sweden: karlstad, sunne, family

i was always told that i had swedish relatives...i remember hearing about the swedish relatives as a child, and i've heard about them as an adult too...i was told that i met many of them when i was just 9 months old, but of course i don't remember any of that...that introduction was during a visit to sweden, of course i don't remember that either...
in the middle of winter this year, my dad mentioned to me that he would be traveling to sweden for a conference, and planned to stay an extra few days to see the relatives...he said it would be great if i could join up for the family visit...i looked at a calendar, didn't see any conflicts, and booked the tickets...

i landed late on a thursday afternoon...i made the mistake of not eating earlier in the day, and flew a budget airline, which didn't feed me during the flight...by the time i got off the plane i had a horrible headache...the kind that makes me nauseous, the kind that makes it painful to think...i knew i needed food and water immediately, even though the thought of chewing and swallowing wasn't particularly appetizing...dad got me some food, and about 20 minutes later i felt a lot better...
two of our relatives picked us up at the airport, then we drove drove drove...i think the drive was about 3 hours in total, i'm not sure...we stopped for dinner at some point, at a swedish fast food place...

eventually we rolled into a city called karlstad...one of the relatives lives in an apartment complex here, the others were able to book the guest flat in the complex for dad and i that night...
the next morning we went to the flat of our relative for breakfast and chatting...thank goodness most swedes speak a fair amount of english...plus, dad has visited these relatives several times previously, so there was an easy flow to conversation...
after a couple hours, the ladies we'd driven with last night came and picked us up, and the four of us went to lunch in the city centre...the building in which we had lunch had historical significance...it's where a document was signed which split sweden and norway into two countries...we all had the same meal: fish, mashed potatoes and lingon berries...a very traditional swedish meal...

they took us to a hospital to visit with another relative...as we were hanging out there, we met an american couple originally from minnesota...totally awesome!! they'd met in japan, and since moved to sweden...while we were visiting with the relative, the ladies were meeting with his doctor...
next up was taking dad and i to a hotel...the flat we'd stayed in the night before was booked for this night, so they'd made reservations for us at a hotel...the hotel used to be a prison!!! is this where i get to make the joke about how much the swedish branch of the family thinks of us? hee hee...the hotel price included breakfast and dinner, so they agreed to come back after a couple hours for dinner...

great dinner...a lot of food...good people and good conversation:)
the next morning dad and i were up early and went for a walk...karlstad isn't exactly picturesque, but it was nice...plus, the weather was great...chilly, but sunny...breakfast afterward was lovely...
the family picked us up, and we picked up another relative at the train station...of course, this meant a packed car, but it was still fun...we drove to a town called sunne, i think it's about an hour from karlstad? after stopping for a coffee, we continued to a very small area...not even a village...this is where my great grandfather lived before he emigrated to the states...the cabin in which he lived still stands, and is still owned by the family...

there is no running water, no electricity...somehow, it's still awesome to see...the family let it out, so we weren't able to go inside, but i was content to wander around outdoors...the relative who lived there worked at a mill just down the hill, so we walked to see the remains of that...after all the years of hearing about this guy, and his life before emigration, it was really really nifty to see it...it was really muddy, but i'm glad we saw the area...
on the way from sunne back to karlstad, we stopped at the home of a swedish writer...she won a nobel prize in literature...her home has been turned into a museum at which one of my relatives used to be a tour guide...she still remembers a lot of random information:)

the night we had dinner at the first flat we'd visited in karlstad...homecooked by the ladies...a lovely evening...we took a family photo just before leaving...we went back to the hospital to get a family photo with that relative as well...
the next morning the ladies picked up dad and i to drive back to stockholm, and the airport...it was a quick weekend, but i'm glad i finally got to meet some of my swedish relatives:)