One thing that has deeply impressed me about life in Sweden is the amount of time people spend outdoors. In Estonia, spending time in nature is much more random and less systematic. It's like, hey it's a nice summer evening today, why don't we go and have a bbq. But here it looks like everyone is out with all weathers and seasons, hiking, kayaking, ice-skating or camping. Everybody seems to have a whole wardrobe of quality clothes and shoes plus other equipment needed for winter and summer, rain and snow, water and dry land.
The ice-skating club in Stockholm that S. is a part of has 10 000 members. Ten thousand members. These are the numbers we're talking about. Crazy.
I'm slowly adding items to my wardrobe, trying to catch up with everyone else.
We have been out hiking as much as possible, which means almost every Sunday. Because, firstly, the nature here is amazing, secondly, we don't get enough steps in the middle of the week, and thirdly, it's just a fun way to have quality time together. I do my best to guard my Sundays from all sorts of meetings and obligations, and I also do my best to guard them from lazying around. Because in the end of a day when you haven't done anything, you feel kind of sorry and wish you had done something.
So we go out.
S. mostly decides where we go because during the lockdown he hiked through many nearby trails, therefore he knows where to go. It is very convenient to me - I have a guide and a driver and a hiking partner all in one person! What more could I ask for!
It was some 1,5 weeks ago when I gave S. a hiking guide book as a birthday present. And although we were already avid hikers before, now we play in a completely new league! Phew! I think we could become professional hikers, if such a thing existed.
Over the long midsummer weekend, we were able to go on three half-day hikes. My phone claims that I made 48 000 steps, walked 30 km and climbed 88 storeys over these days. There were many wonderful views and wild animals, there was an ice-cream pitstop and a lunch on the rocks with fresh tomatoes all the way from my friends' farm in Estonia, there was sunshine and sweat, there was laughter and silence.
Later, back home, S. diligently noted down the details of our hikes in his book. If we could keep up the tempo of one hike a week, we would hike through the book in a year. That's a worthy goal!
What can I say? I really enjoy life in Sweden.
