Hallå!
Time for the last of my Scotland trip posts (well, there might be one more with my iphone photos later...).
We start this the moment I stepped out from Pollok Park on wednesday when I had the day all to myself.
I headed into Glasgow city for a much needed cup of coffee. But first I had to find a taxi to take me there because I had strong suspicions I had walked out of the map Jennie made me.

Add to my list of dream homes. An old brick house with huge trees infront of it, preferably clustered together into a tiny little park.

Found a taxi, found a cafe in the middle of St Enoch Square. I was only supposed to sit there for an hour or so but ended up in a comfy armchair for almost three hours. I realised I was super tired from my long walk and all the bright light in my eyes. When I take photos I squint with my eyes to focus and get really sore eyes from all the concentration. Yeah, I have the eyes of a true redhead- Crazily sensitive. So I sat in my corner of the café and sipped coffee, used their wifi, skyped with David and rested. When I was ready to go it had started raining. Well, I had a theatre show to attend, so out I went.

Walked along the beautiful river.

Love this photo so much. I like how it sort of looks like the two boys in the corner are kissing. I don't think they were a couple at all but the angle makes it look like that. Sweet, anyhow.

Stepped onto the bridge to see the view.

Love the reflections!

A Dalek under water! This mural is so cool!

Found the bridge I was heading for and it took me ages to cross it because I mean, just look at this view!

One more, just cause I can.

Looking the other way.

I just couldn't resist taking a photo of this really sad and ugly buildning. Glasgow is such a clash of old, beautiful houses and new, really ugly ones.

And then there's the abandoned ones that I really like the look of.

I was early to the theatre and walked around the block for a while. The glistening water on the ground makes for great photos, I think.

Blue door and brick wall.

The theatre was really pretty and the set was amazing but I was a little bit disapointed with the plays. It was two shorter plays by Caryl Churchill who I love. The first one, Far away, had an amazing set but it was actually too good if you get what I mean. The focus was entirely on the coolness of the set and when the acting wasn't up to the same standards the experience lost a lot of the excitement. The second play, Seagulls, had less cool gadgets but much better acting so I was glad I went anyway.
I was super tired when I came home. It had been a great day!

Thursday morning!
This was my last day in Scotland and we had many fun plans for the day. We started with breakfast at The Brooklyn Café and decided to really go all in with the breakfast choices.

Hello!

First: Very Berry Smoothie!

And then. French toasts with bacon. Oh my gosh. So tasty.

After our large breakfast we made our way to Glasgow city centre for some wedding gown fitting. We went to House of Frasier where we had an appointment. My wedding dress is NOT going to look at all like those Cinderella gowns but it was really fun to try them on, and make the lady working there feel awkward when she tried to ask me questions like "how did he propose" "what's the theme of your wedding" and I failed to answer satisfactory to every single question. I realised this is so not my world. I can't believe how many rules there seems to be around weddings. We are going to break most of them probably, and we'll love it!
I looked like a Disney princess and was actually quite surprised of how well they suited me. They didn't allow any photos taken in there, so sadly there is no evidence of my amazing looks but you'll just have to trust me when I say: I looked fantastic and very royal, indeed.
So when that was out of the way we went to the fabric store and chose the fabrics for my dress. Nothing white, no sparkling beads, nothing boring and traditional for me, thank you very much. No, my dress is going to be amazing in an entirely different way. And you'll just have to wait until august to see it.

In the evening it was time for one of Jennie's sewing classes and I tagged along. Gorgeous house!

After her class ended and we had measured me in every way possible we went to the cemetery Necropolis. Sadly it was closed and weird people lurked around in the dark so we stayed on the outside. We have to go there in august when we're back.

Like straight out of a horror movie.

This wall is all that's left of a really old house that is now protected by law and can't be torn down. The houses further down the street had to be built behind the wall. Such a cool way to handle a lone standing wall in the middle of the city!
At this point my camera battery decided to die so no more pictures of the evening. We went to a bar and had a few beers before we went home. Went to bed at 1.30 and set my alarm to 3.45 because at 4.15 a taxi took me to the airport. I left Scotland super tired but very happy.
It was such a great trip and it was lovely to see Jennie again after almost ten years. She is one amazing woman!
Today it's apparently Sweden's national day. We haven't really celebrated it here before but a few years ago they decided to make the day a holiday so now most people are off work today. Not me though. I'm on my way to work soon but I don't really see the point of celebrating anyway. Sweden is a great country but so are many others. It looks summery with all the flags blowing in the breeze againts a blue sky though.
Hope you have a lovely day however you spend it.

