Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
Provinces: Dalarna, Västmanland
Municipalities: Orsa, Mora, Rättvik, Leksand, Falun, Hedemora, Säter, Borlänge, Ludvika, Ljusnarsberg, Lindesberg, Nora
Friday 10th of July
08.20 Once again, the black curtain of the night has been pulled away. A new day is here again. Here for us is just like last night, Trunna Hostel and Conference (https://www.trunna.se) in Orsa. Today we will seriously venture into Dalarna. Several classic destinations will be visited.
09.17 The purchased breakfasts were finished and the two thermoses are once again filled with hot water for today's drive. It's time to remove the bedding. They should be packed down for later use. Well, rather, they should be used on many later occasions this summer.
09.54 It's time to continue our journey in the landscape of kurbits; Kurbits (from Latin cucurbita and German Kürbis, pumpkin) is a decorative painting from Dalarna with a distinctive decoration of fantasy plants with large flower and leaf bundles. Hey, a Din X petrol station. It was some time ago that I saw one of them!
10.13 Things went well. We are, all according to plan, in Mora. It's not a long journey between Orsa and Mora. We have plans to see a lot of Mora. Of course, we will not have time for everything. But who needs to see the whole of Mora? Mora is a town at Lake Siljan with 12,858 inhabitants.
10.27 A text message has been sent to those who are responsible for the parking space we have parked at. Let's sit down near Lake Siljan. We are at yet another of the country's great lakes. The lake is part of the so-called Siljan ring. The Siljan ring in Dalarna is Europe's largest impact crater (astroblem), with a diameter of about 52 km. The crater was created when a meteorite with a diameter of about 5 km struck down and hit the Earth's surface during the Devon period about 365 or 370 million years ago.
10.43 "Can't stop playing" is the name of the metal sculpture from 2016 on whose plinth I sit and write just this. The statue has a Rubik's Cube as its head.
11.01 We have just seen Anders Zorn's Gustav Vasa statue and the goal of Vasaloppet ski race with the finish gate that has the words "In fathers tracks for future victories". These words were said by Gustaf Ankarcrona before the second Vasaloppet in 1923. Now it's time to go along the finish stretch in the opposite direction. Here it does not look like we remember it from TV. It is not just the fact that it is lacking snow, but something else that does not really match, at least according to our recollection.
13.39 The car is now parked near the Travel Center and the campsite in Rättvik. Rättvik is an urban area at Lake Siljan that has 5,280 inhabitants. We have walked a bit and are now out on the 628 meter long jetty/pier which is often called Långbryggan, the long jetty/pier. Some of the planks have names of people and companies that sponsored the jetty construction. Now, unfortunately, it starts to rain. The travel journal pages get wet and the ink flows out. It's time to get us off the bridge and under cover.
16.40 It has become time to leave COOP supermarket in Grycksbo where we stopped to buy the groceries we will need. With us we have the basis for a dinner and two breakfasts. It's time to get ready for Falun and our two nights there.
Saturday 11th of July
The sculpture "Can´t stop playing" with its interesting head.
Christer at the finish of Vasaloppet ski race.
King Gustav Vasa at the entrance of central Mora.
The belfry in Mora was built 1673.
Vasagatan, Mora.
The painter Anders Zorn in Tingshusparken.
Mora church.
The Zorn museum in Mora.
The Vasaloppet ski tracks are here.
Kyrkogatan, Mora.
A huge Dala horse near Mora harbour.
A boat is waiting in Lake Siljan.
The long pier in Rättvik.
Rättvik.
We are walking 600 meters into Lake Siljan.
Rättvik church.
A gray Dala horse is guarding this public building.
The water fountain "Vattenspel" in central Rättvik.
Falu STF Hostel.
A beautiful rainbow above Lake Runn.
Good and bad weather is fighting in Falun.
Interesting local history from World War II.
08.23 This is a welcome morning. It is weekend again and today we will not pack down the bed linen. They will remain in the beds. We have one more night to sleep in these beds.
