L. Raine

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Portrait of a Swede

Note: I've been sending out travel emails, and just had to share this one from a few days ago with all of you. This is in place of Monday's slot, and is an incident that will brighten my memory for a long time. 

Hi you, 

We had an early morning today. The bus from Låssby left at 5:56a and we had left the house about five minutes later than we should have, with a very small margin of time to spare. Naturally with five adults, one child, and one baby, plus an AirBnB to leave in a good condition, it wasn't easy to keep an early deadline. We made it to the stop with a moment or two to spare and were sitting in the shelter, staring blearily into the mist and chill, when out of nowhere a man appeared in our peripheral. 

Down the hill he came full speed; biking and talking as fast he rode. In his right hand he grasped a phone that he held out, talking into his earpiece. In his left hand he held his breakfast. The handlebars were unattended as he came into direct sight; his shoulder-length blonde curly hair streamed a bright banner behind him. 

Just like that, he was gone. 

We burst into laughter. I shall never forget this portrait of a Swede man in that early morning. 

For this I travel: moments in time, and panoramic views of culture. 

See you in Bergen,
L. Raine

P.s. The photo is one I happened to take in Gothenburg. Multi-tasker came and went too quickly for any photo reaction from me. L.E. 

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