Land of my Forefathers (Part 2): An encounter in the woods.

Friday 09-Aug-2019 (Ljusdals to Burtrask)

Lulea was still a long way off – just out of easy “reach”. Accordingly we decided that the goal for today would be Burtrask, at another campsite on a lake, and again run by a Dutch couple. The distance to travel 505 km.

Bedroom window view at Ljusdals..

Street art, Ljusdals… how far ideas travel..

Another one of those old American cars... they are everywhere here...!!

As you will have gathered – the countryside on this part of our journey is dominated by the beauty of the forest and the lakes. As the land slopes only very gently – it is rare to see a river that is “flowing” (very much), as the rivers that link the lakes seem to be deep and have little perceptible flow.  Do we get bored by the landscape? I don’t – in part because it is so different from the forest landscape of much of NZ. The other reason is the sense of vastness of the landscape – that you get from being in the forest for day after day.

Just outside Jlusdals… another lake...

And looking in the opposite direction to the place above... another lake

The road surface is often a shade of red - iron ore in the metal used to seal the roads?

Our route took us from the Ljusdals (which is perhaps 70 km inland) out to the Baltic coast and then north. It was easy to see that big-industry was associated with the towns / cities with big ports on the Gulf of Bothnia (e.g. Sundsvall (Pulp and Paper, Aluminium – and the location claimed as the origin of Swedish industrialism), Ornskoldsvik on the High Coast (Pulp and Paper, and heavy industries). But with a long way to go, and few places to stop and take photos of these “photogenic” smoke stacks – we moved on.  But the scenery kept changing…

Toll bridge at Sundsvall... there will be a bill waiting for us back in Isny..

Another change in the scenery on the E4

Different road... and different scenery, of course...

Karilyn enjoyed getting behind the wheel…

This is easy!

On the road to Burtrask - some high ground came into view.

And so we arrived in Burtrask… and then a funny thing happened…

Saturday 10-Aug-2019 (Burtrask)

We had two primary reasons for driving to the north of Sweden. The first was to visit Britt-Marie in Kalix, and the second was to take Karilyn to Gemtrask, where my grandfather left Sweden in 1890. In this plan – I had only left out one key piece of information – I didn’t have Britt-Marie’s contact details… and slightly worse, I just couldn’t remember her family name. I figured that by the time we needed this information I would have figured out a solution – e.g. by searching through my email folders (because I knew that I had sent her a few Christmas letters), or from Lydia, who visited in 2015 (and I recalled giving her Britt-Marie and Sten’s contact details for that visit).  Unfortunately – I came up with a blank on both strategies. So perhaps Barry (Uddstrom) had recorded these details, so a message to Dianne to ask her to phone him.  Another blank.   My final plan was to simply drive to Gemtrask (which wasn’t in Fiat’s GPS database, but Google knows where it is – so that would be easy) – I was sure I could recognise the house… show up unannounced (since we didn’t know how to announce our intent in advance) – and ask the present occupier if he/she knew Britt-Marie’s contact details.

The Burtrask camp site, which felt on approach, like it was in the back of beyond – like most all that we have stayed in here in Sweden was i a beautiful setting, on Burtrasket (lake). There were only a few other campers – so it had the potential to be peaceful… though on the night we arrived (yesterday) – there was a party going on at a nearby campsite – that went on till late… And today we found out why… it was some of the members of a wedding party – where the ceremony took place on the island adjacent to the campsite.

Wedding party - Burtrask

A walk in the woods... on the island

The trees are spectacular - mainly Birch.

Later in the afternoon we had an encounter with three woman who were at the camp site for a fishing expedition. They were playing a game that they said was called (in its commercial form), “Dropin Hood”… golf balls with arrows through them and streamers too – to which they invited us to have a go.  This was one of our first “real” interactions with “locals” (Hamish and Johanna, and camp site hosts excluded!) so we had some questions for them about dos and don’ts of etiquette on the occasion of random social interactions. What I mean is … why do Swedes, in the main, ignore us – e.g. when you pass in the street, or on a path, or when you have let them into the traffic, or moved out of their way etc! So we felt confident enough to ask this question without causing offence.  The “general” answer was relatively simple. I will only acknowledge your presence if a) I know you, or b) I have business with you.  If you try to interact with me on any other premise, I will be wondering what you want from me! Of course, in NZ, we tend to acknowledge the people we pass (at least at the level of eye contact), and have definitely been known to wave at strangers, and to thank them for say letting us into a traffic stream. We had a really enjoyable sharing of ideas - which of course means the above general rule is just that… otherwise these women would not have spoken to us!

