According to Google, the route Karlstad - Fjällnäs takes 6 hours and 14 minutes. Not for us, for us the stretch took almost two days. But that's how it goes when you stop behind every single bush in search of gofika or something exciting to look at. None of us are particularly fond of driving, so you're constantly looking for a chance to take a break. We had barely left the municipal border at the height of Brattforsheden before the coffee craving reminded us and like a bolt from the blue we saw a sign with a coffee cup and a notice about waffles.
A quick turn and we ended up on Military Airfield 16, what a place! We drove a bit onto a forest road and then had to walk the last bit along a particularly well-signposted path. The airfield is the last preserved war airfield in Sweden of the 40 that were built at the end of the 1930s when the fear of war was great. War airfield 16 was actually supposed to be ready in the summer of 1941 and function as a so-called rear base far from enemy lines, but when Norway was occupied in 1940, the airfield came to be very close to the line and had to be completed in a hurry.
Our quick stop for a coffee and waffle therefore dragged on and we got to see and hear a bit about the exciting history of the airfield. We also got to see their newly produced VR film about a secret aerial reconnaissance mission during World War II. For the brave there is a flight simulator to try, the G-force is however not as high as in a real time plane, it was a bit too tough for the common man. 🙂
Satisfied with waffles and war history, the tour continued towards Dala-Järna and Hulån The Pyramid Bakery. We eat copious amounts of crackers and always from Pyramidbakery, so this was a given stop. I have never really reflected on the name of the bakery, but it turned out that there is a rather charming story behind it. A baker from Egypt left the village of Al Batanun when he met love in Sweden. Included in the luggage was a piece of the family's old sourdough, and that is the basis for Pyramidbakeriet's good crackers. A perfect mix of Swedish and Egyptian.
Our final destination for the day was Rättvik, so it was only a quick stop in Leksand. Here we took a short leg-stretcher along the nice beach promenade Solvändan and a coffee at Siljan's pastry shop, which is right by the square.
When we are out on tour, we try to avoid the usual hotel chains. Sure, it's sometimes convenient, some good offer appears and you know what you're getting at Scandic, Clarion or whichever chain you choose. However, the chains are quite similar and then it is always fun to favor the smaller places which are often more personal. Arriving in Rättvik, we therefore chose to check in at Lustigsgården, a small B&B a bit up the hill with a view of Rättvik and Siljan. I had read in reviews about their good breakfast and above all the freshly baked rolls were amazingly good. After a quick look at Lustigsgården's Instagram account, I saw that there were more people than me who were completely excited about these rolls. The recipe for super delicious cold-fermented carrot rolls is on their account, so go in and check there if you want a quick and easy breakfast bread.
No visit to Dalarna is complete without Dalarna horses. We therefore went to Nils Olsson's Dala horse factory in Nusnäs. Here you will find dala horses in high and low and also dala roosters, dala pigs, dalakos... Yes, you get the idea, kurbits so it was lovely. There were no purchases this time, but it was still fun to walk around the factory and watch how they worked on carving and painting the horses. A typical tourist attraction, but well worth a detour on the way to Mora.
Our last Dala stop was the Vasaloppsstaden Mora, here a lot is concentrated around the race, but even for those not interested in skiing there is little to do. The weather was beautiful so we spent a few hours strolling around the little shops and along the promenade. If we didn't fall for the Dala horses in Nusnäs, we got another chance for Dala stuff in Mora, here there is a shop dedicated to the Morakniven. A Morakniv with an inscription on it felt like a must for the upcoming hiking trip, so I had to take one home with me.
All around Dalarna, we have seen signs with Rättviks ice cream but have not had the opportunity to try it. After a light lunch, we looked for a cafe that sold this ice cream and we were certainly not disappointed. Very good ice cream, it's a shame we didn't try it earlier, but it's hardly like we starved on the trip.
Now we were almost at our final destination Fjällnäs, but we had time for one more stop, Tännäs and Myskoxcentrum. The musk ox center is a non-profit association that works to preserve the musk ox in Härjedalen. The tours start from Härjebrygg's brewery and shop as they have chosen not to sign to the enclosure, all so that the musk oxen will have as much peace and quiet as possible.
Turn on Muskox Center was certainly quite expensive, but seen in the light of the fact that the ticket prices are an important source of income for the center, it was still a price that felt perfectly ok to pay. Musk oxen are not considered a Swedish animal and therefore the center cannot receive any grants for the operation of the park. Musk oxen have existed in Sweden for a long time but died out and re-immigrated only in the 70s. Today there are only a few musk oxen in Sweden, so their work feels important to support. The trip took about an hour and we got to learn a lot about these strange prehistoric animals. The highlight, however, was when we got to see little Brusa come scrambling with his mother and father. Brusa is the latest addition to the enclosure and was born just a few weeks before our visit, so cute!
Look, two days later we arrived in Fjällnäs after a slow but eventful journey through Dalarna. Now we were looking forward to hiking in beautiful Härjedalen. You can read about our hiking week here and here.
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