Glaskogen Naturreservat - Kyrkesund

Walking, Swimming and daily rituals in Sweden's mid-west.

Lakes feel like the lifeblood of Sweden, more water than land. When the fresh water lakes finish they lead to the salt water archipelagos which only feel like more lakes in reverse, more land than water. Our journey around the mid-west of Sweden has been a dot-to-dot from one water’s edge to another. Each place feels more beautiful than the last, it’s a beauty that surrounds you and gets under your skin.

The days are slower but we’re yet to feel bored. How can we when it takes an entire hour to absorb a single view. We find ourselves daydreaming more than usual, partly deep thinking about some concern or another, and partly getting lost in the everything and nothing around us.

When we have found ourselves restless for an activity we have walked. We didn’t pack for hiking trails so instead we set off in sandals and quickly feel unprepared. In Glaskogen Nature Reserve we hired a kayak and explored the water, when our arms ached we ditched the paddles and swam instead.

Beyond real activities the living is what is keeping us occupied. Cooking takes longer but feels more satisfying. Washing up is done in the lake, as is washing ourselves. It can take an entire evening to complete this ritual and feels like time well spent rather than time wasted.

Bedtime is an ambiguous concept. Just as it wakes before us in the morning the sun usually outlasts us into the night. It becomes nighttime after bedtime and is light longer than it is dark. It’s a strange new rhythm but one which we are gladly adjusting to.

Our bodies are relaxing easily but our minds haven’t quite caught on. In spite of all this beauty we race with thoughts of what we’re doing here. What have we compromised and what exactly will we do when we get home? We can feel these concerns reaching out with less frequency, but we carry them still. Perhaps they’ll stay a while, or perhaps they never really go at all. In a funny way they are oddly reassuring, they are there to remind us of home, but in doing so awaken us to being away.