Sunset over Burtrask

Country housing - on a bike ride around one of the lakes... count the number of flags!

An eclectic set of decorations... but not unusual.

But then a funny thing happened. As the sun was setting – I went out to take a photograph of the view…

The photo - that stimulated the discussion with Greta

And this one was at the same time.

At which point a woman in the caravan behind us called out a question in Swedish. I sadly confessed my inability to speak any other language than English… which meant she immediately changed to English (as it seems everyone can in Sweden). The question was – is something interesting happening?  To which I responded – only the beauty of the view.  This led on to a conversation about this part of Sweden being Sami land, and what that meant now (she and her husband had been at events celebrating the International Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples (yesterday). This inevitably led to a question of where we were from, and why we were in this part of Sweden.  I explained where and why, and our conundrum. Which is where it got more interesting.  Greta (the Sami woman) was from Boden (which is near Gemtrask and Smedsbyn), and wondered if she might be able to help us.  We went our separate ways.  About 30 minutes later there was a knock on the door. Greta had a question. She had looked up Uddstrom on Facebook (of which there are a few), but noticed one name in particular Hakan Uddstrom, because she had taught the grandchildren of Hakan’s partner, Jill. The question she had for us was – could she call Hakan to see if he knew Britt-Marie?  She called, and no he didn’t know Britt-Marie, but he was aware that he had distant relatives in NZ, and yes it would be good to meet. So, a new, and unexpected piece in the jig-saw puzzle was created in a campsite, 200 km south of Boden! This is taking “2-degrees” of separation to a new level… along with serendipity.  The plan was that I would call Hakan after we had arrived in Boden – and then decide how best to proceed.

Due to my own oversite – sadly,  I did not get a photo of Greta and her husband Bertil.

Another sunset over Burtrask.

One other interesting fact about Burtrask (our “location” in the back of beyond – or so we thought!). It is the home of Vasterbotten cheese – which is famous throughout Sweden.  We bought some from the Factory door… and can attest to the fact that its reputation is well deserved!

Sunday 11-Aug-2019 (Burtrask to Boden)

Another exciting day of travelling through the forest, and past lakes and port installations to the garrison city of Boden.

The line between Stockholm and Lulea runs along side E4 for much of its distance... it is this route (and method of travel) that Lydia used when she travelled to Lulea in 2015.

 But the crossing into Norrbotten, just south of Pitea was interesting. The tourist centre is a “60’s” era art deco building on the left hand side of the road going north – the wrong side for a key information centre if its target market is travellers entering Norrotton (the northernmost county in Sweden). Why?  The reason is they built it when the private car was becoming important for tourism… at which time, Sweden was driving on the left – so it was on the “right side” of the highway for those travelling north.  Sweden swapped sides on 3 September 1967… putting this information centre on the “wrong side”… with the result that it was closed until recently. They have now built an underpass, and a big parking area on the right side of the highway, adjacent to the Information Centre.  We visited… and on entering the sounds of Bonanza played as we ascended the stairs (when we departed J.F. Kennedy had a few words to say to us).  Inside – was pure seventies nostalgia…

The attractions adjacent to the Visitor Centre  - on the RHS of the highway.

The 67 Anglia - with 45 thousand miles having travelled under its wheels.

Those of us old enough to remember the 60's should see things that we recognise here...

But why an Anglia?  Apparently, the Anglia was a very popular car in Sweden in the 1960’s and they included it in the information centre because many Swedish families would identify with it (and the era)…. I guess Volvos of that era were too expensive… or not as good (hard to believe… sorry – all Ford lovers).

