Exploring Ärteråsens Fäbodar

The deep, rich green colors of summer slowly turned to yellow and then orange. Now they’re a muted brown, in the mornings covered in cold and white frost. Soon everything will be white. In Scandinavia we are lucky to experience all the seasons, very distinctly too. Something I truly enjoy is seeing the same place in different times of the day, and in different seasons. It can look so different and the change of nature is absolutely fascinating.

Last week during fall break I was lucky enough to go back and stay at Näsets Marcusgård again, the place where I had my photography workshop at the beginning of summer. This time with Dan and our friends. We had Fähuset for ourselves and we also took care of the owners dog Nancy while they were away for a few days. We have all had a very busy, energy draining time with our jobs lately so to come here and wind down was much needed!

On our first full day here we enjoyed a slow morning where everyone got up and ate breakfast at their own pace. I was up early getting a fire going (I wish we had a fireplace at home since this is a morning routine I really wish I could continue with) and sat and worked for a bit. Then we got ready, made sandwiches and packed our bags with snacks and coffee and headed out.

We drove on small, winding roads through the forest, seeing no one else as we headed up, up and up towards one of my favourite places here. See last time I was here I visited Ärteråsens Fäbodar, a place I fell in love with right away. To show Dan and my friends this place meant a lot to me. It’s beautiful and there’s so much Swedish history imbedded there, so I was very excited in the car as we got closer!

When arriving here you park in a small, gravelled clearing and then there’s a short walk through the forest before the fields, old style wooden fences and the beautiful landscape opened up before you. I immediately reacted to how different it all looked now during fall. Last time I was here the grass was green, skies blue and flowers bloomed everywhere with bees buzzing around.

≫ click here to see my post from my summer visit

Now the frost crunched under our feet, the dry grass rustled as I walked through it and the colors of the landscape where soft and muted. Together we explored the old houses and tasted lingonberries that were very sweet and tasty. When the frost hits they loose some of their bitterness, same as with rowan berries. We ended up picking enough for Kim to be able to make a jam for our dinner! We looked at mushrooms and big trees, played with Nancy, climbed the watch tower to enjoy the view and ate our lunch in the sun. Life with my friends is very easy and uncomplicated, and it’s always very enjoyable to explore new places together with them all.

As the sun got lower we started back down on the path, past the houses and through a forest bathing in the last sunshine. We got in the car and the windy roads took us home where we made a fire, enjoyed a few glasses of red wine, made dinner and played some games.