The Big Day
We traveled 90 minutes from Stockholm today to visit Ransta, the town where my Grandma lived as a child.
First we had lunch in a pituresque restaurant on a gorgeous lake. Met some new people today – from left to right: Sven-Eric the Ransta Historian who researched the Lindblad history in Ransta for us and guided us through the town the entire day. Tove (pron: Two Veh) is Johan’s daughter. Thomas, Lois, Bob, Sophia, Krister, Johan and mom in the front.
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Sven-Eric took us to the church that my grandma was confirmed in. It was surreal imagining my grandma standing in this church with her family looking on.
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My great grandmother (Lovisa Lindblad) and great grandfather (Carl Johan Lindblad) are also buried at this church. We visited their plots.
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Prior to building the house in Ransta – the Lindblad’s lived in Labacken. The house no longer stands and we didn’t know exactly where it was or why it was no longer standing. A neighbor happened to see us and there is Krister telling him why we are there. The man went into his house and figured out where the house used to be and said that it had burnt down. Another mystery solved.
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Next on to Ransta!
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We finally made it to the house the my great grandfather built. It is located down a small street surrounded by houses of a similar style. Ransta is very remote with large green fields edged by forests everywhere you look. I always thought my grandma grew up on a farm. This house is not on a farm – it is on a lot not much bigger than the house.
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There is an apple tree that is guessed to be as old as the house – 100 years old.
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My great grandma worked for the railroad by walking to the nearest crossing 4 times a day and manually putting down the crossing gates. My great grandfather also worked for the railroad by managing the nearest station.
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Here is how it looks near the house.
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Just amazing. Here it shows how the foliage around the house has grown so much over the years. There is so much greenery that it is no longer possible to shoot a photo like the original one.
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After seeing the Ransta house we went back to the church, which was in Sala. Thomas surprised us with something he found in a relative’s attic at some point. It is an old-fashioned ‘bouncy’ seat that hung from the ceiling in the kitchen to distract the little one’s as dinner was cooked.
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Here are some videos from the day
SWEDE MEMORIES 