The Lindahl News: Abroad Edition

It snowed (just a dusting) overnight!  So our fllickas got to see a bit of winter magic here in Jonkoping before leaving tomorrow...good thing they had their "new" snowpants. They would need them for the longish walk down the hill to the Lans Museum. There is a John Bauer Museum inside that I had planned on taking them to based upon an earlier visit that I blogged about on September 11. If you'll recall, John Bauer was a Swedish painter born in 1882 in Jonkoping.  He is best known for his illustrations of Swedish folklore and fairy tales. Here the girls show their enthusiasm for this museum. Once inside, there are racks of clothing to try on to fit right into the enchanted forest with its inhabitants.  Their mother and grandmother got into the spirit while the flickas made their selections. Choices made! I rather fancy this picture of the mother and her offspring. After all these costume changes, we headed to the ar...

On Sunday, Wes and I took advantage of a glorious fall day by being outside most of the day. We hiked at two locations nearby: The Dumme Mosse Preserve and the Naturreservatet Bottnaryd. The first hike was through a bog near the airport in Jonkoping. After our morning spent in the bog, we ate a kebab pizza in a little town where only one restaurant was open.  The owner was Jack from Syria and we had the best time trying to communicate! When he figured out we were from Chicago, he smiled enthusiastically and said his "fru's" family is in Chicago - and we made a friend for life. This is kebab pizza...yes, there are french fries and lettuce on top! The second hike destination:  This is a primordial forest area with 300-400 year old trees. When trees fall ( but do they make a sound? ), there is no removal or clean-up which means lots of lichen on bumps in the ground, gnarly stumps, mushrooms and such. It mad...

  Forests, wild creatures, princesses, bears, trolls...all were subjects for this Swedish artist and illustrator, John Bauer. Imagine the delight in discovering he was from the Swedish city I'm currently living in! Born in Jonkoping on June 4, 1882, and living here until he went to a private art school in Stockholm, John showed much promise as an artist at an early age.  By 1903 he received his first commission as a fairy tale illustrator. He married Ester Ellqvist in 1906.  By 1912, he was Sweden's only fairy tale artist and was known by his "mood landscapes, populated by trolls with kind and inquisitive eyes, delicate little princesses and plucky little boys." And let's not forget his beautiful Lucia! (Sadly, his own life didn't have a fairy tale ending as he, his wife and their family were drowned  in Lake Vattern as their ferry sank. He was only 36 years old.) This past week, the students took a field trip t...