Nordic summer

I'm back from the north.
I went to Stockholm for a conference and to Helsinki for some days off.
My first impressions of Stockholm were a remembrance of...Den mark, ha! Yes! Scandinavian big cities are very similar in many aspects in my humble opinion. They look and feel clean, ordered, relaxed. People, as in any city is moving all around but at least they don't look as stressed or hurried like in other cities. Let's just consider that my impressions are from summer time...probably there's another story on winter. At least I heard more than one foreigner being surprised for the change in mood of people during summer. While in winter they are kind of grumpy and silent in summer everybody is friendly!

If it were enough to stand, without the words

Inman: This doesn't come out right. If it were enough to stand, without the words.
Ada: It is, it is.
Inman: Look at the sky now. What color is it? Or the way a hawk flies. Or you wake up and your ribs are bruised thinking so hard on somebody. What do you call that?



Inman: You are all that keeps me from sliding into some dark place.
Ada: But how did I keep you? We barely knew each other. A few moments.
Inman: A thousand moments. They're like a bag of tiny diamonds glittering in a black heart. Don't matter if they're real or things I made up. The shape of your neck, that's real. You were always carrying a tray.
Ada: You wouldn't come inside.
Inman: I wouldn't come inside.
Ada: I had to carry a tray to come out and see you.
Inman: The way you felt when I pulled you to me. That kiss- which I kissed again everyday of my walking.
Ada: Everyday of my waiting...

To L

Hi L! On these days I have seen other people's pictures but nobody seems to have captured a rainbow with their camera. What about you?



In one postcard to my sister I told her that rainbows in Ireland are rare because of the gold that is associated to them. Of course there are many kinds of gold... :)



For example, when in Killarny Youth Hostel I was sitting outside after a brief rain I saw a rainbow. At that moment I was a bit sad and trying to alleviate that I wanted to play Frisbee...with nobody around to do it, ha, ha! But the sight of the rainbow was beautiful enough to make anyone happy and I was not the exception.



I was following with my eyes all the extension of the rainbow when precisely, in one of its extremes, I saw a person. No, it was not a leprechaun! It was C walking in the road, coming back from visiting the town. She sat down in the bench and we had a little chat. Unfortunately she didn't want to play Frisbee.



In the postcard to my sister I also told her that Ireland is a magic land...and I was convinced about that because, while sitting and chatting with C a dog came from nowhere. And this dog turned out to be a Frisbee catching one! I had great enjoyment with him?, her?!!



So the lesson I learnt from all this happenings was that rainbows really get you to the gold, and gold have many faces! Faces like... a friendly face, an intelligent and charming dog …Everyone different, everyone with a colour, like in a rainbow, but all lovely in their own way.



I hope you are having a nice and not too hard work week!