This blog was originally about two girls who began to pilgrimage on the 20th of June of 2013, walking from Sigtuna, Sweden, with the goal to reach Santiago de Compostela in the northwestern part of Spain.
The journey stopped sometime in September of 2013, and will hopefully continue in the future.

Wednesday 28 August 2013

The pilgrimage soon continues...

''The truth is that, no matter what kind of game you find yourself in, no matter how good or bad the luck, you can change your life completely with a single thought or a single act of love.''

''Every human heartbeat is a universe of possibilities.''

- Extracts from the book 'Shantaram'

I hope you are having a nice day :-)!!

LOVE and PEACE

Lovisa

Tuesday 27 August 2013

Nein danke Vattenfall!

Guten tag!

Two days ago, Europe's biggest cycle race was taking place in Hamburg.  Over 20.000 cyclists participated. For those interested the race is called ''Vattenfall cyclassics'', since the energy company Vattenfall is the biggest sponsor of the race, and the company is Swedish too.

I just walked right into the race, not literally, ha ha, but I did not know that it was going to take place. When walking into Hamburg, you could see  that the city was preparing for some big event, but I did not know of which kind.
Anyway,  I sat down, leaning against the steady wall of a church, in the center of the city, and this was were the race finished. After a while a noticed two men handing out flyers to people who passed. Too few were interested though,  all the focus was, narurally on the race and the cyclists. I started to talk to them,  asking what their cause was. They told me that they are a small group of activists who demonstrate against Vattenfall and all that that company stands for. Apparently Vattenfall recently got the permission from the government to build a coal plant power station (kolkraftverk) in the harbour of Hamburg,  importing coal all the way from columbia. Yes, you can all understand how environmentally unsustainble this is.

This environmental group has made many actions against tje big energy companies that, pretty much rule Europe. Last year they blocked the race, so this year the Police was prepared to take action. 10 policemen and women constantly circulated around the environmentalists, and 1 guy got arrested, while the police could not explain why..
And I am not sure if it was last year or the year before,  that the group raised a huge banner above one of the main bridges where the cyclists later during the day would pass, and where television companies had their main base. Unfortunately, Vattenfall found out about this before the cyclists passed and the cameras were on. So what they did, is that they called the police and told them to move all televison cameras to another area...

Even though all of this are the subjective stories of the activists, I still can't stop thinking about it. What the policemen and women did, is breaking the law. One of the most important pillars that a democratic country rest on, the freedom of speach and the right to demonstrate. Of course as long as you don't hurt anything or anyone, but they never did.
Talking to these people really made me reflect more about democracy and how it is operated in Europe. What we hear when listening to or reading the news is often is often the big problems that undemocratic countries are facing.  This is almost always the main focus...

Hope this was interesting reading for you. It was just a funny and interesting event that I wanted to share with you. And here are some pictures from the race too!

Have a nice evening everyone :-)!

LOVE and PEACE

Saturday 24 August 2013

Hamburg-a city still in bloom

It is the end of August.  The official summer has almost come to an end. The autumn winds are whispering to the trees, promising that next year's summer will come. Finally it will.  But first they have to stay strong during the cold months of winter. They have to keep the faith and wait for the first birds to sing and welcome the spring.

The season will soon change.  So far I have, on this walk, only experienced walking during summer. Everything is more simple during summer. Clothing is not a problem. Soon I will have to re-think when it comes to what to wear when it gets colder. I follow nature's rythm,  in a way, and that feels so natural and satisfying. I am also from now onwards trying to eat as much seasonally as I possibly can. I am on a budget too ofc, but I am always trying.
Three days ago, a man that I met in a monestry where I stayed for one night, said something very promising.  We were, on guite a simple and humble level, discussing earth's future. Nothing more to add there, just this special thing he said, that sticks to my mind:
''The earth will never die. The earth will always survive. But human kind won't if we keep on moving in this direction.''

It could scare you, and I am sure it sometimes does, but I felt a kind of relief running through my body when hearing someone Saying this out loud. We all know it, but we pretend as if we don't.
It might sound like I am entirely ruled by negative emotions when talking about these problems we are now facing,  but I am not. If not now, then when? If not me, then who?  Solving a problem also gives us opportunities to change and a chance to be creative, right??

In Hamburg.  What a city! I never knew. It is very lively city with a lot of things going on. I will be here for a week now.  I have some things to do and I felt like I needed a little break. And my dear dear Loïs is coming on wednesday and we will spend four days together. I can't wait!!

