Escape


Back in May we had decided that we were so fed up with the all-pervasive independence referendum that, whatever the result, we wanted to escape  the day after.  And so we booked cheap flights to Sweden, and steeled ourselves to get up at 3.30 a.m. on 19 September.  

There was no time to turn on news and hear the progress of the outcome before our taxi arrived.  Votes were being counted during the night by council region of Scotland - you can see the breakdown of the final result here.   Thankfully our driver was of the taciturn variety - I had been dreading a chatty  journey with a running commentary on the latest results to come in.  At the airport people were glued to their mobiles and tablets.  Halfway through my breakfast porridge in the Italian Cafe Nero (love that particularly Scottish combination), I had to go to the chemist and buy earplugs to block out the constant reading out of results around me.  All I could bear was to know the final result, and then just to move on, for better or worse.

We were just boarding the plane in Edinburgh as the result began to be firming up, and my husband showed me a picture on his mobile of a glum-looking leader of the nationalist party, but it wasn't until we arrived in Gothenburg that it was a definite 'No' to independence.  We had left Edinburgh in the same fog and drizzle that had hung low over the city for the past few days, and we emerged from that darkness into the clear light of the northern autumn.  I think I will always remember walking across the tarmac at Gothenburg airport into the low morning sun, and feeling the lifting of a great weight.

During our visit we spent a day with a Swedish friend at her summer hut, catching up on several years' worth of news and watching boats sailing through the archipelago.  It was the escape we needed.



Comments

  1. You chose a beautiful place for your escape. We watched the news over here too and I thought of you. So glad it turned out as it did.

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    1. Thank you Sara, it certainly has attracted world-wide attention.

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  2. That would be a great resolve to get away from the news. I am glad that things went they way of your persuasion. I sometimes would like to move away to get away from our President but he seems to be everywhere. Sweden would be a great change and I am glad you pulled it off without any problems. I hope you returned a lot refreshed.

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    1. Haha Larry, politicians do have an annoying knack of being everywhere, don't they?
      I am very much refreshed. My husband is still there - he had more holiday than me and if the vote had been in favour of independence he could have used the time to start exploring moving to Sweden permanently. As it is he's enjoying some more holiday.

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  3. I visited Gothenburg many years ago and loved it there! A perfect place to escape the troubles of the world . The cabin looks wonderful with that Swedish red paint colour.

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    1. The Swedish red is wonderful, isn't it? I have a Swedish red paint story that I will relate on my Slow Growing blog soon...

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  4. Good for you!!! I thought of you as I heard the news.......

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  5. Good for you!!! I thought of you as I heard the news.......

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    1. Thank you! I am still overdue my visit to you. Stand by for a deluge of comments!

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  6. So nice. Can almost feel the breeze on the deck. Here's to the lifting of great weights.

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    1. It is a physical as well as a mental lifting, and the whole country is rather shell-shocked. People I know who voted against independence (and I think I only know one who voted for) describe feeling relief but certainly not triumph.

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  7. Nice to hear that you were able to break away for an escape.

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    1. Autumn is particularly lovely in Sweden, with the trees beginning to turn colour, and a very clear light. Fewer tourists as well. One of the things we're looking forward to when we (eventually) retire is being able to pop over to Europe in the autumn a lot more.

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  8. While I can't imagine ever wanting to go away from Scotland, I can appreciate the lift a little time in new surroundings can give you! I think my favorite escape would be from Inverness to Perth. And then I'd take a little escape to the Orkney islands. Then I'd escape to the Isle of Lewis, then to Skye. Then I'd escape to Glencoe, and then perhaps a small escape to the Isle of Mull. Yeah, that's the escape route I'd love best! 8-D

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  9. Sweden looks lovely. I enjoy the Fall so much with the crispness and fantastic light. I think I will have to take a trip there some time.

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  10. Good to hear from you! Sounds like you had a nice holiday. And the independance vote went in your favor. I can't imagine the huge changes to your country had it passed. In answer to your question, we've had an extremely dry summer here in Oregon, so the mountain snowfields are not as large as usual. We normally have year-round snow and glaciers on the Cascade mountains. Hoping for some precip - and a good snowpack for skiing this winter! :)

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  11. That looks like a lovely part of the world and one I'd love to visit. I can only imagine how tiring that referendum must have become!

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