The collected writings of a Renegade Tourist

Tag Dark and dreary

Changan road, 5:48 pm

Twilight, just before dusk, the sky overcast. It doesn’t seem to matter if I have my headlights on or not. I switch them off for a second, I see just fine without them, then turn them back on for safety. There is a continuous drizzle, almost unnoticeable when standing still but speed compacts it, I can feel a constant spray on the lower half of my face and the spattering on my visor blurs my vision and diffuses incoming light into glittering halo’s around its sources. It is cold, my face feels numb and a few moments without gloves is … Read the rest

Murger weg, 9:52 pm

I am passing the point where the street lights end, behind me the street is desolate and gloomy, no people around and but few lights in the windows, in front of me just murky darkness. As I leave the light a feeling rises within me, I don’t think it’s fear, no its not strong enough for that, but rather apprehension. In my mind I can rationalize it, I highly doubt some ill doer would be waiting on a dark road at the edge of a rural German town with the intent to accost a chance jogger. Neither do I think … Read the rest

Stein Holzbrucke 6:05 am

I am crossing a small wooden bridge, the sound of the river rushing past beneath my feet is very visceral. It surges by with a noisome gurgling that drowns out the only other sound to be heard this early, that of my own feet treading the ground. At this hour, the vanity lights of the town church, the small castle and the bridge itself are all out and there are no tourists awake to take pictures of the night vista. Mists hang like a veil in front the grey mountains in the distance and the churning river is a dark … Read the rest

Metro train near Alvik, 1:28 pm

The world outside the window is bleak and grey. The bare tree trunks form grey shadows against the milky white sky, the thin branches radiating skywards like so many fingers. The buildings in the distance look deserted, like empty shells. We pass over some water but it is inky black, not a ripple on the surface, with sheets of broken ice floating dismally by the edge. The ground, clear of snow and ice despite the season is either a naked soil black or covered in sickly yellow grass. The dead world outside mirrors the emptiness inside me, a desolation of … Read the rest

Zhonghua road 5:53 pm

It’s drizzling, not very heavily, but enough to make the world damp: a steady layer of water on the road surface that soaks through my shoes when I set my feet down; drops all over my clothes that collect in little puddles in the folds of my jacket, and spray coming off the wheels of passing cars. As soon as the needle of the speedometer indicates more than 40, the droplets hitting my face feel like a sand blaster, and the chill of the air is quickly transferred to my bare hands. General all around misery! But there is one … Read the rest

At home 5:36 pm

The sky outside the window has steadily grown darker while I have been sitting here, I have been just that little bit too lazy to get up and turn on the lights. So here I sit, in a darkend room, the glow from the computer screen providing the only real source of light, the faint unlight of dusk lingering in the window behind my back. I am pinned here by the woman sleeping peacefully on my lap, holding my left arm in her embrace. I push the laptop to the side, lean back and just sit here, letting some moments … Read the rest

Rogacic bunker complex, 11:25 am

I walk down the utterly dark tunnel, my flashlight the only source of illumination. The tunnel is long and narrow and vaulted overhead. The white paint on the walls has deteriorated over the years and a bunch of rusty metal clamps are all that remains of the previous lighting system. As I come closer to the end I can sense a faint glow somewhere, when I reach it, it turns out to be a crossroads. I go to the left because it’s shorter and there is light in that direction. It leads to a small open space within a low … Read the rest

Strandhagen 9:10 pm

The sky overhead is dark with clouds, a thin veil of ragged grey covering pale summer night blue.  A heavy cloud cover hangs over the strip of land on the other side of the bay as well, but in the middle is a band of clear sky.  The big orange ball of the setting  sun hangs over the western horizon, casting its rays beneath the clouds; like God shining his flashlight on a world clad in shadow. It illuminates the tree tops and laces the tall grass and bushes with color. The streaks of vivid color in the midst of … Read the rest

The window, 10:20 pm

Swedish summer nights are very nearly endless, the light usually not fading until about eleven, but tonight is different. It is still light enough to see by but there is a darkness to the sky that makes it feel as if light is fading from the world altogether. Dark, brooding rain clouds mingle with a thick, light grey soup that blocks out the sun, tinged purple by nonexistent sunset and orange from pointless street lights below. Rain falls heavily on the ground, creating streams and pools on the paths beneath my window. The world is lifeless and empty except for … Read the rest

Utlandagatan 0:45 am

The fog lies thick over the city, dampening sounds and blurring shapes. In front of me stands a tree, spreading its dark green branches across a background of boring buildings. A street light is shielded by the foliage, leaves turning a vivid gold within the sphere of its glare; the rays forming cones of light through the fog, like search lights. Taking a few steps makes the cones shift as if following me then disappear altogether as I continue home.… Read the rest

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