Happy 2021!

Imagine you had a jacket with two pockets, that you use now and then. With time you learn what to put in which pocket so that you make use of them the best way. It works and you are happy and content. Now imagine that every winter, ou stopped using a jacket at all, because besides your wallet, phone and keys you also need space for your gloves, hat and umbrella. Instead of buying another jacket or finding a way to get more space for your winter things, you simply chose to not go out at all and avoid the problem. Now imagine that one day someone told you to look inside of your jacket. You did and found 5 more pockets there, of different sizes, some with zippers, some with special details and you get excited and try them all, and every time you find new and better possibilities. After a while, it seems basically impossible that you hadn't seen them before and you don't even understand how you could have missed that whole side of something that felt so known and comfortable before. 

That's how I feel. About running.

I have been running now for nearly 11 years. I was happy and content. Did basically only asphalt running and some races now and then. The more I trained the more my times became (big surprise...), but every winter I stopped running (or reduced it to 1 or 2 times a week) because it was cold and dark and who runs then anyway. Now and then I heard of other people doing mountain running and trail running, and how cool it was but somehow never thought it was for me. But then I moved to the forest (not to an actual forest, but a neighbourhood not far from one). And I found a whole new side of running, full of lite pockets here and there. I had moved here thinking I would use the broad marked paths to run, but got bored of them pretty quickly, especially due to the numerous other options around. 

This is how 2020 became a year of new things. 

This is how I became a forest freak. 

 

Gettings lost in small trails was my favourite summer thing. That and exploring new areas, new trails, new lakes, new challenges (like crawling under a giant tree that had fallen on the trail or climbing a rock to get to the other side). Then came the fall and with it the dark evenings and the wet and muddy trails and I slowly embraced them. With the right clothes, shoes and equipment nothing is too wet or too dark and mud washes off with water and soap. Now that I had fallen in love with running all over again I was just not going to stop because of the weather. Afterwards came winter and its snowy days, and after having survived months of rain and darkness I was just not stopping now either. And so it became that I started 2021 by doing something so new and so old at the same time. Running on snow!

Looking back I don't think it was a mistake to stop before. I just didn't see running the way I see now - as a part of my life and of who I am. Oh... and of course all this joy has made me go out the door more often, run longer than ever (although I'm less tired than before) and I ended up improving my personal bests. Quite a nice side effect :)

This is exactly what I want to bring to 2021. Find new within the old. Find challenges within the comfortable. Accept. Adapt. Learn. Try. Live. And have fun, at least a lit bit every day but hopefully much more than that. 

Let's all do that! 

Happy 2021!

One year later...

This long break on my blog was only more or less intentional. Life got really busy last year and at some point, I stopped, reflected, and realized that blogging had become more of a duty than something joyful I did in my free time. I love blogging but I do not enjoy writing under pressure or when I feel I must do it. After that, I decided to take a break, let it go of my to-do list and return only when I felt I wanted to do it again. I knew I would miss it at some point, so there was never a risk for no-return. 

Today was the day. I decided to open my blog again and write whatever crossed my mind. Funny thing... My last post here was exactly one year ago!! I had no idea and thought it was a cool coincidence!

Here is a summary of what has been going on this side of the world.

August - September

Summer vacation in 2019 was spent cycling along the Swedish west coast and then in Denmark. It was of course great! Great views, decent weather and 10 days full of new things. After that, we started preparing and packing all our belongings to move into a new apartment.  

Lesson: no matter when you start packing everything, it is too late!

J. answering an important call from the bank regarding our mortgage. Of course, they called when we were cycling along a very noisy road...

October

October was marked by very extreme experiences. We moved into our newly finished apartment at the beginning of October. It was so new we could still feel the smell of the paint. Moving day was very intensive but fun. Unfortunately, I also got the worse episode of food poisoning of my life! J. had to leave for a work trip and I stayed behind in the middle of a million boxes, not being able to find tea or a pot to boil some rice. On top of that, the fresh smell of paint soon started making me sick and I couldn't even open the windows for too long because it's Sweden and it was 5oC outside. No, my first days in our new flat were not the best, but it only went upwards from there! I love it here now! 

