I can see the ABBA house from my bedroom window. It's the house where Former couple and members of the Swedish music group Abba, Agnetha Faltskog and Bjorn Ulvaeus lived together in a house on Lidingo island. I doubt they still live there but fans still call by to photograph the house!!
Lidingo is one of the 14 islands Stockholm straddles and it lies close to the city's downtown area.
The traditionally affluent island suburb is only a few miles from mainland Stockholm via the a spectacular bridge and has a Metro station with services into the city.
Separated from the mainland by the Lille Vartan strait, with a natural setting, a sense of space and a slower pace of life, the island has long-held appeal with Stockholm's elite.
As a result, Lidingo is one of the most expensive places to live in Stockholm, and we have been living here for two glorious weeks!!
Its October right now and I am freezing, a hot blooded Zimbabwean, with temperatures seldom going below zero, I now find myself donning three layers of clothing, including my well worn ski jacket, to leave the house.
Fortunately the house is toasty, and has a glorious view of the strait where the major ferry lines pass by to the Baltic, to Helsinki, to St Petersburg and to Copenhagen!!
Two minutes down the close and all around are forests where deer graze, where there are serene and safe play areas, volley ball courts and ice hockey arenas, and the ocean is but a stone's throw away.
A far cry from dear old Addis Ababa where we spent two tumultuous years with the family....
Our Wee Boy's pre school is four minutes away by car and todays main occupation was picking blackberries in the woods, tomorrows exciting activity will be making blackberry pie!! The Swedish folk do not baulk at the weather.. rain, snow or shine, they don their wooly, rainproof layers, mittens and boots, and head out into whatever Mother Nature throws at them.
HeeHoo and I have adopted a rather different lifestyle. We too attire ourselves in snow gear, and backpack in place, Wee Boy in tow, we sally forth to the local supermarket to obtain provisions daily. It's a chilly, hilly little country, mark my words..
How far away Zimbabwe seems with all its strife and sadness, but we look forward to a journey home as soon as covid allows us.