Blogs from Åre, Jämtland County, Sweden, Europe

Viking ships (that don't float), waterfall (without water), winter ski resort (in summer), a gun (you can't shoot with) That this blog entry turned out to be filled with contradictions was completely unintentional. Further down we will explain each one of them and, if you care to read it to the end, we hope you'll find it interesting. Åre We'll begin with the winter ski resort. It is called Åre, it is in Jämtland District and is very much a typical ski resort. Tourists have come to Åre for skiing and for enjoying the nature and the fresh air for 140 years or so. Supposedly it is a great place to visit if you are into alpine skiing and other winter sports. We wouldn't know because, as you know, we went there in summer. Also, winter ... read more

My best efforts to get away a little early were foiled. I had hoped to avoid as much traffic as I could by departing before 8:00 am even though this leg was only about 2.5 hours of walking. Suffice to say I did a complete unpack and repack of my backpack before departing. There were magnificent views across the Medstugusjön to the mountains on the border. My guidebook suggests the taller peak is in Norway, and without any way of confirming this on a map, I accepted that. Later I found a good topographic map in the hallway where I stayed, and confirmed that all the mountains on the horizon were in Norway. It was interesting to see that there were still a fair number of lakeside cottages. I'm not sure that i was expecting that. ... read more

Ah, following on from Christmas in Sweden, was a quick trip to the family-friendly ski-field of Åre, in the Swedish mountains near the Sweden-Norwegian border. Åre is apparently Sweden's number one ski resort, consisting of four separate ski areas and cute little villages containing everything from beauticians to coffee houses to trinket stores. The scenery is breathtaking, particularly from the very top of the largest mountain which overlooks the whole area. Framed by low sweeping mountains covered with pine forests, all overlooking a majestic, deep and frozen lake, it really is quite spectacular. Reason enough to go on its own, even without the skiing and the opportunity to spend a little more quality time with Luke, Maria and the child-to-be. At 8 months, Maria really was doing marvelously well to be moving about as freely and ... read more