26 - 28 June 2008
We left Rockhammar early on the 26th June and headed to Mora where Emma, Michael and myself were boarding the Inlandsbanan. for further information check out http://www.inlandsbanan.se/eng/inlandsbanan.php. basically this was a commercial train line to the north of Sweden through its centre. When it was proposed to close this track, councils along the way banded together to maintain the track and during the summer months a tourist train travels from south to north and returns. It only travels during the daytime, stopping at small villages where pre-ordered meals are served. Passengers are also able to hop off and stay overnight or for more days along the line to explore the wilderness experiences on offer. due to our time scale we planned only one stop at Östersund.
The drive to Mora was quite beautiful - as all of Sweden appears to be. Beautiful lakes and rivers, forests of pine and birch, farmlands with crops of wheat, rye and oats and small villages and towns to pass through. Villages still had their midsommer poles up and it was interesting to see different styles. We stopped for a stretch at Insjörn and browsed through a couple of shops. Then onwards to Leksand where we stopped for lunch. This area is famous for its Church Boats - long row-boats that brought parisheners across the lakes to attend church. Nowadays these boats are part of a traditional race day with teams of men rowing against each other.
The town of Mora is famous as the finishing line for the Vasa Loppet, the ski race which attracts thousands of participants each time it is held. Anders completed the trek in 1998. www.vasaloppet.se/ check this site for the history of this race. Somewhere there is now a photo of me standing at the finishing line - as I am sure there are many of those who did not complete at all in this marathon!
But here we said goodbye to Agnete and boarded the train and away we went. This train caters for tourists and we were thankful for the information that was translated into English. We soon learnt the driver's horn code, a long toot each time the train crossed a un-guarded road, but several short toots meant there were reindeer on the line, which meant everyone that could rushed to the front of the train or hung out windows trying to see the wildlife.
The line passes through a lot of forests of pine and birch and crosses rivers and cruises alongside the many Swedish lakes. One might think one could tire of these similar landscapes, but for me, I soaked up the scenery all the time. I caught a glimpse of an elk (moose) dashing away from the train. Not far from Mora we stopped on a bridge 41m above a river which had been dammed with a sluice. I never really understood what the history was there, but it probably was some sort of hydro-generating system. One thing that would have been beneficial would have been a booklet on the things we would see along the line. I will be forwarding this suggestion to the Inlandsbanan.
As we travelled further north the ground cover over cleared areas was covered with a lichen or moss that was bright white colour. it almost looked like snow but wasn't. The train is not airconditioned, but has heating throughout for the cold. So as the weather was quite warm we were suddenly discarding our jackets and rolling up our sleeves. The window could be opened and let in a cool breeze. The sun at 5pm was still high in the sky, approx level with a 1pm sun in Queensland. The sun has totally confused me and I really struggle to get bearings here. I am always facing south when I think I am looking north.
We arrived in Östersund exactly on time and after following my directions (which turned out as above, wrong!!) I was sacked as the map reader and we found the Hotel Emma and signed in and got our keys. Östersund is an old city with narrow cobble-stoned streets, buildings maybe 3 stories high at most, packed closely together. no big department stores, just each shop (butik) a tiny room jam packed with fascinating objects, all outside my pocket range! We walked down to Storsjön (Big Lake)and walked around the edge aways. Clouds of midges proved not to be the biting type so we continued on - we saw Canada Geese with little goslings paddling behind. These geese are introduced to Sweden and are treated a little as we treat Indian Miners - with contempt - but they are still a beautiful bird. As the sun was just thinking of going down, we got back to our hotel around 11pm pulled the curtains closed and caught up on some sleep.
The next day the sun called to me at 6.30am so I crept out of the room and down into the town. It appeared that everyone else was still in bed, so I had the town to myself - almost. I walked the streets, photographing window boxes filled with yellow and purple pansies, found the Big Church with its guilded spires, walked past the impressive Council house and even found, tucked away the Sami Parliament House. another walk along the Lake edge where I saw a Blue Tit (Blåmass)for the first time and it was feeding a young one. A Great Tit was also in the birch tree next door feeding a demanding fledgling. Got back in time to scoff down a yummy and plentiful breakfast, then we headed out together. We decided to hop on the steamer MS Thomee which chugged out into the lake for an hour, then turned around and chugged back. We passed a large island where people live and farm and were enchanted by all the little boat sheds that dot the shore line, but not shoulder-to-shoulder. It was freezing cold in the beginning but we stuck it out on the bow to get the better view. We could see snow capped mountains in the distance, so we understood where the wind was coming from! the wind dropped and it became really calm with wonderful reflections!
Once back on shore we headed up to the Jamtil Museum which was really wonderful. There is an open museum with lots of farm houses, but I headed for the actual museum which seemed neverending, filled with heaps of domestic textiles, but especially the Överhogdal Tapestry fragments, thought to come from the 800 - 1100Ad, ie during the Viking era. Interpretation suggests that some of the imagery relates to the Viking Gods, while others think it has christian meanings. Things were so blurred during those times and I guess we will never know or understand the real meanings in these pieces. The fabric is a linen and the imagery is woven with soumak designs. I am still trying to hunt down tapestries, but they seem to be a light on the ground!! However, the museum had a great display of other textiles, from old bed linens and very old clothing, displayed in period groupings. there was also an activity centre, maybe for kids, but I had a great time weaving on a warp-weighted loom. though it took some time to get it sorted as previous 'weavers' had made a mess of it. It was strange beating the weft in at the top, but I could see that once used to the technique the weaving would goes as easily as tapestry perhaps.
The next day we were back on the train for a full days' journey to Gällivare. The scenery subtly changed from tall timber to much shorter and the colouring of the pine and birch became greyer perhaps, although the pine trees had bright green tips of new growth. Herds of reindeer were spotted, one group had heaps of little white ones running amongst them. I also saw a large female Tjärder or Capercaille to us English speakers! and a Hazel hen also flew away from the train. also saw an elk with a little one, but no bears or wolves yet!! There was a market to visit at Storamund and after a quick dash around to get the feel of it, we spent the last five minutes watching an armwrestling competition - both male and female, which was a lot of fun. they take their arm wrestling very seriously there! I think it was some championships. Further on we had an important stop as we crossed inside the Arctic circle. it was a bit surreal as it was a very warm and sunny day! anyway we took photos at the sign but were mostly entertained by the cutest pup that was so excited that so many people had dropped in to say Hi!
eventually we arrived in Gällivare, found our rooms, then dashed back to the bus station to catch the bus to the top of the mountain to see the midnight sun!
So when I next get a stint at this computer I shall tell of this experience! I am now off to spend a day in Örebro visiting a museum there then off to the mountains to Finnafallet where the rest of the world is forgotten for a few days - blue berries will be ripe by now and even some chantarelle mushrooms may have come to the surface.
cheers & skol!!
