exploring soldermalm & new friends

my last day in stockholm was spent mostly alone, on a prediction-defying beauty of a day. back tracking, i had made a connection on the second day in gamla stan when i wandered into a bike shop (gamla stan cykel) and inquired about whether or not any mountain biking was to be found. martin, the super nice employee, immediately pulled out a map and started circling greenspace on stockholm's periphery. and then, in a move reassured me of the cycling community's inclusiveness and awesomeness worldwide, he made a phone call to a friend of his he said would probably be able to show me around some trails and help me get my hands on a bike. elated, i walked out with a free map and contact info for two local cyclists.

simona and i exchanged an email volley attempting to find a time to meet up. she runs her own online cycling customization/componentry shop that had a storefront this summer so it turned out, with the activities mama becky and i had planned, that we would not be able to meet until wednesday, our last day in town. the info i had for simona's shop location was vague: an x scrawled on a map, on the island of soldermalm, 2 islands down from our hotel. it was when i set out on wednesday that i realized i didn't even have the name of the shop.

and so, i wandered. the sun was bright and warm, the sky azure, and the stockholmers out in appreciative multitudes. soldermalm reminds me of east atlanta and a little bit of downtown asheville. its inhabitants are primarily younger, and though of course gorgeous, it has a comforting level of grit: grafitti and street art lines the alleyways, posters for upcoming shows and vegan potlucks paper walls, and the boutiques are all self-consciously hip. i walked all the way down the street that her shop was supposed to be on, and at its termination into a roundabout, saw a bike shop. after asking if anyone named simona worked there and receiving a negative reply, i gave up. turning around on the other side of the street and walking back, it was when i spied this beauty that i realized i was where i needed to be:

i walked in and was greeted by a warm hello and thankfully, an affirmative when i asked if she was simona. we hung out for about an hour, immediately connecting on a shared love for all things bike. she is an awesome, spunky, friendly lady and you should check out her site here. it was one of the high points of the trip, making a real connection in a community that matters to me with someone i feel like i will definitely see again. simona gave me a bunch of encouragement about trying to find my way back to stockholm and before i left, i had to get one of her super cute shirts. take a gander here if you want to see me looking very enthused in an instagram photo simona uploaded.

 the wheel in the bottom left is carbon that a local artist painted on. i wish i had gotten a picture of it, it was really dazzling! simona is into design and aesthetics, and all of the components she selects reflect that. as a girl who is very concerned with her bike's color scheme, i love that.

the wonderful simona

after i said goodbye to simona, i walked some more. i felt myself dissolving into the sunshine, into the cobblestones, the little parks, the flower stores, and countless cafes. unburdened by obligation or appointment, anonymous and speechless...  in this weightlessness and newness, i was content.