Goodbye to Sweden

We're back home now, arrived late last night and slept in our own bed. It was a quick last few days with more adventures. On Wednesday we visited the Alfred Nobel museum and other exhibits at the Bjorkborn Manor in Karlskoga. We had driven past the signs pointing to the museum half a dozen times and talked about stopping, so we finally did. In the picture to the left you'll see Nobel himself sitting in his laboratory. It was interesting to learn about him and how the Nobel prize originated. He actually had a laboratory where the museum is, but it was only the last few years of his life that he was associated with the place. The company there is called Borfors. They produced military armaments, including large cannons and ammunition. One of he displays was a piece of steel armor plate that they test-fired armor piercing artillery projectiles through. The plate is 8 or 10 inches thick. The picture shows the back side of the plate where the projectiles exited it. We also toured the manor house, which they had furnished to look like it did in the 1890s when Nobel lived there, including some funiture that was owned by Nobel.

The museum was so interesting we stayed for a couple of hours, so it became time to eat. We went to a little cafe on the grounds, where they served sandwiches and pastries. I ordered a sandwich that had chicken in it. That was about the only thing I was sure of. We also saw an interesting looking pastry, so we asked what was in it. The young lady said it was made with rhubarb from her own garden. That made it even more interesting, so we bought one to share. It was kind of like apple crisp, only with rhubarb. It was served with a vanilla sauce and it was very tasty. The chicken sandwich was good, too. Here is a picture of the food.

We did a little shopping at the Nobel museum and a little antique store in another small town. Oma found a handmade wooden box that was probably used for bread or as a lunch box.

That evening was our last at the hotel in Storfors. The hotel was hosting a dinner for employees of a steel processing company that has its headquarters and a plant in Storfors. Because of the large number of people being fed, we were concerned that they wouldn't want to feed Oma and me. But the staff had made provisions to have a little extra in case we wanted to have dinner there. They were really good to us. We took a picture of dinner, too.

On Thursday we packed up and drove back to Karlstad to drop off the rental car and get on the train back to Stockholm. We had to top off the gas tank before we turned in the car, so we stopped at a Shell station. It was like a gas station/convenience store we have in the US. They even served hot dogs, so we had lunch there. When we got on the train we could tell immediately it would be more crowded than the trip to Karlstad the previous week. It got worse. About an hour into the three hour trip we were bumped out of our seats by some people who had them reserved. We asked the conductor if other cars had seats. He initially said no, but came back and told us the next car had some. We were glad, especially Oma, because she was still sore from her fall and really couldn't stand for two hours.
After we arrived in Stockholm we started out on foot for the hotel. We hadn't been there before, but the directions we had received indicated it was within walking distance of the central train station. It was actually half a kilometer away and all up hill. We had all our luggage with us, which was the laptop, a duffle bag, Oma's small bag for incidentals, two large wheeled suitcases pulled by me, and a medium suitcase pulled by Oma. We walked by an interesting fountain, so we stopped and rested and took a few pictures. We walked on and had the hotel in sight, but Oma was having a hard time. Just then a couple of young ladies from Australia caught up to us. They saw Oma was struggling and brought her suitcase the rest of the way. Coincidentally, they were staying at the same hotel in the room next to ours.
The next day was Midsommers Dag, the summer solstice celebration, which is a national holiday in Sweden. And many businesses and restaurants close early on the day before. So we had a little difficulty finding an open restaurant for supper. In the morning, we called the daughter of Sven and Vagna Luthman and asked about the LDS activities for the day. Sven had told us the two Stockholm stakes traditionally had a big picnic at a park south of the city. He suggested we might want to attend. Their daughter, Veronica, and her husband, Anders Karlsson, offered to pick us up at the hotel, take us to the park with them and their children, and feed us. How could we refuse? We didn't. We enjoyed the time with them and got to meet several other members. And along with the hamburgers, I got to sample the pickled herring. They had a traditional Swedish Midsommer celebration where they decorate a pole with greenery and wild flowers and make wreaths with wild flowers for the young girls to wear. The girl on the right is Eba Karlsson and the one on the left is her cousin. They also danced and sang traditional songs, but I missed that part.

