Tällberg, on Siljan - Wednesday, 17 August

Geoff
Just a short outing from the site today. We drove the scenic route through a few villages to the next town, Leksand. It hosts a large festival each June when some 20,000 people come and dance around a maypole (presumably not at the same time). We had come, mainly, to see the church, parts of which were built in the 13th century. It has an onion shaped dome. Inside was blue painted seating and much gold leaf. The organ was impressive. There was a young man playing the organ, although in short bursts and once, either he or another man, sang something.

A traditional holiday "stuga" at Tällberg

We move on tomorrow.

Amanda

The beautiful sunset last night didn't deliver, and it has been overcast and cool all day, but no rain. Feeling very relaxed and unpressured, we enjoyed a lazy morning, and then did a trip to the next town at the southern end of the lake, Leksand. Again, this was smart, and clearly has a lot going on culture-wise. There is a big cultural festival here for mid-summer, apparently the biggest in the country. The church, with its famous onion-shaped dome, was well worth a visit, in its lakeside setting, and beautifully maintained. Someone was playing the organ, which still has its 19th century facade, but the organ itself was replaced in the 1950s. There was also a (slightly) more modern organ in the chancel. The church was set out ready for a concert this evening.

We popped into the impressive Cultural Centre/Library/Museum, but were too late to spend any worthwhile time in the museum which had an exhibition of folk costumes.

There are signs around the village of preparations for this music festival, and it clearly is going to be heaving. There are temporary campsites being set up, and marquees appearing. We have not discovered exactly what sort of music festival it is. However we have been entertained, not too loudly, by more than one caravan awning full of people singing to an accordian accompaniment! Quite pleasant, if repetitive.

There are many nice touches on this site, but one that we very much appreciated, and have made use of, is a trough of growing herbs, with a sign saying 'help yourself '.