LearnSweden Blog

Getting Ready

In year's past I've written alot about Valborg's Day or Sista April, the last day in April. It is a huge holiday in Sweden but I've never really shown you how we get ready for it or how the celebration changes once the family and their celebrations landed in the US.

All through the winter and especially at the first signs of spring we start cleaning out our gardens and sheds. As we clean, we decide what can be burned and what can't.

This year saw us prunning our blueberry bushes way back, which created mountains of branches and twigs. I was really looking forward to this years bonfire because it was sure to be the largest this house had ever seen. That was until the fire marshal issued a warning saying we are in a no burn state because of the fire hazard.

So I guess this wall of sticks will not become a wall of fire. Do you see my foxes? We have this sweet fox family living in our yard. You can read more about them here.

 

So off all of our branches went to be turned into woodchips for the garden. This fire advisory will not thwart our Valborg's day tradition. Instead we will have a larger than normal fire in the backyard pit, eat our hotdogs and burgers, sing songs and have a great time together.

 I'll be back on Monday with a look at our celebration. Until then, enjoy your Valborg's Day. Winter is officially over and Spring is here.

The Yellow House Cafe

A little travel to the island of Gotland Sweden today.

It is fairly well known that I love coffee. There isn't a day without a cup or two of the liquid elixir. Gula Huset (The yellow house) is one of the nicest secret treasures of Visby. Open only on saturday and sunday 10 - 5. This is a lovely retreat to spend a time reading a book, conversating with friends, or just catching some rays.

A walk by the sea,

Through the botanical garden,

 

say hello to my new friend

A little saunter up the street will lead us to Gula Huset

and now for a little refreshment.

It is fairly well known that I love coffee. There isn't a day without a cup or two of the liquid elixir. Gula Huset (The yellow house) is one of the nicest secret treasures of Visby. Open only on saturday and sunday 10 - 5. This is a lovely retreat to spend a time reading a book, conversating with friends, or just catching some rays.

A walk by the sea,

Through the botanical garden,

 

say hello to my new friend

A little saunter up the street will lead us to Gula Huset

and now for a little refreshment.

Vintage Wanderings

Can you believe it's snowing again today in Sweden? It's the end of April and it's snowing. I've heard from a very reliable source that this is just the way the weather is in April. Totally unpredictable. So let's not think about this anymore. Let's think about a warmer day last fall, when the flowers were still in bloom, and the vintage/antiquing was fine.

As we were meandering along country roads on our way to the next castle, we happened to pass over hither and yon to find a very large red barn in the distance.

On the side was the word "Antique" or Antik, in Swedish. Who's in? Per asked. The car was stopped. All car doors flew open and out popped the gang to venture into the "old".

As we walked in, Swedish records from the 1940's were playing. It smelled old and it took my eyes a couple of minutes to adjust and then it was as if I was at my grandmother's house.

Old painted chests,oriental carpets, household items,wooden furniture,china,pottery.

Oh....all the things that I love and that are wonderful. They even had a "modern" vintage room with everything from the 60's and 70's. That's when we found the stairs, which would lead us two more flights up, each floor filled with old antique furniture,bathroom items, and......and......fabric. If I ever need to furnish a house, I'm coming here. 

Now wasn't that little vintage excursion much better than showing you endless photos of snow in April? Maybe another day we'll do that but for now, let's think sun and warm weather.

Back on Friday ..........oh, before I go, anyone up for revamping a swing set? This one needs some help.

Up In Smoke

Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down. Or so the nursery rhyme says. It's more like "No Planes Fly !".  We just couldn't get over the fact that a volcano on a small little country like Iceland could stop a large portion of the planet from traveling.

As I write this, planes have been grounded for days. Many family and friends have been stuck in airports to and from Europe. We wish everyone a big dose of patience. What else is there?

I must say though that each time it would come on the news the kids and I would gather around just so we could get a glimpse of the volcano and Iceland.

