Winter wonderland on a Swedish farm

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The biggest day of the Christmas season in Sweden is Christmas Eve, where the family sit down to eat from a julbord, a Swedish Christmas smorgasbord, before Tomte, a little gnome believed to live under the the floor boards of the house or the barn arrives with presents. The tomte has now assumed a role comparable to that of Santa Claus and he even has similar attire with a big beard and a red cap. He does however wear a grey coat which is similar to that worn by farmers that he visits. Due to work commitments, we didn't arrive at our Swedish destination until the next day, so we were disappointed that we could not be apart of these festivities with our hosts on this Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day

Around midday, we pulled up into the driveway of the farm that is located deep in the forest in Hälsingland. The farmhouse is a large red building, that was built in the traditional way in the 1920s originally to house 4 families. Åsa came outside to greet us and offered us traditional cinnamon egg bread and gingerbread cookies for lunch. The daylight hours at this time of year are short with the sun officially rising at 9am and setting at 2pm, so we knew we had to get outside to look around before the sun disappeared for the day. We put on the cross-country skiis that Lasse had ready for us and had a practice run up and down the hill next to the barn - snow-plough for slowly going downhill and both feet outwards to climb the hill in the skis.

We set off onto the cross-country ski track that leaves the farm, making our way through the snow-covered forest. The bushes looked like big white pillows and the spruce and pine trees were lovely dressed in their white gowns. Cross-country skis are much thinner than normal skis, and making a snow plough with them is near impossible when the snow is thick and you are trying to push your skis into a pigeon toe movement. But we started to master the art of climbing the hills and falling down them. The sun looked to be getting quite low and not knowing how long we had left to reach the lake, we decided to turn back instead of being stuck outside in the dark. Little did we know that although the sun had gone down it takes at least another hour for it to become dark. It comes up on the horizon, hovers for a few hours and then sets on the same horizon. It never reaches high up in the sky, so telling the time from the sun is confusing, and it didn't help that my watch is currently broken.

A family from Bristol had arrived earlier in the week and were our companions during our stay. They went out into the forest on Christmas Eve with Åsa on the horse and sleigh, chose a beautiful spruce tree and brought it back to be decorated in the dining room. It looked lovely as we sat down for our meal that evening. Christmas dinner was a treat as Åsa and her husband, Lasse had prepared traditional foods for us to try. We had the smorgasbord, that I mentioned earlier and were encouraged to go back for several helpings. The menu consisted of a pork sausage and moose meatball stew with dipping bread, lamb ribs with lingonberry sauce, beetroot and apple salad and cold purple cabbage salad, purple and white potatoes, crispbread & cheese and Lutfisk, a dish prepared of ling fish that is dried and then boiled to look and taste like normal fish. Lingonberries are little, red berries that grow wild in Scandinavia and are made into a jam that is used as a sauce with meat. It tastes similar to cranberries and was a treat for me to try, as it was something that I was looking forward to trying in Norway, but didn't get the chance. Merry from wine and full of food, we retired early so that we could make the most of the next day.

Boxing Day

We were greeted by more local food in the breakfast room in the morning. The chunky smoked salmon, pickled herring, lingonberry jam, native yellow raspberries, blackcurrants and a thick creamy honey made from the hives not far from the farmhouse were great accompaniments to the usual museli and toast. Dan enjoyed the fish and the boiled eggs fresh from the chickens in the barn and, as usual, I tried a bit of everything.

Ice Fishing

The sun was ready for us to venture out at 9am, so we took the kick-sledges, which are funny wooden chairs that sit on metal skis, and pushed our way to a lake over a mile away to try our hand at ice fishing. Lasse was our guide and was very knowledgeable about the region. He is a fishing official for the association that ensures that fisherman are licensed when using the many lakes in the area. He gave us our licenses and said to show them to anyone that may ask. The money that they collect from the license fees is used to restock the lakes with fully grown fish. Åsa was telling us at lunch the previous day about the different fish that are located in the different lakes. Dan wanted to catch a gadda (or crocodile fish, as Åsa calls it). It is a large pike with big teeth. I would be content catching a local perch and the lake we visited only had the perch, so I was happy with that.

Lasse pointed out the good spots to fish and talked about the safety of the ice that we were walking on. He gave us a special wooden necklace each to wear. It was to be used in the emergency of falling through the ice. You pulled out two sharp spikes that are enclosed in the necklace and hack them into the ice pulling yourself out of the water. You then need to drag your body along the ice for 5 metres with the picks before standing up so that you don't crack and fall into the ice a second time. The drill made holes in the ice that were about 20 cm in diameter for our fishing poles to enter. We found the ice to be about 8 inches thick, which is heaps thicker than required to drive a car on the ice, so we felt quite safe. After Lasse's demonstration, he left us to our sport. We walked further towards the middle of the lake and drilled ourselves some holes and settled it to do some ice fishing a hole each. The weatherman had predicted sunny -5C days whilst we were there. He was right in that the sun was out each day shining without much cloud cover, making it lovely dry days.

