Autumn Inspiration.

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The wind it blows this time of year, it chills my soul and all my tears.
And I don’t know how we got here, my friend.

Wars may end but memories kill. They say they won’t but they always will.
And one more time straight up that hill, again.

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I know these hills
Ash into ash, dust into dust
Father to son, seal and a rust
Time comes a calling, and we all rise up
I know these hills

 

Lyrics from “How Deep The Water Runs” and “I Know These Hills” from the album Famous for Killing Each Other, by Kevin Costner and the Modern West (2012).

Forgotten photos #4

This time last year, me and my friend Ida Ovedie went all the way to Stockholm to see the Phantom of the Opera at the Cirkus theatre. It took us about nine, ten hours or so to get there by car, mostly in the dark as daylight is scarce at this time of year. But we made the most of the few hours of light, and stopped here and there to take photographs of the magical winter landscape.

We spent the whole Friday getting there, watched both the matinèe and evening performance on Saturday and went back home on Sunday. We would’ve stayed longer, but we had to go back to work. It was well worth the trip though, fantastic show and just by sheer luck we got to see two different actors in the role as the Phantom.

Stockholm seemed like a very nice city, too bad we didn’t have much time for sightseeing. But I am definitely going back there someday, with plenty of time to explore and wander around!

I had completely forgotten all about taking any photos there, and their subfolder happened to be at the bottom of my photo folder so I rarely even noticed it. So I was surprised when I finally rediscovered it and found these gorgeous landscapes! Too pretty and wintery not to share, and a fond memory of a great roadtrip ❤


Valbo-Ryr

While on my roadtrip in Sweden in October, I took a detour out of sheer curiosity, and ended up in the tiny parish of Valbo-Ryr in Dalsland where I decided to turn back to the highway, as I was kinda on my way back ti Norway.

But first I needed to stretch my legs, and since the light and the autumn colours were gorgeous by the little church, I grabbed my camera took a stroll around the churchyard.

As I mentioned, I was on my way home. I had work the next day, and still about 9-10 hours to drive. I wasn’t ready to leave Sweden just yet, and I think that’s why I took the sudden detour. The striking colours, the beautiful countryside, the lovely language and all the beautiful places I had seen on this trip.. Going back to the daily life at home didn’t feel tempting at all, but I didn’t have any choice.

So, with my newly discovered favourite song quietly playing on the stereo, I reluctantly turned the car around and found my way back to the highway that would take me back to Norway..

Här är stillhet och tystnad, nu när marken färgats vit
från den trygga, gamla kyrkan klingar sången ända hit.
Jag har stannat vid vägen, för att vila mej ett tag,
och blev fångad i det gränsland som förenar natt och dag

Och ett sken ifrån ljusen bakom fönstrets välvda ram
har förenat dom själar som finns med oss här i tiden,
och jag vet att dom som har lämnat oss, har förstått att vi är
liksom fladdrande lågor, så länge vi är här.

Där, bland gnistrande stjärnor som förbleknar en och en,
kommer livet väldigt nära, som en skymt av sanningen.
Vi är fångar i tiden, som ett avtryck av en hand på
ett frostigt, gammalt fönster som fått nåd av tidens tand

En sekund är jag evig, och sen vet jag inget mer…
Bara ett, att jag lever lika fullt som någon annan.
Jag är här, och mitt på en frusen väg finns det värme ändå,
fastän snön börjat falla och himmelen blir grå

 

Koppången, by Per-Erik Moraeus & Py Bäckman

Some Swedish cows..

Somewhere between Linköping and Gränna, along a teeny tiny country road my GPS suggested would be the shortest way, I encountered a herd of cows in a pasture surrounded by the most wonderful autumn colours. Being raised on a dairy farm, I adore cows and therefore I just had to stop to admire these beauties for a few minutes!

That road might be the shortest in distance, but far from the fastest as I literally drove around in 40-50 km/h to admire the landscape. A truly beautiful piece of Sweden, with tiny farms and cottages, fields and ponds. An oh, did I mention the autumn colours?!

Kroppkärrsjön.

Taking a wrong turn trying to find my way out of Karlstad last week, I came across this beautiful lake just outside the city. Every place I went past on my little road trip last week looked like it was on fire, sparkling in reds, yellows and browns under a clear blue sky. Sweden had really put on her finest autumn colours this year.  I almost wish I had counted all the times I was amazed by the splendour, again and again along the way.

My trip went from Oslo to Hallunda just outside of Stockholm to watch my favourite Swedish singer/actor in a new musical, then following the highway south of the lake Vättern, and across the country to Göteborg to watch a non-replica version of Phantom of the Opera at the Göteborg Opera House.

Thanks to the wonderful scenery, my trip became quite memorable, and even though I spent most of the time all alone in my car, I had a great time. I really needed this, some proper “me-time” all alone, just with my beloved car as my only companion, doing whatever I wanted to and listening to my favourite music on repeat.
And, having this obsession with Swedish singers and musicals at the moment, I often found myself just listening to people talking in stores and in the streets, admiring their language (and kinda fangirling a tiny bit because that’s how my idols speak, haha).

Anyway, Karlstad was my first stop on this trip, where I spent the night before continuing towards Stockholm the next day. And this wrong turn I took on my way out of the city centre, resulted in a lovely little walk along the lake Kroppkärrsjön.

Old stone fences.

Taken out on a drive with the pony. This is one of the most charming spots along this route, with the old stone fence and the huge tree behind me in the first shot, and a lovely view of both the village by the fjord and the mountains. Nordviksula covered in mist and the old fence, telling their tales of times gone by..