Diving deep down..

..into my long stored moving crates I recently came across this marvellous vinyl that I bought in San Francisco in 1968. It contains all the juicy pieces by Janis Joplin from this great era of free love, psycadelica, music, cretivity, politics, freeky stuffs, drugs, freedom fights and student and Black Panther rebellion! And the "not so great era" of the Vietnam war! The campus recruitments of sodiers for this war. The friends who came back from war in black plastic body bags..The repression,the police shootings, the mass arrests of protesters, the using of the campuses as testing grounds for certain chemicals to be deployed in Vietnam, the spraying of "maze" - a tear gas the Oakland police (the infamous Blue Meanies) used to break up student demonstrations..
The awsome cover of this first Janice record is made by Robert Culp - a great cartoonist and artist whom I actually met at a party in Berkeley in those days. He was considered "very dirty" back then in the days of the dawning sexual revolution.

I saw Janice live once in a concert at the Winterland in Haight Ashbury in San Francisco. She was "giving it all" together with Big Brother and the Holding Company. Sipping her Sudden Comfort in the short intervalls instead of catching her breath. They put on the most marvellous light show as back drop of the Winterland stage that night, I remember. Outside the Winterland, sales were going on and people were pushing for anything you could possibly want in those days.

Janis Joplin and the Big Brothers.
After Bessie Smith, there was nothing. Until Janis came along. And after Janis there is a big vacuum. Have you ever heard "Summetime" sung the way Janice does it?
Man, there is a voice for you! And a feeling!
Groovy!
(Unfortunately, my Janice vinyl is full of scratches. And, I AM NOT GOING TO SELL IT!)

Rauk- n´- roll..

On our way to Faro (or Fårö with the Swedish dots..)we stop to have the most exquisite lunch at the legendary "Kuten´s Bensin.." where we enjoyed magnificent salmon crepes in his rusty junk jard of a great paraphenalia from the 50´s and 60´s. This is a "luke warm beer" heaven for rock-and-roll freaks, and this is the place to commemorate the passing of Elvis on the 15 of August. Check it out on the link above!

A rock-and-roll night at Kutens!

Fårö retains a special barren beauty appealing to a great many people of whom Ingmar Bergman is probably the most wellknown. He is now buried on his beloved little island..

Fårö lighthouse. (Photoshopped by me in a creative spell!)

For me, this impressive lighthouse brings sweet memories of the past.

So, it was great to be back for a quick dip in the cold Baltic.

The limestones of Gotland that sometimes take on the most marvellous shapes are called "rauks" in the local lingo.
The famous "Jungfrun" (The Virgin) in Lickershamn.
Speaking of which - my sister suddenly drowe up in front of my barn yesterday in
her new cab! Fire engine red it is.(Ferrari red according to sis!) She has just bought it! Not quite the latest Golf model as you can see. However, she is now happy to invite her sister to cabbed down rides in the hot Gotland summer days!
"Yeah! Let your blond hair fly babe!"
Wroooom! And a bit of rock-and-roll on the radio! Loud!
"In the summertime, trallala la, we go riding.."

Sweden´s Medieval Times..

..returns for a hectic week every August to Visby, Gotland.
The Medieval Week on Gotland – you travel 600 years back in time
during eight days in August when the Middle Age is back. Gotland’s special settings, Visby’s 200 medieval houses on winding lanes, splendid church ruins, and the magnificent city wall frame a spectacle without equal.
Markets and music, theater and lectures. Knights clash in tournaments. It is an unforgettable journey in time and space.

It is a great event and the heavy drumbeat of those days lingers over the medeval town of Visby and mixes with the smells of roasted wild boars..

Many elements you associate with this era are there.. jesters..

..blacksmiths..

..fair maidens in decked out in dresses they made during long northern winter nights by the light from the kerosene lamps..

The ale brewess..In Gotland the typical ale is called "dricku"..

Monks and salesmen..

This man holding my sister, tells me he has made his impressive mail coat himself..Ring by ring..

A Medieval flirt in the sunshine..

Oh, this outfit is so warm! It is really a hot summer day! My medieval feet are acing. Can we go home now? Where on earth did we park the horse and carriage? Do we really have to stay for the tournament games?
Thanks god! I have been heading in the right direction!
The sign reads in old Swedish: "Full bath: a dime" "Foot bath: half a dime" "Back Scrub by Young Maid two dimes" "By Old Maid Half a dime.." "Soft soap and birch branches used."
However, I am too shy on a Medeval kind of way to ask the price of a back scrub by a young guy with a six pack body..Hmmm. It is not listed anywhere and the place is full of those in handsome outfits! (But then again - six pack did not exist in those days! How on earth can such heretical thoughts dawn upon me? )
The sun sets after a long day. exposing the Middle Age silhouette of Visby..

