REMEMBERING SCANDINAVIA #2

Storlien is located in central Sweden close to the border of Norway, a short drive from Trondheim. For many, including royalty, it has been and continues to be a popular ski resort. One can understand the popularity as the location is somewhat remote and quiet - a good place to get away from it all!! It is especially quiet in summer.

Our cabin at Storlien was cute and cosy, rustic in a contemporary way. Although we could not park in front of the cabin, the walk from the parking lot was short and non-demanding. It was a three-bedroom cabin. Laurel's and my rooms each had bunk beds. We chose to sleep on the top bunk - it seemed like there would be more air movement there. It was a challenge to climb up and down as the ladder was not much wider than my foot. Meeting the challenge was worthwhile as I slept like a log on the top bunk.

The cabin was on the outskirts of the villa. In the villa is a shop called Storliens Gast - & Stugservice, located in the railway station. The shop carries a great selection of outdoor sporting clothing such as Lundhags, as well as souvenirs like cheese cutters with handles made of reindeer horn. There is also information on what to see and do in the local area. The owners were very obliging.

Our other find was the restaurant Flammans. The meals we ate at this restaurant were some of the favorites of our entire trip. The restaurant is located in a timber frame building that was built during the 1930s. It was first a Kaffestugge (coffee house). Then it became a disco, taking its name from a "flame" located in front of the building. After that it housed a kindergarten. It has been a restaurant since the year 2000. The present owners have used some family heirlooms to furnish the restaurant. We had a lovely waitress, Issalinn Lokken Moen. She is the only "Issalinn" in Sweden with double letters in her name. Her parents had to get special permission from the King to give her that name.

Our first meal at Flamans was supper on the Wednesday night. Our meal starter was a pea soup in a mini bowl with toasted homemade bread. Laurel and I had organic red wine from Spain; Alice and Bill shared a local beer. After our soup, Laurel and I had a shrimp/char salad with garlic mayo. Our main course was sliced roasted venison with a potato terrine. Alice and Bill had grilled beef with roasted potato quarters. The presentation was stunning? Our dessert was panacotta with strawberry/red currant sauce. I ordered coffee, and was impressed to be presented with my own mini French press and hourglass timer. What a dining experience!!

(Generally speaking, our meals and drinks in Scandinavia were smaller-sized and less sweet than what we are used to in Canada. The bread and ice cream were real treats!)

Appetizer

Entree

Dessert

We had four nights (Tuesday - Friday) and three days (Wednesday - Friday) in Storlien. On the Thursday we drove to Trondheim. (I will devote my next posting to our Trondheim trip.) On the Friday we went on two hikes: a 2 km one to a local waterfall, and a 6 km hike on the Blomsterstigen, or floral path. In the early 20th century, Dr. Ernst Westerlund established a sanatorium in Storlien for physically and mentally ill patients. Part of his prescribed therapy was a walk along the floral path. Along the path are various signposts identifying various plants. There are also donated benches for people to stop for a rest. We continued our hike to the top of the mountain and back. At the end of our hike, we were all very weary, and some were chilled as it was a cool,damp day. Nevertheless it was a memorable day. I purchased a little book which identifies the flora which we saw. I want to compare it with some of my books for the local area, as many of the species looked familiar.

Laurel at gateway to waterfall hike

Alice seeking refuge from waterspray

Cute couple

My camera battery was flat at the beginning of the floral walk. I took pictures with Laurel's camera, so perhaps will have a few more to post later on.

REMEMBERING SCANDINAVIA #1

Elaine on patio outside Breakfast Room of Radisson Blu Hotel

View from front of hotel, a heritage home

Alice and Bill

Laurel and Alice outside Harrod's at Heathrow

On Sunday, July 18/2010, my sisters Laurel and Alice, Alice's partner Bill, and myself took off from Edmonton International Airport via Air Canada at 7:50 p.m. en route for Stockholm. We were given a good send off by Helge, Glen K., Megan, Tamara, Kayli, Melanie, Cory, Jonas, and Emmett. We arrived at Heathrow, London around noon the next day after approximately an eight-hour flight. (London is 8 hours ahead of us.) After a couple of hours wait in London, we boarded an SAS flight for Stockholm. We arrived in Sweden around 6:00 p.m. We took an airport shuttle to the nearby Radisson Blu Arlandia where we spent our first night. We had supper that night at the hotel. We especially enjoyed our appetizer of three kinds of herring, boiled new potatoes, chopped red onion with chives, and a bountiful basket of fresh breads and crispbreads.

The next morning we had a complementary breakfast fit for kings!! It was truly a smorg with a variety of fresh fruit, cheese, breads, yogurts, liver pate, salmon, Swedish pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, roasted potatoes, baked beans, and good coffee. Mmmm... After breakfast we headed for our car rental place. As luck would have, this place was a short walking distance from our hotel. We were impressed as Alice had booked the car, and I had booked the hotel.

We rented a Volvo diesel station wagon, packed up, and headed north on the E4 following the east coast of Sweden, Laurel driving. It would have been nice to have spent some time in Stockholm but we had a long journey to our(Alice's) timeshare in central Sweden at Storlien.

Our first pit stop for morning coffee was a "Dinners" just outside of Gavle. One of the brochures we picked up here was on the farms of Halsingland. Some of the descriptions were intriguing:

"The ambitions of the farmers of Halsingland to construct grand and beautiful buildings have always raised admiration. Large, sumptuous and painted red, with many windows and elaborate porches.......Inside the farms of Halsingland are magnificent interiors with art painted on the walls, stencilled wall decorations, and expensive wallpaper."

