Sweden and Norway, September 18 - October 5, 2004
and June 2005
September 27, 2004. We are having a delightful time in Sweden with generally good weather and a very nice new Volvo. We are traveling with Sam and Thelma Hunter who send you their regards. We ran into this very nice Swedish family who also wished you well. We will be back next week to tell everyone all about it. Stockholm is very nice as is Gothenburg where we got the car. We are off to the ballet tonight as the opera is dark until Wednesday. Greetings to all of the ladies in waiting. Love Jack and Linda.
September 19 - Arrive in Göteborg, beautiful city where we walk all day: church, museums, squares, parks. Lovely, lovely; September 20 - Pouring rain dictates a trip to the archives where we find emigration records of the Widerquists. A venture to new Emigranten Center helps with 1890 & 1900 censuses; September 21 - Pick up our new Volvo and head up coast to Norway; Soli Brug. We visit friends of Meredith Wilson, Eva and Willy Dørje-Berg; Their home and interiors they have restored; Eva's pottery and wonderful sense of color.
Eva and Willy Dørje-Berg; Sons house. Prior home of the lumber mill proprietor/manager.
Water wheel used to power multiple saws; The stream rushing past the wheels & a flume; We spend the night in Hotel Refsnes Gods in Moss, Norway, each room decorated with art by different Norwegian painters. Beautiful.
Wednesday, September 22 - Take Moss-Horton ferry across the Oslo Fjord & drive Norwegian East Coast to Arendal. Here we meet up with Hunters. Thelma's cousin, Hakon Blandehoel, takes us in boat. Gorgeous day; Both Thelam's and Hakon's family are from Arendal; A bit relaxed in our cozy cabin.
Picture perfect scenery! Thursday, September 23 - We travel with Thelma's Sannaes relatives to their cabin; Happy boaters repair to Sannaes household for supper; Cabin site view.
We don boot to slog through marshy bogs to reach cabin; Harry & Hillbjørg Sannaes, Thelma's cousins; Guest cottage.
Harry shows off the cabin; While Sam collects his thoughts; Halvor, Harry, Hillbjørg & Hunters; After a great lunch of fisksuppe we get ready to walk back.
Sam wears bags, we get boots; We drive around the corner to lovely meeting spot full of restored old buildings.
Friday, September 24 - We leave Arendal & drive back to Sweden to visit Håkan Hagegård at his lovely retreat for artists, Hagegården; Communal dining room at Hagegården; Håkan Hagegård.
Saturday, September 25 - In the morning we tour Klässbols Linen Factory, both hand and automated looms; Klässbols owner shows us around; Other local sights.
In the PM, Håkan takes us sightseeing, including Selma Lagerlöf's home.
Thelma, Jack, Håkan & Sam; Mårbacka Restaurant; After Mårkacka we stop at a gallery & restaurant; Sunday - After breakfast we bid adieu & go to Stockholm.
Sunday, September 26 - We head for Stockholm via Gripsholm; Sam and Jack have to stop out to see the choo-choo! Gripsholm Royal Palace & National Portrait Gallery; Runestone.
View across lake from Gripsholm Gardens; Stockholm. Royal Church and Palace in Stockholm; St. George and 'Friend'; German Church in Stockholm.
We adore Stockholm! We walk around until time to join Mike and Kay McCarthy for dinner.
National Theater and Ballet; Sam in search of a pissoire.
Monday, September 27 - Jack sends this card to Jack's mother who dies two days later. The good looking Royal Family; Vasa Museum.
Bus tour; Skansen - After that we meet Janis Kreslins at the Royal Library.
Tuesday, September 28 - We take Sam and Thelma to Arlanda Airport then head back to Värmland; Skokloster - between Stockholm & Uppsala; Skokloster Paris Church; Wrangle family estate.
Värmland - Home area (with Örebrolan) of Christina Larsdotter & Carolina Nilsdotter; Parish Priest's House, stay here for 3 nights; Picasso statue at Kristinehamn Harbor entrance; View of lovely cottages across from Picasso.