Hello, hello!
As promised, I'm back today with a huge post with photos from my two and a half hour walk in Pollok Park in Glasgow.
It was such amazing light everywhere in the park and the leaves were amazingly green. It's hard to understand when you look at theses photos that I havent enhanced the green colour in any of them. In some of them I have even lowered the saturation for a more dramatic effect, but you will understand soon why I feel I need to explain that I have NOT enhanced the green in any photo. It was like I had stepped into a world where green had exploded everywhere and made babies with the light so that everything bathed in a wonderful glowing greenness.
When I was a little girl I used to love to find hidden places, build forts and decide that a especially beautiful glade was my personal kingdom.
This place gave me that exact feeling. I just wanted to stay there forever.
I hope that this post can give you a little bit of that joy and freedom that I felt walking around in Pollok Park.

The entrance from afar. I didn't know at all what awaited me.

I stepped into a fairytale forest.

The forest ground was covered in blue flowers.

I reached an opening with a large pond.

The water was like a dark mirror.

This dog seemed to love this place almost as much as I did. And you see the mirror effect...

...the world is upside down!

Gosh, could the mood be more like a fairytale!? I don't think so. I could sit with my face in my hands staring for hours on end into this photo on my computer screen. I want to be able to zap myself there and just lay there where the light is hitting the ground and just breath and look up into the tree tops.

This large tree had a carpet of blue flowers surrounding it. It was impossible to capture the entire tree in one photo because I had to leave the path and climb a little hill to reach it and then you got too close to it. Doesn't it look like somebody sprinkled flowers at the base of the tree? Or maybe all these blue flowers just couldnt resist the power of the tree and flew across the forrest to gather around the tree?
Yeah, it makes my head spin with fairytale ideas.

A secret Rhododendron path. Love how the ground is covered with petals.

A rhododendron tree!

I have now added a rhododendron tree to my list of Flower trees i need to have in my garden when I grow up (other trees included on the list: magnolia, cherry, lilacs, jasmin...).

Some very large rhododendron bushes.
I might need one or two of these in my imaginary garden as well...

Walked past Pollok House.

Said hello to some cows.

A bundle of calf.

Every road should have trees on each side.
If I become President of the World that is one of the things I would make happen. It could be my slogan.
Vote for Lotta Losten. "Every road should have trees on each side."

I found a tree with weird and beautiful bark. Such amazing patterns!

I made a new friend who let me come really close before he took off.

A large uprooted tree. The swedish word for this is Rotvälta. I think it is my favourite swedish word at the moment. Sounds so folk tale-ish. Rotvälta. Rrrrrrotvälta. ROTVÄLTA!

Turned right on a small hidden path and saw this. Oh my gosh. That light!

Walked closer. The green light drew me in, it was impossible to resist.

Ah. Sigh.
I don't think I can describe the feeling this place gave me. I think this must be how religious people feel when they walk into an especially beautiful church and they feel peace and freedom and connection to something larger than yourself. Trees have always been really special for me. I cried when our landlord fell some trees in our garden when I was a kid. A few days ago I heard from my mother that they recently had to take down the two really old and huge trees that was left in their garden. They were completely empty inside. It felt like somebody I knew closely had died.
It's just that powerful to me.
And as sad as I can be to see a tree being taken down, I can be immensely happy to be surrounded with trees like these. They make me all bubbly with laughter.

Put the camera on the ground and turned on the timer and then I ran back and forth to take self portraits because I had to see myself from the outside in all this green light. It felt like I needed to see how small I was in comparison to the trees. I am very small.

Eventually I had to drag myself away from the green path. Spotted a clearing through the drapes of branches and leaves.

Put the camera on the ground again. Focused on a branch, apparently. Made a camera stand of sticks and stones for the next picture.

Lurking behind a tree.

Hugging a tree.

Running through the forrest like my life depended on it.
Haha, I love this effect! It really looks like I'm super fast. I tell you, I was not.

Drawn by the light, gazing into the future?

And I'm gone.

I left the park and it felt like I had traveled through time and space.
In august I will return to Scotland and I will bring David with me. I need to show him this place then. The trees will probably not be as spring green by then but I can't wait to be back!
Until then: I will stare at these photos for hours. Some of them might even look lovely as large prints, don't you think?

