SWEDEN

July 5.
With the cancellation from our host in Stockholm, we made a decision to take a different route into Norway.
Things work our as they should.  Despite it being cold, we  had an enjoyable time in Sweden.  Relaxed and quiet.
We traveled from Helsinki to Vaasa, a place where there are two universities.  One primarily in the Finnish language and one primarily in Swedish.  It is a lovely city with friendly people who also speak English.  Also, we could not get over the huge breakfast feast set up for guests the next morning.  Everything from fish to eggs, all sorts of breads and cheeses. Juice, smoothies, yogurt and muesli.  We did not leave there hungry.
The ferry we took was a huge ship with three decks for vehicles large and small.  We could not believe the number of trucks that come and go on that form of travel.  All a way of life for them.  We disembarked in Umea, Sweden ( also a university city) and followed the coastline to Harnosand where we spent the night in a small hotel that is also a hostel.  There was a waterway and fountain just across the street from our little room and we could see the comings and goings of the townspeople.  We met a young couple from Sweden that we had share a table with us for breakfast and it is so much fun to visit and learn about folks here.
They were cheerful and sweet and were on holiday to go visit with with parents.
It was rainy and cold there.  No matter.  We walked around and got to see the town a bit and had a lovely dinner by the water.  The waitress asked "What are Americans doing here?"  Sometimes we become a novelty where we are. Evidentally, Americans do not go to their town!!!
On, then, we traveled to Enviken near Falun, Sweden to a cabin we rented by a big lake.  We were on the property of the cabin owners and had a wonderful time there.  Ulla and Mats have now become our friends.
We have invited them to Bellingham and we think they will come because they have a son and his wife that live in BC, Canada.  We sat on the dock on the lake in the mornings and in the evenings with a cup of coffee/tea each day.  We rode bikes one afternoon when the sun came out and traveled a back road about 8  kilometers.  They loaned us the bikes, helmets and locks.  Great fun!  We hired a guide to take us on the Carl Larsson Trail to Sunborn where we viewed the artists' house.  Both Carl and Karin ( his wife )  are famous for their art work.....she mostly for textiles and hand work.  The guide was a slow walker, so it took us 2.5 hours to walk the 8 ks over a "mountain".  It was fun learning about all the vegetation and the stories of Carl Larsson and his family in that area.  We started the trail in Falun and what a lovely city is that!
And...............the world championships for ski jumping will be held there in February 2015.  The place was humming with activity to get ready for that.  The HUGE ski jumps were unbelievable!  How does anyone go down that kind of slope?  The area seems to be a recreation area for both winter and summer sports.
If anyone would like information on the cabin experience and the cabin itself, we would be more than happy to share about it.  We were the first guests for this Airbnb rental.  It was like an oasis in the desert as far as the peaceful, restful and very hospitable place.  We even made friends with the cat!
Traveling to this spot was beautiful in itself.  A road less traveled, variegated  colors of white, pink and violet lupine grace the roadside for miles and miles and miles.  It is high in the mountains, so the tree tops were in our sight as well.  Tall, skinny pines made up most of that, but other tree species did too.  We would come to a summit and then see waves of more mountains on the horizon.  Couldn't have been better, and the roads were good, too.  It was hard to leave after just a few days there.
On a very rainy, cold morning we traveled to Mora so we could take in the Anders Zorn Museum.  Mats was born there and suggested we go and showed us the route to Oslo.  It was a beautiful drive with lots of trees and few vehicles.  We allowed ourselves one hour to view Zorn's work.  The house where he lived is still there and is part of the museum, too, but we only had time to see the art work.  He was a genius at making waterscapes, among much more.  He and Carl Larsson were friends, and Carl was quoted to say that in his next life he would like to be Anders Zorn.  He was also a master at etching and work carving.
We enjoyed our hour there.  We were very glad that we took the time from our travel day to see what we did.
Next stop from there..............Oslo.