Are we in Sweden or Scotland?
Trip Start
Apr 04, 2007
1
55
115
Trip End
Oct 22, 2007
Boras,
Sweden
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
We've stayed the last two weeks at Bluemull Shetland Pony Farm in the middle of Sweden, close to the town of Boras. We had a fantastic time there and a much needed rest up. From the moment we arrived the owners, Hans and Marta, made us feel at home. Hans was hilarious, especially because he swore like a sailor and always had a chuckle about something. They offered us the use of their car if we wanted to go anywhere and we stayed in a big trailor out behind the house. They taught us heaps of stuff about Shetland ponies, of which they are very into (the house is decorated in a lot of pony parifinalia and books), and about Sweden in general. They were very insistent they were not like a normal Swedish family, but we loved it there.
Hans and Marta
At first Gabrielle helped out with the kids and in the kitchen and Dan went walking with Hans and the little girls that were going on pony treks. Hans and Marta were very easy going about work and we felt like we weren't earning our keep (total opposite of Norway!). So we volunteered to paint their barn. This ended up being a week long project involving lots of ladder climbing and red paint. Eventually we got the two visible sides of the barn painted, only missing a tiny patch due to rain at the end of the week. We went through about 12 bins of paint and managed to cover most of the surrounding ground area, the chickens, and the small dog as well. Oh yeah, and Dan had a paint can drop on him while he was up a ladder and it splashed all over their van. All together, a successful job.
Task at Hand
While we stayed there we hung out with Hans and Marta's two kids, Jenny and Maria, and their two foster kids, Moa and Lynn. Jenny and Maria spoke perfect English (the family lived in Shetland, Scotland for a few years) but Moa and Lynn were only 5 and 4 respectively so they didn't speak much. We managed to teach them 'How are you' and 'Happy'. Moa really caught on to this and loved it, so for our whole last week there she asked us 'How are you happy?'. Maria got really into beading with Gabrielle and they attacked a local bead store. Maria caught on very quickly and was making some cool stuff when we left! A future jewelry maker in the... making. We also met Marta's two older children, Mathias and Madeline, as well as Madeline's boyfriend Peter and her baby who they called 'the heart' (her name was Jessica). And we can't forget the four dogs, from a little wire haired terrier named Lowpen (which means 'flea') to Harry, the Border Collie that used to roam the Shetland Island of Unst before we wound up in their house, it was a busy and chaotic farm full of people and energy. And then there were the 60 odd ponies.
Gabrielle and Maria
Hans and Marta also took us to some local oddities. One was the High Chapparal Western Town, of which we already wrote a post about, and the other was this giant discount warehouse that sold everything from clothes, electronics, house supplies, food, etc, all the way down to horse gear. And it was all uber cheap! The place was massive and the parking lot alone covered a huge area. It wasn't a chain store of any kind, so apparently people come from all over the place to buy huge car loads from this place before driving, flying, or boating home (some live very very far away... see Poland). We tried to restrain ourselves but did end up buying a couple of things. After we headed to Mara's mother's place for some dinner. Turns out Grandma's don't change too much weather they are from Canada or Sweden. They always fuss heaps and feed you too much! but are great fun to visit.
Midsummers Eve
We also spent Midsummers Eve at the farm. The weather turned sour the day of, and rain was pouring down, so we stayed at the farm. It was a relaxing day of hanging out and good company. Marta made a fantastic dinner (apparently the traditional Midsummer's dinner is Herring, new Potatoes, fresh strawberries, and vodka... lots and lots of vodka) of Herring (which we both skipped) and smoked meats (which Gabrielle skipped and Dan very much did not), New Potatoes, Veges, and Gabrielle made a Cob Loaf (A bread bowl with spinach dip inside and baked in the oven) which was a huge hit. There was fresh strawberries and cream for dessert and heaps of toasts and Swedish singing. And Vodka.
Sunny Day at the Lake
We had a fantastic time at Bluemull and were very sorry to leave. We even stayed an extra two days longer than planned, but eventually we had to move on. We're off to Gothenburg to see a few things we missed the first time around, but Hans and Marta said we were welcome back anytime. You never know. Sweden is a pretty nice place.
Funky Chicken
All our best from Sweden
Dan and Gabrielle