Guten Nachten,

LOVE and PEACE

Lovisa

Thursday 22 August 2013

Happy and peculiar moments


Hi everyone!


Today is my.... lets' s count....4th day of walking in Germany. So far it has been many ups and downs,  but recently more ups than downs, especially for the last two days. Tonight I am staying at the parish house of the church in Nahe, a small town around 40 km from Hamburg.
The walk today was almost solely in the woods and on smaller walking routes. Ofc the 'Jakobswege' or 'The way of Saint James' here in Germany is not as well marked as it is in France or Spain. You really have to look around and pay attention,  because otherwise you can easily get lost. I did, two times yesterday, seeing that my mind flew away for a while. It is funny though because it feels a bit like a secret walk/route that, narurally, not that many people here are aware of. Ha ha, I am sure they must laugh at me when I pass by, with a lost and confused look on my face...




I would like to share some special moments from the last days. So here we go...

When I see trash lying on the ground where I am walking, especially in woods and on the beautiful countryside,  I just can't leave it there. I have to pick it up and then throw it away when I find a bin. So I am most certainly a trash-collector! But yesterday when walking I was feeling very tired and I had a lack of inspiration. So to bend down with the backpack would not be as easy as it usually is, ha ha! And I thought that if I see any trash lying on the ground here, I am not sure I will pick it up. Even though I know it will take nature years and years to 'compost'. 1 sec after, I looked down and I saw a chocolate paper, and the.chocolate was called 'Pick up'.... I just could not help but smile!!




I have been feeling lonely for the last couple of weeks, even though I have shared some evenings together with the most beautiful of people. But still this feeling is taking over sometimes and I lose the perspective. Walking alone for a long time, with your own thoughts and no one around to share them with,  is very demanding. I need to stay strong and keep the courage as well faith, at times when I feel like I can't. The last days I have been very much looking forward to meet someone who is also walking, but I have not yet.
But then, after flickering through the guestbook of the Parish house,  I turned one page and read that a finnish woman had stayed in the parish house 10 days ago, and apparently her plan too is to walk to Santiago de Compostela. I felt so happy when reading it so I will try to investigate this a little bit! I want to get in touch with her and see if we could walk together for a while,  maybe do the last part together!  Anyway, Mija, if you read this, but you probably won't,  you know that I would love to get in touch with you. I am ten days behind, but who knows what will happen!?

Now some reading and then I will try to get a good night's sleep!
Hope you have had a nice day! Take care and love eachother. And if you feel lonely, you won't for too long if you trust in life and let your open heart guide you.

LOVE and PEACE,

Lovisa





Wednesday 21 August 2013

Pictures from 19/8-21/8

The blog from sunday 17/8

Today. Today. Today.
The adventure continues and I am so excited. I see it as a new level. The next step. A strange and unfamiliar feeling.  But still so excited.

I have spent two wonderful days with Bea and Anders, two amazingly generous people that invited me to stay with them in the old village where they live, close to Trelleborg from where I just boarded the ferry. They are very very Warm and Caring. People with warm and open hearts. We experiences until after midnight. I will remember the two last days I spent in Sweden, and this is because of you. Thank you so much. I am so happy and greatful.

So almost two months of walking in Sweden has reached its end. Woods, dusty and quiet countryroads, crazy roundabouts, crowded cities and streets, busy roads with heavy trucks, hanging cliff walking, 360 view over landscapes bathing in the midday sunlight, in the country where I was born. ''In the distance I can see the town where I was born'', as Bruce Springsteen sings in his song ''Long walk home''. The song always reminds me of the importance of breaking up and to change your environment in order to grow and overcome obstacles that is either present, or resting inside of you. It is also about growing up and to find out what you want in life and how you want to live it. I believe we have an option here, there is always an option, but circumstances too that force us to take hard and uncomfortable decisions.
If you are interested in listening to this nice rock song, can listen to it here, and I think a happy feeling will start to grow inside of you:

Long Walk Home

What can I say? How can I show my appreciation? I am so happy that I met all of you. You have been so kind,  bountiful, supporting. I am so happy that our paths crossed. Instead of using too many words here, I would like to pay it forward. I believe that in doing so, it creates bounds that are hard to break, and bounds that connect us all on a deeper level. It is about to say 'yes' to life and to trust in life. I can't even count how many times I have met the exact right person I had to meet at that time. It has always surprised me, and it also will in the future. Because you can never know for sure and you can't start to search for it,  because then you won't find it.

