The Burning Library, by Edmund White

I've read a few of Edmund White's novels, but I always liked much more his essays and memoirs - My Lives is excellent. Edmund White's essays are extremely interesting and sensible. I highly recommend this book.

Maria Accanto, by Matteo B. Bianchi

I discovered Matteo B. Bianchi through a friend who recommended me Generations of Love, his first novel. I read it in a Spanish translation, and loved it - a fresh, funny and insightful coming out novel, full of references to the 1980s I also lived in and could relate so much to his writing and impressions. I wanted to read more of his work, so when his novel Maria Accanto came out, I waited for a translation, but it was taking too long, so I decided to read it in Italian.

Italian is a Latin language, I am Portuguese and know French, so it seemed a doable project. And it was, I had to use the dictionary lots of times at first, since I lacked the basic vocabulary and there were a lot of "false friends" words, but I managed to understand it pretty well and enjoy the reading. It was worth it, the book is very good, it reminded me of a Woody Allen movie - an out-of-worldly experience by a common girl, that makes her think and grow. All in a casual and funny tone and an optimistic mood, you feel happy upon reading it.

I'd really wish Matteo's books to be translated to English to get them the audience they deserve.

Uppsala

I had been to Uppsala for a day trip before, 6 years ago, and had had a taste of the city; this time I could enjoyed it more leisurely. It’s a beautiful city, combining the historic feeling of an ancient capital with the modern bustle of a student city, since the university is the center of its life. I started by strolling along the river and relaxing at a nice café, before meeting my friends for a great Indian lunch, during which they gave me some invaluable tips about what to visit.

So I started with an incredibly good exhibition of old books and manuscripts at the Uppsala University Library, with some gems like Vesalius Anatomy, Newton’s Principia, Mercator’s maps, the Silver Bible, Persian, Jewish and many other beautiful books, even a letter by Marie Antoinette.

Then I visited the Trefaldighet church, with its beautiful wall paintings and altar piece, and then the Gustavianum Museum. It houses a small but excellent Egyptian collection, the curious and interesting Augsburg cabinets, a great collection of scientific instruments that look like works of art, and the recreation of the 17th century anatomical theater – not as beautiful as the one in Bologna but still remarkable.

Uppsala cathedral is an impressive building, both on the outside and the inside. Beautifully decorated, with many royal tombs and a small but great museum in the tower – medieval textiles, royal regalia from the tombs and the clothes of three nobles killed in the 16th century – interesting to see how small they were – people really got taller with the modern diet and health.

The Botanical Gardens are a good place to relax, the arboretum is great and the plants all labeled. From the castle one has great views over the city, and the Linneus Garden is also beautiful and informative. It was nice walking around town with a friend who explained about the Nations – the students’ places according to their origin – and several interesting anecdotes about the city.

I finished my visit to Uppsala in Gamla Uppsala, the seat of the old Viking capital. The burial mounds are still impressive, and the church – the former cathedral – beautiful. And it’s nice to have a feeling of a village just by the city.

I really enjoyed this trip to Sweden – resting, sightseeing and meeting friends, the perfect holidays.

Around Stockholm - Gripsholm and Sigtuna

The next day I took the train to visit the small and quaint village of Marienfred, by the lake Mälaren, and the castle of Gripsholm. Marienfred is a scenic little village, with wooden houses, a small church whose steeple towers over it, a nice waterfront with boats and views over the lake and the castle.

The castle of Gripsholm, built under the Vasas, is a beautiful red brick palace (the most recent tower is actually faux-brick, painted to resemble the rest) and houses the biggest portrait collection in Europe. And a truly remarkable collection it is, displayed all over the castle, whose architecture and décor are also worth seeing. There are portraits from all the royal houses in Europe since the Renaissance, the Swedish nobility, and Swedish personalities from the last two centuries, from Dag Hammarskjold to Greta Garbo or Björn Ulvaes.

After visiting the castle, I enjoyed a nice walk to the train station – only in Sweden can one enjoy walking 4 km in the sun at 3 PM of an August day! I ended the day catching up with a couple of old friends over dinner in a Thai restaurant in Gamla Stan – perfect.

The following day, I headed to Sigtuna in the morning. The oldest city in Sweden, it is a nice little town with a very touristy main street, some good rune stones, and a wonderful church. Mariekyrke was worth the trip by itself – beautiful wall decorations and altarpiece, and a bucolic graveyard.

Back in Stockholm, I walked from Odenplan to Karlavägen, a beautiful street lined with splendid buildings, towards the Historiska Museum. This is another wonderful museum, with an outstanding Medieval art collection, a treasury room full of amazing gold artifacts from the Viking age, and an interesting exhibition about the history of Sweden.

I walked along the sumptuous and super-posh Strandvägen, with its nice boat cafés by Djurgården, before having dinner with another old friend from Malmö who luckily happened to be in Stockholm – surstömming and Sauvignon Blanc at a terrace by the lake, talk of politics and travels, lovely.

Back to Stockholm

I finally went back to Sweden, after 6 years. I missed it, and not only because I try to learn Swedish, but because it’s such a beautiful and civilized country, and because I have several good friends there. Besides, where should one go in August when one dislikes the heat?
And I’m so glad I did it. Stockholm is just as beautiful as I remembered it, and I had such a nice weather – no more than 22ºC, a little rain in some evenings, perfect for walking around. After checking in at a hotel in Kungsholmen, I went out for an evening stroll. I walked along Norr Mälerstrand until the Rålambhovsparken, then across the Västerbron and then the Söder Mälarstrand, passing by the many anchored boats, and the boat hotel where I stayed on my first time in Stockholm. The Slussen is still undergoing renovations – for years – and then I revisited the lovely Gamla Stan, where I had a very nice Swedish dinner of steamed salmon with lingonberries (you cannot get much more Swedish food, unless you have meatballs of course).

The next day I started by walking through Vasastan, enjoying the sunny weather to look at the beautiful urban architecture – along the lovely Odegatan until Odenplan, then down to Drotningsgatan, where I had the pleasant surprise of finding a second-hand book street market. I love this kind of markets, and enjoyed myself browsing through the stalls, looking for Laterna Magica by Ingmar Bergman – that I eventually found and bought – and trying my feeble Swedish with some sellers. I ended up buying four books – couldn’t resist, they were all so cheap (between 1 and 4 euros), hope to be able to read them. I felt quite happy heading towards the National Museum, that for some unremembered reason I hadn’t visited on my previous trips to Stockholm.

I’m happy I visited this time, it’s an excellent museum (and free). I was particularly stricken by its painting collection from the 16th and 17th centuries, and then the design collection from the late 19th century until the present times, the glass works were exquisite.
Then I went to the Modern Art Museum, which shares the building with the Architecture and Design Museum that I had visited before and loved. This one is not as good, it has some very good pieces from the 1910s until the Abstract Expressionism, but I cannot really appreciate the contemporary works. (One aside about the restrooms – I’m all for mixed toilets, but it’s really not practical in crowded places, since it begets queues for everyone, when usually only women toilets have them! It’s a practical matter!)
The day ended with a nice Chinese dinner in Hornstull with a Swedish friend, we talked about politics, travel and life in general, and I went back to the hotel in a rainy but warm evening.