Skiing Trip

Last week I went to Tandådalen, Sälen in the north of Sweden on a skiing trip. I wasn't sure if I was going to ski myself or just be there to help out with the children. We travelled up on Saturday, the drive took us a bout 7 hours, with stops for the children.

On Sunday and Monday I just sat in the sun and watched all the skiers. On Monday evening Viggo and I went for a walk into the forest and played in the deep snow. It was so nice to have the right gear and be out playing in the snow but still be dry and warmish when I got back:)

Viggo (5yrs) was sad that I wasn't skiing and worried that I was too bored sat around, he really wanted me to give it a go. After contemplating it I decided it would be a shame to be at a ski resort for a week and have the opportunity to ski, and not at least try it! So I hired ski's for the day on Tuesday.

Viggo was my teacher and he was so good. He told me step by step what I needed to do and I followed his every move.

After 2 trips down the mini slope with him, he then told me that I had to do it on my own and he would watch me. So I went off, on my own, amongst the children, and did a run on my own.

When I got to the bottom and asked Viggo how I did, he told me that I was very good and I was now ready for the big slopes! While I liked his enthusiasm for my progress I didn't quite agree!

I moved up to the next slope, a little longer, with more of an incline and this is my first run:

I quite proud of myself! I did a few runs on this slope, as much as my legs could bear! Then I sat in the sun for an hour while the boys were at ski school and Per & Pernilla went up the mountain. As things went well, I extended the hire of my skis for another 3 days.

On Wednesday we went to a different resort down the road that had a childrens slope through Trollskogen (The Troll Forest) it sounded like fun so we thought we would check it out.

We took the big chair lift up the mountain, where we had been reassured that the children could go from the top of the mountain because it had green slopes (Easy slopes, for thoses non skiers!) all the way down! Well, they were wrong!!!!

It was really windy at the top of the mountain and as I'm not a big fan of heights at the best of times I was a little worried before I even saw the slope. But I was telling myself that I could do it and that I had to do it, as I couldn't stay at the top of the mountain all day!

I started down the slope, following after (in order) Viggo - he was always the first one down any slope, he has no fear at all, Per, then Pernilla had Melker between her legs steering his skis. It was also icey, which meant more speed, and I wasn't happy about that, but I managed to steer for a while, until I looked up and notice how steep the slope actually was! So I steered myself to a stop at the side of the slope! To cut the story shorter - Per came to my rescue and I followed him down a bit further and then walked the last bit of that slope (it was a red slope!) We were still half way up the mountain, but the rest of the slopes through Trollskogen were fine and I enjoyed the rest:)

I spent the rest of the week on the children's slope, which was just fine for me:) I really enjoyed it and glad that I took the opportunity.

The weather was mostly sunny but windy, there was one day of snow, but not enough to keep us in! So I am very tanned on my face - I didn't wear googles or sun glasses, so I don't have the usual skier tan! lol

This is the group photo on the last day, just before we took our ski's back:

and the professionals, Pernilla and Per:

After our last ski we went to the pool to relax and then went over to some friends who had a lovley villa, ours was ok, but this one was privately owned, so it was a bit more luxurious! It had a really sweet grill house. It was round and had seating all the way around and reindeer skins to keep you warm. The grill was in the middle and all the smoke went right up the chimney. I could just imagine being tucked up in their on a cold winters night with family:) We had some really nice grill pork, that was cooked to perfection!

Spring is on it's way!

The snow is almost gone and we haven't had any for a while, so I think spring is on it's way!

While I loved the snow and winter, I am looking forward to Spring. It is so nice to have seasons and watch the world transform in each of them, and people with it.

The mornings are lighter which makes it easier to get up. And it is so nice to see the sunshine and clear blue skies and hear the birds singing. Spring brings with it a freshness and new life. Soon the flowers will be peering through the ground and the buds on the tress will be sprouting., and the weather will be warmer:)

This past week the temperatures have been between -4 and 0, so a little warmer in theory, but as there is more moisture in the air, it has felt colder and there has been a harsh wind! It's ok if you are in the sun, but the shade is arctic!

But it hasn't stopped me from being out and about. I have been walking around town and getting to know Göteborg and trying out the local cafes - there are a lot so I won't try all of them, but it's nice to feel like a local:)

I went up to the lake again, for the first time since the snow came. There was still snow but it was a lovely saturday so I wanted to be out side and enjoy the sun (at this time of year you have no idea how long it will be around!) The lake is still frozen, 50cm of ice, people were walking across it and ice skating. So I had my first experience of walking across a frozen body of water - it was fun and scary at the same time! Even though it was completely safe I couldn't help but think that there was a mass of water right underneath me!