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The Åkes do Europe 2016

May - June 2016
A 47-day adventure by Jason and Danielle Read more
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  • Jason and Danielle ÅkeThe Åkes do Europe 2016
    Day 3

    Södermalm, Stockholm, Sweden

    May 5, 2016 in Sweden ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    Godmorgon!

    First stop, Stockholm. Yesterday, May 4th, we landed at Arlanda airport and fumbled around the city, fully jet-lagged, until we found where we are staying. Last night, our AirBnB host let us know that traditional Stockholm foods include the authentic "Taco Friday" and kebabs, so we decided to pick up groceries and make dinner ourselves. Chicken sausage and green beans 👊. Today, we start our adventure!Read more

  • Jason and Danielle ÅkeThe Åkes do Europe 2016
    Day 3

    Gamla Stan / Djurgården, Sweden

    May 5, 2016 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Day 2:

    Today we went to this amazing coffee shop called Johan & Nyström. Their pour overs were some of the best we've had and the cardamom bullè was out of this world! We made our way north to Gamla Stan and all of the buildings were so old they didn't even seem real. It was fascinating to touch the original brick of buildings that were built before America was even a country. We found ourselves going down every street to be sure we didn't miss anything, and were awestruck at every turn.

    We continued our walking tour on to Djurgården, which is basically a vacation island owned by the royal family. There are open parks, forest land, an amusement park, museums, and a zoo. We visited one of the museums that we had researched earlier, Vasamuseet. The museum contains a ship that set sail in 1628, sank on its maiden voyage, and was recovered in the early 60s (Note: when Danielle's grandparents visited Sweden, Vasa had recently been recovered, and was being salvaged in a temporary shipyard). We were baffled at the incredible size of the ship and the intricate details all over.

    We would have liked to continue our walk around Djurgården and go to the zoo called Skansen, but we were exhausted and had to walk all the way back home to Södermalm. Next time :) We made our own twist on Swedish meatballs for dinner, showered, and now in true, exciting married couple fashion... bed time.

    Tomorrow, we plan to take the train to Västerås to visit with Danielle's family!

    Godnatt!    Read more

  • Jason and Danielle ÅkeThe Åkes do Europe 2016
    Day 4

    Västerås, Sweden

    May 6, 2016 in Sweden ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

    Day 3:

    Today we left Stockholm on a short bus and train ride to meet with Danielle's family in Västerås. On leaving the train station, we caught a glimpse of the large park in the city, as well as viking ruins on the way out to the country. Arriving at Owe and Anette's house, it was as if we were transported into a fairy tale! A handmade wooden fence specific to Dalarna fashion lines the entrance to the garden, which contains a state-protected sacrificial altar of some sort from the Vikings. The buildings are all painted in the classic red color with white trim, modeled after the early 19th century soldier's house on the property.

    After taking some much-needed time to soak up the beauty of the countryside, we experienced the true meaning of "fika" for the first time. It thankfully set a new pace, in contrast to the fast-moving city. The afternoon soon turned to night amidst conversation, beers, sausages, family trees, a phenomenal dinner, and us failing miserably at Swedish pronunciations... It has been a long, but fulfilling day and we can't wait to see what is in store for tomorrow in Grängesberg.

    Godnatt!    Read more

  • Jason and Danielle ÅkeThe Åkes do Europe 2016
    Day 5

    Grängesberg, Sweden

    May 7, 2016 in Sweden ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Day 4:

    Today we drove north to Dalarna to visit more of Danielle's relatives in and around the town that Owe and Anette grew up in, Grängesberg. On the way up, we stopped at an ordinary rest stop, which just so happened to be one of the most picturesque locations we have ever been to... Then we visited the summer home near Ludvika that Anette parents are fixing up and enjoyed our new favorite, fika, again to celebrate Anette's birthday.

    We continued to Grängesberg to see the town where Danielle's great great grandfather worked as a mechanic at the near-kilometer deep iron mines before immigrating to America. The mines have since been shut down, and much of the town has been abandoned. We saw the buildings supporting the elevators into the 3 mine shafts, the houses Anette and Owe grew up in, and were told about or were shown remains of all of everything that once supported a busy mining town.

