Back to the Roots:
Swedish Edition
June 2014
I arranged my trip
across Scandinavia by boat and train – after traveling with Mom and Brent
through Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Baltics, and ending our time together in
Finland, I ventured out on my own once again, starting with an overnight ferry from Helsinki
to Stockholm.
As a bonus, it turned
out I was able to visit the place of a very small percentage of my DNA’s
heritage in Sweden – I think the story is “we’re pretty sure you’re a little
bit Swedish but we’re not exactly sure how much and from who…” Either way, my
stepdad Brent is fully Swedish, and he also has some living relatives in
Sweden whom he was kind enough to provide contact information for. Brent and my
mother visited his second cousins Goran and Lena a few years ago, and when I
contacted them to let the know I’d be traveling in Sweden, they were more than
happy to invite me down to their home for a few days in Jonkoping, with an
added bonus trip to the island of Visingso.
Uppsala
I arrived in Stockholm,
Sweden by overnight ferry (on which I felt a little like Leonardo DiCaprio in
Titanic, staying down in the hold…under the car garage but it hey, it was cheap).
From there, I immediately headed north to Uppsala, Sweden, where I had lucked
out with a free place to stay. One of my friends from the UWGB swim team was
then (and still is) living in Sweden with his girlfriend, whom he had met on a
study abroad trip. When I contacted him to meet up, we were thrilled, but then
unfortunately he had to go back to the States just before I arrived due to a
family event. However, he was still happy to leave the keys with a friend and
allow me to stay in their apartment. After two weeks of saying goodbyes and
traveling nonstop, I was ready for some peace and quiet and embraced the opportunity
to stay on my own for free.
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| Uppsala Cathedral |
Uppsala is very historically a university town, with the founding of the first university in
Scandinavia taking place there in 1477. The fourth largest city in Sweden, it remains
a high seat of academia and religion, with the seat of the Archbishop of the
Church of Sweden based in the Uppsala Cathedral. However, it doesn’t seem like
that big of a city as it is very walkable and pleasant to get around, with
friendly people and a small amount of traffic everywhere. I spent most of my
time there reading, walking, taking pictures, and enjoying Swedish coffee, which
was delightfully strong and flavorful.
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| My favorite coffee shop |
I lucked out finding
a coffee shop in the central downtown, with a lovely view of a fountain and
some of the university grounds. I remember sitting and enjoying the outdoors,
when all of a sudden the chairs next to me began to be occupied by a few elderly
gentlemen. They looked at me, tried to communicate with me, then laughed and
joked to themselves as it became clear that neither of us knew the other’s
language. One of them gave up and took the chair on the opposite side of me,
then kindly offered me some of his tobacco. I soon realized that these gentlemen
were regulars of the coffee shop, and I had very boldly taken their seats.
Oops. At least they were friendly about it.
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| Delightful little city |
My friend, who had
left the keys for me with his Swedish teacher, was both teaching English and
taking Swedish classes at a language institute in Uppsala. As I contacted her
to get the keys, we met and chatted for a bit, and she invited me to come to a
Swedish class she was teaching the following evening. I took her up on the
offer, and, although I was seated in the advanced class, received some one on
one lessons while the rest of the class worked on writing an essay. I learned
the alphabet, how to say my name and introduce myself, and how to count. I took
this basic knowledge with me throughout my travels in Scandinavia and learned
just how similar some of the languages are. I also learned I am terrible at Swedish pronunciation,
but like everything I’m sure it takes practice.
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| Swedish graduation |
On my last morning in
Uppsala, sitting at my usual coffee shop, I suddenly noticed some young people
dressed in all white, with sailor caps on. I was curious, as there was no
apparent Swedish Navy nearby, nor would that make sense to have a Navy in the
middle of the country. As I kept observing, more and more young people were
walking in the same direction, some on motorbikes and some with parents. I
believe I ended up asking the girl at the front counter, who spoke English
wonderfully, and she informed me that it was high school graduation day, and
Swedish students traditionally wear white and sailor caps instead of our gowns
and caps. As I walked myself along the castle walls up the hill later that day,
I realized I had stumbled upon the location of the graduation ceremony. It was
an interesting cultural perspective, and it suited my short time in Uppsala,
which was all about enjoying myself and beginning to learn about Sweden and its
people. Uppsala was a lovely stop for me with a great opportunity to relax and
recharge my batteries before the next leg of my trip.