We drive to Hällefors to do some research, then search out the farms of Christina Larsdotter; Grytthyttan Parish Church; Many cultivated areas are returning to forest; Hälltorps Fallet? Farm they may have lived on; Outbuildings that housed animals & families (Not close to water & therefore not restored as a vacation cottage).
Wednesday, September 29 - We got to Karlstad to research & track down Nils Larsson & family! Hälltorps, now a vacation cottage. View out of front door; Move to Varnum Parish; View toward Lake Bergsjön; Bersjö farm house. Farm Christina moved to in 1825. Here her daughter Carolina Nilsdotter (& 2 sisters) were born.
Thursday, September 30 - Bjurtjärn Parish. Parish Church; Sandsjötorp Farm, birthplace of Nils Larsson; Sandsjötorp overlooks Lake Ullvettern; 2004 main farm house.
Lungsund Parish Church - Parish of Nils Larsson when he worked on Mosserud Farm; Lungsund is on Bergslagenkanalen; Typical key; Arne Nilsson, Bjurtjärn parish guide; Arne and his wife Sigbritt are restoring Hembygdsgården Farm & nearby iron pit. The Bjurtjärn Players perform here. Fascinating to see the money and effort people put into the private restoration of these old sites.
Kattängen - Birth farm of Carl Johnson, Christina's 2nd husband; Current Kattängen owner; Nohlås, emigration farm; Model of Backstugan, peasant's cottage; Åsvikens - farm Carl and Christina moved to.
Fridayy, October 1 - From Värmland to Jünköping; Askersund Church; Vadstena Castle, home of archives; Eksjö - Lovely wooden town.
October 1-4 - We find family farms for Lars Johnson (husband of Carolina Nilsdotter & Lottie Wederquist's father) and Widerquists; Skärstad Parish Church; View toward lake from parish church steps; Looking across Landsjön Lake to parish church. Kasna's farm is 3 O'Clock; Lekarebo - Up hill from church birth farm of Elizabeth Svensdotter in 1767, Lars' maternal grandmother.
Fingalstorp - Birthplace of Lars Johnson, 1825; Ekeberg Farm (former Katteberg) where Lars' father was born, Jons Jonasson, 1798, as well as his father, Jonas Jonsson in 1768; Karsnäs - Birthplace of Lars' mother, Ingeborg Larsdotter, 1804, as well as her father Lars Mansson, 1766 & his father, Mans Larsson in 1735.
Widerquist Län! A relative? Märback Parish CHurch and view over Lake Ralången.
Birth farms of F. Ludwig Wederquist parents. Lammarps Farm, Marbäck Parish; Lammarp tractor eggs, cottages; Birth farm of Lovisa Dahlberg, 1818; Breafall - Sven Winderquist birth farm. Breafall is in Lommaryd Parish; Lommaryd Parish Church. This church is well out in the country. It clearly helps a lot to have state money to keep up these small parish churches.
Bälaryd Parish & Hillerstorp Farm - Birth farm of Fredrik Ludwig Widerquist in 1851; Bälaryd Parich Church; Views of Hillestorp.
Karstorp Farm - Main home of Winderquists; Lena Britt Gustafsson, teacher and owner of Karstorp; Cheese pie, such as the Winderquists would have eaten; Åkersberg - From which Ludwig and sibs emigrated; Guest cottage open for rent (60SEK in '04) for 4 bedrooms; History of Karstorp on a roll for the kids.
Places where Lovisa and Sven died; Flisby Parish Church, and its not too modest parsonage! Flisby, Lovisa died here in Jan. 1895; Syreda Farm, Lovisa dies here; Norra Solberga, Chapel - Sven dies on Glämminge Farm in this parish in 1905.
Huskvarna - Industrial and craft village opposite Husqvarna plant.
Dinner at Sannaes' home.