After that it was back to the normal landscape, punctuated by another Gulf of Bothnia port city  Pitea  (Forestry and Paper mills)… then onto Boden, about 30 km inland from Lulea.  When I visited Lulea in 1998, I was asked to stop taking photographs out of the aircraft window – as it was a restricted military area.  It turns out that for many years foreign nationals were not allowed to enter the Boden area due to its sensitive military role.  It was only in 1998 that these restrictions were finally lifted… which is perhaps the reason why I was encouraged to stop taking photographs back in February 1998.

We had not realised though, just how significant Boden was to Swedish defence (against the possibility of a Russian threat). Boden Fortress was built between1900 and 1916, and comprised of: five primary self-supporting (highly camouflaged) forts excavated out of the bedrock in five of the mountains surrounding Boden; eight fortified secondary artillery positions between the forts; 40 bunkers for infantry, as well as dugouts and other fortifications. And during WW-II these were further enhanced.  The last fort was not decommissioned until 1998! And from 1941 to 1982 a third of Sweden’s gold holdings of 280 tonnes was stored at Degerberget Fort (known locally as “Fort Knox”).  At the time of their construction, it was one of the 10 most expensive fortifications – although a lot less than that spent by Belgium (along the Meuse), Romania (on the defence of Bucharest and the Siret River).  Why Boden? It was built to protect the ore fields of Kiruna and Gallivare, and the ore transport route that ran between Lulea and Narvik via Boden. It was sufficiently far inland that shells fired from naval vessels would not reach it, and at the time, aircraft were not a threat. The strategy was, that the resistance that the Boden Fort could deliver, would allow enough time to mobilise 300,000 troops from the south. We would show you some photos of the fort that is open to the public…. Except that on the day we went to visit… the road was gated and locked!

So, … having arrived in Boden, at Camping Boden, a camp ground with around 280 pitches… we checked in and called Hakan. He was very gracious – and invited us to lunch the next day, along with Aunt Ulla who is the family’s historian.  And to save us de-camping, Hakan would come and pick us up.

Now about the campground… how could it need so many sites (and Lulea, has a campground with over 500 pitches) – these are bigger than the campground we stayed in in Stockholm!  It turns out that this is where Norwegians come – for the weather!  Clearly, a lot of Norwegians – over 3000 come each year (with their “oil money” – I heard mentioned a number of times!).

The summer season is nearly over - all the Norwegians have gone home!

Monday 12-Aug-2019 (Boden)

Content Warning: If you only want to see the photos of the landscape etc. – skip through the 16^th  August as the next section largely deals with Family history discovereies... We think the "facts" we have noted here are "right" - but if not please email corrections through to me, and I will update the post..

As a result of our Burtrask encounter – we now know that we have at least one Uddstrom relative living in the Boden/Lulea area.  As my great grandfather Hans Petter Uddström and his wife, Maria Helena Åhlund, had only one son (my grandfather, Carl Evald), Hakan’s relationship with the NZ Uddstroms’ must go back one further generation to Nils Petter Uddström and his wife, Brita Maia Andersdotter. Nils and Brita Maia had eight children, all boys. Hans Petter was the fourth, and as was a common practice of the time, he was given the same name as the previous child who had died in infancy.  One other interesting thing about Swedish family names – is that you could choose your own family name, e.g. of Nils Petter’s eight sons, only two kept the Uddstrom name (Hakan’s and my ancestor). Of the other sons, three chose: Lindstrom, Ekmark, and Ekstrom, while the youngest (living son) seems not to have quite decided and chose the family name Ekstrom Uddstrom! Their eighth son Frederic (like the first Hans Petter) died before he reached the age of one.  And just to complete this point, it was Nils Petter’s father Henrik who chose the name Uddstrom (as Henrik’s father’s name was Hindricksson Kruslock (a soldier)) sometime before he married in 1800. Henrik’s parents both died when he was 11. And curiously, of Henrik’s five sons who married, only Nils Petter chose to continue with the name!

