grinda

(the following photos are unedited. the sky is really that blue. my camera was not on vivid mode. in fact, it does not have a vivid mode. the sky is really just that blue.)

after spending the first few days exploring the city centre, i figured it was high to do what i'd come to stockholm early to do. i.e visit the archipelago. my initial plan was to arrive a fortnight early and spend some time at the islands as a mini retreat of sorts. but i got my act together too late and the hostels on every island were fully booked. so i settled for five nights in the city centre and in retrospect, it's a good thing i didn't stay the few days at the islands like i wanted to!

there are countless islands in the archipelago but being the student on a budget, i chose the island that was the best 'value'. that happened to be grinda because it's a 90min ferry ride away (so it's not accessible by bus like vaxholm, the closest island) but not too far for a day trip. but grinda is so small and uninteresting that it did not qualify for inclusion in LP stockholm haha.

that said, it was just as i'd imagined it to be. before leaving for stockholm and before my island life plans were foiled, i'd entertained visions of myself sitting on a rocky outcrop plugged into my ipod and journal-ing furiously. i quickly found said rocky perch about thirty minutes after first setting foot on the island and happily camped there for a few hours overlooking the harbour. it was beautiful. the sea calm, the sky a brilliant blue and the neighbouring smaller islands like emerald drops in the sea. the seaside cafe was playing summer hits and i felt like queen of the hill atop my little rock. after the sun moved and started shining in my face, i too migrated to (literally) greener pastures. walked around the island a little more and discovered the south jetty and next to the south jetty was a big green field. i sprawled onto an unused picnic table (very glamorous, i know) and watched the sea breeze blow the clouds across the sky. the afternoon passed so fast and before i knew it i'd to catch the second last ferry back.

had a lovely day on the island but think i'm just about island-ed out now. beautiful as it is, i'm quite happy back in the city smack in the middle of all my creature comforts. but i enjoyed being alone on the rock and later in the field, at peace with the world and loving life.