A couple of years ago I took my children to Iceland. It was on my life list ( A life list is a list of things you want to do or experience before your die). So on one Dec 26th I started searching online and started renting a little vacation house, booking airplane tickets, and ordering travel books on Iceland.

 

You must know that my friends thought I was nuts. "Iceland? Why Iceland? Isn't it really cold? What will you do there in March?"

"Well that depends. Remember, there isn't bad weather,only bad clothings." One of the big highlights is the aurora borealis.  Also remember that my friends live in a warm climate and have little exposure to life in the North.

We spent the most incredible Easter week in Iceland, and though we were only there for 7 days, we bonded with this place for a life time. It is unanimous in our house, Iceland was the best vacation we've ever taken to date. There are times throughout the year where we have a real longing for Iceland. The waffles, daily bouts of coffee drinking at Kafe Tar,walking on the sea, visiting geysers, eating vegetable soup at a frozen waterfall, standing between the continental shelves, sitting in bookstores,walking around Reykjavik, and going to the blue lagoon have all of us longing to go back to Iceland.

  

So when we heard that a volcano was erupting in a glacier on "our" island, we have been enthralled. My blogging friend Britt's brother actually lives in Iceland and wrote a wonderful blog post about the volcano with photos. Have a look right over here.

To give you a feel for the place and to inspire you to travel there yourself, if the volcano let's you, here are some photos of "the best trip ever."

{This Moment} Finally Spring

After the surprise snow of Easter, the signs of winter are finally melting away.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Great New Things in our Courses

For almost three years now, Per and I have been working hard to bring you great Swedish courses for a very low price. Now included in that low price are some added features. We've spent the hard Swedish winter adding MP3 downloads to each lesson inside each of our 4 main courses. Not only this but we've added videos to each course so that you can practice your Swedish and learn more about the culture.

Each of our main courses is designed to the European Council of Languages guidelines. This means that you will soon be able to function with your new Swedish language. Secondly, we are open 23 hours a day, 365 days a year, which means you study around your schedule, when it suits you.

All of our courses include new vocabulary to build up your language skills, writing exercises, dialogs with "Your Turn" practice,reading, listening & comprehension, and current videos to integrate yourself into the culture of Sweden.

No prior Swedish knowledge is needed. We start right at the beginning and go through an intermediate level.

Why not try one of our four basic courses for the very low price of $9.99 each.

Swedish Start 1

Swedish Start 2

Move On 1

Move On 2

You can always find us over at learnsweden to learn more about our courses.

Carl and Karin Larsson's Lilla Hyttnäs

For years I had been inspired by the home of Carl and Karin Larsson. I had collected books and images about the house and I even had a friend who designed their home based on the Larsson home. One rainy autumn day about three years ago, I had the pleasure of spending a quiet day there.

Their home is completely charming and even with the rain, nothing could mute the happy feelings the home evoked.

Welcome to the home of Carl Larsson and his Spouse.

That is what is written above the entrance to Carl and Karin Larsson’s beloved Lilla Hyttnäs in Sundborn, just outside Falun.

 

Karin’s father, Adolf Bergöö, gave Lilla Hyttnäs to Carl and Karin in 1888. Throughout the years they, with their 8 children, transformed the little cottage into one of the world's best known and decorated artist's homes. The house was originally built in 1837.  The home still remains in the Carl and Karin Larsson Family Trust. The house and grounds are a museum which can be visited throughout the year. The Larsson family still uses the property for family occasions. 

Carl Larsson spoke in great length about the love of his home. He even wrote a book called "Ett Hem" which mean "A Home". Here is an excerpt from his book:

   " A while ago my father in law and I took some time off and travelled around here in Dalarna.

