James O'Brien

There’s a bloke I see regularly back in Sydney who I’ve nick-named “The You’re Beautiful Guy”. I often see him walking to and from work, usually in the Devonshire Street tunnel. I suspect he may have a slight intellectual disability. Joyfully, he walks along telling people that Jesus loves them, and that “they’re beautiful”.

For a brief moment today I thought I’d turned into that guy. As I walked around Stockholm, I kept saying (to myself under my breath) “gosh it’s beautiful”.

It was a truly stunning day in the city. Even though the winds were a little strong, causing the lake to be a little choppy, the sun was warm and there was a lovely vibe around the city. When I checked for the temperature at about 4.30 this afternoon, my phone told me it was fifteen degrees. “That can’t be right”, I thought to myself. But compared with when I was last here a couple of weeks ago, the snow and ice have all but disappeared (though part of the lake nearby remains iced over in the parts), and people aren’t as heavily dressed.

So for me it’s been a day of relaxing, wandering around, sitting in the sun for a while to read a book and to listen to some music. It’s nice to be back. I’m sure I’ll get around to something “productive” some stage later in the week, but right now, it’s nice just to “hang out”.

I also realised today I only have two or three weeks left of travelling. Having now “relaxed” into my holiday, I’m not sure if I’m ready to go home yet.

Also, I suspect the guy I’m renting this apartment from may need to get an eviction order to remove me at the end of my stay here :)