Heading home

All my bags are packed -- ready to go.  The beginning and the end of a journey are much the same.  I have a suitcase stuffed and as close to 23kg I think that I can manage.  In the end there were some tough decisions about what to pack and what to leave behind, value being measured not necessarily by cost alone, but by availability.  The van will pick me up in a few hours, whisk me to the Munich airport and then it is directly back to Pearson.

So, I have a few moments to wax philosophic.  I love to travel.  It's seeing things that I have never seen before (Venus of Willendorf), do things I have never done before (bike daytime, boat nighttime), make connections with past experiences in new ways (saw the sugar beet crops my Dad used to talk about), listen to music in original settings (concert at the Hofburg in Vienna), sample foods and drink (Radler for me!) and just be in a whole different way.  Make no mistake, I would not change my 'home' life, but exploring and learning is a delightful change.  But it is time to head back.

I am looking forward to my people, my house, my routines, my flowers, my bicycle. I have many pictures and will share them and my travels with anyone who will listen.  Happy Father's day to all you Dads!

People

The city of Grein on the Danube, has long been called the Golden Town thanks to the commercial success of its location just upstream of the treacherous eddies on the river. Local pilots boarded ships and navigated them safely through the rapids and whirlpools.  Consequently, the town was very prosperous and established the oldest theatre (virtually continuously performing) since 1791.  The townspeople had the benefit of living on the river, but also the challenges of the periodic flooding.  Most towns along the river have put flood control measures into place after the severe waters of 2005 and were tested in 2013 where the river crested at over 8 m above the normal level!  Life goes on.

Our ship's guests came from Australia to Sweden to Russia to England, Germany, and yes -- even Canada.  My picture shows Carolyn and Neil, Do and Graham -- my table mates for the past week. They are from the Liverpool area and the picture is of us on the sundeck waiting for disembarkation.

The crew of the boat was Slovakian -- a young group of enthusiastic workers who all work as a team.  Their service was efficient and friendly.  Their crew show was as crazy as any by any resort entertainment team. (Soup ladles will have a whole new meaning.)

Have I missed people as I cycle along by myself or sit on the upper deck and watch the river flow by.  Of course, but also 'no'.  I have enjoyed the freedom of doing as I wanted -- right down to when to stop to take a photo -- and yes, I have taken MANY photos.  I have always needed a serious dose of 'just me' time, and I think that tank has been refilled.  Ready to interact again!

Boat(s)

Someone sent me an email just the other day reminding me of how much he and K liked boats.  Well, this river has enough for all!  The picture is of the Theodore Korner -- the boat I am travelling on.  It is a delightful home base.

I have a cabin at the very back on the bottom level.  There is no one above me as it is the crew's back deck. Outside my window, there is always water and the sound of the movement past the boat is most soothing. My cabin is about 2.2 m wide and I guess about 3.5 m long.  Yes, it is tiny, but I have a shower, toilet, sink, closet, little desk, TV and bed.  In fact, I have 2 beds -- there is a bunk above my head, but it is folded up.   Talking to people who live on the upper levels, they comment that their rooms are not cool enough for them even when they turn the AC up full.  I have no control and my room is cool always.  That is very nice since the temperatures have been in the 30s each of our cycling days.  

Last night as we left Linz, no one was allowed on the sundeck -- they even had to lower the chimney to make it under the bridges.  About 10 pm we went through one of the locks -- a drop of 10 m at least.  Too bad we can't take a trip through the Welland Canal, that would be fascinating too.

I keep taking pictures of all the different boats, and am amassing quite a collection.  This area definitely relies on the river for all kinds of transport.

Today there was another climb -- this on the bicycle up to the Burg Clam (Clam castle).  It has parts dating back to the 1100s and has been in the same family for more than 500 years.  Now that's deep roots.

Not the Rhine

Most of my river cycling in Europe has been along the Rhine -- that critical artery for commerce.  True, there are also pleasure river cruises now, but they are in the minority.  The Danube is its artistic sibling.

