Below are some photos of Swedish handicrafts of various kinds that we picked up while we were there. I’ll post others after they have been given to people, but here are some examples:

These denim skirts are very popular, from re-purposed jeans.  It turns out that a relative of Annalena’s nephew Samuel (7/16 post) makes them in her home, but they are sold in many stores.

The wooden butter spatula is about 5″ long.  They are inexpensive and used everywhere.  I don’t know why they are not widespread in the US, but they work really well.  We got several.  Janie was fascinated by the egg cups that everyone seemed to have.  I picked up a couple for her in a 2nd hand store, and she got a set in a department store.

The hat and mittens are a traditional style from Lovikka, where we stayed in the North.  Lovikka is famous for this style of mittens, and actually has a giant version enshrined in an outdoor glass case in the village.  That one is certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest mitten.  The bracelets are a traditional Sami (indigenous people of Lappland) style.

Pendant watch and box from the Pajala Market

Traditional bracelet

Traditional carved horse from Dalarna area

Rune symbol meaning Justice, Honor or Analytical

Sundial-based time piece

Summer dress from Trollhatten Market

Ayervedic soap

Asymmetrical poncho

Reindeer leather wallet

I won’t go into too much detail about our flight home, but a couple of things are worth mentioning. First, when we got to the airport, we learned that our seats had been upgraded to business class without our knowledge. SAS inexplicably changed the seating twice more before we boarded, once back to economy, but in different seats than the ones we had chosen, and then back to business class. I am not complaining though! We wound up in business class for a 10-11 hour flight, and it was sweet! The seats reclined nearly flat and had built in massagers. Service was supurb! We did have a glitch at the ticket counter in that our luggage was tagged for San Francisco instead of Seattle. Fortunately, Janie remembered to check it and the error was corrected. Otherwise, our bags might still be in SF. Always check the baggage tags before you let your bag go on the belt, especially in international flights!

When we got to the San Francisco airport, things were not so great. Signs were not clear about where to go, and we had a long ways to go in too little time. We had to pick up our luggage and go through customs, then redeposit it. Apparently, none of the airport employees knows much about giving directions, and we were nervous about whether the luggage would make it to Seattle. We did make it OK, but it sort of diminished some of
the glow from the business class flight.

It is good to be home! Although travel to another country is really interesting, We missed our family, friends and home. We look forward to seeing those who are nearby. Janie and I are still trying to get our sleep patterns in sync with the Pacific time zone, but it’s not too bad
when you’re retired and can sleep when you need to. I sure like having my own bed and recliner to sleep in!

As I think back on the last few weeks, I think we were incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to see so much of Sweden. Although we still just scratched the surface, several Swedish people told us that we’d seen more Sweden than they had! Traveling is more tiring than you might expect at times. Dealing with unfamiliar customs, having to figure out how to get things done in ways that you are not used to, and working around language differences can be a real challenge. Even so, we had it easy, since we had the help of Tim and Annalena for most of the trip.

Tim and Annalena were extremely hospitable, taking the time out of their own vacation to share ours, to take us to interesting places, to help us figure things out and to translate. I put a link in an earlier post to Tim’s own blog, and if you are interested in gardening or in fermented foods, you should check it out.

Lastly, I was sure I lost weight while in Sweden. Apparently however, any weight loss is erased when you are flying the other direction because there was no loss upon my return. ;->

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