From Borås we headed west to Goteborg, and then back out a short commuter-hop to Partille. I’ve long heard of the existence of relatives from my father’s side who live in Sweden, but this was the first time I’ve had a chance to get out to the west side of the country to meet them. We had a lovely visit — it was like finding long-lost family!
Udo is a newly retired journalist, about the age of my aunt Rasma, and his son Alexander is about to start his third year at university in London studying psychology. (Udo’s brother Peter is about my dad’s age; they were childhood penpals and have met a couple of times since.) If I have this right, Udo’s dad mom and my grandma were first cousins, which makes Udo my second cousin once removed (syssling bort när?).
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- Alexander, Udo, and lydia
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- three relatives, three iPads
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- on the way up to the viewpoint
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- view of Partille
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- more view
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- mini castle at the top of the hill
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- Mills explains the difference between billiards and snooker
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- view from the back balcony
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- Udo and lydia at the train station
Their apartment is only a couple minutes’ walk from the train station, a super-convenient location, while also a pleasing one with a beautiful green view out the back balcony. We were welcomed with a yummy midday dinner and spent a few cordial hours visiting and seeing a little of Partille. We all hiked the short way up to the top of the nearby bluff to see out over the town and point out some local landmarks.
It was a little bit of a hit-and-run visit, since we opted to travel all the way to the hostel in our next town on that same evening rather than uprooting ourselves on more consecutive days. But I’m looking forward to next time — either when I get a chance to visit Goteborg for real, or when Udo comes out to Uppland to see a concert at ESI, or both. Plus now I have another friend to visit in London.
(Still fussing with photo gallery options. Maybe this simple way isn’t any more annoying than the other?)
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