June 29, 2007 day 7 Sweden Borlänge

This morning Katie and I got up early to get her to the train station. Michael and Lena were about to start a week's vacation, so they had to put in a full day's work, so their oldest son Andreas brought us to the train station. Katie had three train connections to make to try to make it back in time for Tom's last soccer game of the season. It would have been so nice to have her here one more day so we could drive up to Lake Siljan where the towns of Rättvik and Leksand are--probably, in my opinion, the most beautiful part of Sweden. This area is truly why the province of Dalarna is known as "the heart of Sweden." There is also the Dalahorse factories I would have liked for her to see, too. She made the train in time, so Andreas took me back to Michael's and went back to sleep.

We had planned to travel to Uppsala today to see the town of the university where I studied Ethnology in 1973-4, but we asked Michael if we could stay another day just to have a day to wind down, relax, and take a break from sightseeing. Well, we slept in until almost 1:30! It is amazing what tricks this lightness outside does. I was up late writing the blog last night, and at 3:00 a.m. the sun was starting to rise. There truly was only about 2 hours of almost complete darkness. Actually, I don't think at this time of year up here in Dalarna it is ever as dark as what we would normally describe as a dark night.

After "breakfast" about 2:00, we decided on a little adventure. We took a bus to Cupola, which is a dome shaped shopping mall, apparently the first shopping mall built in Sweden years ago with 80 stores.

We did some personal and souvenir shopping and even took a coffee break and a stop to feed the ever-hungry Robby at McDonald's.

The mall was packed with Peace and Love concert goers who were taking a break from the bands and looking for a bit of cover because it began to rain. What we didn't know then (Michael informed us at dinner) is that this is also a "paycheck weekend," when most of the Swedes are paid, too. So, that added to the crowds. Carina bought her third pair of Swedish shoes, and I stocked up on Pippi Långstrump bedding and Dala-horses. Robby peeked in a few electronics stores but is looking for a store that sells Apple computer games--very hard to find.



We waited ages for the bus back and had apparently just missed one and walked home from the bus stop in rain. Michael and Lena fixed us a fabulous smörgåsbord type of dinner--salmon, Swedish meatballs, sausages, salad, veggies, and more.


We spent the rest of the evening drinking coffee, filling in more "holes" in the family tree, looking at the Sjölunden Swedish camp website (Sofia may be interested in working there), and looking at amazing pictures of their family's 3 week vacation in Thailand last November. Great day to regroup and re-energize for a trip to Stockholm tomorrow.

By the way, Carina has started her own blog! To check it out, click the following URL (if that works) or copy and paste the URL here into your browser: http://web.mac.com/lwallenberg/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

June 28, 2007 day 6 SWEDEN--Borlänge

Today was definitely a cultural-historical day. We started out early with Michael driving us to the Falun Stora Kopparberg--the world's largest copper mine in Sweden located in the city called Falun right next to Borlänge. We took a tour in English down to the depth of the mine--66 meters, where it was very cold, and we had to wear helmets and rain coats.

The guide was excellent--funny, full of stories, and because we opted for the tour in English, there were fewer people on the tour so we could ask more questions.

The conditions the miners (as young as fourteen years of age with work days as long as 12-15 hours)had to endures are unbelievable to us today. There is evidence the mine existed even in the 6th century, but its full blossoming occurred in the mid 1600's. Apparently, the mine was discovered when a farmer's goat, known as Kårebocken, kept scratching its horns in a place on the farmer's property which turned the horns red. The farmer was so curious to see why the goat kept coming home with red on the horns, and he eventually discovered the rich store of copper there.



So famous is this mine that kings and queens have visited there, and at the very lowest point tourist may visit,

many have "signed their names in gold."






















Not only did the mine produce copper, gold, and silver, which is no longer mined today, but from this koppargruva comes the famous red paint, known as Falu-rödfärg, the color that is so often seen on Swedish cabins.



The mine was given the distinction in 2001 of being named a World Heritage Site.
























Next we went to visit Michael at one of his three video stores called Film och Fabel.

This one is the largest in Dalarna and is in downtown Falun. Carina and Robby liked looking at all the kid movies they remembered from younger days, and we all enjoyed free ice cream, too.

On next to the village of Sundborn, where the beautiful home of Carl Larsson, a Swedish artist, is situated. We had an awesome buffet with all you could eat of Swedish pancakes and/or hamburgers and/or fish soup. Everything was so delicious.









Next, Katie, Carina, and I took a tour of the Larsson home


and visited all the quaint little shops



and the church in the village while Sven and Robby went golfing.

We met up a couple of hours later at the church, where Carl Larsson and his family are buried. The church was built in the shape of a cross. The sun was shining, the birds singing, the scenery gorgeous; this is the Sweden I will always remember. Sven took us to see the wedding cottage where Carl von Linne and his wife were married. There had been a festival there the day before in honor of him and a garden with examples of many of the 7000 plants he has credit for naming was dedicated.

