Thursday Thoughts – Memories

26 juli, 201827 juli, 2018 / Leya / 36 kommentarer

Almost 30 years ago I took the train for 23 hours up to Abisko to walk on The King’s Trail (Kungsleden). This is Sweden’s most famous hiking trail, approximately 440 kilometres (270 mi) long, between Abisko in the north and Hemavan in the south. It passes through, near the southern end, the Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve, one of the largest protected areas in Europe. In the winter Kungsleden is a ski trail with approximately the same route.

Arriving at the same station as I did 30 years ago, memories come alive. I was 31 and I had lost my much loved grandmother the year before. I needed to think and to be alone – with only myself.

The view from my window is just the same…Abiskojåkka river joining Torne Träsk lake.

I hit the trail instantly, almost at arrival…eager to know if I recognized it…because here I hiked when I was young, alone with my dog, Amanda, and a huge packing (16 kg is a heavy weight for my size) because of her food.

At home now everything is brown or yellow, dry, burned down. Hot. Here the lush green and a temperature about half the heat – 18 instead of 36 C – made life easier again. Meet Lingonberries on their way!

Carl von Linné and his own flower came alive during this hike as well.

The fragrance of the tiny Linnea is stunning, when walking you hardly notice her, but along this path, you could not help loving her. She was everywhere. And I – I was happy.

CFFC: Piles or Stacks

3 juli, 2018 / Leya / 20 kommentarer

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Piles or Stack

For Cee this week – one of my favorite stack photos is this one, with my mother walking between what once was my forest. In the header: boxes of butter!

Thursday’s Special – Pick a Word in June -y3

7 juni, 2018 / Leya / 24 kommentarer

For the lovely Paula at Lost in Translation – a new word lesson! This time, I had to look up pullulating and victuals. Thank you for the useful knowledge. Interpreted my way.

Pictures from Sweden, Switzerland, New Zealand, Poland and Britain.

Nascent

Maternal

Pullulating

Victuals

Reflective – in the header another interpretation…

Thursday’s Special: Traces of the Past

1 juni, 20181 juni, 2018 / Leya / 34 kommentarer

Paula’s traces are many, and this time she takes us for a beautiful late walk in Padua. An Italian gem.

I thought I would take you to some totally different traces – a hidden gem named Monastero de Ribas de Sil, in Spain. Sil is the river down in the ravine below. And these traces of the past were very different from anything I had visited before.

The monastery was built in the 12th century by Dominican monks, and finally left to be reclaimed by nature in the beginning of the 19th century.

Significant traces are the beautiful stone walls surrounding the monastery. So many hours’ work for the monks – but so beautifully constructed.

The buildings themselves are totally hidden in the greenery. Not until we were some 15 meters from the old archway, we found them. Standing with a magnificent view, high up on a rock overlooking the river Sil – but of this we could see nothing. Everything was buried in lush green – according to Nature’s design.

The open space in front of the remaining arcade. It must once have been a very beautiful place – and still is.

The impressive church is still complete – and the only light shining through the single window – and open door.

This monastery was almost impossible to find – no map worked. I guess that is just the way it should be. It was a place for hermits. A place of peace and silence. I found it there.

WPC: All-Time Favorites

30 maj, 2018 / Leya / 38 kommentarer

I want to thank you again, for inspiring us all to keep blogging – share our experiences and learn from each other. It has been good, so good. And tonight I truly feel sorry about losing this opportunity.

Many of us got to know each other through WPC, now some of us maybe will not have the strength, discipline or imagination to blog that frequently again. But, even in the desert there is beauty…So, I hope we will! – You have been a great help to make blogging fun and addictive in a positive way.

It will not be easy to choose an all-time favorite…I don’t believe it is easier to choose three or four either. I will think about it for an hour or two…meanwhile, I send my love to you all, and especially to: Krista, Jeff, Michelle, Erica, Ben, Sheri, Donncha, Jen, Sara and Cheri.

