I’m writing this on Sunday night at (according to our bedside clock) 22:40. We’re back at our hotel after a full day spent at the home of Karin’s aunt…the site of a historic mill, a field of raspberries, and a baby’s first birthday party. Karin’s mom grew up in in Arbotten (this area of homes nestled in the hill overlooking the lake), and her sister’s family now owns and has renovated the family home (decorated with an old-fashioned Swedish aesthetic).
This morning we woke up at 10:15 after having stayed out until 2am the previous night. We squeezed into the car of four friends we met at the wedding and zipped over to a nearby restaurant where they were holding the post-wedding brunch. The restaurant had wood-burning stoves in the corner of the room and was decorated with lots of lovely old-style Swedish plates and other charming knickknacks. Bryan and I enjoyed a great brunch and got to laugh and enjoy the company of Kaleb and Karin’s friends a bit more before they headed back to Stockholm.
Afterwords, Kaleb drove Bryan and me out to the cottage where he and Karin are staying. We relaxed there, and Bryan took in the beautiful countryside. When Karin and Kaleb joined us, we all walked to Karin’s aunt’s home. On our walk down the lane, we passed moss-covered stone walls, gracefully arching birches, and field housing a little filly and her mama.
Our afernoon at Ingebor’s home, flew by, and when they broke out the grill and left-over hot dogs from the wedding, I was shocked to learn that it was dinner time. Between the jet lag, the crazy time the sun sets (it was still quite light at 10pm tonight), and the wedding activities, time seems to work quite differently here in Sweden than anywhere else I’ve ever been. During the afternoon, we celebrated Karin’s cousin’s son’s first birthday. Sophia made a delicious strawberry, raspberry, custard tarte for Erik’s first birthday, and she’s promised to send me the recipe. I also ate way too many macaroons (if that’s possible). And there was homemade cherry lemonade. There are some good cooks in this family!
Kaleb’s mom has been ill, but she felt better today and attended the gathering at the mill today. Back in the company of her family, she appeared in good spirits. Jane has a real knack for making baby Arvid gurgle and smile. She’s got that grandma touch.
Karin’s uncle gave us a tour of the family mill that sits next to the house. It was built in the early 1800s and was run by the family from then until the 1960s. In recent years, Karin’s cousins and aunt and uncle have been hard at work cleaning, painting, and maintaining it, and it’s a really beautiful historic site. I took lots of pictures, and I’ll share them as soon as I get a chance to download them from my camera. Maybe tomorrow on the train!
In the early evening (after hot dogs and beers and before gorging on raspberries from the nearby field), Karin, Kaleb, Arvid (asleep in stroller), Kyle, Jessica, Bryan, and I all walked down the hill to the lake. The water felt a bit chilly, so we didn’t jump in. We did, however, walk out to the end of the pier and admire the amazing scenery. Then we all dreamed of coming here or somewhere similar on a regular basis. Lakes and stillness and good company do wonderful things for a person’s psyche!
I took a peek at my getting-ready-for-the-wedding pictures, and I’ve posted some of those to Flickr. Photos on this trip are really getting out of hand. It’s sure fun, though!
Tomorrow morning (Monday) we catch the train back to Stockholm. We’ll be there until we fly out on Wednesday. What a lovely vacation this is!
Love to those at home (especially my two little ones whom I’m starting to miss a bit!),
~Althea