We had a wonderful (Swedish) lunch with Hakan and his partner Gil, and Aunt Ulla – at Hakan and Jill’s home. In long discussions, we explored the Family Tree that Robyn Parkinson researched for us back in 2007.  Aunt Ulla had also been working on their family tree – so it was good to test the accuracy of the intersection – it all checked out. Hakan’s great great grandfather was Hans Petter’s brother Johan Anders (the only son other than Hans Petter that kept the Uddstrom name), who had a son Oscar (1863-1918… a few Swedish Kings are named Oscar), who had a son Lars (1901-1983), who had a son Guran (and a daughter Ulla – Aunt Ulla), who was Hakan’s dad. So relatively speaking, Hakan is a generation later than me, as Hans Petter is only my great grandfather.  I hope you followed all of that…  But the point is that all of us with the “Uddstrom” family name who are descendants of the original Uddstrom, Henrik, are related via Hans Petter and Johan Anders. And Hans Petter’s only son, Karl went to NZ, where he had two sons (my Dad (Carl) and my Uncle Les). Mum and Dad had two sons (Robert and me), and my sister Dianne, Uncle Les had one son Barry, and his sister Carol. The NZ Uddstroms are one the wane!

Aunt Ulla, Jill and Hakan - checking out the Family Tree document...

Hakan and Jill's home 

The view of the Lulea River - from the deck... the boat was tied up at the dock!

Meanwhile, Hakan was still trying to figure out a way to get Britt-Marie’s contact details.  He tried several sources, then thought that a friend of a friend maybe able to help – that latter friend was a dentist – who was busy at the time Hakan called…. but later in the day the dentist called back with all the information that we needed. Hallelujah! 

Hakan had also worked out a plan for the following day – after dealing with some urgent work related issues, he would again pick us up from the camp ground and take us out to Gemtrask to meet a member of the Thelin side of the family living in the house that my grandfather left in 1890.

Tuesday 13-Aug-2019 (Boden)

It was as I remembered it – except the ground, and the lake were not frozen this time…

The road into Gemtrask - reminded me of the road into Lake Kaniere from Hokitika

Almost there - arriving in Gemtrask

The house.... and two Icelandic ponies.

View toward the lake from the front door - perhaps the last view of this place that Karl saw on leaving Gemtrask for NZ. 

The lake...

The house from the lake...

Here we met Per-Hugo Thelin, the son of Birger Thelin, who was the son of Nils Arvid Thelin and his wife Amanda Uddstrom (and sister of my grandfather, Carl Evald). Per-Hugo told us that it is believed that the house was built in 1856 (although it will certainly have been changed / modernised many times since).  He also had a history of Gemtrask – written for the 200^th anniversary of the village in 1994 (which today has 18 houses). 

That history shows that in 1853, the land in Gemtrask was divided into three separate titles, with Nils Petter taking plot 3, but in 1866 that title was divided between himself (title 3:2) and Nils Fredrik Lundstrom (who acquired title 3:3).  In 1893 Nils Fredrik Lundstrom divided the land again (into 3 titles), with Hans Petter Uddstrom acquiring one of those, title 3:5.  It also appears that in 1853, Nils Fredrik Lundstrom acquired a title to land in Gemtrask (title 4?), but in 1893, divided that into 3 parts, with Hans Petter acquiring title 4:7. In 1900, nine years after Nils Petter’s death, his land under title 3:2 was subdivided with Hans Petter receiving title 3:7, and Nils Henrick Lindstrom (Nils Petter’s first born son) receiving title 3:8. Accordingly, as of 1900, Hans Petter Uddstrom owned titles: 3:5, 3:7 and 4:7. He died in 1923. That all seems quite complicated… but such are land transactions I guess!

Wednesday 14-Aug-2019 (Boden to Kalix via Ranea)

In our multi-faceted attempt to learn Britt-Marie’s contact details – Karilyn used Facebook to contact the Thelin’s in Nelson (whom we have not met). This ultimately worked too – as the Nelson Thelin’s contacted their cousin in Ranea (which is near Lulea too), Stig and his wife Anna-Lena Thelin who also provided us with Britt-Marie’s contact details (as Stig and Britt-Marie are cousins).  Stig’s mother was Margit Thelin, another of Nils Arvid Thelin and Amanda Uddstrom’s children. So we also got to meet another relative – on the Thelin side.

A welcome into Smedsbyn.

The lake at Smedsbyn… and perhaps there were more houses here once?

The Mission House (church?) in Smedsbyn.

