Back to the Beginning

I've made it back to Malmö where my trip started. It's always eye-opening to backtrack on your travel. For me, it reminds me where I've been, who I've met, what I've done, and what I've learned. When I came through Malmö almost three weeks ago, I didn't know where to go or what the future held. I've lived that future and am coming back with new experiences and new views. To see my arrival city again is to remember the past.

Traveling back to the US is also a bittersweet feeling. I love travel and new experiences, yet I am happy to get back to Texas again. Swedes have a saying for that, "Borta bra, men hemma bäst". Being away is nice, but being home is the best. I love being home, yet I will miss Sweden - as I always do.

Everything is magnified when I know I have to leave. I walk by a restaurant and smell food I will miss. Songs play in the shops and their lyrics seem to always say something to me just before I have to leave, "Leaving on a jet plane. Don't know when I'll be back again." Posters on the walls advertise events I won't be able to attend. Conversation in the air lingers. That conversation in Swedish will change into Dutch then English. Being surrounding by Swedes casually chatting about their day will soon be a memory. And, yes, I'll even miss the weather. I've grown to enjoy the cold, crisp air and the brisk breezes. It wakes you up and makes you more alive somehow.

I have a few hours left before I have to move on to Copenhagen. I'll spend those hours the best way I know how -  by walking around, reminiscing, taking in the sights, and storing it all in my memory. It will have to last awhile. I truly don't know when I'll be back again.