Today I went to Ystad, Sweden, arguably one of the most beautiful cities in Sweden. Like Sitka, it is a tourist town on the coast with beautiful nature and harbors alike. Ystad and Sitka are also similar in that they both have horrible, nasty winter weather that would make anyone think twice about living there. Unlike Sitka, Ystad actually has decent, if not genuinely pleasurable weather in the summer to make up for it. Today in Ystad was one of those perfect days completed with sun, very little wind, and more sun. I met up with one of my closest school friends, Ellen, and we embarked on a short journey from the train station to the beach. When walking towards the beach, we passed Ystad’s spa and dreamed of back massages and fluffy robes. My dreams were quickly washed away when we got to the edge of the beach and I realized this was much better than a day at the spa. The sand was light and fluffy and tickled our bare feet as we searched for a spot to lay down the blanket and relax. Ellen and I found a nice area in the sunlight, but out of the wind, and put our things down there. We then spent the next several hours lying in the sun talking and regretting not bringing our swimsuits. The longer we were there, the hotter it seemed to get, so to cool off we went to dip our toes in the ocean. The water was of course, freezing, but we were effectively cooled off! Walking around a bit more we noticed an abundance of small shells and each took a few to remember the other with. Exchange makes you do cheesy things like this. We spent another hour lying in the sand before noticing how parched we were.he only food that could satisfy our needs was ice cream. We packed up and I reluctantly put my shoes back on. Ellen and I walked the entire length of the beach searching for an ice cream shop that was cheap, open, and with a line that didn’t look like the entire beach was waiting for a fix. Our quest was a failure and we weren’t able to find a shop with all three of those requirements. We walked all the way back to where we started, admiring the spacious beach homes and colorful mini-houses used to store beach equipment along the way. It was even hotter at this time and all we could think about was an ice cream fika so we decided to just go back to town to get some. We took the bus back to Ystad and went into the closest open store which just happened to be Max, Sweden's equivalent to McDonald’s, and both got a small ice cream. This was just what we needed and I savored mine for as long as possible. By the time our we finished our ice cream, I had a few minutes to catch my train back to Svedala so we ran/ walked to the station to say goodbye. Because it’s hard to find times that work for both of us to hang out, we take it very seriously when we actually can see each other. I hugged Ellen goodbye and boarded my train just in time. What may seem like an insignificant day to anyone else, I see it as a rare opportunity to get closer to one of my best Swedish friends with the little time I have left. I hope to see her many more times before I go home back to Alaska and I definitely am planning on us seeing each other again someday again in our lives.
Words of the Week
Beach- Stranden Tourist- Turist Relax- Koppla av