 We made the usual pilgrimage around Siljan apart from a diversion to father in law’s birthplace, Sundborn, where his two old sisters lived in a cottage that belonged to him. It was somewhat ordinary, an ugly and insignificant building, standing as it did on waste rock from the mines. It was known as Hyttnäs-Little, in contrast to the neighbours’ large one.
  The cottage stood right on a bend in the Sundborn River, just where it gets a smidgeon wider. Everything inside was spick and span, the furniture was simple, but old fashioned and robust, handed down by their parents, who had lived in the vicinity. While I was here, I experienced an indescribably delightful feeling of seclusion from the hustle and bustle of the world, which I have only experienced once before (and that was in a village in the French countryside). When my Father in law suggested buying me a small property in the same village, I declined, saying that only something resembling this little idyll would suit an artist.
  A couple of years later one of the sisters died and the other did not wish to remain there alone. Father in law remembered what I had said on that occasion and gave me the cottage with everything inside it. For the next few summers radical changes were made to the cottage, it had to be exactly as I wanted it, otherwise I should not be happy there and my work would suffer as a result. Now it is finished – I believe – but before you look around be so good as to listen to my little sermon on art in the home. Others have done it better than I have, but one cannot say too much about the matter.”

 

To learn more about the Larsson home please have a look here. The sight is both in English and Swedish. On the Swedish link there is a silent home movie with Carl Larsson and his family in it. It's completely delightful.

 

A Button Swap

 

I had the pleasure a couple of weeks ago to not only make some original buttons of my own to share with my swap partner Märtha Stina but I was also the recipient of some lovely buttons,ribbon and thread.

I had so much fun doing this and a huge thank you to bot Märthafor the lovely items and creativity, and to Elin of Mönsterarkivet for hostessing this great event. Please be sure to check out their blogs. They're so inspiring.

Carl Larsson Booklist

Hej everybody! I hope everyone had a great Påsk (Easter) holiday. It feels so good to be back after a couple of weeks away. While I was away, I received an email from a blogging friend who has just discoverd Carl Larsson. "Which books in English could you recommend so that I could get to know him better?"

Carl Larsson, (1853-1919) was a Swedish painter and interior designer.
Born to extremely poor parents, Larsson’s childhood was not happy. However, at the age of thirteen he was admitted to the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. After several years working as an illustrator of books, magazines, and newspapers, Larsson moved to Paris, where he met his wife to be Karin. This was to be a turning point in Larsson’s life. In Paris, Larsson painted some of his most important works. Carl and Karin Larsson raised eight children and his family became Larsson’s favorite models. Many of his watercolors are now popular all over the world. In 1888 the young family was given a small house in Sundborn, by Karin’s father Adolf Bergöö. Carl and Karin decorated and furnished this house according to their particular artistic taste and also for the needs of the growing family. Through Larsson’s paintings and books this house has become one of the most famous artist’s homes in the world.

I, too, have loved Carl Larsson for years and have a great collection of books. Here are some of my favorites:

The World of Carl Larsson by Hans- Curt Kösten

Here is a series about his family,home and farm all by Carl Larsson himself.

A Home: Paintings of a By-gone Age

 The paintings in this book all depict Larsson’s home in the village of Sundborn in western Sweden, where he lived with his wife Karin and eight children for many years. The accompanying text provides a fascinating insight into Larsson family life, and Carl’s painting techniques.

A Farm: Paintings from a By-Gone Age

 
The paintings in this book all depict the farm of Spadarvet in Sundborn, in west Sweden, which Carl Larsson bought in 1897. This book provides great insight into the farming practices of the time and Carl Larsson's technique.

A Family: Paintings from a By-Gone Age

 

This book contains 21 water colors depicting the life and family of Carl Larsson. Along with his wife Karin and their eight children,"A Family" give a great glimpse in the rural life of the 19th century.

Carl Larsson: The Autobiography of Sweden's Most Beloved Artist.

Home: Through the Paintings of Carl Larsson

Carl Larsson ( Portofolio Taschen)

You cannot mention Carl Larsson, however without mentioning his wife Karin, who in her own right was a brillant artist. The book "Carl and Karin Larsson:Creators of Swedish Style" is one of my absolute favorites.

On Friday, we'll take you on a little tour of their home Sundborn. Both Per and I have visited there at various times. It is such a charming place and has the feeling of pure joy. More about that later. Until then I hope this little reading list helps get everyone on the right track. Until next time take care.