Sept. 26-31, 2010

I have had one of the most amazing weeks of my life! After learning that Copenhagen and Kobenhaven are in fact the same city I could find my route to Sweden on my map just to know where I was going. On the train I met a few new people and I am slowly discovering how much Germans love to talk politics… I also met the co-author of a book! His name was Richard Hammond. Him and his friend wrote the book “500 amazing getaways.” We were both going to Stockholm and our train was an hour behind schedule. We arrived in Copenhagen and had to make new connections. He was very kind, he bought me tea and introduced me to the “Daim” bar! It’s lake a Heath bar on crack! Anyways, when we finally arrived two hours late in Stockholm he made sure that I knew were my next connection was and said farewell. Richard, where ever you are, you were an Angel. I realized that I overpaid you for that book.. 12.99 pounds, not euro… Oh well, you bought me tea and you were very kind. 

I confidently traveled nearly 24 hours to stay with my long lost relatives, whom I had never met before, in Sweden. To my luck, they were the most lovely people you could ever imagine! My parents discovered that we had relatives when they visited Sweden (years ago) and were privileged to stay with them for the last two days of their stay in Sweden. I outdid them and stayed for 6 days! Haha! The house where the Gelin family (pronounced Ya-lin) spends their summer season in, well, it is in the woods. They live a few feet away from Sweden’s second or third largest lake that stretches from Stockholm to Uppsala. You can get a magnificent view of the lake form their balcony on the second floor of their house, or even the verandah where I had tea the first night that I was there and breakfast in every morning. Oh it was so gorgeous out there on the lake! To my luck it was the last week that they were staying in the summer house before they moved into the city (Uppsala) for the winter. So mornings were cold, especially when the shower was outside!

Every morning I would use the outhouse, then spend 15 minutes getting warm in their own personal sauna (or Bastü in Swedish) and after I would proceed to take a shower out in the wild! Exposed to all the elements! It really wasn’t that bad. I actually enjoyed it. Probably because the water was warm… If it was cold then it would be another story. However I didn’t shave my legs for the whole week (TMI I know…). Here, to the right is a picture of the Bastü and the shower. How would you like your own sauna? Isn’t that cool? 

The first morning I went on a mushroom hunt with Cissi (Benkt Ake’s daughter... My 3rd cousin? It’s so confusing). Only one other time in my life have I gone on a mushroom hunt. It was extremely unsuccessful. We roamed around in the woods for hours trying to find mushrooms that would kill us if we ate them. We didn’t find any. I felt like that rabbit trying so desperately to find Trix only to end with the same conclusion. So we packed our empty baskets into the car and drove home with frowns on our faces. But this time, this mushroom hunt, we hit the jackpot! We were hunting for two kinds of mushrooms; golden chanterelles and yellow stemmed chanterelles or “trumpet mushrooms” (which are otherwise quite pricey in the markets). There were so many mushrooms everywhere it was amazing! I took pictures of pretty much every single one, ha! Many of them weren’t good for eating. They either were poisonous or had too strong of a flavor. Which was why we were only picking two kinds of mushrooms and not the twenty or so that were growing. I have provided pictures of some of the mushrooms that I saw that morning. There were honestly so many different kinds. Many of which I had never seen before. Last year at Corban University (the college I attend) there were what seemed like tons of mushrooms growing wild around the campus. I was indeed mistaken! If there we tons growing at Corban then there were trillions growing in this little wood in Sweden. I found that some of the mushrooms that were growing at Corban were also growing in Sweden. It is always interesting to find similarities between where you are and home. 

When we got back Titi (Christina, Benkt’s wife) had made us lunch. It was a sort of cheese pie, similar to a quiche. Oh my goodness, it was amazing! I hope that she doesn’t forget to send me the recipe. Every meal that I had at the house was prepared by Titi and Geta (Christina’s older sister). And every meal was so so so delicious! Benkt is lucky to have such a wife! The table was always set and the food was arranged and garnished for us when we came to the table. Thinking back on it I will always smile. I love food, what can I say.