09.30 It was great to have breakfast in the common well-equipped kitchen. I firmly believe that I dare to say that I have probably got the hang of this now. The same seems to apply to my travel companion for many years, Christer. 10.02 At least we are now mentally getting ready to start this Saturday's little excursion. We're not actually changing accommodation today. However, it is a bit crowded around our car out in the parking lot. 10.32 When finally those who had parked next to us had packed their possessions and lashed their bikes and gone away, we can start our excursion. Their packing and other things made it difficult for us to get away. We know where we're going. Where is the man with family going? 11.04 A quadricycle just appeared before us here on route 69. We are heading south towards Hedemora, which will be Saturday's first stop. 11.19 Now we are in central Hedemora. We are parked in a parking lot near the Erikshjälpen store. Now we will examine what Hedemora has to offer and how we later get out of here. Is it free to park here? It seems so, a good municipality. Hedemora is a small town with 7,593 inhabitants.
Henemoren, Hedemora.
Åsgatan, Hedemora.
A memory stone for Peder Svensson in Vibberboda.
Beautiful building along Åsgatan.
It is raining on Stora Torget.
Hedemora Stadshotell.
11.32 It's free to park here. Now we will park our rear parts on a bench in front of the Prostgården. The building is one of the city's oldest and was built in 1756. For a long time it was the residence of the vicar of the Hedemora Parish. In 2006, the parish sold the estate, which is now owned by a condominium association and is converted into a number of apartments
11.41 The time has come for a new short stop. Now we are at the memorial stone remembering the miner Peder Svensson in Vibberboda. He was chieftain of the local men in the Battle of Brunnbäck in 1521. It was his descendants who erected the stone in 1922. 11.52 A rain shower forced us to leave the bench by the stone and we have hidden under various roofs along Åsgatan and Ämbetsgatan. 12.01 We are now at Stora Torget (Main square). Here Café Wahlman should be located according to Google Maps. We are craving for coffee and are tired of getting wet from the rain. All we find here is Stadshotellet, the Town Hotel in a beautiful building and Café Smörgåsboden which is closed. Maybe we should book a room at Stadshotellet? No, it'll be another time. 12.17 It rains and we stand under a linden tree near Hedemora church. On the ground lie several dead bumblebees. Plenty more of them buzzes in the tree. Who or maybe I'll wonder what has killed all these bumblebees. It is a mystery to ponder while we wait for the rain to cease. 12.45 In the end after a lot of wandering in the city and in a red wooden building near the square we found our long-awaited cafe, Café Wahlman (http://cafewahlman.se). Here we have been served good coffee, good pastries but also a cozy, old-fashioned environment and decor. This kind of relaxing and coffee makes it so much easier to travel. Of course, as in so many other places this summer, it was important to keep the distance to the other guests. The café was incorrectly placed on Google Maps. Therefore, we did not find it earlier. 13.19 The sun is back over Hedemora and we are back in the car. It's time to continue the excursion. There are more to be seen this weather varied day.
Hedemora church.
Outside Café Wahlman.
A nice atmosphere in this café.
Acetone is good for flowers?
Kupolen, Borlänge.
The Jussi Björling museum in Borlänge.
13.37 It is both sunshine and rain on this day. We'll remain on route 70. In the oncoming lane, in a parking lot on the other side of the cable barrier was a car that had stopped. Smoke was coming out from the engine. Was the radiator overheated or was the fault something else?
14.11 Now we have reached Borlänge and found a parking that is free, Folkets Hus parking at Jussi Björling's road. Borlänge is the largest city in Dalarna and has a population of 43,423 inhabitants. 14.31 We have walked for a while from our parking space. It has now become time to enter Borlänge's large shopping mall, Kupolen. What's going on in there? At least I know one thing. I'm going to visit and use a water closet. Some things can't be ignored for a long time. 15.03 Christer got hold of a little of each at a low cost through a visit to H&M. It was a replacement jacket just in case the tear on his jacket would get worse, a T-shirt and a pair of cheap shorts. I have not invested in any new garments. Now we're back outside Kupolen and it is drizzling again. 15.21 We just passed the beautiful city park Liljeqvistska Parken. Our trek to the centre continues. It is incredibly quiet and calm here considering that it is Saturday and that the city is great. 15.32 Now that we have seen the opera singer Jussi Björling's museum and also his statue, we are at Sveatorget. A certain hunger begins to appear. Here on the square there is a fountain and the artwork Paprika. Some mixed facts about Jussi Björling is that he was born here in Borlänge, Jussi was the nickname of Johan Jonathan, he became a court singer in 1944 and he died only 49 years old when he had a heart attack in 1960. 16.11 We have made a stop for the purchase of some light lunches at Tempo at Hagavägen. Now we sit on a park bench near the Cozmoz Arena to eat the purchased.
