Day 84: Happy Field Goat Mammas (Cud Milk Baby)

Today we had the most wonderful excursion out to an island called Utö. If I had known before how easy it was to get to we would have gone sooner. Our trip began with a stop by Fabrique bakery to pick up some sandwiches for the trip. Then we headed to Söder Station to catch the pendeltåg (commuter train) to Västrahanninge, where we switched to a bus that shuttled us over to Årsta Brygga (the harbor), where we then boarded a ferry that took us out to Utö. The entire trip once we boarded the pendeltåg took just under two hours and we didn't have to worry about parking or directions or anything. Just mindlessly walk to the train station and start the journey. It was fabulous.

Once we arrived to the island we walked over to the Värdshus (the local hotel) to rent a couple of bicycles. The island is in the off-season period, which runs from May-September. Luckily the hotel rents bikes to the few, poor souls like us who venture out in the off-season.

We road our bikes from Utö to another Island to the south called Ålö. The two Islands are connected by a small bridge and the road between them goes from one end of Utö through wooded, country where you pass horses, a military, training base, sheep, a few houses here and there and a couple of mamma goats with their new offspring (so cute!) all the way to the dock at Ålö. When we passed the two mamma goats with their babies we stopped briefly to say hello and look at them. I figured I would take a photo on our way back since we were getting close to the bridge where we planned eat our lunch. And my sandwich was calling my name.

We pedaled away from the farm and I said, "Happy mammas!" Then I said, "happy goat mammas," which then became, "happy field goat mammas." I was having fun with making additions to my phrase and asked my husband to add to it. His contributions were "cud milk baby." At first cud was "chewing-their-cud" but it was shortened to just "cud." Milk came next and then baby. Then he added "happy" making it a repetitive loop. Happy field goat mammas cud milk baby happy field goat mammas cud milk baby happy.... and on and on. It was fun!

The goat mammas were happy. Their babies were happy. We were happy. Everyone was happy.

Unfortunately on the way back they had left the field so we did not get a photo. But later we had a bite to eat at the Värdhus and finished with tea, coffee and scones. Delicious. We will definitely make a return visit to Utö.