Denmark to the UK…

So… after that last post, this one will be slightly less… emotional… maybe.  So we woke to a beautiful morning in Denmark, in a little channel between Sweden and Denmark on the Baltic.  We had to get our feet wet… nearly stayed to do some sun bathing… but… we being the traveling Sorter crew… had some miles to get on to.

Traveling from Sweden, some nice folks at the Siljan Lake campsite gave us the hot tip to take a ferry from Sweden to Denmark… cross Denmark's main island north to south… and take another short hop ferry ride from Denmark to Germany.  After 10 days in the RV with the family… we could use a little of this (but have none)!

All told this saved us a few hundred miles and cost a bit less than the bridges would have cost so… heck ya.  Here's the ferry from Denmark to Germany… even a train got on it!  Surprised us all when she rolled on behind us!

Here's the train pulling onto the ferry… quel surprise!

We got off on a small peninsula in Germany, Puttgarden and proceeded to drive out to just south west of Bremen, Germany (trying to get a bit closer to Calais where we were to cross the English Channel or La Manche as the French call it).  Heather found us a cool campsite out in the country southwest of Bremen… but getting out there, the GPS took us on a bit of a Texas Chainsaw Massacre route… through cornfields, down dirt roads… and finally out into this nice campsite… which was closed.  Fortunately, a nice man rang the bell for the attendant who reluctantly let us in (spoke 0 English).  Very quiet… clean, spartan accommodations.  We woke up this morning, had a nice breakfast and showers… and off to the races again.  We crossed the rest of Germany (stopping at a nice bakery for some Barliners)… a bit of the Netherlands and Belgium (got some grocery shopping in… had to get the good Belgian beers with no tax!) to Calais, France, where we caught the "Shuttle" or the Chunnel, which is literally a tunnel on the floor of the English Channel that takes you across from France to
Folkestone, England.

Here's a shot of getting on the train… tried to post a video… but get an error every time.

We arrived at a sweet spot that Heather found in Cantebury, England, not far from where the train let us off.  Of course driving on the left side of the road is a bit strange and scary… but we're doing it!

Here is our spot in Cantebury…

Well… that's about it for now.  Getting some sleep tonight… no early morning tomorrow!  Headed north this week…  look out Scotland!

Wow... Famous in Sweden?

Sorry it's been a couple of days, but our internet was a bit dicey last night.  So... where to start... I guess where we left off... the Sorter family was high on a cliff... clinging on for dear life... Lassie.. Lassie.. go get help!  Er.. ummm... wrong entry maybe.  Oh yeah... we were in Stockholm, Sweden.  What a cool little campsite tucked in a cove on an inlet in Stockholm.  This place reminded us all of Vashon... and the whole region of the Puget Sound... So much water everywhere!

 Here is the body of water that was just a quick hop from our RV.  We took a nice walk along the water on one of the many awesome walking trails.  I'd say Europe has the outside scene dialed!

Here we are at sunset on the water.  Maybe a little profiley... but maybe make a cool album cover for our newest LP.

Okay... so we woke up on Wednesday, excited to finally make our way north to the homeplace of many of Heather's family (Grandma Gean's mother's family specifically)... the city of Leksand in the Dalarna region of Sweden.  We drove Northwest from Stockholm for about 3.5 hours through some of the most stunning areas of Sweden that we had been through... as we traveled... the road became smaller and smaller... more and more remote fields of wheat giving away to forest.  As we drew closer, I could see in Heather's eyes that she was living the emigration of her elders... wondering why they had left this place... feeling their homesickness as they longed for the lakes of Dalarma.  Lakes, big and small, surrounded us.  It seemed that we passed one every couple of miles... and the weather was beautiful in between short squalls.  As we came within 30 minutes of our destination, we hit a road block... not to be deterred, we mapped an alternate route that took us the wrong direction for about 40 minutes, but landed us on a road that would ultimately deliver us to Leksand.  Talk about a very fortunate detour... I'll explain why.  When we finally entered the small burb of Leksand, Sweden we headed straight downtown... our trusty GPS had a museum finder in it... so we set it on the only museum that we could locate in Leksand, hoping that it would get us close to the place we had seen in pictures... the museum that Heather's great, great, great grandfather had founded.  Sure enough... as we approached a beautiful local park in the heart of Leksand, we recognized one of the small houses that we had seen on the museum website and from the old family pictures that Beverlee had shared with us for our trip.

