Down by the river

It took more than 16 hours to drive from Gothenburg to Skellefteå. Driving at night is nothing I would recommend. You don't notice you're sleeping until you're hugging a tree. Somehow we survived to see another day.

Högakusten bridge by night

Since arriving here last Thursday, we've been unpacking, furnishing, re-furnishing, putting up curtains and paintings, assembling furniture, buying new stuff because we threw the old stuff away and generally making a home for ourselves. This intensive working schedule paid off. I'm loving our place so far.

And what I love the most about it, at least from what I've seen in the short time we've lived here, is the fact that 300 meters from here flows the river. To the west lies a path that takes you through the woods and to a dam, which you can cross and follow a similar path back to town. Skellefteå has several bridges, allowing you to shorten or prolong your run. This path is laced with evergreens and birches, which are currently clad in their best autumn colours. J and I went for a run there the other day, on a warm late-summer evening, as the sun was slowly sinking down on the horizon.

This morning I wanted to explore what lies on the east side, towards the sea. The path by the river gave way to tarmac pavement by the road, but the monotony of this straight stretch was balanced by the rustic surroundings. Farms and fields formed pockets of civilisation in the fir forest embracing the whole city and obscured the river, which was nevertheless never more than a few hundred meters away. I ran over a bridge and then back towards town, lost in my thoughts, tired, so tired after the move and all the kilometers I had put behind me, both on my own two legs and while driving. Still, I pushed on. I wanted to test my knee, see what it was made of. I put bridge after bridge behind me and soon I was back home, with 18 more kilometers in my legs.

Life's pretty good right now.