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SWEDEN |
Part 3 |
Monday 15 June 2009
Östersund - Strömsund: 99km / 66 mi
We have coffee in the Konditori Wedmark and after that we are on our way
to Strömsund. That is not very far. About 100km and we get there in no more
than 90 minutes. It is raining again during our drvie, but we do get some very
impressive scenery to see. In Strömsund we stay at Hotel
Nordica. The hotel is a bit outdated, but we do have most of the usual
conveniences. We walk into the town centre and have some lunch in a bakery
attached to the ICA supermarket. We then head for the tourist office to get some
information about the sights. They are helpful, but not over enthusiastic. We
get directions to the rock paintings near Fånsjön. We drive there. It
is about 10km North of Strömsund and most of the road is unpaved. From the road
side we have to follow a track for abut 400m to the rocks. The last bit is over
a jetty. The rock paintings msut be over 7000 years old and were mostly painted
on rocks that are protected from wind, rain and sunshine. Most of paintings
depict elks. Lake Fånsjön is picture perfect. 
The sun has come out to shine and makes it all complete. Near the rock paintings
we also see an Elk Trap. It is a pit, that was used as trap for these big
animals. These had been in use for thousands of years. In 1865 the use of these
traps was prohibited, when the number of elks dropped to the point of
extinction. Nevertheless these traps were used again during periods of
starvation in the early 1900s.
We drive back to Strömsund and have a coffee in a gift shop. We take a drink in the hotel bar while watching football: Brazil vs. Egypt. Brazil decides the match in the final minutes and wins 4-3.
At night we eat in the hotel. The buffet dinner is included in the room price. It is okay, but not superb. After dinner we take a walk. There is virtually nothing happening in Strömsund. There are two eateries with a very wide range of food: pizza, kebab, Mexican, Swedish and more. In Strömsund too we see young men driving endlessly around in their pimped cars. But then again, there is little else to do. The cinema in the community centre Folkets Hus (House of the People) is closed from late May through September.
We drink another beer in the hotel and watch Italy play vs USA for the Confederations Cup.
Weather: a drizzle in the morning, but dry from noon onwards. Cold and very windy. 6 – 7,5°C / 43ºF.
Dinsdag 16 juni 2009
Strömsund - Gäddede: 134km / 83 mi
Today we drive to Gäddede, via the
Vildmarksvägen, or the Wilderness Road. It a semi circuit via route 345 to 
Gäddede and via het plateau of
Stekenjokk looping back to Vilhelmina on route E45. To Gäddede it is about 133
km. The vey well maintained road is very quiet. Sporadically we meet another
car. Halfway up there we leave the main road to go and look for Lake Stora Ringsjö
te rijden. This is supposed to be prime bear country. But however good we
look, we do not meet any today. In all of Sweden there are about 2,800 beren in
the
wild. In Strömsund municipality alone over 280. Most of them 
should be around Stora Ringsjön, but bears are usually very shy and try to
steer clear of humans. We turn back and carry on to Hällingsåfallet water fall. We
drive on an unpaved road running parallel to route 345. The waterfall is
magnificent. It plunges 45 metres into a narrow canyon. We can see several
rainbows in the splashing water. It very quiet here too. We are virtually alone.
We drive on to Gäddede. We have booked a room at Hotel
Gäddede. It is beautifully located on the edge of a lake (Kvarnbergvattnet). We
join them for lunch, that is being served while we arrive. In the afternoon we
go out for a drive. First to Murusjoen. An idyllic lake on the national
border between Sweden and Norway. The beach is in Sweden, the water in Norway.
We then drive to the hamlet of Viken. Here is the area's first church. It
was built by the pioneers cultivating this part of the country in 1793.
The church is still being used for weddings, baptism and holidays. The sun is
shining and the view over lake is wonderful. We drive back to Gäddede, do some
shop for groceries and fill up the tank. In the hotel we order a beer. The hotel
owner tells us he has lived in our home city of Rotterdam back in the 1980's. He
worked with the Swedish Church Seaman's mission. He enjoys talking about his
Rotterdam days. We then eat dinner in the hotel restaurant. The food is great
and so is the view. Later that evening I take a sauna. The hotel has built a
sauna cabin on the beach of the lake. From the sauna I have a great view of the
lake through the large window. You can skinny dip into the lake to cool off, but
there are also showers inside.
Wednesday 17 June 2009
Gäddede - Saxnäs: 139km / 85 mi
Before we move on we want to withdraw some money at an ATM, but there is not any. The nearst ATM is in Strömsund, 133km back. We still have enough cash, so not to worry. We leave for Stekenjokk over Vildmarksvägen, the Wilderness route. We drive past beautiful lakes like the Stora Blåsjön, the big blue lake. We turn off the main road at Ankerede. After about 10km we reach the village. It is a chuch village where Sami families use to come together at holidays. The Sami or Lapps are a nomad people living in the North of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia. They had lived here long before the Norwegians and Swedes began to colonise the North of Scandinavia in from the 18th century. Traditionally the Lapps live of herding and slaughtering reindeer. As reindeer move up North in spring and South in Autumn, the Sami had to move with them. In the 20th century Swedes became more respectful of the Sami culture and theirs language was recognised as a second language next to the principle language Swedish. Only a small number of Sami depends on reindeer and the herding is carried out with snow scooters and helicopters these days.
In Ankerede we find a 18th century wooden church with twenty or so Sami huts around it, that are still in use around holidays. There are also a number of summer cottages. Workmen are preparing the houses for the summer season. Obviously the summer has not begun yet. We drive back to the main road and take a coffee at a elk farm. A good cuppa in the sun, but still it is just 8ºC or 46ºF.
We drive on. The roads
climbs higher and higher. In the far we see snow capped mountains. The we get to
a barrier, that closes off the road in the winter months (late October
through early June). It is open now. We drive on to Stekenjokk, on a
barren plateau way above the tree line (kalfjället). There is lots of eternal
snow about. Not on the road itself fortunately, which is in perfect condition.
The views are stupendous. Mountain tops, mountain streams, waterfalls and lots
of snow. We see a group of reindeer. It is fairly cold (5ºC/40ºF). After 30
minutes the road starts its descent and we return to civilisation as it
were. First is the village of Klimpfjäll. Here we eat a simple Swedish lunch at
the Fjällhotel (Pytt in panna, a typical Swedish dish of potato and meat cubes
with baked egg) with a view to magnificent mountain lakes.
Another dozen kilometres
further on we arrive at Fatmomakke,
7km off the main road. It is a Sami settlement too. There are about 80 Sami huts
around the church. For centuries this has been a gathering place for Sami
tribes. Late 18th century the Swedish State Church started spreading
Christianity among the Sami and came the first Swedish pioneers. One of the huts
can be seen on the inside. It is a very simple affair: a cooking place in the
middle. Branches to sit on and a hole in the roof by way of chimney.
There is a so called “Kultrum”, an exhibition room on Sami life here
and arund. Late 19th century the first tourists started coming here. It was a
120km hike from the nearest train station at Vilhelmina
We drive about 30 km more and arrive at our hotel, Saxnäsgården in Saxnäs. We are still in low season and that means that reception is open only between 10am and 2pm. The kitchen is working from 6pm to 8pm The hotel has a wellness spa, but booking a massage is not an easy thing to do, as the masseuse has to travel all the way from Vilhelmina more than 90km further up the road.
The food is excellent (salmon and reindeer) and the views of Kultsjö very beautiful. The village itself is quite dead in the evenings. There is a Youth Hostel and a grocery store cum petrol station and that is about it.
Weather: sunny, cloudy spells. Some rain. 5-10ºC / 40-50ºF.