On the way to Ranea, we passed through Smedsbyn, which is where we believe Henrik lived (Henrik’s marriage, and the family’s first household examination record is in Smedsbyn), about 1 Swedish Mile (i.e. 10 km) from Gemtrask.  There is not much left of Smedsbyn today. But interestingly, Aunt Ulla has an 1892 letter from Nils Johan Uddström to his father(Johan Anders Uddstrom). He left Smedsbyn in 1890 (also) for Sydney. Evidently, he had a strong Christian faith – and as far as I could gather, talks about that faith in the letter, and enquires about the revival in Smedsbyn – another reason to visit.

Stig and Anna-Lena and Stig's daughter Ida-Marie and her two children (and her partner's parents)

I introduced Stig to Marmite (as he had not been given this privilege when he was recently in NZ. He agreed that it was probably edible. He offered a taste of the Swedish equivalent - a fish paste. My assessment was the same as Stig's - probably it was edible...

After that it was on to Kalix, or more correctly Britt-Marie’s summer house, on the Kalix River (and near Kalix) – now that we knew how to find it!

Sunset over the Kalix River at Britt-Marie's Summer House.

The Kalix river again - a little further downstream.

The Kalix River is one of only four major rivers in Norrland that has been untouched by hydro-power construction… it is 461 km long, with its source in the mountains of Kiruna. Britt-Marie’s summer house is close (a few Swedish miles?) from its mouth on the Baltic. It is a beautiful sight to see. 

Road in..

Britt-Marie's summer house, and Fiat.

Britt-Marie and Olov

Britt-Marie’s son, Olov (maths and history teacher) had also come out to her Summer House to meet us… So we were telling the story about our attempts to find her contact details; Greta (in Burtrask) and Hakan in Boden … when Olov completed the story by telling us that it was he who had contacted the dentist, after being asked to do so by an old school colleague… It is a small world… even on the far side of the planet. 

It is permissible to use a net when fishing in Sweden - which seems a bit unfair on the fish... But Olov caught nothing this evening - and neither did I.

A more sporting method - fly fishing...?

The Kalix River in its beauty..

Karilyn and Olov

Michael and Britt-Marie

Britt-Marie's inquisitive neighbours...

We enjoyed “Swedish Fika” – coffee, something to eat and conversation… then dinner together, before Olov needed to return to Gammelstad – as the new school year was starting on the morrow.  Interestingly – the issues that we talk about in NZ, re curriculum etc. – are the same as are under debate in Sweden.  Likewise the more general issues facing the country as a whole are similar (albeit it with a different focus – we don’t have Russia just a few miles from our borders)… including how the budget for health is spent.

This was also a chance to catch up on Family history and the family Tree. Britt-Marie’s father was Henning Jonas Thelin, the son of Nils Avid Thelin and Amanda Uddstrom (my grandfather’s sister) with other sons including Arthur Harald Thelin and Per Helge Thelin – both of which came to NZ, Harald in 1924 (at the age of 18!) and Helge some years later.  Helge used to visit Mum and Dad – but I was too young to understand the relationship – but I can still picture him “in my mind’s eye”.

In NZ we tend to associate ourselves with the landscape (e.g. mountains, hills, rivers, valleys, lakes). Britt-Marie told us that a similar thing happens here in the north (at least) – except the association is with the rivers (e.g. the Kalix, Ranea, Lulea and Pitea Rivers)… there are no mountains here… 😊.  Britt-Marie was born near the Ranea River, and Sten near the Pitea.

Hans Petter and his wife Maria Helena (my great grandfather and mother), and daughters Amanda (Britt-Marie's grandmother), Emilia and Johanna.

Thursday 15-Aug-2019 (Kalix to Boden (again))

We spent a very peaceful night on the banks of the Kalix River… and after a breakfast (around noon… it was hard to leave), we sadly said goodbye to Britt-Marie, and headed back to Boden – with a visit to the Church town in Gammelstad on the way. It was raining again… on and off..

The Lulea regions is a good example of post ice-age uplift.  When the big church in Gammelstad (outside Lulea) was built in the 1492, it was on an island. Today there is no evidence of that … and the harbour of that day is now 5m above sea-level. The belfry of the church was built in 1851 – replacing an older wooden tower.

