Day 19: To Finnafallet

 We started a little earlier today so that we could have a skype session with Erica and her parents!  It was pretty cute watching her from so far away – but it is still too much for her to sit still for too long.  

Finnafallet

Then we packed our bags and headed north towards Finnafallet– the summer cottage! But first we must stop at Nora for some very special ice-cream. This small home business has been making ice-cream since the early 1900’s and the tradition continues at the same pace. It is very creamy and tasty and the 3 flavours for the day were vanilla, hazelnut and apple – well I don’t think I have tried apple ice-cream before but it was so very tasty, just like granny-smith apples. Some had extra toppings and additions but the 3 scoops were enough for me and Agnete!

We had a bit of a look into the Nora church - an old flamboyant church, lots of shining brass chandeliers, gold painting around the alter murals and beautiful textiles.

There was an exhibition of local art works with pieces by Elisabet Jansson – a weaver I know – so we stopped by to see that. It was in an old brewery – a wonderful array of small rooms, huge stone walls and narrow steps leading up to the very top –4 floors in all. Elisabet is working in embroidery at the moment and I really liked her pieces – working on rust dyed fabric embroidering a tale in small neat stitches.

Nora - down by the lake

Nora Glass - ie ice-cream!

With topping and extras

Just 3 flavours - yum!

Open the door

The Altar with lots of gold

Looking up past the brass chandelier to ceiling paintings

A street scene in Nora

The old Brewery, by a black river rushing by

Inside the Brewery

Elisabet Jansson's work

Artists' Co-Op at the Brewery

Rushing river in Nora near Brewery

The weather was wet – with some heavy rain, but I remembered riding along this road with Matias and Anders in 2010.  Looking again, I see there were quite a few hills that I remembered quite well.

On the last leg up to Finnafallet, there was a truck loading timber.  The timber had all been neatly stacked up on the side of the road.  Out the back of the truck was a little ‘crane’ type cabin and a big arm operated by the driver.  He was so good at grabbing a handful of timber, picking it up in the middle and swinging it up onto the truck.  We watched for awhile, then the driver hopped out of that cabin, lifted up the supports and then reversed the truck up the road to allow us to drive past.  It was very obvious this guy had been stacking this timber many times.

Loading timber - one man show

And so, up the steep gravelly track to Finnafallet.  A gate this time!  Neighborhood is expanding.  But beautiful Finnafallet was as beautiful as ever.  Most of the wildflowers had already died, but the day lilies were standing tall.  After unloading our things and taking some yummy lunch inside, we went for a little walk around Finnafallet as the weather was very threatening. 

On the deck before the rain







We eventually moved out to the deck, but the svea & mygg were very friendly so we put the cover up and lit mossie coils and fired up the gas mossie zapper to keep the bities at bay.  Coffee & bikkies were enjoyed and then it started to rain too hard to stay there so back to the cosy Finnafallet.  It’s amazing how quickly that place warms up and becomes so cosy.
Anna & Magnus headed off to Skogalund, so Anders took Karina and me on a kantarella hunt. It is still very early in the season, but he spotted a few patches of very small kantarella, so we had a lesson in collecting them, brushing the dirt off them before putting them into the bag. It’s so nice walking through the old forest, especially when there are shafts of sunlight bouncing down and off the green mossie ground. It is so very easy to start thinking of faires, elves and trolls in these forests.

In the kitchen

In the garden

In the forest looking for kantarella

Kantarella!!

Nicely cleaned

Troll country

Watering hole for wild animals

The other lake

Home again with kantarella

(censored:  marshmellow eater - gone!)

Before we went to bed we spent some quiet time up in the Ande-rum – candles burning and peace and quiet and so comfortable.    And then tucked up into bed for a really good sleep.  Another beautiful day in beautiful Finnafallet.