Well, Västerhaninge, actually.

I read the other day that they are forecasting a cold winter in Sweden this year. I hope that means a lot of snow! Anyway, I needed to buy some new winter boots as mine are looking a little worn and not really up to the rigors of an industrial strength snowstorm. I looked at the two shoe shops in town, but didn’t like the selection, mostly consisting of fur covered monstrosities that would make me look as though I was wearing roadkill on my feet. I just wanted very ordinary, leather walking boots, with no fur, no dangling balls etc so that meant a trip to Vega. This involves either taking the train to Haninge and bus to Vega or perhaps the 860 express bus to Västerhaninge and the bus to Vega. The second option used to take about 10 minutes longer, but today I decided that was okay as the times fitted my schedule better than the once an hour train.

All I can conclude, is that “express” now means “slow as a wet week” in Sweden. I should have guessed when I saw that the bus company’s logo was a tortoise. Let me explain the dilemma. The bus used to take half an hour to travel from Nynäshamn to Västerhaninge along Väg 73, with a stop at Ösmo. Now, the route consists of stops at the following places (with the former stops in bold text): Nynäs Havsbad, Svandammsskolan, Nynäshamns station, Industrievägen, Malmtorget, Kullstaplan, Backluravägen, Sandtorp, Natviksvägen, Nynäs Gods, Kvarnvägen, Vattenverksvägen, Älgviken, Älgviksbron, Björsta, Älbylund, Älby, Älby indiustriområde, Källberga, Ösmorondellen, Nibble gård, Körundavägen, Ösmo centrum, Körundavägen, Nibble gård, Ösmo rondellen, Ösmo kyrkväg, Valla vägskäl, Ludviksberg, Ösmofors, Forsbro, Ogesta, Jursta, Björklida, Ekeby, Segersängs vägskäl, Hammersta, Landfjärden sodra, Landfjärden norra, Landberga, Sotholmen, Häringe grindar, Fredriksborg, Västnora, Östnora, Gryt, Näringsberg, Katrineberg, Kristinero, Berga gård, Fors, Ribbygaraget, Ribbylund, Ribby, Ribbyskolan, Västerhaninge station.

So we’ve gone from five stops, to fifty six stops. In other words, every blade of grass between here and VH has it’s own bus stop. Needless to say, it takes considerably longer now and in fact it would have been better to wait for the next train that arrived not long after we did!

And yes, I did get good boots, so the trip was not in vain. As I have small feet, I even managed to buy children’s boots – much cheaper than the adult version and Lars-Göran thinks they look cute.

On a brighter note, the gorgeous autumn weather continues with very cold nights, but sunny, crisp days full of colour. This morning, the pier was covered in ice, but by the time the sun came up, it started to disappear. Still, it is but a taste of what lies ahead over the next few months.



We had considered going out sailing, but left it a little late to make up our minds, so chose to walk along the beach road instead and enjoy the views across the water. It was really cold and fresh, with very little wind but fantastic blue skies, warm sunshine and rich colours.



The winds have been very strong over the last few days and while the trees are hanging on to their foilage as long as possible, I noticed that the water levels are very low around here, leaving a lot more of the beach area exposed.



There were still a few birds around, mostly the few year round inhabitants of swans, gulls and the occasional duck, using the opportunity to take advantage of the late season food supplies and relatively mild weather. And the falling leaves continue to drift by the window - a cascade of red and gold.

May it never end.