David and I used our Thursday to drive leisurely north toward Östersund. For those interested in the route we took, we left Furudal and drove through Orsa, Sveg, and Vemdalen before arriving at our destination - Frösö Camping and Stugby. We had hoped to see a bear (from a distance), but they were not on the road. Instead, just outside of Vemdalen, we saw three reindeer! They crossed the highway in front of us and we turned around to take photos while they snacked on the roadside vegetation.
Due to the fact that Östersund hosts a big music festival the same weekend as Uppdansningen, there were no cabins available at the campground adjacent to the conference center (Folkets Hus) when we tried booking in April. Frösö, located only a 15 minute drive away, had a cabin with room for Larry and his mother, David and I, so we took it. Unfortunately, the beds at these cabins were well used and had never been as nice as the ones in Furudal. I don't think any of us slept well, but at least we were warm, dry, and not too far away.
Thursday night we made a respectable appearance at the dance. We said hello to lots of people we hadn't seen since last year and even got to dance with some of them. David and I hit the dance floor and had a pretty excellent time. We were tired, though, so after I got in a few practice dances with Larry, we headed back to the cabin and called it a night.
Larry and I danced on Friday afternoon. We all got up early and watched most of the dancers who were on before us. Watching folk dancing at this level, a person learns to appreciate different qualities that make folk dance beautiful. Dancers have the opportunity to choose which dances fit their style - smooth, bouncy, slow and controlled, fast and furious. Watching the same dancers over a number of years, gives the audience the opportunity to watch them progress as dancers. Watching a many dancers dance the same dances over the weekend allows the audience to experience a wide range of styles interpreting the same dance. When it was our turn to dance, Larry and a put on our performance smiles and contributed to the weekend's potpourri of dances and dancers.
Dancing on Friday gave us the opportunity to relax the rest of the weekend. We were invited to some friends' cabin for dinner. After the stress of dancing up, the good food and relaxed company made us too tired to go to the Friday dance. We headed back to the cabin and slept on the crummy mattresses until we woke up the next morning.
Saturday we took our time getting to the conference center. I had woken up in a rotten mood, and it didn't improve as the day went on. Fortunately, David is a genius at getting me to change directions from a bad mood to constant giggling. While we were waiting for the dancing to start up after lunch, one of the judges (Bengt Wittgren) found us sitting in the balcony above the judges table. He asked if we had fiddles with us and, when we answered yes, he asked us to play a half hour set at the evening dance! This helped tremendously on the improving my mood front. Who wouldn't be thrilled to be asked to share the bill with Mats and Ulf Andersson, Familien Westling, and three young Boda fiddlers!?
After securing a fiddle for David to play that evening, we decided to leave at the coffee break so we would have time to practice with the borrowed fiddle. Our stomachs and tourist-curiosity led us to the Jamtli cafe where we ate reindeer cold cuts on flat bread followed by dessert. This left little time for practicing, but was a nice way to relieve stress.
After dinner (fish balls, potatoes, and vegetables), we headed back to the dance hall. We got the word that the program had changed and we would instead be playing last. This was fine with us, but it meant that we needed to find a different fiddle for David. After securing a fiddle and dancing to the excellent music of the first two sets (Mats and Ulf, and the Boda kids), we took our coffee tickets and chose our tunes. We decided to play several Finnskogs pols and I would sing a couple polskor. We rounded out the set with a few reinlenders, a polka, and a waltz. The crowd was small by the time we played, but they all enjoyed our set!
Sunday we got up early, packed, and cleaned the cabin. After returning the keys to reception we headed in to watch the last round of dancers. The medal ceremony was immediately following lunch. I always find the award ceremony exciting and stressful at the same time. Regardless of how well I've danced, I can never be 100% certain that I've passed until I have the diploma in my hand. Larry and I both passed; he now has his big silver and I have two more tests before I get mine. The word on both of our diplomas is 'frejdigt' which Google translates to bold, spirited, or plucky. I like that description and I'm looking forward to next year. I've just got to find a partner!
Showing posts with label driving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label driving. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Destination: Seattle! Pre-Departure
In mid-December, David and I packed our suitcases, cleaned as much of the apartment as we could, and raced to the bus stop. We were on our way to Seattle and I was really excited. Life is great in Rauland, but nothing beats Seattle!
