Coincidences abound!

_MAL8512.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

After saying goodbye to Anna, I sat on the grass in the square and soaked up some rays. That's when the weekend's many surprising coincidences began.

First, I ran into Isabelle on the square. I had seen her just the night before, climbing at Klättercentret. She was out for a day-long bachelorette party with the bride-to-be and a bunch of their friends.

A few minutes later, I started a conversation with the owner of an adorable border collie that was running around and playing with a ball. After a moment, she asked me if I danced salsa at Chicago. It turns out we have danced several times at the same place. Her name is Teresa, and even though we have never danced together, she remembered my face (or perhaps the ever-present camera).

Not ten minutes later, as I was taking photos of the random folks on the square, I spotted two more familiar faces. Maria and Johan (pictured above) were sitting beside the fountain at the center of the square. I first met Maria on a trip to Idre Fjäll last winter, and met her again while ice skating a week later. Oddly enough, I also ran into Johan in Andermatt. We bumped into each other in the bar there the night I arrived; he had been there a week and was just winding down before heading back to Sweden.

Sometimes the world is a very small place indeed.

Lunch with Anna

_MAL8409.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

After dancing, I took the subway down to Södermalm and met Anna for lunch. She's almost eight months pregnant, and she looks it! We had pizza at an excellent restaurant on Bondegatan, just a block from Nytorget. It's called Primo Ciao Ciao and they have the best thin pizza I've tasted in Sweden. They make it with fresh ingredients and bake it in a woodfired brick oven. I had the pizza salsicia and a Krusovice dark beer. it was delicious. After lunch, we bought ice cream and ate it on the square. The place was packed with people, due no doubt to the warm sunshine.