After the festivities, the Karlsson’s drove us to the nearest train station. They were headed in a different direction that evening, so they couldn’t take us back downtown. So, we bought our tickets and headed downtown on the commuter train. Oma had wanted to see the old town in Stockholm, so we rode the subway there and began walking around. At first we thought we would just be window-shopping because of the Midsommer closings. But there were quite a few shops and restaurants open. We ate some dessert, did some shopping, then had dinner. That was followed by another travel adventure, because the map I bought showed an outdated bus route that went by our hotel. We took that bus number, but it went a totally different direction. Two bus changes later we got back to the hotel.

Saturday was the big travel day - about 23 hours from the time we left the hotel until we arrived at home. We're tired but glad we had the opportunity to make the trip. We were helped along the way by many wonderful people. We saw a few parts the beautiful country of my ancestors and learned a little about their culture and history.

Visiting Undenäs

Tuesday, June 17, 2008 was the day to visit Undenäs, the area from where the Anderson line in my family tree lived before immigrating to the United States. In an earlier post I mentioned Sven Luthman, who took us on a tour of these areas. Anyway, we met him at the Laxå Burger King shortly after 10 AM. Sven insisted on driving us in his car, so we didn’t argue. I was tired of driving and he had a nicer car – a late model Volvo station wagon. He was prepared with all sorts of reference material, including a book with Swedish place names, a book of very detailed maps, and a two-volume Swedish-English/English-Swedish dictionary. We brought our laptop with my Personal Ancestral File on it and a few maps we had acquired.
The first stop we made was Kungsbacken, the birthplace of Maria Larsdotter, the grandmother of Andreas John Anderson, my Great-grandmother Clark’s father. That makes her my great-great-great-great grandmother. Anyway, we found the community on the eastern side of the lake called Undenäs. It is just a collection of houses with no stores, church, or school. There was a small signpost giving a few stories in Swedish and German explaining how the community got its name.
We stopped and talked with a couple and an older man, Sven explaining we were there to find out about where my ancestors lived. The man had some records of the homes in the area and by extension the people who lived there. He suggested we all go to a nearby community, Tivedentorp, where there was a little restaurant where we could sit and talk. He gathered up his papers and off we went. He was very generous, buying us some pastries and tea and we sat down together. We didn't find any direct connections with my ancestors, but it was still interesting to see the area where they lived.

Looking Around

On the side of a road we frequently travelled we noticed the statue of a man facing a lake and waving. After passing it a few times we asked the hotel staff what its significance was. They told us that on the other side of the lake is a woman facing the man and waving back. There is also a playhouse where they present a drama depicting the splitting of a family - some members going to America and others staying behind in Sweden. We didn't get to see the play, but just the thought brings strong emotions to the surface. It must have been tough to leave family members behind. Just the same I'm glad my ancestors chose to go to the United States.

On Monday we visited a firefighter museum, right next to our hotel, in an old fire station building. The station was put there to protect the industrial buildings where iron and steel processing took place. It was interesting to see the old equipment and wonder how effective it was. In our travels we learned that whole towns burned in the 1800s. They used wood, an abundant material to build many homes and other buildings, so fire was a constant danger.

We visited a wood furniture making business near the hotel. They have a showroom in the front part of their building, so we just looked around at some of the tables, chairs, and various cabinets they had made. The workmanship was very fine; we were very impressed. A young man who worked there said they would love to make something for us and ship it us at home. We didn't even ask how much it would cost.

Oma had seen a few signs along the side of the road that said "Loppis" and wondered what it meant. When we asked the hotel staff they said it was second hand merchandise - I call it garage sale. Anyway, we went out in search of the places. Most of them were not open on Monday, so we did some shopping in regular stores in Christinehamn, one of the larger cities close to the hotel. The cow display in one of the stores looked interesting.

Trying to catch up

Oma and I have been so busy, we haven't had a lot of time to update this. It may take a while to catch up. On Saturday we went to a small, local celebration of the Bergslagskanalen, the canal built in the mid-1800s to transport iron products from the smelter to the bigger port south of here. The event took place at the site of three locks (slussar in Swedish) on the canal, where the boats were raised 11 meters in elevation. They had food, music and games and probably 200 people attended. One part we particularly enjoyed was the brass quartet that played music from the early 1900s using instruments that looked like they came from that period. The photo above right is of the locks from the bottom, looking upstream. The other photo on the right is a Swedish hot dog on a length-challenged bun, which is what we had for lunch that day. Oma was fascinated by the huge key in the picture on the left. We were visiting the site of an old iron smelter and found an older gentleman holding the key. He had made the key and it actually opened a rather large lock on one of the old buildings. He took us on a tour of the facilities where the iron was produced before being transported down the canal. The lock it opened is on the right. We've learned that the Swedes have been world leaders in working with iron and steel for centuries.