The week before we were scheduled to leave we'd been on a class trip to Oslo to visit a variety of folk music organizations and archives. While it was a very interesting trip, the most memorable part for me is the phone call I received when we were almost home. A very nice sounding man had found my wallet, passport included, in the parking lot where we had stopped on the way home.
He said he'd mail it up here and that was a great relief. When it hadn't arrived several days later, I started to get nervous. I was grumpy, having trouble sleeping, and stressed about all the things we needed to get done before we left, plus I was really starting to worry that the passport wouldn't arrive in time. I went to the effort of checking online what I would need to do to get an emergency passport in Oslo (a fairly straightforward process, however, I was looking at needing to get the emergency passport the same day President Obama was visiting Oslo).
I tried a few times calling the number that the guy had called from - no answer and no response to voice messages. Then, I sent him a message explaining that I needed the passport before Friday and that we would happily drive to Kongsberg (a two hour drive) to pick it up if he still had it. He replied that he and his friend had been in his friend's car, and if we hadn't received it, it was probably still there. I got in touch with the friend, who had completely forgotten about the wallet and was very agreeable to meeting us whenever we could get to Kongsberg. We took off directly after school and successfully retrieved the wallet and the passport.
On the way back we drove through the beginning of the snow that would form the foundation for this year's winter sports. We had been in Fall mode since October with lots of ice and snow that melted into ice followed by rain that froze into ice. Everyone welcomed the arrival of real cold weather and a solid snowfall. In the three days left before we took off roughly 12 to 18 inches had fallen!
The week before we were scheduled to leave we'd been on a class trip to Oslo to visit a variety of folk music organizations and archives. While it was a very interesting trip, the most memorable part for me is the phone call I received when we were almost home. A very nice sounding man had found my wallet, passport included, in the parking lot where we had stopped on the way home.
He said he'd mail it up here and that was a great relief. When it hadn't arrived several days later, I started to get nervous. I was grumpy, having trouble sleeping, and stressed about all the things we needed to get done before we left, plus I was really starting to worry that the passport wouldn't arrive in time. I went to the effort of checking online what I would need to do to get an emergency passport in Oslo (a fairly straightforward process, however, I was looking at needing to get the emergency passport the same day President Obama was visiting Oslo).
I tried a few times calling the number that the guy had called from - no answer and no response to voice messages. Then, I sent him a message explaining that I needed the passport before Friday and that we would happily drive to Kongsberg (a two hour drive) to pick it up if he still had it. He replied that he and his friend had been in his friend's car, and if we hadn't received it, it was probably still there. I got in touch with the friend, who had completely forgotten about the wallet and was very agreeable to meeting us whenever we could get to Kongsberg. We took off directly after school and successfully retrieved the wallet and the passport.
On the way back we drove through the beginning of the snow that would form the foundation for this year's winter sports. We had been in Fall mode since October with lots of ice and snow that melted into ice followed by rain that froze into ice. Everyone welcomed the arrival of real cold weather and a solid snowfall. In the three days left before we took off roughly 12 to 18 inches had fallen!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Driving back to Rauland
Reasonably early on Friday morning (August 7), we piled into the van and headed west again. David and I promptly passed out in the passenger seats while his father drove. In Karlstad we stopped at Biltema, a hardware store with everything you could possibly need. Almost. We spent about an hour and half buying tools and equipment to help us make the apartment nice and keep David busy for hours.
We stopped for lunch at the Swedish equivalent of McDonalds, MAX hamburgare. This was at my request, having heard so much from visiting Swedes in Seattle about the superiority of MAX vs. any of the American hamburger chains. I would have to say that, while the hamburger itsself was better than one from a chain, and the free coffee was a nice touch, the fries left something to be desired (something like a lot of grease) and the hamburger was really anything special compared to a real burger from a quality establishment in the US.
We pressed further across the late summer landscape, stopping outside Oslo to stretch our legs and eat the remaining spanikopita. We switched drivers and I took the wheel. Things went reasonably smoothly. I choose the wrong road at the big traffic circle in Drammen, but that much a delay is hardly noticable.
The most exciting part of the journey came on the tiny road we drove on for the last 90 minutes. After a few cars passed me by, I took the signal to drive faster. That is 80km/hr roughly. Having not driven in a while and driving a much larger car, the twisting and turning on a narrow road at that speed was intense, to say the least. Not to mention the time we almost collided with another car on a one lane bridge. Thank goodness the van has good breaks!
