connecting.

Connection. Last year I heard a short piece on NPR where they interviewed one of the researchers in an 85-year, still ongoing project researching happiness. They spoke about the one most important thing that helps bring happiness into your life. That one thing was connection with other. It doesn’t always have to be a deep, delving connection. Little exchanges, such as with that book reader today, or with Jasmin and his father, or with Selin the other day, can add to our pleasure in life.

Ok, I’m going to end this here for now. The hour is late and tomorrow morning I will be heading out early to catch a boat ride to Grinda, one of the over 30,000 islands in the Stockholm archipelago. It’s about a 2-hour boat ride out to the island and I hope to spend most of the day there. Words and pics will be forthcoming.

(Click on thumbnails to see a larger image)

June 2

Terry and Charles headed out to the country place today and I decided to stay here in Stockholm. 

Started the day with a breakfast of fresh strawberries, that I bought at a fruit stand, and frozen blueberries. Got a bit of writing done and then headed out for another long walk.

Stockholm consists of 14 islands. The apartment is on Sodermalm, described in the Daily Scandinavian like this:

“Södermalm was once known as the “slum” area of Stockholm. However today, Södermalm is known as the home of bohemian, alternative culture and a broad range of cultural amenities. Meanwhile, the growing demand for housing, as well as an increasing gentrification of Stockholm’s central parts, makes apartments in Södermalm more and more difficult or expensive to come by. Thus, what was once a working-class district is now somewhat a district of the privileged.”

I took a walk from the apartment to the “mainland” of Sweden, off of the island on a bridge over Liljeholm Bay. The first part of the walk, after crossing the bridge, was over city streets that weren’t very exciting. Big buildings and not many people around. But then I followed a path to the shore and had a wonderful time walking on a long wooden walkway that traverses the shoreline. Small pleasure boats were moored along the way and a lot of people were going to and fro on the walkway. Eventually the walkway came to a park area where boats were no longer moored. A lot of rock outcroppings lined the area. I walked up to where there was a popular swimming spot. Mostly young people were hanging out on grassy and rocky ground, with a few actually swimming in the water.

At this point I decided to make my way back. Once I got away from the shore and back onto city streets I missed the coolness of walking alongside the water. It was another sunny and warm day, which it has been ever since I arrived.

Once again, no connection with anyone I passed by on the six mile walk. I did elicit one smile from a passer-by. My friend, John Roche, wrote this as a comment on my DSP that I posted on Facebook. First the poem:

Daily Spontaneous Poem #3423 (6/2/2024)

walking by scores of people

almost none look my way

when they do, they turn away

pretend they didn’t look

if I catch their eye

I’m so used to saying hi

smile at passers by

here, I’m a foreigner

in more ways than one

John’s words:

“There was a sitcom a few years ago called “Welcome to Sweden” about an American guy moving to Stockholm. A lot of the jokes were about people literally running away when he tried to say hello.”

Speaking of poetry, I made contact with a Swedish poet, Bengt O Björklund. A mutual friend, poet John Burroughs, connected us and we made plans to visit Wednesday. Looking forward to meeting him.

June 1

Walked a little over six miles today on city streets and walkways.

Stockholm Marathon was being run, so a number of streets were cordoned off during the race. The route passed by just a couple of blocks from the apartment, on Rosenlundsgaten, so I walked over that way to catch a view.

A marathon volunteer told me they would be passing by in about a half hour, 25,00 or so runners, so I walked around the area a little bit and then settled onto an open bench to wait for the runners.

As I sat there I wrote in my notebook:

“Swedes don’t look at you or speak to you on the street. Strange, as I like to make that brief, transitory connection with others. I’ll see if I can break that barrier.”

Amazingly, not more than two minutes later a young woman motioned to sit down on the bench. I nodded and we then had a wonderful conversation that started with the marathon and included personal history, travel, nature and Japanese literature!

It turns out that Selin lives in Stockholm but is from Turkey. We talked about that non-connection that occurs here in Sweden. She said that living here for years, she got caught up in that way of being but just recently decided to get back to being the way she was before and be open to connecting with others. I’m glad she was.

I love when these serendipitous happenings occur in life.

Soon, the runners came into view. Well, the first six lead runners anyway. Selin cheered them on, as did all of us standing by. She had run this race two years ago and had a bonding connection to the ones who were running today. There was quite a gap in minutes between the first group and the next few runners. Then slowly the number of runners increased as the minutes moved on.

I then wanted to move on, so bid Selin goodbye and ambled along on the streets of Stockholm.

I picked up a little lunch fare at a Lidl store nearby. Lidl started in Germany and has stores all across Europe and is somewhat similar to Aldi, though they only have a small presence in the US at this time.