Both rivers have km markers so one can measure exactly one's pace (actually it is more for the boat traffic).  Both do have working boats and pleasure boats.  Neither is particularly clean, but there are bathers that brave the waters.  Both run to the sea with a delta formation.  Both have a cycle path on both shores.

But, the Danube is the contemplative Mary to the Rhine's Martha.  I don't know if it actually is slower, but it seems so, especially in the upper region where we started.  There are not high speed train tracks down both shores.  There are not an endless stream of heavily laden river barges passing each other in opposite directions.  There appears to be a much higher percentage of cruise boats and many more small fun crafts of a variety of designs and sizes.  There are less towns on the Danube -- more mountains and rock faces, more forests right to the shore.  Much less noise.  It is the sleepy relaxed one.  Here it passes Linz -- voted Europe's cultural city of 2009.  And it goes on to Vienna, that capital of everything refined and artistic.

Don't make a mistake.  I love cycling the Rhine and hope to do the whole portion of it in Germany, but the Danube is a lovely change, and isn't variety the spice of life?

still having picture trouble.

Water under the bridge

And water under the working boats, the motor boats, the ferries, the canoes and under the overhanging trees.  Water through the power plants and the locks.  Water by the fields of wheat, barley and corn; by the beaches and people fishing with poles and nets; by official campgrounds with small harbours and unoffical ones with nude bathers; by busy roads and small paths; by rock faces and alluvial plains.

The river is timeless.  It cares not for current or past politics.  There is no change as it slips from Germany into Austria despite the tumultuous past.  It did not care about a granite outcropping and simply went around it creating the Donau Schlinge (Danube Loop).  It doesn't care about me or any of the other cyclists, but we can participate in its endless motion and marvel at the beauty..

Today's photo is of that famous loop (a 1 km walk with 180 m of up -- translates to an average of 18%).  Truly beautiful!

Blue Danube

It is not blue.
But it is a different colour than the other two rivers which join it here in Passau.  It is the start of my bike and boat tour along this major European river for the next week. I caught the transfer from the Munich Airport area just before nine and arrived here by ten thirty despite a 'stau' or traffic jam.  My luggage was welcome on board right away it I needed to wait till about fiv pm.  So I explored the city and get a phone card. Thanks T-Mobile for a month package with some calls and unlimited internet. But typing on the phone is a pain.  Also went into the Dom and just as I was about to leave the organ started and played for thirty minutes. Fantastic.

My cabin is a compact little spot at the back of the boat on the deck closest to the water line.  I love it.

I am assigned to a table with two British couples and they seem fine dinner companions. I think this is going to be fun.

June 6

For the Western world, June 6 is known for being D Day -- the launch of the Allied Normandy invasion which brought about the end of World War II in Europe.  I don't know where exactly my Father was on that June 6, but he was part of that German retreat along the Rhine which followed, was captured and spent time in a US prison camp.  His memories of being a POW were not good and so there was no dwelling on it in the family.

In the Locher clan, June 6 is 'the day that Northern Dancer fed Jim B.'s chickens'.  Jim is my uncle who lived less than a km away from us as the crow flies, and who also, raised broiler chickens.  Northern Dancer was the Canadian three-year old horse who, in 1964 won first the Kentucky Derby and then the Preakness  making him eligible to win the Triple Crown.  We Locher kids had a bet with Uncle Jim on the outcome of the third race -- the Belmont.  I don't remember what our prize would have been if ND had won, but he lost, and so we had to feed the chickens in my Uncle's barn.  (Several thousand birds, so it wasn't a handful of chicken feed here and there, but pails filled at the bin and then poured into tall feeders).  June 6 lived on in infamy.

Scroll ahead to 1979.  By a complex calculation of normal gestation time and then factoring in how late my first baby was, June 6 was the predicted date for baby #2.  Joanna wasn't nearly as speedy as she is in her triathlons today, and didn't make her appearance till June 7, 5:10 am.

