{"id":312,"date":"2025-05-15T08:00:06","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T06:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/?p=312"},"modified":"2025-06-11T22:26:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T20:26:37","slug":"fight-at-the-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/fight-at-the-lake\/","title":{"rendered":"Fight at the lake"},"content":{"rendered":"

May 15, 2024<\/p>\n

I wake up early, but I\u2019m snoozing so comfortably in my little castle. The sun is shining on my tent, the temperature is quickly rising, and my laundry is already dry again. When I get up to pee, I see a deer walking by.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t set off until around noon. I wonder why I\u2019m so hung up on my slow starts. Then, suddenly\u2014a shift! I clearly don\u2019t have a 9-to-5 mentality, but rather a 12-to-9 one! Same hours in the end, and who cares anyway? It doesn\u2019t get dark until 11 p.m. I laugh at myself. Silly. Somehow, that shift in thinking helps. So, from now on: a 12-to-9 mindset.<\/p>\n

While walking along a country road, I spot a man cycling toward me in the distance. That\u2019s rare enough already, but I also see he has quite large breasts bouncing around. He\u2019s only wearing shorts, sneakers, and socks. He brakes right in front of me and says, \u201cI saw you yesterday too\u2014have you walked all that way?\u201d He\u2019s friendly, clearly older, but still spry and curious. He asks a million questions and shares tips on places I should visit. Then his phone rings: \u201cOops, my wife\u2014gotta go or I\u2019ll be in trouble!\u201d And off he goes. I chuckle and continue walking.<\/p>\n

My thoughts won\u2019t leave me alone. I\u2019m not in the moment; I\u2019m stuck in the future. How will I get new shoes later? The ones I have aren\u2019t great\u2014turns out they\u2019re too small. I\u2019m determined to wear barefoot shoes, but they\u2019re almost impossible to find in stores. It\u2019s not urgent since I have a backup pair, but still\u2026 And will I even manage with the hiking cart in Norway, with all those mountains? Should I send my laptop home to save weight and only bring a keyboard? It\u2019s weird\u2014this kind of overthinking hasn\u2019t been typical for me in recent years, but here I am, stuck in my head. On the other hand, I do find it fascinating to observe all this in myself.<\/p>\n

At a lake, I spot a massive picnic table\u2014big enough for 12 people\u2014with a fleece and a small box on it. I figure I can just sit for a quick break. Then a hefty, panting man storms over from his fishing spot. His belly hangs over his swim trunks and he looks like he might collapse from those thin legs. He starts yelling in Swedish. I tell him I don\u2019t understand, but he doesn\u2019t speak English and just keeps going. I catch something about \u201cmin fru\u201d (my wife), and I gather she must be nearby. Fine, I\u2019ll move. I get tourist-hotel vibes\u2014you know, those folks who put towels on sunbeds at dawn. They can have the table. I don\u2019t stay long anyway, because I\u2019ve just met Sweden\u2019s version of \u201cthe loud, trashy crowd.\u201d Moments later, belly-man is joined by two women, one of whom looks exactly like Ma Flodder\u2014minus the cigar. They shout, yell into their phones, and toss wrappers on the ground\u2014something I hadn\u2019t seen yet in Sweden. I quickly make coffee, eat a sandwich, and head back into the peace and quiet.<\/p>\n

The incident is quickly redeemed by a visit to a beautiful, very old church\u2014D\u00f6rarp Kyrka. For once, the door isn\u2019t locked. The oldest walls date back to the Middle Ages. It\u2019s wonderfully cool inside, and I sit for a while in the wooden pews, soaking in the serene atmosphere. I think about my children\u2014what beautiful people they\u2019ve become and how grounded they are. I feel happy and grateful.<\/p>\n

Then I come across a roadside memorial for Clifford Lee Burton. I didn\u2019t know who he was, but I learn he was one of the world\u2019s greatest heavy metal bassists and part of the legendary band Metallica. In 1986, after a concert, their tour bus crashed on this very road en route to Copenhagen. Clifford was thrown from the bus and died. Fans from all over the world still visit this place. It\u2019s a powerful tribute and surreal to find here, on a sleepy country road where nothing seems to happen.<\/p>\n

I start looking for a place to sleep. I check the Komoot app and spot a beach not far off route. Sounds promising, though the path to it is a bit tricky\u2014I hope I won\u2019t have to turn back. But no, what a reward, what a spot! I feel like Robinson Crusoe on a deserted island. At first there\u2019s a small boat with a family onboard, but they soon leave. I dip my feet in the water\u2014still too cold to swim. Now I\u2019m all alone again, and oh, the richness of it. A beautiful beach, my tent on a bed of moss, only the sounds of nature around me, and a stunning sunset. No more words needed.<\/p>\n