40 years of Awesomeness

I found it really hard to imagine what my life would be like if forty years ago my beloved Göteborg hadn't seen the birth of this man, for all that his soul - both put black on white and expressed through his amazing voice - has meant and means to me.
So, all I can say today is...Tack så mycket, mamma och pappa Fridén :) and...

Grattis på födelsedagen! ♥

"Vi va di ballare con noi?" ♥

I will never forget.
I will never forget the moment when, while performing "The Cave", You stopped playing to listen to us all singing out loud.
I will never forget the sensation of not simply being at a concert, where You are the ones supposed to play and sing and we are the ones who listen and dance and jump and scream and plause. That sensation that it is us actually singing with You and You singing with us, not to us or for us. With us. Like one. Thousands of people and all is one. Feeling, not just listening. Almost forgetting to have a body which moves by itself, one with the rhythm of the drum...or was it our heart? It doesn't matter. Everything was pure Energy.
I will never forget Winston's infinite sweetness in trying to speak Italian all the time. I will never forget his "Vi va di ballare con noi?" ("Do you wanna dance with us?")
And I will never forget Marcus and Ben's tries too.
I will never forget that warmth that prevented me from stop smiling, even when some tears came out.
I will never forget the smile that came up to my lips when, entering the toilet of a motorway service station and singing the vocalism from "The Holland Road", I heard another voice from behind the wall singing the same.
But this, all of this, it's not something you can easily describe in mortal words.
So all I can say is... 

Thank You, Sirs!

And today, I just woke up to this new day as after a long, bright and shiny dream, my eyes smiling to the sun outside the window and to the one inside my heart.
It is still hard to realize what I experienced last night, to believe it has really happened to me, to us.
But a tired voice that still cannot stop singing even while sleeping, purple hematomas on my hands that clapped so hard all the time and a torn ticket with "Mumford and Sons" written on it in black letters say it all.
But I will keep on spending my day in this dreamy mood, and it is okay this way :) 




And a big "Thank you" also goes to my journey and life fellows: my ebony-haired girl (soul sister with checked shirt and shiny eyes) and my bearded man (the guy behind good shots even without an appropriate camera). You are beautiful. ♥

     

"We will run and scream
You will dance with me
We'll fullfill our dreams
And we'll be free
We will be who we are
And they'll heal our scars
Sadness will be far away"
                                                      (Mumford and Sons, "Not with haste")

The Finland Diaries - episode IV; epilogue

Silver sky, rain, hot beverages, soft and warm sweaters, the flight of lonely seagulls...it all always makes me feel kinda nostalgic.
Ah, here we go.


September 3rd 2012, Tuesday

After our last breakfast at Hermanni’s, we went out to take the 8.12 train to Helsinki. Not even to mention that, the day of our leaving Kuopio, it was sunny. Well, we had a really pleasant journey, but in watching the amazing Finnish landscapes outside the window, holding hands, while having coffee and eating cookies, I couldn’t help melancholy to finally take over. It would have been the last time my eyes would have caressed those trees, those fields, those lakes, those skies, those “meadows of Heaven” I’ve been longing for for years. I filled my eyes, my heart and my memory with every single leaf, every single cloud, every single water mirror that ran away out of the window.  
However, a couple of weird dudes came across and dissolved my melancholic and nostalgic thoughts. 

The first one was a young man askin’ us to follow him into the restaurant car for he wanted to talk to us. We kindly refused, for the whole matter seemed quite suspicious, he said it was okay and went back to his seat. But before getting off, he returned to us,  passionately saying that “Jesus loved us both” and blessing us.

The second one was an old man who passed near us and when we looked at him, he just mumbled something in Finnish that we obviously couldn’t understand. When we asked him “Sorry?” he burst out laughing and said “HOHO, it’s all okay, DON’T PANIC! DON’T PANIC!” and went away. 

At 12.48 we arrived in Helsinki and…here we go, let me quote old dear In Flames and say: “Enter Tragedy”.
We were happily walking the city center streets, on our way to the Market Place, already tasting the delicious food from our dear stand from Rovaniemi when my bearded fellow realized...he had lost his wallet!!!!!!!!!!!!!! While he managed to maintain a rational calm, I completely got into panic and despair, for the next day we would have had to take the plane back.  He kept on saying he may have had to stay another couple of days to fix things while I should have taken the plane home. I kept on refusing. And panicking, panicking, panicking. He called the embassy and they told him the address, but he couldn’t understand it clearly so we had to go to the tourist information office at the station. The guy has been very kind and helpful and after a wrong tram and endless searching with our suitcases and heavy bags…we finally saw the three-coloured flag! But it wasn’t over: once at the embassy, we found the gate closed. While we didn’t know what to do for it seemed offices were closed even though they must have been opened for at least another couple of hours, we saw a sign tellin’ us to search for another gate. Finally we were admitted in. The man at the embassy has been very kind and helped us. Maybe he had some pity for my miserable figure sitting in the armchair, with my torn jeans and my face wasted by the long crying and a bottle of Muumin drink in my hands (maybe he must have felt pity mostly for the latter...Gee, that stuff is horrible!)
Well, at 3.30 pm we were outside the embassy, the bf holding a temporary travel document :D …I just threw my arms round his neck and…felt so relieved!
Even my appetite came back (my bf’s one never went away, of course!) so we went to the Market Place and had our reindeer meatballs with roasted vegetables and garlic sauce. So nice of the girl to remember us :)
Tired as hell we went to the hostel to do the check-in and leave the heavy burdens in our room, then again out to enjoy the city for the last time. We explored a new portual area which was very relaxing and wonderfully coloured under the almost-sunset lights :) we took a lot of pics and laughed and smiled…and I couldn’t but feel happy, even if we were about to leave. Happy ‘cause for the moment we were there. Happy ‘cause those laughs will forever echo on those shores and in our hearts. 