    Outside of town, on Norra Hörken lake, Anette's brother lives full time in a vacation home. We visited shortly and looked over another phemonenal view. We continued to Björkas, the small village once owned by the Winterströms, and Danielle was able to take a picture of the house that her great great grandfather once lived in. We met with Owe's sister and her husband and went to the town to eat lunch with them, as well as Anette's brother at a hotel inside of a house that Winterströms also once lived in.

    To end the trip, we visited Owe's sister's daughter and her family just outside of Dalarna. We had fika, and Owe's sister gave us a beautiful handmade glass bowl representing the different regions of Sweden. On making our way back to Västerås, we saw the Folkets Park where Owe would DJ and Anette worked at the ticket booth. Apparently it was THE place to be!

    Side notes: when the grass first starts to grow back in spring, a type of moss grows within it. It makes the ground soft and spongy to walk on! And there are flowers everywhere that are called "forest animals" or something like that... absolutely beautiful!    Read more

  • Jason and Danielle ÅkeThe Åkes do Europe 2016
    Day 6

    Västerås, Sweden

    May 8, 2016 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Day 5:

    Today we had an easy going day walking around both the old and new parts of Västerås. We were able to visit a beach and boardwalk that Owe helped create along the water. The river through the town is home to the first hydroelectric plant of its kind. There is also a very interesting artist in town who makes very strange hotels... he has one in the sea that looks like an outhouse on the water, but underneath the water, there is a glass room for 2. There is also a treehouse hotel, and his current project is an attempt to put a typical Swedish farmhouse on the moon! The first flowers of the season are blooming and Danielle's family has told us that the green that we are seeing now is a very special color that can only be seen for a couple of weeks each year as the leaves are sprouting, before they are fully developed and darker. It is a beautiful time of the year that we are very lucky to be able to experience. The way the Swedes would describe the day... lagom. Just the right amount. Its how they do everything. Not in excess, but not too little. Its a beautiful thing!Read more

  • Jason and Danielle ÅkeThe Åkes do Europe 2016
    Day 7

    Västerås, Sweden pt II

    May 9, 2016 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Day 6:

    Today we had a private tour in a castle and it was such an amazing experience! The most impressive part is that the state has kept the 900 or so year old building maintained and actively use it to this day. But before we get into that experience... we went to Vallby Friluftsmuseum. It is basically an educational attraction for children, teaching about the history of the area, Västmanland. One of the docents who was there preparing for her lesson tomorrow was kind enough to show us around a couple of the buildings that were supposed to be closed today. I won't bore with details, but we can sum it up saying that history is awesome. Along with typical farm animals from the region, there was a casual sign roughly translated to "if you take a little offroad hike around this corner, there are a few graves from the iron age... no big deal. Oh, and there aren't signs beyond here, just look for mounds and rocks that look a little out of place".

    Now back to the castle... Anette's good friend works in the Västerås Castle and today was a rare, and very lucky for us, day with no guests or obligations for her. She was able to take us around the dining rooms, sitting rooms, and even the king's bedroom. The castle is home to the governor of Västmanland, but also serves as a meeting place and where the royal family stays over if they come up from Stockholm. If walls could talk, I can't imagine how much these would have to say. And apparently the king is a whisky drinker, so he's alright by me! We ended the tour with fika, in a castle... baffling!

    As if that experience wasn't enough, we continued to Anundshög. It is the largest burial mound in Sweden, built for a king somewhere in the 6th century AD. There were smaller mounds around the massive central one, along with "boats" marked out with raised rocks. Apparently the site has signs of inhabitants back to the stone age... 4,500 years ago. Wow.