Then we went to Sven's house and visited with his wife Gunhild and were treated to fresh strawberries, milk, and coffee. We had sent some small gifts from America, and they had bought us each some books and souvenirs from the copper mine and the jubileum of Linne. It seems everyone in Sweden is celebrating his 300 year birthday!



On the way back to Borlänge, we stopped at the famous ski jumping hill called Lugnet to check out the view.


















This was built several decades ago for a world championship competition and is still used for summer training and competitions in the winter.


We checked out a new mini-golf course just built at the bottom of Lugnet with a different Falun attraction for each of the 18 holes.


Katie wanted a picture by the huge Kårebocken by Stora Kopparberg,


and we couldn't resist another picture by a pony-sized Dala-horse outside a gas station (gas, by the way, is about $6.50 a gallon here).

When we got back to Michael's, Gunn and Monica were also there, and we had a nice last visit with them before they were due to go back to Stockholm Friday. The kids played Kubb while we chatted about the high cost and long waiting for housing in Stockholm, the bands that Sofia had seen at the Borlänge Peace and Love Festival that opened today, and we turned in late, again surprised at how light is it outside in the middle of the night.

June 27, 2007 day 5 SWEDEN Borlange

We had a great first full day in Dalarna, the province in which Borlange lies. I awoke to the greetings of our two aunts, Monica and Gunn, who are vacationing up here in Michael's cabin and came by to say hello. Both of them travel a great deal, and I heard about all kinds of exotic places they had been such as Dubai in Saudi Arabia. We went on the Internet to look at this amazing place. Gunn has been in Italy about 17 times alone. It didn't seem like much about Eden Prairie would be that attractive for her to visit after hearing all the stories, but she did think Las Vegas sounded like a possibility. Well, we do have Mystic Lake . . .

Anyway, the kids slept until almost 1:00, and we spent the early part of the afternoon talking with Michael until we decided to take off for a little tour.

We started by taking a look at the village of Romme.



Michael took us to the favorite Wallenberg swimming lake called Langsjo.

I remembered it well as one of the places we had been when mom and dad first took us to Sweden as a family in 1967 and 1969.

Then we went to see the airport and where the glider planes are (those I also remember well on previous visits with our family; my dad was really interested in those), where the Dala-regiment (the Swedish armed forces were based during the 1800s) and, of course, a stop for ice cream!



Next we went to Stora Tuna Kyrka, where we have our family grave. The church was, as always, magnificent. Simple yet stately on the outer walls, the pulpit and nave are spectacular.




Just about all the Wallenbergs have been baptized, married, and buried in this awesome church.





Axel Wallenberg, my great grandfather was buried there in 1932, and there are 8 Wallenbergs buried including my great grandma Anna, who died in 1970, Last year , Michael's mother, my father's aunt Carin died, and they redid the tombstone so it is easier to read.



Katie and Carina decided to light a special candle and say a prayer for our new baby coming in the family to Scott and Sherry and Kyle and Kody Wallenberg in January 2008 in Boise, Idaho.



Next we went to see Michael and Lena's summer cabin where Gunn and Monica, nieces of my grandpa Folke, were staying.


I have many fond memories of that place also, particulary of my dad being taught by Carin, his aunt, how to find water with a birch stick. Carin said he got the power this way: when they first bought the cabin years ago, she asked a man in the neighborhood where they could find water. He gave her a birch stick and as she held it with both hands, he touched her, and immediately as she walked the stick was drawn to the ground, where water was. When she told my dad this story in 1967, he didn't believe her. He obviously did not know where water was there but tried the stick trick anyway. It didn't work; then Carin passed "the power" onto him by touching him, and I remember vividly that the stick seemed to take on a life of its own. I will never forget the look on my father's face as the stick pulled downward--exactly where water was! I asked Michael if this was really true, and he said absolutely, and that he can do it too since Carin "taught" him. The kids want to see it happen. Oh, there's magic in the woods.



Next we visited a special tourist attraction called Ornastugan. It is a beautiful building situated on a lake not far from the stuga. There, centuries ago, the legend goes that King Gustav Vasa, in one of his many daring escapes from the Danes who were attempting to take over Sweden, escaped through a toilet shoot after the woman of the household kicked him as she called him an old fool who needed to get out of the house and do some work. The Danes thought he really was the husband of the house and let him alone, for who would talk to a king like that. Little did they know that the king was only disguised in peasant clothes as her husband as he dashed upstairs to the toilet and jumped through the shoot where he jumped on skiis and espcaped. King Gustav Vasa is somewhat a folk hero up here in the province of Dalarna where many of our relatives reside.



We came home and were treated to a wonderful dinner of salmon with Michael's famous secret salmon sauce. Both Gunn and Monica were here as well as Michael and Lena's children at various times--Andreas, age 25, Sofia, age 22, and Niklas, age 18. Andreas just got a new job in Stockholm and is very excited about joining the corporate world. Niklas is proud to have gotten his Swedish drivers' license--no small feat here. One has to be at least 18 and pay about $1300 to get a license. Carina, who has been driving on her permit with me for the past month or so, was glad to hear these weren't the rules in the U.S.


