(no subject)
You could probably read something into the fact that my forays into LJ posting are invariably either late at night or on the rare occasions that I'm actually up early.
Anyway, I just wanted to have a minor squee because I booked some tickets yesterday, and I like booking tickets. First weekend of August, then, I shall be going to Sweden. As a rule, I only go to Sweden for one of two reasons - Eurovision (more frequently) or family (somewhat less frequently). And given the time of year, it follows that the latter is my motivation this time.
Because they haven't done it for several years, my parents are flying over from Newcastle for a two-week road trip in August, starting with a long weekend in my mother's home town of Katrineholm before proceeding around the country to visit various friends and relations (and generally take in the delights of the Swedish summer). Reasoning that none of us are getting any younger - my mormor in particular has had some serious health problems in the past year, although she's quite entitled to at the grand old age of 93, and even my immortal Uncle Roger and Aunty Gunilla of childhood summers past are well into their 60s now - I've decided to join them for a couple of days.
It's not coming cheap; all of Ryanair's affordable fares are long since gone (and Stansted is expensive to get to from here), so I'm flying SAS from Heathrow to Arlanda, even though Skavsta "airport" is far more convenient for my family's neck of the woods - all of which means there'll also be train travel involved at the other end. I've managed to book some surprisingly reasonable early-bird rail tickets though, which is grand, providing the flight isn't shockingly delayed. One of the legs is a bit of a slog, involving regional trains and changeovers in the middle of nowhere - but when it's August, the trees are that vivid green you only get in Scandinavia and the sun's glimmering off every lake you encounter along your way, maybe taking things slowly and seeing the sights ain't too bad after all.
Prior commitments and general timing mean that I'll only be there from Saturday to Monday, with a day and a half in Katrineholm in all (plus a good four or five hours in Stockholm on my way back - I figure I might as well make the most of it while I'm there). And that, truth be told, is the main thing that's been standing between me and booking this trip for a few months now - even where family is involved, the "value for money" switch in my brain can't help but be triggered. But I know (cliché alert) that you really can't put a price on these things.
Besides, it'll be good to get back to Katrineholm. The last time I was in town, it was December, my grandmother was celebrating her 90th birthday and it was all snowy and dark. This will be the exact opposite (one hopes), and I'm really going to enjoy wandering the streets and reacquainting myself with the place. It's not a spectacular town - in fact, it's probably a little boring, existing as it does solely because of its strategic location on various train routes that were especially relevant a century ago - but it has a warm, welcoming scent in the air, and it's the perfect size for a child to be able to grasp and call his own. I could still draw you a map of the centre from memory, and more than that, I'm sure I could still mark in the toy shops, ice cream stalls and other Important Locations that played such a part in our every-other-summer family trips on the North Shields-Gothenburg car ferry and beyond. So yeah. I know nostalgia isn't everything, but it's nice to have a place where you feel like you have some roots, where you feel like a part of you belongs no matter how long you stay away.
In other news, after a successful attempt at carrot and coriander on Saturday, I'm in the mood for making more soup. Something involving lentils perhaps, no matter how wintry and inappropriate that may be. I also appear to have a craving for salty popcorn. Maybe I'm pregnant.
Anyway, I just wanted to have a minor squee because I booked some tickets yesterday, and I like booking tickets. First weekend of August, then, I shall be going to Sweden. As a rule, I only go to Sweden for one of two reasons - Eurovision (more frequently) or family (somewhat less frequently). And given the time of year, it follows that the latter is my motivation this time.
Because they haven't done it for several years, my parents are flying over from Newcastle for a two-week road trip in August, starting with a long weekend in my mother's home town of Katrineholm before proceeding around the country to visit various friends and relations (and generally take in the delights of the Swedish summer). Reasoning that none of us are getting any younger - my mormor in particular has had some serious health problems in the past year, although she's quite entitled to at the grand old age of 93, and even my immortal Uncle Roger and Aunty Gunilla of childhood summers past are well into their 60s now - I've decided to join them for a couple of days.
It's not coming cheap; all of Ryanair's affordable fares are long since gone (and Stansted is expensive to get to from here), so I'm flying SAS from Heathrow to Arlanda, even though Skavsta "airport" is far more convenient for my family's neck of the woods - all of which means there'll also be train travel involved at the other end. I've managed to book some surprisingly reasonable early-bird rail tickets though, which is grand, providing the flight isn't shockingly delayed. One of the legs is a bit of a slog, involving regional trains and changeovers in the middle of nowhere - but when it's August, the trees are that vivid green you only get in Scandinavia and the sun's glimmering off every lake you encounter along your way, maybe taking things slowly and seeing the sights ain't too bad after all.
Prior commitments and general timing mean that I'll only be there from Saturday to Monday, with a day and a half in Katrineholm in all (plus a good four or five hours in Stockholm on my way back - I figure I might as well make the most of it while I'm there). And that, truth be told, is the main thing that's been standing between me and booking this trip for a few months now - even where family is involved, the "value for money" switch in my brain can't help but be triggered. But I know (cliché alert) that you really can't put a price on these things.
Besides, it'll be good to get back to Katrineholm. The last time I was in town, it was December, my grandmother was celebrating her 90th birthday and it was all snowy and dark. This will be the exact opposite (one hopes), and I'm really going to enjoy wandering the streets and reacquainting myself with the place. It's not a spectacular town - in fact, it's probably a little boring, existing as it does solely because of its strategic location on various train routes that were especially relevant a century ago - but it has a warm, welcoming scent in the air, and it's the perfect size for a child to be able to grasp and call his own. I could still draw you a map of the centre from memory, and more than that, I'm sure I could still mark in the toy shops, ice cream stalls and other Important Locations that played such a part in our every-other-summer family trips on the North Shields-Gothenburg car ferry and beyond. So yeah. I know nostalgia isn't everything, but it's nice to have a place where you feel like you have some roots, where you feel like a part of you belongs no matter how long you stay away.
In other news, after a successful attempt at carrot and coriander on Saturday, I'm in the mood for making more soup. Something involving lentils perhaps, no matter how wintry and inappropriate that may be. I also appear to have a craving for salty popcorn. Maybe I'm pregnant.