St Peters - the Parish church in Gammelstad

Did my Grandfather attend here on Feast days etc... If so - much of what we see here (except for the frescos) would have been present back then...

St Peters

In the 17^th Century the frescos were painted over (this was the case for many church buildings following the Reformation) – but those in the Apse region were restored (paint removed) in 1901 – making this probably the northern most church that has medieval frescos visible.

The Apse - and its Medieval Frescos

Feedback on the investigation of the Promised Land - Joshua & Caleb.

This was the Main Church for the Lulea Parish - so did my grandfather walk this aisle as I do today?

This was an important church for the Parish, and members were expected to attend religious festivals (as well as Sunday services). As a large fraction of the congregation were spread over the countryside – a “church town” grew up around the Church – to accommodate those who could not return home on the same day. This town, now consists of 408 (comprising 553 rooms) cottages where families stayed on such occasions. The cottages were constructed by their owners… often offsite, then moved to Gammelstad.  This is the best preserved remaining Church Town in Sweden.

The Church Town cottages.... all red painted now - but originally they would generally have been unpainted (due to cost).  There were no toilets in them... those were communal - and outside... a pleasant experience if the temperature is -25C! Today - some of the houses have been converted into bathrooms... so still external.

Another angle...

And here you can see that they are at "all angles", and as an early surveyor commented - not a "right angle" among them.

Lastly a word about the Lulea River… when we were at Hakan’s home, he commented that we were looking out on the Lulea River… to us it looked like a lake… which is what it actually “is” – as the Lulea River has many dams on it – and provides much of Sweden’s hydro power (9 dams on the Lulea and or Lesser Lulea rivers). The Lulea River was (is?) the major defensive line to protect the country from invaders coming from the North West… and was heavily fortified (culminating in the Boden Fortress).

The Lake adjacent to our campsite... the view from Fiat... as you can see - not much wind here!

On the evening before we left - there was a big game (ice hockey) on at the adjacent sports hall - and this helicopter (Swedish Armed forces training budget use perhaps) - delivered a Large Silver cup - that everyone seemed to be very excited about... will add the name later.

Friday 16-Aug-2019 (Boden to Jokkmokk)

And so – to the wilderness of Swedish Lapland. Jokkmokk is a centre of Sami Culture, and at latitude N66˚ 37’, is just north of the Artic Circle…. But before leaving Boden – a visit to Rodbergsfortret (Fort) was planned… i.e. the impressive fort on the top of a hill… but sadly it was closed today… but there were some interesting signs in the area…

Google Translate (afterwards) tells me that I should only stop if the lights are flashing on the adjacent sign.. (I think).

Which seemed to suggest “no access” – but everyone else was sailing by – so we did so too… as the sign beside this one seemed to be quite silent (and there were no flashing red lights).

Highway 95 from Boden to Jokkmokk

First stop – the Tree Hotel..

The birch forest on the way to the tree houses... do enlarge this image so that you get a feeling for this forest.

The first treehouse (of 3) that was installed in 2010... partly as a revival business for the village of Harrad… and now these are world famous.

This one is called the dragonfly.

And this, the Cube (yes, 5 of the 6 sides are mirrored)

The view from the "View Point" (a side trail on the way to the Tree Hotel). The view of the Kalix river is very nice (and of the sky)… but it could also have been called "Poo Point" - there was so much Moose Scat there.

Then just south of Jockkmokk, we crossed the Arctic Circle at 66˚  32’ North.

Fiat at the Artic Circle... 

Reindeer crossing... there were perhaps 20 in this group... all nonchalantly ambling across the road... in total we came acros 3 different groups or individuals feeding along the road side - but still no moose.. 

The name says it all...

Saturday 17-Aug-2019 (Jokkmokk to Kiruna)

Before departing – we visited the main church in this parish – built in 1889. The architect was Jewish, and as it turns out well connected into Swedish high society – which was strange as at this time Jews were certainly not treated as equals. They could only marry within their community, could only live in Stockholm, Gothenberg and Norrkoping, and could not own property etc. Many of these restrictions did not get removed until late into the 19^th Century (many changes in 1863), but it was only in 1910, that they were granted equality with other Swedes.