This is the first of Jones Mats Perssons collection

Very excited, we parked the van, and made our way out to the structures.  Soon we were surrounded by the very collection that Jones Mats Persson had started in 1899.  We read his name on the plaques... saw that he was credited with starting the collection (which had been added onto over the past 115 years).... wondered if anyone would be around to speak with about this Jones.  However, the museum and all tours were closed as of 8/4.  Coincidentally, we saw a group leaving one of the ancient structures.  Heather approached, clutching the family images that Beverlee had given us.  As Heather explained to the leader of the tour who she was, and he began looking through the pictures... I could see his eyes light up... and his recognition set in.  He had just been contacted the day before to give a special tour to a small group... which he reluctantly agreed to complete.  Had we been earlier... we would have missed him.  Long story short... he invited us to join the tour... he went and got keys... opened up the first of the Jones Mats Persson collection (a home constructed in the 1700s) and there was a pencil drawn portrait of the man himself... clearly drawn from the photo that Heather had brought with us... anyway... I could go on and on and on... this was a very emotional time and our guide (Peter) told us all of the history that he knew of Mats Persson and even took the time to show us where he was buried.

Oldest of the original Mats Persson collection, circa 1606.

Another of the original four Mats Persson collection.  Circa 1740s... used as a home and school house

Last of the original Mats Persson collection.  Communal Mill House (~1720s).  One of three known remaining in Sweden

Sorter family at the Jones Mats Persson house.

Inside the first of the Jones Mats Persson homes (circa 1700s) with collection

Heather inside the first of the collection with the portrait she had brought which matched the pencil portrait inside the house.

Plaque commemorating the life and work of Jones Mats Persson... great grandfather of Grandma Gean.

In short, Mats Persson was a very poor farmer who had taken a seasonal job in Stockholm.  While in Stockholm, he had visited a collection of historic houses.  One must note that these houses are very modular... meaning they can be deconstructed very easily so that they could be inherited (literally houses were equally divided among children both male and female).  After returning to Leksand, Mats Persson took it upon himself to preserve some of the local structures from the Dalarna region, unknowingly starting the earliest collection of structures in the region.  Our guide, slightly embarrassed, stated that early on, the local people thought the Mats Persson was a bit of a lunatic because he collected houses and other artifacts and moved them to his site.  Even forcing Mats Persson to get rid of some of his collection, burning some items.  After a local dignitary took note of his collection, he invited the King of Sweden to view Mats Persson's work during one of his visits to the country.  The King stated that Mats Persson's collection was a valuable national treasure.  This understandably changed the perspective of the local people, and Jones Mats Persson became a local hero.  He, his wife, son and daughter are buried in a very prestigious portion of the cemetery in a very peaceful plot next to his beloved Lake Siljan amongst famous local artists, composers and the very dignitary that invited the King to see his collection.   Needless to say, there was a lot of pride from the Sorter family... what a great story.   Believe it or not... we were contacted by the local Leksand newspaper to do a story on our visit... we sent them some pictures and will hopefully see a story soon (though we won't be able to read it cause it will be in Swedish)!  More stories about our Leksand visit will come when we see you all in person.

Heather and family at the grave of Jones Mats Persson... beautiful and peaceful on Lake Siljan

Here is the church where he is buried.  We camped across the lake and this was our view that evening.

The family baptized in the waters of Lake Siljan... see the church?

 After spending the next morning re-visiting the museum of Mats Persson and taking some more pictures of his original collection, we made our way south... and took a ferry from Sweden into Denmark.

On the Helsingborg-Helsingor ferry

 We landed in a beautiful little Danish city of Helsingor and found a campsite right on the water... kind of a theme of ours... as you've probably deduced.  We had some "french style" hot dogs... are working on getting the laundry done (sure could use some drawers!) then in to bed. 