We tried drilling a few more holes and fishing in different spots before the cold became a little unbearable. Our gel hand warmers and some wine helped for a while, but movement was our only available option left to keep us sane. Dan went running far across the lake and I contented myself forming crop-circles in the thick snow that covered the ice. It is amazing how much you warm up when you are moving around. My fingers no longer felt painful and my toes were back to normal after our little bit of childish fun. I had been wanting to make my first snow angel since we arrived, and after packing up our fishing equipment I got my chance to make the best one that I have ever seen (and that is zero of them) in the snow on the icy lake. Dan got a great shot that I will be sending to all my friends and family to show off my artistic skill!

Lumberjack Cottage in the woods

Before leaving to meet everyone for lunch, we explored some of the forest close to the lake that had a small old hut peaking through. Apparently, in the past it was used by the lumberjacks when they were in the area during the season of their work. Back on the kick sledges, we made the rest of the distance to the old lumberjack cottage for lunch. It was situated near a stable for the animals and an outside loo that I had to visit once we arrived. It wasn't quite like the good ol' Aussie thunderboxes, but it was fairly similar. It had a polystyrene seat so that your butt didn't get cold when you sat down! Lasse was inside the cottage making coffee from snow using the old wood fire stove after freshly grinding the coffee in a wooden box grinder. The warmth and smell of the main room was divine. There was no electricity and we had oil gas lamps for lighting. The family arrived with Åsa on the big old wooden sleigh that was drawn along the road by Lloyd, a sturdy Norwegian forestry horse, that has beautiful long black hair covering his eyes. It makes you wonder how they see anything, although Åsa has such a great relationship with him that he could trust her to guide him anywhere. Norwegian forestry horses have been used for generations to carry loads up and down between mountains and valleys, driving with sledges in wintertime and are quite famous for their skills when used in forestry, as they are quite smart compared to other horses.

Lasse took Lloyd into the warmth of the stable, whilst Åsa started cooking us a traditional lumberjack lunch of pork fat pancakes and bacon pieces. Apparently, back in the day, the bacon bits were fried until all of the fat was melted into dripping and the bacon was thrown away as it no longer had any flavour! The dripping was then used to fry the pancakes in. Being not a fan of pork, I was contented to eat left over mooseballs with, yes you guessed it, lingonberry jam!

Back to the farm house

Izzy and Angus were keen to take the kick-sledges the 2 miles home, so Dan and I enjoyed the sleigh ride back to the farm. It got cold quite quickly sitting down for so long, but we had big woolen blankets to cover ourselves and sitting on the reindeer skins over hay bails helped to keep the toosh warm. Surprisingly, the 2 kids and their dad were able to keep pace with the sleigh on the kick-sledges and made it back to the farmhouse about the same time we did.

The farm is named after Larsbogard, which was a township once with about 50 residents. Over time, everyone left and only a few buildings remained, like the farmhouse, the lumberjack cottage and an old school cottage not far from the farm. Åsa and Lasse have worked to recreate the open landscape that was once there in the forest. They have Gute sheep and two horses to help tend to the hayfields and pastures. They make enough hay each year to supply the horses, but still need to buy extra for the sheep. The gute sheep originate from horned sheep that existed on the island of Gotland in ancient times. The population was almost extinct in the beginning of the 1940´s, after which the remaining horned sheep were collected and the flock started to increase in numbers once again. Åsa and Lasse keep them on the farm to keep the breed alive and to keep the pastures "mowed" in summer months. Traditionally, the breed was used for both meat and wool; however our hosts don't keep them for this purpose. They have big horns and long wool, with dark faces and skinny legs, which is so unlike any of the sheep we have seen on our travels so far. And we have seen quite a few different ones through Europe due to my fascination with taking photos of sheep in each of the countries that we visit!

After going crazy on the kick-sledges once more to wear off our huge lunch, we were happy to stay inside for the rest of the day. The wine we brought duty free on the way over was very inviting and so we played cards and read for the rest of the lazy afternoon.

Cross-country skiing

After breakfast the next morning, Lasse generously offered to create a larger cross-country ski track for us to follow past the lake up through the nature reserve to another lake. We made it to the first lake this time, realising that it wasn't much further than where we had turned around a few days prior. The kids had been drilling holes in the lake before we got there and were ahead of us on the newly made trail. Lasse warned us about a steep section that he fell down 3 times and showed us some moose poo that he had found whilst marking out the track. We continued over the lake to where the new track began. The family had decided to turn back after getting the up the hill, as it was tough going. We laughed as they all fell down on their descent, knowing that we would do the same on the way back. Little did they know that they had climbed and returned down the hardest part of the journey. The rest was a breeze after that section. We came to a flat area of ground at the top of the steep climb and saw squirrel tracks across the snow. We ventured on through an amazing winter wonderland of forest, where the trees bent over the path covered in the white snow that had settled on the branches. We had to duck under some of them as they were so low, but it was like being in a surreal dream of travelling through a beautiful white tunnel that seemed like the trees were deliberately positioned in their stature. Further up we came to a T-intersection in the track and followed Lasses ski indentations. There were moose tracks zigzagging side to side all over the road like a drunk driver, whilst it searched for food on either side of the path. It was a big animal as well, as the depth and length of its prints were huge. At first we were confused about the placement of the prints, but it became clear that the moose puts its back foot in the same spot as where the front foot was.

