Hoting, Sweden to Kemi, Finland

It was 28 deg. when we left the hotel this morning and there was ice on the car (or as my dad would have said, "there's frost on the punkin'"), and we had to wait a few minutes to defrost the windshield. 

It wasn't fancy but it was clean and the staff was very friendly and helpful. They also had gluten-free and dairy-free items on the breakfast menu. Always good in my book. 

I don't know if you can see it in the photo but there is steam coming off the water since the water was warmer than the air.

I have a few unusual church photos today. I thought the clock and bell tower in this one was very different from the ones we've seen.

Love the iron doors. The relief above the doors says, "THIS TEMPLE, BUILT IN 1849-50, RAVAGED BY VADELD ON THE NIGHT OF 10-11 MAY 1934, WAS REBUILT IN 1935-36"

Today was all about driving through the forest for hours and seeing many logging trucks and logging operations. I didn't take many photos since they would all pretty much look like this one :) 

Not long after I took this pic, there was a alcohol check on the highway. Police were stopping all the cars and doing breath analyzers. Kim's was good 😂. 10:30 on a Thursday morning seemed like a strange time to be checking for driving under the influence. 

As we were driving along, I mentioned to Kim that I bet 90% of the houses in Sweden were painted red with white trim. As it turns out nearly all countryside houses and barns in Sweden are voluntarily red, albeit in different shades. For the last 53 years, Christer Anderberg has been happily painting his country cottage and the adjacent barns the same exact color—a bright crimson red with white trimmings on the windows. Down the street, the neighbors’ homes are the same color scheme, and up and along the Swedish countryside, the red continues, as if it were mandated. Nearly all countryside houses and barns in Sweden are voluntarily red, although in different shades.

The color, known specifically as Falu red, has been a consistent symbol of pastoral life in Sweden for the last century, an influence that thanks to the Swedish diaspora has seeped into bordering countries, like Norway and Finland, and even America, in the form of the big red barn. Today, the red paint can be bought in hardware stores across Sweden, though Anderberg recalls that when he was a kid, he saw people putting red pigment in buckets with water and flour to make the paint themselves. They mixed it and boiled it.

The source of the color is its namesake. Falu red comes from the Falun copper mine in central Sweden, which dates back to the 9th century. Today the mine is a museum, but at one point in history, it was the largest copper mine in Europe and the economic anchor of the Swedish kingdom. In the 17th century, two-thirds of the Western world’s copper production came from Falun. At this time, Sweden was one of the great powers of Europe and everything was paid for with copper from Falun.

Making red paint was a clever way to continue monetizing the mine. Falu red is a waste byproduct, made from leftover rocks and ores containing iron. Over time, the iron weathers to form iron oxide, which is the base for the unique pigment, that’s then washed, dried and burned. The heat transforms it from an earthy yellow to a brilliant red color. In the drying oven, all the water disappears from the sludge and it changes color and begins to draw from yellow to red. The dry pigment is then ground, and mixed with water, flour and linseed oil to produce the paint. For the first 200 years, it was a bright color because ovens weren’t that hot. But today, thanks to precise temperature controls, multiple shades of Falu red exist, including a dark red and a black. The hotter the temperature, the darker the paint gets. So, there you have it.

This was the oddest thing. First of all, the sun never got directly overhead due to the tilt of the earth's axis. So, it was in my face when we left at 8 am and it was in my face at noon, and it was in my face at 3 pm. It rises slightly as it comes up and goes down but never got above the windshield. Also, the moon did not go down at all today, and at one point, was side by side with the sun. In this photo, the sun is to the right, behind the trees and it is reflecting off of the moon, which is to the left and creating a rainbow of colors. It was incredible and only lasted a few minutes. Then it was gone. I know it doesn't show up well in the photo but, trust me, it was a moment!

We really don't know what the deal is with these barns. They are very old and small and have the most clever shape. The one below is being used as a billboard but most of them appear to be empty. Some fields were scattered with them.

Another unusual church

Entering Finland, notice the IKEA sign. There was no, 'Welcome to Finland' sign or anything. We couldn't even tell when we left Sweden and entered Finland.

