Day 11

Brunflo to Östersund

Distance: 8.5 miles / 13.7 km

Cumulative: 135.7 miles / 218.4 km

“Happiness is waking up, looking at the clock and finding that you still have two hours left to sleep.” Charles M. Schulz

Short hike; long post. 

The forecast was for light rain until 10 or 11, our B&B was comfortable, and we had a relatively short day, so we slept late and planned on leaving around 10:30. It was indeed raining but it didn’t stop as expected. Fortunately it was more a mist or light drizzle than actual rain. We didn’t even bother donning our rain gear. 

As I walked I thought about Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head, which made me think about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which made me think of Anne Bancroft. Then I realized that was Kathrine Ross not Anne Bancroft. But I was already thinking of her and I remembered she was married to Mel Brooks. This reminded me of a story told by Alan Alda. He attended the premiere of Silent Movie. He laughed hysterically throughout the movie. Afterwards, he approached Brooks and told him how funny he found the movie. Bancroft said, “That was you laughing? See Mel, I told you some idiot would find it funny.”

Now you have a glimpse into what occupies my mind as I walk. 

Despite the light rain, it was a nice walk. We followed a small road, sometimes dirt sometimes paved, along the edge of Lake Storsjön. 

More wildflowers. 

It was flat; our pace was good; we decided to wait until we got to our hotel to eat our lunch. We did take a short rest in this lovely culvert. 

Östersund is a proper city. Our hotel is in the downtown pedestrian district. It’s not extravagant but it’s comfortable. 

The church in Östersund. 

The view out our hotel window. 

Once we cleaned up we decided to go check out the area before our dinner reservation. It will come as no surprise to anyone that we ended up in a pub. Winston to be specific. It is more of a beer place but we walked the bartender through how to make a Manhattan. She did a fine job. 

Dinner was at Tre Rum. We both ordered beef dishes prepared medium rare. Kristine asked our server how to say medium rare in Swedish. Her response, “It’s the same but say it with a Swedish accent.”

Dinner was excellent or as Kristine noted, “This dinner does not scream pilgrimage.” We have not had amenities for a week and a half so we of course stopped back at the pub for a nightcap. Highland Park 12 for me, Jameson for Kristine if you’re curious. 

We are looking forward to a museum visit on our rest day tomorrow, and possibly another stop at Winston.