On Sunday, we went to church in Orebro and met a Brother Sven Luthman, who is an expert in Swedish genealogy. He spent Sunday School and Priesthood/Relief Society time with us then invited us over to have dinner with him and his wife. After dinner we went downtown with them and walked around the castle. This is the same castle I saw the picture of on the internet.

Yesterday, Tuesday, he took us on a tour to the Undenas area and we explored the village of Kungsbacken, where John Andreas Anderson's grandmother was born. I have a lot more to tell, but not much time at the moment. We've been having internet issues, too. We have taken a lot more pictures, which we'll share later.

Kvistbro Kyrka

On Friday, I went for an early walk around the hotel and found a patch of wild lupine flowers, close relatives of Texas bluebonnets, right next to the hotel. After breakfast, I took a picture of Oma standing behind them. They seem to be taller than the bluebonnets and have pink and white flowers as well as the purple ones.

Then we set out to find the area where my great-grandfather Erik Johan Larson lived before his parents took their family to the United States. I had purchased detailed maps in Stockholm and located the Kvistbro community, so it wasn't hard to find. The map showed a church there, so I was hoping it was an old one that my ancestors may have attended. As we drove we passed the sign indicating we had arrived at Kvistbro. We rounded a curve and crested a hill and there was the church surrounded by a graveyard. I was pretty excited and it got even better. We went to the door and found it was open, so we went in. No one was there, so we looked around for a while and took some photos of the inside. There was some literature sitting on a table in the back, including a leaflet that gave a brief history of the building in Swedish, including the year 1662. That gave some idea how old the church building was. I knew from studying the records of our ancestors that they had lived in the area for over 200 years prior to immigrating to the United States. That gave me great confidence that some of them had been christened, married, and had funeral services for them in that church. We then went looking for someone with a map of the graveyard. We found a young woman who was employed on the grounds - there were a few other buildings associated with the church - and asked her. She directed us to the nearby town of Fjugesta, where her boss had an office. She said he had an index of the people buried there on his computer. We drove to the town and found the man's office, but he wasn't there, so we went in search of lunch.

Oma had noticed a sign that said Konditori on our way into town. That's the Swedish word for bakery/pastry shop. Finding some good pastries was one of Oma's goals for the trip. So the Konditori was our next stop. They had an array of delicious looking pastries to choose from. Fortunately, they also offered sandwiches, so we each had a small sandwich before selecting pastries. That was supposed to curb our appetite for the sweets, but Oma still had to try several varieties. OK, she didn't have to twist my arm to get my support there, because I wanted to try them, too.

We returned to the Lutheran Church's office and met the man with the index to the graveyard. He promptly contradicted what we had been told about everyone in Sweden speaking English. But we were still able to communicate our request. He looked up the names of a couple of our ancestors I thought might be buried there, but he didn't find them. It turned out he only had records of more recently buried people. That was a bit discouraging. We decided to go back to the church and cemetary and look around for ourselves. After all the cemetary wasn't all that large. Upon looking around at some of the headstones, we concluded the man was right. We couldn't find any that had dates as far back as the time when our ancestors would have been buried there.

Our next destination was the community of Ängatorp, where Erik Johan Larson was born. We had learned that Kvistbro was the name of the parish, which contained several smaller communities, including Ängatorp. It was just a few kilometers further down the road, according to our map. We followed the main road, then turned off onto a minor road, and finally turned off the pavement onto a gravel road. We soon came to the sign that announced we had arrived. Ängatorp is now just a few scattered houses and barns. There are no shops or businesses of any kind that I could see. I imagine it has not changed much in the last hundred and thirty years. Our ancestors here must have been simple people who farmed and raised animals. I believe Ängatorp means Änga’s village. Like so many of the places we have seen since we left Stockholm, it is in a beautiful setting surrounded by forest and with a lake nearby. Oma and I decided it was time to head back to the hotel.

