Travel Journal: Day 14 ๐ธ๐ช Stockholm, Sweden
This is my 28-day journey of living a temporary life in Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm, and Copenhagen.
๐ธ๐ช August 5, 2019
Look closely at the present you are constructing: it should look like the future you are dreaming. (Alice Walker)
Finding gratitude in small things and injecting a little randomness into my life is one of my 2018 and 2019 resolutions. And a lot of small wonders coincidently happened every day. Because I am in a different country and experiencing different culture? Well, it might be true, but might not.
I went to Gamla Stan and looked around the old town. Sometimes I stopped by souvenir shops to buy a Sweden flag pin because Iโm collecting flag pins of countries that I visited. But today I had a bigger mission from my niece. We had a chat on Instagram yesterday, and she told me that she wanted to get a beautiful Swedish style pencil case. Well, what is the Swedish style and where can I find that style? I just went around some shops and found a beautiful pencil case. Surprisingly, it was the same style pencil case as the one that she wanted to have. Todayโs small wonder started like that.
While I was looking around, I saw a bunch of people gathering in front of the palace. It seemed like they were waiting for something. So, I joined in the line of people and waited together. Some minutes later, the palace guards riding on horses started marching with music. I never imagined that I could see the Changing of the Guard at Gamla Stan. The second small wonder accidentally happened, too.
I got to a small square and saw old buildings painted with beautiful colors next to the Noble Prize Museum. When I took some pictures and started keep walking, I saw a young boy drawing buildings that I took pictures of just now. I came to him quietly and looked at his painting. It was really beautiful, more beautiful than the original ones. I saw a small donation box beside him, took 20 SEK from my pocket and put it into his box. He looked at me with smile and said, โThank you.โ It was a small donation for rooting for his dream. I prayed with all my heart, recalling his big innocent grin that he will be a great artist who will make our world better with his great ability. That was my third small wonder that I came across in Gamla Stan.
After wandering at Gamla Stan, I bought a cinnamon roll, went to Humlegarden, a park near my hotel, sat on a bench, and read a book, eating the cinnamon roll. If a park like this was near my home in Seoul, I would be really happy. Building a library, a park, and a stage that anyone comes and uses for free โ building a free culture park โ is one of my dreams, but can I construct this wonder in the future?
