A 'Swenglish' journey through family photos, notes and postcards
from the early 20th century.

2022-10-22

'On the Bummel', Part 2 - Sepia Saturday 644

Gustaf - mid/late 1920s

Continued from my post last week: 


Norra Björke, Sunday Morning

Darling!

We are now at Norra Björke, with your friend Anna E, where we're very comfortable. We have just got out of bed. I'm dressed and ready to go. Nils is washing himself in a big basin to get rid of yesterday's dust from the roads. In the night, we were nearly drowning. No, don't worry - I don't mean that in the literal sense! What we were 'drowning' in was soft pillows and featherbeds! 

We arrived here last night around 6 pm. We had then cycled almost 100 km without feeling overly tired. We had nice weather all day. After having asked for Anna at a number of farms (whose female inhabitants gazed at us with eyes big as plates from pure astonishment), we finally found the right one. (The thing is, Vitlered turned out to be a whole village, consisting of seven farms.)

We first met the son, a timid young man with a beard. He was driving a load of peat. Next, we made the acquaintance of a couple of sisters – younger – of Anna's. They were strange creatures. With one of them we had to greet her twice (each), before she understood the meaning of lifting a hat.  

The next acquaintance was the lord of the manor. He was a jovial man of around 65, from Bohuslän. [B. is a province on the west coast of Sweden; and they may have guessed his origin from his dialect.] 

The mistress of the house – who Nils had claimed to be dead – had gone to Trollhättan for some kind of family reunion. Anna herself had gone to put flowers on the graveyard nearby. However, we were generously offered to have a look around (as if special permission would be needed for that). So we did. A bit later, our saviour Anna arrived. She was the nicest in the family - a bit squint eyed, but kind.

We had supper, and after that it was almost 8:30 pm. Nonetheless, we went climbing up steep hills and dark passages to the top of the mountain Hunneberg, together with Anna and one of the other girls. The view was spectacular, in spite of the falling dusk. After that, we had coffee; and then it was time for bed.

Hunneberg (a 'table mountain', 155 m / 508 ft high)
Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Hunneberg is one of two table mountains in that area (close to Lake Vänern); separated by a valley about 500 m wide (1600 feet). The other mountain is called Halleberg. Together they form a protected nature conservation area.

Today we're leaving after breakfast, heading for Vänersborg, and then (if the weather allows) on to Lidköping in the afternoon – around 50 km. It's looking cloudy today though, so hard to tell. But we'll be going as far as Vänersborg anyway.

Where we'll be spending the next night we don't know yet, but it probably won't be in a bed as comfortable as last night. But we're glad that the weather has been good so far. The nature up here is wonderful, you know.

Speaking of Anna, before we leave I'll take a photo of her and the rest of the family, so that you get to see their home. I was thinking yesterday, that this might be of interest to you.

About an hour later: 
We're now in the vicinity of Vänersborg. It started raining, so we sought shelter in a carriage shed. As soon as possible, we'll continue into town, where we'll stay until the weather improves. I'm sitting here meditating whilst listening to the monotonous sound of rain dripping from the eaves. I'm thinking of you at home, and wondering how you are. It seems like a long time since I last saw you, and yet it's only been two days. [---]

Now I've been writing two sheets at a speed that probably makes it hard for you to read my sloppy handwriting! Lots of greetings from both of us, to all of you! All my best wishes! And I can't wait to get to Falköping and receive your letter!

Yours, Gustaf

[ Alas, if there were any more letters written from this bicycle trip, they were not preserved. I know they arrived safely back home again, though - or else I would not be here to share the story! ;-) ]


This photo of Gustaf I'm pretty sure was not taken on this trip, but closer to home. Gustaf's and Nils' bicycle adventure took place in the same province in Sweden, though - Västergötland - and the agricultural landscape was and is rather typical for the whole area.  

(The original photo is of course black-and-white, but I played around a bit with colour filters to try and create a "sunny" vs "twilight" feeling.)

I haven't found any photos in the albums that seem to be from the bicycle trip.


Sally at home, waiting for letters...
(Farm house in the background)

 




SVENSKA

Fortsättning från föregående inlägg
('Two Men on the Bummel' - Sepia Saturday 643)

Norra Björke, söndag morgon

Älskling!

Som du av ovanstående datering ser, befinner vi oss nu i Norra Björke hos din väninna Anna E. Här ha vi – enligt din utsago – haft det finfint. Vi ha nyss stigit upp. Jag är färdig. Nils håller just på att skölja landsvägsdammet av sig i ett – dess bättre – stort handfat. Vi höllo i natt på att drunkna. Tro nu för all del inte, att jag menar ”drunkna” i bokstavlig mening. Vi ”drunknade” nämligen i kuddar och mjuka bolstrar. 

