Day 76: Summer Fever

I have a severe case of summer fever today. It had nothing to do with a gorgeous, sun-filled day, since it, in fact, was not a particularly nice day. In fact, today started off with an overcast sky and tear-inducing, wind, not to mention that it just felt plain cold. I usually take the subway or the bus to work, depending on my mood and partly the weather. On really beautiful days I sometimes cannot bear to go undergr0und to ride the subway. The force of the sun's rays are like a gravitational pull that move my feet toward the bus stop. It feels good to take the bus on sunny days. I can look out the windows and see the gorgeous, blue sky and, as we go over västerbron (the bridge that connects the islands of Södermalm and Kungsholmen), I can look out at the skyline of the old town area, city hall and the row of colorful buildings along the waterfront of Kungsholmen. It is a quite spectacular view actually. I took the bus earlier this week and as I looked down into the water from the bridge I noticed that there is only a scattering of floating, ice planks left in the water. The ice is nearly all melted. A sure sign of spring.

Speaking of spring, let me get back to my summer fever. It was fairly quiet at the office today so I took the opportunity to look at an online map of Stockholm and the surrounding area. With the weather starting to warm up more and more I am finding the itch to widen our circle of exploration in the Stockholm area. The archipelago is so vast and there are literally thousands of islands to explore and become acquainted with. We have some friends coming to visit soon and they are fairly outdoorsy so I am thinking ahead and looking for activities to do with them while they are here.

One area on the map in the outer archipelago reminded me of a photo I came across last year. It was a photo of a tiny, rock island and the only thing on the island was a kayak. It's owner had apparently gone for a swim. The island itself was probably twenty feet in diameter, if that, and surrounded by ocean and other small islands like it. It was stunning. I tried very hard to figure out where this island was but to no avail. Summer came and went. We took excursions to other places and I promptly forgot about my lovely, secluded, rock island.

Today I found it. I found many islands that looked nearly identical and at the same time I discovered a company that does day-trip, kayaking excursions out to places just like this. It was like magic. The itching and fever to go there grew stronger and stronger with each new discovery of how I could get there. The funny thing however, is that this summer fever is not like the spring fever you feel when you are completely burned out and feel the need to play (hooky) and have fun. It is more like a burst of excitement filled with a renewed energy and zest for adventure. I am inspired by my discoveries and I can't wait to plan my next excursion. For now, I'm going to go do a little happy dance and celebrate my summer fever.