Take care now! We stay in touch in Germany too! And have a nice day. Enjoy and cherish it.

LOVE and PEACE,

Lovisa

Thursday 15 August 2013

Pilgrim word no. 4

Insouciance - Bekymmerslöshet

(Someone tell me if the English word I chose sounds wrong, after reading this text !)

Being on a pilgrimage, is naturally totally different from my everyday life. I don't walk 25 km everyday back home. I don't use a pocketknife when preparing my lunch, consisting of avocado and bread. I don't visit several different churches in different towns everyday. I don't wash my clothes in the washing basin, using soap. I don't wake up in the morning just to see one of my favourite quotes on a poster on the door to my room. I don't brush my teeth before breakfast, but after... this can continue forever you see. It is completaly different from everyday life back home, as always when you are on travels. What I do love though, is that when you walk for such a long time, what you do everyday  as a routine, like walking for me, creates your everyday life. Changes your everyday life. Because routine is usually a part of everyday life, isn't it? And this was something I wanted to achieve by doing this walk,  to find out what kind of everyday life I would like to live in the future,  even though it will be different if and when I settle down...

I carry my material life on my back, and my emotional life and feelings inside of me. What is different, in comparison to my everyday life, is that I carry just what I need. I could carry less too, ha ha trust me! I wear the same clothes everyday, no need to contemplate if to wear socks with stripes or dots. No need to worry or overthink, (Back home I have one drawer full of socks in different colours and patterns, ha ha!). What I am trying to say is that having less things around us, helps us not to worry. Carrying around the expensive mobilephone I use in order to write the blog and check the maps, is atomatically one thing that I am afraid to loose. It cost me a lot of money. I need to be careful so that I won't loose it. I need to care about it. One big red piece of plastic. It sounds wierd. But at least I can stay in touch with you, my friends and my family. And this means more than anything.  But I think you get the point! Material stuff makes us cautious,  when all we really should be cautious about is how we treat relations, nature and ourselves.

I often think of the words of The moneyless man Mark Boyle when walking, and he once wrote something interesting about insurance. It is a re-thinker and I like him since he really is an idealist. I am not choosing side:

''We often negatively stigmatise people who have gambling problems, yet by taking out insurance policies we non-gamblers gamble every day. With insurance, you are betting that something unfortunate will happen to you during the next course of the next insurance period. If you live accident-free for that time, you loose. But if something 'bad' happens to you, you whin!''

It is all about how we look at things and how we judge and decide what is normal,  right and wrong. And I am not Saying that having problems with gambling is right or good. Of course it is not.

I am leaving Sweden in four days.  On sunday I will take the ferry to Travemünde/Lübeck and continue to pilgrimage from there,  following yellow arrows and pilgrims shells as signs all the way down to Santiago de Compostela. That is pretty amazing, that the route between the countries is connected in that beautiful way. I am so looking forward to take this journey to the next step.  I have soon walked 1/4 of it.

Hope you are good,  wherever you are! Take care and stay in touch!

LOVE and PEACE,

Lovisa

Monday 12 August 2013

Quote and shortfilm by Charles Eisenstein..

....author of 'The Ascent of Humanity', a book about the evolution of the human sense of self, and 'Sacred Economics'. The shortfilm below is about his second book.

''The presence of the sacred is like returning to a home that was always there and a truth that has always existed. It can happen when I observe an insect or a plant, hear a symphony of birdsongs or a frog calls, feel mud between my toes, gaze upon an object beautifully made, apprehend the impossibly coordinated complexity of a cell or an ecosystem, witness a synchronicity or symbol in my life, watch happy children play, or am touched by the work of a genius. Extraordinary though these experiences are, they are in no sense separate from the rest of life. Indeed, their power comes from the glimpse they give of a realer world, a sacred world that underlies and interpenetrates our own.
What is this ''home that was always there'', this ''truth that has always existed''? It is the truth of the unity and connectedness of all things and the feeling is that of participating in something greater than oneself, yet which also is oneself.''

- Charles Eisenstein,  Sacred Economics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEZkQv25uEs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Have a good day :-)!!

Sunday 11 August 2013

Pilgrim word no. 3

Spirituality.

What comes to your mind when you hear or say that word?
Do you feel scared? Do you think of crazy people you see on TV who talk with spirits? Do you feel calm and happy? Do you contemplate what the word means to you?

