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Published: September 20th 2006
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Northern beauty
The river by grandmas house On the 21st of july we took the overnight train up north from Gävle to Bastuträsk. It was a long journey, our train left around 23.00 and we arrived at 10.20am the next morning, but the train was so nice! Last time we were on a night train was in India, Varanasi to Delhi, and I have to say that I enjoyed this one more! We had our own little cabin with three beds on top of each other and a little sink. Julian and I slept on the lower one and Chris at the top. In the morning we could open our door and a window to get some more light. It was a great journey! So much better than we had expected, especially Julian... he slept like the angel he always is... 😊
My mothers cousin, Ellenor, was the first one on our list to visit and she picked us up at the train station in her car. The car was having some battery problems so it wasnt possible to turn the engine off at the station (without getting stuck there). So we tried to do everything as quickly as possible and luckily Julian decided that now wasn't the
Northern beauty
Walking with Julian best time for a feed! We took off to her little red house which she just bought this January. Ellenor had just come back from a month of travel in Tibet. Her eyes were still shining from the travelling light and just looking at her made me wanna leave NOW. She had had one amazing time, her first long travel and now she wants more! "There are so many places to visit!" hmm... really? Haven't I been talking about that for the last 6 years?!! 😉
We stayed in her house until the 26th when her dad dropped us off at the main road to catch the bus to our next destination, Monica's paradise. Monica was married to my grandfather for 26 years until he died last year. She still lives at his family home in a tiny tiny village. It's a very nice place. It has the main house, a summer house, the old farmhouse that grandpa renovated into a healing room for Monica's work, a couple of places outdoors to sit and a little house that belongs to Monica's youngest daughter. They had always a huge interest in gardening and growing vegetables etc and I was amazed on
how much she had been capable of doing by herself. Sometimes when you visit places of family members who have passed away it is like you can still feel them there. Like they are hanging around. Last time I visited the house I knew grandpa was there but this time, he was gone. I asked Monica how she felt and she said the same. She said he had left this winter. It was a nice feeling so I'm happy for her.
At Monica's we met her oldest daughter and her husband as well as Monicas brother and wife. Her brother and his wife are now building a house in Thailand, a shame that it's not finished by the time we go! Monica's daughter had been there for some weeks this winter. They really enjoyed meeting Julian and were so impressed with him that he was so relaxed and never seemed to cry. It was nice to hear that from other people since we dont have anything to compare with.
We only stayed there for a couple of days and then my grandmother came to pick us up at Monica's to take us to another small village of the north. This one is the most beautiful, located by one of the unspoilt rivers of Sweden. It is so beautiful, but this year coz of not so much snow in the winter and a summer without rain, the river was very low and you could even cross to the other side at some places!
We had a very good time there, I think Chris mostly enjoyed grandmas cooking! 😉, and for me it was very special to see my grandmother interact with my son. I hope that they will have the opportunity to meet again when he is a bit bigger!
After some days Chris left to go and meet some aussie friends that had came to Stockholm for a short visit. Since we were up north to celebrate my mothers 50th birthday I couldn't leave as well, so my mother and I travelled home together some days later instead. What can I say, I love the north part of my country! I always miss it when I'm away travelling. Peace.
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