No Pain in the Rain

Tues, Oct 3, 2023. Stockholm.

Today at the lake, it was pouring rain. 

I made plans to meet my new swim buddy, H, at her beach, but I was late getting up, so we pushed the time out a bit. Even with that, I was late because Google Maps said it would take me 13 minutes. It took longer. 

By the time I arrived I was all the way soaked and a wee bit cold, but I didn’t care. H was there in her giant swim parka, and we were just as happy to swim in the rain. I struggled to get my wetsuit on because it’s hard to get on and even harder when I’m wet. 

H doesn’t wear anything but a swimsuit, so she was able to get in and start while I struggled to get my gear dialed in. It seems that I have lost one of my gloves, which pisses me off because they were $50! F!

Anyway, I got in without gloves and without my shoes, which was tricky because the ladder has very slippery wooden steps. The water felt amazing; cool, refreshing, clean, alive. There is a children’s pool on the shore, as well as a little swim area for kids formed by the U-shaped docks. 

I love how they make the docks here. It’s very orderly and casual at the same time. And every dock has a lifesaver. 

It’s actually quite nice to be in the water when it’s raining. It’s so peaceful. The water is totally flat. The drops make teeny tiny circles when they hit the water. 

In the distance there was a sailing class taking place. Nice to see the white sails go across the lake. Next to the swim area there were a bunch of big, old boats. I wished that I had a headcam to capture everything I saw. 

H and I swam back and forth, then met in the middled and floated and chatted for a bit. Hugging my buoy and chatting in the water is such a wonderful way to do girl time. It’s like walking and talking, but you get to be in the water. 

The brackish water has a smell that I don’t know how to describe. It’s not a bad smell, but it’s also not a lovely smell. I will have to try harder to figure it out. It’s strange to swim in water that is so clean, yet I can’t see anything. It’s hazy and sage greenish on the top, fading into brown at the bottom. I never see fish or seaweed or anything, and I like it like that.

Stockholm is both small and vast. On the bike I can get from one island to another relatively quickly. In the water, things seem bigger and farther apart. Also, there are so many things to see and do. So it’s a little bit confusing for me. I’m not sure how to visualize it yet. London is massive and sprawling, and I’ve spend so much time there that I have a way of finding my way on the winding streets. But here I haven’t spend enough time to get a solid map in my head. 

Biking is helping me learn my way. And cognitively it’s actually helpful to think of the city in several separate pieces, each with its own highlights and attractions. For me the city is a series of bike paths and swimming beaches. The jellyfish are long gone. It’s getting cold. I could have been in a 3:2 suit today and been fine, and I didn’t wear my gloves today. I wonder how cold it will be when I swim in London in three weeks.

Very happy to have found a like-minded swim buddy here. Also, after two months of only speaking with Swedish people, it’s nice to talk to someone who speaks the same language. Swedes speak English really well, but it varies from generation, from small town to city. There’s an ease with another English-as-first-language speaker that I haven’t had. Subtle, but noticeable. And there are loads of cultural differences that I’m missing that H has had to live with here. 

I didn’t get tons of time in the water today, but if felt so good to be in it. I remembered to float for a minute, like that’s the time to be thankful. Not worry so much about if I’m getting in my 30 minutes. 

OK. Now I need to eat. Tomorrow is a big day. I might not get to swim again until Friday!