The Cannon Family's travel blog

After a wonderful night’s rest in the comfy bed in the dark room in the peaceful country, we tested out the new appliances with a Sunday fryup. The sunshine was plentiful and we managed the fried eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee with little fuss. (Frank didn’t break a single yolk.) We can also confirm that the new shower works well with lots of hot water – bliss!

After cleaning up, it was out into the beautiful day. We assumed that because it was Sunday, there would be little to do in the way of visiting museums or shops so we planned a day that was very relaxed and meant we were mostly outdoors. (Yes, another day to take advantage of our Swedish sunscreen!) We walked along the seafront from our apartment to the beach in neighboring Svarte. The views were stunning, the path lined with poppies, and the sea FREEZING cold. “Baltic” is a phrase used in Scotland to mean freezing cold and I can tell you that the Baltic Sea at the tip of southern Sweden is exactly that! And yet people were swimming! Apparently I’m not as hearty as the natives. On the way back to the apartment we stopped at a stone circle known as Disa’s Ting. The name originates from an ancient legend, where Disa, the goddess of fate, is sitting in court (Ting) someday and probably dates back to 400 BC or so.

We wandered back to the flat to grab the car keys and see what else there was to explore. We had seen a sign for Trelleborg about 40km away so we decided that was as good a place as any. Apparently there is a Viking fort there which we think we drove by and it has a street lined with palm trees which we definitely found. (Our hosts have subsequently informed us that it is not the nicest seaside town but we thought it was okay. ) We wandered about and found the place where American-style consumerism was alive and well: the shopping mall was open! We enjoyed some entertaining statues and a quite palatable GF pizza for lunch.

The rest of the day’s exploring was a little less successful. We wanted to visit a castle so we headed to Glimmingehus which is supposed to be the best preserved medieval castle in the Nordic region dating back to 1499. Of course we arrived 20 minutes before closing so we had to make due with a distant view. To make up for it, we got some ice cream at a little coastal village before making our way back to the apartment. Our only real plans for the day were dinner reservations at the super swanky Villa Strandvägen in Ystad but we had time to relax (Frank napped) before heading out.

And what a dinner it was! Holy hidden gems Batman! If you had told me that I would find an amazing wine pairing dinner in a small city in southern Sweden, I would have laughed. But we did. From the terrine of wild Swedish boar and lumpfish roe to the blue mussels and roasted beets and the main courses of pork belly roulaude and Dover sole, the entire meal was amazing. The wine was expertly paired and the rhubarb desert was outstanding. The night was completed by watching an episode of Wallander – the Kenneth Brannagh version – based on the Henning Mankell books that are set in Ystad.

Data for today:

• Steps: 13,163
• Cost of a tank of gas: $82 (and it’s a hybrid!)
• Number of sunscreen applications: 1 (wasn’t enough)
• Number of calories consumed: Who counts those?

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!

Data for today:

• Kilometers driven: 350ish
• Number of times we chuckled at the Swedish classic rock radio DJs: 47ish
• Hours of sunshine: 19
• Pitiful step count: 12,683

Now I know why I’ve never blogged on work trips – it’s hard! I usually like writing these missives (mostly for my future self BTW) as a way of winding down and reliving the best part of the day. However when you are trying to help with the first post-covid conference for the international organization of which you happen to be president (that’s a weird sentence), then there is no unwinding.

These days were filled with conference sessions, business meetings, fabulous networking discussions, evening conference calls, too much wine and too little sleep. There was a FABULOUS fancy dinner but no dancing. 😦 Above all, I am happy to say that we made it! There were some technical glitches and I’ve heard of a few missed flights but overall I think things went well. I’m sure the attendees are quite glad to not have to listen to me talk repeatedly, or ring the annoying bell to say it’s time to stop making friends and go learn things. And I know they are glad that I only sang once. 🙂

Frank was on his own for these days and managed admirably. In fact, he was an incredible help with last minute things like buying gift bags and running errands to the pharmacy while I annoyed people. After 22 years of attending this conference (I only missed 3 in all that time!), this is the first time he’s joined me and I’m very glad he did. He even tolerated all the data talk he was forced to listen to on several occasions. But I know he’s VERY glad we are done.

Now the vacation can begin!

Data for these days:

• Average steps for me: ~ 16K (mostly running up and down the same hallway), double for Frank
• Number of new people met: 20+ (we’re a friendly bunch!)
• Hours spent writing karaoke song: 4
• Number of times Frank had to hear me practice it: 6 (Anything over 1 was too many for him!)

(PS Thanks to those who contributed these photos – the credit is NOT mine!)

After our wonderfully free Sunday, the reality of the work part of the trip caught up with me. Monday was a holiday in Sweden – National Day which I equate in my mind as being like the 4th of July. Apparently, people eat strawberries and celebrate being Swedish. In Gothenburg, this involves a visit to Slottsskogen, a large park where the symphony would play and people gathered with their picnics and flags to listen. We joined them for a while before the time had come for the work to begin.

Monday afternoon was filled with meetings for the conference so Frank had to entertain himself. Luckily he is friends with the spouse of another meeting participant, so they got to drink while we enjoyed 3 hours of administration and strategy, mostly involving votes following Robert’s Rules of Order. Then I had more meetings with consulting clients so it was a half and half day. Of course my favorite part was where Frank got to “cook” dinner: GF pasta with jarred sauce and parmesan cheese. It’s always fun seeing how one culture interprets another culture’s food. I know what American Italian food is like and Frank created the Scottish interpretation of the Swedish version of Italian food. And it was delicious!