I believe there is no right or wrong answer to this question, because that is simply not what spiritiality is about - right or wrong. And I think that if we all could agree on this, we have come a long way on our spiritual walk.

I will share some quotes in the end that pretty much sums up my view of spirituality. I would just like to share some other thoughts first.
To me Spirituality is about knowing yourself and to recognize your emotions. Knowing yourself is after all to know why I, for example, feel disturbed when facing a specific situation or maybe a person. Or why I feel protected when I gaze upon a starry night sky. Because when we are aware of our emotional inner life,  we can also start to walk the spiritual path. And being aware of this is too deeply connected to spirituality. 

Spirituality is also about having a belief in something greater than oneself, that yet also is oneself (quote Charles Eisenstein). It is about to trust your heart and let it guide you, which is something I always feel in my stomach, and I think everyone does.  But heart sounds more beautiful than stomach does, ha ha, right?
I think that sometimes we just have to release ourselves from the crip that control has on us. Just listen to our heartbeats.

So how hard can it be then, to be spiritual and to let your heart guide you?   I believe it is an everyday struggle, that again also is what spirituality is about. Doubts and certainity.  Back and forth. And spinning around. And soon you feel dizzy.
We are constantly in move, walking the path of our life. We are all connected and we depend on eachother. So we can never be sure and we should never really settle down and feel satisfied about how far we have come in our spiritual thinking,  believing that we have compleatly adapted a spiritual mindset. No, we have to search and learn and experience,  throughout our lives.


'' I personally try to practice applied spirituality (despite failing miserably on a daily basis), where your spirituality is revealed through what you do every day, and how you meet your physical needs. I believe that the depth of your spirituality is revealed by the ways in which you attain and eat your food, create fire, hpw gently you walk in nature, how you interact with people that you have no personal need to get along with, your responses to tough decisions, how you treat strangers and those you claim to love, and the levels of courage you display weakness is the easier option. It is revealed by your respect for water, air and earth, tthe elements that make up your flesh and bones, and in the ways by which you share your gifts with the world. ''

- Mark Boyle, The moneyless man


I will share another quote tomorrow, as breakfast!!

The dome in Lund, where I arrived today, being welcomed in the most honoured and beautiful of ways. The bells were ringing.




Good night.
LOVE
and
PEACE

Lovisa

Saturday 10 August 2013

Seaview

I saw the sea today, for the first time since we started around 50 days ago. The sea always gives me a feeling of relief, to know that there are still forces in nature that we havn't conquered yet. Weather and wind is in power.  And that is real power to me. Just to sit there and watch what we can't interrupt or change.

Tomorrow I will walk to Lund,  a town situated close to Malmö. Lund is an important goal for this walk.  I will stay two nights there, because I love that town. I will do some planning too. And maybe book the ferry that will bring me to Travemünde and Germany so that this adventure can continue....

Good night to you all. Sweet dreams :-)!

LOVE and PEACE

Lovisa

Friday 9 August 2013

Simplicity in a complex world.

Good evening everyone! Friday!

It has been a magnificent walk today. The beauty of the landscape, that already made speachless, surprised me when I least expected it. That is the magic that comes with not knowing what you will see and experience, walk on roads that you have never walked before.

Simplicity. Pilgrim word no. 2.
First I would like to reflect on the word in a more wide perspective.
What do we, the human race, have to do and agree on in order to ''save the world''? What do we have to give up on?
How can we stop poverty and starvation, if we, people who already have our basic needs satisfied, start to live more in harmony with nature? How will they ever rise in a world ruled by money and complex economical systems, if we would stop bying what they produce?

I believe there is an imbalance here. In order to help earth heal we need to cut down on our consuming here in the west, but at the same time more and more people rise from poverty as a result of our consuming, even if this is a very slow process. Or is this just an excuse?
So what should we do then?  Who have the knowledge and who have the power to take the important desicions? I can reflect but I am not sure which direction is the best. And the people in power disappoint me, too often. There is just too much money involved and too much hypocrisy, and less and less true human value and moral.

What I know though, is that the happiest periods of my life, did not include any kind of overconsuming or any overflow of luxury. And this is one of the main reasons to why I chose to start this journey. I had the time of my life when walking the Camino last year. Living simple and green. Walking in order to get somewhere. Sharing, and this is something we will have to focus on in the future to be able to solve the problems we are already facing. And since I know that I had the time of my life, while not having that much unimportant stuff around me, and instead one important thing or maybe I should say force instead. The force of Love. And I am now experiencing this again, in another way, and during a longer period of time. I feel very priviliged having this opportunity.

