Trondheim, Norway to Hoting, Sweden

It was raining when we left the hotel this morning and raining when we arrived in Hoting, Sweden but we had lovely bits of sunshine in between. We walked to the corner to get our breakfast from Godt Brød (good bread).

Kim had a cinnamon roll with custard and I had a gluten-free, cashew, coconut bar.

I know this is a bad photo since it was taken through a rain-streaked window but just saying goodbye to the Atlantic Ocean as we head inland to Sweden.

low clouds over the farmland

Flotningsdam

a dam near the Norway/Sweden border

Goodbye Norway for now.

and hello Sweden

When we crossed the border from Norway into Sweden it was 47 deg. It's supposed to snow here over the next couple of days.

train station

Are (pronounced aura) is a large ski area founded 114 years ago. The ski-lift system is on the Areskutan mountain, with a summit elevation of 1.420 meters (4,660'). You can see the ski runs in the upper left of the photo.

Just to the left of the dark mound is a rumba for your lawn. Everyone needs one of these little guys. I'll try to upload the video of him working but it's not very good.

He couldn't get up the hill so went behind the mound. 😒

Most of the photos today are because the color was just so vibrant and I kept taking pics.

More marshmallows for you Jo Anne.

This is a little restaurant where we ate lunch. We saw an older couple walking into the market so we stopped them to ask about a good local place to eat. After much going back and forth between the two of them in Swedish, she recommended this place. She said it's not fancy but has good food. He told us she was a really good cook of Swedish food. It sounded like they don't eat out much because of that.

I had Köttbullar med mos, which is meatballs with mashed potatoes. That is a red current jelly.

Kim had Kebabtallrik, which is some kind of meat over fries.

This is the largest salt and pepper shaker I've ever seen.

We had a piece of Icelandic chocolate for dessert. UmNom.

A church in the Are Municipality of Sweden. Such beautiful detail work.

a really OLD Volvo

beautiful rainbow

We arrived in Hoting, Sweden about 4 pm. I think that's about the earliest we've gotten to our destination. 

Hoting is a very small village (less than 1,000 pop.) but was mentioned in documents regarding Sweden/Norway border rulings in 1273. 

The wooden Dala horse is often used as a colorful accessory in Swedish decor. This one in our room is actually metal but the one below is the typical red painted wood. These are one of the first things I noticed when we checked in to our hotel, because I had read about them. There is some controversy surrounding its origins. There is no doubt that the horses were first carved hundreds of years ago, deep in the Swedish woods, as a way to pass the time during long winter nights. But, according to British author Chris Mosley, Dala horses may have been used in 17th century devil worship. The horses are referenced in Swedish witchcraft trial documents. The theory is that when Christianity took root, wooden horses were made covertly as links back to the old pagan religions. 

The red horse is found on all sorts of things including Knäckebröd, a leavened hard bread that originates from Sweden and is usually made from rye. Cracked bread was a large and round storage bread that had a hole in the middle to be hung up on drying rods to dry, but also to prevent rats from getting to them. Since the crispbread contains less than 10 percent water, its durability is very good, something that was even more important in older times when other preservation options were lacking. It was especially important during the long and cold winters. Although it is no longer as common to hang crispbread, the holed crispbread remains.

You can find this Knäckebröd in all the stores, even IKEA.

We sat out in the sitting area of the hotel and had afternoon tea and coffee. These are the strangest hot cups. They are the texture of a flimsy SOLO cup and don't protect you from the heat at all.

After our coffee/tea break we decided to go on a walkabout.

Even the railroad crossing sign is yellow ochre and red.

Rowan or mountain ash. This tree is native to most of Europe and parts of Asia.

love the porch railings

more color

This is where we are headed tomorrow. We will spend 3 nights in Kemi, Finland.

"There is no need to be paralyzed by the opinions of another. God gives you the ultimate tool of self-assessment, the mirror of his Word." PDT

godnatt (good night)