LearnSweden Blog

Haunted Sweden: Ghost Girl Following

Happy Halloween everybody. I hope you have a spooktacular evening. We will have photos from the different events we are going to on a blog post next week. Until then, however, we are going to share  an absolutely true story with you.

On vacation, Martin and his family were in Stockholm visiting family and friends. One day he went on a road trip with his mother to a small village in Småland. Stopping for gas they saw a young girl , about 15 years old, sitting on a bench with a very hurt leg. Where are you going ? Martin's mother asked. "To Habo" was her reply. Happily Martin's mother told her that if she wanted a ride to the village that they could take her to Habo because that's where they were going as well.

                

While entering the village Martin turned around to ask where the girl would like to be taken. When he turned around she wasn't in the car. No one was there. She had just disappeared. They had been driving quite fast. There was no sound of the door opening or closing .

When they arrived at the village they felt disturbed and hungry. They chose a traditional Swedish restaurant. While eating, Martin looked up and saw the girl. " No, it can't be that girl", Martin thought. Summoning his mother to look ,the girl just vanished before their very eyes.

            

After paying for their fine meal they decided to walk off lunch in the countryside. As they were walking they couldn't stop talking or thinking about the girl and the mystery surrounding her. As they continued their walk Martin felt as if someone was following them. He would look around and nothing was there. Both Martin and his mother were feeling wierd and scared so they returned to Habo. All the way back to Habo they felt that they were being followed. They started to hurry because it was getting dark. Safely returning back to Habo they got in their car and headed back to Stockholm.

While driving Martin looked in the rearview mirror and saw the girl who they had taken earlier to Habo. He blinked and looked again and she was not there. Martin thought he was going crazy or something.

When they returned to Martin's aunt's house in Stockholm they told their strange tale. Eveyone just laughed and made fun of them. Maybe it is what you were eating they were told by funmaking relatives. The next morning, aunt Kristina told them of her best friend's daughter who had died a couple of days before while on a school camping trip. "This is such a difficult funeral to go to. Would you mind coming with me ?" Kristina asked. During the funeral something very strange indeed happened. Martin and his mother noticed a photo of the young deceased girl placed on top of the coffin. Martin and his mother realised that the girl in the coffin was the very same girl that they had both picked up on the road two days before.

Rest in Peace

        

Haunted Sweden: John Ajvide Lindqvist

                  

No we aren't promoting a haunted person but a talented writer who can chill you to the bone. Many of you may know him for his 2004 novel 'Låt den rätta komma in ' or as it is known in english as 'Let the Right One in.'  John is a great lover of Morrissey and named this book after the Morrissey song 'Let the Right One Slip In." Today on our tour of  Haunted Sweden we decided to make it John Lindqvist day for no better reasons than the following:

• His books are really scary.
• His movie was just released.
• We have many entertaining clips for you to look at
• John and I share the same last name "Lindqvist" or at least before I was married.

All good reasons to highlight this great talent. John hasn't always been a writer. Before venturing down this path he used to be in the magical world of card tricks as well as a stand-up comedian. To have a look at some of his funny antics have a look at these short funny films on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNao3IMZb5Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IipCwB2mZh0

                           

Reuters had an interview with him which should answer all of those daunting questions like 'How does he think of these things?' Have a look here:

Did you know from the start that you wanted to write horror fiction?

A: No. It wasn't until I wrote a horror short story that everything felt completely right. It went so well that I tried writing an entire novel and that was "Let the Right One In". In a way, that is my best book -- it has a kind of fever that drives it forward all the time. To a certain extent, that is probably because I partly describe my own life as a child. In that respect it is a pretty conventional debut novel. But then I added an element that wasn't really a part of my childhood.

Q: Can you tell us about your next project?

A: I know roughly what the next three books will be about and I'm looking forward to writing each of them, because they are quite different from each other. The next one is called "Little Star" and it is about a young girl who gets an exceptional breakthrough as a pop star. She gathers a group of young girls around her who like her so much they will pretty much do anything for her. Which is a little sad, since she uses her celebrity for a different purpose than what is common.

Q: It doesn't really sound like a horror story?

A: Sure, it will be bloody. But I often think when I start writing that now there's gonna be blood, but then there isn't. There are feelings and relationships and stuff, because I am just as interested in that.

Q: Do you never get tempted by the traditional horror settings?

A: No, because the horror stories that take place on some satellite where everyone is a vampire and someone is a super hero don't say anything to me. I like it when there is a good description about what life is like and the kinds of problems people have, only that they are saddled with another problem to deal with that in some way raises the temperature of their own. But the book after the next one will take place in a kind of parallel reality, on an enormous lawn where people have been transferred. It is kind of emptiness from a suburban perspective. Neatly mowed green grass as far as the eye can see. Pretty scary.

