Evaluation

 It must be the teacher in me that needs a summation and evaluation of an activity.  So here are the ratings of this adventure, in no particular order.

Best hugs: Rowan and Tova, without a doubt!

Best indoor plants:  I have to go with Inge's orchids.  She has so many different ones and they live so beautifully in the little sun alcove off the dining area.  I added this one to her collection.

Best outdoor garden:  Rhonda and Robert take that honour.  They spend hours with the flowers and vegetables, respectively.  Plus, they live in a micro climate that puts them ahead of most.

Best city tour guide:  Franz in Vaihingen.  I learned about the old walled town, the former and soon-to-be occupants of the castle, the mill on the river Enz, the new kids' play park at the old train station, the local vineyard and historic flooding.

Most amazing plant:  When I first visited Johanna and her Mom back in 1984, I remember a lovely red spreading cutleaf Japanese maple by the front door.  Look at it now!

Best fruit:  There was nothing fresh from any of the gardens I visited, so it is a choice of the store bought stuff --Conference pears. They were available everywhere!

Worst airport experience:  Schipol.  Not because it isn't clean or spacious, nor is it poorly laid out without good shops and facilities.  It's because I had to RUN to make the connection.  I don't run anymore (thanks to my feet having been broken, not that I liked running ever), and particularly don't run with a heavy backpack.

Best creature experience:  The stork in Rhonda's yard and then on its nest.  OK, Morris has always been a friendly cat, but I'm sorry girls, a chicken is still just a chicken.

Best bread:  Sorry French baguette and German pretzel, but it is the sunflower seed, sourdough rye bread from Epi in Gavle.

Best pastry:  mmmm  the fruit cheesecake from the bakery on the market square in Vaihingen.

Best restaurant meal:  That's really hard.  I can't decide between the Iberian pork at the golf club or the beef roast in the house from the 1400s.

Best item I am bringing home:  The gifts are appropriate, the clothes that I bought are very nice (and practical -- 11 pairs of socks, long story), the wine will be very tasty as will the duck, the two marzipan topping sheets for Princess Cakes will make spectacular desserts, I may even be able to make super bread with the sourdough starter, but the number one choice has to be the reusable baking mats from Clas Olson. Haven't found anything like them at home. 

Best bike ride:  as it was the only ride of significance -- from Gavle to the Valbo shopping center on the trusty blue Monark commuter.

Best water walk:  Along Lake Constance -- even with the tourists.  For a number of years I have considered a cycling holiday around this lake, and now having seen it (for the first time in 70 years), it's a definite wish.

Most productive gardening activity:  yes I pulled weeds in Gavle, Habsheim and Vaihingen, but we all know that's just a temporary measure as they all grow back.  However, when I dug worms for fishing on the island and for the hens in the garden, that was a positive activity and much appreciated.

Best train trip:  Emotionally, it has to be the one that took me to the people I love, but in terms of comfort, relaxation and scenery, it was the trip from Konstanz to the Zurich airport yesterday.  It was early and one actually had time to get settled.  There were lots of spaces and no standing was required.  No one griped at the bicycles or removed them from the train -- DB cancelled a train and then the next one was so crowded that bikes had to be taken off.  I did not have to run to get it -- you think you have lots of time to make the connection, but then the train is late and the track you need is down the steps and then back up again.  The scenery was amazing -- the Swiss do 'picture perfect' perfectly.  I have to recommend Trainline from the UK.  They are an amazing booking site for all the trains in Europe.

Best music:  That has to be a tie between the lunch-time organ concert at the church in Gavle or the "Across the Fields" vocal ensemble in St. Louis.  (The after-concert snacks were better in France.  I got a recipe for a fabulous version of Linzer torte)

Best garden center:  I didn't fully explore any of the locations, but the one Rhonda took me to in Germany was spectacular -- and the only place we could get the climbing zucchini plant that Robert wanted.  Note the new variety of hydrangea! (Oh, the birds of paradise aren't bad either.)

Surprises:  -getting on the train in Germany and understanding the conversation around me (+)

                  -the layout of the ICA MAXI after renovation (-)

                  -Inge's oven which is called a baking box and opens like a straight out drawer

                  -Robert's peach trees that he grew from seeds

                  -climbing zucchini plants

                  -Rhonda's vintage egg flipper

                  

Ideas to copy - a garden privacy structure

                      - a snail shaped pollinator house

                      - glass flowers for the garden

Time to go home, but already looking forward to coming back.

Live local

 This trip my focus has been  to live like a local.  I have stayed with Rich and Jenn in Sweden, then with Rhonda and Robert in France, and am now with Franz and Inge in Vaihingen.  In each place I have wandered around to see the sights and played in the dirt.

Gardening has always been something very satisfying for me.  My kids used to say that Mom plays in the dirt, which is absolutely true. I had my own garden at the farm growing up and was given the freedom to try different plants.  The vegetable garden was part of chores, so my garden was always flowers.  I loved the smell and freshness of spring bulbs, the wonderful opulence of peonies, the stateliness of lupins and foxgloves.  How delightful that plants don't go out of style!

