I walk the Cultural Trail through
Gällivare, past the artwork, new
and old church, sports ground with grandstand and
portal, The Plupp Forest, and Heritage area. Concludes with
pastry in Cafe Nyfiket. Meet in the
rain my friend who is coming by bus from Ritsem.
Neighboring room snore, so I wake up in good time for breakfast. Before
I go down to breakfast I take the opportunity to document the hotel room and take a
self portrait with the help of full-length mirror. Eat my usual breakfast,
i.e. the same as yesterday. Should I go to "Åke on the top" on Dundret or
cultural trail? My own local weather forecast, my back, my brain and the
culture, propagate all for the Cultural Trail. Then it will be that.
Peeking through the window to the spray house, i.e. the fire museum.
There are fine old fire engines, including one devoted to one horsepower. It is
open to the church, it is being prepared for the morning service at eleven
o'clock. The priest is busy, I light a candle in the candle bearer, sit
down and listen to when the organist rehearse. Walk over to the "Other
Side", and the walkway along the river Vassara. The old church is closed today, too.
Too bad, it is beautifully situated among the birches at Vassara River, would
like to look into it. After the church is some 1700s house, rectory and
"Lapphärbärget". The
vicarage seems to be a home, perhaps the priest lives there today.
Outside Lapphärbärget, once a school, swing two women two children.
At the railroad crossing I let an empty ore trains to pass, it feels
better that way. Continuing to walk along the Vassara river until
Gällivare camping. Before hiking in 1981, we camped in Gällivare, maybe it
was here, but I do not recognize anything. Adjacent is Sweden's most northerly
windmill, built in the 1860s. I like football, go onto the pitch. On one side is
a nice wooden grandstand. It looks to be renovated or canceled. Hope the
former. The entrance, the GSK-Portal, to the football field is impressive, but is
also in poor condition. On a plate is Gällivare SK - ---. Looks not to have
been used for a while. Asking a man with a nice dog. "Gällivare first team plays
in the Malmberget, note here". My cultural journey continues to the English
barracks, so called because it was built for English workers during the construction of the
railway. It is barred. The cafe Strandcafé looks nice, built in the 1890s
and once infirmary. But closed. The gate to the lapp camp (Lapplägret) is
locked with a padlock. Apparently, the tourist season is over.
Take the bridge over the river Vassara to the Plupp forest. There is
a grove of trees, nothing more. Plupp, Inga Borg's invisible blue-haired
children's book character
who lives far up north, I see nothing. It's obvious, because he's
invisible to adults, I have
no child at heart any longer. At the river is a small old water mill. I
sit on the riverbank and eat my sandwiches. Strangely, some have already taken a bite out of
one of the sandwiches. Perhaps Plupp who was hungry? That is fine with me.
Going back over the bridge and studying the old houses.
Yrtivaaragården, house
built by settlers from the 1800s. Ullatti farm, in this cottage were
religious Laestadian meetings held can I read on the information about the farm. Other
houses are a shop, bakery,
storehouse, missionary. All of them closed up, the tourist season is
short. One can
see in through the windows of some of the buildings. There are beds and
tables in there, maybe you can rent a bed here? The mission house is the end of
the cultural trail,
it's now raining slighlty and it has become somewhat chilly. Good
I did not choose Åke on the top.
I continue walking my own culture trail, café culture is also a
kind of culture. I will conclude with coffee and cake at Café Nyfiket,
Åhults successor. It is a tradition to have coffee there. The shop assistent asks if I want
a cake from yesterday for half price? Sure, there's nothing wrong with
it. It is almost full, it's me and about thirty schoolchildren. When I go at
closing time the shop assistent asks if I want a cake for free, or else they throw it,
it will soon be too old. I must look like a good pig and cake monster. But an entire
cake, I can not eat. I have to say no.
Rest for a while at the hotel before I go and meet with A whos is coming
with the bus from Ritsem six o'clock. It's raining heavy now. The evening is
spent at the Chinese restaurant with ducks and, hmm can not interpret what I
wrote in the diary. Is it woked reindeer? Tastes good is it doing.
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