Sweden

I believe the name on the bottom of the sign in the photo above is the Sami (native) name of the town.

Sorry Tony, I didn't get further south in Sweden, this trip. I hope to come back and experience Stockholm and more of the culture. I tried to get to Kosta but decided to go further North instead. This trip is about getting to know me and trusting myself so I followed my instincts and chose Lofoten Islands over more time in Sweden. Therefore, my comments about Sweden are limited by only being exposed to the Lapland and are not representative of the county.

I spent the weekend with Monica in Trondheim (still in Norway) and became quite impressed with the Norwegian reverence for life as indicated in my last post. Monday morning started out with a tour of the cathedral that, at least parts of it, will be 1000 years old in 2050. Fabulous detail and intricate design was crafted in every aspect of its masonary and carvings and stained glass. All made by hand!

We then stoped at the library to see the skeletons they found buried in the foundation when doing some remodeling. These bones date back to the 16th century. The history here is hard to comprehend.

Then we started out in her Peugeot, named Precious, for our twelve hour drive to Luleå, Sweden. After many hours of laughter, great music,

much sharing of stories and wisdom back and forth we spent the night. I had been intending that she would effortlessly drive right up to the place we would stay, and she did! I enjoyed the hotel book so much (and was exceptionally excited because I imagined this Sweden trip with Monica to visit Maria would be the highlight of my trip) that I stayed up reading it. It had no advertisements- it was filled with healthy tips, like "give yourself a lift, take the stairs" work out excercises "nobody regrets a good work out", lots of environmental ideas, word searches and. brain exercises, lots of articles on social justice, children advocacy, a motivational story about a woman's recovery who was in a near fatal and accident when her parachute failed to open and even a page with a thousand sheep in various positions, "trouble sleeping?" This hard cover book, with a teal cover, outlining the philosophy of the owner and their love for humankind, is in all the Choice Hotels - which are very reasonably priced. It's clear they want to change the world while offering a fair priced service.

The next morning after a hearty breakfast, including a typical ginger shot - was provided at all the places we stayed in Sweden -

we were back on the road to Luleå. Precious is licensed for maximum of two passengers so we rented a car to accommodate the three of us. While Monica and Maria got the car I had a chance to explore the UNESCO world heritage site of Gammelstad where Maria lives.

With the car packed with food we drove out to a darling farm with a charming two story farm house that wa s probably 250 years old. The kitchen was large enough to hold square dances. They had added electricity and running water. We were exceptionally comfortable. The soul sisterhood was magical. We ate healthy, hiked the hay fields,

shared insights, dreams and passions. We ended our time together with a Kakao ceremony and then a fabulous dinner in Luleå. They hang the beef for 30 days in this restaurant before preparing and serving it.

Monica dropped me off at the train station the next morning

I rode the train for more than seven hours through the north of Sweden back to cross the boarder to Norway.

Here are my takeaways from my limited exposure to Sweden.

1. Healthy food is pretty doable and delicious.

2. Candles - burn then always, use stearin

3. They put reflectors on the high wires so traffic passing by warn the moose and deer not to cross the road.

4. They have higher speed limits than Norway - Norway requires wider shoulders to travel those speeds

5. I LOVED all the road signs - orange and red

6. 98% of the houses are painted falu red with white trim and 100% of the outbuildings and sheds are this color in the Lapland.

7. I saw several Saabs - that thrilled me

8. Tons of foresting going on

9. Not as lush as Norway

10. A bit stricter - maybe friendlier but seems they felt the need to enforce the rules whereas Norwegians just do what they're supposed to. I rarely saw law enforcement.

11. Shoe horns in every home and hotel

12. Far more places open on Sunday (very limited in Norway)

13. The train was not a smooth and not nearly as tidy and prestine as in Norway

14. Technically eons behind Norway(also less precision and less communication. The conductor didn't explain much. Norway trains always provide a 6 minute notice of the next stop. Frequeant wait times for other trains.

15. You put you food on a try when done eating like we used to do at Bishops cafeteria

16. 1000 meter lights prevelant - especially semis - lit up the side of the road like daylight

17. I don't know if Maria is representative of a typical Swed. But the one I know (Maria) is totally authentic, in touch with who she is, how she feels, and the choices she is making. She is wiling to be completely vulnerable, a fantastically healthy and delicious cook, deeply spiritual, incredibly kind, full of insight and clarity and beautifully musically talented.