But each garden is unique, not only as they reflect the different personalities of the people who created them, but, of course, the different climates that they inhabit.

Jennie's garden is much later to develop, being so far north.  She has a ground elder (weed) which has to be battled all the time.  Luckily, the hens love the stuff, so they work it over every time I drop a bucket of it their way.  Jenn mixes flowers and fruit, so the currant bush is beside the climbing hydrangea and behind the daffodils.  Grass is always trying to invade also and the spirea hedge has to be controlled with the hedge clippers.  She has the most amazing rhubarb I have ever seen, the stalks are as big as my arm.  We managed to dig over the area she uses for controlled beds, and provide lots of worms for the hens.

Rhonda's garden is in the Rhine valley, in the Alsace region of France.  There is a microclimate which allows some of the hardier palm trees to thrive.  Rhonda grows a huge variety of flowers and Robert take care of the vegetables and fruit trees.  Both have scientific and agricultural backgrounds, so the retirement property had to have a big garden.  In the three years they have been there, it has already changed immensely and it is still expanding.  And the 'in soil' portion is supplemented by pots of all sizes holding plants.  It is a delight of colours and textures -- including the buttercups which are weeds and must be dug out -- nasty root system.  

Here in Vaihingen, I have been in two gardens, about 100 meters away from each other.  Cousins Franz and Johanna live on opposite sides of the same street.  Both gardens feature flowers as well as fruits and veg.  Thistles and grass are the predominant weeds to be pulled.  Both households has fabulous orchids which rebloom.  Also, in Johanna's garden, was the first spreading red Japanese maple that I remember -- that was in 1987.  It was a lovely, little tree by the front door -- look at it now!

So I have gardened, shopped, eaten, walked and relaxed like the locals in each of the three places I have visited.  It's how to get to know each of the families better.  That's the reason to travel.

Signs of (Swedish) Spring

 Not being a big fan of winter, spring is very welcome in my world and I mark all the signs with delight.  Being Canadian, that means melting ice, flowers and trees coming into bloom, lots of mud, birds returning and nesting, and generally people coming out of their house cocoons again.  Sweden has these and some extras that I have noted.

The daffodils are later here than at home, but there is a cute little blue flower that seems to be everywhere, they are stjarnkloka.  But growing right behind, very vigorously in Jennie and Rich's garden is the ground elder -- a truly nasty weed propagating by underground runners.  Now that's what should be declared an invasive species.

Instead of salt, little granite gravel is spread on sidewalks and roads in the winter for traction.  At this time of year when the snow piles in the parking lots are melting, they all are encased in the gravel.  Also, homeowners are expected to rake the gravel out of their lawns onto the sidewalk or roadway where a crew with sweepers will come and retrieve it for next year. They have been clearing the roads, bike paths and sidewalks since I got here.

New life is also seen in the restart of laying eggs from the hens.  R and J have about 9 hens and get about 5 eggs per day.  Not bad! And today a guy came and gave them 3 more chickens.  How kind!

The city is planting flowers, and, take note all you other places, not a pansy to be seen.

Tomorrow is the worker's holiday here -- essentially like our Labour Day.  The kids are off school and most businesses are closed.  Tonight is bonfire night.  All the brush that has been collected and pruned is burned and there are parties out on lawns and in some village squares. Nice to have a day off (even if the kids did get 10 days vacation at Easter just a few weeks ago).

And one more sign.  Being fairly far north, Sweden is racing towards that time when the sun hardly sets.  Already, the amount of daylight is significantly greater than at home.  How I most experience that is in sunsets that last and last.  

Happy Spring to you all!

Be Prepared

Yes, that is the Boy Scout's motto and a good one it is, for it teaches the kids to think ahead, evaluate and act.  For many years, I had a grown-up version of it as my motto -- with good planning, anything is possible.  

Even now, I book my flights well in advance and choose the best dates to suit my and the people I am visiting's schedule.  I take out insurance (yearly makes it easy).  I have researched hotels and trains and restaurants and activities.  I collected some photo albums to bring along with me.  I like to get to the airport early so if there is an issue, I can better deal with it.

I usually bring some sort of activity for the girls here.  This time it is a miniature flower shop model.  All three of us are working on it in stages.  There are many elements and the little fingers are especially good with the building.   

Planning and preparedness also go along with "the problems that money can solve are not the big problems".  There, the situations have cash as the solution and having that available, means that one has thought ahead.

But then there are the unforeseen  challenges: (A Balrog! and I am already spent. -- have been rereading The Lord of the Rings),  the health crisis that money cannot prevent or cure,  a pandemic that changes all the rules,  a relationship that changes, an accident.  Do we feel punished for such things happening to us when we have tried to do everything right? . How we deal with the bad stuff is at least an equal assessment for our character as how we deal with the good stuff.  

I try to remind myself that I have been and still am extremely blessed.  I know I will not avoid all the troubles that can come, but I will remember that storms end.  And if I can help someone else in their storm, then being here is important. I will take every opportunity to be in relationships!

Travelling again

It has been more than a year since I wrote a blog.  What has happened -- house!  The new place in Chippawa has, for more than a year, soaked up all our extra time and energy.  But all that is another story (very happy ending).