Painted red with lots of windows

Nice porches

Maypole

Note the foundation

Familiar sight (looks like Helge might have done this)

Fencing style common throughout Sweden

Alice and Bill at the well

Laurel noting fruit

Can you see the wire moose?

Wallpaper and stencilling

Wallpaper closeup

Some like vintage machinery

The brochure marked 52 of these farms on a map. Some were in the Soderhamn area, the next major stop. We decided to continue on to the next major stop, Hudiksvall. From Hudiksvall we travelled a short distance east and visited the Heritage Centre, Forsa Forngard. (It wasn't until we reached our timeshare later that evening and read the info that Aunty Bea had sent Alice that we realized that our Grandfather had been born in Soderhamn!! Fortunately we were able to return there at a later date.)

Just before Sundsvall I took over the wheel and headed west on the E14. Around 3 p.m we finally found a place to stop for lunch and fuel - Luddes Gatukok at Vallfartsvagen. We continued on to Ostersund where we stopped for groceries. Bill then continued driving until, late in the evening, we reached our cute, rustic cabin at Storlien. Ahhh......such a good feeling!!

Spring Ramblings

The Wild, Wild West - Caroline Rodeo Parade

Native clematis - like contrast with dry leaves from last Fall

Some of my first plantings in 2010

May Long was a quiet, but enjoyable weekend. Apart from the Caroline parade on Saturday morning, I spent the weekend at home. It felt so good to get some of my herbs and flowers planted and to have the planting followed by a light rain. I went for a walk in the bush today after a long hiatus. I was thrilled to see the wild clematis flowering. I went back to the cabin for my camera and took a few photos. Sonja was here briefly. It is always a joy to have her home. Aina and Madison moved in with Randall this weekend. Kai and Jen both phoned. We hope to discuss wedding plans next weekend. I've kept up-to-date with Jarl and Rebecca via facebook. We had our first taste of the new crop of rhubarb tonight(rhubarb crumble). What a wonderful time of the year!!

Musical Musings: Enjoyed the following artists on CKUA. Must check into.

1. Drew Nelson - album "Dusty Road to Beulah Land"

2. Delhi 2 Dublin - album "Planet Electric"

3. Flying Burrito Bros - I enjoy the voice of Gram Parsons

A WEEK TO REMEMBER!!

What a week! I lost my car keys last Sunday afternoon. We were ready early to go to Red Deer to hear the bluegrass band, The Lonesome River Band. We searched for half an hour for my keys before we finally gave up and looked for a spare set. We made it to the concert just in time and had a great evening. The band gave a very professional performance with excellent instrumental work and vocals. The band had their misfortune, too. All their music was tied up in Customs so they had nothing for sale. I for once had remembered to bring cash to purchase a CD. Oh well! I used my cash to update my membership in the Waskasoo Bluegrass Society. I know I won't attend every event but I do believe in supporting live music.

I used my spare set of keys all week. It was a busy week so I didn't want to take time to search for the set I had lost. During the day I was totally engaged within the classroom. My classes are full of young energetic men who are working hard to achieve their goals. I am kept busy with one-to-one tutorials, marking, planning, record-keeping, and report writing. The days absolutely fly by. ( I am so looking forward to two shutdown days, tomorrow and Tuesday, for some catchup time!!) After hours I was preoccupied with organizing photos, books and card for Evlyn's retirement party on Friday night as well as tickets for a celtic concert in Bearberry next weekend.

When I got on the road to work on Friday morning I realized I had left my purse at home. I had remembered my lunch, extra clothing, shoes, jewelry, books, card, Barb's poem, and tickets......BUT I forgot my purse!! It was too late for me to go back home for my purse.

We began Ev's retirement party with a buffet dinner at The Flames. Judy and Barb paid me for their Bearberry tickets so I had money for my meal. After dinner we headed to Pat's for the rest of our festivities. We began the evening with a staff recitation of Ode to Evlyn written by the multi-talented, humorous, and creative Barb. Barb then presented Evlyn with the staff gift, a copy of the first edition, unabridged Dorothy Parker and an album of staff photos dating back to when Ev first began working for Excalibur seventeen years ago. Ev was then presented with a basket of mostly recycled books organized by Judy. Ev was visibly touched by the staff performance and her gifts. She thanked us all in a most eloquent and gracious manner. Then it was time for dessert. Pat had ordered a beautiful cake in the shape of a book from the local Co-op store. She had also prepared a refreshing punch, coffee, and had Diet Coke for Ev.

In my usual form, I was last to leave. I had one last coffee for the road. Ev had forgotten her Diet Coke so I offered to drop it off on my way home. I did this, spoke briefly with Ev, then took off for home. Heading west of Innisfail I noticed the flashing lights of a police car in my rearview mirror. I pulled over. It turns out that I had been speeding in town, 78 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. I must have been totally 'zoned out' as I don't recall speeding. I am usually very careful with my speed in residential areas. I was rather embarrassed. It is about twenty years since I last had a speeding ticket! Fortunately the very pleasant police officer did not give me a ticket for not having my driver's license. (It was at home in my purse!!) He advised me not to forget it again. I told him that I would try but that remembering was an issue for me. He wished me better luck.

Helge checked out the cost of a new set of keys. It would be $130.00. I didn't need this expense on top of my $166.00 speeding ticket. Thus I began another search for my keys yesterday. I got excited when I saw my red bib apron, as I realized that I had probably been wearing it while I was scurrying around cleaning last Sunday. I checked the pocket. Sure enough, my keys were there. Whew!

Moral of Story: It is okay to be busy but don't compromise your rest. One's head is so much clearer when one has had enough rest!!