We’re in Sweden for a few days to visit dad (grandpa), who lives on the country’s west coast, a place close to my heart where I spent every childhood summer. We stop in Hunnebostrand, one of the many old villages that once thrived as fishing communities. These days, they’re popular summer destinations for those keen to enjoy the fresh air, salty sea, good food and cold beer. But we’re not here in summer. It’s October, grey, drizzly and quiet. Still, I love it. The smooth granite mountains, the wide open sea meeting the sky. It feels timeless.

As we leave the restaurant after lunch, I notice a strange pillar on top of a mountain. Despite the wet and slippery rock, we decide to carefully climb up and see what it is. When we reach the top, we find a needle-shaped sculpture about five metres high, rising straight from the bedrock. I touch it. It’s solid granite, carved from a single block.

Bohuslän, the region we’re in, is famous for its stone industry and granite quarries. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Bohus granite was one of Sweden’s major exports, used in buildings and monuments across Europe. You can still find traces of old quarries all over the area. I can only imagine the skill and effort it took to shape a piece like this, cutting, forming and erecting a perfectly balanced stone needle on top of a mountain.

But why a needle? Google doesn’t offer much, but I learn that the sculpture is called Needle (Nålen) and was created by German sculptor Hubert Maier. The town of Hunnebostrand purchased it and placed it here as part of an outdoor granite sculpture park. Someone from the local municipality told my mum that large sewing needles (stoppnålar) like this were traditionally used to repair fishing nets. Now it makes sense. A needle in granite here is perfectly symbolic of the work of human hands meeting the timeless strength of nature. Brilliant!