Travel to Storfors

Thursday was the day to check out of the hotel in the Stockholm suburbs and move on. We rode the commuter train to the Stockholm Central Station, from where I had booked a train ride to Karlstad for that afternoon. While we waited for our train, we stopped at McDonalds outside the Stockholm Central train station, where I had a chicken sandwich. We considered doing some sightseeing around Stockholm but didn't. Oma did take some pictures inside the station. They incorporated some interesting artwork into the building.

The ride to Karlstad took a little over three hours. The train passed through evergreen forests and near lakes that are serenely beautiful. Occasionally we saw a clearing where grain was growing. It appears the topsoil is thin in most places. It seems like an alpine region, even though we are near sea level. It is appropriate the inventor of dynamite came from Sweden, because there is evidence along most roads and rail lines that a path had to be blasted through solid rock. There are lots of tunnels bored through it also. I'll include some pictures of that in a future post. have to We rented a car there so we could drive to the hotel and search in the coming days for the areas where our ancestors lived. After an hour of driving, we arrived at the Hotel Storfors, where they received us warmly. It is a small hotel in a small town that was formerly involved in processing iron ore that was mined in the region.

The hotel is owned and operated by a Dutch family, two sisters and their brother and one other person. Our room in the back of the building overlooks a stream that has been dammed that the water runs over continuously. It makes a pleasant, peaceful sound that is great to sleep by. We keep the window open at night. I'll have to tell you about the continental breakfast in a future post.

Last Day of Oma's Conference

On Tuesday evening the Swedish national soccer team was playing a game against Greece and there was a big gathering in the hotel dining room to watch it together and party. Apparently adult beverages were also being consumed. Oma and I had taken a walk in the neighborhood near the hotel. As we approached the hotel entrance, we noticed an obviously inebriated young man trying to go the wrong waythrough the revolving door. Oma motioned to him to turn around and go the other way, which he eventually did. Then Oma entered door being him, only to realize that he was pushing it very fast. The heel of Oma's flip-flop got stuck under the door and the door knocked her to the floor. No broken bones, but she skinned her left knee and seems to have a pulled muscle in her left rib cage just under her armpit. She was in a lot of pain. She took some pain reliever medication and went to bed. Wednesday morning we improvised a sling from a bath towel and she went to her conference. She is still very sore.

On a brighter note, while she was in the conference, I ventured into downtown Stockholm on my own. I decided to visit a museum with a 17th century warship inside. The ship had sunk on its maiden voyage, then the remains brought up in 1961, after over 300 years under water. Because the water was cold and much less salty than most of the ocean, it was remarkably well preserved. I spent a couple of hours in the museum learning about it. Unfortunately, my pictures aren't good at all, but here is one to the right.

Something I never thought about before coming here is the Swedes' love of boats and the sea. Duh! Hadn't I studied about Eric the Red in history? Anyway, visiting Stockholm and seeing all the boats is very impressive. The final activity of Oma's conference was taking a boat ride out to a restaurant near the fortress that an ancient king built to protect the passage from the Baltic Sea into Stockholm. The views of the islands and boats were spectacular. The food and the service were excellent. The boat drove right up to the restaurant in the picture below.

Tales of Tuesday

Being a travel agent isn't as easy as I had thought. Almost my entire morning was consumed with looking for a place to stay and how to get there when we leave this hotel on Thursday. We decided to step out on our own then, in order to look for the places my ancestors lived. Thanks to the internet I was able to select a hotel, train ride to get close, and rental car to allow us to explore better. It still took a while to look at all the options and try to figure out which is best. The hotel's enormous buffet breakfast kept me going so I could get by on an apple, a roll with Nutella, and some cheese and crackers for lunch. I was busy being my own travel agent and didn't have an opportunity to get anything else to eat before the afternoon's activity - a bus tour of Stockholm.

The conference director dispatched a couple of taxi cabs to pick up us spouses at the hotel and take us to the conference center to join the others on the double-decker tour bus. The bus driver was amazing, navigating through traffic and the tight spaces caused by construction and very narrow streets. Stockholm was built on 14 islands over the last several centuries where Lake Maläran flows into the Baltic Sea. The photo above is the islands Skeppsholmen and Kastellholmen as seen from the island Södermalm.

