Real Åsa Story

Last Thursday morning the alarm went off at 5am sharp to get us ready for a 4-day trip to the land of Vikings-past: Sweden. Thursday was the day of Ascension here in Germany and so the good people of the government saw it fit to give us that day off work, gratis. We scooped up this opportunity by also booking off the Friday to tie together a nice little package of 4 days in a row away from the daily grind and the possibility to return to our favourite Scandinavian country to race Ironmans in for a mini-getaway.

The last time we graced the shores of the kingdom, as most regular readers of GWMD should remember, was the great Ironman Kalmar inaugural race of August 2012. It goes without saying, then, that this trip was to be less stressful both in our activities and in the transportation process. Rather than spending a couple of days disassembling and meticulously packing up our racing bikes into flimsy cardboard boxes held together with TV-packaging styrofoam and discarded plastic, we threw various clothing items into small luggages minutes before de-apartmenting and then hit the S-Bahn.

Other things made this trip up north more relaxing. Not only did we have minimal belongings, but instead of having to take the airport bus with bike box, wetsuit, helmet, running shoes, two-week supply of clothes, &c. to within a few kilometres of destination and then walk to said destination, we were greeted and chauffeured from the airport to home from not just Thony himself but one of the new additions to his family: the young (4-month-old) baby Sigrid. Furthermore, rather than attempting sleep on an inflatable floor-placed mattress in inner-city-condo, we were visiting in style in a guest room at Villa Thony: a cottage-like-mansion that sits on the crystalline shores of Åsa, a seaside resort town thirty minutes from Gothenburg that Thony, Sigrid, Sigrid's mom Linda, and Bobby the family dog now call home.

To my list of life accomplishments that already included attending Tom & Jenn's wedding (event of the year, 2007); breaking up a drunken fight outside of a Quebec city bar between a 7-foot-tall 230lbs friend and his unknown adversary; and not being ashamed of having a subscription to Vanity Fair magazine; I now have added swimming in the North Sea in Sweden in early June right near the top (but below completing Space Quest III for Amiga).

Besides nearly stopping my heart from the shock of North Sea water temperatures in Sweden in early June, we also did some jogs along the shore and in the woods, lay on the beach in the sun, ate burgers and drank beer at the beach bar, I read "On the Road" (but you already knew that if you read this blog in chronological order), we watched part of The Talented Mr. Ripley on television until the satellite went out, had a BBQ, played cards, and all manner of other general cottage-related activities that one might participate in at a cottage-like-mansion on the sea in Åsa.

On Saturday we ventured into our old stomping grounds in Gothenburg and since there are hardly any places to eat there (the population is only half a million) Thony took us to the same place we went two summers ago. We also went to the "best café in Gothenburg" and walked through the Pride festival but unfortunately we missed the parade. We went to the famous market and Thony asked the guy how much fresh shrimp he'd need to buy for a dinner for 4 (Siggy is still strictly a liquid kinda gal I believe). Apparently the guy said 500g per person for a total of 2kg of shrimp. We ate maybe 20% that night before we were full. They're going to be enjoying shrimp for a while, methinks.

Although we were essentially at the southern tip of the country (well, pretty much) it was quite crazy to experience the long days. When we went to bed around midnight it wasn't bright out but it sure wasn't dark. It was, however, fairly bright when the sun greeted me through the window around 3:30! This is why people get sad there in the winter time.

Linda is a fitness expert and put everyone (except me because I opted out due to health reasons) through a vigorous workout routine on Saturday morning following the BBQ party with the neighbours. During this time I explored the shore and did my best to avoid a ticket for public urination (I succeeded in avoiding said ticket).

Wine is expensive in Sweden if you want the real thing. Kind of like Germany in a way. We managed to sneak a bottle of Canadian Club in though so no harm no foul.

Good night!