I'm back in Sweden.  Richard's health has been a challenge for the last several months and so to ensure he has the flexibility of being downstairs at night, I am in a studio apartment in a residential neighbourhood just a 6 minute walk from their house.  I have a full kitchen, bathroom and sitting area all for myself.  It's small but very comfortable, so that works out great.  Same IKEA linens I have at home.

I learned that the girls take themselves to school in the morning -- a change even from September when I was here and cycled with them each day.  They grow up so fast.  They finish early in the afternoon and so come home, sometimes at different times, but they are responsible and so there are no worries.  Today they helped make the lasagna for supper and then we played and did crafts.  What fun!! Tonight was Pickleball.  They had a blast there.

I'm here just when the sidewalks and roadways are being swept for the pea gravel that is spread for the ice and snow.   People rake it out of their lawns onto the sidewalk or roadway and then the big sweeper comes and picks it up.  Like the weather in Niagara, there have been enough warm days to bring out the daffodils and the lovely little blue flowers which are everywhere, but now it is cool again, so the blooms are lasting a good long time.

Did some grocery shopping (as usual) and discovered that they have renovated my favourite store, not for the better.  The aisles may be wider, but the product selection is significantly less.  Makes one wonder about the idea of too much choice being bad for business.  Rode back on the bike, after realizing that I had put my purchases on the wrong bike and being frustrated for the key not working.  ICA Maxi even has 2 kennels outside indicated for Dog Parking. Most of the people who are out walking, are walking dogs.  Just like home.

Challenging Yourself

 Some people thrive on competition with other -- faster, higher marks, longer endurance, better opportunities,  more applause, etc.  At times I admit I have bought into that, but age makes me realize that I am no longer as fast, or as smart, or as talented as I was, but I still get some of that thrill in challenging myself.

This trip has had some of those moments -- spend 4 hours on the bike, ride up the hill without stopping, walk to the fort each night, get a section of stitching done.  Well today, I added a significant one:  do the long cave tour.

I first visited the lava tubes that run down from the mountains to the sea, last year.  They are 10,000 years old and formed when one of the later sections of this island welled out of the ocean.  Over the years, there were actually 2 tubes created on top of each other.  When the highway from the airport to the city was being built, the construction crossed one of the major tubes and destroyed a section of it.  But the foresight of the government enabled that section to be repaired in such a way that there was an access to the tubes going both north and south of the highway.  From this access point, there are 2 tours available:  the short and the long.

Last year the short tour was reinstated after the pandemic, but not the long tour.  When we were close to coming back here, I emailed the Cave people and asked if the long tour was being done this year -- yes!  There was one scheduled for March 4.  It required one to crawl through narrow passages and over rocks -- how old was I.  When I wrote back '71', the answer was that it was not recommended that I do the tour.  That irked me and on Thursday this week, I cycled to the caves and checked if the tour was still happening.  Yes!  I would like to join.  Did I have any physical condition like heart problems?  Did I have comfortable shoes and could crawl.  I spoke truthfully and they took my name -- I was in!

This morning there was rain on the walk to the caves.  I can handle that.  We were outfitted with gloves, a helmet with a light, and knee pads.  All three were necessary as for two hours we made our way north of the highway to the section of the tubes that is accessible at this point.  Sometimes we were in the lower tube, sometimes in the upper and sometimes climbing up or down.  Sections of the tube walls can break off in almost an onion ring way and the rocks are lying in the passage and need to be climbed around or over.  The bottom of the tube is very rough as the last flows of lava cooled in chunks.  The sides and ceiling are 'glazed' with a silver gray layer of molten rock hanging in small stalactites that never change as there is no limestone in the water which drips down.  The only colour change is the algae which is growing on the stone -- sometimes yellow, sometimes orange.  The rocks with more iron content have turned brown, but black basalt forms the basis of everything.

It was a challenge.  I had to be very careful with my feet, especially on the rough base of the tube.  Would I do it again?  Probably not as I was worried about footing.  Would I recommend it to my kids or grandkids?  Absolutely.  It was a unique experience which challenges you both physically and mentally --crawling into a narrow passage goes against a lot of survival instincts.  But sometimes, you just have to see what you can do.

Worth the revisit

 It promised to be a nice day, but I got rained on in the 20% POP during my morning walk.  So, instead of riding today, we decided to go and visit Lagoa, specifically  the Volcanic exhibition that we had seen a number of years ago.  

We had found a nice restaurant behind a youth hostel on that initial trip, and it did not disappoint today.  Special of the day -- (fish or meat) plus a beer and a coffee -- 12 euros.  

The  restaurant and the exhibition are both just a few steps away from the shore and so with time on our hands before lunch and before the exhibit opened, we sat and watched the ocean.  What an amazing show!

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPl2_K7PbHVpmcHr6v_-bduDBrwQzXFWKS8glkS

(select the above link, left click and then select 'go to')

The exhibition had organized itself much better since our last visit and the videos, explanation and samples of rocks and minerals were fascinating.

Top off the visit with my favourite galao (latte), and it makes for a great day!