On we went, via the other big lake in Sweden Lake Vättern, to Gränna. Where once Aunt Amalia lived and invented the typical red and white striped rock candy is now town of candymakers, dentists and thus home of the Polkagris! Above picture is taken in the main street in Gränna, one of the shops has this sign up, welcoming visitors to come in, enjoy the candy (through the door to the left) and visit the dentist, in Swedish "tandläkare" (through the door to the right)....
Twist, pull, wring, snip with the scissors and roll....Shops filled with rock candy in all shapes, sizes and colors but remember the real stuff is striped red and white! I had 4 wide-eyed boys in there... Luckily my teeth will fall out of their own accord not helped by any of these. I am not a sweet girl!
I did promise you moose didn't I? At one time up in Johannisholm we went on this "wildlifesafari", our hopes up to see moose, beaver and Timo (formerly known as son nr. 3) had his heart set on a lynx! We had a lovely evening riding in a minivan through vast forests, enjoying nature, scanning through endless trees, camera at the ready... (You see this one coming right?) And we saw.....nothing, niks, nada! True, we combined forces and did see one (1) moose, I saw his front, the rest his ahum behind... But the last night we stayed in Johannisholm I convinced the rest of the family to embark on our own tour. Late at night, we drove once again through the wild and when our eyes tired we admitted we were beaten, cameras back in their cases, relaxing in our seats. And all of a sudden, there he was! A magnificent male moose, antlers and all, next to our car, running along at 20 km/hr for at least 5 minutes!! We were literally merry with glee (oh no, that was Rudolph and he was a reindeer eh?)!!
So no pictures? Nope, none at all, mind images only! And boy am I good in mind images, remember that lone wolf?
Just to make sure I could show you what a moose looks like, we visited a moosepark near Kosta. We squeezed it in while visiting the glass blowing district e.g. Kosta Boda, Orrefors where you can literally feel the heat. They show you the art while you are just a few steps away from the furnaces. I imagine the litigation business is not like the US... they trust you to use whatever grey cells you have and not stick your hand where it doesn't belong. Love it! Fascinating to see (glass blowing I mean). You are able to walk right in the factory and have a look.
For all you people wishing to visit Sweden, please don't so there will be some quiet and space left for us. Some day we will be back! For now it is back to baking Baking!
Moose, reindeer...what difference would it make...merry with glee would be about how I would describe it. That's pretty much how we felt when a huge school of dolphin came and swam at the bow of our boat crossing the Atlantic.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do remember the lone wolf!
The glass blowing is really fascinating and the heat is tremendous! No there is no where like the US for litigation. (Thank goodness) Gorn & I are always impressed how in Europe we're expected to use our the few grey cells we have left to take care of ourselves and what's around us.
Thanks so much for sharing some of your adventures.
That candy is very cool!
ReplyDeleteI have seen moose before, but never bathing! In fact, I didn't even know they were concerned about personal hygiene. The last one I saw was in a zoo in Milwaukee, some years ago. He leaned over the bars and we had a too-close-for-comfort, face to face encounter. The whiff of moose-breath was pretty overwhelming!
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed your whole trip.It's not quite as good as being able to take a vacation myself-but it's the next best thing.