Lesson: do not forget to eat properly, especially when doing something so physically demanding like moving heavy things.

Moving day!

November

November is a blur. We only had some basic furniture and a lot had to be bought (and chosen), mounted and fixed. All of this while working full-time busy jobs. The first weeks we only had portable lamps because we never got the damn connection to the ceiling lamps right. Once we were so tired of shopping at Ikea for the millionth time and only wanted to get it done, that we rushed and bought 7 lamps for different parts of the apartment. We ended up returning six... However, the flat was slowly becoming more of a home and less of a random pile of things.

Lesson: do not shop exhausted and/or hungry. Never!

December - January

When our new place was finally looking decent we had to leave it for a month, but it was for very good reasons. Our honeymoon! We spent the most amazing four weeks in Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. It was my first time in Asia and only the second for J., so it was all very new. We lived so much in those weeks that we feel we were there for a year. When we returned we were so relaxed and happy that I could barely remember what my job was... Do you know that feeling? 

Lesson: so so grateful for being able to go on our honeymoon before the big Covid-19 storm hit us all. 

Sharing a magic sunset in Bagan, Myanmar

February - April

Uncertainty. First at work, not knowing if Covid-19 was, in fact, going to hit us or not (so naive of us...) and then when it did, at home trying to adapt to the new reality without going crazy. The funny thing was that at the beginning of February I asked my boss if I could work from home a few days every week because I needed more peace to do certain things. He agreed immediately, without having the slight idea that that was going to be the reality for the rest of the year. My Easter trip got cancelled, as everyone else's did. My training improved a lot!

Lesson: Some wishes might become true way more than expected.

We live now very close to a big forest and have been busy exploring its best spots :)

May - June

Accepted new reality and re-organized life in general. We transformed our soon-to-be guest room into a mini gym and an office with a big screen and standing/sitting desk. Online meetings became normal as did walks several times of day to prevent pains in new places. Our patio became a small garden where we started growing some vegetables and a nice bar for having after-work drinks on Fridays. The good weather also brought everyone else out to their balconies and we started to get knowing our neighbours, which turned out to be very nice. 

Lesson: So many! Maybe the most important is to be grateful for everything I have and for having learned to adapt to challenges life brings me. These have made me handle the pandemic in a better way than most.

Rasmus, our nicest neighbour, who likes to hang and to nap in our patio 

July - August

First, it was crazy with work, including many many extra hours, but then it was summer vacation again. Once again we cycled around, this time only in Sweden, and once again it was great. Sweden is so beautiful! Now it's back to work, mostly from home for the rest of the year, which is ok, because I got used to it. Oh, and I'm also training for my first marathon! I will do it on my own, or rather just with J., because all the races have been cancelled. 

Lesson: Sometimes the calm comes after the storm, and it feels great!

Gotland, the largest Swedish island - a beauty!

And how have you been? Have your life changed a lot in the last year? Do I still have any readers at all? 

(Dis)Orientering

Orienteering is a big sport in Sweden, a country full of nature lovers. It basically consists of running between different checkpoints spread in an unknown piece of land, often a forest, using only a paper map and a compass. That's the serious version. For less athletic people there are other options, like the Hittaut app we found recently. The app shows a bunch of checkpoints spread all over the city's green areas (yes, because even if Gothenburg is the second largest city in the country it does have a lot of forests just at a stone's throw from the city - welcome to Sweden!) and using the GPS of the phone it is pretty easy to find the points. Once we get to the point, there's a code on a metal marker that we read and register in the app, which changes the status of that checkpoint to done. The goal is to do as many as possible and there are prizes every month. 

