Ljusnan- a small basket or a big river? Karin´s trip to northern Sweden

I have just been to see my father again in northern Sweden. He is 94 years old and living in an old people´s home, since he is handicapped and sitting in a wheelchair. Life is not so fun at that age! Yesterday we brought him home to his house over the day. We picked raspberries in the garden and gave him. The weather was rainy and a bit cold. But I think he enjoyed it anyway. 
The next day though, it was sparkling sunshine. The colours in northern Sweden are so fresh. Clear blue skies, fresh green fields and dark green pine trees. The clean river water reflects it all like a mirror. 

The river Ljusnan reflecting the blue sky...

Karin: Jie, do you remember when we went to IKEA in Shanghai and we saw a small basket called Ljusnan? I told you it was the name of a river in Sweden which flows through my father´s home village. You can see it in the photo here.

Jie:How I envy you! I’m stuck in a building, imagining being in the wilderness. Yes, I do remember you telling me about the river Ljusnan. Once my friend asked me what the IKEA stuff were named after, I said it could be anything from Sweden, a girl’s name, a river,etc. (Naming a basket after a river? Ha? Interesting, and unexpected.)

Karin: Actually, most of the things they sell in IKEA are named after places or names in Sweden. By the way, did you know that the name IKEA also is short for a name and a place? IK are the initials of Ingvar Kamprad, the founder and owner of IKEA. EA is short for Elmtaryd, the farm where he was born, and Agunnaryd, the nearby village, in south of Sweden. 

In northern Sweden most of the houses are made of wood, since there are big forests. The old wooden houses are quite beautiful with a lot of carvings on the verandas. 

 

 

Ljusdal, which is the name of the village where my father grew up, lies in an area which is dominated by the timber industry since over a hundred years.  

Timber waiting to be loaded on the train

 My grandfather started to work when he was 12 years old, chopping trees in the forests. Common people were quite poor then, in the old times. My grandparents managed to get a small farm where they raised cattle and sold milk. But my grandfather also worked at the saw mill and in wintertime he kept on working in the woods, chopping trees. They got 10 children so they had a lot of mouths to feed.

 In northern Sweden the climate is too cold for growing common cereals like wheat, so barley is the main grain, which is also used for making bread. 

A small field of barley ready for harvest