We drove directly to our new apartment and started unpacking. Our landlady, Anne, came out and asked us if we wanted to join them for some fish soup on the patio. In the short time it took her to whip up the soup, we unpacked the van and stuffed the apartment full of things. After dinner we took a mini road trip to see the view from Vierli. Then it was coffee at my old apartment where Anders was sleeping and off to our first night in the new apartment.
We stopped for lunch at the Swedish equivalent of McDonalds, MAX hamburgare. This was at my request, having heard so much from visiting Swedes in Seattle about the superiority of MAX vs. any of the American hamburger chains. I would have to say that, while the hamburger itsself was better than one from a chain, and the free coffee was a nice touch, the fries left something to be desired (something like a lot of grease) and the hamburger was really anything special compared to a real burger from a quality establishment in the US.
We pressed further across the late summer landscape, stopping outside Oslo to stretch our legs and eat the remaining spanikopita. We switched drivers and I took the wheel. Things went reasonably smoothly. I choose the wrong road at the big traffic circle in Drammen, but that much a delay is hardly noticable.
The most exciting part of the journey came on the tiny road we drove on for the last 90 minutes. After a few cars passed me by, I took the signal to drive faster. That is 80km/hr roughly. Having not driven in a while and driving a much larger car, the twisting and turning on a narrow road at that speed was intense, to say the least. Not to mention the time we almost collided with another car on a one lane bridge. Thank goodness the van has good breaks!
We drove directly to our new apartment and started unpacking. Our landlady, Anne, came out and asked us if we wanted to join them for some fish soup on the patio. In the short time it took her to whip up the soup, we unpacked the van and stuffed the apartment full of things. After dinner we took a mini road trip to see the view from Vierli. Then it was coffee at my old apartment where Anders was sleeping and off to our first night in the new apartment.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The road to Furudal
July 24, 2009
Larry and his mother picked me up in Rauland. They arrived several hours earlier than I was expecting them. I was mostly packed and the apartment was a rough approximation of clean. When I left Rauland, my bags were packed and the apartment was a little closer to presentable.
There was just barely enough room in the back seat of the rental car for me and the roads from Telemark weren't any friendlier than usual. At least I was in a car and not on the bus! By the time we arrived in Hokksund, I was slightly green. We spent a lovely evening with Chris and Terry-Anne, with a walk down to the river and songs late into the night.
We dragged ourselves out of bed early the next morning, Sweden bound! Karlyn called from the train station just as Larry had come down for breakfast, so he headed straight off to find her. We enjoyed our breakfast and coffee while Karlyn entertained us with her travel updates. We were on the road before 8am.
We drove through Oslo to Kongsvinger. We picked the most direct route, along the small roads through Finnskogen, Värmland, and Dalarna. We didn't see to many other cars, but we did hear shooting in the distance just after we crossed the border. We cruised Malung, got some groceries in Mora, zipped through Orsa, and happily arrived in Furudal in plenty of time to find our rooms, unpack the car, eat and get to the dance floor early. It was a long day for Larry who drove the whole way!
Larry and his mother picked me up in Rauland. They arrived several hours earlier than I was expecting them. I was mostly packed and the apartment was a rough approximation of clean. When I left Rauland, my bags were packed and the apartment was a little closer to presentable.
There was just barely enough room in the back seat of the rental car for me and the roads from Telemark weren't any friendlier than usual. At least I was in a car and not on the bus! By the time we arrived in Hokksund, I was slightly green. We spent a lovely evening with Chris and Terry-Anne, with a walk down to the river and songs late into the night.
We dragged ourselves out of bed early the next morning, Sweden bound! Karlyn called from the train station just as Larry had come down for breakfast, so he headed straight off to find her. We enjoyed our breakfast and coffee while Karlyn entertained us with her travel updates. We were on the road before 8am.
We drove through Oslo to Kongsvinger. We picked the most direct route, along the small roads through Finnskogen, Värmland, and Dalarna. We didn't see to many other cars, but we did hear shooting in the distance just after we crossed the border. We cruised Malung, got some groceries in Mora, zipped through Orsa, and happily arrived in Furudal in plenty of time to find our rooms, unpack the car, eat and get to the dance floor early. It was a long day for Larry who drove the whole way!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Lodjur
The plan was to have Elaine and I drive most of the way to Östersund, or at least divide the drive into thirds. After all, that was the point of our driving lessons. Shortly after leaving Furudal, Tom took a left onto the road we would follow most of the way to Östersund. He pulled over and it was Elaine's turn. She did a great job! Smooth, no surprises, the only exciting thing (traffic wise) was a couple of ditch clearing tractors that took up most of the left hand side of the road. Oh! and she got to pass another driver.
