Nädalavahetus oli meil plaanis veeta Norrfällsviken kämpingus, kuhu teekond näitas ligi 500 km sõitu. Sinna sisse olime planeerinud ka ühe vahelepõike Alftas asuvas talukompleksis. Seega asusime teele juba suhteliselt varakult, Uppsala oli veel mõnusalt uneuimas, kui me sealt oma tänast teekonda alustasime. Liiklus oli mõnusalt hõre.., arusaadav, inimesed naudivad koduseid laupäeva hommikuid.
Ilmad on siiani olnud suhteliselt sarnased Eestimaale, v-o isegi pisut jahedamad, keskmiselt selline 17-19 kraadi. Reedene päev oli kõige soojem, kui Uppsalasse jõudsime, näitas termomeeter 25 kraadi, see on motomatkamiseks isegi natuke liiga soe, arvestades meie riietust. Nii et naudimegi sellist 18-19 kraadist ilma.
We had planned to spend the weekend at the Norrfällsviken campsite, and the route showed close to 500 km of riding to get there. We had also worked a detour into it, to a farm complex at Alfta. So we set off relatively early; Uppsala was still pleasantly half-asleep as we started out on today’s journey. The traffic was pleasantly thin – understandable, people were enjoying their Saturday mornings at home.
The weather so far has been fairly similar to Estonia, perhaps even a touch cooler, averaging around 17-19 degrees. Friday was the warmest – when we reached Uppsala the thermometer read 25 degrees, which for motorcycle touring is even a little too warm, given what we wear. So this 18-19 degree weather suits us just fine.
Tulekahjud. Tulekahju tundus olevat eilse päeva läbiv teema. Kolm korda ühe päeva jooksul. See algas peatusest Gävle linna lähistel. Nagu tavaks uurisin, selle linna tausta ja üks esimesi fakte, mis välja tuli oli see, et see linn põles 1869 aastal peaaegu täielikult maha ja et tulevased tulekahjud ei leviks ehitati linn üles hästi laiade tänavatega. Lisaks veel teine huvitav fakt – selles linnas tehakse Gevalia kohvi.
Edasi viis meie tee UNESCO nimekirjas oleva maalitud seintega vana talumaja juurde. Ka see sai alguse 1793 aastal toimunud suurest tulekahjust, kus välk süütas kõigepealt kirikutorni ja tuli levis edasi kiriku ümber olevatele taludele. Peale tulekahju ehitas peremees talu üles teistest majadest eemale ja siin seisab see tänase päevani.
Kolmas kokkupuude oli läbides Sundsvalli linna. Ka see põles täielikult maha 1888, jättes ühe päevaga kodutuks üle 9000 inimese. Kuna linnas oli palju rikkust tänu rohketele saeveskitele, ehitati linn uuesti üles nelja aastaga.
Fires. Fire seemed to be the running theme of yesterday. Three times over in a single day. It began with a stop near the town of Gävle. As usual I read up on the town’s background, and one of the first facts to come up was that it burned down almost completely in 1869, and that to keep future fires from spreading the town was rebuilt with very wide streets. And one more interesting fact – this is the town where Gevalia coffee is made.
From there our road led to the old farmhouse with painted walls that is on the UNESCO list. This one too began with a great fire, in 1793, when lightning first set the church tower alight and the fire then spread to the farms around the church. After the fire the owner rebuilt the farm away from the other houses, and there it stands to this day.
The third encounter came as we passed through the town of Sundsvall. It too burned to the ground completely, in 1888, leaving over 9000 people homeless in a single day. Since there was a great deal of wealth in the town thanks to its many sawmills, it was rebuilt within four years.
Ol-Andersi talumuuseum on tuntud seetõttu, et seal on suurepäraselt säilinud 1848. aastast tehtud seinamaalingud. Eks neid on pisut muidugi kohendatud, aga tõesti väga kaunid nägid välja.
