Sweden Trip Part 2

Trollehom Castle

On Tuesday, we toured Trolleholm Castle. This was one of my favorite parts of my trip. The castle was so majestic and beautiful. The castle is not open to the public but my parent happened to be friends with the lady that was in charge of the castle so she gave us a private tour. She took us from room to room telling us the history and the unique uses of the rooms.

The stables were also beautiful.

The wallpaper in this room is gilded leather painted with gold. If you look closely, you can see the seams. Each square equaled one pig!

There were portraits all over the castle who portrayed those who lived there. The history of the people was fascinating and haunting.

I love this round library. This room also had the gilded leather.

I thought this door was cute with the little girl peeking through.

This is the top of the spiral staircase. It was suppose to imitate the ocean.

This was my favorite room!

It reminded me of the Beauty and the Beast library.

The beautiful wood ceiling

The stairway

We went through the door at the top. It was the top floor of the castle and creepy. I was just waiting for a candlestick to appear floating down the hallway like the Disneyland ride Haunted Mansion.

There were also antiqued traveling luggage and trinkets everywhere. I liked this one because when you opened the middle, it was a puppet theater to entertain them while they traveled.

Clever bookcase

Mom and Dad with Brit Marie

It was such a fun tour. After the tour, Brit Marie gave us a fully-illustrated book all about the castle that included all the recipes they serve to the dignitaries that stay there. She said that the King and Queen of Sweden visit Trolleholm a few times a year. I loved every minute of it and am excited to try the recipes!

Skönabäck

Skönabäck is where the first branch of the church was held in Sweden. My great, great grandfather Martin Lundwall served and helped the branch grow here.

The lake they baptized new members

Both the lake and stream were frozen solid so mom thought it would be fun to just test the ice. Well she lost her balance and had to hang on to this very small tree so she didn't fall in. The tree started to bend and I was sure she was going to fall in but she found her footing and pulled herself up. It was so funny and the last time mom tested the frozen ice . . .

Ystad

We ended the day walking the streets of Ystad. The town is located right next to the Baltic Sea. We happened to hit it at sunset which gave us beautiful views of the ocean. This is the town where my dad's family is from. It was cool to visit the places where I have family roots first in Skonaback and then Ystad.

We peeked into an unique restaurant called Stora Thor

and we shopped the streets of Ystad. I love all the old buildings.

After Ystad, Dad took us out to a restaurant named The Steket. It was an atmosphere similar to Stora Thor. We first ordered an appetizer of pickled herring. Mom and Dad thought I should try true pickled herring from Sweden. I was leery to try it especially when I saw it but surprisingly I loved it! Mom and I decided to be daring and for our entree we ordered Reindeer! It was actually very tender and rich but delicious. Now I can say I've had Reindeer from Sweden:)

Dio

On Wednesday, we drove up to Dio where my first cousin twice removed lives. Elsa gave us a tour around the town where my mom's side of the family came from. It was such a scenic drive. We drove through fields of green with snow in the background and then it turned to all snow.

I loved the red houses all over Sweden.

The trees were so beautiful covered in snow. Each branch was wrapped in snow which made it feel like a winter wonderland as we drove to her house.

This is the church my Great, Great Grandma went to. We thought it would be a cool picture of the three of us standing by the gate that our common Grandma walked through to go to church.

Virestad Kyrka

The graves of my ancestors

The house my Great, Great Grandmother lived in. Elsa turned it into a family museum. She is 80 years old and has an impeccable memory. She told us stories about each family member that was connected to this property and remembered every name in each picture.

Elsa with the family's 100 year old bible. In the cover, each family member signed and dated when they were the owners of this bible.

She fixed dinner for us and we visited with her the rest of the evening. It was a really neat experience to visit my relative and also to see the places where my family came from.