Then it was my turn, when we reached Kårbölle. I managed to get the car into gear (on the fourth try, but it was up a hill) and maneuvered through the left turn that was on the travel plan. Less than a quarter mile after that turn we saw what looked like a dog on the side of the road. It stepped up to the road, looked both ways, and loped across in front of us. Not to worry, I hit the brakes, not the lynx. Yep, we saw a lynx running across the road! So. Cool.
Does anyone know what lynxes eat? I'm guessing house cats, but there must be more on the menu than that.
I drove until about forty-five minutes outside of Östersund. We stopped for a much need grocery store and bathroom break. Tom took over driving and we managed to find the camp ground. It was very well labelled which was a good thing, since we didn't have a local map or directions!
Then it was my turn, when we reached Kårbölle. I managed to get the car into gear (on the fourth try, but it was up a hill) and maneuvered through the left turn that was on the travel plan. Less than a quarter mile after that turn we saw what looked like a dog on the side of the road. It stepped up to the road, looked both ways, and loped across in front of us. Not to worry, I hit the brakes, not the lynx. Yep, we saw a lynx running across the road! So. Cool.
Does anyone know what lynxes eat? I'm guessing house cats, but there must be more on the menu than that.
I drove until about forty-five minutes outside of Östersund. We stopped for a much need grocery store and bathroom break. Tom took over driving and we managed to find the camp ground. It was very well labelled which was a good thing, since we didn't have a local map or directions!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Hörlick grottorna
When I think of a grotto, I think of a heavily vegetated cavern behind a tropical waterfall, probably with a deep clear pool at the bottom.
We drove out to the beach at a nature reserve called Hornslandet to go for a walk. We drove all the way to the area at the tip of the peninsula called Hörlick, looked out to the sea, checked out the old church, took a bunch of photos, ate our cheese sandwiches and decided we still needed a real walk in the woods. We hadn't driven out into the Swedish countryside for 45 minutes just to head back without any real exercise.
After a brief false start we found a good trail head and thought we could take the 7km walk if we moved quickly and possibly stop at the caves (grottorna in Swedish). Well, we moved awfully quickly and found ourselves at the caves after less than ten minutes in the woods. We weren't really sure what to expect, so we started up the small rocks and chatted amongst ourselves as they got larger. Tom darted ahead to see if there was anything we should continue climbing to see (we'd hit some pretty big rocks). "I found a ladder down to a cavern!" came the cry.
He poked around long enough for Elaine to pull out her map and convince herself and me that if we continued across the rocks we would come to the other path and could cut back. That seemed like a better option to both of us so, trusting Elaine, I headed after her with only a moment's hesitation. By the time we caught up to Tom, the rocks were clearly boulders and we couldn't really see where the ended. We headed off in the same trajectory toward the trees on the other side with Tom leading the way, Elaine stepping carefully in the middle, and me bringing up the rear taking photographs.
At some point, Tom disappeared into the trees. We hoped he was looking for the path. Elaine and I continued toward the vicinity where he had disappeared. Eventually he called back that he had indeed found the path and could see Elaine. He guided her in to him with his voice and some banging of smaller rocks together.
I had fallen behind due to my photography, so it took me a while longer to reach the trees. Elaine advised me to head to my left and downhill and I would find the path. I made a few attempts, but wound up approximately where I thought they had disappeared (I hadn't really been paying attention). I was one rock away from the path, but I just couldn't make it to either of my options. Both of them were a little too vegetated and a little too far away for me to trust on a downward lunge. Tom came out and rescued me; with a steady hand on the other side I had no trouble making it across the minuscule abyss. (I should have taken a picture of that!)
We were practically running back down the trail out of the woods, when a little voice said 'maybe we should stop and look around.' It was really beautiful out there. I'm so glad we went. From the sea (always my favorite), to our adventure across the stones. Elaine said it reminded her of a Swedish movie she saw many years ago - The Apple Tree War (I think).