Lasin AI-l ka ühe pildil oleva teksti ära tõlkida, et paremini aru saada, mis on pildil kujutatud. Antud pildil olid kujutatud piiblist tuntud kolm idamaa tarka. Need olid riietatud tüüpilise Rootsi tolleaegsesse riietesse. Need olid huvitavad versioonid, kuidas tõlgendas piibli sündmusi Rootsi külakunstnik.
Üks tore seik seal talumuuseumis oli ka veel. Kui sealses kohvikus istusime, tuli meie juurde üks natuke eakam armas vanaproua, kes muuseumis ka giidina töötas. Ütles, et kuulis eesti keelt ja tuli meile “Tere” ütlema. Ta ise on pärit Uppsalast ja oli 90-tndate keskel Tartus, mis on Uppsala sõpruslinn, Rahvaülikoolis pool aastat Rootsi keelt õpetanud. Igaljuhul väga armsad on sellised kohtumised.
The Ol-Anders farm museum is known for its beautifully preserved wall paintings made in 1848. They have of course been touched up a little, but they really did look very lovely.
I also had an AI translate one of the texts in a painting, to understand better what was depicted. This particular painting showed the three wise men known from the Bible. They were dressed in the typical Swedish clothing of the time. These were interesting versions of how a Swedish village artist interpreted the events of the Bible.
There was one more delightful moment at that farm museum. As we were sitting in the café there, a lovely, somewhat elderly lady came over to us – she worked at the museum as a guide. She said she had heard Estonian being spoken and had come to say hello. She herself is from Uppsala and in the mid-1990s spent half a year in Tartu, Uppsala’s twin town, teaching Swedish at the Folk University. Encounters like that are always very heartwarming.
Talukompleksi juures oli ka väike muuseum Rootsi väljarändajatest Ameerikasse ja sealt tuli välja mõrvalugu, mis algab Rootsist ja kulmineerub hoopis USAs. Rootsis elas jahukaupmees Erik Jansson. Kui ta oli 22 aastane, siis vaevas teda reuma. Ühel päeval kui ta põllul kündis, kukkus ta maha ja palus maas lamades jumalalt abi. Pärast seda episoodi paranes ta oma tõvest täielikult. See viis ta usu juurde ja mõne aasta pärast oli ta juba arvamusel, et ta on jumala saadik maa peal. Ta pidas luterlikku kirikut korrumpeerunuks ja ta jutlustas oma versiooni, kuidas inimesed peaksid jumalat teenima. Asi läks isegi nii kaugele, et ta põletas ametliku kiriku poolt välja antud raamatuid ja sellest tekkis tal mitmeid probleeme. Selles olukorras tuli tal mõte emigreeruda Ameerikasse ja luua seal oma ideaalidele vastav kogukond.
Mõeldud tehtud. Ta saatis ette oma jüngri Olof Olsson’i (laev on kujutatud pildil), kes leidis sobiva maatüki ja ostis selle tulevase asunduse tarbeks. 1846 aastal saabuski Jansson sinna koos oma 1400 järgijaga. Algselt oli kogukonna elu väga raske, elati telkides ja ajutistes hüttides. Inimesed haigestusid koolerasse ja surid. Alguses kehtestas Jansson tsölibaadi, aga kui elu läks paremaks, siis lubas ta abielusid, kuid kontrollis, kes kellega võis paari minna.
See viibki meid loo sõlmpunkti, mille moodustavad Eriku nõbu Charlotta ja juba enne Rootsist välja rännanud John Root. Root liitus samuti kogukonnaga ja Erik lubas tal abielluda Charlottaga. Abielulepingus oli sees punkt, mis muutis abielu kehtetuks juhul, kui John otsustab kogukonnast lahkuda. See mõte aga just Johnil pähe tuli, kui ta nägi koolera poolt tehtavat hävitustööd. Kui ta tegi Charlottale ettepaneku lahkuda, siis viimane keeldus. John lahkus ja üritas kaks korda Charlottat koos oma lapsega röövida. Kogukonna liikmed aga nurjasid mõlemad katsed. Lõpuks kaebas John Eriku kohtusse. Kui Erik tuli 13. mail 1850 kohtumajja oma õigust kaitsma, siis varitses John teda ja tulistas teda surmavalt.
