Evening light
Two short kayak tours
Two short kayak tours from the new home by the sea.
The first one morning last week. Just round the island Bredskär. The water surface smooth as silk and in beautiful pastel colours. Everything was quiet beside of the complaining sea birds.
The second one the day before yesterday in the afternoon. Just to the beach at Vitskärsudden. Through tiny waves and a lot of rocks. At the sandy beach I met Annika for a bath. She came by bike. The Baltic Sea not as cold as last time. Summer is coming.
Both tours were equally fun and both of them made me very grateful that I may live here at this fantastic place.
Farewell Skelleftehamn
Sweden. Somewhere in the north. A little town called Skelleftehamn. A small street called Tallvägen. Street number 35. My house, that I named flygelvillan. The large living room. The left half with the grand piano and the computer. That has been a central place to me for many years.
At this place I wrote most of the blog articles of way-up-north.com. I worked. I planned my travels. I communicated. I looked out of the window when it snowed. I played on my grand piano. I rehearsed with a jazz trio and an opera singer. I composed and arranged for big band and chamber choir.
A central place.
Two days ago, on 15 May 2020 I left my house for good. It’s still mine but I’ll sell it this year.
Two days ago at 8 o’clock the large moving lorry arrived and five people started to carry all my belongings into the large car. First some furniture, then more than 150 boxes, pulka, kayak, skis and large bags with sleeping bags and down jackets. And finally my Yamaha grand piano.
The whole move took less than eight hours. Then my grand piano stood erected in the living room of Annika’s and my new house by the sea.
Shall I be sad because I left Skelleftehamn? Perhaps I should, but I’m not. The positive feelings about living together with Annika and having found such an extraordinary place to live dominate. I really have been looking forward to this new life and now it has become reality.
Two kayak premieres
10 o’clock in the evening– it is still bright daylight because sunset was a quarter of an hour ago. A good time for two kayak premieres.
On the one hand it’s the first time I paddle this year. Last time was in November, more than half a year ago.
On the other hand it’s the first time I start a kayak tour from my new home in Obbola. Yesterday the furniture lorry made my move. Not only my Yamaha grand piano and more than 150 boxes (mostly books) but also my kayak moved from Skelleftehamn to Obbola.
I had it quite near to the coast in Skelleftehamn, but here I have it much nearer.
Behind the garden of Annika’s and my new house there is a small edge of wetland – frequently visited by deers and many sea birds – and then there is the Baltic Sea.
I draw the kayak to our fireplace and then through the puddles of the wetland. There I let the boat into the water, enter it and circle the islet Lillskär*, that lies less than 250 metres from our property.
It doesn’t take much time – the islet is tiny and soon I’m back at the wetlands where I lean the kayak against the wall.
While I sit at my computer it has grown dark. But when I look through the window I still can see the Baltic Sea, the islet Lillskär and when I stand up even the place where I left my kayak. How lucky I am, that Annika and I not only have moved together but found this awesome place by the sea.
* by the way: officially the islet seems to by nameless. It’s too small. According to our neighbour some people call it Lillskär – small skerry.
Our house in Obbola – some ships
While I sit at my temporary desk I can watch the Baltic Sea. There are not many boats and ships passing by, but some are. The ferry to Finland far in the distance, a boat towing a raft with an excavator or the SCA Ortviken, a cargo ship on its way to Holmsund.
It’s nice to watch the ships but it’s not without risk, because the view could awaken the desire to travel.
Our House in Obbola – the neighbours
Yesterday evening behind the tiny bay: two deer, a mountain hare, two Canada geese and some red breasted mergansers (probably). A nice neighbourhood.
Some photos are a bit blurred. A focal length of 600mm is not made for handheld snapshots. I guess I will have many opportunities to make better photos in the future.
Vitskärsudden – a short cycle tour with holiday feelings
Moving in into our house yesterday felt more like starting a holiday. More like having hired a cabin by the sea for a week. And so it still felt, when I made a short bicycle tour this morning. All motifs shown below lie max 1.5 km from our house.
I love the diversity of landscapes you can find here within a short distance. And I like all of them. The last image however is a bit special: It shows the shallow bay right behind our house. Here I’ll plan to have my kayak somewhere.
Obbola – moving in
I do not live in Skelleftehamn any longer. Yesterday Annika and I got the keys to our house in Obbola that we bought in March. And we directly moved in with three car loads filled with two mattresses, cloths, Annika’s guinea pigs Helene and Audrey, computer, camera, tools and kitchen stuff.
Our house is directly by the Baltic Sea that I can see through the window of my future office room when I look up from the screen of my laptop. Feels like starting a long term holiday.
Annika and I already had visitors. A woodpecker yesterday and two deer this morning. Not to mention the many water birds.
Now I’ll take my bike and the camera and check the surroundings.
See you soon.
Diezeborg
The cargo/container ship Diezeborg has been anchoring behind the island Gåsören for some days. This evening I took my telephoto lens and tripod to finally take a photo of the ship in the blue hour. The ship is approx. 8.5 km away.
Past – present – future
About ten years in Sweden and what will happen next
← Past
Have a look at this photo. It’s a special one:
This photo I took the morning of 23 April 2010, exactly ten years ago. It was the very first day of a new chapter in my life: Living in Sweden.
So today it’s my tenth Sweden anniversary. What a great life I’ve had all those years!
I’m especially grateful that I got to know Martine and Lasse right from the beginning. It was the balcony of their former house in Skellefteå where I took this photo from. Lasse and Martine not only gave me a room to stay for the first weeks but much more. They introduced me to many great people and showed me the surroundings, among others Skelleftehamn.
When I took these photos on 24 April 2010 I didn’t know that I would buy a house in Skelleftehamn only a month later and move there in summer 2010.
☉Present
The month of April uses to be the month between winter and spring. It still may snow intensely but the snow won’t last. And so it is this year, too. The rivers are mostly open and only the lakes are still covered with old ice.
But this April is special. Although the weather is really fine I’m inside quite a lot. It’s not because of corona or work but …
… because I pack my things. I’m moving. I’ll leave Skelleftehamn after almost ten years! The removal van will come in three weeks and I have a lot of stuff. The 35 banana boxes on the photo are filled with books and I didn’t even start to pack my winter equipment. Down jackets, sleeping bags, pulka, skies, winter boots …
→ Future
I’m going to move 148 km south. Annika and I have bought a house in Obbola near Umeå, the largest town in Northern Sweden. In two weeks Annika and I will finally become sambor. Sambo (sam = together-, bo = to live) – is the common Swedish term for people in a relationship living together without being married. Oh, how I’m looking forward to live together with Annika after years of a weekend relationship with many car rides on the boring E4 between Skelleftehamn and Umeå.
I’m also looking forward to something else. The house is located by the Baltic Sea. It’s only sixty metres from our terrace to the shore and I’ll be able to see the sea from my “office room”. There will be no excuse why I shouldn’t take a ten minute kayak trip before breakfast, when the weather is nice.
It’s hard to make photos from the future. The photos below I made three weeks ago.
The photo I couldn’t take three weeks ago was of the mink strolling along the shore. Wrong lens …