Elaine and I got some driving practice in on the way home, but Tom didn't get a nap. As the experienced driver, he still needs to be alert to assist us with any sudden changes. We stopped for gas and $100 later we were finally on our last leg of the day.
At 10:45 we pulled into Tom's driveway, took down our laundry, and Tom started the soup. I had a cup of hot chocolate before the soup was ready, made with cubes of chocolate and whole milk on the stove; it really hit the spot. Once all our phone calls were made we tucked ourselves into bed at about 1:30 and boy did I sleep well!
We drove out to the beach at a nature reserve called Hornslandet to go for a walk. We drove all the way to the area at the tip of the peninsula called Hörlick, looked out to the sea, checked out the old church, took a bunch of photos, ate our cheese sandwiches and decided we still needed a real walk in the woods. We hadn't driven out into the Swedish countryside for 45 minutes just to head back without any real exercise.
After a brief false start we found a good trail head and thought we could take the 7km walk if we moved quickly and possibly stop at the caves (grottorna in Swedish). Well, we moved awfully quickly and found ourselves at the caves after less than ten minutes in the woods. We weren't really sure what to expect, so we started up the small rocks and chatted amongst ourselves as they got larger. Tom darted ahead to see if there was anything we should continue climbing to see (we'd hit some pretty big rocks). "I found a ladder down to a cavern!" came the cry.
He poked around long enough for Elaine to pull out her map and convince herself and me that if we continued across the rocks we would come to the other path and could cut back. That seemed like a better option to both of us so, trusting Elaine, I headed after her with only a moment's hesitation. By the time we caught up to Tom, the rocks were clearly boulders and we couldn't really see where the ended. We headed off in the same trajectory toward the trees on the other side with Tom leading the way, Elaine stepping carefully in the middle, and me bringing up the rear taking photographs.
At some point, Tom disappeared into the trees. We hoped he was looking for the path. Elaine and I continued toward the vicinity where he had disappeared. Eventually he called back that he had indeed found the path and could see Elaine. He guided her in to him with his voice and some banging of smaller rocks together.
I had fallen behind due to my photography, so it took me a while longer to reach the trees. Elaine advised me to head to my left and downhill and I would find the path. I made a few attempts, but wound up approximately where I thought they had disappeared (I hadn't really been paying attention). I was one rock away from the path, but I just couldn't make it to either of my options. Both of them were a little too vegetated and a little too far away for me to trust on a downward lunge. Tom came out and rescued me; with a steady hand on the other side I had no trouble making it across the minuscule abyss. (I should have taken a picture of that!)
We were practically running back down the trail out of the woods, when a little voice said 'maybe we should stop and look around.' It was really beautiful out there. I'm so glad we went. From the sea (always my favorite), to our adventure across the stones. Elaine said it reminded her of a Swedish movie she saw many years ago - The Apple Tree War (I think).
Elaine and I got some driving practice in on the way home, but Tom didn't get a nap. As the experienced driver, he still needs to be alert to assist us with any sudden changes. We stopped for gas and $100 later we were finally on our last leg of the day.
At 10:45 we pulled into Tom's driveway, took down our laundry, and Tom started the soup. I had a cup of hot chocolate before the soup was ready, made with cubes of chocolate and whole milk on the stove; it really hit the spot. Once all our phone calls were made we tucked ourselves into bed at about 1:30 and boy did I sleep well!
Hudiksvall II
On the first evening in Hudiksvall Tom took Elaine and me fishing. We piled into the car with and old pole Tom had found and a six (!) worms he dug out of the garden. With the backdrop of an absolutely beautiful fluorescent Hälsingland sunset Tom caught a couple small fish. By small, I mean little. Tiny. 4 inches maximum. One we threw back, but one, much to Elaine's horror Tom 'had to kill'. His words, not mine.
To and from our fishing adventure, Elaine and I took the opportunity to practice driving. Elaine drove there and I drove back. We both had to cross a rather harrowing (in the eyes of a new driver) highway. I'm happy to report that we both made it safely across. I'm also happy to report that Tom is very support driving instructor.
To and from our fishing adventure, Elaine and I took the opportunity to practice driving. Elaine drove there and I drove back. We both had to cross a rather harrowing (in the eyes of a new driver) highway. I'm happy to report that we both made it safely across. I'm also happy to report that Tom is very support driving instructor.
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