A orientação é um desporto bastante popular na Suécia, um país cheio de amantes da natureza. Basicamente consiste em correr entre diferentes pontos de controle espalhados pela natureza, geralmente numa floresta, usando apenas um mapa de papel e uma bússola. Esta é a versão séria, mas há outras opções para pessoas menos atléticas, como a app Hittaut, que encontramos recentemente. A app mostra os postos de controle espalhados por todas as áreas verdes da cidade (sim, porque mesmo Gotemburgo sendo a segunda maior cidade do país há muitas florestas a poucos passos da cidade - bem-vindos à Suécia!) e usando o GPS do telefone é muito fácil encontrar os pontos. Quando se chega ao ponto há um código no marcador de metal que lemos e registramos na app, o que altera o estado desse ponto para feito. O objetivo é fazer o maior número possível de controlos e até há prémios distribuídos todos os meses.

Sounds pretty cool, no? So we decided to give it a try, doing it my way... with an ice cream break in the middle.
Bem fixe, ah? E foi assim que decidimos experimentar mas à minha maneira... com uma pausa para gelado a meio.

We did 16 checkpoints running/walking a total of 13 km. The checkpoints are often in high points and we got beautiful views from up there. Sometimes I couldn't believe that was so close to the city! We also got to discover new paths and places. 

Fizemos 16 checkpoints e corremos/andamos um total de 13 km. Os pontos de controlo são muitas vezes em pontos altos e passamos por vistas muito bonitas. Às vezes nem dá para acreditar que estamos tão perto da cidade! Também descobrimos novos caminhos e sitios mais recatados.

J. always saw the markers first and there were times where the marker was right in front of me and I didn't see it! He also has a great sense of orientation knowing always his north, whereas I often guided us in the wrong direction... Such a great orienteer... But I did enjoy myself a lot!

O J. via sempre os marcadores primeiro que eu e houve vezes em que o marcador estava mesmo à minha frente e eu não o vi! Ele também tem um grande sentido de orientação e sabe sempre onde é o norte, enquanto que eu muitas vezes nos guiei para a direção errada... que grande orientadora... Mas diverti-me imenso e é isso que importa!

One of the funniest parts was when we had to cross a stream. Someone had set up a slackline and rope and it looked easy enough since it was a very small stream. 

Johan did it without a problem. Me too. Ok... not really. Halfway through I decided to question Johan's technique and find my own, which resulted in me almost falling into the water. Luckily I was close enough to the other side and J. could help me (after taking pictures of me of course!).

Uma das partes mais engraçadas foi quando tivemos que atravessar um ribeiro. Alguém montou uma slackline e uma corda para facilitar a travessia e parecia fácil o suficiente, já que era um ribeirito pequeno.

O J. atravessou sem problema nenhum. Eu também. Ok ok, não é verdade... A meio da travessia decidi questionar a técnica do J. e desenvolver uma técnica nova, o que quase me fez cair na água. Felizmente estava perto da mergem o suficiente para o J. me ajudar (depois de me tirar fotos claro!).

Before and after the moment I decided to rotate my feet... not a great decision...

Antes e depois do momento em que decidi rodar os pés... não foi lá grande decisão...

So, I'm no Tove Alexandersson (the Swedish champion in Orienteering), but I did enjoy the closeness to nature, the fresh air, the challenges of going through muddy places, jumping stones, crossing "rivers" and the variation that all that brings to my training, so I think I will be doing it more often from now on. 

Don't worry, if I come across some nice landscapes I'll share them here with you :)

Ou seja, não sou nenhuma Tove Alexandersson (a campeã sueca em Orientação), mas gostei da proximidade com a natureza, do ar fresco, dos desafios de correr pela lama, pular pedras, atravessar "rios" e a variação que tudo isso traz ao meu treino, por isso acho que vou fazer isto mais vezes.

Não fiquem preocupados, se encontrar paisagens giras eu partilho-as por aqui :)

Göteborgsvarvet 2019

And then it was May and time for the largest Half Marathon in the world - Göteborgsvarvet! 

