"This is Sweden, where you belong." Day 2

After a good night of sleep, I wandered over to the main house for breakfast with Anders. He pulled out basically everything to figure out what I wanted: bread and butter, yogurt, granola, liver paste (?!), rhubarb, cheese...I definitely felt taken care of. It was then time to head out on the lake and check the nets for fish. Anders gave me a coat and hat to look like a real fisherman. The water was so still that it was a shame to turn on the motor and create a wake. He started pulling up the nets and there were two fish! I wasn't a big fan of anything to do with the fish really, but I helped untangle the nets while Anders untangled the fish. We weighed the fish and they were 3 and 4 pounds!

Me with the 4 pound fish!

I had mentioned that I was excited to try Swedish meatballs, so Anders let me help make them after he dealt with the fish. As an aside, in my US world, there are three types of meat: chicken, beef and pork. In Sweden, it is very different and these were road deer (?) meatballs...I didn't ask too many questions. My meatballs didn't turn out so great and were a little more like meatlumps.

We then headed into town and our first stop was the Nolhaga Slott, or castle/manor. I read in my Sweden guidebook that it has a zoo and bird park inside but it was closed so we just saw the outside. Count it: Castle #1!

We headed into downtown Alingsas and Anders took me to the most amazing store. It was really crafty with lots of home supplies, baking supplies, food, fabrics, presents, etc. I could spend hours looking inside. This picture shows one of the ~8 rooms of stuff--it was bigger than one would expect from the outside. It definitely matched the cute cobblestone feel of the town.

We stopped across the street for a treat from the bakery. Swedish bread is so tasty! Anders was definitely spoiling me, buying me a trinket at the shop and treats along the way. I think he liked having a 'daughter' in the house and someone to show around town. We continued to walk the streets of Alingsas and I saw the main square of the town. It is very quaint and picturesque.

 

We left Alingsas and stopped at Naas to see the Naas Slott. Count it: Castle #2! It was also closed, but it was beautiful from the outside. I read that there are great Midsummer celebrations here.

  

Right next door to the castle was a stable and we were able to walk right inside and see all the horses. Several girls were there to take the horses riding. 

Finally, it was time to head into Gothenburg to meet another relative, Julia. We were meeting her at the Opera House, (first picture below). The harbor was right next to the Opera House, so we could see the 'Viking' ship and the 'Lipstick' building, (the red and white building below). Anders knew a lot of history about the ships because he worked on ships his whole life so he had a lot of information to offer. We met Julia and she started our tour of Gothenburg by walking us where my relatives would have walked just before they left Sweden for the United States.

 

The city was absolutely gorgeous. Julia knew a lot of the city's history, so she was a great guide. My favorite story was that there was a man who first discovered the town, and later, the King Gustav II Adolf pointed and declared "The town shall be here," despite it already being founded, but he still got all the credit. (His statue is pictured below.)

After the wonderful tour of Gothenburg, Anders, Julia and I drove to Paxbo where Julia grew up to visit with her mother, Lina. While waiting for Lina to get home, we went for a hike in the woods near her house. It was so quiet and beautiful. When Lina got home, she prepared a great dinner for us, and I greatly enjoyed getting to know my relatives. We laughed and enjoyed each other's company and made plans for another reunion later this summer.

To wrap up the day's outings, we went to Gunnebo Slott. Count it: Castle #3!! It was commissioned in the 1780s by John Hall, one of the richest men in Sweden at the time, to be a summer villa. He paid for the whole place with 38 barrels of gold. Needless to say, it was gorgeous.

We dropped off Julia, and I couldn't help but snag a few photos of Gothenburg as we left. The last photo is of the sunset as we got back to Alingsas. (Keep in mind this was around 10:00!) I easily fell asleep after the 12 hours of activities and took a train back to Skovde in the morning. These were a great two days of fishing, eating, touring, and getting to know my relatives. They were so hospitable and I definitely hope to see them again this summer.