By the time we made it to the lake, we were ready to sit down for a break. However being in the forest with everything covered in snow, there wasn't anywhere to rest. Gentleman Dan took off his waterproof jacket, cleared the snow off a big rock, that was jutting out of the lake, and laid it down for me to have a seat. Sharing a Swedish chocolate bar, we recouped our energy for the journey back. We were late for lunch when we arrived back, but they saved some of the special pork sausage that was cooked with apple and cheese for us. It was served with purple mashed potato and purple cabbage coleslaw, with the yummy crispbread and cheese that I was becoming addicted to.

Childs Play

As it was our last afternoon on the farm, we wanted to make the most of our time left. We visited the chickens and the sheep and took the kick-sledges up the road past the barn, a path that was yet unexplored by us. We found a clearing that was covered in very thick snow, so we decided to dive right in to see if we would slide. Not much sliding occurred, due to the depth and lightness of the snow and we sunk quite quickly. It was like powder and wouldn't form snow balls because it was too soft and dry to stick, but we managed to spray each other with gusts of flakes and tackle each other rolling down the slope. Luckily, our clothes were waterproof, so we didn't get too wet from the fun.

Exhausted from our childish games in the snow, we ventured back inside to play cards with the kids and chill out in the lounge room. Dan was proud to have won a few rounds of double handed patience before we were called into the dining room for our farewell dinner. A traditional Moose and cabbage pudding (stew for us Aussies) was the main course, which Dan and I couldn't get enough of, before a beautifully made lingonberry cake-like bake was served for dessert. During the course of our stay, Angus kept saying how disgustingly delicious the food was and on this evening said that he didn't want any dessert, because he didn't like lingonberries, yet he asked for 3 servings! Isabel had helped in the kitchen and made a delicious mascarpone cream to go with the cake, which I think was the reason why Angus wanted more.

Star gazing

On our last evening, Åsa prepared the old sleigh for the adults to have a ride out into the forest to gaze at the stars. Apparently, if you look long enough you can see satellites flying across the sky. Once again the big woolen blanket and reindeers skins kept us warm during the ride. Åsa’s head torch was the only light to be seen guiding Lloyd along the path. The path sloped on both sides which caused the sleigh to slide from one side of the road to the other, until it hit an extra deep spot and toppled over into the soft snow, breaking one of the connecting shackles. We laughed so hard, at the surprising roll and all got out so that Åsa could turn Lloyd around and do some repairs to the sled. We headed back to the farmhouse stopping only once to appreciate the stars at a clearing along the way.

Departure from the farm

It was sad to say goodbye to our hosts and their wonderful farm. Lasse was very considerate and had connected our car to the electricity to warm up the engine and windows for our journey. The car hadn't moved since we arrived and was covered in snow with ice on the windows. A few moments of scrapping and letting the engine idle, we were ready to head out. I had the seat warmers set to high, so that we melted when we sat down. It is such a great invention and a lovely surprise when we first picked the car up at the airport.

The day was still young and we had a fair distance to travel. It was a 40 minute drive to the Järvzoo animal and nature park, which was our next destination before the 4 hour drive back to Stockholm Arlanda airport. The animal park looks after Scandinavian animals and birds, providing a 3 km boardwalk steering the visitor through a cross-section of the forest in Hälsingland. We saw wolverines, a red fox, an arctic fox, wolves, moose (elk), deer and lynx. There were owls and hawks there as well. The wolves had beautiful thick coats and came over to us when we got there hoping to be fed. We missed the feeding of the wolverines and the arctic foxes because we couldn't stay for too long due to our flight time. The wolverine looks like a hairy black badger, nothing like I would have expected. I think I have watched the X-men movies too many times, which made me think it would look like a wolf. The arctic fox looked like a fluffy puppy and the lynx started wagging its little tail at me after I stood staring at it for a while. I wouldn't want to fight that cat! After staring at the picture of a lynx many, many times in the World Book Encyclopaedia as a child, the lynx looked exactly like I had pictured and just as dangerous.

Back to reality

After living in a winter wonderland for 4 days, we have grown such an appreciation of the snow and the people who live in such climates. Especially the rural community that have to go outside in such temperatures to take care of their land and animals. It was sad to leave it all behind to head back to the big city of London, where it took us nearly as long to get from the airport to home as it took to fly form Heathrow to Sweden.

If you are interested in finding out more about Larsbogard have a look at:
- www.naturetravels.co.uk/winter-other-sweden-farm-stays-winter-wonderl
and-lgxwa1.htm
- www.larsbogard.nu

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Photos

Doris and Lloyd
Norwegian forestry horses

Comments

[faye]

awesome
well done guys - just awesome - could almost feel the cold!!

[Åsa Frick]

Lot´s of fun!
Great to read about all your fun at our place!! Hope to see you all here again ,some day!