After having missing it last year for lack of training, the only race I've ever not started after being registered, this year I was really looking forward to doing it. 

For the first time I went to the Expo to listen to a couple of lectures and interviews. Usually, I just go there to pick up the bib and that's it, but it was really interesting to spend a bit more time there and feel the race atmosphere already before. 

First, I went to see an interview with Mustafa Mohamed and Charlotte Kalla. The first is a long distance Somali-Swedish runner and the second my favourite skier.

Maio chegou e com ele a maior meia maratona do mundo - Göteborgsvarvet!

Depois de ter faltado no ano passado por falta de treino, a única corrida que eu não comecei mesmo estando registrada, este ano estava ansiosa para a fazer.

Pela primeira vez fui à Expo para ouvir algumas palestras e entrevistas. Normalmente só lá vou mesmo para levantar o peitoral, mas foi bom passar lá mais tempo e começar a viver o ambiente da corrida ainda antes. 

Comecei por ir ver uma entrevista com Mustafa Mohamed e Charlotte Kalla. O primeiro é um corredor de fundo Somali-Sueco e a segunda a minha esquiadora preferida. 

The questions were interesting and we got to learn a bit more about the tough life of an elite athlete. They also signed some items to be auctioned later on that day. Charlotte signed a pair of skis and Mustafa a picture of himself. 

As perguntas foram interessantes e conseguimos aprender um pouco mais sobre a vida difícil de um atleta de elite. No final autografaram alguns objectos para serem leiloados mais tarde naquele dia. A Charlotte assinou um par de esquis e o Mustafa uma foto sua.

 A training week of Mustafa's life - 11 workouts and a total of 180 km. Only...

Uma semana de treinos na vida de Mustafa - 11 treinos e um total de 180 km. Só...

Kristina Paltén's lecture was also very interesting. She is a Swedish woman who decided to run across Iran and prove society how certain fears are simply built around stereotypes. A single woman, ran alone 1840 km in 59 days. That's already quite impressive, but she did it in Iran with very hot temperatures and wearing an overall to cover her body completely, and staying in strangers homes. She met great people, loved the whole experience and has great stories from the journey. She also wrote a book, which is now translated in several languages. I've read it and vividly recommend it.  

A palestra de Kristina Paltén também foi muito interessante. Ela é uma mulher sueca que decidiu atravessar o Irão a correr para provar à sociedade como certos medos são simplesmente construídos em torno de estereótipos. Fe-lo como uma mulher solteira que correu sozinha 1840 km em 59 dias. Isso já é bastante impressionante, mas ela fe-lo no Irão, com temperaturas muito quentes, vestida com um fato de treino, para cobrir o corpo completamente e a ficar a dormir em casas de estranhos. Ela conheceu pessoas fantásticas, adorou toda a experiência e tem óptimas histórias da jornada. Também escreveu um livro sobre a viagem, que está traduzido para vários idiomas. Eu já o li e recomendo vivamente.

Going around in the fair is always fun as well. It's not often that we have a large fair full of runners and all kinds of running equipment and gadgets. Visiting the past medals and finding our name in the runners wall was a must do. I passed by the stand of one of the sponsors and there they were again - Charlotte Kalla and Mustafa Mohamed. We talked to them a little bit and I got my bib signed by Mustafa and my booked signed by Charlotte (she wrote a book about skiing and training).

Passear pela feira também é super divertido, porque não é sempre que temos uma grande feira cheia de corredores e de todos os tipos de equipamentos e coisas de corrida. Visitar as medalhas passadas e encontrar o nosso nome na parede dos corredores é obrigatório! Passei pelo estande de um dos patrocinadores e lá estavam eles novamente - Charlotte Kalla e Mustafa Mohamed. Deu para conversamos com eles um bocadinho e pedi ao Mustafa para autografar o meu peitoral e à Charlotte o meu livro, escrito por ela (sobre esqui e treino).