Peale juhi surma sattus kogukond finantsilistesse raskustesse ja see lõpetas oma tegevuse 1862 aastal. Varad jagati kogukonna liikmete vahel. Charlotta jäi kuni surmani Bishop Hilli (selline oli kogukonna nimi). Ta elas kõrge eani ja juhtis oma talu koos pojaga. Bishop Hill on senini linnake Illinois’s, mis tunneb uhkust oma Rootsi juurte üle ja kus tähistatakse Rootsi traditsioonilisi pühasid.
By the farm complex there was also a small museum about the Swedes who emigrated to America, and out of it came a murder story that begins in Sweden and comes to a head in the USA. In Sweden there lived a flour merchant named Erik Jansson. When he was 22 he was troubled by rheumatism. One day, while ploughing a field, he collapsed and, lying on the ground, asked God for help. After that episode he recovered from his affliction completely. This brought him to faith, and a few years later he already held the view that he was God’s messenger on earth. He considered the Lutheran church corrupt and preached his own version of how people ought to serve God. It went so far that he burned books issued by the official church, which brought him a good deal of trouble. In that situation he had the idea of emigrating to America and founding a community there that matched his ideals.
No sooner said than done. He sent ahead his disciple Olof Olsson (his ship is the one shown in the picture), who found a suitable piece of land and bought it for the future settlement. In 1846 Jansson duly arrived there with his 1400 followers. At first life in the community was very hard; they lived in tents and temporary huts. People fell ill with cholera and died. In the beginning Jansson imposed celibacy, but once life improved he permitted marriages – while controlling who was allowed to pair up with whom.
And this brings us to the knot of the story, formed by Erik’s cousin Charlotta and John Root, who had emigrated from Sweden earlier. Root joined the community too, and Erik allowed him to marry Charlotta. The marriage contract contained a clause voiding the marriage should John decide to leave the community. And that is precisely the thought that came to John when he saw the devastation the cholera was causing. When he proposed to Charlotta that they leave, she refused. John left, and twice tried to abduct Charlotta along with their child. Members of the community foiled both attempts. In the end John took Erik to court. When Erik came to the courthouse to defend his case on 13 May 1850, John lay in wait for him and shot him dead.
After the leader’s death the community ran into financial difficulties and wound up its affairs in 1862. The assets were divided among the members. Charlotta remained in Bishop Hill (that was the community’s name) until her death. She lived to a great age and ran her farm together with her son. Bishop Hill is to this day a small town in Illinois that takes pride in its Swedish roots and where traditional Swedish holidays are celebrated.
Sundsvallist edasi viis tee meid põhja poole ja õhtuks jõudsime kämpingusse mere ääres männimetsa sees.
From Sundsvall the road took us further north, and by evening we reached the campsite by the sea, in among the pines.
Eestlasi siinkandis eriti ei näe-ei kuule. Eesti numbrimärgiga autosid ka pole kohanud. Usun, et eestlased ikka rohkem soojale maale sõidavad puhkust veetma. Me kumbki pole suur soojalemb, seega sobib selline põhjamaine karge kliima meile väga hästi.
Kämping ise asub piirkonnas mida kutsutakse Höga Kusten – Kõrge Kallas. See on looduslikult kaunis kaljune piirkond. Homme avastame seda ja kirjutame juba lähemalt.
You neither see nor hear many Estonians in these parts. We haven’t come across a single car with Estonian plates either. I suppose Estonians still tend to head somewhere warm for their holidays. Neither of us is much of a heat-lover, so this crisp northern climate suits us very well.
The camping lies in the region called Höga Kusten – the High Coast. It is a naturally beautiful, rocky area. Tomorrow we will explore it and write about it in more detail.
Meie tänane teekond | Our trip today