Later that day Benkt, Johan, Cissi and I went to visit Skokloster Castle. On the same plot of land as the castle was another smaller building titled the “white castle.” There Carl Gustav was born. There was also a church that dated back to the 13th century. It was originally Catholic, but during the Reformation this church, along with all of Sweden became Protestant. There was an orchard growing between the church and the castle. We picked some apples and ate them while walking around the outside of the castle. It was the best apple I think I have ever had! The day we were there was the last day that Skokloster was open for the season and we got the last tour (Literally, our tour guide locked the castle up after we exited the door). The castle itself was never completed. It was one of Carl Gustav’s many (approximately 11) castles. Skokloster, however, was Carl’s dream castle. But the funds were never raised enough to complete it. most of the rooms were finished, except one. This room would have been the most magnificent of them all, had it been completed. The banquet hall had windows that stretched up to the high, vaulted ceilings. All to be seen by us was exposed beams that were to create these high ceilings and bare wooden floors. It is said that when the peasants (who were building the castle) heard that Carl was finally dead, they dropped what they were doing and went home. When Carl died he specifically wrote in his will that his collection and the castle never be taken away. So today we can all enjoy the 5,000 pieces that are left of Carl’s castle. Among his collection 3,000 of the 5,000 Items can be found in one room: the Armory. Carl Gustav was a man of war. He loved to fight, plunder and collect “war booty” as our guide said. His armory was amazing. There were so many beautiful guns from different countries. He had at one time 5 ivory pistols, but two of them were missing. Mystery that… Carl also had many show guns, for example he had one of the first had held “machine guns” which was really a nine barreled gun that you had to be a member of the strength team to pick up and actually aim at an opponent. He had riffles that were 9 feet long (for what reason, I have none), countless other riffles and pistols ornately decorated with mother of pearl, cross bows, spears, swords, knives and daggers. Among the sword in the collection I saw the very sword that Carl was holding in his most famous portrait. Prague likes to claim that 5% of the collection is all stolen, but it was recorded that it was either won in battle, given to, or purchased by Carl Gustav. I could go on for days about this castle! But I wont. SO moving on…

We got back home and had an amazing home cooked meal by Titi (Christina, Benkt’s wife). The dish was fish, in a cream sauce with mushrooms, topped with lemon. If you aren’t a fish person like my little brother (he wont touch a chocolate cake if you tell him that it was sitting next the leftover fish in the fridge) then you will still love this dish! I was so good. And for every meal, I had seconds. Titi would ask “would you like some more, please,” and how could you say no? 

That night after dinner I was introduced to one of the funniest shows I have seen in a long time. It was John Cleese’s “Fawlty Towers.” If you have never heard of this show and you love Monty Python style comedy, you should check it out. It is one of Benkt’s favorites and I can see why. After an episode would finish he would look over at me and say, “One more?” and I would nod my head happily. Soon I was looking over at him and asking the same question. 

The next day (the 27th) Benkt and I went to Stockholm. We walked around in the windy city (I in a dress, naturally) and he told me a little bit of the city’s history. He had also set up a tour with a someone who worked in the Parliament. We walked around in the government buildings and I was able to see many places where the king and queen would and do come for Parliament meetings. And I sat in the Prime minister of Sweden’s chair! Here in the picture is proof. It was pretty comfy. We had lunch at the Parliament, they were serving moose, so I had to try it. It tasted like a cow and a goat had a baby and I was eating it. Delicious. Sorry majestic moose, but you taste too good. 

After the tour Benkt and I went to the Stockholm Cathedral where the Crown Princess and her husband were married in June of this year. It was a beautiful cathedral made primarily out of brick (most older buildings in Sweden are, rather than the half timbered buildings of Germany). In it there were places for all to sit and separate places for royalty. Their seats were underneath a giant sculpture of a crown that was held by flying seraphs. It was interesting to see where royalty still sits today. Among other interesting things in the Cathedral there was a painting that caught my eye. The painting was of a rare phenomenon that occurred centuries ago when multiple rings were formed in the sky. The people of the land thought that it was a sign from God and rather than be in awe, they grew very afraid and fled to the churches so that they could pray. 

Bengt took me from the church over towards the Castle. On the way there I spotted an old telephone kiosk. So naturally I had to have a picture of me inside it. 

