in august i went to sweden with my mom, sister stephanie, and niece madeline. this was a family heritage trip that had been on my mom's bucket list for a while. my great grandfather (morfars far) immigrated to minnesota with his family when he was sixteen. my mom knew that they had lived near vilhelmina in northern sweden, but we did not know if there were other relatives that stayed. my mom did some research before our trip and was fortuitously connected to two women who turned out to be distant relatives on the other side of my mom's family. we met one of them - berit - in stockholm when we arrived and she toured us around old town stockholm - gamla stan - and showed us what she had discovered about our relatives.
one of the narrow streets in Gamla Stan
we had a few days in stockholm to hit the highlights, including a trip across lake malaren to the viking settlement of birka. birka was one of the biggest viking trading posts in the area from the late 700s to about the 900s. from there we started heading north to vilhelmina, stopping along the way in sundsvall and ostersund.
on our drive to vilhelmina, we began to understand why so many swedes settled in northern minnesota...the landscape was eerily similar. mostly flat, lots of conifers, and random rocky outcroppings. and four-legged wildlife. with necklaces. :)
we met with the other woman my mom had been corresponding with in vilhelmina. she was also a distant relative and had done a lot of research for us. she knew where homesteads where, where to find headstones in the cemetery, and the fates of other family members. she also had a serendipitous conversation with a coworker that put the wheels in motion for us to meet relatives of my great grandfather.
the area around vilhelmina was beautiful - i'm glad we had a couple of days to explore it. the sami culture is prevalent in northern sweden - thus the collared reindeer and the round huts called kotos.
Berit and my mom learning about their shared relatives
Stockholm storkyrka (cathedral)
we had a few days in stockholm to hit the highlights, including a trip across lake malaren to the viking settlement of birka. birka was one of the biggest viking trading posts in the area from the late 700s to about the 900s. from there we started heading north to vilhelmina, stopping along the way in sundsvall and ostersund.
on the boat to birka
burial site
replica viking sail boat
replica viking house
The Vasa - way cool museum showcasing a boat that sank
20 minutes into her maiden voyage. Oops.
20 minutes into her maiden voyage. Oops.
Skogskyrkogarden - woodland cemetery on the outskirts of Stockholm
Stockholm stadhuset (city hall)
our first outdoor museum, above Sundsvall
one of the many dragons of Sundsvall
beautiful, quiet street in Sundsvall
picturesque village of Spikarna
Cliffs along Alno island
fronso kyrka & bell tower - Ostersund
we met with the other woman my mom had been corresponding with in vilhelmina. she was also a distant relative and had done a lot of research for us. she knew where homesteads where, where to find headstones in the cemetery, and the fates of other family members. she also had a serendipitous conversation with a coworker that put the wheels in motion for us to meet relatives of my great grandfather.
the area around vilhelmina was beautiful - i'm glad we had a couple of days to explore it. the sami culture is prevalent in northern sweden - thus the collared reindeer and the round huts called kotos.
koto at fatmomakke (church village)
food storage at fatmomakke
trappstegforsen
cemetery looking over the lake near vilhelmina
main street in vilhelmina
many more adventures on our way south back to stockholm, including a bit of time along the coast and the sites of uppsala. we met four of our cousins at the airport in stockholm and were blown away by how strong the mellstrom genes are after so many generations.
moose paintings from 4000-1000 BC (touched up) at namforsen, nasaker
mosaic at jakobs kyrka in hudiksvall
hoga kusten (high coast)
lands museet in harnosand
gamla stan in gavle
the cathedral in new uppsala
me with a statue of my man, Carl Linnaeus!
(he was a botanist and created the scientific naming system we still use
today. yes, i am quite aware that i am a total nerd. we also stumbled upon a
play in front of the cathedral the night before that was portraying the history of Uppsala. the bit about linnaeus was awesome...people dressed as plants, little kids buzzing around in bee costumes. my mom was totally confused how i knew what was going on in spite of knowing zero swedish. good times.)
(he was a botanist and created the scientific naming system we still use
today. yes, i am quite aware that i am a total nerd. we also stumbled upon a
play in front of the cathedral the night before that was portraying the history of Uppsala. the bit about linnaeus was awesome...people dressed as plants, little kids buzzing around in bee costumes. my mom was totally confused how i knew what was going on in spite of knowing zero swedish. good times.)
cousin meeting!
figuring out how we are related
Per, my mom, Leif, and Ove
Now for some scary comparison photos showing the family resemblance:
my mom and her siblings
my brother and grandpa (morfar)
a good trip and such a treat to connect with relatives at the spur of the moment. now we have another excuse to visit again!