Thank you so much for reading.  Thank you for giving me inspiration, love and support.

Night is falling.  Good night and see you tomorrow!

LOVE AND PEACE,

Lovisa

Thursday 8 August 2013

Nature spoke today....

...and tomorrow I will write about ''silence''.

Stay tuned! And have a good night's sleep.

LOVE  and PEACE

Lovisa


Wednesday 7 August 2013

Key word no. 1

Freedom.

To feel free. What it means to me right now, at this stage of my life and when being a pilgrim.
The first thoughts that come to my mind are those about simplicity. Simplicity is actually one of the seven pilgrim words, and since all the words are connected, they become a perfect mix too.
We, the human race, have been talking and longing for freedom ever since we started to walk the earth.  To loose the chains that we ourselves create for ourselves, and eventually the people we surround ourselves with. But this is also something that spread like rings on water. Like everything else.

Anyway, to me, as I feel right now, and have felt for the last one year since I walked my first Camino, freedom is simplicity.  In order to be able to feel free, I need simplicity. And I get this when walking, carrying nothing more than I need.
Which pair of shorts should I wear? I only have one pair

I would love to write with a red pen instead, can I? No, I only have one pen.

This food is booring, I need something else to cheer me up! Food is not booring.  Food is fuel and about sharing happily together. Everything tastes good when you start to peel of the layers. Not literally, but more about going back to basics. Every meal tastes like the best you have ever had, would not that be something?

So freedom to me is about simplicity,  which means going down to basics. Food, water, sleep, smile at someone,  ask someone if she needs help, watching summer turn into autumn, the changing of seasons. To be there at that special moment in time, when one of the first leaves fall from the beautiful white birch.

''The freedom and simple beauty is just too good to pass up''

''It should not be denied... that being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom, and the road has always led West.”

-Wallace Stegner

I am leaving Sweden soon. About two more weeks, maybe a bit longer,  just to have time to say goodbye.  It feels quite surreal. 700 km. And it all went so fast, it all went so fast. Looking forward to the exotic feeling of walking in another country so that I finally and hopefully can return to the Santiago de Compostela and all the towns along the way where I left a piece of my heart. I will not bring it back though. It will always stay there, and I will continue the walk through life.

Good night and sleep tight :-)!

LOVE and PEACE

Tuesday 6 August 2013

Need to think.

Good evening!

It is a little bit to late for a pilgrim now, so I will write tomorrow. 
Tomorrow I will write about freedom,  one of the seven words that I keep in my heart while walking.  Freedom is one of them,  a key.

Some pictures instead to enjoy!

Take care everyone! There is still a lot of summer left for us all :-)!

LOVE and PEACE

Lovisa

Saturday 3 August 2013

Cool old roads

Hi everyone enjoying reading this blog!
I can't believe you still keep on reading it. I could never imagine that so many people would, have a look, read one blog, or maybe even read it as soon as a new blog is posted. There are no words for my gratitude. Thank you so much for all the support. Knowing your thoughts are with me is encouraging! You are with me too, every step!

Again, I sleep in the parish house of a church. You are all so very kind and generous. Some of you that I have been talking to were on your vacation, but still you always try to help me! To me that is a true human spirit. I will pay it forward, I try to everyday.

Today was my longest day of walking so far, and maybe also the mentally toughest. Since I made a mistake while planning today' s walk, that was supposed to be on the Pilgrims way ''Nydalaleden'', I decided to follow the road instead of the path, which I realized was 4 km shorter. So 34 km instead of 38. The road that I was walking on is one of the old roads, that connected Sweden with the rest of Europe, reaching over 550 km from Stockholm to Helsingborg (where you can take the ferry to Denmark). From what I have heard,  parts of it, that now mostly are replaced with other roads, are dated back to the middle ages. Loïs and I hit one of those cool old pebbeled roads one day when walking.  We had no idea about that until an exicited local told us!
It means a lot to this adventure that I'm right in the middle of, knowing that the roads I am walking have been both walked and driven by many people before.  They carry stories from years and years back when eveything took it's time. ''See you next year when we have been to Spain and back!'', some of them might have said.....

It is already late,  so good night and sleep well. No more chocolate for me.

LOVE and PEACE,

Lovisa