The tenor Jussi Björling is standing on the square with his name.
Sveatorget, Borlänge.
Peter is having a light meal in a Borlänge park.
We have arrived to Falun and its river.
The wooden old town in Falun.
The road to Falu copper mine.
17.02 We are now on our way back to Falun for more activities and an upcoming dinner. We have had a lot of time today as well. It is possible to be effective and get things done even though we do not move so much. Falun is a perfect base if you want to look around in southern Dalarna.
17.30 After some trouble we finally arrived at the intended parking place by Dalateatern in Falun. Sometimes it's good to think for yourself and not completely trust the female voice in Google Maps. She was not completely in phase with the crossings and we drove very wrong initially. Now we sit down by the water and plan the evening. The water in question is this time, Faluån. 17.50 Now that we have more structure on what to see and do, we will get acquainted with the central parts of Falun. We must of course see and document some of a city that we spend two nights in. 18.25 We have walked through the red Old Town Elsborg with roots from the 1600s and looking towards the mine, Falu copper mine. We have also gone past the entertainer Ernst Rolf's childhood home. Next we will once again turn towards the younger parts of the city. Falu mine is a former copper mine located one kilometre southwest of Falun's central parts. The activities started possibly as early as the 800s (possibly already in the early 700s) and the business ceased in 1992. The mine was one of Sweden's largest mines during its heyday and is since 2001 a World Heritage site. In addition to copper, sulphide ores, zinc, lead, bismuth, silver and gold, have also been taken from this mine. 18.45 Not far away from us is the Vattubron. Before us is again Faluån and on the other side of the river lies Bishops Arms. It is a pub chain that we visit sometimes, most recently in Kiruna. However, there will be no visit there this evening. The pub has a fantastic location by the river so it attracts a little anyway. 19.05 We are currently in the evening sun on the main square. A short distance away is the statue of the medieval rebel Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson. Here is also the majestic Falu Kristine church. Here in this beautiful square we can stay for a long time but if we do so we will miss dinner.
The birth house of Ernst Rolf.
Falu Kristine church.
The medieval national hero Engelbrekt.
This evening´s Indian dinner.
19.33 Is that OK?, the waiter wondered. - Yes, thank you, we answered. So it will be dinner cooked by someone else tonight. We are at the Indian restaurant New Mumbai (https://www.newmumbai.se) in central Falun.
20.21 We are satisfied and pleased. It is always delicious with Indian cuisine and this meal was no exception. We are now again down by Faluån and soon we will go home in the green vehicle. 21.10 Now we are home. The trip home went at a snail's pace because there were various measures to reduce the speed along Strandvägen. Today we have been firmly in motion. Now it will be nice to just stay still for a while. Now we're not doing much more today. 22.24 After coffee and almond pastries, tomorrow will be planned. It is always good to have certain plans. Then they do not always have to be kept. The main thing is that we get to where we are going to sleep the next night. Tomorrow we will say goodbye to Dalarna but see you again when we go home in August.
Sunday 12th of July
07.50 I was lucky this morning. It was possible to use the shared shower. It's not so bad to start the day with a shower. Then there's a bit of gambling not having your own shower. We become dependent on the habits of others.
08.24 After a while of waiting, it just got possible to use the common shower and Christer went there this time. Falun is soon a completed chapter. New asphalt will be rolled over, new cities will be seen. Today we travel south. 09.11 It is sunny outside our window. I think we're getting a good weather today. Such is good to have. It was different at this date 10 years ago. Then we were in a cold and rainy Porto Alegre in southern Brazil. In this era of Covid19, it feels almost unreal that we were there. 09.45 Farewell Falun! Now our little odyssey will continue. Today we will also say goodbye to Dalarna. However, it will be in a few hours. One city remains. 10.00 On the way out of Falun we once again saw the ski jumping hills at Lugnets Ski Stadium. Unfortunately, our time here was not enough to go there and look at them as we did in Holmenkollen, Oslo two years ago. 10.20 Christer swung off the E16 at Kupolen in Borlänge. Now we're heading for road 50. There is a steady decrease in the numbers on the roads. In northern Sweden, road numbers were up over 90. How low will we go before it's done?
