To Valborg and Beyond

By Phillip

[This is a post that was nearly ready to publish when we got word that we were being transferred to Gotland.  Now that we’re operating on a more even keel, we’ve finished this up for your enjoyment.]

April 30 is a festive day in most of northern Europe signifying the end of winter. Forget about the vernal equinox. While the heavy coats have been mothballed for a while we’ve still been huddling up in our jackets to keep warm.  May Day is the day Sweden depends on shaking off the winter’s chill.

While many countries still celebrate Valborg (or Walpurgis Night) as a religious event, Sweden’s observance is mostly of the secular type. With bold, bright bonfires we fuel nature’s intentions to resurrect the verdant earth. 

It is also a good time for barbecues and sports. In the distance of the shot below, you can see a neighboring bonfire.

 I was most excited about the chance to roast some marshmallows.

All this celebrating seemed to do the trick. Within a week of Valborg we noticed more and more sun worshippers venturing out of doors, shedding unnecessary clothing and basking on the lawns. Cheeks become rosier and sunburn ointment prices escalated.

Shortly after this we had opportunity to venture into another remote branch of our stake.  This time we headed to Karlskrona to support the baptism of Sophia, whom we had the opportunity to meet and teach in Växjö.

 The Växjö branch does not have a baptismal font, so their investigators have the choice of an hour and a half drive to Kristianstad, an hour and a half drive to Karlskrona or a stroll into one of the local lakes (still a little too cold for that). From Lund it’s a two-and-a-half-hour drive, but it was through the verdant Skånish fields and Blekinge forests so we didn’t complain… much.

Karlskrona is near the south eastern point of Blekinge county. It is a port city where, up until about a century ago, most of the Swedish Fleet was constructed. But on this trip we didn’t get much chance to look around before the baptism. We’ve had a couple of other opportunities to visit here allowing me to catch this panorama shot of the town square.

The Karlskrona branch is blessed with a freestanding chapel. Although it is small it is on a piece of land that allows for expansion. We find many members from Växjö already present, and Sophia is so glad to see that Sister Hurlbut has come.

After some pleasant socializing, following the baptism, everyone makes the ninety minute trip back to Växjö, where on the next day Sophia will be confirmed a member of the Church. Kim ended up offering a prayer for each of the three meetings that day.  The Bishop mentioned, “We are a small branch. We all pray a lot.”

That evening we visit a sister from Iran who has been so eager to meet with us since our first visit a month before, when our ‘swing by’ intersected with her combined celebration of her birthday and wedding anniversary. We  could tell that she was conflicted wanting to let us in but knowing she couldn’t.

This time she greeted us with open arms and bounteous refreshments. She is attending the university there in Växjö to become an interpreter in the Persian/Farsi languages.  She is originally from Iran so she feels very confident in the language, but her instructor is from Afghanistan and the two of them butt heads over which variants of the language are correct. 

She hasn’t been to church since her wedding and the elders suggested that we start from the beginning of the Missionary lessons to give her a new start.  In our conversation, with her we learned that her university studies keep her from going to church.  We have found that there is a strong sense among the students, probably propagated by the universities, that their studies must dominate their life until they graduate. 

We promised her that God would bless her in her studies if she would make time for God through daily prayer and scripture study and weekly observance the Sabbath. We advise the elders to continue inviting her to make room for God in her life.

The next day, Preparation Day, the Elders joined us as we visited two of the castles in the vicinity. Pictured below is Kronoberg Castle. 

While the entrance features a drawbridge crossing a man-made moat, the rear of it is protected by a large lake.

Original construction of the fortress began in in 1444, a time when the Danish borders were dangerously close. It saw many a battle and at one time it held as many as fifty cannons. 

Featured in it's early history is a Danish cavalry charge across the frozen lake to lay siege to the castle before the cannons could be delivered to the stone fortress. Sadly for the Danish, the attack was short lived as they were repulsed by cannon fire from the castle. A timely delivery of armaments had saved the stronghold.

 After the border was relocated to Öresund, (the waters that separate Malmö and Copenhagan) the castle held no strategic value and fell into decay. 

Teleborg Castle is far from a ruin.  However, it has had a lot less opportunity to acquire a history.  It was built in 1900 emulating medieval styles. Count Fredrik Bonde of Björnö commissioned it as a gift for his 17-year-old bride, Anne Koskull. In 1964 the city purchased it and its surrounding park. It doubles as a Hotel and place for civic meetings as well as offering a pleasant dining experience.

The entrance to the restaurant is geared to work up your appetite.  This is Sister Hurlbut and I half-way there.

About a week after we get home from this trip,  we took the Sister missionaries out to Skellinge, a small coastal village on Skåne’s south eastern shore, about an hour out of Lund.  Our drive took us through the familiar farmlands. However, at this time of year the raps fields (canola) are bourgeoning with yellow blossoms.

The Doctrine and Covenants may say that “the field is white, already to harvest”, but, here in Skåne, the fields are definitely golden.

That’s Uppåkra Church in the background, just a few kilometers south of Lund.

But meanwhile, we are still on the other side of the country in Skellinge.  We arrived early for the visit so we spent some time taking pictures of the swans inhabiting the shores there.

Below, Sister Irene arouses envy among the mermaids.

But then she and Sister Bourelle spot something.

While they don’t recognize it, I know exactly what it is.

You can see it, can’t you?

It’s really out there!

It is a straight shot to the land of my mother’s parentage, L I T H U A N I A !

I could only get closer if I was transferred to Gotland… 

Hm….

Wiveca, the sister we came to visit, lives within walking distance of the beach.  She is of an artistic nature and her home reflects that. Here is a shot of her kitchen. Kim loves the pitchers hanging from the ceiling. 

Within the week of this visit Wiveca will visit the Sockholm Temple to receive her endowments.  Here is a sweet shot of her with Sister Bourelle and Sister Irene.

Skellinge is  very close to one of the best preserved medieval fortresses in Sweden: Glimminge Castle. 

Note the golden raps field in the background. Also note that Sister Hurlbut and Sister Bourelle are oblivious  to what ever it is Sister Irene is up to. 

This appears to be a blatant attempt to upstage the moment.

Well, the folks in Glimminge know how to handle this kind of behavior.

Although, for a moment there was a little confusion as who the real culprit was.

As for Sister Hurlbut...

It was just a frame-up.

Here is a photo of the full complex.

During the Skanian wars when southern Sweden was constantly changing hands between Denmark and Sweden, Swedish King Charles XI ordered Glemminge Castle to be destroyed to prevent it falling into the hands of the Danes. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts.

Alcoves built into the wall,  like this one pictured below, are an indication of the wealth of the family that commissioned the original structure…

…as is this table.

So that’s the end of our foray into the wonderful world of spring in Southern Sweden, except for the now traditionallly accepted feature -

Additional Photos

Close to the Malmö Stake Center stands the Turning Torso, the tallest skyscraper in Scandinavia.

Those three black dots above the diagonal reflection are window washers. 

Here is a tapestry from Glemminge. This one is incuded for my medievalist brother. Sorry it's a little fuzzy. 

Of course, being a tapestry, it's bound to be fuzzy.

A common desire among the sister missionaries was to be photographed in the golden raps fields. 

We were glad to oblige them.

‘nuff said.

Floral Moment:

I realized that our last post featured a photo duplicated from a previous post.

Here are two new shots as compensation.

This does seem to be the last of the amarylis photos.

I hope you have enjoyed them.