A weird feeling just hit me. I almost forgot I was in my apartment with the city just outside the window. Traveled through space and time to Pollok Park.
Soon I will need to switch my mind back to Gothenburg time again though, because I have theatre rehearsals in less than an hour!

Hej hej!
I'm home from Scotland! I actually arrived in Sweden on friday but I've been working the entire weekend (one 12 and one 21 hour shift, phew) and came off work yesterday morning so it feels like I went directly from Scotland to work and only came up over the surface somewhere around noon yesterday.
My camera was (of course) filled with photos from my trip so I thought I would show you some of them. I had planned to make one large blog post from my entire trip but earlier today I realised it needed to be two, and thirty minutes ago I decided three is much better. So get ready for the first of three photo filled Scotland posts!

I arrived in Glasgow on late monday afternoon. I went straight to my friend Jennie's studio where she was preparing for her sewing class. Her students dropped in shortly after I did and I spent the time eating cookies, drinking coffee, and taking photos of the amazing house where Jennie's studio is located.

I want a window like this!

Interior detail from Jennie's apartment.
A bit fuzzy, but I just couldn't resist this one. I mean, all the things you need: a blow dryer, hairspray and a bum.

On tuesday we had breakfast at The Brooklyn Café next to where Jennie and her boyfriend lives. Here is Jennie.

And here is Jennie in a gif.

After that we walked to her studio again. Passed three blue doors.
The reason for my trip to Scotland is that Jennie is the one who's going to make my wedding dress. She is so very talented! Since it's not going to be a traditional wedding dress at all I knew Jennie was the girl to do it. She is one busy girl with lots of sewing classes and I was happy to tag along and be a part of her daily life.

No parking.

Scotland was amazingly green. I mean. Yeah. SO green.

Inside Jennie's studio.

Jennie surveying her student's work.

On our way into town we walked past many houses like this one. So pretty.

This is one wobbly fence.

We went to the subway because Jennie told me it's the world's most silly subway system and I needed to see it. It's tiny and goes in a small circle. One train goes one way, the other one goes the other. And everything is in lovely brown and orange colours that only ever existed in the 1970's.

In the evening Jennie had another sewing class across town and I decided to hang out at a café instead. Drank lots of coffee, used the wireless internet, spoke with David on skype and rested my feet.

We met up afterwards and went to the Glad Café and drank cider and planned the rest of my time in Scotland before we went home after a long day.

On Wednesday I had the day to myself. Jennie had a funeral to attend and she equipped me with a map (that she printed from Google maps and taped together in an awesome way).
I was on my way to a place close to Jennie's apartment...

...Pollok Park!
I took most of the photos from my entire trip in this park. It was just lovely.
I walked around for two and a half hours and I will show you all of that tomorrow. Prepare yourself for the most amazing lush green you've ever seen. EVER.
Okay, I won't over hype you but make sure to pop by again tomorrow.
I'm on my way out the door soon for an evening walk/run. More walking than running, but I'm getting there!
See you tomorrow!

My mom came to visit me and David this weekend. We had planned for lots and lots of fleamarkets and walking around in the city. The weather prognosis for the weekend had been really bleak with a lot of rain but that turned out to be beautifully wrong because the sun was shining all day, every day.

On my way to the train station to meet up with my mother.

Stopped for half a second to take this picture and noticed afterwards that the toothless man in the middle looked straight at me with that great smile. I love when that happens!

I had to show her Antikhallarna, of course.

And the lilacs had just started to bloom.

When we came home after an entire day walking around town we started with the old jigsaw puzzle I bought at a fleamarket a while ago. This is from the late 50's or early 60's. My mother and I collect these old jigsaw puzzles because they are not at all like the ones they sell nowadays. For one thing, there is no picture on the box so you have no idea how it will turn out. And each and every one of the pieces are different in size and shape.

We moved into the kitchen.
(Please, ignore the paper bags with recycling.)

Just before midnight we were finished. And this is how it looked in the morning light when I had to move it to make room for breakfast. Pretty, isn't it!?

On sunday it was time for Megaloppis! It's a giant annual fleamarket that takes over an entire part of town.

David with sunshine in his eyes.

Protected from sunburnt head.

Stuff everywhere!

Love how this girl had bought a disco ball.

We met up with my dad and a friend of his because they had been in town over the weekend for their annual meetup. Every spring for 43 years now a bunch of old friends have met up in Gothenburg for a party, isn't that great! Here you can see my mom on the picture talking to my dad's friend while dad is buying yet another book, probably.

This man had made a great find!

Now I have to go, Scotland is calling my name!