I just came home from a one week holiday in Åre, one of Swedens most popular ski resorts. I was there with my father and some friends of ours and had a lot of fun. ... So what did I do there in summer?
Well, we've been going on a holiday together for one week every year for as long as I can remember, always with a different destination. As we are eight it isn't uncommon with opinions that differ. I wanted to do something as drastic as climb up Kebnekaise, the largest mountain in northernmost Sweden and a few others were also excited for it. The rest were into going to Österlen in sothern Sweden for some nice nature and just chillout time. To be honest I wouldn't have minded it or somewhere else either, the location isn't the most important thing anyway. I think that we should try to talk things through more next time tho. I figured that I had given my opinion and left the decision to others. Same went for the rest so we ended up in a kind of compromise, geographically, meaning the sky resort Åre.
I think we were all skeptic when we went there. The two friends I was driving with joked about that the thing that had been talked the most about was the indoor bath. If that was the main attraction it didn't look promising. We arrived late last Saturday after the seven hour drive from Stockholm and pretty much just went to bed. The next day we went for our first forest walk towards a lake a bit over two kilometers away. Nice nature and so but sadly the trail was quite muddy sometimes. I wasn't prepared for terrain that was wet and that I would need good shoes in. I had to be quite careful to avoid getting my shoes that were far from Gore-Tex quality wet and managed decently. On the way back I walked in my own pace which is fast. After buying a 33cl coke for the ridiculous price 3 euro we went to a restaurant and then home for some chill in the evening watching the world championship in athletics.
The rest of the week flew by pretty fast. We did have time to climb a 1.4km high mountain which gave us an extraordinary view so I got a bit of my adventurous spirit settled even if I could have gone for more. The view was truly excellent. We also went to the indoor swimming pool which wasn't much to cheer for even if it turned out to be a bit more than just a pool, waterslides etc. We also went swimming outdoors and did some more walks and climbing, just a nice week. Next year we might go to Croatia to see some of the places where they record the tv-series Game of Thrones. Regardless of where we end up I'm pretty sure it's going to be fun tho.
The athletics world championship wasn't as fun. One Swedish athlete did remarkably well and got a silver but that was all the national excitement for me. I cared more about Bolt however as this was his final competition. It was his final individual race in 100m last Sunday and then his final 4x100m relay race this Saturday. The 100m race went as bad as it could possibly go. Bolt is long past his prime and even if I of course hoped he would win I wouldn't mind someone else grabbing a gold in front of him. Especially not a new young talent like Coleman. Techinally they got silver and bronze, not gold and silver but I don't count the "winner" Justin Gatlin as a competitor. I think someone caught for doping should get a long ban that makes sure they miss at least the next olympic games and then get a second chance. If you use doping again soon after (or after at all) you should get a lifetime ban. I don't believe in third chances and I don't dislike the crowd booing for the cheater at all. He should not be allowed on an arena except for in the audience. I hope Coleman and some other new talents emerge and become worthy winners.
In the 4x100m relay Jamaica was doing fine and were most likely going to get third place but then Bolt got a cramp -hope it wasn't something more serious- while running and fell. A very sad end for one of the greatest athletes of all time. On the bright side it was nice to see the English team get a surprising win in London before the states.
The goodbye ceremony that was organised for Bolt afterwards was quite amazing tho, and in my opinion fully deserved, an opinion that most of the world probably shares. After all the applause when he entered the arena was just as loud as the applause for Britains own athletes. In my opinion he is everything a superstar should be. He is a showman and not particularly humble but he is also extremely respectful. It is always "I'm great", not "I'm better than them". He is also very respectful and have paused live interviews for both congratulating other winners and for another countrys national anthem. Simply a great ambassador for the sport.
The picture is from the top of the mountain Getryggen. As you see in the background there was snow and while it wasn't enough to ski in it was certainly enough to slide down at a huge speed while sitting on a plastic bag, which was great fun. The other pictures are varied.