I’m still ruminating on the theme of wandergrief, looking back, sieving through, rummaging among my memories of past travels where I felt wandergrief. This was not the first time I’d been down this road.

What lessons from the past can I take comfort in? What hangover cures might there be?

This time, it is from Stockholm, Sweden in August 2014. I fell in love with the Baltic Sea here. Can a body of water have this much appeal? I don’t know. Looking through my photos, again I noticed one thing - I avoided doing the touristy things for most of this trip, and did what I was drawn to in spirit and soul. Yeah, I saw some of the iconic sights here, but mostly, I went swimming in the clear, cold waters of the Baltic Sea in the archipelago around Stockholm. 

In the end, I was held hostage by it, willingly. I couldn’t not be enchanted by the wood and water, the silky smooth gliding of water over my skin, and its chilling but invigorating glacial cold. Classic Stockholm Syndrome. 

-–

Stockholm, Sweden in August 2014. Fell in love with the Baltic Sea, the grey granite, the spongy mosses, the pine trees. Didn’t do much in the city - a pity, the little voice in my head said, that I flew half-way round the world and didn’t spend much time in Stockholm city.

But catching myself, I thought, why not? Sweden’s natural landscape draws me in and holds me captive, and I’m willingly captivated and enraptured by its beauty. Stockholm syndrome, for sure.

There’s a private dock that’s a 10-minute walk from the house, where it’s quiet and peaceful by the Baltic Sea and at most times I was the only one there. Swimming from this dock on sunny days was the highlight of my stay here. The sea felt really cool and clean, more like a freshwater lake than salty seawater, and with no strong waves meant I swam much further outward to sea than I usually dared!

Wood and water, sunsets and sea. Mesmerising moonrises. Contemplating my very first jump into ice cold freshness. This dock, this sea, this weather - the highlight of my stay in Stockholm. Burning this scene into my mind forever.