Looking across the water at Sweden from our campsite... not too shabby.

Well... hopefully this entry wasn't too wandering... I had a lot to say... but a bit tired.  Hopefully you'll all understand what a interesting, powerful and emotional time the last few days have been.

Denmark and Sweden Situation

Well... we survived the hurricane... woke up to a wet yet beautiful morning in Denmark.  Our neighbors (Bent and Mona) from across the way had Heather and I in for coffee... super nice Danish couple currently living in Norway.  Apparently the pay in Norway is crazy high!  Maybe I'll move there.. not.  Anyway, after chilling a bit in South Zealand we made our way across Odense and towards Copenhagen and ultimately Sweden.  On our way across the central part of Denmark, we happened to see a sign for the Trelleborg Viking Site.  This is a site similar to Stonehenge which has been occupied for thousands of years.  Complete with an inner and outer protection ring.  The Vikings inhabited the site with about 30 longhouses and a contingent of approximately 500 warriors, women and children around 980 AD.  They were likely the personal guard of King Harold Bluetooth who was in the midst of a war with his son who had rallied a bunch of local Chieftains against his father.  Apparently Mr. Bluetooth was bringing Christianity to a bunch of Danish pagans.. some who didn't appreciate it.  Anyway... here are some pics... very cool site...

 

Heather and I at a recreated longhouse on the site.  

Here is a picture inside the inner protection ring... complete with Viking longhouse foundations and sheep.

And... a sheep's butt... courtesy of Heather.

Here is another angle on the site with the inner ring visible in the mid distance.

Here's Harmo at a recreated little viking hut... very similar to the Karuk houses at Patrick's point.. dug into the ground.

After Trelleborg, we made our way through the Danish countryside... beautiful... until we came to a dicey situation!

Slowly made our way through this baby... technically, our ride is 3,1 m, so we had some to spare... but a little scary.  Lucky thing I've got multiple navigators.

We then continued on our way across Denmark and finally into Copenhagen across some monumental bridges and tunnels (~20 km)... crazy windy.

Here is the bridge that connects Copenhagen, Denmark to Malmo, Sweden.  Very long... very windy.

Coming into Sweden, we were getting a little tired, so we decided to go grocery shopping and find a place to crash.  We found this awesome place which is apparently a kite-surfing mecca.  So pretty with all of the kites.  The Baltic Sea was very shallow for hundreds of meters out.  We walked out on this long pier and then waded a bit.  Sweet end to the day.  Here are some pictures.

Kite surfers on the Baltic Sea.

The fam... taking it in.

Beautiful Swedish sky.

When we woke up this morning, we decided to make our way to Stockholm... crossing beautiful landscape everywhere.

As we were driving... we noted some strange looking mounds at the side of the road... then a sign that pointed to the attraction... it was exactly the same phenomenon that is seen in Olympia, Washington.. MIMA MOUNDS!!!  These are small (very small) hill type ground features, theorized to have been caused as glaciers receded from the area... strange to see them way over here in Sweden, what is so familiar at Grandma Beverlee's house!

The kiddies at Swedish Mima mounds.

So... we did finally make it to Stockholm this afternoon.  We drove through some torrential rain, etc. so we're a bit cooked.  Harmony is trying to hook up with her friend that she spent time in Russia with who lives here.  Hopefully we'll get that together.  Then... off to Leksand, Sweden where Heather has loads of family history to check out in a local museum.

Danish Anyone?

So… as I hinted at in the last post, we left Luxemburg and headed for Bingen, Germany, which, from our research was the beginning of the road through the middle Rhein.  On our way, we saw some beautiful country in Eastern Luxemburg/Western Germany…

Here is a little taste of Luxemburg… Though the weather looks cloudy… it has been hot and humid for all of our travels with some torrential rain at night… thunder and lightning in Luxemburg that sounded like it was hitting very near us.  Coming into Germany, we were greeted by what always gets a geek like me excited… tons of wind turbines and solar arrays!

Making it to the Rhein River Valley, we found what we were looking for… loads of castles from different eras.. dating back 1000 years and more.  I lost count of how many castles we went by… seemed like they were around every bend in the river.  This area was an important trade route along the river, so all the biggies had to have their pad!

