One of my favorite classes, my Photo Documentary and Discovery course, is what DIS calls an Exploration Elective. Our learning is very hands-on and, well, explorative. To that end, we took a trip to the southern countryside of Sweden for the sole purpose of taking photos and experimenting with our technique. For the first half of Easter Break, we spent three days in Kivik, an adorable coastal town in the region of Österlen that our instructor, Anna, knew very well.
Day 1:
We started bright (not really because this is Stockholm) and early with a train at 8:20. The four-hour ride took us to Hässleholm where we transferred to a charter bus for the final hour of our travel, throughout which we saw a warming landscape of green fields and towering, bare pines.
Anna then bought us kanelbullar from Café Smulan, which she noted were her favorite cinnamon buns, and we all adored them! Multiple of my classmates said that it was the best they’ve had in Sweden, and I agree. It was very soft and not too sweet but still gooey and indulgent. Plenty of crunchy pearl sugar adhered to the cinnamon filling that kept the bun satisfyingly moist. I also tasted notes of something fruity that really brightened the flavor. I later identified it as apple!
When we reached the hotel in the afternoon, Cat, our accompanying staff member, mentioned that Kivik is most well-known for its local apples! Then the presence of apple in the kanelbullar made sense. The area has many orchards and vineyards, and then musteri, or juiceries, and wineries to complement. We certainly made sure to taste as many apple-flavored items as possible while we were there!
Our first assignment was at Haväng Beach, where we were paired up and tasked to take a portrait of our partner and an image of something on the beach to pair together. I played around with the airplane trails in the sky and the footprints in the sand.
It had been sunny, a pleasant contrast to the cold that still held Stockholm hostage. The wind whipped the strong scent of salt up our noses, which was surprising because no water in Stockholm smelt like that. I later Googled that the area closer to Denmark is where the ocean’s water comes into the Baltic, so that was why the water got saltier farther south. Up north, the majority of the sea is sourced by freshwater outlets like rivers and streams, and the salt is much more diluted. I thought that was neat.
Eventually, we wrapped up, checked into our hotel, took some more pictures around town, and worked up the appetite for dinner at Buhres. Our meal consisted of three courses and honestly was one of the best and most interesting meals I’ve had in Sweden.
After taking a shower with the lovely apple-scented soap the hotel provided, I welcomed the oncoming food coma and slept very, very well.
Day 2:
We started off the next day with an amazing hotel breakfast buffet. Europe is just amazing at these. The highlights were the very refreshing apple juice and the apple marmalade that went beautifully with brie on bread. I finished up my free time reading in the sun next to the view of the sea.
We also had a speaker, Åsa Sjöström, who spoke about her extensive experience in documentary work. She gave us inspiration for our following assignment in Stenshuvud National Park, where we would tell a story of our time in the park with a short photo series. We were set free for the next five or so hours, with the bikes that were rented to us! Mine was a bit tall for me, but I was very excited to bike. It had been so long since I had gotten on a bicycle, a fact that became a problem very soon.
On the way to Stenshuvud, I passed by a couple of interesting burial grounds. One was Kiviksgraven, what looked like a humongous mound of stones on the outside. The other were these arrangements of stones that reminded me of Viking stone ship graves. This was such a good find for me, because on our trip to Gotland, Khanh and I had very much wanted to see one of the stone ships but we couldn’t find a feasible commute there.
It was around this point that my legs were starting to really burn and feel weak. In retrospect, I think it had to do with the gear settings because I didn’t know what I was doing. In the end, I made it to the national park safely. Maybe my legs didn’t but it’s fine.
The national park was a lot more than simply the forest I was expecting. As I continued along the trails, I passed through what felt like multiple different ecosystems.
Being all by myself in the forest, on a moody cloud-filled day and surrounded by moss growths, I got a chilly sense that I shouldn’t be here. The stones seemed to follow my path with hidden eyes, and the trees bent over my head, spindly branches outstretched and reaching for me. The environment reminded me of European folktales, of faeries who ensnared humans in traps of insanity, sending them in endless loops so their souls never escape from the wilderness.
Although I took pictures of everything I found interesting, the images I chose for this series above focused on the eeriness I felt in the moment. I wanted to evoke the same uncomfortable sensation in the viewer. I really enjoyed my trek in the park, but I certainly relaxed a bit more once I left.
We met up again to present and critique our Haväng portraits as a class, of which I enjoyed hearing everyone’s perspectives and working process. Right after, we settled down for dinner at the hotel’s restaurant.
During dinner, we had some brief, individual feedback meetings with Anna. She gave me some helpful points for honing my theme, as well as great advice to take a larger number of pictures to let myself be open to possibilities. I tend to be conservative with the number of pictures that I take and would rush sometimes, so I needed to try staying a subject for longer and testing different angles. This gave me many new ideas and intentions for our next and last day!
Day 3:
My roommate and I attempted to wake up for sunrise but kind of failed. We did catch some of it, peaking through the willow tree in bursts of gold.
By this point, I was fortunately awake enough to stop by the jacuzzi (it was only open from 7:00-9:00), which was exactly what I needed after the strenuous biking from the day before. It was a relaxing start to the day! Then we continued to be spoiled by the buffet. Swedish waffles with the hotel’s apple marmalade was a game changer.
The bigger picture of our trip related to our long-term assignment for the course. We were working on a project to compare or document Stockholm and Kivik in a meaningful way using photography. We’re allowed a lot of creativity and freedom on this project, which was what makes this one exciting, and also it gave us a chance to connect with this town we were visiting in a deeper way.
So far I experimented with the theme of the natural and the artificial intertwining, or how nature and urbanity touch each other. While in Stockholm, I took multiple pictures of bits of flora within the city’s urban sprawl. Since I hadn’t taken many photos in Kivik itself yet, I took a photo walk and found a lot of neat, little details to document. I’m gatekeeping these for now, but here are some random pictures of this cute town.
Then I wanted to take advantage of our bikes and explore a bit further. This time I did a better job setting my gears so the process was a lot better. Since we had already taken most of the pictures we needed already, today was more relaxing. I went back to Stenshuvud, at my classmate’s suggestion. It did involve me hiking up a mountain, but the wide view of the sea was worth it.
After that, I just cycled around the town for fun. Biking with the sea at your side is immensely freeing, especially when you’re not trying to go somewhere. This was probably my favorite moment of the entire trip.
Soon, we had to say goodbye to Kivik. I would have been more sad about it if I wasn’t so tired. Once we loaded everything and everyone on the bus, I immediately knocked out for the entire ride. It just started raining so the timing for the mood was perfect for a nap. When we transferred to the train, I knocked out again. (So much for getting some work done on the train. I really tried.)
But I think the exhaustion went to show exactly how much of an enriching time I had. This was kind of just a long dump of everything I did, but it meant I got to do and learn so much! Of course I was tired, but on a lot of my other trips I’d be similarly fatigued yet never relaxed enough for my body to let myself sleep, not until I got home. Here, I felt good and satisfied enough to rest. Maybe that doesn’t make any sense, but this entire excursion was very safe, comforting, and meaningful, which easily made it one of the best trips I’ve taken.
Shelf of Wanders 
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