Mountain Nostalgia

After reading about this Scandinavian concept of hygge, I could only think of mountains. I have always liked them (despite having had a childhood surrounded by buildings rather than beautiful peaks). I always felt this Heimweh for the mountains combined with a Wanderlust that did not last long: I would explore my surroundings with my bike as a teen, and then go as far as my legs would let me (to the Rockies, to the Andes, to the Pyrenees).

But as I moved to this flat in Finland, I got myself trapped in the middle of technology hacks that even when they allowed me to avoid dealing with the tedious housework (for my daily chores were sorted out) made me feel that something was missing (in spite of having the whole time for myself), something –somehow— was out of place in those solitary mornings, in which I was surrounded by white light, electronic noises, and nothing but the recursive presence of the same dark walls: there was this deep feeling of alienation, due to the pervasive iteration.

7 to 9am: the absolute darkness –for the window blinders would turn the room pitch black— contrasted by the white light of the screens (mobile phone’s and computers’ simultaneously) and of the bulbs above me.

11am: Irmeli, the robot, starts its cleaning duties. Its noisy labor will always be followed by the one of the washing machine and the dish washer’s in an everlasting fashion: Irmeli-washing machine-dishwasher; Irmeli-washing machine-diswashwer...

On that day, my mind, in its pursuit to keep itself afloat among all the ever constant reverberation of the electronic devices, would wander and bring back to me an echo of travel experiences; particularly this painted message on a wall I once found on this remote Canadian island, aiming –without knowing— at hygge: “Disconnect from the machine, reconnect with yourself and with others”… A memory soon interrupted by the ever standing rumble of Irmeli-washing machine-diswasher, Irmeli-washing machine-diswashwer…

At some point I would just go blank, fall in a state of total numbness, unable to write, unable to think.

Irmeli-washing machine-diswasher, Irmeli-washing machine-diswashwer…

“Hey”

“Who said that?”

“It’s me! Let’s get out of here!”

“Say, what?! I must have hit myself.”

“No, you didn’t. I could hear what you were thinking, ‘Disconnect from the machine’ – I’ll show you why you shouldn’t.”

“But you cannot…”

“Shush! Come on! Get ready! Aby will take us to Norway. You miss the mountains and she still remembers the roads.”

The whole situation didn’t make any sense, but I had nothing to lose and ended up just going with the flow. It was an amazing drive and we did reach the perfect dreamlike destination: an isolated beach by a giant mountain.

I would have never imagined that indeed “reconnecting with the machine” was to help me reconnect with my hygge-self and bring me the first of many liberating adventures to come. After 800 years, I still relish every single time we get the chance to leave.