My Sunday project uploading all pictures and sailing weeks as albums will at this speed take all day.
Started with the smallest folder containing just 60 pictures and per minute it uploads one picture.
For at least 15 albums containing each about 200 pictures that adds up to more than 45 hours uploading time!
Crazy!
Will see if I change laptop if I can speed it up?
Today I sorted and uploaded most of my pictures to Google +and then tried to share the link for all my sailing friends that came along separately for each album.
Well I just got off the phone with Torsten and he told me to access he needs an email and a password.
So Google is as restrictive as many other companies and demands you become a member fist, I guess!
Shucks, very frustrated!
It could have been so simple?!
I certainly welcome tips how to best deal with this situation, thanks!
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| Eva, Ella, Daniel, Jakob und Thanya |
Antonio and Ulrike 
Sofia and Linn 
Stefan, Eva und Torsten 
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| Just sailing gear |
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| Beautiful sunset |
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| Great cooking |
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| Räksmörgås |
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| Chicken game |
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| Food, yummy! |
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| Weber grill on my balcony |
I sit in the sun on my balcony after having been sick and in bed most of the week, finally over the worst.
My balcony reminds me of the boat especially when the sun is out and I can enjoy the sunset. Martin got me the Weber grill that stands next to me that we had on the boat.
So I miss the water and ending up in a beautiful natural harbour with nature surrounding me. But I do not miss the responsibility to check the weather forecast at least 2-3 times a day and having to worry, if the wind shifts over night and is the boat safe. A few times I set the alarm to check on the boat in the middle of the night, it was always all right, but could have been otherwise.
I miss the great company I always had on the boat, the camaraderie of cooking, doing dishes, going grocery shopping, playing games and sailing together. Here in Solothurn I am alone in my flat and it feels empty after months of company. What I do enjoy being back though is just going shopping, just tuning a DVD on to watch, having reception basically everywhere.
I do not miss the bathroom routine on the boat with pumping and plastic bags for the toilet paper. That is a relief being back and just being able to use the knob for flushing.
I do miss showering on deck with awsome views, swimming and having access to a sauna almost in every harbour. I think my average on going to the sauna was 3 times a week mostly with swimming, so that stopped now and feels like something is missing.
I start to miss Räksmörgås (shrimp sandwich) again, which I actually had had so much of that I started to avoid ordering it the last weeks. Usually that is one of the first dishes I try to order when I have crossed into Scandinavia.
I do miss the weekly routine with crew change on Saturday and washing my clothes and cleaning the boat. Here at home the flat seems so big and takes so much more time to tidy up. Also cleaning alone is very boring.
I do and also don't miss the simple dress code that I had on the boat. Just functional gear according to the weather forecast. I hardly ever looked in the mirror worrying how I looked. But functional clothes leave little room to express who you are and what mood you are in, so I like to have my wardrobe back. Only I notice now I have to check in the mirror if my hair sits right and if my earings match. So much more to think about!
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| Hailstorm Nynäshamn |
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| My mom hurt |
Now after one week of working and being back in Switzerland since Thursday evening of the 4th I start to reflect on all weeks and what happened.
Especially even if things went wrong how blessed I was that so little happened.
Week 1 (1.06.-7.06) Guest: My mom
My mum and I had an awesome week together cleaning the boat, getting it ready and sailing just a shorter stretches to familiarize ourselves with the vessel.
Since one of the first nights we tied up at a SXK buoy while we had a lot of wind over night my mom hardly got any sleep and dreamt that an elk was crying out loud! Thursday that week the big accident happened, she slipped so badly trying to jump on shore that she broke her left elbow. Both the sea rescue boat and an ambulance helicopter came to her rescue. Luckily she has recovered since then and participated at my Kräftskiva (party last week on the boat). That blog post still holds the record high!
Week 2 (7.06.-14.06) Guest: Dee
It was planned for Dee, my mom and myself that week, but now we were just 2. Even if it was cold the week started with really good weather, so we could get used to sailing and everything else.
