DAY 14 - Välkommen till Rättvik

Sept 16 - Tribute to Sven and Family

 This is my 2nd visit to Sweden to meet my 3rd cousin and his family.  This time, however, Sven wasn't there.  He had passed away last year, so it felt empty without him.  His great-grandfather and my great-grandfather were brothers.  My great-grandpa Olson left Sweden with 4 other brothers...3 of them settled in Kansas.  The 6th brother - Daniel, stayed on the Sweden homestead and that was where I was headed today.  What a treat it was to meet Sven, his wife, Ingalil, and their daughter and her family.

Ingalil in her younger days as she was an amazing gymnast

 I loved staying at their beautiful home north of Stockholm for a couple of days.

A very nice sauna

My sleeping quarters and guess what?  I was born in 1951, the year they were married.

 I went for a walk in the morning mist. I couldn't see very far ahead of me, so I did end up getting lost, but what's new?

LOVE the fall colors!

Isn't this just such a cute little play house?

 Sven was so very proud of his oldest grandson, Christopher, who works for the airlines in Stockholm.

 A famous symbol of the province is the Dalecarlian horse, a painted and decorated wooden horse. In the old days the Dala horse was mostly used as a toy for children; in modern times it has become a symbol of Dalarna, as well as Sweden, in general.

The world's largest Dala horse, made of concrete and located in Avesta Municipality.

 When we got to Rättvik, we went right to the place where Sven's ashes are...it's a beautiful garden in the local cemetery.  It was such a peaceful area where Ingalil loves to visit.

The Memory Garden in the Rattvik Cemetery

I had to take a picture of this gorgeous flower.

A remnant rock from the large meteor from MANY years ago.  It is in the front yard of Ingalil's daughter, Annette's house.

 We went to Annette's house (Ingalil and Sven's oldest daughter).  Her dog and a large special rock were there to greet us right off.  Siljan lake is nearby and around the southwestern perimeter is the Siljan Ring, a circular geological formation which was formed 377 million years ago by a major meteorite impact. The original crater, now mostly eroded, is estimated to have been about 52 km (32 mi) in diameter and is the largest known impact crater in Europe.

Annette's daughter, Carolina, takes care of these beautiful horses.

 Ingalil will be staying here for a few days.  She stays in the cute little guesthouse that was built in 1967.

The bedroom has bunks in it

Such a sweet living area, including several Dala horses.

A kitchen which has everything you need.

We all celebrate the day after Annette becomes mayor for her 2nd term.

I really want to get a woven Swedish rug similar to this one

While we were there, some workers were putting in a new barn door for the young horse who needed to be in a separate room than the other horses.  They did such a good job in only a few hours.

All four of us girls went to visit a neighbor friend for tea.  Her front yard had some beautiful mushrooms growing that I just had to take some photos of.

Monica was so gracious to have us over and such a beautiful home and gorgeous day!

Quite an array of treats to go with our tea.

Her Knadde Chocolate Cake was 'to die for'.  Her recipe is as follows:
200 grams 70% chocolate
200 grams butter
        Melt cocoa and butter together
1 deciliter sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
        Beat these three ingredients together hard.  Then add both ingredients together.

Put cake mix into a round spring form pan. ( 26 centimeters)  Butter the pan and its edge first and dust with powdered sugar.  Bake for only 6-8 minutes.   Temperature??  oops (didn't get this detail)

Her back yard is simply breath taking with floral and fauna.

This is Annette's front door.

Ingalil and I went for a walk and took in all the history in the area.   Sven grew up at this old farm, so he knew many neighbors and were related to quite a few of them.

Falun red in Swedish is the name of a Swedish deep red paint well known for its use on wooden cottages and barns. The paint originated from the copper mine at Falun in Dalarna.The traditional color remains popular today due to its effectiveness in preserving wood.
The earliest evidence of its use dates from the 16th century.

The farm houses are fined if they don't keep their paint up...it must look good all the time.

Sven in his younger days - mischievous high school boy.

Beautiful Ingalil 50 years ago.

Annette is their first born, but son, Peter, would be coming soon.

The four of us had a lovely dinner together...Annette, Ingalil, Annette, and I. 

Baked chicken with young potatoes in topped with a white sauce.  Spinach and baby tomatoes garnish the tasty dish.

Thank-you for a memorable day with some lovely ladies!

3-generation photo of my sweet Swedish cousins.