I was right about the sunshine, wrong about the rain.
The sunshine did not last. Saturday morning, I woke up to grey clouds and a deep desire to get out, go for a run, breathe deeply into life. By the time I got out the door the unforgiving sky was threatening to rain. Then came a fine sprinkle and then a full London-style, persistent, wet drizzle that could almost count as rain. But I ran to the park anyway and found that unlike any 50-degree rainy Saturday in California, the park was packed, completely full of people. And it began to occur to me that Swedish people are not hindered by the California delusion that sunshine is necessary for outdoor enjoyment.
There were the usual outside people, the kind that don’t really have a choice, dog owners. But there were also plenty of other people strolling along the park’s extensive paths — couples with babies, family’s with little children on little bikes, runners of all ages, single people walking, running, just enjoying being outside in their water-resistant clothing. I saw plenty of red-cheeked smiles.
I was not wearing water resistant clothing so I was quite sweaty and rain drenched by the time I stopped at the library, which was also full of people enjoying a rainy Saturday morning in the relative tranquility of Malmö’s public library.
This place, by the way, is beautiful. Located on the edge of Malmö’s Slottsparken, this urban library is a modern architectural masterpiece. Half of the library is old, a castle-like museum that has housed books for seventy years. The other half, which was finished in the late 90s, is a massive glass box, ushering light into the main hall of bookshelves, illuminating even the grayest of days. This half is called a “Calendar of Light,” and is a perfect example of modern Scandinavian genius for drawing the light inside. I love it.
While at the library I picked up a stack of travel books to help us plan our fall escape. Our son has a week off from school at the end of October and has already planned to make his first solo international trip, going home to visit friends in LA. Kip took the week off from work, so now we just have to decide where to go. Spain? Italy? Morocco?
We both want to get a little autumn sunshine, but we don’t want to break the bank either. I find myself checking historical weather averages of different places within reasonable travel distance. If we are going to travel, it would be nice to get a little unbottled, natural Vitamin D. I know that there is joy in the rain, but I still want to find a little sun, just for a week in October before the real winter arrives.