With the best of luck wished by these two amazing athletes I never felt more ready (cof cof... ignoring the fact that I hadn't actually trained that much). The day after was race day!! And how I had missed the butterflies in my stomach. How could I go an entire year without a race is beyond me...

Com os desejos de boa sorte destes dois atletas fantásticos senti-me mais preparada que nunca (cof cof... ignorando o fato de que eu não tinha treinado assim tanto). No dia seguinte era a Varvet e percebi que tinha sentido muito a falta das borboletas no estômago. Como é que passou um ano inteirinho sem eu ir a uma corrida...

My bib signed by Mustafa Mohamed. He even draw a runner in between!

O meu peitoral autografado por Mustafa Mohamed. Até desenhou um bonequinho a correr!

 Waiting for my turn in the stadium, where the goal is. 

À espera da minha vez no estádio, com vista para a meta. 

This was the 40th race and there's a group of people, identified by blue shirts, that has run this race every single year. Pretty amazing! On the shirt it says "I have ran the Varvet all the years". 

Esta foi a 40ª corrida e há um grupo de pessoas, identificadas por camisolas azuis, que correram esta corrida todos os anos. Muito incrível! Na camisola está escrito "eu corri a Varvet todos os anos".

Göteborgsvarvet 2019, 1h54m45s

And then I started, ran for a bit less than 2h and got to the goal with another great experience. This year I was completely tricked by my body. It turns out that even if I didn't do a lot of running to prepare, all those gym classes of intensive training did help and I ended up running my fastest Varvet ever. Specially uphill!

Now, I just have to put in a bit more running and maybe next year I can do it even faster. Yes... we runners are always looking for the next race and the next challenge. 

And you know what? I'm already registered for the Varvet in 2020! Bring it on!

E depois comecei, corri por um pouco menos de 2h e cheguei à meta toda contente. Este ano sinto que fui completamente enganada pelo meu corpo. Acontece que mesmo sem ter corrido muito para me preparar, todas aquelas aulas de treino intensivo no ginásio ajudaram muito e acabei por correr a minha Varvet mais rápida de sempre. Especialmente nas subidas!

Agora só tenho que aumentar um bocadinho mais os treinos de corrida e talvez no próximo ano consiga fazer esta corrida ainda mais rápido. Sim... os corredores estão sempre a pensar na próxima corrida ou no próximo desafio.

E sabem uma coisa? Já estou registrada para a Varvet de 2020! Pode vir!

Beer, whiskey and art

Spring is here and we have been blessed with sunny, although still cold, beautiful days. The return of longer days is always very welcome in Sweden and a lot of things start to happen a bit everywhere. Last weekend was a good proof of that. 

On Saturday we went to the beer and whiskey fair - OK, we spent a sunny day in a dark warehouse, but it was worth it. The fair was like any other fair, with loads of stalls showing off their best products, mostly beer and whiskey, but also cider, rum, gin, and other less known things. We got two glasses each, one for beer one for whiskey, and went around tasting different drinks, that cost from 1 to 4 euros (beer) or 4 to 12 euros (whiskey). Although we would only get a small amount to taste, there were really a lot of stalls and we couldn't taste them all, but it was the perfect opportunity to taste different things. 

We also participated in a new Guinness World record of the number of people tasting whiskey, with 2500 people tasting 3 whiskeys simultaneously. The whiskey lovers approved the whiskeys we tasted and said they were good (I tried but it's really not my thing), especially the last one in the tallest bottle. I'm not so surprised as a bottle costs almost €200!!

On Sunday we went to the "walk of art" in Majorna, the artsy part of Gothenburg. Once a year the artists open their ateliers to the public and show off not only their pieces but their workspaces as well. That's actually my favourite part, to see how and where they work. Some artists need organization and structure, while some work clearly better in chaos. I also enjoy seeing the pieces of art not in a museum-like atmosphere, but in a more realistic way. 

Left and middle photos are nice displays, whilst the right photo has a bit of behind the scenes.  

