Waking up in Gargnäs was nice. Flemming and I stayed in a small red cottage by the lake, and it was very silent – we were the only guests at the camping site. The village is located on a tiny peninsula between a lake and a river, and there was water everywhere. We went to see the managers of the camp, to find out whether we could get any internet connection, and to find some food. Flemming in front of the camp site office:
The owners didn’t know whether there was a cafe in the village. For internet, we needed to walk to the other side of the camp site (a router was placed there in a closed hut); we were supposed to use internet standing outside. They also told us that the whole camping site was fully booked (although we were there alone), and that we would need to move out the following morning. And we haven’t heard from the airfield manager yet. So there were a number of tasks that needed to be solved quickly.
We headed for ICA (a supermarket chain in Sweden) in the centre of the village. On our way, we saw a sign for a bed & breakfast place, and went there to find out whether we could stay there. The Swiss owner told us it was closed due to COVID-19, but he kindly offered us a cottage on the premises, in case we’d need it.
Local church, a very nice one. Please note the stones of the fence – they all were round, like balls. We later learned they were from a local mine:
In ICA, we spoke to the staff, and told them the same story we were telling everywhere: “We are 2 pilots from Denmark, flying ultralight aircraft on a 4 week vacation in Sweden. We need your help with X, Y, Z.” The “x, y, z” could be a place to stay, fuel, car, food, anything. We always got help, and there wasn’t even a day without us talking about all those helpful strangers we met during our flying trips in Sweden. We sent them our thoughts of deep appreciation, and hoped to meet again later so that we could “pay back” with something good for them.
So in ICA, we showed the staff pictures of our Aeroprakt parked at the airfield in Gargnäs, and told them we needed to get in touch with Östen Dahlström. They called Laila, Östen’s wife, from whom they heard Östen was out picking up berries in a forest. Laila gave another phone number, and finally we could reach Östen.
In ICA, we bought breakfast, and got permission to sit there in the hall where we established an internet cafe:
ICA always has free internet for its customers, and we needed to find out when we would be able to fly out of Gargnäs, and where to. With internet in general, we had severe problems in Lapland. There wasn’t anything wrong with the internet itself, but with the ability of our Danish internet providers to have access to it. We had 2 options: TDC and “3” (both are the names of telecommunications companies in Denmark). TDC sometimes had a connection, but a poor one. The other one, called “3” was completely useless! And that company gets customers by advertising seamless internet and roaming in many European countries inclusive Sweden! So our own ICA internet cafe became our second home during the stay in Gargnäs.
In ICA of Gargnäs, we saw a good variety of surströmming:
Surströmming is a traditional Swedish dish from 16th century, probably even earlier. It is a lightly salted fermented herring, also called the most smelly dish in the world. Flemming read somewhere about the origin of this dish, which was quite interesting. Salt in the old days was a precious product, and was delivered to Sweden from Lübeck in Germany. In Sweden, salt at that time was mainly used for preserving fish. When Lübeck suddenly stopped their supplies of salt due to one or another political dispute, Sweden had to find other ways to preserve the fish and to survive. Then the method of fermenting came into use. Today, surströmming is traditionally consumed after the third Thursday of August (called “surströmmning’s day”) till early September. Because of the strong smell, it is often eaten outdoors. The pressurised can is normally opened some distance away from the dining table. Initially it would often be punctured while immersed in a bucket of water, or after tapping and angling it upwards at 45 degrees, to prevent the escaping gas from spraying any brine.
After a couple of hours in the “internet cafe” we went for a walk around the lake inside the small peninsula where Gargnäs is located. The weather forecast promised rain everywhere; there was nothing else to do than surrender. Around the lake, 14-18 small information boards were placed, telling stories about famous people from the very old days that lived in the area. It was very interesting to read.
A rock commemorating those who settled in Gargnäs in 1755 as first residents (more than 250 years ago!):
Flemming showed me his skills as a chess player:
A closer photo of the house behind Flemming and chess:
This is how the houses were built. Layers of birch bark were laid in-between the roof.
In the afternoon, Östand finally returned from the forest. He drove directly to our cottage, and showed us the berries he picked up:
It was hjortron (or cloudberries), and it was first time we saw them. Östen was proud – those berries were difficult to find. They can only be found in the wild, are unique and often used for special occasions. Raw hjortron berries are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants. He went home to change, and to have a small break. Later he picked us up, and drove to the airfield. Östen had 20 litres of MoGas for us – we refuelled, and parked our Aeroprakt in his hangar.
A short walk around the airfield, before going for a sight-seeing drive through Gargnäs.
In the beginning of 20th century, during the 1st World War, there was hunger in the area. People had to sell the solid wood their houses were built of, in order to survive. Only few managed, and therefore only a small number of the old houses can be seen today:
There were also a couple of them on our internet-free camping site:
It became quite cold, and we spend the evening in our warm cottage, looking at the pictures from the previous days, and eating fresh hjortron – Östen brought us a big bowl of them, together with sugar and cream. They were a bit sour, and tasted delicious with cream and sugar:
We knew we’d have to stay i Gargnäs for at least 1-2 rainy days more, so we borrowed Östen’s car for a driving tour next day. Östen recommended visiting Arjeplog, a town 100 km north of Gargnäs, and to see its silver museum.