July was all about preparation. Planning and packing was well underway for our Höga Kusten hike with friends from the UK. In addition to that, I was also getting ready to travel to New York for work at the beginning of August (part 1 and part 2). It was my first long haul flight since the pandemic and I felt like I’d forgotten how to travel — although I was looking forward to venturing somewhere new with my camera.
Heavy rain broke the heat and forest fire warnings we experienced last month. It hammered against the windows so hard we couldn’t keep them open. Many people on the streets below didn’t seem to mind getting soaked.
Back to eating giant knäckebröd! I say giant but this is a standard size — buying these large crackers always makes me feel like I’m ticking a “doing Swedish life right” box.
Used a nail gun for the first time!
We spent a few days cat sitting for our friends. I laid on the bed one afternoon and he came in, jumped up and curled around my arm. He fell asleep so deeply that I didn’t have the heart to wake him, and I just laid on the bed looking up at the ceiling. It made me miss Mischief — a cat I had growing up that we had to say goodbye to a few years ago (he was 24).
I finally had a hair cut for the first time since February! They only cut about 3cm off but it was enough to make the curls spring up quite a bit. Unfortunately, it rained on the way home and I had to squash my hair under a hood.
A tent check was part of our hike prep; we don’t have a garden so the living room was the next best thing.
This chaos was related to our hiking packing lists. We spent quite a while working out what each of us needed personally, what could be shared between the four of us and the weight of each item.
Me strengthening my upper body before the big adventure. I had an issue with my shoulder earlier in the month so I wanted to ease it in gently — I only went up to 10kg (my final pack would weigh more) and just wore it around the house so the extra weight didn’t come as a shock.
I tried a French hotdog for the first time. Delicious! Presumably the baguette bun is why it has that name but the quality of the bread would probably make the French weep.
We spent a few evenings exploring Stockholm on our bikes. This was the night we cycled 30km and found an empty sandy beach, thanks to the fact the city is a ghost town for most of July. Although it can be hard to get things done, I really enjoy the contrast of a deserted city.
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