Lunch, two whole grain rolls and some smoked salmon, which I ate part of in Mariatorget, where we ate our ice cream cones the evening before.

While there, after eating, to men asked if they could sit on the bench too. After a bit, we got into talking and again, another fascinating conversation. The two were father, Safet, and son, Jasmin. Jasmin had a New York Yankees baseball cap on and Safet, a Boston Red Sox hat! Jasmin lives in Stockholm and his father in southern Sweden. They moved to Sweden in the early 90 as the Bosnian-Herzegovian War was going on. Jasmin was only two then, so he really only knows Sweden as home. I asked Jasmin if they had family members who were killed in the war. He said no, but friends of the family were. He said every family in Bosnia had friends or family who died then.

They also told me about the recent UN Resolution dedicating July 11 as a day of reflection and commemoration of the start of the genocide that occurred in Bosnia in 1995, when over 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were executed.

Jasmin also suggested places to visit in Sweden. He works in Financial IT, and when I told him I was a poet he got genuinely excited. He likes to read a lot and mentioned Good Reads website.

They also talked about visiting relatives in Utica, NY. One of the things Jasmin remembered is the amount of police sirens he heard. Ah, America.

So, two wonderful conversations, but neither were with Swedes! Still need a little work to break down that barrier. I do have to say though, that I did get two smiles back from people on the sidewalk. So, that’s a start.

I walked over to Gamla Stan, the old historic part of the city. It was crowded with pedestrians as it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and the marathon was passing through, near it’s end. I wandered around a bit but decided I wanted to return another day when not so crowded.

The runners here were certainly not as energetic as when I saw them earlier, and quite a number were just walking at this point.

On the way back home, after about 8 hours out and about, I stopped at a store and bought a couple of satsuma oranges. I sat outside and ate them and they were wonderful. About 15 minutes later I stopped at another store to get some more of the oranges and when I went to pay my visa card wasn’t in my wallet! I looked all over and couldn’t find it. I went back to the other store and they didn’t have my card there. I went through my wallet, backpack and pants pockets five times and no card! Luckily I have another card I could use. I immediately called and canceled the lost card and later notified the bank that issued the other card that I am in Sweden. So, no damage done.

This was my Daily Spontaneous Poem on Facebook last night:

Daily Spontaneous Poem #3422 (6/1/2024)

stuff happens

deal with it

then let it go

May 31

Morning on deck again with tea, computer, binoculars, camera.

New bird visual ID – a White-winged Scoter that flew by. Black duck with distinctive white wing patches.

Went out to identify and photograph some of the wildflowers around the property here. See photos below for some of the ones I identified.

While on the bus ride back to Stockholm I noticed a small truck with a drawing of a horse and rider on it and the words

“Addictive as cocaine

Twice as expensive”

At the Klezmer performance one had to register online ahead of time and the exact location of the event wasn’t given to you till the day before. Terry had registered me as a guest, not with my name, so there was a little more checking me out. Whereas Terry just needed to show her id, since I wasn’t named on the guest list, I was questioned a bit more. The young man who questioned me had lived in New York for awhile and asked where I lived in the state. I mentioned near Corning, but he wasn’t familiar with it, so I then said south of Rochester. He recognized that and then asked me if I was involved with any organizations. I asked what he meant and he said any Jewish ones. I replied no, then he inquired if anyone had given me any packages to bring over from NY. No. I was then allowed to go in.

This extra security was called for because of the possibility of, in Europe, more violent acts against Jews and increased threats from the ultra-right.

No incidents occurred and the performance was very entertaining. Music, singing and dancing. This was an amateur group that has been taking lessons with Valeria Conte, a musician and composer from Italy. The sixty or so people who attended, as well as the performers, all seemed to enjoy it very much.

On the way back home we disembarked the train well before the home neighborhood to stop at StikkiNikki, a wonderful homemade ice cream shop. We then sat on a bench in Mariatorget, or St. Mary’s Square, eating our ice cream cones and conversing about politics in Sweden and the upcoming EU elections.

So back in the city for a few days. I’m anxious to explore the city and expect I’ll be putting a few miles under my feet in the process.

(Click on thumbnail for a larger photo)

May 30

Up early, about 6 AM, though early here is relative in terms of daylight, as it never gets very dark at night this time of the year. Actual sunrise is about 3:45 AM

Morning tea on the deck. A lot of bird calls, so I had Merlin working. Quite of number of them reported on the app.

