Tree Walking

Bjärred, Sweden -- Day 4

Hi, it's Kylie. We started out today with a simple but delicious breakfast then prepared for Tree Walking (zip-lining).  The drive there was about 20 minutes.  When we arrived, the instructor explained how to put on our harnesses and how the course difficulty was arranged by color: yellow is the easiest, next was green, then blue, and finally red, where you have to be 15 or older to do it.

  

I took a liking to the green course, but the blue had a long zip-line so that was a close second.  We got three hours there, but from my perspective, it only seemed like one, which probably has something to do with Mom’s saying, “time flies when you’re having fun.”

When our time was up, I took off my harness and found most every one looking up and cheering under the red course.  I hurried over to them just in time to see Annica and Oscar finishing.  Oscar clipped into the finishing bungy, jumped up, and landed nicely on the ground, 25 feet below.  Annica however, misjudged the landing and ended up (slowly) on her back.  Everyone laughed at that.

When we got back to the house, we were introduced to “round the table ping pong,” which can be played with a whole bunch of people.  Half stand in a line on one side and half on the other side. Everyone gets a try to hit the ball while rotating around the table.  You only get three misses.  After that, you are out for that round.  Once you have only two people, they play until one of them makes three mistakes; the other person is the winner.

We played for an hour.  Then, everyone was hungry and ready for dinner.  Thanks to Annica and Björn, a wonderful crawfish dinner was laid out on the table.  Björn had printed out 25 Swedish drinking songs, which we attempted to sing during the meal.  After each song, everyone would drink.  Skål!

Big Rocks and Small Castles

Bjärred, Sweden -- Day 3

Björn graciously planned a full day of sightseeing for us all. It was a tight schedule and we planned to leave at 9:15, so, of course, we finally drove off at 10:15 -- something to do with a bunch of sleepy kids.

Meg had left early in the morning for a workout session on the beach with Annica, while I went out for the first run in ages... Madrid? The coastal trail, right across the beach was great; with cool weather, wildflowers, and the nearby campground, it really reminded me of the coastal path in Half Moon Bay where I used to run from time to time.

It turns out Björn is a consummate weather checker. Despite his continued dire warnings about rain, we had beautiful weather for almost the entire day. Before we left, he printed out a detailed route map, which showed our first stop at Ystad, about 50 minutes away. There we gawked at the old church built in the 1200's and roamed the little surrounding flower garden.

Next up was Alesstenar (Ale’s stones), which is something like a mini Stone Henge. Fifty-nine large stones had somehow been moved to the site some 1400 years ago, each one weighing up to two tons. They're arranged to form the outline of a ship, 220 ft long, and the stones mark the position of the rising or setting sun during the solstices and equinoxes.

There was a good crowd out enjoying the sunny weather and scenic views, as the stones are situated on a beautiful green plain overlooking the sea. The paragliders were enjoying the incredible weather as well.

For lunch, we walked down to the small nearby fishing/tourist village. The specialty is fish, particularly smoked mackerel. I attempted to order in Swedish, which meant that Meg and I ended up with both the mackerel and fried herring. Oh well, too bad for us.

Tour guide Björn was "asleep at the wheel," when we suddenly realized that we were late departing for our next appointment, our 2:30 English speaking tour at the Glimmingehus castle. Despite Björn's sore foot (ping pong injury), he, Meg, Dex, Kylie and I made it back to the car and the 15 miles to the castle just as the guided tour was getting underway. The castle itself is relatively plain having been built in 1499 when this region of Sweden was under the control of the Danish king. His right hand man, the Danish Counselor, Jens Holgersen Ulfstand, was immensely rich and built the castle as a means to protect himself against any potential uprisings or attacks. Our guide was excellent and made the tour extremely enjoyable, keeping the kids engaged by highlighting the various defensive death traps built into the structure.

Next stop was Björn's parents' summer house, just up the road and overlooking the Baltic and the small town of Kvik.

View from the deck

We managed to arrive at 4:30 for our pre-arranged 4:15 "appointment." They happily welcomed us all into their small, beautifully-kept home, and it was clear how much they adore their grandchildren. The views from the deck were outstanding. We had arrived for the traditional afternoon "fika" (coffee and pastries), usually served around 3:00. All I can say is Björn's parents set awfully high bar serving us a smorgasbord of cakes, rolls, complete with fresh strawberries and cream.

Family Lindquist

I reflected on the drive how truly fortunate we are to know such incredibly kind and thoughtful people. Thank you, Björn and Annica.

View of the Ostersund Bridge from Björn's front yard

Old Stomping Grounds

Bjärred, Sweden -- Day 2

Dex stayed up past midnight last night reading his Percy Jackson book, and, as a result, slept in until just past 10:00. We enjoyed the slow morning, though, getting to meet the family bunnies (Lotta and Linus), playing a fun version of croquet-soccer (Croccer), and swimming in the pool.

The only activity planned for the day was a drive to see the old "stomping grounds," the nearby university town of Lund, where I had spent my junior year in college and, most importantly, met Björn in the Alte Kamareren student band.

Band Poster

The biggest surprise was how much I didn't recognize of Lund. This was likely due to the significant expansion and building since I was there.

It could also be the intervening 30 years had something to do with my fuzzy recollection. As the day went on, I also started to realize that as a poor student, working double time to keep up in an unfamiliar language, I didn't actually get out and about very much. The second-hand, one-speed bike I'd bought, was my only form of transportation. Björn asked whether I had been to certain places in town -- concert halls, restaurants, nearby tourist attractions. The answer -- inevitably -- was no. I had, instead, saved my limited resources for a couple whirlwind trips to mainland Europe during the fall, winter and spring breaks.

We walked by the dorm building where I had lived and took pictures in front of the band room door, a nondescript entrance at the corner of the building leading down to the small and cramped practice room (originally, a bomb shelter). The town square and 900-year-old "Domkyrkan" cathedral, rounded out the tour.  

The rest of the day was spent at home playing games, ping pong, eating dinner, and enjoying the calm evening weather with drinks on the upstairs deck. We are lucky, indeed!

Meg's favorite tradition:  Fika