![June 2, 2005 - Gothenberg the day before pick up our new Volvo; Friendly Swede we met at the county archives and joined for coffee; [Accident Intervenes] June 20, 2005 - Leaving Kungälv Hospital; June 21, 2005 - Hagegården recuperation begins.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62e163b72ac2810ad9183578/a2ab5e2a-2a44-4153-8f5b-846b089d6dda/Scan+82.jpeg)
June 2, 2005 - Gothenberg the day before pick up our new Volvo; Friendly Swede we met at the county archives and joined for coffee; [Accident Intervenes] June 20, 2005 - Leaving Kungälv Hospital; June 21, 2005 - Hagegården recuperation begins.
June 22 - Håkan Hagegård and Fritz Hoeschler at HageGården; Lupines all over the HageGården area; June 23 - Daily walks are our big exercise.
Håkan and his granddaughter at playhouse; Fritz in Håkan's kitchen; June 24 - Midsummer; Hagegård family party at Håkan's; Afternoon naps are the rule.
Midsummer party at Håkan's brothers. Jack and Thomas greet guests; Christian (Håkan's son) and wife. Håkan's sister, Kjersten & husband; View from our room; Fiddlers help everyone decorate the 'Maypole'.
Women collect flowers in the field for the two flower circles hung from pole; Men dress the pole in birch leaves; Fritz helps strip birch leaves and branches.
Dancing around the pole; Singing in front of Thomas' sod roofed cabin; Enjoying the singing; View from Thomas' cabin toward lake.
Thomas' cabins from the lake; Fritz drives Håkan and Jack to party.
View from Håkan's sauna; Håkan's sod covered cabin near sauna; The walkers.
HageGården from the field; Resting at lookout over lake.
Fritz with friend in Arvika; Arvika town square, town of about 20,000 nearby; Arvika's best hotel, good food; Old Mill (restaurant) near Linen Factory.
Jack and Jake play Penta; Håkan's house near HageGården; Håkan's sod roofed cabin near sauna.
Håkan's sauna; Håkan's boat house.
November 4, 2005
Dear friends:
This week has been full of good, relieving news, so I wanted to give you a brief update on "What I Did on My Summer Vacation."
On Tuesday, November 1, my spinal surgeon in Minneapolis pronounced the bone in my back healed, the Swedish hardware in place (to set off airport alarms forever!), and my body brace destined for only 6 more weeks of use. I have been doing physical therapy for over a month to slowly rebuild my atrophied trunk muscles so that I can hold myself in place without external support.
I am so grateful, and never, and will never, take my ability to walk for granted. We have been given a second chance at life, and although we will always have some limitations, we appreciate every day with love and gratitude. Since returning from Sweden, we've walked an hour or two daily, really getting to know the neighbors and neighborhoods of Saint Paul.
On Thursday, November 3, exactly 5 months after the accident, Jack and I went to the Mayo Clinic, where he has been tested extensively. Our one and only car crash was enough for a lifetime, and we don't want to test any more airbags. Our final Mayo visit was with an interventional cardiologist who recommended that, despite the hole in Jack's heart (no smart remarks!), repair surgery is not called for at this time (extensive studies are in progress about the relationship of such PFO holes to stroke; we'll wait for the results). Meantime, it's aspirin therapy after he finishes his coumadin "fix" in December.
We were delighted and relieved, and so upon leaving the Mayo Clinic, we stopped to listen to the lobby pianist and a sort-of sing-along. We put down our bags and with me in my brace, fox-trotted across the lobby. Jack even did a gentle waltz-jump lift of me and a dip (I promise our days of flips and under the leg slides are over!). Despite our reticence(!) we took up the crowd's appeal to waltz. The tears and applause were not just those of the scores of onlookers-I was weepy too. (Jack, ever the romantic and sensitive, urged one man to throw down his crutches and take his wife out on the floor.)
So there we are. All the wonderful letters, prayers, meals, visits, coupled with your respect for our need for solitude and meditation, have been healing. Thank you all.
As one doctor said to me, "You'll be fine in two years," to which I replied: "But I'll be two years older." ''That's a problem,” he said. Such is life. We'll take it.
With love, Linda