Hellooooo! I am here. I am exhausted after our vacation in Sweden, the summer house purchase, visits with banks and realtors, birthday parties, girls' night out, shopping, traveling... And on top of that a Blogging Your Way e-course, the photography course and last but not least - a nasty cold... I am complete wreck but oh my, what a great time we have had. Sweden - forever and ever my big love.
The red cottages with white corners, the curvy narrow roads, the fields and woods in the most beautiful autumn color tones. How beautiful autumn can be at its peak.
Stockholm. So exquisite, so elegant, so absolutely majestic. The capital of Sweden never fails to impress me with its cute color blocks of houses, the wonderful architecture dating all the way back to the 13th century, the water and bridges connecting all the islands together to become a charming big city, not overwhelming big but just perfect. My heart is exploding with pride and love that this is where my roots come from. If you've never been to Stockholm or Sweden you should have that on your list of destinations. You will be astonished by its beauty and you won't regret it for a minute. Stockholm has it all and even more.
And no, I am not paid by the Swedish Tourist Center to write this blog post. I just speak straight from my heart because something happens when you emigrate. When you move abroad and leave it all behind you might not reflect so much about your home country and the losses at first as everything is so exciting and you have to adjust to so many new things like culture, language, infra structure, politics and bureaucracy. But after a while you notice something new on your trips back home. Because it will always remain home, no matter how many years you will live abroad.
You come home with the eyes of a visitor and you suddenly see the beauty in a new way. Maybe it is the longing of something lost, the sentimentality that makes you remembers only the good (the bad and the ugly are since long ago forgotten...). You see colors and shapes, streets and people in a more exotic way, like they are all new although they are so comfortably old and well known. It is like magic and I have enjoyed every second of being a visitor of my roots.
Kärlek
Annette
Hi!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures of Swedish fall! I love Sweden, too.
But I only know it during Summertimes ...
Best wishes, Heike
Beautiful photo's of your home country Annette! The course you followed sounds interesting. Did you learn a lot?
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely evening!
Madelief x
Hi Madelief
DeleteThank you! I am still doing the course. It is very intense and VERY interesting. I am learning a lot. I will write more about it in a separate blog post. I highly recommend Holly's Blogging Your Way courses. She is brilliant.
Thanks for popping in!
Annette
Oh my, I know the feeling. I am from Bodø, a town above the arctic circle, and I have lived in the south for 25 years now. My heart is in the midnightsun and the northern lights.
ReplyDeletehave a nice evening
Hi Monica
DeleteWe will never forget and we will always feel at home when we return, no matter how many years we spend somewhere else. An interesting phenomenon. Would love to visit Bodø one day... North of Norway is such a beautiful place.
Thanks for visiting.
xxx
Annette
Wow, totally beautiful - pictures and words !! Autumn is such a beautiful time. I echo your thoughts about moving away and visiting your hometown as a visitor.....:)
ReplyDeleteHi
DeleteThank you!
Xxx
Annette
Beautifully written! Touches the heart. Thanks for sharing, get well soon.
ReplyDeleteHi Angela
DeleteThank you very much. Cold is getting better, thank you. Now it is the husbands turn to cuddle up with hot tea and wool socks... Poor thing.
Thanks for visiting.
xxx
Annette
Beautiful pictures! What are the red berries, please? I'm not familiar with them.
ReplyDeleteHi
DeleteThank you so much! The berries are called Rowan Berries. You can make lots of things with these beauties. In Sweden we make a gel to have with roasted meat, gravy and potatoes. Really yum.
Thank you for visiting.
Xxx
Annette
Beautiful photos, and words spoken from the heart. I know what you mean though, my home is England but my home-home is Northern Ireland, I love it all the more for not living there :)
ReplyDeleteHi Jill
DeleteThank you. Only someone who has left their roots can understand I think. It is a bitter sweet life but not necessary a bad one. I've experienced so much during my years abroad and grown so much as a person. I am totally different from what I once was and I don't regret a single minute of it.
Thank you for visiting today.
Xxx
Annette
Hej hej Annette, thank you for the lovely photo's.
ReplyDeleteHi
DeleteThank you for visiting! Happy to hear you enjoy my photos.
Xxx
Annette
Sweden sounds Amazing! I've never been, but I would love visit someday! I have to see Switzerland as well as I have Swiss ancestors!
ReplyDeleteHi Dana
DeletePut both destinations on your bucket list. One day you make it over here and you can visit both places. That will be wonderful.
Thank you for popping in today.
Xxx
Annette
Both places are on my bucket list! I'd also love to visit Helsinki Finland because my cousin's wife is from there (she gives up Finnish treats every Christmas!)
