Östersund

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!

A free weekend!

David and I decided not to go to FolkeLarm this year. While the tickets to the festival were cheaper, hotel rooms, food, and travel are certainly not inexpensive. Plus we were exhausted from three weeks of constant rehearsing and travel. Finally, we had a weekend at home!

I had originally told all of my employers that I wasn't available and I stuck to that story. Instead of working like crazy and spending all of my free time at school or asleep, I got to relax at home with David. Friday we had free from school, so we cleaned the house and went for a walk to town. Saturday we got a last minute invitation to play at the gallery opening, so we used the afternoon to rehearse and then played that evening.

Saturday night we had time to visit with friends. First Marco and Victor came to us and then we went out to Victor's cabin. We drove there with the plan of walking home. Around 4am we were all tired enough to end the party so the three of us walked and arrived at our homes around 5. Marco and David kept the conversation going, mostly about all of the dangerous animals a person can meet in the dark on a road like the one we were walking on and what a person should do when one meets a bear or moose or beaver. When we were almost home, we ran into a few very drunk and entertaining locals; they figured that we must be from Oslo and were out on a training tour. As tired as we were, we managed to walk considerable faster then them!

Sunday we slept in late and walked back to the car in the afternoon. The road was much less terrifying in the daylight. The scenery was fantastic. Fall is making its brief appearance before winter sets in and the trees are displaying beautiful yellows and oranges. The conditions here aren't right to get red leaves, so the mountains are covered with tapestries of evergreens and golden birches.

That evening we made dinner and watched a movie. We went to sleep early in an attempt to start the next week well rested. We were headed into Research Week and even the most interesting lectures are difficult to stay awake through while suffering from sleep deprivation.

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!