I’m back from my travels, and apologies for the slight delay in getting this post to you. I’d been really clever – or so I thought – and tried to get ahead of myself by scheduling a blog post to upload automatically while I was away. Unfortunately, I put the wrong date in!
Anyway, I had a super time in Copenhagen and Helsingborg in Sweden, which I’ll tell you a bit more about in a moment.
Since getting home, things have been rather busy. My partner Mike headed off to Turkey for a week, and then my sister and her husband arrived to stay with me for three nights.
Her visit had originally been planned around what we usually do when she comes to stay. She lives about two and a half to three hours’ drive away, so we normally make the most of our time together with lots of days out.
This time, however, things didn’t quite go to plan. She needed to empty a rental property ready for sale, and the deadline happened to coincide with her visit. So instead of enjoying lots of days out, we spent two days working hard clearing furniture and household items from the house.
I tasked myself with getting everything to the local recycling centre — six trips in all, three each day! My car would be loaded up, I’d drive to the recycling centre, queue, offload everything, drive back and have the car filled up all over again. Then off I’d go for another round.
As if that wasn’t enough, I also managed to come down with a bit of a cold. I was feeling decidedly under par, lacking in energy and generally not particularly great. It also affected my sleep, so I wasn’t getting a good night’s rest either — just when I could really have done with one!
We had an amazing time in Copenhagen, where we stayed for one night and spent the following morning exploring, visiting food halls and the Round Tower, which, having been built in 1642, was surprisingly very accessible for my powered wheelchair!
The following afternoon, we took the one-and-a-half-hour train journey to Helsingborg, our next destination. Helsingborg is a city on the western coast of Sweden, overlooking the narrow stretch of water separating Sweden from its very close neighbour, Denmark.
My friend (Tina) was determined that we should see as much as possible of the beautiful area in which she lives – and there was certainly plenty to see.
The weather was definitely on our side. We had very little rain and plenty of sunshine, although being that bit further north, it was slightly cooler than we were used to back home in southern England with an added fresh sea breeze.
Helsingborg was just lovely, with a wonderful mix of culture and history, beautiful buildings and gardens to explore. Despite it being September, there was still plenty of colour around, including some gorgeous displays of roses and dahlias.
One thing that fascinated us was the Swedish enthusiasm for cold-water swimming. And when I say cold, I mean cold! I felt chilly enough standing beside the sea, never mind actually getting into it.
Helsingborg has a long tradition of kallbad, or cold bathing, with traditional bathhouses built out over the water. People warm themselves in the sauna and then walk down steps straight into the sea for a swim or a quick dip, before heading back into the warmth of the sauna.
And modesty doesn’t necessarily come into it either! We actually saw people swimming completely naked at one of the kallbads in Helsingborg – including older swimmers who seemed entirely untroubled by either the cold water or the lack of clothing.
Apparently, alternating between a hot sauna and a freezing dip in the sea is considered wonderfully invigorating.
I was quite happy to take their word for it and observe this particular Swedish tradition from a safe distance — fully clothed!
We also got to visit my friend’s apartment, where I finally met her 17-year-old cat in person! She’s a familiar face because she often comes to say “hello” when we’re chatting on video calls, so it was rather nice to meet her properly at last.
Our hotel was excellent, apart from one small snag, which I’ll come to in a moment! All of our travelling was actually very straightforward, but you know how it is – travelling takes it out of you. There’s all the hanging around at airports and navigating unfamiliar train stations, and when you’re reliant on lifts and travelling with a wheelchair, there’s always that extra layer of planning (and anxiety) involved. Accessibility was generally very good, although not entirely without its problems.
And then there was our hotel. Our hotel was perfect in almost every way. It was only about a five-minute walk from Helsingborg’s main train station and overlooked the sea and the ferry terminal.
Ferries run regularly across the narrow stretch of water between Helsingborg and Helsingør in Denmark, with the crossing taking only about 20 minutes. We made the trip ourselves during our stay, which felt rather novel – popping over to another country for a few hours!
There was, however, one rather memorable incident at the hotel.
All of the toilets operated on a vacuum system, rather like those on an aeroplane. Press the button and, with an almighty WHOOSH, everything disappears at great force – and with a noise that certainly doesn’t go unnoticed!
When the toilets on our floor suddenly stopped flushing, it was fairly obvious that something had gone wrong. Thankfully, they could still be used, but we had to wait until the following morning for the problem to be fixed.
And that’s when things became rather amusing. Presumably, everyone on the fourth floor had been waiting to test whether their toilet was working again because, once the system sprang back into life, there seemed to be an extraordinary succession of loud WHOOSHES coming from rooms all around us.
And so it became known as The Great Fourth-Floor Flush of 2026.
Thankfully, normal service had resumed – although for a short while it sounded as though the entire fourth floor was being sucked out to sea!
Thankfully, that was the end of our plumbing excitement and the toilets behaved themselves perfectly well for the rest of our stay!
One thing that really stood out was how helpful people were, both in Copenhagen and Sweden. Of course, it helps enormously that so many people speak excellent English, but we found that people were only too willing to help if they saw us struggling to find somewhere or work out how to do something.
Travelling with a wheelchair in an unfamiliar place can sometimes add an extra layer of complication, particularly when you’re trying to find an accessible route, a lift or the right way onto public transport. Several times, people simply noticed that we might need a hand and offered to help without us even having to ask.
Those little acts of kindness make such a difference when you’re travelling – and they certainly added to our enjoyment of the trip.
In terms of Mounjaro, I deliberately spaced out my injections so that I didn’t have to take my pen with me to Sweden. And while I was away, I certainly indulged!
Since coming home, I’ve taken a 7.5mg injection and I’m really pleased to be experiencing the kind of appetite suppression I had when I was taking Mounjaro before. My weight chart has started to respond accordingly.
That’s not to say I didn’t come back from Scandinavia carrying a few extra kilos! But I’ve largely ignored that, got straight back on track and, as I write this, I’m now only about half a kilo heavier than I was before I went away. I’m very confident that will quickly disappear.
And actually, I can live with half a kilo. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and ate things I wouldn’t normally eat at home. Breakfast for one, as the breakfast was included in our hotel package. Then there were cakes, some lovely steaks and plenty of liquorice, which the Scandinavians seem to absolutely love – so do I!
For me, that’s what maintenance has to be about. I don’t want to go away on holiday worrying about every mouthful or feeling guilty because I’ve enjoyed something different. I enjoyed the food, enjoyed the holiday, enjoyed the company of Tina and her PA, came home a little heavier but simply got back to my usual routine. No panic, no guilt – just back on track.
Weight this week: 55.5kg (8 stone 9¼lbs)
Weight September 12th: 55kg (8 stone 10¼lbs)
Weekly loss/gain: +0.5kg (+1lb)
100% – 7 months 17 days in weight maintenance range (54 – 57kg or 8st 7lb – 8st 13lbs)
This will be a very short blog post, as I’m currently travelling in Copenhagen and Helsingborg, Sweden. I thought it would be useful just to touch base, though, in case you are eagerly anticipating my usual weekly blog post. I wouldn’t want to let you down!