But here in Sweden,  June 6 is National Day (making for the second long weekend in a row!)  Gavle is celebrating with parade, concerts, kids' shows, and generally a big party in the park.  I am travelling today so only managed to catch a glimpse of the band on it's way from the town centre to the park area.  There were lots of yellow and blue flags, face painting, balloons, leis, and Swedish shirts.

Happy June 6 to you all!  (a sleepy TE with her 'loved' flag)

Getting to know you

This afternoon Jenn and Richard went out for a run and Oma and Tova Elise hung out together.  This is the reason I am here, to get to know this little miss.
I know she is a protein muncher -- everything from eggs to meat to fish to tofu.  I know she loves to snuggle.  I know she loves sleeping in her carriage with her face right up against the side.  I know she loves to climb and slide and wants to do stairs walking down instead of on her bum.  I know she loves stones and sand and soil.  I know she carries her stuffed animals by their tails and munches on them.  And much more -- the things you only get to know about a person by spending time with them.  I am a very blessed Oma to have that opportunity!

Swedish delivery

At the exit of the IKEA in Valbo (about 10 km from Gavle), there is a delightfully Swedish picture.  It shows a man riding a cargo bike ( one with a platform between the rider and the front wheel) through the snow, laden with IKEA boxes and on the top some wine and flowers.  He is obviously in Stockholm as there was a water channel behind him and a glass building on the other side.  Here is my version:

I am on Jennie's town bike -- three speeds, three baskets-- doing the toting of two lovely items for TE -- a shelf with little baskets for toys, books, etc. and a child's Poang chair.  Neither had been our intent when we cycled out there, but Tova Elise just loved the chair -- up, down, sprawled, and any other way -- so we thought that would be nice.  In the 'as is' section were two of the shelf units that Jennie had looked at from time to time (at about 1/4 of their regular price), so we took the one that was in the box (and picked up the other later this afternoon on our way to mountain biking).  Thanks Ikea for lots of string to tie everything down and together and with Jenn in front pulling TE in the Chariot, we made our way home with no problems.  Seemed like a very Swedish adventure!

Loading chickens

For those of you who know my childhood, you will know that the phrase 'loading chickens' was not a pleasant prospect.  It meant an evening -- very late in the summer-- of going through the chicken barns and catching 7 chickens by one leg and then handing them through a hatch to someone on a truck who stuffed them and 7 more of their friends into a crate.  Next stop was the processing plant!  This was not a happy experience for the birds either, so I often ended up with serious scratches for my efforts.  This adventure was repeated  usually 2 nights in a row and about 4 or 5 times a year.

Enter today's experience.  The chickens are hens and chickens, the little succulent plants which propagate by sending out runners and then a group of small 'chickens' is established around the 'hen'.  We are fixing a path in Jennie's garden and the plants had spilled over their small retaining wall and rooted in the stones between the path's patio stones.  The choice came to moving the plants or making a big bow around them and changing the path drastically.  Jennie chose the former solution, hence the loading of the chickens into my hands and moving them aside.  The path is looking great and this evening the plants got a new home in the reclaimed strip of garden going in beside the garage.

The play on words reminded me of how often, as we get older, associated memories flood into the current experience, in the strangest ways -- like me loading chickens into my hands.  And, if someone had told me of this activity those 50 years ago, what would I have thought -- impossible?!  There are so many things that happen that we never dreamed of or imagined possible.  I think the only way to not be overwhelmed is to keep an open mind -- said sitting here in this kitchen in Sweden.  Wow!

Sorry, the pictures don't want to upload, so use your imagination.

Observations

This picture of Tova Elise shows her in the new bicycle seat which, now that she has a helmet, she can use.  She took to it right away and absolutely loved her vantage point and freedom (though strapped in by chest and feet).  One might think that perched behind Mom was a problem, but she was looking around at the scenery and other people.  A perfect spot for a little one to observe her world.

Observing is active looking and I am certain TE is analysing and filing away everything she sees.  It may not all make sense right now, but it will shape her view as time goes on.

