Bureälven, or the Bure River, cuts a swath through our little town, passing not more than a couple of hundred meters from where we live. It’s always high in the spring, of course, but this year is something out of the ordinary. It’s covered nearly all the bridges in the park next-door to our house, and it’s risen over its banks to seep into the grocery-store parking lot, as you can see to the left in this first picture.
These next shots are from our little walk through the park this evening. It’s almost unrecognizable in places.
Just for reference, this picture is from the last day of school a few years ago. The bridge in the background is the same bridge that’s in most of the pictures from today.
Holy shit. Better get your arm floaties out!
Holy crap (other word was already taken)! How endlessly fascinating it is to see a glimpse of your corner of the world. Looks like a fairyland in the “floodless” picture. I do see all the snow is gone (floating away in the river wild now). Are you within walking distance of the grocery store? Lots of beautiful birch trees. I guess no picnics in the park tomorrow (Happy Mother’s Day!)…is it celebrated the same day/at all in Sweden?
Sarah – it’s magical in the spring and summer but boy do we pay for it in the winter! It’s like two different places and the Swedes themselves are like two different species. In the dark part of the year they scurry home every day and go into hibernation in order to cope with the next dark day then in the spring all these beautiful people reappear like the phoenix! Neighbours nod as they drive into their drive and then in the spring they stop to talk over the hedge!
Mother’s Day is celebrated next Sunday (I think) in Sweden … it’s always a challenge for me to remember to wish my own mom a happy day on the proper day!
We are in walking distance from the store — the park is really all that lies between it and our house; it’s no more than three or four hundred yards away, I’d guess. When the trees aren’t leaved, we can see the river from our porch.
Maybe it’s because there’s so much more winter up here than in the southern parts of Sweden, but I haven’t noticed the Swedes up here wanting to hibernate during the winter. They’re out in all sorts of weather, always making the most of it.
Thanks Kathleen and Beverly…such wonderful looks into Swedish living. Wish I could say it was quite as interesting in the Chicago suburbs. Although…we are having a nice, sunny afternoon (when the summer humidity and heat sets in, that’s another story!.