Sweden Adventure

This post was written by Bonnie Lupton on August 26, 2009
Posted Under: Wandering The World - Tom & Bonnie's Travels

Bonnie and Tom, members of the Nandu Green Team – traveling in Sweden -

Notes from their travel journal.

Tom and I traveled thousands of miles by plane to reach the Scandinavian Peninsula where we began our Great Sweden Adventure. 2000 kilometers (1250 miles) of our adventure was covered by car. We also traveled by foot, hiking in the National Forest and walking amid the historical buildings of Skansen.

Our travels included a symphony of the sounds of laughter and song; the click, clack of vintage trains; the hum of high-speed trains (125 mph) and the serenity and stillness of a hot air balloon. It was a time for parties.

We celebrated Ella’s fourth birthday amid family and friends at Pete and Anna’s new home that dates back to 1850. We celebrated our departure with a Kräftskiva, or Swedish Crayfish Party, a Swedish tradition that takes place yearly throughout the month of August.

Continuing a family tradition of father taking their child on their first steam engine train ride, we boarded the No. 5 at Uppsala and traveled the Lennakatten narrow gauge railway.

Traveling north from Hässleholm, we visited the Mining District of the Great Copper Mountain in Falun. The mine is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Pete and Anna’s “Red House” is one of the red houses with white trim and gables that over the years have become a National symbol of Sweden. The red paint comes from Falun. Falu Rödfärg, manufactured from ruddle, the red ochre from the mine. Red is also the color of the Dala Horses also know as the Dalerna horses.

The Dala horse is traditionally painted red and detailed in contrasting colors. Near Mora, in Nusnas, we watched the horses being carved and painted.

Air, land and water were all part of our journey. We traveled the waterways of Gothenburg. We spent a day at the Vasa viewing a preserved ship from 1628 that plummeted to the ocean floor in 20 minutes of its maiden voyage. We walked along the lake in Hjo (you) and watched Ella swim in Hässleholm.

Our travels took us near the 62nd parallel, staying at Grövelsjön Mountain Lodge. Towards the end of our journey we expanded our horizon as we gently ascended over the City of Stockholm in a hot air balloon.