SWEDISH SOJOURN, Day 2, June 21

Ah, our first full sightseeing day in Sweden, and sunshine raked the streets of Uppsala. Temperatures all day hovered at between 65 and 70 degrees--ideal weather. We had gone to bed at about 8:00 p.m., and I fell asleep pretty much immediately after hitting the bed, but woke at about midnight. It took a while to fall asleep again, as my mind kept jumping from one thing to another, but eventually I gave in once again and slept until 6:00, when we woke up. A shower and a good breakfast from the smorgasbord downstairs restored us, and by 8:00 our bags were to be downstairs by the van. For the day, the towns of Avesta, Sundborn, Falun, and Raettvik were on schedule. Our first stop was Avesta, which is in the Dalarna province, one of three provinces situated in central Sweden and centered around Lake Siljan. Lots of lakes, log cabins, pine forests, and wide-open skies characterize the region. Red cottages with white doors and window frames, a sweeping green countryside, intense blue water and the summer festivals attendant upon Midsummer's Eve--all set the scene for an unbelievable wealth of experiences. Our first stop was Avesta, to see the world's largest Dala horse standing almost 43 ft. high and weighing 67 tons. The Dala horse is a traditional carved and painted wooden statuette of a horse originating in the Swedish province of Dalarna. It is said by some to be a model of Odin's horse Sleipner, but unlike Sleipner, it does not have 8 legs. In the old days, the Dala horse was mostly used as a toy for children. My aunt Kathe, while living in Sweden years ago, had sent me one when I was a little girl. Now, however, it has become a symbol of the Dalarna province as well as Sweden in general. There are several types produced, each with the particular markings of a province. My Dala horse, I remember, had been red, with details and a harness in white, green, yellow, and blue. From Avesta, we were off to Sundborn to tour Carl Larssongarden, once the home of the artist Carl Larsson. The cottage was at first the summer house of Carl and his wife Karen, and later became their permanent home. The artist's own murals and portraits of his children form part of the decor, as do the embroidery and tapestries of his wife. At the beginning of the 20th c., when the Larssons had decorated the house, it represented an entirely new decorative style for Sweden, its ybright, warm interior quite unlike the dark and sober colors used at the time. Larsson lived from 1853-1919, and besides being a painter, he was also an interior designer and a representative of the Arts and Crafts movement. We toured the entire house with his great-great grandson, and then I walked around the exterior of the house, which had been added unto here and there over the years and in its eclectic atmosphere reminded me very much of Beauport, the house of an eccentric designer in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The house sits on a lake and is located next to a spillway of water. A visit to the bookstore yielded a small book on the house of Carl and Karen Larsson and their children. It was an idyllic place, and lunch at a small cafe next to the house and a visit to the family's gravesite brought our wonderful visit to an end. By the way, lunch--an open-faced sandwich and a raspberry drink, as well as two desserts passed between four of us and showcasing two flaky, oblong wafers covered with powdered sugar and book ending an inner layer of cream cheese, plus a small pistachio and chocolate-covered confection, followed by two cups of Gevalia coffee--brought lunch to a spectacular end. After that we were off to Falun, essentially an industrial town known for copper mining, which began here in the 11th c. Today the mines, which closed in 1992, can be visited on hour-long guided tours. The mines are now on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Falun grew in importance during the 17th and 18th c., when its copper mines produced two-thirds of the world's copper ore. The second largest town in Sweden at the time, it acquired grand buildings and an air of prosperity. But in 1761, two fires wiped out virtually all of Falun. Six of us decided to descend into the mines and donned waterproof capes and boots. We walked down 55 meters and then into a network of old mine roads and drifts. The temperatures below (our lowest point was about 140 meters) stood at only about 6-7 degrees Celcius. Originally, conditions below ground in the mines were appalling, said by the botanist Carl Von Linne to be as dreadful as hell itself. One of the most dangerous aspects of 18th c. copper mining was the presence everywhere in the mines of vitriol gases, which are strong preservatives. It is recorded that the body of a young man was found in the mines in 1719. Though he had died 49 years previously in an accident, his corpse was so well preserved when discovered that his fiancée, by that time an old woman, recognized him immediately. An amazing place! We spent so much time in the mine with our guide that we made the rest of our group a bit late for our next appointment. Dinner was early at the Scandic Hotel in Falun, and the architecture was very reminiscent of the ski jump right behind our hotel, which must be a real crowd-drawer and crowd-pleaser during the winter season. We had dinner at 4:30, and it consisted of flank steak, snow peas, French fries, and a delightful dessert consisting of two scoops of ice cream, strawberries, and two white chocolate wafers. Then at about 5:30, we left to watch and participate in preparing the celebrations for tomorrow evening's Midsummer Eve. We partipated in preparing bouquets for the making of the four wreaths symbolizing the seasons; and people also fashioned garlands to wind around the maypole during ceremonies tomorrow, which we will attend. The family also invited us in their house and allowed us to see the looms, spinning wheels, old sewing machines, clocks, and daybeds which they had collected. Their house was situated next to a beautiful placid lake shaded by a weeping willow. A mellow afternoon, and I am still basking in its ambiance and the late light of the day. A+ day today, and it will be hard to top this one! Wish all of you were here! As ever, Sylvia