Oma thinks I'm too verbose and should post more pictures. To the left is one of the villa where we had our dinner on Monday. And below are all the conference attendees on the steps. See if you can find Oma.

Still Tired, But Getting Better

Jet lag. I slept longer last night, but still woke up way early. Maybe it's because I didn't force myself to stay awake yesterday. I took a long nap in the middle of the day, while Oma was at her conference. I mentioned our hotel room is within a short walk of the train station. It appears to be a main rail line going through the area, because there are two tracks in each direction - one for local and one for high speed, long distance trains. They run day and night. We hear them when we're awake, but they don't bother us much at night, even though we kept the windows open. The picture shows one of the trains as it went by.

Because of the nap, yesterday wasn't terribly exciting for me. I explored the shops in the immediate area. In a sporting goods store I saw a can of four Wilson US Open balls for 89 Kronor - that is roughly $15. Ouch! The local bank has real estate ads posted in the window with prices comparable to Sacramento for the same size house.

Oma returned to the hotel from her conference around 4 PM. She was a little tired, but she persevered. The evening's activity was dinner at the conference site, the Swedish National Police Academy, with the 40 or so conference attendees and about half a dozen of their spouses. Dinner was served in old villa overlooking a serene lake was the site, with sunshine, blue skies and mild temperatures - an ideal setting. Oma was disappointed in the American food theme - barbequed ribs, corn on the cob, coleslaw and various salads, with apple crisp for dessert. It was very tasty, but she wanted authentic Swedish food. Fortunately, there will be other meals.

Day 1 in Sweden

Just before noon on Sunday, June 8, we landed at the Arlanda Airport, which is in the country about 15 or 20 miles north of downtown Stockholm. The weather was sunny and abnormally warm - in the 80s Fahrenheit. Oma had instructions from her conference host on several ways to get to the hotel, so we took the cheapest alternative - public commuter train. We were impressed by the modern, smooth and quiet ride. We had to change trains only once. When we got to our station, we didn't know how to get to the hotel, so we asked a couple who were walking down the street. As advertised, everyone in Sweden speaks English. We followed their directions and, after a five or ten minute hike, arrived at the Scandic Star Sollentuna Hotel. Sollentuna is a suburb of Stockholm. Being hot and tired we were pleased to unload our baggage. We have a comfortable, but not extravagant, two room suite. Wireless internet access is included :). After gathering a few brochures and maps, we returned to the room for a nap. I found the TV channel that was airing the French Open men's final, but couldn't stay awake very long. All the attendees at the conference are staying in the same hotel, so we met several of them at dinner. Countries represented include the US, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Australia and New Zealand. We walked around the area near the hotel and found a supermarket that was open. Being Sunday, we didn't buy anything, but it was interesting to browse the different products. We retired around 11 PM, but my body clock is still adjusting, so I woke up very early. Daylight hours here are from about 3:30 AM to 10:30 PM this time of year.

On the way

We are now about half way between Atlanta & Stockholm, somewhere over the North Atlantic. I wish I were asleep, because I'm going to be really tired later. It is 7:30 AM in Stockholm, which is 10:30 PM in California. Yes, I'm going to be really tired later. Fortunately, Oma is asleep. The sun is rising and shining on her face. We expect to land in about 4 hours. When I ponder the fact that we are making this trip, I marvel at what mankind has been able to achieve. Here we are, a couple of hundred people, sitting in this metal and plastic vessel, flying through air at over 500 miles an hour, over 30,000 feet above the earth. And I am writing this on my cell phone, as I sit in comfort like my living room. I can't even imagine what it was like for my great grandfather Eric John Larson as he left his home in 1880s Sweden, never to return to his homeland. He probably spent weeks in tight quarters without a shower or clean clothes. His meals on the trip were certainly not as appealing or nutritious as the fresh garden salad, manicotti, dinner roll, crackers, cheese, and brownie I had for dinner on this flight. We are truly blessed in our day because our ancestors made sacrifices so their children could have a better life. We are the beneficiaries of the ingenuity, work, and cooperation of countless people who made all these wonderful, technological miracles possible.