We of course had to stop in the Medieval town of Bacharach.  This town dated back to 900 A.D.  Amazing… we wandered around and up into a church that had apparently been bombed out in the last World War… sad… but what a piece of living history.

Here are the kids standing at the original gates of the walled city of Bacharach (Real Wheels anyone?).  As Heather was cruising around, she found a birthday present to herself that she couldn't live without… I wonder why?

Recognize this little guy?  If not… he's a Nutcracker and will be center stage this winter for Heather's performance.  The real deal.

We followed the Rhein River from Bingen all the way to Koln (Cologne), Germany, where we found a nice… but Wifi-less campground right downtown.  We took a nice walk on the shores of the Rhein.  I swear those German folks are fit… tons walking, biking, running along with us.

Here's me looking for a special rock for brother Ronnie's studio window.  Pretty sweet spot in the middle of a large city I must say (Cologne, Germany).

From Cologne, we decided to make a fairly long driving day of it so that we could get as far north as possible.  We couldn't help but chuckle every time we saw these exit signs on the highway… I wonder why?

We made it quite a ways… from Koln all the way through Hamburg and up through the small channel of Germany into Denmark.  We found a great little spot right on the Baltic Sea to rest up, and have a quiet evening.  Our neighbor here at the park spoke English very well and we exchanged some conversation, and he (indicating that he likes rock and roll) of course got a Lord Ellis CD.  Anyway, he told us about a hurricane that they had last year where his tent from his camper was the only survivor and apparently there is some more weather on the way.  We looked online and couldn't find any warnings, so maybe he's just razzing the Americans.  Cool dude though.

Here's me smiling on the Baltic Sea.  Again… looks cloudy and crap… but very warm and humid.  Actually… now that I say it… we're having some rain.  Hopefully we don't get blown away tonight!  (Just a joke mom… )

Here's Heather enjoying some of the amenities at our Danish camp site… very color coordinated with the pillowy trampoline thing!

Okay… that's about it for now… hopefully we'll be getting nearer to Sweden tomorrow.  Maybe take in a Viking Museum in Denmark on our way!

Luxemburg Camping

After leaving Nantes, we decided to head to Koblenz, Germany... home of many medieval castles.  As we let the trusty GPS plot our way from Nantes to Koblenz, we noticed that we'd go right past chez Uncle Ron and family, so we decided to crash their place another night and get a great dinner last night (Thursday).  This morning we got up and had a nice breakfast with the France Sorters and then headed east.  Great weather all day... very warm and humid.  Feels kind of sticky like Mexico.  We made it as far as Luxembourg where we found a great little camping spot, very mellow... and we were ready for some chill out time and needed to do some laundry.  Off to Koblenz tomorrow, this really should be something, 39 castles in 50 km or something... a world heritage site.  Should make for some great pictures. 

You know you're in France when you have a 24 hour fresh baguette machine.  This one was at our campsite in Nantes.

Cool park right behind our camping area in Luxemburg

Heather digging the Luxemburg scene.

The Eagle has landed!

Well... we made it to France on Tuesday and had a great, yet short visit with the Paris Sorters.  Wednesday morning, we took the train into the Montparnasse train station in Paris, and hopped on the TGV to Nantes (near the west coast of France).  About two hours later, after traveling 180 mph, we arrived.  Warm and humid... some rain.  We went through the tour of our awesome RV, then found a small (somewhat Grocery Outlet) type store where we purchased our first supplies (including stinky cheese which seems to be permeating everything, then off to the river side campground here in Nantes.  Needless to say, we were wiped, so just watched some movies, then sacked out.  Now... Thursday morning, we're all rested, showered and fed and I believe headed east towards the Rhein river valley.  Not sure how far we'll make it today.  We're on the hunt for another (better) grocery store to get some more needed supplies after our first night.  Heather's got the boiled eggs going for egg salad, I'll get this post up, then we're off.   Here are some pictures of the RV... the internet is slow here, so I'll post more later.

Heather and Hadden in the van.

There she is... the Millenium Falcon... aka.. Sunlight A58