Arguably the goofiest part of my itinerary: I head all the way back up to Dalarna from Gotland. But for a good cause: Stefhan & Franziska have recommended the little spelmansstämma in Furudal, and I happen to be free for the weekend. Plus, Hazelius-Hedin are playing a concert in Rättvik on the night I’m passing through.
I have fond memories of the hostel in Rättvik from my very first trip to Sweden in ’05, but it turns out that’s not an economical solution for a solo traveler: you have to pay for all four beds. So I checked in with Tommy, whom I met in DC last fall, and he said they’d be happy to help me out. In fact, they’d even pick me up at the train station and take me to the concert and give me a lift back to town in the morning. Once again I am adopted by kind friends, made welcome and well cared for.
Fabulous concert, totally worth the trek. Enjoyed getting to visit with Tommy & Jill, and did not eat all their raspberries. Had a quiet morning of napping and catching up on logistics, headed into town to wander around some favorite places for the afternoon. Acquired a knitting project, a lace shawl using gorgeous hand-dyed wool from Åland. Visited Tommy’s office at the Folkmusikens Hus and bought some CDs, stocked up on groceries for the weekend. Kerstin picked me up around dinnertime, on her way north from Stockholm, and gave me a ride up to Furudal.
flying from Gotland back to Stockholm
beautiful day on the train to Rättvik
Tommy & Jill’s neighbors and their car
snack-y dinner at the Rättvik gammalgård
looking down toward the barn that’s the concert location
garden of old kitchen plants (vegetables and herbs) from Dalarna
structural? artistic?
several strings to tune
Hazelius-Hedin in concert: always worth the trek
in addition to using all the instruments, they may have used all the combinations
and of course singing too. Esbjörn says, “the skånska dialect is just like Swedish, but with a wawa pedal.”
fika break! up the hill for coffee
the coffee line trying to huddle out of the rain
looking out into the courtyard from inside the handicrafts shop
chairs that come in three heights
latest evolution in Johan’s capo development for cross-tuning his nyckelharpor
the archival sound studio in Tommy’s office, in the basement of the Folkmusikens Hus
friendly assistant at the CD sales desk
how you know you’re in the middle of Rättvik
Fika with Jill at the bakery. for the record, i was expecting a princessgroda, and this particular frog had some completely other kind of cake in him. is that allowed?!
yarn stores are dangerous. i accidentally stopped in this one, and they had this lovely affordable hand-dyed wool from Åland, and it even comes with this lace shawl pattern.
now Rättviks Glass has two locations right in town!
“Don’t hug me to death! My friends and I are delicate. Thanks for being gentle. Sincerely, Avocado”
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