Joan in Sweden: Midsommer continues

We had a slow morning followed by another hike up the mountain. What a beautiful hike and view. Mom went up by chair lift with the two packs containing our lunch and coffee. This may seem easy but she carried those two packs down a hill to our lunch area. Karin, Sarah, Lars and the three of us enjoyed the view and a wonderful lunch followed by coffee and sweet breads.

Solleron is the island you can see in the distance. While we were hiking, Mats called Sara to tell her that some very special wild orchids are blooming in his field. We went to see them after the hike and walked out in the field. It's quite uneven ground so mom got a tractor ride. She's in the drivers seat.

The wild flowers here are like nothing I've seen before. They cover the fields in abundance and variety, in purples, pinks, yellows, white.

Here is a close up of the orchid. I love the detail. I illegally picked a few before I was informed that they are protected. Oops.

We had dinner with Mats and Gunnell, a dinner of moose meat, potatoes, breads and salad followed by raspberries and ice cream. I haven't had moose before but it was very good. we are very well cared for and fed here.

The midsommer festivities continue in the neighboring village of Vinas for their celebration. This one was much smaller and contained similar traditions but was different too. The violins played to indicate the start of the program but this time the maypole was already decorated and there was a second children's pole.

There was a group visiting from Kansas, a group of high school students who have been learning Swedish folk dancing. They commit to four years in the group and they travel to Sweden every fourth year. They will be in Sweden over five weeks. Their dancing was fun to watch. Judy and I commented on the number of young men in the group, outnumbering the girls in fact. They have quite a tradition in this small Kansas town.

Because the pole sits in the middle of an intersection when it is raised, it has to be carried to across the street when they are ready to raise it.

We met some relatives while we were in Vinas. I think we are fifth cousins, near as we can tell.

The children's maypole was raised in an area about one kilometer from the large maypole. The children carried it and raised it while the adults followed along.