Left: Hammers ad pressing machine? What does the artist do? Delicate jewellery...
Middle: we didn't understand if the hanging sofa with the wine bottle was an art display or just a place for the artist to rest.
Right: Art with leftover materials?

Organised and inspiring spaces. At least once a year.  

Some nice pieces. 

There was a bit of everything, from paintings, sculptures, ceramics, bronze, fabrics, etc. The highlight for me was an artist who decided to paint paper coffee mugs with coffee. Pictures were not allowed, but you can trust me that the mugs were beautifully painted with well-known images, like Einstein, Martin Luther King, Frida Khalo, among others. Very creative and well executed. 

After so much art we got hungry and settle for a nice snack in a sunny cafe by the river, watching the boats go by, including one giant ferry that always makes us nervous because it feels like it's not going to fit under the bridge. But it always does.

How was your weekend? 

1(1) year(s)

At the end of last year, I wrote in a post that we had exciting plans for 2019, including some new places to visit. It started great with our first trip of the year being cancelled... 

Around September last year, we got the chance to purchase a special package for 2 weeks in Turkey. We don't usually book packages but the price was really good and the places to visit looked fantastic: one week travelling around in the Cappadocia region and one week in a kind of resort by the sea. All this in the middle of the winter. Swedish winter. Several dates were offered and we booked ours for March so that we would celebrate our first wedding anniversary during the trip.  It was more of a coincidence since most other dates were already taken when we booked. 

In January this year, the trip was cancelled. We could get our money back or book something else. None of the other trips was as appealing and we didn't really want to keep dealing with this travel agency, as they never clarified why the trip was cancelled, despite us asking several times. Therefore, we got our money back and were left with all the disappointment of a cancelled trip.

We were really looking forward to it and the thought of 3 winter months uninterrupted was killing us. At first, we said we would buy a last minute trip for the same dates, but we ended up settling down for a day in a spa nearby.

No final do ano passado, escrevi em um post que tínhamos planos interessantes para 2019, incluindo alguns novos lugares para visitar. Começou bem com a nossa primeira viagem do ano a ser cancelada ...

No final do ano passado, escrevi num post que tínhamos planos interessantes para 2019, incluindo alguns novos lugares para visitar. Começou bem o plano com a nossa primeira viagem do ano a ser cancelada ...

Em setembro do ano passado, tivemos a oportunidade de comprar um pacote especial de duas semanas na Turquia. Normalmente não compramos pacotes pre-feitos, mas o preço era realmente bom e os locais por onde passava pareciam fantásticos: uma semana na região da Capadócia e uma semana num tipo de resort à beira-mar. Tudo isto no meio do inverno. Inverno sueco. Havia várias datas e nós reservamos o nosso para março, para que pudéssemos celebrar o nosso primeiro aniversário de casamento durante a viagem. Foi mais uma coincidência uma vez que a maioria das outras datas já estavam cheias.

Em janeiro deste ano a viagem foi cancelada. Disseram-nos que podiam devolver o dinheiro ou podiamos reservar outro pacote. Nenhuma das outras viagens nos pareceu tão interessante e preferíamos não ter que continuar a lidar com esta agência de viagens, porque nunca nos explicaram o motivo do cancelamento da viagem, apesar de termos perguntado várias vezes. Assim, recebemos o dinheiro de volta e ficamos apenas com toda a decepção de uma viagem cancelada.

Estávamos super contentes por irmos à Turquia e o pensamento de 3 meses de inverno ininterruptos estava a dar cabo de nós. Pensamos comprar uma viagem de última hora para as mesmas datas, mas acabamos por desistir da ideia e passar um dia num spa nas proximidades.

And that's how our 2 weeks in Turkey became a day and a half in the Spa in Gothenburg. It wasn't exactly the same thing, but it was a break. I don't have any pictures, as it was a mobile free spa, but it was one of the best I have been to (which were not many). There were so many different stations, to lay down, to bathe, different saunas, that it was never boring.  

