Thursday Thoughts – Fryksås Winters…

Suddenly I remembered all those years we every winter went to Fryksås in Dalarna,  and stayed at the Fäbodvall in a typical old cottage from the 19th century – or older. When I look up Fäbod in English, it says shieling/sheeling – small huts were farmers used to spend their summers in the mountain pastures, looking after their cattle.

We used to go skiing in the hills and the dogs had great fun. The children were not that old, so they went skiing with us, but also used the hills for other ways of sliding down on the snow…

And I miss those days. No TV or radio, no electric lights – only the sun and candle light. The long evenings after skiing and playing in the snow, we played card games or board games, and read books together. The beds for the children were still like in the old days, called skåpsängar – in English box-beds or closed beds.

We all loved it. We kept going there until 2010. And do you know – the children  never missed their electric gadgets, and neither did my husband or I.

Thursday Thoughts: Fulltofta, New Hike – Old Area

Through my father, I found a new forest to hike – an area where he used to work and walk when he was younger. If you want to, you can follow me, Totti and Milo!

Looking at the weather forecast, I chose a glorious day. And it was, from the start.

Night fallen snow and no wind. Blue promising skies with a cold sun.

Some 5-6 kilometers into the hike, I found the ruins of what once had been a cottage of my father’s. He used to stay there during the summers in the late 1940’s.

The stones rested in an open space, where now only brambles and old cherry trees, birches and lonely beeches were left to themselves. A silent and beautiful place.

Store Damm – Big Pond. This vast pond was recreated as part of a wetlands project from 2002 to 2006 with the help of old maps. The pond was drained just before 1920, but prior to that, it supplied hydro power to small-scale industries in the area.

The draining was done so that spruces could be planted, but the majority of these were downed by Hurricane Carola in 1999. Today, dead trees are still rising from the water.

Somewhere on the path here, Milo happened to venture down into a snow covered mud pool… so we had to keep moving faster because of the cold.

We also encountered wild boar hunters with dogs running around us – not that pleasant, but we have far too many wild boars here, so I hope they got some of them.

A glorious hike anyway, from where some earlier posts, Wednesday and Sunday,  have borrowed photos.

In the late evening, Milo ”dropped his tail” and suffered from something called ”wet tail”. This problem might occur if the dog gets too wet and cold. A Spaniel and Retriever phenomenon mostly. I understand it hurts a great deal and he did not want to do anything at all after dinner. I had to let him out several times during the night, but the next evening he was – Tail Up again!

Thursday Thoughts – Where Will He Be Tomorrow?

We say Nature is cruel, and this little blue tit obviously wasn’t well today.

Sitting by himself, not trying to eat the food offered. I wonder if he knew…

Where will he be tomorrow?

Thursday Thoughts – Once Every 20th Year

Christmas time is family time – and this Christmas of 2018 was a remarkable one.

The day before Christmas Eve we woke up to a completely white landscape. This might occur every 20th year or something. A white Christmas. I cannot remember when this happened last…but we were very grateful.

Two days of splendid winter wonderland. And walking with the whole family is not something granted every day.

When the sun revealed a blue sky –

Thursday Thoughts – Season’s Greetings

Thank You for keeping me lovely company, sharing and exchanging thoughts and feelings throughout 2018 – Hope to see you in 2019 as well! Let us make it a year of joy and peace, of good hopes and work for a better world. Our way.

Chinese (Cantonese) – 祝聖誕節快樂

Chinese (Mandarin) – 祝圣诞节快乐

Danish – Glædelig Jul og Godt Nytår

Dutch – Prettige feestdagen

Fijian – Bula Vinaka

Finnish – Hyvää Joulua ja Onnellista Uutta Vuotta

French – Joyeuses fêtes

German – Frohe Feiertage!

Hindi – uoo”kZ dh ‘kqÒdkeuk;sa

Icelandic – Gleðilega hátíð

Italian – Buone Feste

Japanese – メリー クリスマス

Korean – 즐거운 연휴 되시길 바랍니다.

Lithuanian – Linksmų švenčių!

Norwegian – God Jul og Godt Nytt År

Persian (Farsi) تبریکات فصلی

Portuguese – Boas Festas

Romanian – Crăciun fericit

Spanish – Felices fiestas

Swati – Tilokotfo taKhisimisi

…and the same message in the 6787 other languages in the world!

 

Thursday Thoughts – The Forest is Down

Today was going to be a lovely hiking day – sun promised and no wind. I decided for the Bockeboda forest – looking forward to a bright winter’s day. I told Totti and Milo where we were heading, and they knew what to expect already in the early morning.

10 minutes into our walk, we found these tracks…and soon, the sound of forest machines reached our ears. Then we heard a huge tree falling. Some minutes later, I realized the forest ahead was gone.

