A Summer Holiday in the Mountains

Don't be misled by the word 'summer' in the title... It describes this time of year, but definitely not the warm sunny weather associated with it! We are talking mysterious mists, rain, drizzle, down pours, and all other types of precipitation in combination with unseasonal chillyness.

So what to do in the mountains on an especially rainy day? Visit all the loppis! Loppis is the Swedish word for bootfair, antiques market type of places and there are an abundant multitude ranging from the enormous church halls staffed with charmingly dotty old ladies and filled with the unwanted treasures of the recently departed.( I hate to be morbid about these things but that stuff in there is the crap that their  loved ones left behind after the will was read and the treasured possessions were taken. It is the same stuff repeated over and over, doilies, ugly china statues, dubious wooden home made 'craft' items, unfinished embroidery...) to the 'garage of wonders' type of loppis. These cute little out buildings in the middle of nowhere, filled with a mix of antiques and rubbish stuff are where real bargains and surprises can be found. Finally there is the scary 'don't go in there alone' kind of loppis...

Often in a barn with no electrical light and limited natural light. On a dark rainy day you quite literally feel your way across the dusty 'treasures' until the futility of it robs you of the will to live and you stumble blindly towards the precarious and unevenly spaced rickety stairs in the direction of freedom.

Yesterday is was not raining so much so we took a walk through the forest to the beach. It was so beautiful in the forest but one could not stop to absorb the majesty of nature lest the blood thirsty horde of mosquitoes find you. They did find us ... and no amount of protective clothing and mosquitoe repellent can stop them 100%. I have about 20 bites on my face and ears and am so far away from glamorous right now. I'm pleased there are no mirrors in the forest. I don't really care though, the bites will faded the memories will remain ...

And tomorrow we travel to Trondheim in Norway...