Umeå (bis)

In the morning, I visited Umeå's Bildmuseet, an impressive institution very white and clean inside, almost smelling of fresh paint. Delighted to find some relief from the sultry atmosphere outside, I spent quite some time within the fresh white walls, from the 6th floor to the ground floor.
On the 6th floor, in front of the four hysterically laughing faces (Geng Jianyi, The Second Situation, 1987), one can take the giant lift, large enough for a car and several people. On the 4th floor is found an accumulation of prehistoric axes (Ai Weiwei, Still Life, 1995). For some of them, their being axes seems mysterious. I watched part of a film called Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest (Yang Fudong, 2003-2007).

On my way back to Fredrik and Lisa's place I had to admit that the rear tire of my bicycle had suffered much from the heat and had to be changed as soon as possible. It being Sunday, no bike shop was open. Fredrik gave me a spare tire they had, but it didn't fit. So I was very kindly allowed to stay one more night in the spare room, for which I am extremely grateful, all the more so as I probably needed some rest again, feeling rather tired - thanks a lot. And I could carry on reading Anna Karenine,  which has really become part of the trip now.

Tomorrow, after a visit to the bike shop, I am planning to take a train to beautiful Örnsköldsvik to make up for lost time, avoid the E4 (which, I am told, has long been called "the death road") and then take some time to cycle around the hilly High Coast. And perhaps take a ferry to an island...