August 3, 2009

• My Sommer Holidays

  My summer holidays have been busy. I've been to the UK twice and also travelled quite a lot in Sweden, including driving through Lapland. But first things first.

  I saw my friends Kuba & Lisa and their sweet adorable kids in Cambridge, and the decision to meet up at Grantchester at The Orchard for tea with scones, clotted cream and jam was just the right one!

  

  I also went to London and took in a bit of the London atmosphere after a year in the desert.

  

  One evening I met a few of my former MA mates as well. Great fun!

  

  For more pictures, click here.

  My sister has moved house and now lives in a cute little house right by the sea.

  

  This summer was the first time for me to see her new place and it was great. She even has her own personal jetty!

  

  After that, I took the train up north to Luleå to seem my cousins. We stopped by the Arctic Circle on the way to Jokkmokk to see the Sami museum there.

  

  I was also invited out to Hinderön, a beautiful island in the Luelå archipelago, where my cousin Bertil and his wife Stina have built this beautiful summer house. Maybe the most memorable thing was to be taken around the island by Bertil on his three-wheeler!

  

  For more pictures, click here.

  Once thing I wanted to do this summer was to visit the village where I was born - Stensele - a name I often write when I cross a border but a place I've never been to since I was one. So, I decided to rent a car and drive from Luleå and through Lapland, down to Örnsköldsvik.

  

  The highlight of the drive through Lapland and maybe even the summer was probably when I walked into what used to the Stensele Hospital - now a furniture shop! - and see the rooms that used to be the maternity wards. I guess I was in getting-back-to-my-roots mode this summer.

  

  I also saw a lot of the places where I used to live as a kid during my drive from Luelå to Örnsköldsvik, including a stop in Bjurholm where I lived in this house between the ages of 3 and 11.

  

  I took a lot of pictures during my drive.

  • For more pictures from my drive through Lapland proper, click here.
  • For more pictures from Bjurholm and Örnsköldsvik, click here.

  Having worked my way back down through Sweden, I ended up in Gothenburg, where I saw my nieces Alexandra and Jasmine (and Alex' boyfriend Leo).

  

  We went to a cafe with mega-size cookies, which was fun.

  

  For more pictures, click here.

  The next day all of us went down to Copenhagen for a day-trip, where we met up with my sister, Märit.

  

  Visiting Copenhagen was fun, even though it rained. After a nice meal, we walked into these guys breakdancing - quite impressive.

  

  I really like the Nyhamn area in Copenhagen.

  

  Märit probably enjoyed riding in a rickshaw more, though.

  

  For more pictures from Copenhagen, click here.

  For the rest of my time in Sweden, I stayed with my sister. It was nice and relaxing. For example, having 11.00 o'clock coffee by the sea.

  

  I also enjoyed seeing quite a few people I know - and playing MahJong.

  

  For more pictures - including pictures of the area around Märit's house in the early morning mist - click here.

  I stopped by in the UK on the way back to Oman, visiting my friends Geoff and Sue in Cambridge and Keith, Belinda and Aidan in Chorleywood. Here's Keith, Belinda and Aidan looking their best outside their house.

  

   My last dinner in the UK before returning to Oman was roast lamb. My favourite and a meal I will remember for a whole year to come.

  

  For more pictures from the UK, click here.

  As I'm writing this, a packing crew of four is finishing packing all my belongings here in Nizwa - it's been taking them two days! - and this afternoon I'll be driving to Fujairah in the UAE, where I'll be teaching English at the Higher Colleges of Technology. My new employer has booked a room for me in a five-star hotel this evening, while I'm waiting for my stuff to arrive.

  A good start to my new job!

  • 5:34 am
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