Day 8: Dalarna, Sweden

We spent the night at an old farmstead. Our old farmhouse is attached to the woodshed. It has 4 beds, a fireplace, a bread oven (?), a radiator, and electricity. Our friends are staying in a larger farmhouse a few steps away. Neither has running water. There is a working well. We are sharing an old outhouse. The former cowshed is full of neat, old farm tools and tractors.

After a delicious breakfast of homemade granola, vegan yogurt, and lingonberry jam we walked next door to where our friend’s parents live. They bought the property when it came up for sale, since it was conveniently located next door to the farmstead where we are staying. They have owned the farmstead for many years after inheriting it from another family member. Our friend’s parents live in a house from the late 1800s. There is a second house on the property which was built in the 1700s. 

We had lunch and set off to explore the local milkmaid village. In years past (since at least the 1600s) girls ages 9+ spent the summers in the milkmaid village tending their family’s cows and making the upcoming years cheese and butter. Many of the milkmaid houses have names and years etched into the wood. The local families still maintain the milkmaid sheds, even though they don’t use them for cheese and butter making anymore.

We hiked around. It was beautiful. The forest undergrowth was straight out of an Elsa Beskow book. On the drive back to the farmstead we saw a fox. Apparently, this region was struck by a very large meteor eons ago, which shaped the landscape.

The kids played outside and helped get water from the well. We had a traditional dinner with Martin’s parents of (vegan) sausages/hot dogs and mashed potatoes. John heads home in the morning. We are all so bummed, but grateful we had time to vacation with him!