Day 7: Vacation begins!

Once the conference was done, it was time to move along. We packed up and cleaned up the apartment that had been our base for a week and headed out of Gothenburg. It was time to head south and so by lunchtime we were in Malmö. It was a lovely change of scenery. We parked and headed to a nice cafe in Lilla Torg, the main square in the old town. Cocktails and lunch were enjoyed and we spent a pleasant time watching what I can only imagine were batchelor parties going on in the cafes and bars around us. (There were way too many groups of young men drinking and singing. And the dude in the full Native American head dress with no shirt on was definitely celebrating something…..)

We visited the oldest church in Malmö because stained glass and watched a wedding party exit and begin their celebration. The streets were very busy as was the river – lots of party boats and pedal boats out enjoying the sushine.

We spent some time wandering and trying not to buy too much – I actually walked out a yarn store empty handed! 😳 Then it was time to head to our next base of operations: Ystad on the southern coast. I chose an AirBnB outside the city that was brand spanking new (we’re the second people to stay here!) but was a dedicated rental (so no personal belongings stuffed in every nook and cranny) and overlooks the Baltic sea. It’s in the middle of nowhere and very peaceful. Exactly what I wanted after the hectic week.

We dropped off a few things at the apartment then headed into town to pick up a few groceries and see what was going on. And the answer is nothing. Students in Ystad had been celebrating graduations the day before – and that is quite a site to see given what we saw in Gothenburg – so the town was exceptionally peaceful. We stopped in a bistro for a drink and chatted with the server who told us about her time as an au pair in Connecticut, the rise in nationalism in Sweden, and other interesting topics. The weather had cleared nicely and we enjoyed more Swedish sunshine with our local beer and French rosé. Then off to dinner at a restaurant noted for being amenable to GF diets. Although the pizza looked lovely, we both opted for steak tonight.

Then back to the apartment where we sat for hours drinking wine, listening to jazz (Dave Brubeck’s Time Out) and just enjoying the quiet. The perfect end to a lovely day. And we get to do it all again tomorrow!

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