Here we go again!

OK, everyone!  We're off and running (or skiing, actually) again!  Leaving soon for a month in our favorite part of the world.  A few days in Reykjavík, then a brief stop in Östersund, Sweden, to rent skis and hopefully do some test-skiing, as what we're finding to rent are quite different from our normal cross-country skis.

Then we'll head to Glåmos, Norway, where we've booked an AirBnB apartment on a farm.  They say we can ski right out the door!  And there are lots of ski trails all around the UNESCO town of Røros, a copper-mining town dating back to 1644.  A big part of our reason to visit the Røros region is Rørosmartnan, an open-air market held "the next-to-last weekend in February", since 1854.  There's a nice video here: https://www.roros.no/en/portfolio/the-roeros-winter-fair/  Folk-music, dancing, handicrafts AND skiing!  What more could anyone want??

After our week in Røros, we'll go back across the border to Bruksvallarna, part of the Funäsdalen / Funäsfjällen area, the largest ski area in Scandinavia, according to their promos.  Bruksvallarna is mostly aimed at cross-country skiing, with 300 kilometers of groomed trails, at the incredible altitude of 720 meters (2360 feet!!), which ensures snow all season long.  We've not spent time in the province of Härjedalen before, so are looking forward to that!  We've rented a Fäbodstuga, or cabin, for the week.  It saves a lot of money to be able to do our own cooking, and it's an entertaining challenge to shop for ingredients in another country, where what you want may or may not be available.  More than you want to know here: http://www.bruksvallarna.se/english/cross-country/

   

 

Looks like skiing on top of the world!

Then it's down to Stockholm for a few days, for a friend's birthday and a bit of nyckelharping.

But we're soon off again, this time to Luleå in Swedish Lappland.  Neither of us has been here before, either, so we're spending a day to look around the city before driving to Arvidsjaur for more skiing.  The pictures of the ski area were what decided us on this location, especially the one we picked for the background of the blog:

So different from the terrain here in Colorado!

And then home again, pausing briefly in Reykjavík, just in time to prepare for our annual dance weekend!