Q: You have written about vampires, zombies, ghosts and trolls. Does it have to be something new every time?

A: I could never stomach writing one book after the other with the same people, the same settings and the same essential conflicts. That would just be office work. Neither the next book nor the one after has any prototypes in classic folklore or mythology. There won't be any werewolves, for example.

Q: In your latest book the sea is the enemy, why is that?

A: It is probably because my father drowned ten years ago. I went and looked at him at the morgue and I'm glad I did. But he looked kind of scary. And I got some kind of zombie fear after that -- I saw things in the shadows. I'm not afraid of the dark and I don't scare easily, but then I was actually frightened for a while. I think it has stuck. But now I'm not afraid of the sea at all anymore.

Q: In most of your books you refer to The Smiths singer Morrissey, what does he mean to you?

A: Morrissey is probably my greatest literary role model. I think my characters tend to see reality in a way that resembles what he describes in his lyrics -- the longing to escape and the impossible love and the one who will save you, where rescue comes from the wrong direction.

Q: The characters in your books are often outsiders. Why?

A: I think I would find it difficult to credibly portray a person who works on some computer company and has a chilly connection to his wife. I have to write about people whose basic conditions in some way resemble my own, even though I am much happier. People who live in a kind of situation that makes them likely to embrace change, even if it comes from the dark side.

                         

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There are just a couple more things I would like to share with you about John Ajvide Lindqvist.

A couple of nights ago he was on this very interesting show about the spiritual world on svt. It is in Swedish as has been the other clips. This will be great practice for those of you who are studying swedish or for those of you who need to brush up on your swedish.

enjoy this show here. It is only good for 30 days and then it goes bye-bye:

http://www.svt.se/svt/road/Classic/shared/mediacenter/index.jsp?&d=78256&lid=lista_882659&lpos=2

Last but not least, drumroll please.........

Like I mentioned earlier in the post, this intelligent, knowing novel has been made into a movie. A very scary movie.  'Låt den rätta komma in' is winner of the Tribeca Film Festival Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature Movie and collected the Rotten TomatoesCritical Consensus Award at the Edinburgh Film Festival with 98% consensus. Don't forget that you can get the english version of John's books at the LearnSweden bookstore www.learnsweden.com . Have a look at the movie trailer here: This is really scary so heed with caution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICp4g9p_rgo

And don't forget to wish everyone you know a very happy John Ajvide Lindqvist Day !

                          

Haunted Sweden: Häringe Slott

In our continuation of haunted Sweden week today's journey takes us to Häringe Slott, just south of Stockholm.

       

Unexplained noises, chairs and tables moving, and arguing spirits fill the hallways and rooms of Häringe Slott. Both visitors and staff have experienced things they cannot explain.

       

The most famous of the Häringe Slott ghosts is Agneta Wrede (1674-1730). Agneta and her brother Axel had a very difficult childhood. Their mother died when she was only 22 years old.  Left alone with their mean aunt Ebba Leujonhufvud while their father was off fighting a war. Agneta is seen walking the halls but in search of what ?

               

Another visitor from another world is an acquired one.  In the oval gothic room a 400 year old monk sits on a chair in silent meditation.  He is part of a residual haunting which was transferred with a piece of wooden panelling from a Scottish Cloister.  When the wooden panel was transferred from Scotland to Sweden it came with a kind and harmless monk.  He's happy unless you step on his toes.

                             

Is it possible for an argument to occur even after death?  In the Gyllene diningroom there used to be a lot of noise.  Two ghosts would sit on the wooden chairs and benches and reak utter havoc by pushing and touching the guests.  At their wits end, the castle contacted and took the advice of some local ghost hunters.  It seems some re-decorating was in order.  Now the hotel has placed a mirror opposite the window with an added touch of light red colored curtains and a crystal lamp.  Since placing the new decor, no one has been bothered by the ghosts.  Maybe a decorating dispute from beyond has been resolved in the present.

                             

                                

Marguerite Wenner-Gren is still taking care of her beloved Häringe slott.  She continues to water the flowers, fix the place settings at the table and makes sure that everything remains nice and quiet for the guests at Häringe Slott. If guests are noisy, messy , or if there have been too many guests over a long period of time, she sweeps an ice cold breeze through the castle.  When Marguerite is happy with how Häringe Slott is being run she shows herself in her most beautiful dress. A red velvet dressing gown with gold embroidered threads.