On my trips to Rome..

..I am priviledged to be able to stay with my friends Annika and Anders at the Swedish embassy residence close to the Termini station. This time en route to Capri I slept in Crown princess Victoria´suite, alas! (and found no pea under the matress! Ha!)

The entrance hall.
The residence of the Swedish Ambassador is some 1.500 sqm and situated in a lovely garden in the centre of Rome. This palace like mansion was acquired by the Swedish state in 1922.

The dining area.

The parlour, facing the lush gardens..

The stairwell to the second floor and the Ambassador´s private quarters.

The balcony (in the private quarters) facing the garden is a beautiful cool spot for long, Roman summer suppers..

Back home in Gotland..

..after one month´s of absence, I found that my entire basement has been filled with water. Due to heavy rains in Gotland this summer, the ground has been thoroughly saturated and many basement valves are spilling over..I am not he only one. It smells like a mushroom patch down below! I will just hope for better weather and keep the doors open for the rest of the summer and hope that it will do the trick!
Meanwhile, my sister and I receive a bunch of great guests from the mainland - some of whom arrived on magnificent Harley Davidsons - and that called for a celebration like a dinner party at Ihrebaden by the long white beach in northern Gotland last night!
While monsterous mosquitoes were devouring us, we were devouring salmon and roasted Gotland lamb with some sparkling for starters.. mmm..

Thalia in Sandhamn!

Thalia - a true water freak.. 

Thalia on her very first visit to Sweden! She spent a few weeks resting and "partying" in the lovely Stockholm archipelago after her long trip Washington-Paris-Naples-Capri-Naples-Paris-Stockholm. In Sandhamn she stayed in her grandmother´s house in Trouville . And she seemed to just love it! Here she is leafing through the Swedish daily papers with her father Malcolm in granma´s garden. Thalia is now 10 months old and just about to walk..

Capri revisited:

BBC today reports the following as a one of the main headlines:

A Swedish couple in search of the isle of Capri drove to Carpi, an industrial town in northern Italy, because they misspelt the name in their car's GPS. 

Italian officials say the couple asked at Carpi's tourist office where they could find Capri's famous Blue Grotto.The car's sat nav system had sent them 650km (400 miles) off course to Carpi. "Capri is an island. They did not even wonder why they didn't cross any bridge or take any boat," said a bemused tourism official in Carpi. Once they realised their mistake, the couple got back in their car and headed south, the official added.

Another "Die dumme Schweden" story is getting a nice global coverage!

PS: It wasn´t me!! DS

One early morning..

..my sister and I steal away from the wedding buzz and board the chair lift (at 8 Euro) to Monte Solaro from Anacapri. Monte Solaro is the highest part of Capri, towering 589 meters above sea level, and boasting a 360° panorama of the island of Capri with a wonderful view of the Faraglioni, the Amalfi and Sorrento coastlines and the Marina Piccola and the Gulf of Naples..
You have to kick off your sandals and carry them in your hand not to lose them during the long trip up the mountain. The hills below under the cable trail are studded with hats and lost sandals..
The bare feet shown here are mine!

Climbing up, up and away. Anacapri below.

Terraces and my sister in the front chair. She yells to me that she once had to jump from a cable chair in the snowy Alps when she got stuck many years ago when she was a ski instructor in Austria. Great! I yell back. Not easily scared by little sisters!Hideous burial shrines are built below on the slopes.
Here a spooky mannequin is neatly dressed (in the clothes of the deceased?)

When we arrive at the top, a heavy mist shrouds the Faraglioni rocks below at Marina Piccola.

As we devour one of the most wonderful ice sorbets - gelati di limoni- you can imagine, the mist gradually give way and and we get our money´s worth of sighting. The sun breaks through and the butterflies roams and beacons among the flowers of the mountain. Even the smells of the typical mountain bush is now released and I can smell the scent of thyme and oregano of the Mediterranian mixing with the strong Italian coffee from the small bar here on the very peak of Capri..
The Faraglioni. Photo from the following clear day´s boat trip around the island.
The newly weds (to the left) with some of the wedding guests have just been passing through the hole of the famous Faraglioni rock. Anders - Sweden´s ambassador in Rome and now the bride´s father-in-law - is donning the white Borsalino to the right .

Colors of Capri..

..as in Lina´s wedding bouquet..or in the Grotta Azzurra..or..

The lady above:
"Buurrrrp. Too much of that great Capriense wine last night!
I should have remember what happened a similar night about 9 months ago..
Why do we never learn!?"