I cannot choose a favorite of mine among you either…and why should I? I just felt that Cheri, your words added to your picture – those words touched the heart of my blogging.

My choices… there is much feeling connected to the pictures chosen, memories and heart…While some of them were favorites of yours, some of them maybe are only favorites of mine. But they all are some years old – otherwise they could not be All-Time Favorites, could they? (More of my criteria at the end of the post. )

In the header, a lonely beach on the east coast of New Zealand. My family traveled together for a whole month, and we walked alone on this beach, each one of us…contemplating the beauty of Earth, and the end of our journey. Here is my son listening to the ocean.

Then – a hot night in Barcelona, my family and I was out walking and ended up in the middle of a gigantic motor bike gathering. Foreign feeling – but magical.

This is also a family hiking memory – very dear to me. My daughter resting on a giant pine branch in the Spanish mountains, somewhere between Spain and France.

Spain again – Segovia and its famous aqueduct. I had never seen anything like it – it goes through the city center and is still standing after centuries and centuries. No concrete, no nails – only the stones themselves. I walked, sat, stood in the steps contemplating – for hours. Enigmatic shadows as well.

This photo was taken at our summer house, when I still had both dogs, Mille and Totti. No other photo of them shows so on the spot their special temperaments. Now, who is the wild boy and who is the law abiding one? Fond memories.

My dear blogging friend Maria (Mariayarri), in Jämtland, took me to the Tännforsen waterfall in winter. I had never seen a gigantic waterfall frozen before. It took my breath away – and I remember, many of yours’ as well.

An early spring day some years ago, it started snowing on my way back home from the forest walk. This deer shed was still standing. (Now gone) The photo became a favorite with both my readers and me.

My Princess of the Night in flower for the first time. We waited for hours – and then everything was over within 20-30 minutes. A Wonder. This flower is about 20 centimeters and the scent fills the whole room. A photo is not enough to grasp the event…you need all your senses!

Meeting another dear blogging friend, Seonaid (Greenmackenzie) – from Scotland. She does not blog anymore, but I got the opportunity to visit her two times when she lived just outside Edinburgh. She and her lovely family had three Bearded Collies, and two of them looked just like my Amanda ( – before Mille and Totti). Those few, magical days with them will never leave me. Also a photo with feeling, showing well the character of the dog.

This photo was taken on a rainy trip to China. It rained every day – and the wedding couple here had a speedy walk on the Bond in Shanghai, waiting for their photographer. In Sweden there is a saying that rain in your crown on your wedding day – will give you a happy marriage. I hope this one was/is! This shot was a favorite with Sylvain Landry when he had his weekly prompts.

Catedrales beach, Spain. We just happened to find it – a World Heritage – it was not in the guide book…Kilometers of rock formations of enigmatic size and shapes. We spent several hours walking in the sunset. Incredible feeling that such a marvelous place was not marked out in any book. It made the experience even more magical.

The last photo, of Lhasa and the Pothala Palace, also marks what I see as my criteria for All-Time Favorites: Deep feeling, being in awe, magical surroundings, beauty, dream fulfilled or come true.

WPC: Liquid

16 maj, 201817 maj, 2018 / Leya / 14 kommentarer

Ben, at WordPress, asks us about things liquid. His findings are, that we all seem very occupied with liquid things. I guess he is right – thinking about it…If it is not liquid for real, it is the patterns and the textures made by something once liquid that will catch the eye. And as Ben says – the landscapes around it.

In the header – liquid golden sunlight in the sea – caught on the coast of Iceland.

Once liquid lava at the Gala’pagos Islands

A seemingly liquid wall at the Guinness factory, Ireland,

and liquid traces in the sand at Tylösand, Sweden.

WPC: Prolific

18 april, 2018 / Leya / 24 kommentarer

Krista, at WordPress, asks us to show what we think about when hearing the word ”prolific” My first thought went to the prolific Spanish sunflower fields – they made me happy just looking at them. They still do.