At our first natural harbor Dee tried to step on shore and slipped, suddenly she was out of sight. I backed the boat and walked up to the front finding her legs in the water clinging frantically to the ladder to not make her new automatic life west go off. Quickly I got the dinghy to her and she was so determined not to get her west wet that in one swoop she was in the little boat and I could pull her to the back to get out and back on board. We were successful after that first challenge tying the boat up at another spot. During our second day sailing weather forecast predicted a big thunderstorm over Stockholm. We were heading south so we were safe, but saw it all day building up higher and higher. When we reached our very sheltered harbor Kyrkviken on Ornö suddenly even there we got some strong gusts while tied up at the pier. We learned later that it had hailed both in Stockholm and Uppsala massively with big storm gusts leading to power outs.Keeping a close watch on the weather forecast led us to having to seek up Nynäshamn on Thursday just after lunch to avoid similar thunderstorms with hail ourselves. Just after an hour of being tied up the hailstorm covered everything with a 5 cm thick layer of hail. We were so lucky to be safe.Both Friday and Saturday was really stormy but not a problem for us we were tied up safely in Nynshamns and even found a spa Havsbaded just 15 minutes walk from the harbor.
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| Cardamom-Cinnamon buns in Swedish (Kardemumma- Kanel bullar) |
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| My sweetheart surprised at the airport |
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| He got his lakrits pipe |
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| Beautiful Solothurn - home |
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| Enjoying the evening sun |
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| Meeting Thanya again at Gassbar |
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| IKEA almost like Sweden |
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| 3 months post opened |
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| Matjessill Ikea style |
After a serious shopping spree at the airport in Copenhagen (Kastrup), probably because I finally was back in civilization I needed to get it out of my system, I boarded the plane to Zürich. Just as my 3 marked heavy sailing bags arrived on the belt in Zürich I received a phone call from Martin telling him I arrived safely and cutting him short so I could get my bags. Through customs I thought they would pick me out with 3 bags, but I got through with just a nod from them. Relieved I walked out into the entrance hall and suddenly somebody yelled: "Zappo! "(one of many nicknames I have in our relationship) and then I was in Martin's arms, my sweetheart had come to surprise me and welcome me back!
He stayed until Sunday late afternoon, so my first days back in Solothurn were really sweet and on top of that warm and full of sunshine.
After a well needed haircut (just me) on Saturday we had dinner with Thanya and reminisced about sailing memories from summer in Åland.
First thing I cleaned in my flat was all that could fit into the washing machine and was textile, curtains, sheets, towels...
Then the balcony needed a make over especially since Martin had given me exactly the same grill as I had had on the boat as a memory of the summer sailing as a birthday present. So some rearranging was needed to make space for it and then all my balcony plants were picked up at my neighbor, who had had them in her garden.
We got some nice hours on the balcony in the sun that reminds me of the boat.
After Martin left I have met friends and continued unpacking and arranging. Today I got all my letters and mail that I had sent to Swissbox, who digitally scanned my letters. Now all is opened, last bills payed and most post sorted away.
For dinner I had Matjessill in memory of Swedish summer and midsummer. That is a meal that always brings me back to Sweden and I can enjoy as holiday.
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| Birches next to Helge å |
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| Helge å |
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| More Helge å |
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| Naturum in the distance |
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| Somebody left the life ring in the water |
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| Looks almost like a castle |
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| Gardening an institution since long |
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| Student initiation Kristianstad style |
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| Fort and canons |
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| Battalion in Kristanstad |
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| Just pretty |
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| Nice lawyer sign |
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| Ready to leave |
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| Last shot with my wonderful sister |
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| Leaving Sweden over the bridge to Denmark |
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| Arrived at Kastrup |
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| Christoph and Jack |
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| Fredrik behind the syrup jar |
After leaving Stockholm Monday afternoon my first stop was Malmö. There I was to finally meet Jack again and his husband Christoph, that I have only had digital contact with. Jack is one of Lovisa's study buddies and on her 40th birthday 4 years ago I got to meet Jack and we hit it off and got along very well. But since then we haven't had the chance to meet again. Knowing that I would spend my last days in Sweden visiting my sister, we had agreed on Monday 1. September in April to meet all of us. Lovisa couldn't join but at least Jack, Christoph, who had not been at Lovisa's party then and I had dinner together. Time was to short and we definitely need to build the friendship and meet again.
Looking forward to seeing them was a highlight that I had been looking forward to knowing that after my adventure that cool thing would happen.
Monday evening shortly before 22 hours I finally arrived in Kristanstad and my sister picked me up. Fredrik just having started school was awake again when we arrived, so I got to say goodnight.
The next 2 days were filled with getting Manda and Fredrik up on time for school and my sister to work. In-between she had a few hours to spare that we could spend together. Neither Manda nor Fredrik like to be photographed so that is why this post doesn't contain their pictures.
I had the honor to pick Fredrik up from school Thursday afternoon. Wonderful experience!
When I had time to spare I enjoyed the small town and the creek called Helge å with it's nature reserve building Naturum.
Staying a few more days with my family was a nice way to say goodbye to Sweden.
