DAY 02 - tractors, market queens and the birth of lasse!

over breakfast we try to decide who will and who should become marknadsdrottning (market queen) at överkalix market - the girls in the paper are under close scrutiny. we think that the blonde who looks like she has had all the guys on the local high school's soccer (or ice hockey or whatever) team (including the coach) will make it - if mostly men vote. the innocent-and-nice looking moa (no, she looks nothing like the bird of the same name) only has a chance with elderly spinsters and aunts of the kind who will insist on giving you no-nonsense underwear and good old socks on every occasion. but sepp says he'll go and vote for her. (we find out later that a slightly bitchy-looking girl with no aaparent charm at all made it; PR, i suppose, it's all about PR.)

then, rather early on our trip, comes sepp's highlight: the tractor museum. of course, by that time, he's no longer sepp, but has metamorphosed into lasse - and it's all lucas' fault. how and where and why he gets the idea, nobody knows. but he insists on calling sepp lasse. sure, sepp is not something he is familiar with, but why it's lasse, is beyond us. anyway, the name sticks. and lasse has to prove that lotta's theory is correct - every man has a tractor gene.

there are dozens of tractors, some of them nearly a hundred years old, at holger's tractor museum in svartbyn near överkalix. lasse and janne (who will soon turn into frånz) are in seventh heaven. there's even a steyr tractor, an austrian vehicle, which reminds sepp of home. for some reason, emelie, lotta and me are not quite as impressed as the lads - although it's no doubt interesting in some way, especially when the owner, holger, revs up a couple of engines and does a few tractor rounds - including one with the oldest one. and boy, i have never seen tractors go faster!


sepp is a happy man!

after the tractor museum, we are off to överkalix market. it's such a beautiful day - it is not only warm, but actually hot. this would be a perfect day for swimming and sunbathing! överkalix market is huge, and very crowded. emelie is with her grandparents, but we bump into them a couple of times. sepp and janne are looking for the market queen candidates, but they are nowhere to be seen. probably busy bribing the jury. :)

on our way home to holmen, morjärv, we stop at brännaberget, a hill with a splendid view of the area: överkalix and surroundings, the river and träsk, lots and lots of trees ... perfect for a genuine holiday feeling!


view from brännaberget

back "home", lucas and lasse are chasing each other in the garden, lotta and janne are preparing dinner (grilled salmon, yummy!), and i am enjoying the sunshine. after dinner, lucas asks me to come outside and play with him, but i say i don't want to, he should go and ask sepp. "sepp", he repeats. "sepp, sepp." he runs downstairs and yells - "lasse!!" :))

janne takes sepp, me, and lucas (after initial hesitation) out on the boat, which is soooo nice. the sky is adorable, the water quiet, almost like a mirror ... and janne and lotta's home is so far away from everywhere and everything anyway, it's peaceful and relaxing.


my favourite pic of lucas, on board the boat

later, we watch tv, some 80s special, a cosy evening.

day 02 photos