Klockan var ung. 6 när vi  i går kväll anlände hit. Vi hade då kört nära 10 mil utan att vara vidare trötta. Vackert väder hade vi hela dagen. Efter att ha frågat efter Anna i några gårdar, vars kvinnliga invånare vid denna fråga fingo ögon stora som tallrikar av pur förvåning, träffade vi på rätt gård. (Det finns nämligen en hel by med 7 gårdar med namet Vitlered.) 

Vi träffade sonen i huset, en försagd liten ung man med skäggväxt. Han körde torv. Därpå gjorde vi oss bekanta med ett par systrar – yngre – till Anna. De voro ena besynnerliga varelser. På den ena av dem tvingades vi hälsa ej mindre än 2 gånger vardera, innan hon förstod vad betydlse som låg i hattens avtagande. Nästa bekantskap var husets herre. Det var en fryntlig gubbe på ca 65 år, bohuslänning till börden. Mor i huset – som Nils sade var död – hade rest till Trollhättan på något slags släktmöte. Anna själv var med blommor på den närbelägna kyrkogården. Nå, vi blevo generöst bjudna att få gå och se oss omkring (som om det skulle tarvas särskild tillåtelse till det), och det gjorde vi. Efter en stund anlände frälsaren Anna. Hon var den trevligaste av familjen E. Fast hon såg en smula i november. Snäll såg hon emellertid ut. 

Så fingo vi kvällsmat. När denna väl var inmundigad var kl nästan halv 9. Men icke förty klättrade vi uppför branta stup genom mörka gångar upp till toppen av Hunneberg. Anna och en av de andra flickorna voro med. Det var oerhört mödosamt, men flickorna klättrade som stengetter. Utsikten var storslagen, trots den inträdande skymningen. Så fingo vi kaffe vid hemkomsten, och så blev det ”läggning” av. 

Idag äta vi frukost och så åka vi till Vänersborg, därifrån vi såvida vädret tillåter, på em fortsätter till Lidköping, ca 5 mil. Det ser dock mulet ut, så man vet ej. Vi resa i alla händelsre till Vbg. 

Var vi nästa natt övernattar är ej gott att veta, men troligen blir det väl inte i så komfortabel säng som i natt. Men det är skönt, att vädret är så vackert. Naturen här uppe är härlig, må du tro lilla du. 

Apropå Anna, så skall jag, innan vi resa, ta ett kort på henne och de övriga, så du får se hennes hem. Jag tänkte igår på, att detta skulle intressera dig. 

Något över en timma senare:
Vi befinner oss strax i närheten av Vänersborg. Det har börjat regna, varför vi sökt skydd i en vagnsbod. Så fort sig göra låter, fortsätta vi till staden, där vi stanna tills bättre väderförhållanden inträtt. Jag sitter och mediterar under det jag lyss till takdroppets monotona plaskande. Jag tänker på dig därhemma och undrar hur du har det. Jag tycker det är länge sedan jag såg dig sist, och dock är det blott 2 da'r sedan. [---]

Nu har jag skrivit 2 ark i en fart, som gör att du borde få svårt att läsa den slarviga stilen. Hälsningar i mängd från oss båda till dig och Er alla. Lev väl! Jag väntar på Falköping och ditt brev! 
Din Gustaf

6 comments:

  1. A nice coloring job of the picture of Gustaf. Very sunny. :) The mention and photo of the table mountain reminded me of the table mountain winding through the Sonora and Jamestown area where I live. It's actually named "Table Mountain". Once upon a time eons ago it was a river, but lava from an erupting volcano ran into the ancient river flushing all the water out, leaving a hardened surface under which gold was discovered later on. Over time the softer earth alongside the river wore away leaving a long flat meandering mountain roughly 770 feet high.

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    1. LaN, yes, a lot of other 'table mountains' around the world also popped up on my screen while I was checking up on facts for this post :)

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  2. So a young man had the urge to share his adventure for just a little while...or perhaps he did write many more times, but the letters were lost through time. It certainly was an exciting beginning to their trip...and I'm really glad they survived. No photo of Anna though he said he'd take one. Oh well.

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    1. Barbara, unless their trip was cut short by continued bad weather, I think he most likely wrote a few more similar letters from that bicycle tour; but only these two ended up being saved (in the box of memorabilia passed on to me). My guess is that he also probably did take a photo; but if not saved with that letter, or in an album, it won't have 'survived'.

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  3. Your title,'On the Bummel', is very fitting for such delightful travel letters. The wit and charming descriptions in Gustaf's letters makes for an interesting contrast to your series on Gerda's postcards with her pithy messages. It's too bad there are not more, but it's still enough to illustrate Gustaf's cheerful personality, and in a way, better than a short postcard note.

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  4. Thanks Mike. Yes, it's obvious that my grandfather enjoyed writing. I don't think I've ever seen a postcard written by him. He might have had difficulties confining his messages to such a small space! ;)

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