Sweden and Denmark

Vilhelmina was our next stop, about 2/3 of the way up in northern Sweden away from the coast, in an area called Southern Lapland. There are numerous lakes with islands, forests, and mountains where there was still some snow. We saw lots of reindeer that belong to the Sami people (Laplanders). The reindeer congregate on the roads where they can catch some breeze and avoid mosquitoes. We were lucky because there were no mosquitoes. Everyone had warned us, but it was too cold (50's and 60's during the day) and too windy for there to be any.

Again we were warmly welcomed by cousin Måts and his wife, Viola. We stayed in a campsite cabin by a lake near their home. The sunlight was magnificent because it never got completely dark. The sun set at about 11:30 pm and rose at about 2 am. Several nights we watched the sunset, one night with orange clouds and a yellow sky.

We ate delicious cloud berries which are golden and look like raspberries, and every morning we had lingon berries (like small cranberries) on our oatmeal. Måts and Viola took us to the mountains for a day which was very impressive with beautiful views, and we hiked near town and visited the local museum. People hunt, fish, ski, and ride in their snowmobiles since the winter is cold with lots of snow.

We flew both ways from Stockholm, and the girls went on to Copenhagen while I stayed in Stockholm for a few days with a friend, Kerstin, who I had also stayed with in Cambodia where she was training midwives in 2000. I saw many sights in Stockholm which is a beautiful city made up of canals and islands with stately old buildings. I was there when the royal wedding took place and I learned much about European royalty. Crown Princess Victoria married Daniel Westling, a commoner, who had been her personal trainer. They had know each other for eight years, but she needed her father's permission and also the parliament's for them to marry. There were over 900 guests and we watched the wedding, the parade, and the reception on tv. The royalty of Denmark and Norway came on ships.

One day we took a boattrip in the archipelago outside of Stockholm. There are endless big and small islands with trees and rocks, closer to Stockholm there are luxurious villas and further out there are modest summer houses. There were many sailboats and other boats enjoying a cool, but sunny Sunday.

Now I'm in Copenhagen cycling around town on Sarah's bike. This morning I went swimming with my friend, Corinne, in the harbor where there's a wooden barrier that forms a 75 meter long swimming pool. The water was cold, 17 degrees C or 63 degrees F, so we didn't stay in too long. The sky is blue and the sun is shining so it feels like summer.