It is time to leave Falun.
Some stone otters welcomed us to Ludvika.
The american painter Shai Dahan´s beautiful creation.
Peter is drinking coffee at BK - Bergslagskonditoriet.
Interesting book.
The Dan Andersson museum in Ludvika.
10.52 Sunday began with a driving mistake. A slightly poor signposted roundabout made us see more of Ludvika than we had planned. Just stop the car and go back.
11.04 We eventually managed to find the Travel Centre in Ludvika. Here we have found such a place where you can park the car for a while. 11.11 We began our stay in the deserted Ludvika by looking at two works of art at Garvarns Torg. There were some stone otters and a beautiful mural depicting running horses. Ludvika is the third largest city in Dalarna and has 15,753 inhabitants. 11.20 Espresso House was closed. Don't they drink coffee on Sundays in Ludvika? BK-Bergslagskonditoriet, on the other hand, was open and offered us coffee and yesterday's sandwich for 40 SEK, US$4,60. We like that in many ways. Think that one and the same sandwich will be cheaper just because it's been a day. We have sat down on the outdoor terrace to consume our purchases. Except for the two of us, all the other guests are gray-haired. This applies to the older gentlemen who talk about trot horses and it applies to a gray bird that sat down to observe us and our sandwiches. 11.57 A slow walk through Ludvika has taken us back to the car. There is honestly not much to see in this city, in any case not on a Sunday. The only thing of interest was a closed museum dedicated to the poet Dan Andersson who came from Grangärde parish a bit north of Ludvika. Nearby an alarm sounds. I wonder why? 12.10 On our further journey along Route 50 we have passed signs pointing towards the resorts of Snöås, Snow Hill and Blåberget. Blue Mountain. Sometimes I can't help but wonder how villages and places got their names. 12.27 We have experienced a rain shower and passed Grängesberg where Christer was on a strange employment interview in the spring of 1998. What would have happened if he started working there? We have just left Dalarna and driven into a new county, Örebro County, a new province, Västmanland, and a new municipality, Ljusnarsberg. It is unfortunately one of the municipalities that often end up among the last in all possible municipality statistics. The main town in the municipality of Ljusnarsberg is called Kopparberg. At least they make good cider. 12.45 The part of road 50 that we drive on now is called Bergslagsdiagonalen. The weather is mixed and varied. Sometimes it's sun and sometimes rain showers. That is how we have actually had it ever since we left northern Sweden behind us.
The library man is a sculpture outside the library in Lindesberg.
Art on a wall in Lindesberg.
Kungsgatan, Lindesberg.
Christer is taking a photo of a shirt from Lindlöven icehockey team.
Lindesbergs courthouse.
A view of Stora Lindesjön.
13.19 We are in the parking lot at ICA Supermarket in Lindesberg. We once again need a parking disc to stand here for free. Where do we get one?
13.29 There is no problem. Fortunately, no disc is needed on Sundays. It is free parking. Now we have a bench break along the popular pedestrian street Kungsgatan. Lindesberg is a relatively large urban area with 9,756 inhabitants. 13.41 It was just a short part of Kungsgatan that was a pedestrian street. Let's have a new bench break. This time it's next to the church. How many bench breaks have it not become over the years? Some may think that we are extremely lazy and constantly need rest. No, it's not that bad. Rather, it's about sitting down and observing everything that happens around us. It will be a moment when you experience the surroundings, see small details and can think and reflect. 14.05 We went back and walked along Stora Lindesjön. Down by the lake we saw Lindesjön's weather station. It was a stone in a chain and a sign with text. Some posts were; if the stone is dry-sunny, if the stone is wet - rain, yellow - pollen, white - snow, and gone - storm. Now that we are below the ICA supermarket, we will go there for purchases. 14.38 We went into the ICA and just as quickly out again. Our small backpacks were not welcome. This problem has happened to us on several occasions abroad but is something new in Sweden. When they were left in the car, it went well to shop. We've bought something for now, something on arrival and something for tonight. My evening selection, a bar of chocolate was not a good idea. Its hot today and it might start to melt. As soon as we have eaten our GB Daimglass, we will continue the journey. 15.07 There was just a road change to the 244. There have been many different routes this year and it is far from done. 15.23 In the parking lot Skojarbacken you can stand for 7 days. We won't stand that long. Opposite us is Nora railway station and Veteran Railway. We are in the small wooden town of Nora for an afternoon visit here. There are 6,720 inhabitants in tiny Nora. 15.38 There are splashes from the fountain behind me. We're at Nora Square by the church. Here are some market stalls where you can buy cherries, strawberries and fresh market candy. However, we have not seen the three little old women from the Swedish nursery rhyme. They were supposed to come here to ride a carousel and eat caramel. The song is originally a poem written by Anna Maria Roos in 1909.