After tea I took a walk down to the shore. There’s a little rock outcropping a ways out that has a lot of cormorants on it, along with a few Great Black-backed Gulls. I was watching with binoculars as two of the GBBGs flew up and around, calling out. Then suddenly, all of the cormorants flew up and I noticed a white-tailed large bird flying away, chased by a GBBG. After researching online, it was very likely a White-tailed Eagle, though I can’t say that for sure. The white tail was very prominent as it flew away and it was a very large bird.

Caught visual id of Hooded Crow and the Common Redstart. Otherwise, mostly just hearing bird calls.

We are eating meals outside on the deck. Sunshine and 70 degree range. Couldn’t be nicer. A brunch at about 10:30 AM. Potato waffles, salad, cheese, cold cooked beans. Two hours eating and conversing while Eurasian Blackbirds and Wood Pigeons called from nearby trees.

Afterwards we took a walk along the road, through the woods and fields and out to the shore. Sat on a wooden pier, talking and feeling the gentle breeze coming in over the water of the Baltic Sea.

I have not taken any concentrated time exploring the flowers and birds here. Have heard a lot of different species of birds but have only identified by sight the Eurasian Blackbird, Common Redstart, Wood Pigeon, Carrion Crow, White Wagtail, Hooded Crow, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Black-backed Gull, Mallard, Graylag Goose and Mute Swan. There are so many more birds that show up on the Merlin app. I just need to devote some time to trying spot them, too.

Early afternoon we head back to Stockholm tomorrow. We’ll be going to a klezmer band performance by a group that Charles is a member of. One more morning of quiet, peaceful Sweden countryside.

May 29

A day of movement. After a few errands, which included stopping at the Tea Centre for some organic green tea for me, Terry and I headed out to their country place in Varmdo. It was about an hour bus ride and a 15 minute walk to get to here. We’ll stay till Friday, then head back to Stockholm. 

I’m anxious to explore the area tomorrow, checking on the birds and wildflowers. The area is a mixture of woods and fields. The shore of the Baltic Sea is a five minute walk from the house. After arriving late afternoon, we walked down to the shore and took a refreshing swim in the cool water of the sea. 

By the house are a number of large rocks and outcroppings. Reminded me very much of Acadia National Park. When I took a walk to the shore, just before sunset, I saw a pair of Common Eiders, another connection to Acadia.

This morning, after getting up, having my tea and doing some computer work, I laid down to rest and fell back asleep again. The overnight of travel and walking around Stockholm had wore me out more than I thought. After a good night’s sleep here in the country I think I’ll be back to normal energy level again. Energy for exploring the rural country terrain here. 

May 28  

A day of arrival, of first looks, of reconnecting.

Smooth, on-time overnight flight from Toronto to Stockholm on Scandinavian Air, SAS.  Caught about maybe a couple of hours of broken sleep. Arrived about 7:00 AM, Stockholm time. Lack of sleep was no problem as I was energized. 

Caught the Arlanda Express train to the Central Terminal in Stockholm, about a half hour ride. While waiting for the train, wondering if this was the right place to be waiting, I met Pam and Jenn, two just arrived tourists from Canada who were on the same flight. They were on a Mother/Daughter journey to Sweden and other nearby places. We had a nice chat while waiting for the train. After we disembarked at Central Station they invited me to join them for coffee (tea for me). We walked a few blocks and found a nice pastry/coffee shop where we sat outside and continued our conversation. I recited a couple of poems for them before departing and all three of us felt it was a great way to start our Sweden experience.

I called Terry and told her I was in Stockholm and would walk over to her place. It was about an hour walk that gave me a chance to take in a bit of the city. The photos of buildings are from that walk. These were first impressions. As I settle in here I’ll learn more about the history and what the buildings are. For the moment I was just taking in sites this morning, not concerned with what was what.

I called Terry after I arrived at the apartment complex and waited outside for her to appear. 

years can sometimes evaporate                     

in matter of minutes

I met her husband, Charles (it was his birthday) and we had Nässelsoppa (nettle soup) and homemade bread for lunch. They had gathered the wild nettles and Terry made the soup, which is considered a spring tonic. 

The rest of the day consisted of good conversation, a long walk with Terry in Tandoluden (I walked over six miles for the day,) a large hilly park right near where they live, a good evening birthday supper that included wild black chanterelles, and eventually a well-deserved night of sleep in my new Stockholm home. 

Poem by Dogen, 13th Century Zen Master, that I have held close ever since my bosom buddy Rhonda sent it to me at the beginning of my “Poems Across America Tour in 2013:

do not ask me where I am going

as I travel in this limitless world

where every step I take is my home.

(Click on images below for larger photo)

May 27 The journey about to begin. Heading to Pearson International Airport in Toronto this afternoon for an overnight non-stop flight to Stockholm. If all is on time, I’ll be arriving at 7:00 AM local time there. Six hour time difference.