Jämtland - Day 1-2

On Cliff's birthday we took the night train with Harald and Margareta to Enafors in Jämtland in the northern part of Sweden. Our plans were to hike the so called Jämtlandstriangel [the Jämtland Triangle], a three day hike between three lodges in the Swedish mountains. The total mileage is about 26 miles, a marathon in three days. Shouldn't be too bad.
Since it was Cliff's birthday, Harald brought a bottle of champagne to toast the occasion.
To prepare us for the strenuous life we were about to embark on, Harald also brought some crisp bread and ham and cheese in tubes. This of course was a total joke since the food at the lodges consisted of gourmet meals every day.

After an 11-hour train ride where we slept nicely in our cots, we were ready to move on to ...

... Storulvåns Fjällstation. This beautiful lodge at 725 m (2380 feet) above sea level is very modern with gourmet meals, sauna, and great rooms for reading and relaxing.
The reindeer Erik greets all new guests. (Photo by Margareta)

And the sheep also are curious about the newcomers. (Photo by Margareta)

The view from the lodge is just spectacular.
Cliff on the deck in the back of the lodge.

Now we are ready for our first hike. We will just hike the 'blomstervandring', the flower hike up the nearest mountain.
And we found a lot of flowers. Cliff turned out to be quite a flower photographer.


Once we got up a bit we had a fantastic view of the mountains and the valleys.

But what are mountains without snow? Here we are throwing our first snowballs....
but the snow is not so strong..... so Margareta falls right through. She will need some help to get up.
I was so happy to be in the mountains, I just love the views, the hikes, the flowers, the snow.. . But, as you will see in my next blog, snow is not always this nice.
Cliff thought that the weather was quite warm, why have jackets on?

After the hike we had our first lunch at the lodge. Great fish soup, salads, and
homemade bread that was just fantastic.

After lunch a little nap on the deck can never be wrong.

In the afternoon it was time for another short hike, this time along the river behind the lodge.

This is the direction we walked. (Photo by Harald)

Walking through the birch tree woods was like walking in a ''troll'' forest.



Finally we reached the hanging bridge over the river. It reminded me of the bridge at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

In the evening we took a sauna and then had a fantastic three course meal with some expensive wine. Strangely enough none of us have any pictures........

Midsummer 2008

This was the 14th annual midsummer party at Ramsen, a small island in the archipelago north of Stockholm. My brother Åke and his wife Helene bought the property 14 years ago and have been hosting a midsummer festivity/family reunion ever since. This year, however, Åke and Helene had delegated the planning to their daughter Maria, son Johan and their cousins. They, in turn, made sure that everyone contributed with food, drinks, and games. Above you can see Åke overseeing the raising of the midsummer pole.
And then he could relax with a beer and just enjoy the weekend.

This is how happy Helene was that she did not have to be in charge.

Our family was very happy to be reunited - Benjamin arrived from India, Kristina and Cliff from Berlin and Kerstin and Thomas came from Washington.

As you can see, the weather was fabulous, the best midsummer weather I have ever experienced. Sunny and warm THE WHOLE TIME! As usual we started with a ''sill'' lunch.

And we were singing ''nubbevisor'' that Johan had collected in the pamphlet Kristina is showing.

After lunch everybody did different things, like playing soccer, participating in the ''tipspromenad,'' swimming, taking a sauna (even though the weather did not call for it), fishing, playing kubb or just hanging out. If you want to see more pictures from these activities, check out Kristina's and Ben's blogs. (Links are above in the right column.)
Here are some of the happy family members, Helene's brother Thomas, Kristina, Cliff and Louise.

Johan and Cornelea.

Björn and Inga.

Bengt and Lars. Behind are the tents used by some of the 30 family members who were there.

Kristina's friend Marybeth who came in from Phoenix, AZ. To make sure she felt at home we made some s'mores.

Peter and Cecilia enjoying their s'mores.

The next day, Kristina made two birthday cakes, one for Cliff and one for Maria.

Benjamin serving the cakes to the birthday celebrants.

And here they are opening presents.

What you now have been presented is, of course, a sanitized version of what a Swedish midsummer is like. If you want to know what it really is like, I suggest you check out this video.

Thomas's Jazz Recital

On Sunday Thomas had the great fortune to play two songs with members of the Levine Jazz Quintet. Here we see Thomas with Bob Sykes on piano, Pepe Gonzalez on bass and Ian Sikora on drums. This fantastic opportunity had been arranged by Thomas's saxophone teacher Dr. Noah Getz (who is also a member of the Quintet) and the Levine School of Music. Instead of a traditional jury at the end of the semester, the students of the Quintet members had the possibility to play in a real live setting. This was simply a fantastic experience for everyone. I can't count the number of juries we have taken Benjamin, Kristina, and Thomas to over the years, but this was by far the most enjoyable one. The chance to play with real, professional musicians lifted the performance of every participant, and I am sure all of them felt very proud of themselves after the performance. The ''jury'' part consisted mostly of well deserved praise and a few pointers in which areas to improve. In a traditional jury, the poor child is left alone in front of three faculty members who criticize their performance. Thank you to Dr. Getz and the Levine Jazz Quintet for arranging this wonderful Sunday afternoon! In the videos below you can judge for yourself.