We went to see the castle and made it just in time to see the changing of the guard, yes just like England, accept these guards were much more responsive. If you talked to them you would get a response. They were very friendly (probably because they didn’t have to were those silly hats like the English do). After we watched the changing of the guard, we continued walking around in Stockholm and made our way into the more shopping oriented part of the city. Bengt took me to “NK” which is the largest store in all of Scandinavia. It can be compared to Harrods in England or Macy’s in New York. It is possible that it was bigger. We spent about an hour going up and down the escalators to the basement and to the top floor trying to find a few things that Bengt needed. My favorite part about NK was that it had its very own chocolate store! I was in love! Bengt bought some of their famous mint truffles for us to eat when we got back to the house.  

We left Stockholm and came home to an amazing meal, I was a happy camper indeed. It was ham (my favorite) in a cream sauce with tomatoes. Served with steamed veggies and a special way of doing potatoes. They were pressed, not mashed, but pressed as though through a garlic press. Every evening meal was accompanied by lively chatter about the things that happened that day. Everyone would get excited and the volume would increase, it reminded me of home. 

Sweden in a land were Vikings would roam. Years ago much of the land was covered in water and ice. As the water slowly melted throughout time and the glaciers receded they formed ridges. On higher points of land natives and I like to think Vikings as well would put up standing stones. These stones gave a message that someone important died here, there was a battle fought there, or that something important happened at this spot. Today (the 28th) Bengt took me around to see a few of these standing stones. On these stone there would be carved an ancient message and also there would most of the time be a Celtic cross. We found one standing stone that did not have a cross. That told us that it was before Christianity had spread to that part of the land (older than dirt!). The carved parts of the stone were painted with the common red of Sweden. The color comes as an oxide out of the iron and copper that are mined from the lands. 

Little did I know that this whole time Bengt was secretly taking me to a ranch were I would ride an Icelandic horse! I love riding horses! Why? Because I’m a girl. Every day we would drive through the country side and go by Sweden’s second largest ranch. It seemed like every one in Sweden owned a horse and it was driving me crazy.

But when we pulled into “Stall Tängby” I was overcome with happiness. I finally put together why Bengt said for me to make sure that I dressed warm and brought my winter coat. The intriguing thing about Icelandic horses is that once they leave Iceland they can’t go back, they are not allowed. Iceland is very annal about their horses. They don’t want to risk their horses getting diseases so they wont let an immigrant Icelandic horse step a hoof on the soil of Iceland. They go as far as not even letting a saddle that was on an Icelandic horse anywhere but Iceland touch an Icelandic horse in the native land. Confused? Good. But what makes an Icelandic horse so darn special you ask? (A little more horse talk here then we will be done.) Horses generally have 4 “gears,” or gaits in horse talk; the walk, the trot, the canter and the gallop. But with the Icelandic horse you have 5. In between the walk and the trot there is the “Tölt.” In the tölt the horse always has one or three hooves touching the ground. Therefore the person in the saddle gets a smoother ride (unlike the uncomfortable bouncing of a trot). One final fact about Icelandic horses is is that they have never seen forests before. Iceland doesn’t have forests and the horses are used to being able to see everywhere without a mass of trees standing in the way. You must train an Icelandic horse to not be afraid of forests. Mystery that… We rode around for about two hours and I was able to experiment with the tült and canter through the woods. I was like a child on Christmas morning. (Ok, I was like myself on Christmas morning.) 

 Later that day Bengt showed me the house where my great-grandfather lived. It was a soldier’s house (these are all over in Sweden), therefore it was very tiny. These army houses were assigned by the King for each company. I did not get to go inside this house, because it was now someone’s home. We tried to ask permission, but whoever they were, they were not at home. We drove into Uppsala and I was shown around the city. We drove through parts of the University and Bengt  showed me were the Swedish graduation tradition of white hats takes place. But the main place that we went to Uppsala to see was the Uppsala Cathedral where hours before the King and Queen were. 

