Vibrant. Industrious. Eye-catching. At once cosmopolitan and down-to-earth. At least that is how I’d describe Stockholm after spending 14 days there last June, during Midsummer, while visiting a friend. The Venice of the North, Stockholm comprises 14 islands in the Stockholm Archipelago, and Midsummer, the two weeks leading up to and after Midsummer’s Eve (the summer solstice) is an optimum time to visit. As a guest of a native-born Stockholmer living in the city’s trendy “SoFo” district on Sodermalm island, my visit was a fully immersive experience that is atypical for a regular tourist. Yet, there is much that is easy to discover “on your own” too. Admittedly, but for my friend, Stockholm was not on my List of Places to Visit. Surprisingly, it’s now on my List of Places to See Again — and a destination I’d strongly recommend to those who love to travel.
As I turned to the last page of Beautiful Ruins, I found myself wishing desperately that I could go back in time to start it over. And it’s no wonder. It’s a substantive read that is at once fun and light, romantic and poignant, thanks in all parts to author Jess Walter’s artful story telling. Using the backdrop of disparate times and places, Walter weaves the lives of the novel’s characters — romantic souls that include classic movie stars (Richard Burton and Liz Taylor) and (fictional) modern day screenwriters — together skillfully in a testament to their few degrees of separation.