I have been observing too, especially comparing things to Canada and to how I perceived Sweden initially:

There seems to be a trend here, as in Canada, that there are more overweight people of all ages.  Jenn and Richard feel that this is, sadly, the case here also.  Seems candy is the major culprit and there are discussions to see how the emphasis on candy -- particularly after school and for Easter -- can be decreased.

I have also noticed more people smoking outside while walking, or standing in groups.  Again, there do not appear to be age differences.  Sad.

Jennie has been working hard in her gardens.  She has a fabulous little intensive vegetable patch and a nice flower garden.  We have been de-grassing this bed and transplanting and containing some of the more expansive plants.  I think the gardens love the moderate climate -- yes, I know we are supposedly in a temperate zone at home, but the ocean just a few kms away works wonders.  Also, the soil here is TOTALLY different from my back yard -- read 'crumbly loam instead of rock hard clay'.

The local weekly paper focused this week, on the river which flows through Gavle.  There are some very ambitious plans to add a swimming area for kids and adults to the park.  Unfortunately, bureaucracy is not confined to Canada, and the project is on hold until at least August.

Major difference is the attitude toward pedestrians and cyclists by the motorists.  One can count on the cars to observe and be careful around cyclists, especially where there are no bike lanes or bike crossing signals. Wouldn't that be nice at home!

And then, of course, there is the daylight.  Right now the sun sets at 22:10 and rises at 03:33, so it is really only dark between 11:30 and 2:30.  My perception is way off and I will be thinking that I should still be out in the garden or doing something when it is almost 10 pm.

When life gives you lemons...

Yes, you make lemonade.  But what do you do when life gives you rhubarb?  Well, we made rhubarb cake, rhubarb compote, rhubarb orange squares, and rhubarb lentil soup, so far.  And the rhubarb chocolate brownie cheesecake squares are in the oven at the moment.  And, the rhubarb 'saft', or flavoured drink, is still to happen.  You may have seen the remarkable plant on Jennie's facebook a few weeks ago, but the stalks are amazing -- about 4 cups of chopped per stalk!

For the past few days, I have been mentioning all the things that I like here in Sweden, but of course, the reason I am here is to get to know little darling miss and for her to get to know me.  We had a long walk today for her nap.  Delight!

If you go down to the woods today

In the song that starts the same at the title of this blog, there is a teddy bear picnic.  Thankfully none of those in the woods where we were today.  Hemlingby is a city owned outdoor recreation area complete with hiking trails, mountain bike trails, small ski hill with lift, some old barns, a number of animals such as sheep and a lodge type building serving as a restaurant and meeting center.  They do a lunch buffet which has salads, a main and two soups.  On a cool rainy day, it is perfect.

The rain was fairly steady most of the morning while I was in at the Saturday market --bread, smoked salmon and cheese (does life get any better?).  However, after lunch the clouds moved away and while the forest floor was wet, there were no more showers.  With a little sunshine, one could appreciate the fabulous new green tips on the spruce trees and the lovely leaves on a tree which has huge pollen-laden flowers in the style of a poplar (puddles have a yellow powder floating on them).  Tova Elise loved the outdoor obstacle course and was able to climb on some of the apparatus.  We walked about 4 km and could already see the blueberries set on the little plants of the forest floor -- good season ahead.

The rain has been welcome as the weather has been quite dry lately, though I don't know that anyone wants to rhubarb to grow even faster and bigger.

Feels like......

Richard and Jennie have now been here for just over 4 years.  They have bought a house and have settled into a Swedish way of life.  They shop locally and try to buy Swedish products in the grocery stores where possible.  (Remember the words of Gustav Vasa -- first king of Sweden:  Be Swedish!)  They have adopted the Swedish attitude toward weather -- no bad weather, only bad clothes.  Tova Elise has all her naps outside, usually on the back porch.  The rain cover on her stroller is well used and this afternoon she was out in the Chariot with Richard as he ran.  Their car only racked up 5000 km last year as usually they work and play locally by bicycle.  Jennie is quite fluent in Swedish and Richard understands most conversations but with his work (he is an English teacher at an English school) he doesn't have the opportunity to practice the language as much.