DeleteFarrah Lily is mentioning Scandinavian food... oh yum!
Hi Annette...I am in love with your photos of Sweden. I have never been there (or Europe) for that matter, but it is high on my travel list. There is something so quaint and lovely about this country (at least from what I have seen on travel shows and photos.) There is a show we have here called New Scandinavian Cooking and one of the cooks does her show in Sweden so I am dying to go there to see the beautiful towns, and experience the food and culture. I would image it is especially nice and cozy there during the Christmas season! I completely agree as well about how amazing it feels when you go "home." It's like you're meeting back up again with a little piece of yourself :)
ReplyDeleteDear Farrah Lily
DeleteThank you so much. Interesting with the Scandinavian Cooking Show... I will have to look that up. Sweden is fantastic, especially in summer if the weather is good. It can be a gamble. And of course, Christmas. Very pretty indeed. Especially in the North. Maybe you will make it over to Europe one day. I hope so.
Thank you for popping in.
Xxx
Annette
oh, yes….. I know very well that feeling!!!!!
ReplyDeletexxxxx Ale
Hi Alessandra
DeleteWe are many more than we think who have left our roots. It is a comforting thought.
Thank you for visiting today.
Xxx
Annette
I've lived in Stockholm for 6 months during college on an exchange with the Karolinska Institutet. I LOVED it there! Everybody was so friendly and nice, and the buildings and Gamla stan were just up my alley. Would gladly go back there :) It's actually there that I started to crochet, thanks to a tiny yarn shop somewhere along my buss route!
ReplyDeleteHi Kirsten
DeleteHa ha ha! What a great story. A tiny yarn shop along the bus route. Love it!!! It sounds like you had a great time. Thank you for sharing. Maybe you will come back to Stockholm one day.
Xxx
Annette
Thank you for these wonderful pictures!
ReplyDeleteManuela
Hi Manuela
DeleteMy pleasure to share! Thanks for commenting and visiting.
Xxx
Annette
Absolutely gorgeous pics Annette! I love Autumn :)
ReplyDeleteMy hubby visited Sweden a few years ago and loved it :) In fact...I had a penfirend from Sweden when I was in school :) Ahh....she used to send me the most beuatiful pics!
Hi
DeleteThat is so sweet to have a Swedish pen friend. Me too had pen friends when I was a child. I think she was from Australia. I remember sending those Airmail letters to her on very thin paper, practising my English.
Xxx
Annette
I have always dreamed of visiting the Nordic countries since working on a school project at the age of 11. Your photos are absolutely beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHelenxx
Hi
DeleteThank you so much! You should really put it on your bucket list to visit Scandinavia. It will be a fantastic trip.
Xxx
Annette
I have had many holidays in Sweden, it is ongoing love affair :-)
ReplyDeletexx
Hi
DeleteHow lovely to hear. Let it be a life long love affair!
Xxx
Annette
Glad you enjoyed your trip. I haven't been to Sweden yet - have been to Norway once.
ReplyDeleteHi Gillian
DeleteScandinavia itself is pure beauty, if it is NOrway, Sweden, Finland or Denmark doesn't really matter. Thanks for popping in.
Xxx
Annette
As a girl of 12 or so I did a report in school on Swede. Not sure why I had no family connection ~ I just chose Sweden. I Am now nearly 62 and after reading your blog today I feel compelled to make a trip to Sweden... Still not sure why ~ I guess there's just something in your photos that speaks to my soul!!
ReplyDeleteHi
DeleteThis is such a sweet story. I wonder if you have some Swedish connection that you don't know about as you feel so drawn to it... Make a trip if you can. You will love it!
Thanks for visiting.
Xxx
Annette
Åh, va kul att jag hittade in här! Och jag instämmer...visst är det fint här hemma i Sverige minsann! :)
ReplyDeleteHoppas du får en trevlig helg!
Hälsningar från Gotland
/ Maria
Hej Maria
DeleteVisst är det kul. Jag skriver ju på negelska och för världen men det är något väldigt speciellt med svenksa bloggar. Kul att du kom och titta in.
Kram
Annette
In Wales we have a special word for this - "Hiraeth" which has no proper English translation but means something like a deep longing for our home. I have finally moved back home after 20 yrs away and I feel so much better. I had not realised how much the hiraeth had depleted me. xxx
ReplyDeleteHi Lily
DeleteInteresting. It sure is a piece of you that always will be missing as long as you are not at "home". I like that word - Hiraeth. Thanks for sharing your story and I wish you many happy years 'at home" in Wales.
Xxx
Annette
such beautiful photos! Sweden is a place that I dream about visiting someday.
ReplyDelete