Sweden, Sundsvall

Our train trip from Oslo to Stockholm and then a change there to head north up the coast to Sundsvall was nice but fairly non eventful.  Cruising at about 200 km a hour.   It took most of the day I think.  I actually wrote this blog ages ago and haven't been able to find it or some of the photos so I just need to get on with it and remember as much as I can. 

Murray's cousin Mike meet us at the station, he looked just like he does on his face book profile - fancy that!   They haven't seen each other for 15 years, so as you can imagine the tongues started to waggle and they didn't stop for the whole week.  It was about a 30 minute drive to their home.   We met Sabina, and the two boys Cosmos and Neo and their friend Jerome. There house is really cool with a neat verandah out the front. they are currently renovating it and it will be awesome when it is finished. The boys are really into their soccer and we were lucky enough to go to watch them practice.  They are very good.

Long lost cousins

Up behind their house is a forest, so we climbed up the hill in hunt for a moose, a beer but instead we found moose poo, wild lingon berries, blue berries.  It was a great view from the top down the valley to the river.  The next day we did a bit of sightseeing in the rain, we went to the seaside village of Spikarna (I think it was called)  It was a neat bay with boat shed and cottages right on the water.  We called in Sundsvall on the way back to see if we could find a reindeer skin to buy.  But we couldn't so headed to mac D's for lunch and then back home.  On Tuesday we headed off to the local ice hockey club where the boys play and we painted the 'sin bins'  ready for the season start in a few weeks.  Would have loved to have seen some action, but we were too early.  Mike and Murray  built a sand box half way down the driveway ready to use when it gets icy. 

Jerome with some Moose poo

View from the top

Sabina, Mike and Murray

heading back down the track

the lovely house

from the front.

A friend of Sabina and Mikes to them out into the local forest to see some machinery and forest.   Some was a 120 years old forest that was being logged which wasn't much bigger, if any than the trees we would production thin in NZ.  All the machines are rubber tyred because there are so many big rocks in the forest.

On Thursday, Murray and Mike headed off to complete a decking project that he was doing for a friend and I stayed at home and caught up with the washing and did some baking.  Friday, our time was up already and Sabina dropped us off at the train station for the journey back to Stockholm.

It was much to short a visit to this lovely spot, and even thought they didn't turn on the northern lights for us, we had an awesome time with this lovely family.

* that's all the photos we have of up here, as the camera didn't appreciate getting wet and taking photos in the forest in the rain.  New camera required asap.