Pallarpfest 2011

After leaving Örebro we traveled south to the town of Eksjö, in Småland.  Sweden is divided up into cultural regions so to speak, and Småland is where our family is from.  It is also the home of Astrid Lindgren (creator of Pippi Longstocking) and Ingvar Kamprad (creator of IKEA).  Eksjö is a beautifully preserved wooden town with buildings dating back to the early 1700s.  We stayed at a hostel located in the middle of the town, a textile production building from the 1800s.

 

This was the nicest hostel I've ever stayed at, we even had a lovely canal right outside our window.  Our family had essentially taken over the hostel, and the kitchen area was large enough to fit all of us.

 The town itself is small and charming, with a nice main street filled with shops and restaurants.  We took many strolls in those few days, and Mattias took these shots during a 6AM stroll with Magnus.

            The following day Magnus was kind enough to drive my mom and Alvin to the Glasriket, or glassblowing region.  Swedish hand blown glass and crystal is famous for its artistry and quality, and Småland is the home Sweden's glass industry.  Here's a typical open country road.

 

They chose Kosta Boda, since it's one of the largest producers, happens to be our favorite, and there's a seconds outlet associated with the factory.  No rails keeping you far away from the kiln here, just you and the artists.

 
I wasn't there but I think they were making vases that day.  Check out the little girl trying her hand at molding molten glass.  This would never happen in the states, too much liability.

 After wards they went to the museum and shop.

 That night we had all members of the Karlsson family together for the first time since summer 2008.  It was so nice to hang out, make fun of each other, and drink.  We didn't stay up too late though, we had to rest up for our big family reunion that was happening the next day.

 For all the rain we got in the week prior, this one perfect Swedish summer day made it all worthwhile.  The day of the party was gorgeous, putting all of us in the mood to celebrate.

 

Pallarp is the name of the location of our reunion, and how it got its name I don't know.  Here's what I do know:  The main house used to be a rest building located near the railroad tracks (where Sune worked his entire adult life).  When this building was being torn down, Sune and a group of friends saved the disassembled parts and re-erected it next to this small lake in Småland.  The building and surrounding area are owned and maintained by Sune and the original group, an association of sorts.

We were greeted by this beautiful family tree, crafted by Kerstin.

We all took a few moments to soak in the sights, it was really breathtaking.

 It didn't take very long for us to hit the water. 

I was in charge of crafts, so I brought a tie-dye kit and some face paints for the kids.

Magnus had plenty of people to play with.  Here he is with his second cousin, Oskar.

There were many ways for the kids to burn energy, even a trampoline.

 









After all that play, it was time for us to gather around the table for fika.  Here's the definition from Wikipedia:
"Fika is a social institution in Sweden; it means having a break, most often a coffeebreak, with one's colleagues, friends, date, or family. The word has quite ambiguous connotations and can mean anything from taking a break from work or other activities, to going on a date - always including something to eat accompanied by a drink, such as cookies, cakes and even candy. This practice of taking a break, typically with a cinnamon roll or some biscuits or cookies, or sometimes a smörgås or a fruit on the side, is central to Swedish life, and is regularly enjoyed even by the government."

 

Kajsa had a few wonderful words for our guest of honor, Sune, and thanked everyone who traveled from near and far.

 

Then we all gathered for a family picture.

Before dinner we had a nice game of Tug-o-War, followed by more relaxation by the lake.

It wasn't very long before we were called to the table for a fabulous potluck dinner.

Magnus captured this amazing picture at sunset.  No Photoshop here, this is as peaceful as it gets.

Once the sun set and the kids were in bed we got straight to business.  Party!  There weren't many pictures taken of the partying that went late into the night, we were too busy having fun.  Let's just say there was a whole lot of acoustic karaoke, cheap American whisky, and most importantly, laughter.

 

The majority of us went to bed at 3AM, mostly camping out around different parts of the house.  Poor Mattias was up at 6:30 with Linus.

Pallarpfest was epic, to say the least, and definitely a day that I will remember.  It's so rare to be with your entire family, and even more rare when you are a mix of 2 very different (and geographically distant) cultures.  While getting there and traveling with the kids was a lot of work, the experience was more than worth it.