We started our morning ride today (Thursday) in overcast but
dry weather. Five miles into our ride, a huge downpour suddenly, and
unexpectedly, began. There was no place to find cover, so we had the unpleasant
task of getting our weather gear out of our packs and putting it on, a several
minute task, during which we were pelted with heavy rain. This left us wearing
rain gear over wet clothes. We began riding again in this state, but a couple
of minutes later lightning and thunder were all around us, forcing us to pull
off the road (this time under an overhang of a building, protecting us from the
rain). After 20 more miles of riding, cold and damp, we decided to end our ride
and boarded a bus for the last 25 miles of our route.
Our destination town of Sundsvall was a truly pleasant
surprise. Sundsvall is a large city for northern Sweden, with a population of
55,000 and about double that including the surrounding area. The city is a
major industrial center and also houses one of the major campuses of the
Mittuniversitetet (Mid Sweden University).
What makes Sundsvall special is its famous "Stenstaden"
("Stone City"), the aftermath of a great fire that destroyed the city
in 1888. [Note: major city fires destroying large areas (termed "great
fires") were extremely common prior about 100 years ago, when building
were constructed of wood and fire protection techniques were limited. Rome had
a great fire in 64 AD, London had several great fires, and there have been
several in the United States including in Chicago and San Francisco]. Sundsvall
rebuilt after its great fire, with numerous beautiful stone buildings dating
back to around 1890.
The Stone City area is also full of excellent restaurants
and cafes. Our dinner spot was a welcome change from the pizza/kebab joints
that have too often been our only choice.
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| Under an overhang, waiting for the lightning and thunder to end |
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| Cold and wet, boarding a bus halfway through our day's route |
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| Rain gear hanging out to dry in our hotel room |
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| Gloves and other small wet items drying out on a heated towel rack Magnificent buildings in Sundsvall's "Stenstaden" ("Stone City") |
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| Our dinner location |
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