The highlights for me were:  

     - a dark room with water mattresses where one could lay down and listen to the sound of the sea. 

     - a cold sauna with cubes of ice sliding down a tube every few seconds - it had a green light so it felt like the inside of a caipirinha. 

     - a sauna with a view to the sea

     - the combination of a cinnamon sauna + cold water (8ºC) dipping tank (where it fit only 1 at the time) 

The best was really me being able to be in a sauna! I usually panic because it feels so claustrophobic, but this time I could stand it and actually relax. Maybe because of the nice view. Or because I was sooo tired and needed it.  I really enjoyed the hot + cold combination and felt all the stress leaving my body. 

E foi assim que nossas duas semanas na Turquia se tornaram um dia e meio no Spa em Gotemburgo. Não foi exatamente a mesma coisa, mas foi uma pausa. Não tenho fotos porque eram proibidos no spa, mas foi um dos melhores onde já estive (que não são muitos). Havia imensas estações diferentes, para se estar deitado, para tomar banho, saunas diferentes, nunca se fica farto.

Os destaques para mim foram:

     - um quarto escuro com colchões de água onde se podia deitar e ouvir o som do mar.

    - uma sauna fria com cubos de gelo a sair por um tubo a cada poucos segundos - tinha uma luz verde e parecia o interior de uma caipirinha.

     - sauna com vista para o mar

     - a combinação de uma sauna com cheiro a canela + tanque de água fria (8ºC) (onde cabia apenas 1 pessoa de cada vez)

O melhor foi mesmo o eu ser capaz de estar numa sauna! Geralmente entro em pânico porque é tão claustrofóbico, mas dessa vez aguentei-me lá dentro e até consegui relaxar. Talvez por causa da vista bonita. Ou porque estava tão cansada e precisava disto. Também gostei imenso da combinação quente + frio no tanque e senti todo o stress a ser libertado aos poucos.

The meals were included and after the spa we could enjoy a nice dinner and a glass of champagne to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. I joked with J. saying that we should celebrate 1(1) year(s) as we have been together for almost 11 years, which feels more meaningful than to celebrate just the time as a married couple. At the same time, it's perfect to have an excuse for a break in March, when we are tired of the long dark winter months. 

As refeições estavam incluídas e depois do spa, tivemos direito a um jantar delicioso e uma taça de champanhe para celebrar o nosso primeiro aniversário de casamento. Meio a brincar disse ao J. que deveríamos comemorar 1(1) ano(s) porque estamos juntos há quase 11 anos, o que parece mais significativo do que celebrar apenas o tempo de casados. Por outro lado é perfeito ter uma desculpa para fazer uma pausa em Março, quando estamos cansados dos longos e escuros meses de inverno.

There was a lot of art in the hotel. I thought this one was very interesting...

Havia muitos objectos de arte no hotel. Achei este muito interessante...

We will definitely do this again! A break in your own city is a great idea!
Vamos voltar a fazer isto outra vez! Um para fora cá dentro na mesma cidade é uma ideia brilhante!

Tanum's drawings - Sweden

Tanum is a Swedish municipality located at about 2h north of Gothenburg and most known for its collection of pre-historic drawings. Everywhere on earth, people have carved and painted on rocky hills and in caves. In Tanum, people from the Bronze Age have carved thousands of pictures into the landscape's mountain hills. According to Tanum's museum website, this prehistoric picture treasure is so rich and unique that it's one of the world's collections of cultural heritage on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Tanum é um município sueco localizado a cerca de 2h a norte de Gotemburgo e é conhecido pela sua coleção de desenhos pré-históricos. Sabe-se que os seres humanos esculpiram e pintaram em rochas e cavernas um pouco por toda o planeta. Em Tanum, pessoas da Idade do Bronze esculpiram milhares de desenhos nas colinas da paisagem. De acordo com o site do museu de Tanum, este tesouro de imagens pré-históricas é tão rico e único que é uma das coleções do mundo que é Património Mundial da UNESCO.

