Guest blogger: A message from Grandpa Stefan!

Hi there!

Peter’s Dad Stefan here. I have the honour to write a guest blog entry today.
Peter, Shaena and Ethan visited us here in Haparanda, in the northern parts of Sweden and it has been great to meet them! It was seven years since Peter was here last, and now he has a family.

I picked them up in Luleå with my old Volvo and took a little longer route home; I wanted to show Shaena the beautiful landscape here. The Midnight sun was new for Shaena, and Peter had been away so long so he wasn’t used to it either. The summer nights here are so nice, I have been driving home 03.30am and enjoying every minute; sunny, no cars, pleasant temperature, far from the long dark cold winter. Peter and I took a little tour around the new Haparanda and Tornio, it has changed so much since IKEA came here, and they are building these two towns together. Peter took some very beautiful midnight sun photos.

The next day we visited my work at the library and I must say; I was so proud to show my little Grandson Ethan to all my colleagues. We also visited the rapids in Kukkola; I use to do that whenever my children come home with a girl or boyfriend or in this case with a family. Ice cream in Kukkola is a little tradition I have. We were lucky; they were building the bridges for the fishing, a very old cultural tradition. If you look at the pictures of the bridges and the viking ship model riverboats it is hard to believe that the picture is from 2010!

We had planned to go to the Arctic Circle, so we drove to Rovaniemi, Finland and ate pizza and hamburgers at Lordi’s Rocktaurant. It was strange to eat being watched by Freddy Krueger. Thinking of Ethan, it should have been Winnie the Pooh instead.

After lunch, we met Santa and they also had the 'Earth axle' rotating in there, which was new to me. We also went fishing in a pond and Shaena caught her first fish ever. I took a little longer route home; I wanted to show the Swedish Torne Valley.

The last day was a visit to my Mother in Båtskärsnäs. It was the first time she met Shaena and of course Ethan. She had cooked a soup of something I haven’t eaten in a very long time; stinging nettles. It tastes like spinach, but better. We went to the beach and camping in Frevisören, four kilometres from Båtskärsnäs, a place where I have spent a lot of time in my youth.

We then went back to Great grandmother; she treated us to a very delicious pastry and we also took a four generations photo. Then it was time to say goodbye, the next stop was Piteå, and I went home and had another delicious pastry in Finland at a 50th birthday party. It has been very nice days for my wife and me and naturally for my mother.