Sofia works with handicapped adults and was looking forward to the three-day rock concert, Peace and Love, that Borlange was hosting this weekend. Even Alice Cooper is here to perform!



After dinner, Michael, Gunn, Monica, Katie, Carina, and I spent a long time looking at the family Bible where our great grandmother Anna had meticulously recorded each birth (and sometimes death) of the Wallenberg children.


We compared the Bible record,

my geneological records acquired from previous visits to Sweden and notes from interviews, along with what Michael, Gunn, and Monica remember.



We videotaped everything, and it was fascinating to look at great grandma's own handwriting in her Bible and share all of this with Katie. Great Grandma Anna gave birth to 17 children. All their names and birthdates are written in her Bible. We found out that our name had been changed from Kilstrom to Wallenberg upon recommendation of a priest when Anna and Axel were married to break away from past family associations and much more.



We talked well into the wee hours of the night and looked forward to more stories on Thursday.


Another thing that is baffling is how late it can be and yet so light outside! At 1:00 a.m. Carina and Robby were still wanting to play Kubb!



One could even read a newspaper outside at that time of night. No wonder they call Sweden the land of the midnight sun.

June 26, 2007 day 4 SWEDEN train

What a perfect day to be on a train; it rained and rained! And we slept and slept!



We had a wonderful Swedish-American breakfast this morning: cheese, all types of bread, strawberries picked from Tom's garden, yogurt, cereal along with Katie's and Carina's scrambled and fried eggs and bacon. Then it was off to catch the 11 a.m. train--the first of three to Borlange--only to find that the middle train, an X 2000--a very fast train with Internet connection and more--was all booked. With our Scan Rail pass, we are allowed to hop on and off any train without a reservations, except the X 2000, as we soon learned. So, we had to alter our plans and start our trip 2 hours later instead. This enabled us to have a walking tour of downtown Kalmar, where Katie and Tom hang out quite a bit. We had some coffee and chatted away until it was time to go back to the train station.



The train ride was spent reading, listening to iPods, watching movies on the laptop, and some major power napping. We changed trains three times; one time gave us only about 3 minutes between changes, but we made it. Finally, we arrived in Borlange about 8:00 and were greeted with big bear hugs from Michael. Michael is the son of Carin, who was the sister of my grandpa Folke. He and Lena have a lovely home in the village of Rommehed, where our Wallenberg family farm was until 1966. They live right by the water tower where a mini golf course is. Katie, Robby, and I took a little walk there and thought we might play tomorrow. A little after we arrived at Michael's house, we got a phone call from Scott with great news. Katie answered the phone, and he told her to hold my hand while he shared some news--"think PINK," he said. Sherry and Scott are expecting a new baby in January!!! What a surprise! Tears of joy immediately!



Shortly after, we played Kubb on Michael's infamous Kubb set from the island of Gotland. It, unlike most Kubb sets, is painted, and Michael and Robby are definitely the Kubb Kings. Kubb is an outdoor lawn game probably as old as the Viking times. Katie decided that our first game should be boys against the girls, and we started out by knocking the King down (instant end of game loss) three times in the first five minutes of play.



The boys were nice enough to forget they saw this, and we kept playing and won! Next, Robby and I played against Michael and Katie, and Katie proved to be the winning thread, but it really was a close, fun game.

We spent the rest of the night visiting and remarking how amazing it was to be 1:00 in the morning and seem like it was only about 8:00 at night. You could really see the difference between how light it was here in the evening compared to in southern Sweden in Kalmar.

June 25, 2007 day 3 Sweden Öland

This morning we bid goodbye to Rolf and John after a delicious breakfast and a few tears on my part.



Inger took us to Pukeberg (yes, the name is pretty funny) and Nybro, two towns famous for their glass factories. We had the privilege of observing glass blowers at work and quite by chance even met a glass designer from Belgrade who was working with the blowers as they created his designs which were going to be part of a major glass exhibition in Holland in the fall.



He told us all about his profession and even took his laptop out and showed us the designs he was directing these glass blowers to make. We felt pretty special to be privy to his explanations! We would have loved to buy some glass to take home, but it seemed pretty impractical.







Then, Inger drove us to Kalmar Castle where we met Katie and Tom and enjoyed at great fika (light lunch)Inger had packed for us. We had to get going soon because Tommy had soccer practice, and so we said goodbye to Inger with hopes she and Rolf would come visit us in Eden Prairie.



So, we have now arrived on the island of Öland, where Scott's daughter Katie is staying. We have met her boyfriend, Tommy Karlsson, and are staying tonight at Tommy's parent's house. It is so wonderful to see her and how happy she is.


Tommy is a great guy--still in college studying business, plays soccer professionally, has a great personality, and complements Katie perfectly! We just got back from playing mini-golf, and we all laughed and sang and joked in "svengelska" or "Swinglish."


Everyone got a hole in one, too!




The weather was beautiful, and the mini-golf course was right on the west coast of Öland.

While I'm writing this, Katie and Tom are grilling steaks for us. Tomorrow, Katie joins us for a six hour train ride to Borlänge to meet our Swedish relatives.