i ♥ Faces--My Summer In Review--Midsummer in SWEDEN!

Week 36 • My Summer In Review--This week, instead of a contest, everyone is encouraged to share multiple photos to sum up summer.  


Undoubtedly, the highlight of our summer was two weeks in Sweden, with 3 generations of our family.   We were there for all the midsummer Maypole celebrations, saw old friends, and had an amazing vacation.   


I've still only managed to recount our first 5 days, since we hit the ground running when we returned.   Now, with the kids back in school and the busy days of summer behind us, I hope to finish posting our Sweden 2010 adventures.   I'll include a link HERE for the first days.   Just keep hitting "newer post" at the bottom to see all 5 days--through The Orsa Bear Park and Dala Horse Factory.

Sweden 2010-Day 5-Wednesday, June 23 Orsa Bear Park and The Dala Horse Factory

On our 5th day in Sweden, we all made a point to get up early and take a mini road trip North to the famous Orsa Bearpark, the world's largest polar bear facility.   We even saw mountain top snow outside in the parking lot.  The bear park features large, natural enclosures with elevated viewing platforms and is home to Leopards, Kamtchatka Bears, Brown Bears, Wolverines, Amur Tigers, Lynx, Wolves, Red Foxes, and Eurasian Eagle Owls.   

It was fun and worth the trip, however the large habitats make it much harder to see the animals.   We only really got to see the tigers, brown bears

and polar bears (charmingly known as Isbjorn, or ice bears in Swedish).   

Paths were steep and the walk was a bit rough on many of us--especially Sagezilla who is still healing from a month in a cast with a broken ankle.   The Gronklitt area is a winter ski village, so the views from the top of Tiger Mountain were worth the trek.   

We stopped for drinks and a snack break in the charming Toppstuga Cafe, and let everyone rest.   

The kids have discovered the joys of Nogger--an exceedingly good Eskimo pie type ice cream on a stick that has a creamy hazelnut chocolate center inside the vanilla ice cream!   It only took a day for the kids to master, "glass", the Swedish word for ice cream.   Now, what's Swedish for Gramps is a push over for buying ice cream?


The Bearpark also featured excellent exhibits,

fun play structures 

and educational hands on games like "help the magnetic polar bear with a handle find seals to eat"

and "clock how high you can jump compared to other mammals".

Of course, I'm partial to the odd ball shots you'll never see in the travel brochures.  If it makes me laugh at the time, it's in.   I was amused by the mysterious bike parts and cables running to the shack labeled "POWER FENCER".

It was also worth the trip to see the hilarious signage about leaving your dog in the car.  Ya gotta love "Closed windows will be crushed by staff".

And who can resist saying "Gronklitt". 


Here is our slide show.  Double click on the photo 
below for full screen options:

After Orsa Bearpark closed, we made a stop near Mora to visit the Dala Horse Factory.   The custom of carving small wooden horses began with woodsmen in the 1600's, who whittled to pass the time in the evenings.   They made toys while separated from their children, and horses were such an integral part of their lives that they were a popular theme.

The factory, and Dala horses decorated as we know them today, came into being in 1928, when two brothers who were 13 and 15 began to carve, hand paint and sell the horses.   This factory is still run by descendants of those brothers, Nils and James Olsson.   

Today Dala horses are not only a symbol of the Dalerna region, but have become synonymous with Sweden the world over.

The kids were thrilled to paint their own.   Sagezilla made an amazingly detailed, accurate copy of the traditional painting style on hers and Du-Jay made his own, unique style.   

Both were fabulous!   We were amused to learn that one of the painters who has worked here 10 years, lives in Chicago and comes to Sweden every summer to work.   

Maybe in a few years we'll send Sagezilla back with her as an apprentice painter.

I loved all the color, patterns, and great photo ops this small workshop offered and couldn't stop taking pixs.   

We ended in the gift shop where the kids picked green and black Dala Horses as their big trip souvenirs and got them personalized. 

  

I got a tiny, silver Dala Horse charm for a necklace.   

Here's our Dala Horse Factory slide show.  Double click on the photo below for full screen options:

What we've learned: The national animal of Sweden is the elk............but what British English refer to as an elk.......which is actually the creature known in American English as A MOOSE!


What else we've learned: A bear loves to eat blueberries, ants and moose (AKA: elk......but not on our home continent. Maybe it's like football, which is actually soccer everywhere in the world except North America, where football is another game entirely).

Peace and Love Hardcore

Today we'll be passing through the town of Borlange, renouned for their annual Peace and Love Festival.   But this is not your 60's flower child folk festival.   This is Peace and Love Hardcore, with 6 days of speakers, seminars and great bands from all over the world.   Unfortunately the big music is Wednesday through Saturday and we'll be in Stockholm and then back in the states by then.

For the lucky fans who are stickin' around or traveling in for this fest, it should be a rockin' good time.   Headliners are:

Jay-Z

Lily Allen

Patti Smith

Alice in Chains

Peace and love began as a music festival in 1999, and evolved into something much larger and more important.   They have worked over the years to combat violence and racism in Borlange and Dalerna, and have expanded to provide a meeting place for all different ages, cultures, and nationalities to meet up and rock out together.   The fest doesn't have a political or religious agenda.   Instead their purpose is to champion for democracy, human dignity and rights, sustainable development, diversity and justice.

Check out their web site for the complete line up and details.

Sweden 2010

We'll be catching our readers up with 2 weeks worth of photos and fun in Sweden with Du-Jay and Sagezilla, as WiFi and time between adventures allows.   Right now we're chiILin' at Siljan lake in the Dalarna region.   Tomorrow we're off to spend a day at Bear Park in Orsa and Thursday through Sunday will bring a miriad of authentic midsummer celebrations.


It's now nearing midnight Rattvik time, so I'll just leave you with two photos to contemplate for the moment.   Our first full day in Sweden, we spent with old friends in Uppsala.   When we toured the gorgeous, ancient Uppsala Cathedral on the university campus, I was struck by the compelling mix of pagan and Christian symbolism and will post a full slideshow soon.   


Among the ancient tombs, we came upon a stained glass window of a knight who bears an extreme likeness to Neil Fallon, lead singer for the metal band, Clutch.   Their concert tees proclaim Ragnarok and their lyrics are laiden with ancient mythology and Christian allegory.   Here are a few more Neil pixs.

Is Neil Fallon a reincarnated Swedish knight, or just a 21st century rocker from Maryland?   You decide.   Ragnarok indeed!

Sweden 2010-Day 4-Tuesday, June 22

We all needed a down day, to sleep in and relax.   We walked around the small town of Rattvik and ate amazing local strawberries and cinnamon rolls. 

Then we wandered near the cabin and waded in the icy waters of crator created Lake Siljan.   The kids got a kick out of finding their friends' names and interesting words among donors carved in the wooden dock planks of a park in Persborg.

A major meteorite impact some 377 million years ago, carved out this gorgeous basin and flipped the surrounding rock formations vertical.

For dinner we spluged on a tasty local BBQ place in town, and ate on the patio.   It often rains in the area this time of year, but we've had beautiful weather so far.   The wildflowers are blooming in full force, making a colorful tapestry of vibrant purples and yellows and green, that extends from our cabin in all directions.   

We're also far enough north now that sunset is around 11pm, and it never gets truly dark, just a deep and magical blue for a few hours.   Then sunrise comes around 2am.

Here's a slide show.   Double click on the photo for full screen options.

What we've learned:   Many words are similar like mjolk for milk and oppnas har for open here.