              

            

Please don't let the ghost keep you away from this beautiful castle. Häringe Slott is a beautiful excursion just outside of Stockholm.  It is an exquisite hotel and dining experience which you cannot deprive yourself of. Please enjoy Per's photos of Häringe Slott. For the whole collection please go to our photo page on our website www.learnsweden.com

To learn more, please have a look at their website: www.haringeslott.se

To hear what happens during a night ghost hunting experience have a listen here:

http://www.networkeurope.org/feature/swedens-most-haunted-castle-hringe

Haunted Sweden: Gotland

We continue today with our look at haunted Sweden. Our quest takes us to the island of Gotland just 3 hours east by boat from Stockholm.

Set in the medieval town of Visby lies a hotel built in the 14th century called, The Medieval Hotel. The oldest grounds of the hotel are located beside the church ruins of the Holy spirit.  The church was oringinally called,The Church of Saint Jacob and was changed in the 17th century. Jacob was the protector of pilgrims. It was on this very site that Bishop Albert of Riga gathered pilgrims and formed the Knights of the Livonian Order, better known as the Brethren of the Sword, founded in 1199.

                   

The present day remaining building was constructed in the 14th century. Our ghost, however, seems to have liked it so much that she has remained. Christina Wipperworde was the former prioresse at the monastery of Solberga, which was of the cistencienser Order. Christina continues to check on guests in the hotel to wish them a good nights sleep. She has been walking these halls since the 80's......the 1380's that is.

To experience the prioress for yourself and to enjoy a completely wonderful stay have a look at their website and don't forget to watch the beautiful film as well. www.medeltidshotellet.se

                            

                              

                           

Haunted Sweden: The Palace of Scheffler

Hejsan everyone and Happy Halloween week. Per and I decided that it would be fun during Halloween week to point out some of Sweden's haunted places and things to do. Here in the USA everything is ready for the haunted holiday. Jack o'laterns are carved, buckets loaded with candy, and scaring ourselves silly is at the top of our list of things to do.

I'm often asked if Sweden celebrates halloween and the answer is yes but not like in the USA. Dressing up in costume and going to a party with lots of godis, deserts, and games is what is usually in store.

             

For us big kids though we do love to be scared and there isn't any better place to look than in the Palace of Scheffler,commonly know as the Haunted Mansion or in Swedish, Schefflerska palatset, spökslottet. The Palace of Scheffler is located at 116 Drottninggatan in Stockholm. Since 1920 the palace has been owned by Stockholm Univeristy and is used mostly for storage and the occasional conference.

            

The mansion was built in 1690 by a merchant named Hans Petter Scheffler. Ghost stories about the house started circulating in the 18th century because strange sounds,unexplainable singing and music were heard, as well as, spontaneous mirrors and windows breaking.

It is said that one of the 18th century owners of the estate, Jacob von Bathazar Knigge, was in fact a devil worshipper. When Knigge disappeared in 1796, witnesses claimed he had been taken away in a black carriage and that the coachman had horns and a tail.

The opera singer Gustaf Sandström once lived in a rented room in the house, where he committed suicide in 1879. He isn't the only one to have died in the house. A young married couple were murdered and bricked-up in the wall of the basement.

In the lovely garden outside, a grave has been found by the house. In 1907 the grave was dug up and moved to the cemetery. It is believed that more people are buried in the garden.

With all of these stories and legends happening a priest came to the mansion to try and rid it of all it's "inhabitants". The priest was so frightened that he ran away. Another version of the story says that he was tossed out through a window from the upper floor by an angry spirit. How do we know it was an angry spirit? There was no other human inside the building at the time.

So the next time you pass the Scheffler Palace heed caution as to not to bother those from another realm.

Happy Haunting

Wandering to Husby

When autumn hits I feel like wandering. One such wandering led me to a little tiny hamlet in Dalarna called Husby.  Located on the banks of the Dala river is a cozy little hotel called the Dala Husby Hotell & Restaurant. This family run hotel and restaurant have one goal in mind and that is to take care of you. In the morning they have several tables of food, a real breakfast smorgasbord. In the late mornings and afternoons they have a fika (coffee table) with home baked yummies. The one thing you don't want to miss are their incredible dinner menus.  Each evening's meal last hours and course after course would appear of the freshest ,in season, organic food.

Husby may seem out of the way but acutally it is in close driving range of Carl Larsson's Trädgården,Mora, Tällberg, Leksand, and all of the other Dalarna 'must sees". It was really wonderful to wander in Dalarna all day and be back in time to read a bit by the tile stove, and then off to a great dinner. Fishing was also an option just across the street in the Dala river. Take a few extra days and enjoy the wonderful  care at the Dala Husby Hotell. To see for yourself go here: www.dalhusbyhotell.com .

       

                                   

        

     

  

How well do you know Stockholm?

Can you answer these questions please ?

1. Hur många krogar och cafeer ligger på stortorget? How many taverns and cafes are on stortorget ?

                                

2. Vad har Taxi Stockholm för telefonnummer? What is the telephone number for Taxi Stockholm?

Can you answer these off the top of your head ? No visiting Stortorget and counting and definately no street lurking while you wait for a taxi stockholm cab to pass.

