Alas, the earth keeps
turning and the academic year is beginning to roll by. The carnival of
‘fresher’s’ week has ‘somewhat’ subsided and I am finally getting a taste of
what it is like to live as a city commuter in Sweden.
Far – Further – Farsta
The title nickname for
where I live in Stockholm is not without reason. Located to the far south of
the city, the roughly one hour commute door to door for lectures nullifies any
chance of pyjamas in class – or as I once saw – the whole duvet and pillow. 6 am
reveilles are commonplace throughout the dorm in order to transit in time for
the dreaded 8 am lecture!
The town of Farsta is
self-sustaining and provides more than the basic weekly amenities. Such
excitements as H&M and the Swedish version of JJB sports to throw a little
spice amongst the weekly shop from LIDL and the essential stop at
‘Systembolaget’.
Systembolaget being
the government controlled alcohol retailer throughout Sweden and the only place
you can buy a hard beverage above 3.5% alc content. Closing at 7 pm through the
week, 3 pm on Saturday and closed all day Sunday, it means that any impromptu partying
needs a little more planning.
It’s my Birthday…
 |
| Superman - Courtesy of Pradeep Kumar Srinivasan |
Consider the old high school celebrations in the
UK… One would arrive at school wearing a large palpable badge pinned proudly to
ones bosom, before taking a seat in registration, commencing the building of
the greetings card fort. The lucky birthday boy or girl would pass through
his/her school day collecting cards from friends and adding them to the
birthday battlements surrounding ones study space for the day. A greetings card
fort that would develop throughout the course of the day. Such festivities would
usually be crowned with a large party to which you had invited many friends you
had made through that year at school. Word had gotten around and other friends
were pestering you for invites too...
Question – do you know
how many times the 3rd of September is the first day of school in
the UK – Answer – a lot! And do you realise how inappropriate such lovely
outlandish celebrations are on said first day, not to mention the natural excitement
of the first day back to detract from your birthday aura. Other conflicts of
my Birthday include it being situated in a University holiday – meaning the
crazed university party’s seldom occurred – Similarly I started my first day
of work at Delcam on my birthday. You get the point.
 |
| Party Pooper - Pradeep Kumar Srinivasan |
This year I was nervous
of a similar situation defined above. A new country with new people who had no
reason to celebrate with me. Instead, it was seemingly a great excuse to throw
the first Farsta party. A birthday celebration that was also useful in letting
many people mingle and meet for the first time.
The open lobby to the
dorms was decorated with balloons and banners; Cake, quiche and other party
foods filled a table. Lighting was adjusted and music was mastered by our own resident
Italian DJ. I shared the event with two other awesome chaps who were also grateful
for the birthday consideration.
 |
| Birthday Boys - Pradeep Kumar Srinivasan |
When living next to a
large forested lake – how else is such a party supposed to end? The 3 birthday
boys and some of the other party hard-cores braved the icy waters, scantily
clad. It was the fitting end to a great party.
The Lake
The above mentioned ‘lake’
is Farsta’s crowning feature. The town and location are plainly normal, but
this is special. Barbecues by the beach, hiking, running, cycling, swimming and
even ice skating in the winter. It provides a rich diverse lifestyle only 30
minutes from central Stockholm.
Trail Picture (left)- courtesy of Sushant Madaan
I am regularly found
running along the hundreds of kilometres of track that spider web through the forests and
along the water’s edge. You can easily run for 10 km of so and not even be half
way around the lake. It’s easy to go out walking or cycling for hours and
completely lose yourself.
A short hike away is a
secluded spot with a small island just off shore that makes a great target to
swim to. A couple of friends and I made the trip last weekend to break up the
seemingly relentless studying. The surface water was so warm and inviting in
the afternoon sun but after jumping in – we quickly realised that this was not
representative of the whole lake and that about a foot under the surface the
temperature was considerably colder. Nevertheless, we made it to the island.
Even Kumar.
 |
| Sunset - courtesy of Maria Gaci |
A view of the lake greats me every morning from my window and I smile to the thought of – ‘I live
here’.