We had great difficulties in finding the track – if you ever have walked in familiar forests, you follow the paths and know exactly what trees will be standing where. I guess it is the same in cities – if they tear down your familiar buildings and streets, you are lost.

This photo was taken some weeks ago – who would have guessed it was to be the last one from this beautiful forest?

Milo is standing in exactly the same place as in the previous photo – maybe thinking…Where did my forest go? My playground, my hiking favorite? Well, today every tree was down, piled up, waiting to be transported away from where they were raised for as long as I have lived – around 60-65 years.

The path back home again seemed a bit bleak, or maybe it was because of my tears.

Thursday Thoughts – We Must Make it Work!

My post from November 30, 2017, a year ago – I thought a reminder to us all would not hurt. What do you want to give your children and grand children for the future?

 

Every December I remember our month in New Zealand some years ago. Never have I been to a country where I found so much and so many to admire and love.

This is where our antipodes live, this is where I had one of my first penfriends, this is the country whose nature I believe to be the most diverse and beautiful in the world. And this is where Rainbow Warrior went down, sending many people around the world into an unbelievable state of shock.

We are constantly reminded of how much we contaminate our world, and the focus here in Swedish media, right now,  is the sea, the oceans.

Just like in Wellington, we can still bathe, swim and fish in Stockholm – but for how long?

I am a member of many organizations trying their best to help preserving our planet for generations to come. But right now, we receive news every day about all the plastic and micro plastic in the oceans – a terrible threat to all organisms-

So, I think again, with my heart wide open, about how much I respect and love NZ, its people and its genuine efforts to help the world stay healthy. Down to every detail… for example the artwork made for making us humans see and do the right things.

And these are only two, small,  brilliant examples out of many, many…we saw new examples every day.

Hopefully it is not too late for the world – but You and I, and all of us, have to do our bit, our part, every day – to save our enigmatic and fantastic planet. Start with the little things…don’t use plastic bags, bring your own when you go shopping. Don’t throw old medicine in the toilet, in Sweden we leave them at the pharmacy for destruction.

Can you say you try to do everything you can to help? I know I try – but I also know I can do so much more.

Thursday Thoughts – A Frosty Walk in November

These last weeks before the light returns, we were lucky to have a couple of cold days.

Frost is a phenomenon of great beauty, just look down…

…and you will see the bright stars on the ground – from where have they fallen…?

Some 10-15 cm higher up, everything is covered in compact whiteness.

After a refreshingly crisp walk, by 3 pm the last rays of sun touch ground and we hurry back home again before dark.

Totti and Milo were made for long, cold days. Unfortunately I am not. Some three or four hours is what I need to feel good – not more without some hot drink…Thank you for walking with me!

Thursday Thoughts – Art Nouveau Villas

Wherever I travel, I love to walk among architectural big or small wonders. In Łódź, on our last day, I found a guide about famous houses in the city. Not much time left, but I just had to see their famous Art Nouveau gem.

Villa Gallery, a house built in 1903 for the manufacturer Leopold Kindermann from Łódź, is listed on the prestigious Iconic Houses platform.

The global list of outstanding architecturally-significant houses is created by the Amsterdam-based Iconic Houses Foundation.

The aim of the Iconic Houses organisation is to popularise knowledge about 20th-century great architectural designs, gathering documentation on them and promoting the idea of opening such buildings to the public.

Only the houses that are open as public museums can enter the Iconic Houses list.

Among the list of most beautiful houses of the 20th century, there are icons such as Antonio Gaudí’s Casa Batlló in Barcelona, Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye in Poissy, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West in Arizona, as well as the houses of Alvar Aalto in Helsinki, and Victor Horta in Brussels, Theo van Doesburg in Paris, Arne Jacobsen’s in Copenhagen and many others, all considered milestones in the history of modern architecture.

Just to look at the elaborate details is magical. The iron gates were magical wonders.

The windows, and the visible – or hidden – sculptures really kept your eyes alert.

I met with some great difficulties trying to photograph the house – high gates and impossible angles. But I hope you get a hint of the beauty of the villa. It made me long for Bacelona and Gaudí, again…

 

Thursday Thoughts – Things That Caught My Eye in Łódź

I love things new and things old, architecture and juxtaposition of styles. Things dilapidated, things science fiction, things…Well, maybe we all do. Hope a mix will be enjoyable this Thursday!

 

A walk in contemplation…

– as always…

The old Jewish cemetery

Abandoned places in the middle of the city

In between old and new apartments – he was selling fresh fruit and vegetables

One of the many impressive street art works – this city is considered one of the major cities in the world for graffiti artists

View from the new railway station