    It has been another long day and tomorrow morning we move on to Värmland!    Read more

  • Jason and Danielle ÅkeThe Åkes do Europe 2016
    Day 8

    Västra Ämtervik, Sweden

    May 10, 2016 in Sweden ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Day 7:

    Today we went by train from Västarås to Västa Ämtervik in Värmland. It was a bit of travelling for just 250 km, but the super nice Swedish people make it easy to enjoy the journey. When we arrived, we met up with Lovisa, who we had seen just over a week ago in California. She brought us back to her family's house where we met her mother, Kicki, father, Henrik, brother, Albin, and of course, the dogs! We had fika in the garden with the puppies before going to visit Vivianne, who lives just up the hill. She had a very old album with photos of Jason's great grandmother from when she lived in Sweden. Its such a privilege to be able to see relatives from the 1800's in such a well preserved form.

    We then went up to the forest to have the dogs test out a sort of proving grounds for Kicki to judge hunting dogs at soon. It was interesting to see them work, and to experience a terrain we had never seen before. Its difficult to put a name to something we've never seen before but it was a lake surrounded by floating earth and moss that was able to support our weights... a marsh, or bog, or maybe quagmire? In any case, it was interesting and we were able to see a beaver there also. Then we went to a lake that only reaches a depth of 2 meters, so even early in spring, it was quite warm. Finally, we went back to Kicki and Henrik's house for dinner. Yet another busy day full of new experiences!    Read more

  • Jason and Danielle ÅkeThe Åkes do Europe 2016
    Day 9

    Kil, Sweden

    May 11, 2016 in Sweden ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Day 8:

    Today started with a nice walk with the dogs to Lake Fryken. Kicki showed us a demonstration of a few of the skills the dogs have been trained to do, which are all extremely impressive! As we were walking, she would toss tennis balls into the tall grass and the dogs would all look, but not chase the balls. When we got 50 meters or so away, she called 3 of them, one name at a time, to sit next to her in a line. Then the would point in a direction, say a command, one would take off, and she would use a whistle to correct the direction. So crazy.

    For lunch, we made a small fire along a stream and cooked up sausages. Turns out building fires is exactly the same wherever you go... we were able to see Vivianne again before heading to Kil. In the afternoon, Gösta's daughter Karin picked us up and we headed south to Kil. We met and had fika with Gösta and his wife at their flat, and what an amazing opportunity that was! We discussed our relation, shared pictures, and came to the conclusion that we are outmatched technologically by a 94 year old man... But thanks to a recap from Vivianne yesterday, it was easy to figure out that our dear mother Rebecca's father's mother was sister to Gösta's father. So that makes us first cousins, twice removed... I think. Anyway, he was kind enough to look up Danielle's ancestors as well using a new database set up for Sweden! After spending some time visiting, we went around Kil and saw a steamboat named Freja that was in the bottom of Lake Fryken for 100 years that is being restored, along with the first railway station in Sweden. As we made our way back up, we were able to see the houses where the family has lived through generations.

    After dinner, Kicki, Henrik, and Lovisa took us on a "moose safari", where we saw 2 moose and some red deer. On the way out, we were able to see the small house where Jason's great grandma, her SIX brothers and sisters, and parents lived. How times have changed...    Read more

  • Jason and Danielle ÅkeThe Åkes do Europe 2016
    Day 13

    Göteborg, Sweden

    May 15, 2016 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    Days: 9-12

    The efforts of travelling started setting in, so we took it easy for a few days. We went to Sunne and drove/walked up a hill to a viewpoint where we could see everything in every direction. It was so beautiful and peaceful up there. We went home, played Boccia, and had an amazing bbq.

    Friday we experienced true cold for the first time. Waiting for the train South to Göteborg, it started to hail. Jason thought it would be a good idea to walk to Lovisa's apartment... that took a couple of hours. So we just picked up groceries and had a night in.

    Saturday we slept in, then walked around the area a little bit, accidently crashed a funeral, and prepped for this miracle obsession of Swedes everywhere... the Eurovision Song Contest. Its crazy this cintest has been around for 60 years and we've never heard of it before! Anyway, 4 hours of madness later we finally made it to bed.

    Sunday we took the bus around the Göteborg. We went to lunch at a cool little spot in the city, where the server apologized that his Swedish was bad. Hilarious. After lunch, we walked to Skansen Kronan, a 17th century fortress. It was cool, but outside it was downright cold, so we cut the day short. We'll have to go back to Göteborg when the weather is a little better to get a better idea of it!    Read more

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