We visited a garden centre today. It was in Gnesta, a town not far from Trosa which sits on a lake. The town is possibly best known for being the fictional Hedestad and Hedeby Island in the 2009 film adaptation of the Stieg Larsson book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. There used to be a brewery there – it opened in the 1870’s – but it fell into financial difficulties and closed in 1963.
Fame and history aside, the journey both ways was delightful. We drove through countryside, by big farmhouses, down unmade roads. And it was the perfect weather for it; all blue sky and sunshine.
The morning had been spectacular. The sun streamed through the kitchen windows, flooding the room in warmth and light, as a deer nibbled at the foliage outside.
A little later, as I pulled my shopping trolley home, I discussed the weather with the Friendly Builder with the Black Lab. He told me that my shopping trolley would be called a dra mat in Swedish. This literally means ‘drag food’.
I don’t normally go to Trosa Centrum on a Friday but, with this week being all a bit topsy-turvy, anything was possible. But, then we headed for the garden centre. Not something I enjoy that much. To make matters worse, it was quite crowded with narrow aisles and trolleys that didn’t get down a lot of them.
Mirinda was after a lot of gardening tools (forks, spades, buckets, etc) so she can start doing something to improve the present grass and shrubs. She managed to load the trolley with more stuff than was seemingly possible and which taxed my Mini loading capabilities. Still, we managed it and were soon eventually on our way home.
Well, we tried to have a drink first but the place we fancied; the one on the lake; was lying when it said it was open because the door appeared to be nailed shut. There was no egress to be had. We walked back to the car and had a drink at home instead.
Leaving the car park, the traffic was horrendous. We sat, trying to turn left for far too long for Mirinda’s comfort. So she drove right and we headed out of town that way instead.
And it wasn’t the only crowded time today. Trosa Centrum was the fullest I’ve seen it since the day of the Christmas market last year. The Blue Train was out and about, ferrying more people into town and the Coop was very popular. Even Visthuset was so crowded that I sat outside in the sun with my latte.
Actually, that was only partly the reason why I was outside. There was a family with a very noisy child who was making the café a little less than desirable for inside drinking. As an object lesson, I heard an Australian woman, referring to the noisy child, telling her kids that “…it was no fun if you are in a strop.”
I have no idea if she was a local or a tourist. Hopefully it’s the latter because we like to think of ourselves as the only Aussies in Trosa. I suggested to Mirinda that she could be the one from Vagnhärad.
Back at home, finally, I took up my book while Mirinda headed over to the lake for a beautiful late afternoon walk.
I hope, as the Friendly Builder with the Black Lab suggested, that we have now turned a corner and can finally call this Spring.