(no subject)
This year's trip to Sweden was short for various reasons but one of the highlights was Björkskär in the Outer Archipelago. It's the sort of place you can only go when you're sure there isn't going to be too much wind,as this picture suggests:
You can see how the rocks form a barrier against the waves, so that the water behind them is completely still. Björkskär is the sort of place Slartibartfast clearly enjoyed designing almost as much as the fjords. The basic theme is rock, water, vegetation and these are used in a minimalist fashion all over the little cluster of islands/rocks. A carefully balanced rock here, a line of flowers there, a little pool of water in a rock framed by the bigger pool that is the sea. It makes you ask yourself questions like "Is beauty still beautiful if there is no one there to see it?" and "How the fuck did tadpoles get in this puddle?!" So here without further ado are five Zen gardens to be found on Björkskär:
Of course, Björkskär isn't the only beautiful spot to anchor. Vaxholm harbour is also very nice, if less isolated:
Sandhamn has some ridiculously picturesque corners:
Idskär isn't bad, either:
I saw more fish here than I've seen anywhere else in the archipelago. It generally seemed to be a better year for fish than previously, which I hope means that efforts to clean up the Baltic are starting to take effect. The Swedes care a lot about nature. Even in cities like Stockholm:
While we were gone, Akbar and Elkhom heard that they'd passed their German language exam (A2 for those of you to whom that means anything) and sent us this picture:
All in all, a good two weeks.
You can see how the rocks form a barrier against the waves, so that the water behind them is completely still. Björkskär is the sort of place Slartibartfast clearly enjoyed designing almost as much as the fjords. The basic theme is rock, water, vegetation and these are used in a minimalist fashion all over the little cluster of islands/rocks. A carefully balanced rock here, a line of flowers there, a little pool of water in a rock framed by the bigger pool that is the sea. It makes you ask yourself questions like "Is beauty still beautiful if there is no one there to see it?" and "How the fuck did tadpoles get in this puddle?!" So here without further ado are five Zen gardens to be found on Björkskär:
Of course, Björkskär isn't the only beautiful spot to anchor. Vaxholm harbour is also very nice, if less isolated:
Sandhamn has some ridiculously picturesque corners:
Idskär isn't bad, either:
I saw more fish here than I've seen anywhere else in the archipelago. It generally seemed to be a better year for fish than previously, which I hope means that efforts to clean up the Baltic are starting to take effect. The Swedes care a lot about nature. Even in cities like Stockholm:
While we were gone, Akbar and Elkhom heard that they'd passed their German language exam (A2 for those of you to whom that means anything) and sent us this picture:
All in all, a good two weeks.