The Jokkmokk Church

Inside it is in the shape of a cross. It has also been returned to the appearance it had at the time it was consecrated (over the years it had been "modernised"...) 

The Kalix River - as we crossed into Kiruna Commune, many kms north of Kalix. Even here it looks like a big river.

Kiruna... (I knew it initially for the research carried out there on the Upper Atmosphere...

The main purpose of stopping in Kiruna – was to see the iron ore mine… and the church (recently voted as Sweden’s most beautiful church built before 1950... by a sample of size “n”…).

The mine tour took us down to level 534m below the original top of the mountain… which today means 300m below the top of the current “mountain”… as the other 200+m have already been taken away.  The tour was both advertising for LKAB (owners and operators of the mine – which is wholly owned by the Swedish Government) and really informative.  The “ore body” here is magnetite, is extensive (4.5 km long by about 80 m wide), and slopes down at 60˚… and prospecting shows that it goes down to at least 1360m below the original mountain top (the visitor centre is at 534m.

A "diagram" of the Kiruna Ore Body showing it sloping down at 60 degrees. The "hanging wall" is the rock on the LHS of the ore body... As the ore is removed (they drill upwards) - it collapses into the void left by the ore... and so the ground on that side is sinking at 9cm a day.

And this is what that looks like at the surface... the subsidence (due to the hanging wall collapse) is spreading toward Kiruna (on the left here)… and hence the reason the town must be moved. Each day 15 ore trains leave Kiruna - with 10 going to Narvik (Norway) and 5 to Lulea. Each train has 68 wagons, and each wagon's load is 100 tonnes... so 102,000 tonnes or iron ore pellets are shipped from Kiruna each day.

In the bus - on the way down to the Visitor Centre at level 534. The gradient is 10% - and there are 500 kms of underground roads in the mine... 

Much of the ore is extracted by automatic loaders (at night, where each shovel has 23 tonne capacity), but during the day they use these human driven loaders (25 tonne capacity)… they are electric vehicles... and the tyres are filled with water.

As noted - they are electrical vehicles... and the power is provided by a power cord... that zips in and out - just like a retractable cord on a vacuum cleaner.

And this is the reason why Kiruna needs to be “moved”.  As the ore is removed, the “hanging wall” (i.e. on the left in the diagram) collapses… and over time this had led to a deep scarp on the landscape. Part of current day Kiruna is over the top of the ore body, and so is on the “hanging wall” – which means that the scarp is inexorably approaching Kiruna. Those that have to move: 6000, out of a population of 22,000.

The church is also on the “hanging wall”, and given its historical importance will also need to be moved to the new centre of Kiruna – by a method that is yet to be determined.

A grey old day to see the Kiruna Church and Bell Tower.

Inside - the  timber structure - celebrates the importance of the forest to this region... It is very impressive as a structure. The alter painting celebrates God's creation - and the importance of the forrest.

Sunday 18-Aug-2019 (Kiruna to Bjorkliden)

Now we really enter the wilderness – as announced when we left Kiruna, so just a few images from along the way (we will let them speak for themselves) – to give a sense of that wilderness. This is what we have been waiting to see.

The landscape now is dominated by "low" forests, marshes, and tarn like lakes... and yes, finally some hills - the first we have seen since passing through the Elbe River Gorge in Germany - in what seems like an age ago...

The sky is very much part of the landscape - here we are on (lake) Tornetrask - where the water is crystal clear. 

Lapland: Tornetrask, sky, mountains 

Fiat on the E10 highway at Tornetrask 

The view from the campsite at Bjorkliden (over Tornetrask - which is a very large lake)… at 68 degrees 24 minutes 20 seconds north

We did stop to buy some bread for lunch and breakfast though…

Grocery shopping in Abisko…  It does look like Swedes have a real affinity for sweets... most supermarkets seem to have vast "pick-and-mix" sweet sections!

And then… as we settled into our campsite at Bjorkliden on Lake Tornetrask … and as it began to rain again…

A rainbow over Fiat... and the promise of more rain... which was met.

Monday 19-Aug-2019 (Bjorkliden)

Rest day (washing etc.) and catchup on the blog….