Julmarknad / Christmas Market

 

One of the events Sheila really wanted to go to was the Julmarknad (Christmas Market) at Jamtli, Östersund's open-air museum.  There are several acres with restored buildings brought from around Jämtland and Härjedalen....in the summers there are living-history re-enactments here.  But the 2nd weekend of Advent is the big market, with 200+ sellers and 22,000 visitors over the course of 3 days.

Lars was still feeling under the weather from his cold, so opted NOT to go wander around for a few hours in -8C / 17F temps, so Sheila was on her own.  It's about a 15-minute walk from the parking garage in the city center, so she was plenty warm to stand in line.  Buying tickets online really sped up the process for the folks in the left-hand line!

Once inside, it was pretty much just wandering up one path and down another.  Sadly, most of the vendors didn't take credit cards OR cash--they use a Swedish system of direct-deposits called SWISH.  This was likely good for Sheila's bank account, but not quite as much fun.  She did end up with some moose and reindeer sausages, and some very tasty blueberry glögg....like mulled wine.

Note the change of light between standing in line at 2PM, and leaving at 4PM!

    

  

  

  

  

             

Along about 4:00, it started getting noticeably more crowded, so it was time for the walk back to downtown, a quick trip to the ICA grocery store, and home in time for dinner.

Around the House

Even though it's been too cold to get out much, we HAVE been outside. We even managed to ski up and down the driveway a bit. And we've gone into the city on shopping expeditions. So, a few pics from the outside!

Oh, and if anyone wants to see a nice map of the area: 

https://www.google.com/maps/@63.1689156,14.6742399,11.59z?entry=ttu

The ice, halfway across on Dec. 1st.

There are apparently deer in the area, but we haven't seen them.

Frösön ski area across the way

The wood-shed

Daylight view of Östersund

Östersund

Steam from a power plant on the other side of Storsjön

 

Sunrise, 8:45 AM

View from the dining room

Lars skiing in the driveway!

The neighborhood

Snow removal from our driveway

Note that the angle of our driveway is the same as the stairs!

He didn't even scratch the car!

Östersund at night

Settling In

 We've been pretty busy since we got here, so haven't had a chance to update until now.  You're probably all familiar with moving in to a new house, and all the things you need to buy in order to get meals on the table....well, it's much more complex in a foreign country, even when you've done it before and speak the language.  Unfamiliar store, unfamiliar products and brands, reading ingredient lists where you likely don't know ALL the words....it just takes longer and is more tiring.

And then there's the weather.  We did a good amount of research before we even started planning this trip.  Average highs November through February are -3C/+26.6F, average lows -11C/+12F, and that would be in January. Perfectly within the range we often get in Colorado.  Yesterday was -15C/+5F. Not the same thing at ALL!  Our preferred temps for X-country skiing are mid-20s (F).  Knock off 15 degrees, and your own wind chill as you ski becomes a factor.  Plus there isn't Colorado's bright sunshine that lets you take your hat off when sitting in the sun, even when it's 22F.  We've been out and skiied up and down the driveway a bit, where it was easy to come in and warm up.

It's supposed to get back to more normal temps by next weekend, which is good, because we plan to go to the big Christmas market on Friday, and it would be nice not to have to wear face masks....the warm, wooly kind.

And with that, on to the pictures!

Kitchen 1

Kitchen 2

Kitchen 3 (so far, we spend most of our time here!)

Dining Room (seats 12!)

Upstairs seating area and bedroom

Upstairs TV / Living Room

Our bedroom...note the way they make up the beds.  

No fighting your partner for the blankets!

The top of the stairs

Fika time!