Viewpoint 

We drove to Tanum and right off the exit of the highway we were welcomed with a nice lookout point overlooking the green fields of the region. 

Fomos de carro até Tanum e na saída da autoestrada fomos logo recebidos com um miradouro com vista para os campos verdes da região.

 

 "...a simple hammer stone straight on the rock..." / "...uma simples pedra martelo contra a rocha..." 

At the Tanum Museum - these are the four locations where visitors can see and learn more about the pre-historic drawings. There are many more drawings spread all over the region and probably many still to be discovered.

No Museu de Tanum - estes são os quatro locais onde os visitantes podem ver e aprender mais sobre os desenhos pré-históricos. Há muitos outros desenhos espalhados por toda a região e, provavelmente, muitos ainda por serem descobertos.

Vitlycke

 

The drawings represent scenes of daily life, like a wedding, fights, hunting, animals, boats and others.  The boats or ships are the most common item found in the drawings. They can have different shapes and sizes and are connected both to travels and to religious events, representing a trip to the other side. 

Os desenhos representam cenas da vida quotidiana, como um casamento, lutas, caça, animais, barcos, entre outros. Os barcos ou navios são o item mais comum encontrado nos desenhos. Podem ter diferentes formas e tamanhos e estão ligados tanto a viagens como a eventos religiosos, representando uma viagem para o outro lado.

Asperberget

 

The locations are not all that close to each other and the best is to have a car and drive around (or start early and walk around the whole day). Maps and other useful information can be found at Tanum's museum, as well as a cafe. In each location, we found signs explaining the drawings in general and some of the depicted items in more detail.  

Os locais não são assim tão próximos uns dos outros e o melhor é ir de carro de uns para os outros (ou começar cedo e caminhar o dia todo). Mapas e outras informações úteis podem ser encontradas no museu de Tanum, que tem também um café para quando o cansaço apertar. Em cada local, encontramos placas com explicações sobre os desenhos em geral e detalhes para alguns dos itens representados.

 Litsleby and its famous 2,3 meters warrior, the largest item displayed.

Litsleby e o seu famoso guerreiro de 2,3 metros, a maior gravura da região. 

 

The drawings are not naturally red, but they are painted to become more visible to visitors and researchers. We found also some painted in white and some au naturel. The decision of painting them is not unanimous, as some people claim the paint accelerates the erosion process. Others claim that if they are not painted, they are not appreciated because one can barely see them. That is, in fact, true. The large picture below shows a rock full of drawings without paint, which are barely noticeable. 

Os desenhos não são naturalmente vermelhos, mas são pintados para se tornarem mais visíveis para os visitantes e pesquisadores. Encontramos também alguns pintados de branco e alguns ao natural. A decisão de pintá-los não é unanime, já que há quem afirme que a tinta acelera o processo de erosão. Outros no entanto, dizem que se não foram pintados, também não são apreciados porque mal se vêm. Isso é de facto verdade. A foto grande em baixo mostra uma rocha cheia de desenhos ao natural, quase imperceptíveis.

Last but not least, there's also a replica of a village from the Bronze age, where visitors could have a better idea about daily life at that time. Humans were definitely more resistant then. Can you imagine spending a winter in one of those huts? In Sweden?

Por último, mas não menos interessante, há também uma réplica de uma aldeia da idade do bronze, onde os visitantes podem ter uma ideia melhor sobre a vida quotidiana dessa altura. O ser humano era de certeza mais resistente nessa altura. Já imaginaram passar um inverno numa destas cabanas? Na Suécia?

I hope you enjoyed visiting some pre-historic drawings with me. It's even better in reality so if you ever find yourself near Gothenburg don't hesitate and pay Tanum a visit. 

Espero que tenham gostado de visitar estas gravuras pré-históricos comigo. Na realidade são ainda melhores, por isso, se alguma vez estiverem perto de Gotemburgo, façam uma visita a Tanum.