In this video, Thomas plays Song For My Father by Horace Silver......


... and in this one Watermelon Man by Herbie Hancock.

New York May 2008

A group of 11 singers and 5 musicians from the Swedish Lutheran Church in Washington DC went up to New York in order to perform the Swedish folk mass I välsignan och fröjd together with the choir of the Swedish Church in New York.
Here you can hear a bit of one of the songs, Kan de va så lätt. But before we got to the performance, a lot of things happened.
Kerstin H and I took a bus to New York on Friday morning and from the bus station we walked over to take the subway to our hostel. No one can tell us that New Yorkers are unfriendly. A nice young man offered to help Kerstin with her bag up some terrible steps. I guess he saw her big instrument, the nyckelharpa, on her back an figured she needed some help. He wished us welcome to New York. And then a nice lady took this picture of us at Times Square subway station.
Here is the hostel where we stayed, Swiss Hostel 1291. It was really in a great location on 55th Street. Walking distance to Times Square, the Swedish Church, the Museum of Modern Art, Central Park and many more sights. Here Anna has joined us and the rain has stopped.

The room was not exactly luxurious but clean and with comfortable beds. The price was right at $ 50 per night per person, including a simple breakfast. As much as we laughed in that room, one could believe we had won millions on a lottery.

Agneta and Anna having a mother-daughter moment on the bunk.

After getting settled in the hostel, we ventured out in the rain to find a New York deli. As always, a treat.

After the deli we went to the Museum of Modern Art also called the MOMA. On Friday afternoon the admission is free between 4-8 pm. That fit us perfect since that was the only time we could have gone anyway. But I have never seen so many people in a museum before. It was literally packed. The first work of art that greets the visitor is Auguste Rodin's Monument to Balzac from 1898.

The collection at the museum is vast. Even though we spent three hours at the museum, we only saw a fraction of the collection and the exhibits. There were many interactive super modern exhibits, such as the one above. This a Kerstin taking a picture of herself against a panorama of colors projected on the walls.

If you like more "traditional" modern art, the 5th floor is for you. There you can find Picasso, van Gogh, Gauguin, Monet, Matisse, Mondrian, Klimt, Kandinsky, and Munch just to mention a few. Above is the famous Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Picasso.

After an inspiring visit at the museum, it was time for a relaxing glass of wine and some Cuban food....
and then a visit to an off-Broadway show called The Perfect Crime. This is a murder mystery about a psychiatrist who has killed her husband. A detective is trying to pin the crime on her, but falls in love with her!!! The detective was played by Richard Schoberg, and Kerstin H and Agneta were thrilled to see him, because he has been starring in Law and Order. The Perfect Crime is supposedly the longest running drama in New York, but it is probably time to close it down. Only about 30 people came to see it..... It was fairly entertaining, but I think the actors were trying their best not to show how bored they were with play. Time for something new.

A drink after the show is never wrong. Here is Kerstin with Agneta's friend Grete from Tromsoe. Grete invited us to visit her up there next summer when she has retired from her job with the Norwegian foreign service. We really should go!
Now, here is the real reason we went to New York, the Church of Sweden on 48th Street. Our big rehearsal with the New York choir was on Saturday afternoon.

We were treated to a nice lunch in the church cafeteria. Here are Agneta with her daughter Anna, Kerstin with her daughter Lovisa, but my daughter Kristina could not be with us since she is studying in Berlin. We all missed her soooo much.
After rehearsal it was time for Greenwich village where we ended up at a Happy Hour - drinks and appetizers for $ 4. you can't beat that in New York where everything is really expensive. This is how happy Pelle and Mila were,
but Göran and Sonja were happier,
and Lena and Kerstin were the happiest.
Then we went to a Jazz Club called Smalls . I think the group was called the David Ashkenazy Jazz Band and it was a very good band.
After the jazz club we decided to go and check out Times Square by night. And it was a total circus. So many people....
and they were all standing around looking at something, taking pictures. Of what? It turned out that Will Smith was shooting a music video in the middle of the street, causing traffic jams and people jams. But we saw him, so now you know someone who saw Will Smith for whatever that is worth!
Now it is Sunday morning and time for the final rehearsal before the 11 am service and mass. To summarize, it was a fantastic weekend, and I hope we can do it again next year. Thank you to all the members of the New York church, especially pastor Ib Philblad and music director Kristina Sturk-Steinwall, and thanks to all the singers and musicians from Washington.
If you want to see more of my photos, click here.