Daines Family Takes Scandinavia: Klockestrand, Sweden

When the cruise was over we all made the journey to Klockestrand, Sweden; a little town in Northern Sweden.  We flew to the nearest airport and then rented a car and drove several hours to get there.  Klockestrand is the town my grandpa Fritz Lundgren was born and raised in.  At the age of 19 he immigrated to the United States only knowing two words of English and never knowing if he would see his family again.  By no small miracle, my sister Michelle was able to connect with our relatives in Sweden on Facebook.  They were all excited to meet us and they all traveled to Klockestrand to meet us and to show us around.  There are 19 of them that met us there, some of them driving 8 hours one way!  Thankfully they all spoke English so we were able to communicate easily with them.   The time and effort they put into getting there and the research they did to show us places that were of importance to our grandpa was remarkable.  They were so warm and kind.  There was an instant love and connection with our newly found Swedish family!  

We were all happy to get off the plane and be back in Sweden! 

My mom...isn't she adorable!

Driving through the countryside was so beautiful!  We stopped at a gas station and bought ourselves some hard tack, salami, and lingonberry jam.  Yummy, it was so so good!  I honestly couldn't get over the beauty of the area, and especially in Klockestand.  There were rolling wooded hills, open pastures, of lakes every where.  

(Thanks to my brother Rob all of us now have our very own signs that look just like this Klockestrand sign!  We all have them hanging in our homes. Like I've said before, that brother of mine sure is the kindest of the kind.)

The first place our cousins took us was the church where my Great Grandparents are buried.  

My mom and her cousin Sylvia. We all looked at Sylvia and saw my grandfathers eyes.  

 

My cousin Jorgen had picked up flowers for both my mom and his mom to place at the grave.  So incredibly thoughtful!  He said he tried to find a flower with an American flag but couldn't, so two Swedish would have to do. 

Paul and our cousin Jens

At the grave with our new cousins: Robert Hedstrom and his twin sister, Jens Lundgren, and Jorgen Hedstrom and his daughter Linda.

Oscar and Emma Lundgren

My brothers...even at a grave site they cannot take a picture without standing on their tippy toes to gain a height advantage over others!

From the church they took us to where my Grandpa's house would have stood.  While the house itself is no longer standing we could still get a good idea and feel for the area.  The house next door was built by my grandfather's brother, and there was a barn and a well that would have been there in my grandpa's childhood.  

Where these trailers are is where the house would have been.

This was the house built by Fritz's brother.

The original well.

There was a neat feeling just being there.  I felt a closeness to my grandpa and it was so fun to relive memories and stories of him as we went from place to place.   Even though he was as American as could be and had such love for this country, this place was a part of him as well. 

The original barn.  

Chris found a very old tool behind the barn and paid the current home owner a dollar for it.   Bret found me a really neat old piece of wood that I brought home with me.

We drove down the street and around the corner a little ways to the school where my grandpa attended until 6th grade.  I remember him telling us that in the winter he would walk to school with a hot potato in his pocket.  The potato would help keep his hands warm and then he would eat it for lunch.  After 6th grade school was no longer free and his parents could not afford to send him to more schooling.  Only the very wealthy and the aristocracy could afford to continue with their education. He loved school and had wanted to become a doctor.   

Next we went to the spot where my grandpa learned how to swim.

Listening to Jorgen tell stories.

My grandpa learned how to swim off this dock.  He parents would tie a rope around his waist and then throw him.  

We got back to our hotel late and gathered for dinner.

We presented our family with a few trinkets from the States.

This was the view out our hotel window.  

Our family got up very early the next morning to go back to Oscar and Emma's grave and dedicate the gravesite.  It was so neat.

It was still a chilly day, but the sun was out, the sky was blue and it was a beautiful day.

We went back to the hotel and ate breakfast with our cousins.  The hotel had an amazing breakfast buffet.  But my favorite was the Swedish pancakes Bret ordered special for me.  Although they weren't called Swedish pancakes, just pancakes! They tasked just like the ones my grandma used to make!  Pretty soon all my siblings were ordering pancakes too.  

We had brought copies of The Book of Mormon in Swedish with us and had each written our testimonies in them.  My mom stood up after breakfast and thanked them for their love and kindness. She then said that we had one more gift to share with them.  She told them how much my grandpa had loved this book and how each of us in turn loved this book.  I'm sure my grandpa, who was one of the greatest member missionaries, was smiling down on us as we gave his family Books of Mormon.  

Jorgen's daughter Linda even started reading a little of it right then.

Chris and Aunt Sylvia 

We gathered for one more group picture and said our goodbyes with hopes of future family reunions!

Instead of flying back to Stockholm we all opted to drive so we could see more of the beautiful countryside.  

It was only about 24 hours, but the time we spent in Klockestrand was some of the most remarkable time and experiences of my life.  It was so special to meet our family, to see and experience things of my grandfather, and to share it all with the people I love so very much!  It was truly a once in a lifetime experience and I will forever be grateful to the love and connection I have of our day in Klockestrand.