On our way to the city centre, we stopped at RKioski for a coffee. Here we met an unpleasant young drunkard who we tried to avoid once out of the shop but always seemed to come across our way :/ I do declare I was kinda scared, but the streets were so full of people, so full of life, so we went on and spent a very pleasant evening, strolling around among the Finns and enjoying the city life for the last time. 

 

      

Before returning to the hostel, we stopped at a KMarket to buy two yoghurts (blackberry for me, strawberry for the bf) and here we met a really cool shop assistant :D she asked us if we liked Finland ‘cause “they have Metal music” and told us she was neighbour with Ville Valo  and, noticing my Nightwish t-shirt, that her family name is Turunen, even though she has nothing to do with Nightwish’ former lead singer. Awesome girl! :D

Once in our room, we ate our yoghurts (yummiii :9), showered and then…to bed, for the alarm would have rung at 4 the next morning!

September 5th 2012, Wednesday

I was dreaming about a bakery selling all sorts of cakes and muffins at extra-low prices (I’m incorrigible, I know) when the alarm rang at 4 am. Outside it was still dark and it was quite hard to get up and face the way to the station, walking the desert streets, avoiding the eyes of everyone who came across (especially when they were four loud men, probably drunk), trying not to attire attention (very difficult when you have to drag trolley suitcases behind you on a stony pavement) and finding comfort in the presence of the merchants settling their stands down at the Market Place.

Few people were at the station when we arrived, but at least someone was there. We would have had to wait our bus to the airport just outside the station. Luckily, other people were waiting for the 5.45 am bus, for…the young short drunkard (the one of the previous evening, remember?) was there!!! At the hostel, looking down from the window at the empty dark street we told each other, joking: “Guess if we go down and meet the drunkard again!”.

At 6.30 circa we were at the airport and could finally have some breakfast.
After breakfast, time for check-in and then…the 8.30 am flight.
While a melancholic sun had finally, harshly risen among the clouds, I said Goodbye to beautiful Finland. 

After some waiting we finally got on the car to the airport parking just to discover that…it was not starting!!!!!!!!! D: We couldn’t believe it. Not after what had happened the previous day. Stuck with a car not starting, under the rain, trying to push it with no results. Luckily the guys from the parking staff have been very very kind and helped us recharging the battery, so we could leave :)
We stopped at the Autogrill to have some luncheon. Here the guy serving the sandwiches believed us foreigners and tried to speak to us in an improvised English (“Ticket…ticket.”). Of course we stood his game.

The rest of the journey back went on relaxing, tender and funny, accompanied by lots of coffee, music and chocolate wafers, among the green of our enchanting mountains . At least some more Mother Nature’s beauty before coming back to town. 

 

"I read to see in the mirror of stories my own transformation"

There's nothing to do. It's something only books can give you. And it reflects on everything around you, and makes it shine with a new light. Everytime.
The book I'm talking about is this novel by Danish writer Torben Guldberg. He's a new entry in my library, my new little precious jewel. God, he's so talented. He lefts me totally amazed in front of his pages, stunned yet perfectly at ease inside the worlds he created.

And this book is...Oh. ♥  So inspiring. So exciting. So moving. So nourishing.
It's like being totally absorbed in a world you've always been into and yet supping up from it little juicy drops of new consciousness.
And as Torben (yes, I call him by name 'cause I use to feel artists that touch me so much as close friends) writes, I love to read "to see in the mirror of stories my own transformation".

And I'm also glad it finds a particularly fertile ground here in this little red head, at the moment. These days I'm feeling so over-sensible, receptive and hyper-active and still relaxed that I cannot but feel blessed and say "Thank you". 

Maybe this is because I finally got relaxed for the Ancient Philosophy exam I had been preparing for months has gone and went well. Maybe it is because this exam session is over and now it is time to rationalize and prepare the ground for the last shots. Maybe it is because I spent the last days of study burning with a growing love for knowledge. And maybe this is because of the nice talk I had the other Saturday with two wise people, in front of a cup of Guinness and to the sound of the Lumineers and Mumford & Sons; it made me wake up so inspired and motivated, the next morning. I don't know. I think I'll just enjoy it. But keep on asking. 


And even more wonderful is to have such a partner in life. It may sound simple but I really like our relationship. And there's an aspect I particularly like. The way between us love is not only made with hearts and bodies, but also with the mind. The mind. Under the rain, walking endlessly and talking about philosophic perspectives, science, religion, universal and human history, geography and everything, sharing opinions, ideas and points of view, actually making philosophy and actually exercising scientific attitude in our small way, growing up together. ♥