While passing an evening with friends in Stockholm they decided that we would play a game. Great ! I thought. I love games. Little did I know that I would not only need to pull out the extensive version of the Swedish language but that I would also need my knowledge of Stockholm. In all actuality this game should be called,"How well do you know Swedish" and for those of you who know and speak Swedish really well it should be called"How well do you know Stockholm?" 

                              

The Stockholmsspelet (The Stockholm game), can leave native Stockholmers dumbfounded as to how to answer the questions. The premise of the game is this.  You roll the dice, move your cool and hip playing piece, answer the question and if you have landed on the appropriate mark and answer the question, you get a piece of the map of Stockholm. 

            

 The first one to get all of the Stockholm map pieces wins the game. 

                           

The questions cover 5 categories:

Sport & Fritid

Kultur & Nöjen                                                     

Geografi & Kommunikation

Historia * arkitektur

Blandat

                                   

I learned that my swedish works well and that I actually could answer some of the questions.  If you would like a copy of your very own go to this website www.stockholmsspelet.se

Ah....I almost forgot......the answer to your questions.

1. There are 6 taverns and cafes on Stortorget.

2. Taxi Stockholm's phone number 15 00 00

Smack the goat

                                           

Our friend Rebecca Svangren is visiting from Sweden for a short while. This is her above trying on halloween costumes. In the process my children get to hear Swedish on a daily basis. This has lead to some very funny moments with my entire family trying to manuveur with their new conversation skills.

Little boy "O", our youngest, was sitting at the dinner table the other night and heard me ask Rebecca if her soup tasted good. "Smakar det gott ?" Ja, det smakar gott, tack. (yes it tastes good, thanks).

When I turned to ask "O" if his soup tasted good he grinned and said,"Ja, smack the goat".

At this point during our table talk we suddenly had many questions for our guy.

"Do you like the bread ?"

"Smack the goat". was his reply

Do you like the salad ?

"Smack the goat".

Do you like ice cream?

"Smack the goat."

So the next time you really like what you are tasting ......just remember to "smack the goat."

American wins Nobel Prize for Economics

                                                            

The 2008 sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel has been awarded to US economist and columnist Paul Krugman.

The swedish Royal Academy committee, who awarded the prize, emphasized Krugman's work in bringing together two previously very separate fields of economics, international trade and economic geography.

Krugman's theories explain the effects of free trade and globalization, as well as what lies behind global trends such as urbanization. Traditional trade theory states the countries are different, and so exports different goods and services. Krugman tries to explain why global trade is dominated by countries which have similar conditions and which trade in similar products. Krugman's theory relies on his concept of the economies scale, shich says that many goods and services can be produced cheaply when produced in mass volumes. He also says that consumers demand a wide range of goods. This results in the limiting number of local small scale operations which become replaced by large scale productions for the world market.

                                                                

Krugman who teaches at Princeton University in New Jersey and serves as a coumnist with the New York Times, has been cited for his analysis of trade patterns and locations of market activity. Krugman earned his Ph.D from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1977 and taught at Yale, MIT, UC Berkeley, the London School of Economics, and Stanford University.

Unlike other Nobel Prizes, the economic prize was established in 1968 to celebrate the 300th year anniversary of the Riks Bank. This prize is funded by the Riksbank and the winner is chosen by the Swedish Royal Academy.

Truffle Hunter Part II

After the hunt why not enjoy some truffle specialties. A little truffle goes a long way. Here are couple of things you can do to make your own cuisine a little tastier.

                                                           Truffle Omelet

                                                      

• 8 eggs
• 4 tbsp cold water
• 1 tsp (5 ml) truffle oil
• 2 slices of bacon
• 150g of your favorite cheese
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tomato diced
• 2 peppers, diced ( 1 yellow, 1 red)
• salt & ground peper
• olive oil for cooking

Before you go to bed: Beat together eggs, water,salt, pepper and truffle oil.

In the Morning: In a non-stick frying pan, saute garlic, onion and bacon strips in hot oil; add pepper, cook for 1 minute, blend in tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes at a medium heat; Puor the egg mixture over the vegetable, add cheese, lower heat and cook for 2 minutes, fold over and finish cooking, put it on a plate and garnish with slice truffles.

                                                           Truffle Salt

Mix salt with a few small pieces of truffle in a glass jar.  After a ocuple of days you will have perfect truffle salt.  You can use this in place of normal salt or whenever you wold like a truffle taste to your cooking.

For those of you who can't find your own truffles there is a way ......have a look at this link and enjoy some truffle products of your very own.  www.ingoodtastestore.com

~Enjoy