Tuesday looked to have more free time so we headed out to some of the islands on the Gothenburg archipelago: one of the “must do” things for the area. And of course it started to rain as soon as we got off the ferry. So we spent some time trying to envision how picturesque it would be on a sunny day before heading back the mainland. Next stop: the Volvo museum.

Yes, it’s true. I happened to have a work trip to another country with not one but two manufacturer-based car museums. I learned a great deal about Volvo’s contribution to the motor vehicle industry, especially around safety innovations, and still my favorite part was the full sized car made of Legos. 🙂

But again there was work to be done. I had emails to address and remarks to organize before the opening reception for the conference. Two hours of free drinks and nibbles sounds great but when you are president and expected to make a coherent speech, it just doesn’t feel the same. And of course when it was done, I still had more meetings that resulted in dinner at 10pm. (The good part about having the conference spouse is that not only does he cook while you have meetings, he can find a local Vietnamese restaurant, chat with the owner over a beer, and come home with the most delicious GF take out I’ve had in ages. Even if I got to eat it and then go straight to bed!)

Then the real work began: the alarm actually woke us on Wednesday for the first full conference day. We still managed to have scrambled eggs and avocado toast for breakfast – because Wednesday! – then Frank drove me to “work” before heading out to the Saab museum (dodged that bullet!) I had a full day of meetings – at several of which I had to speak coherently! – before heading back for yet more meetings as well as some lectures with a lovely wine bar dinner in between.

Data for the day(s):

• Average steps per day: 17, 700
• Ratio of handshakes to fist bumps: 10:1
• Ferry rides in the rain: 2
• Hours Frank was unsupervised: 15

We awoke today to screaming sunshine…. at 4am! Luckily we had the sleep masks from the plane which allowed us to manage a few extra hours of kip and we finally got out of bed at 8:30. A hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast and some nice strong coffee and it was time to explore.

We decided to walk as much as we could today but as a backup we bought 3 day transit tickets which were, of course, on our phones. The sky was an impossible blue without a cloud in sight with temps in the mid 60s. You couldn’t buy better weather. As it is Sunday, we didn’t expect to find much to do but we had read about a lovely pedestrian district where there was “cozy shopping” and coffee shops so off to Haga we went. The word they use for coffee stops is “Fika” so we took advantage of the wonderful weather to enjoy a fika ourselves. We wandered all over, popping into a few shops that were open before finding a lovely cafe for lunch with tons of gluten free options. A local brew for Frank and champagne for me were the perfect complements to the spinach and halloumi pie with a variety of sides (hummus, olives, red cabbage salad, etc) and a lovely bowl of soup.

We continued to walk about town which required a stop at a chemists for plasters (blister starting to form on my small toe due to poor shoe choice) and sunscreen. Because who packs sunscreen when they go to Sweden? Not us. But we absolutely needed it! We wandered all over town, eventually stumbling into the main shopping area which was MOBBED with people. Every store you can think of was there as well as a few boutique-type places. The perfect place to people watch, especially if you hate shopping!

Between the weather and the 3 day weekend (tomorrow is National Day where every one is off work and they apparently eat strawberries and wave flags), there were people everywhere. We noticed a few things:

• Sneakers are an important part of EVERY outfit. Dresses, shorts, dress pants, leggings. It doesn’t matter. Everyone wears sneakers. And every store seems to sell them.
• Everyone under 30 has a lot of ink. Okay that’s a broad statement. There are lots of people over 30 with a ton of tats as well as many young people without any but I was amazed at the ratio of tattooed people to tattoo parlors (many to few relationship).
• Body positivity is rampant. Besides the stereotypical slim Swedish blonde, there are people of all shapes and sizes who seem very comfortable wearing all manners of clothing. Like I said, amazing people watching.

Eventually we decided that we needed to break in our transit card so we hopped on some trams to wander farther afield than the blisters would allow. We popped back into the flat for new shoes (bless my Birkies!) and then headed to various parts of town to alternatively take picturesque photos and rest with a drink in the sunshine.

At 6pm, everything that was open finally closed and the crowds thinned out. Well the shopping crowds did. The drinking crowds stayed firmly entrenched at sunny tables outside a variety of pubs. And that’s when the staggering became obvious. We found a seat in the sun outside a lovely pub where we sampled more local beverages and were then accosted by a very drunk man who felt drawn to talk to Frank. He was sober enough to recognize the accent as Scottish but drunk enough to not realize when he stopped speaking English and slipped into Swedish. All I could get from the conversation was that he drove a truck delivering fish and that he loved me. Frank may draw them in but they fall for me. 🙂

Eventually we extricated ourselves from that conversation and found our way to a fabulous burger bar that had gluten free options. Frank had the most amazing old fashioned and I had the most unbelievable burger. Thus sated, we started the walk home with only one final pit stop at an outdoor pub for a final drink. Then it was back to the flat to get ready for tomorrow.

Data for today:

• Step taken: 27,794
• Bars visited: 5
• Hours of daylight: 16
• Cars that Frank felt the need to comment on: 10