Stockholm
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| Views of Stockholm |
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| A city on the water |
My first impression
was one of dramatic beauty. The city of Stockholm is made up of about fourteen islands,
connected by bridges and roads, creating a little network of crossing paths and
floating islands. The water was a stunning blue, with a sharp contrast of neat,
colored buildings and stark white boats with their sails docked along the
various pathways. The historical city center island, Gamla Stan, was a
delightful mess of twisting cobblestone streets, tourist shops and restaurants,
and historical sites.
People in Stockholm
(most of Sweden, actually) are fit. They don’t mess around with exercise. Many
of them bike to work in the warmer months, they go for frequent jogs, and they
walk all over the place. There are ‘cycle paths’ (not psychopaths, Mama Kim) on
nearly every sidewalk, and to me it was refreshing to see a city full of people
taking advantage of their own two feet to get them around places.
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| High School Graduation: Stockholm style |
In Stockholm I mostly
spent my time walking, going to a museum or two, and taking pictures along the
water. I also happened to be there during high school graduation week, which in
Stockholm means your graduating class rents out an open backed truck, gathers
some speakers and adult beverages, and drives around the city streets blasting
party music, cheering at everyone you drive past, and probably having the best
time imaginable. I was the recipient of some of these cheers, but I definitely
know how they felt, so reciprocated quite happily.
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| Stockholm Old Town |
Fun fact: When you go
to Sweden, and someone greets you at a coffee counter with “Hey!,” it is quite
appropriate to respond with a similar “hey” back as if you’ve been best friends
forever. Although the Swedish are extremely friendly people, it wasn’t until a
few days in that I discovered “Hej,” pronounced like ‘hey’ is actually Swedish
for hello. So either way, it is a pleasant greeting, but I was a bit taken
aback at first when I thought that someone everyone in Sweden knew me. A
particular fond memory I have was walking into my girls only hostel room and
being greeted with a chorus of “hej!” from my five roommates, who were giggling
and getting ready for a night out. They were so happy and excited that I asked
them what they were up to for the evening and discovered that they were headed
to a One Direction concert, which apparently was a pretty big deal in Sweden. I
had to leave too early in the morning to hear the feedback from them, but I’m
sure they had fun.
Jonkoping and
Visingso
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| Views of Lake Vattern |
After many miles walked in Stockholm, it was time to head south. I started off
bright and early to catch a series of little trains to reach my destination of
Jonkoping, about three hours away from Stockholm. This is where I had Goran and
Lena waiting for me with open arms, and immediately upon my arrival I was
welcomed as part of the family. They lived along the shores of Lake Vattern,
one of the largest in Sweden, and they had lived there much of their lives. Now
with three grown children, she works as a preschool teacher and he works as a
school bus driver, a recent change in career which he enjoyed. They gave me a
tour of the small hills and forests around their home, treated me to a
delicious fish lunch (very typical in Sweden). Next, they took me to their
daughter’s house to visit and I was soon introduced to my now favorite Swedish
custom: fika.
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| My new friend Sigge |
Fika, pronounced
‘feeka’, basically translates into ‘coffee and treats time,’ the Swedish
equivalent of the English teatime. It could be midmorning, midafternoon, even
in the evening, but it always revolves around coffee and sweets. Also, as I
mentioned before, in Sweden they drink proper brewed coffee like we are used to
in the States, compared to the many espresso cultures found elsewhere in
Europe. So, strong coffee plus a daily time dedicated to eating sweets equals a
country high on my list.
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| Sunset on Visingso Island |
After our fika time,
which also involved meeting their then three year old and four week old grandsons, we
all headed out to Visingso Island, which was about an hour’s drive away from
their home. Visingso Island used to be the royal hunting grounds for the Swedish
monarchy in the 12th and 13th century, and it also
happens to be the childhood home of my stepfather’s grandfather, which made
Lena Brent’s second cousin. Both Goran and Lena grew up on different parts of
the island, then were also married in a small church on the island. They now
have a cabin there which they spend many weekends at, usually with visiting
children and now grandchildren.
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| Family cabin on Visingso Island |
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| Former royal hunting grounds |
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| My wonderful hosts Goran and Lena |
On Visingso I was
treated to a driving tour of the island, which is only about 10 square miles,
to see the historical remains from the royal family and to see the family
history. My stepfather had also visited the area previously, and it was special
to be able to walk in his footsteps and learn more about his roots. We also
went to a family birthday party on the island, where I met a few more family
members and enjoyed the sunny afternoon eating delicious food and playing yard
games with the party guests. It could have been like any outdoor Saturday
barbecue party in the States, surrounded by family and friends; the
perfect way to end my time in Sweden.
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| Afternoon birthday party |
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| Goodbye Sweden |
Next is discovering the majority of my roots: in Norway!
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