This is the Bay of Bothnia off of the Baltic Sea.

We are staying at  the Hotel Yopuu for the next three nights. We plan to explore the Finish Lapland. More about that tomorrow.

A beautiful church although an uncommon color.

Since I don't have many photos today, I thought I would bore you with some silly Swedish words. The sign above says infart, which means entrance. Utfart means exit.

* bra - not a part of the female wardrobe, it simply means good

* kiss - urine

* puss - kiss

* kock - chef (so, Swedish chef is svensk kock)

* farthinder - speed bump

* slut - finish

* bastu - sauna (Kim and I had a Finish sauna tonight)

* fluggar farg - paint store

* mangata - picture this, the moon's reflection creates a shimmering line on the water's surface. That is a mangata, or "moon street". Beautiful eh? I can't even think of an English equivalent.

* slutstation - it's not what you think. This is the end of the line, the last stop, the final station.

* vabba - short for vard av barn, which means caring for children. In Sweden, when you take a day off work to look after the kids, you're vabbing - and more than likely, the Swedish government is paying you for it. It's all about being there for your little ones, especially if they are sick.

* panta - whenever you buy a drink in a can or bottle in Sweden, you'll pay a pant (deposit) of 1 or 2 Swedish Krone. Panta means returning the bottles for recycling to get your money back and Swedes pant like champions. I couldn't figure out why there was always a line for pant on our receipts so I looked it up to see what it was all about.

* mysa - the Swedish equivalent to Iceland's hygge (hooga), if you remember from an earlier post. Cuddling up with a good book, sipping hot cocoa by the fireplace, or just enjoying a cozy moment with loved ones - that's true mysa. (on a side note - DoTerra has the plug-in myst diffuser with the Hygge oil blend on offer this month 😀).

* fika - the cornerstone of modern Swedish culture - a coffee break mixed with quality time, a cinnamon bun or two, and a whole lot of chatting. It's not just a coffee break, it's a social institution.

* tjolahopp - a whimsical exclamation of joy and excitement, inspired by the lively lyrics of Pippi Longstocking's famous song. Just like Pippi, let your spirits soar and sing, "tjolahopp, tjalahej, tjolahoppsan-sa!" as you embrace life's many adventures with laughter and good humor. And if you can pronounce all of those, you are a better linguist than I.

* lagom - Goldilocks would approve of this Swedish concept. Lagom means "just right" - not too much, not too little, but perfectly balanced. It's the Swedish way of finding contentment in moderation, and it covers everything from how often you exercise to how many coffees you drink every day.

* snorunge - and no, it's not your husband's snoring. It's a not-so-endearing term for a snotty-nosed brat, usually a mischievous and unruly child.

and the last one I'll bore you with

* raggabil - remember the old Volvo photo from the blog yesterday? That's a raggabil - in the world of classic cars, it's a vintage car that's driven by 'raggare', turning heads and stealing the show. We watched the road workers and everyone else who saw the car go by, take a second glance. 

A little information about the Nordic flags and countries - from Kim

left to right: Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden & Denmark

The Scandinavia cross flag originated as a symbol of Christianity and was used on banners during war.

A Nordic cross flag is a flag bearing the design of the Nordic or Scandinavian cross, a cross symbol in a rectangular field, with the centre of the cross shifted towards the hoist.

The sideways cross is also known as the Cross of Saint Philip the Apostle, who preached not in Scandinavia but in Greece, Phrygia and Syria instead.

The cross design represents Christianity, and was first seen in the Dannebrog, the national flag of Denmark in the first half of the 13th century.

Size comparison of Scandinavia countries to US states:

Iceland - Kentucky

Norway - Montana

Sweden - 3/4 the size of Texas

Finland - New Mexico

Denmark - Maryland

All 5 together are 3/4 the size of Alaska.

Now that your head is filled with all sorts of useless trivia or you've fallen asleep, I'll call it a day.

The sun sets over the Gulf of Bothnia.

"It’s the heart that’s the problem. People, locations, and situations don’t cause me to sin; they’re where the sin of my heart gets revealed." PDT

hyvää yötä (good night from Finland)