So today as we were walking in the light rain, I asked if it felt like home.  He said yes immediately.  Home is where the heart is, and their hearts are most definitely here.  They love the sporty culture of the country, the snow in winter and the camping possibilities in summer.  They love their work here and their home.  Gavle is a great place to live -- big enough to have most things of culture and convenience, and Stockholm is only about 85 minutes away.  They have made friends through work and their sporting endeavours.  Thanks to computers and phones, the contacts with family and friends on the other side of the Atlantic are strong.   I am reminded of a small plaque that my mother has in her house which translates:

'My home, my dear little one; full of sunshine and rest.  How I hurry to your peace at the end of the working day.'  I'm so glad they have found that here.

And when I come -- which has now been about 5 times, it feels like visiting with an old friend.  The familiar patterns are comforting and delightful.  I know where to find pear cider in the liquor store, I know who has lovely bread and who has interesting day-old baked goods.  I know where to find the washroom at the mall and that I need to have a 5kr coin.  I know several different routes to get downtown.  I know where to find Moomin souveniers.  I know which stall at the market has lovely hot smoked salmon.  Feels like -- a great place to visit again and again.

Carpe Diem

If the day's forecast is for great sunshine and the 3 of the next four are for rain, yes, you seize the day and head outdoors.

Tova Elise has her big nap in the morning which provided time for weeding and transplanting in the gardens.  When she awoke, we made our way to a local outdoor recreation centre -- Hogbo Bruk (sorry can't add the umlauts).  Well, we stumbled upon their Children's day which meant that there were kids everywhere -- with balloons, getting their faces painted, playing fish pond, getting horse rides, paddling in kayaks, visiting all the animals and even doing rabbit jumping races.  The last of these I had never seen before -- you have a rabbit on a leash and it has been 'trained' to jump over fences -- think horse jumps in miniature.  Well, rabbits refuse gates even more than horses, so there is a continual 'pick up the rabbit, carry it back a few steps and then try again' process.  But those guys can jump when inspired!

Lunch was kid oriented -- that means meatballs, mini hotdogs, and pancakes on the buffet.  In the afternoon, Richard and Jennie did a mountainbike route while TE and I walked around the lake.

Too many people for an afternoon coffee there so we stopped at IKEA for an ice cream or coffee -- can't go wrong for 5 kr each (less than $1).

We further enjoyed the glorious day with supper on the back porch -- thanks IKEA for making good pizza!

getting there is half the fun?

I find going east to be much harder than going west.  It is Wednesday evening here in Sweden and it feels like it should just be the end of a long Tuesday due to my lack of sleep -- how we punctuate each day.  I could nap, but then it takes longer to get settled in the new time zone.

After I got the weight of the bicycle bag (with bicycle) sorted out -- should be 23 kg instead of the 30 kg I had in there, the flight out of Toronto and into Frankfurt went easily.  I think there was about an hour total of sleep.  Frankfurt airport was a breeze with no suitcase or bike to drag and that place is very well signed with helpful service people.  Coming into Arlanda was a bit rough, but no problems.

I knew that getting the bike onto the train would be my biggest challenge as it meant pulling my suitcase and the bike bag at the same time while changing terminals.  Trouble.  The track between Arlanda and Upsalla was shut for some reason and so I had to find a bus to take me to Upsalla and then run to catch the next train to Gavle.  I arrived only about 40 minutes later than originally scheduled. Thanks to the strangers who lent a hand!

Jennie and TovaElise came to pick me up.  The little one does not make strange and was immediately gurgling and laughing with me.  She is a delightful toddler with the funny initial walk, but wanting to check everything out.  She was playing with the Lego blocks I brought her and the stuffed creatures.  But I'm sure she liked being outside and running through the back yard even better.

Forget the 'cold north' here -- the lilacs are in full bloom, all the trees are fully leafed-out, and Jennie's garden already has some little green tomatoes on the plants.

it is good to be back here!