Hey beautiful people, Laurel here—it’s been awhile, people, and I know it!

    Sweden: it is almost about time to leave this country and I am definitely sad. I love cities, and I have always wanted to live in them. I’ve been in Stockholm now for four days and I can tell you, Stockholm is not what I’m going to miss about Sweden, actually, it’s my least favorite thing about Sweden. Maybe it’s where I’ve gone, I know that there are cool people somewhere, but what I wake up and want to do is be in Umeå. I miss it, the nature, the PEOPLE (most of all), and the general atmosphere. I can’t believe so many of my friends have come to Sweden and never experienced that place, you will now!

    The city, Umeå, is bike friendly, which I find amazing. You can bike through it and go to forest, river, or hill. The people that I met there are in my heart and it definitely aches when I think of them. I will go back to Umeå, and I highly reccommend it. Before coming to Sweden, I had never really felt the difference of having a sense of community and not but I feel like now I have experienced the difference to the extreme! Lars-Erik and Marianne are my friend’s (Erik) parents. They took us into their home, housed us, took us to see different parts of Västerbotten county and fed us (a lot), it felt like I was home.

    On my birthday, they took Chris and I out for an amazing day to one of Sweden’s only undammed rivers, Vindelälven, where they made a picnic for us with the best home cooked foods. To top it off, they gave me presents! I was never in the world expecting such treatment—I don’t think I will be taking this necklace, my present, off. Our friend Hanna—their daughter—came with us also, and gifted me a beautiful scarf! The free river and all of the trails around it looked like a scene from a book of wild, beautiful landscapes. Walking across the bridges of this free river was great beacuse you could feel the power and energy of all the rushing water beneath your feet. After we were at the river, we went and looked at a fishing spot Lars-Erik and Erik used to go to, along with the free, public fishing cabin that fishers use to sleep in when they are out fishing for a few days! How cool is that! Again, the scenery was beautiful, whether we were driving in a car or walking through it. I was so happy the entire day, I couldn’t stop smiling and wishing that it would never end. All day I had that feeling of being present and feeling the world’s energy flowing through and around me—how small I am and yet, how lucky I am to be a part of it.

    Next, we went to a farm of a friend of Marianne and Lars-Eriks whose house is located next to where Lars-Erik grew up! This friend is a dairy farmer. He has sheep and cows. The farm is located next to a river with a beautiful sauna on the water! We went in, had some coffe, talked and then walked around the land. It was beautiful (of course). Next, we went and visited Lars-Erik’s sister and husband, who live in the house Lars-Erik grew up in. We chatted and I was able to look at a few family photos. After this stop, we left to head back to town—Chris and I were WWOOFing in a town near to Umeå.

    On the way back, we stopped at a ‘loppis.’ A loppis is a house or area where a person sells old belongings & second hand goods. It is kind of like what people sell at flea markets but it is just one or maybe a couple people selling stuff. The loppis we went to was a two story house absolutely filled—covered—with stuff to sell, and there was even an outside tent with more stuff!

    Our last stop was at a little cafe/restaurant that was German-run, and they were selling really good sausages! We stopped and had dinner there and then continued back. There are so many more parts to that story that would make you laugh and give you a more vivid picture of the day but this is the summary of my birthday!

    I know this is a long entry but I just have to share one more moment. Three days after my birthday, Chis and I finished our WWOOFing time at Turmalinen and we went with Marianne on a five day trip to Höga Kustan, an area 250km south of Umeå. One vivid, sharp memory I have of that wonderful experience was taking Fenris, the family doggie (sooo cute), for a walk at night. Now, even though I was scared of a moose coming out of the darkness and killing me, I did have time to appriciate a beautiful moment. I stopped on the road, it’s a rural area so no lights around, just trees, moon, stars and a lake—there was no wind, just silence. A couple times we made some noises and the echo traveled and continued of a long time, then absolute silence. I’ve been in silence before but never this silent, nothing moving; no people, animals or cars, nothing…just nature, the world and peace. I hope everyone is able to experience that. My love to all and keep checking out the pictures!

—Lau