Lindesberg church.
We are walking along Rådstugugatan on our way to the center of Nora.
Nora square.
Nora is a beautiful town.
A boat on Norasjön (Lake Nora).
Murder walks based on the crime novels of the local author Maria Lang.
16.13 Nora has a really charming centre with older houses and signs. It is one of Sweden's best preserved wooden towns and is part of the network Three wooden towns, together with Hjo and Eksjö. Now we are down by Norasjön (Lake Nora) and will shortly get ready to have dinner.
16.27 It will be dinner at Pizzeria 47:an (http://www.47an.net). It's good to have dinner done before we go to the accommodation later. On one wall hangs an ice hockey jersey of the team Nora Hockey. They seem to belong in a lower ice hockey league, division 3 Värmland/Västmanland/Örebro. Not exactly like the top league, SHL. 16.48 It was very tasty pizzas. An extremely long queue curled outside the pizzeria. These queuing people did not want pizza. No instead they queued to Noraglass, a kiosk that serves celebrated day fresh ice cream of the highest quality. Nora Square also has posters for murder walks arranged on the basis of Maria Lang's detective stories, which takes place here. Her real name was Dagmar Maria Lange and she lived between 1914 and 1991. It is her nephew who arranges these events. 17.04 It's time for today's last trip. Let's see how we get to where we're going. Do we do what we are used to do and rely on road signs and common sense or do we blindly trust Google Maps? Perhaps the best way is to use both methods. 17.26 The road we go on runs through a rural area. It is lakes, forests, fields and farms. Sure, cities can be beautiful but I still prefer rural areas and wild nature. The beautiful road here is called The road of three lakes and is closed to trucks and other larger vehicles. 18.22 We are at Perssons Magasin (http://www.perssonsmagasin.se) in the village of Västra Löa. Here we are booked in the Vita Stugan. It's a house of its own, nothing to complain about. Perssons Magasin is an interesting place that besides Bed & Breakfast has a farm shop, a gallery, flea market and some other things. Our hosts are Carl-Eric and Eva. 19.04 It is a splendid room with a bed each that we have here in Vita Stugan (White cottage). For visits to the toilet and/or shower, we get out to get down to the ground floor, lower floor. Now it's time to go out to relax with reading in the evening sun.
Peter is having today´s dinner at Pizzeria 47:an in Nora.
Perssons Magasin in Västra Löa.
We are staying in Vita stugan (White cottage) one night.
A coffee outside our temporary home.
Evening in the village.
20.07 The heat disappeared and with it the desire and energy to remain on the patio to read further in the books. We'll have to find something to do indoors instead for a while.
21.21 It's time to go out for a walk. We will see how far this evening walk stretches. It is not crowded with sights but it is nice to go out for a walk before crawling into the beds. 22.09 It is a quiet walk with downward sun and roaring noise from the big power line that runs through the village. Wondering where this giant power line begins? What if we've seen it before further north? At the accommodation we have seen a parking space for dogs. There was a bowl and something to attach the leash to. 23.25 Now it will be nice to end this week with sleeping really well. Tomorrow morning we start a new week with a breakfast inside the main building here at Perssons Magasin. It has been a rich day today and tomorrow it will probably happen even more
You can see 75 photos from July 10 in this photoalbum.
You can see 73 photos from July 11 in this photoalbum.
You can see 91 photos from July 12 in this photoalbum.