Gavle -- a LOVEly place

Richard said it:  "I love our little town", and he is certainly right that it is a lovely place to live.

I love the river running through it.  Boats don't come up very far from the sea any more, but the waterway, nicely banked with stones and concrete walls, lends a gentleness to the centre of town as it divides the two older commercial areas.  It means there are people fishing and open green spaces in the bustle.  And in three weeks, the famous goat will stand there, watched by online viewers all over the world.

I love the old and the new, side by side, and sometimes, one inside the other.  A very modern walking/cycling system (with appropriate visual and audio signals) leads the people-powered transit safely over old plazas, under railways, and into new developments along the waterfront.  The city workers in their high-vis green overalls blow the leaves in the park between the two upscale old merchant streets, and then the mighty leaf sweeper picks them up.

I love the bakeries, yes, I am coming to appreciate the cardamom in the cinnamon rolls.  It turns out it was the viking treasure brought back from India!  And there are so many other fine breads (love the Epi sourdough apricot rye) and swedish cakes -- even princess torte under the layer of lime green fondant is a culinary delight.

I love the shopping.  A friendly "hay, hay" will greet you in a grocery store, clothes shop, outdoor store, home decor spot, or whatever.  And there is no snickering when an old lady points to something because she can't express herself in swedish.  Or, there is a whole flood of swedish greeting and when you admit you don't understand anything, they switch effortlessly to english and carry on.

I love the subtle differences.  Cookie sheets are the rack in the oven and thanks to the special non-stick sheets, one set of cookies gets pulled off the sheet and another onto the sheet, making even a little apartment oven, an efficient baking experience.  Heated towel bars -- oh my!  Bicycles accepted by the motorists.  Serious recycling with different bins for weights of paper and types of plastic.  Very little Sunday shopping and reduced shopping hours to help out the little retailers.

I love the heather in the planters.  Fall and winter are still garden seasons, just with different species.

I love the lights everywhere.  We lost daylight savings time last weekend and so it starts to get dark about 3:30 pm -- and they lose about 5 minutes of daylight each day!  But already people and businesses are putting out lanterns or candles outside at their doors.  Most curtains don't get drawn so you can see lights on in apartments and houses and they are left on even if the people are out.  Last evening at the outdoor facility -- like a conservation area run by a company who has a lodge and cabins and maintains trails, there was a lovely lit walking path through the woods so that the area is used even in the dark times.

I love the cheese.  The same lodge that has the lit paths, has a restaurant which was fabulous.  Lobster pizza appetizer -- super, veal tenderloin with chanterelles -- amazing, dessert buffet of mini samplers -- innovative and delicious , but the highlight for me was the cheese buffet.  There were 6 very different local cheeses with accompaniments of fruit, nuts and crisp breads -- WOW, and even the presentation (you served yourself onto slate tiles) was fantastic.  Must remember to put the chunk of Vasterbottensost) into the suitcase.

I love the weather -- we had a great week, were not rained on.  It was warm and still enough that even with the 93% humidity, walking was a great way to get around and see all the details on buildings and bridges.

And most importantly, I love that Richard and Jennie are so happy here!