Staying at hotels with wi-fi is one thing, but having one with a computer sure is better! We have enjoyed a whirlwind tour of the mid-section of Sweden. Mora in the Dalarna region was most beautiful with its tall, slim pines and white-barked birches. Our stay was enhanced by a cousin’s dear friend, Ann Marie, who served as our personal guide. We saw the Swedish countryside with its red barns and homes, painted with a copper-ladened paint and crisp white trim. Little lamps in every window provide a warm glow at night.
From Mora we made our way to Goteborg about 8.5 hours south. En route we stopped for an hour of research at the Swedish Emigrant Registry, where we were able to locate four records on the family. As they closed, we were not able to research beyond that 60 minutes, but we have been equipped with the knowledge for further searches.
Goteborg was enjoyed by Lois, Evonne, and Beth. Unfortunately our rental car sustained damage to what we presume is the oil pan as we drove over a curb. Steve & I spent most of the afternoon negotiating through the language barrier with Avis to get a replacement vehicle. We were quite fortunate to be in a large city with an Avis, otherwise we would easily have been stranded for days if we were out in the countryside. The 2nd day in Goteborg (Gothenburg) we drove up the coast, past fjords, seaside villages, and crossed just into Norway to say we made it to Norway. The coastline drive was quite scenic.
Two days ago we drove towards Norrköping from Göteborg. Along the drive we took what we presumed would be a quick detour to possibly see where the Bengtson side of the family may have lived. Despite several attempts to call a distant relative two days prior, we decided to be bold and just knock on the door. Well, that knock on the door then led us to a 6 hour visit with 9 relatives! Included in that visit were two wonderful sessions around the table of two different homes. We made it to the home where Steve’s great-great grandparents lived!
We greeted the midsummer’s midnight sun that evening as we drove for several hours to our hotel in Norrköping. We arrived just after midnight and fell into bed as very tired travelers. All yesterday we shopped, strolled, and soaked in sunshine in Norrköping. Today we drove onto Stockholm again to a hotel within 10 minutes of Arlanda Airport. Our three traveling companions leave in the morning for the U.S. so we will be up early and off to the airport by 6ish. Steve & I will continue to Stockholm’s 2nd airport later that evening for our Friday flight to Edinburgh, Scotland.
We hope that you are all enjoying summer now that it is here. We understand that the midwest is getting some summer storms and that Nebraska’s had an unfortunate amount of rain and flooding.
Please feel free to leave any comments or email us so we know how you are doing too.
Love,
Diane