Inside this Cathedral lies the bones of King Gustaf I, his wife and the ashes of St. Erik (a Swedish Archbishop who was very important during the Reformation). We left the church and went to Gustaf I’s castle up on the hill where four canons were pointed at the church. This was originally ordered to be done by Gustaf I because he thought that since he was king, there should be no other higher rule, not even God. He was all for the separation of church and state. Another thing that was up on this hill besides the palace and a bunch of canons facing the church, was a bell tower.  This is the highest point in the city of Uppsala and from here you were able to see the entire city. The firemen would stand up at the bell tower and watch for fires. Every night at eight o’clock the fire marshall was to ring this bell and say, “It is eight o’clock and all is well.” Unless there was a fire of course. 

 When we got back to the summer house the table was set. Dinner was chicken thighs and legs. They were served with sliced potatoes (seasoned with salt and cumin spice), freshly picked mushrooms, and a Greek salad. Naturally I had seconds of the entire plate. This was my favorite meal that I had in Sweden, I think. It was just so stinkin’ good!

After dinner I made a surprise for both of my parents that they will and better love. I can’t tell you all for fear that they are reading this. Sorry.

Today (the 29th) we went to the city of Enköping (pronounced in-sure-ping) and had linch with the Mayor at the First Hotel. Anna was a very lovely woman and I could see her genuine interest in the matters of the town. Though most of the conversing at the table was in Swedish, you could just tell. After lunch I was given a tour of the fire station if Enköping which was very nice. 

On the way home we stopped at a medieval church in the woods. This church was one of about 40 churches that was painted on the interior by the artist Albertos Pector (spelling?). He painted these churches in the 10th or 11th cent. He did this because the peasants (who were the main comers of country churches) weren’t educated as the priests were. And the language of the church was Latin. Therefore no one could understand what the priests were ever saying.  Pector knew this and painted Biblical stories and scenes on the ceilings of churches so that the peasants could understand the stories of the Bible. The most famous of the paintings is not even a story from the Bible, it is actually the artists depiction of life. To the right you can see the painting. What it is saying is that you begin life and there is much music as you rise to the top or the prime of your life, but then death always pulls you down under and there your body lies. Many of these paintings were covered up during the Reformation with white paint because they were thought to distract the people from God. But through time they were rediscovered and uncovered using white bread to bring out the color. Most of the paintings came back to life, but there were some that would be lost forever.   That night for dinner we had fresh uncooked Salmon (a Swedish specialty) topped with sliced lemon, and served with boiled potatoes. On our dishes to begin were three open faced sandwiches, a small meal, but very delicious and filling nonetheless. 

Today (the 30th) was sadly, my last full day in Sweden. we went back to Enköping and I spent the morning with Cissi and her preschool class. They were all so adorable and so blonde! You know the Stereotype that everyone in Sweden is tall and blonde? It is not a stereotype! Out of the 40 or so kids that I saw running around the grounds of the preschool, I can only remember 5 that weren’t blonde! Crazy! One was a little Asian boy, another was a red head, another had dark skin (I think his parents were from Romania), and the two others just had brown hair. But 5 out of 40, it was the weirdest thing! I ate lunch with Cissi’s group of kids. We had spaghetti and a meat sauce with veggies and cabbage salad. They children were putting ketchup on their spaghetti and meat sauce. Am I missing something? Do Americans do that? I have never done that before.

 Later that day I went to Cissi’s apartment for a while and then we went shopping around Enköping. We had a great time looking at the small shops around the town. That night the town was having a special just for women, called “Ladies Night.” Certain stores had discounts on jewelry and other things, just for women. It was nice. We had dinner at the “WhiteElephant” which was a Thai restaurant. We were joined by Cissi’s best friend Anton and family friend Magnus. I was supposed to meet his little sister, Louise Katarina, but she got a concussion on her way to school that day. We missed her at dinner. Hopefully I will meet her some day, she is Titi’s goddaughter.

After dinner I went to a local school of music and I got to play the stand up Bass with the group that was practicing. It was so much fun! I haven’t gotten to play the Bass in over 5 months. It felt great to get rid of a small bit of rust. We played an traditional Swedish folk song, a minuet, an Air, and a piece from “Fame.” 

During my stay in Sweden I got to do many of my favorite things (besides worshipping God), I got to ride horses, play the Bass and eat amazing food with amazing people. Thank you so much Bangt, Titi, Geta, and Cissi for your hospitality and Johan, Anton and Magnus for your company. I will see you all again some day, I promise!