“If anyone asks me what I remember from my childhood, my first thought is actually not of the people. But of that beautiful environment which framed my days then and filled them with such intensity, that as a grown-up you can hardly comprehend it. Wild strawberries among the rocks, carpets of blue spring flowers, meadows full of cowslips, special places where blueberries could be found, the forest where dainty pink flowers were nestling in the moss, the paddocks around Näs where we knew every little path and every little stone, the creek with the water lilies, ditches, streams and trees – I remember all this more than the people.”
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“How we played, the four of us! From morning till night. Tirelessly, with great exuberance and joy – sometimes endangering our lives – not that we were aware of it. We climbed the tallest of trees and jumped between the stacks of planks up at the saw mill. We balanced along the ridge of our roof – it was quite high – and had we missed our footing, I’m afraid that would’ve put a stop to our games forever."