WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2012—Jakobsberg
I spent my final full day in Sweden organizing my luggage, sharing photos with Mari-Anne and receiving copies of hers, etc. We took a walk for a couple of hours in the afternoon in nearby woods—an area she frequently walks in. We found two geocaches (one was a multi-cache) along the way and visited a cemetery to water flowers planted by the graves of several family members.
Daughter Sara joined us for dinner while Gunnar was away performing at a music engagement. It was a relaxed day, albeit a bittersweet day, as I realized this was my last full day in Sweden. So many thoughts and emotions were spinning around in my mind all day!
THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012—Back to South Dakota
We were up early for my final morning in Jakobsberg. I bid Gunnar “Good-bye” after breakfast and Mari-Anne drove me to the airport where she again helped me maneuver through the check-in process. Finally, the time arrived that we could not postpone—it was time to say our “Good-byes” which were very hard for both of us. We had shared some wonderful experiences the past few weeks and our friendship had grown far beyond the cursory level of being “pen pals”. Gunnar said we would all be seeing each other again—I really look forward to that happening!
I boarded the SAS aircraft for the flight to Chicago and then, via American Airlines, went on to Sioux Falls. The flights were routine and on time. My seatmate for the Chicago leg was a woman from Iceland who has lived and worked in Las Vegas the past 19 years. She had been visiting her mother at their summer home in Sweden. I thought this was a strange twist—a summer home in Sweden and the main home in Iceland. She explained that the Gulfstream current keeps the winter temperatures quite mild in Iceland. It made the trip seem to go faster as we talked about her homeland. It also reaffirmed my desire to visit that country, too.
My brother, Dick, and sister-in-law, Helen, were at the Sioux Falls airport to pick me up and drive me to Hurley where I reunited with Mom and my cat, Zia. (Zia would not let me out of her sight for days on end!) This ended the trip of a lifetime, made much more special by Mari-Anne and Gunnar’s friendship and very generous hospitality!
 |
GUNNAR & MARI-ANNE STIGNÄS
|
