The train to Washington DC passed through Baltimore, a rather dire East Coast city which I would visit only if I wanted a ‘real’, gritty experience. Instead I continued on to DC where I stayed for three days. During my time there I saw some of the ‘essential’ stuff like the White House, the Mall and the Capitol where I took a guided tour. I was surprised at how close one can get to the White House building – the fence is only some 50 metres away and you can see through the windows of the house.

On the second day I had a very unlikely encounter in the hostel corridor with my old room-mate James from my time at boarding school in Sweden. He lives in London and although we see each other every now and again, none of us knew that the other was to be in the US. We went to see a 3D film at the Space Museum together – an experience almost as surreal as bumping into each other at the hostel.

On my last day I rented a bike and rode around the city, visiting Arlington Cemetary where JFK lies buried, and also upscale Georgetown.

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 16, 2009 from Washington, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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In the evening I watched a play (a rendition of Jack the Ripper with fake English accents) in a local theatre, then explored the downtown area on Joe’s bike.

Milwaukee is known for its fine beer and cheese. It also has a large population of German descent. Whether this has any link to it also being the ‘fat capital of the US’ I don’t know, but it does hold the Guiness record for largest number of bars per capita. Despite this, I found the city streets very empty, even though it was a Friday night. This sterile environment was depressing, but in a beautiful way. The only lively spot was some kind of huge Hells Angels-type gathering in a car park, but I made sure to stay well clear of that.

The next day Joe showed me round downtown along the Milwaukee river. We also ate a sourdough pancake at an Ethiopian restaurant and visited a Milwaukee version of the German Oktoberfest. In the evening we went to the birthday party of one of his friends, where I talked to lots of people and tasted some more local beers.

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 16, 2009 from Milwaukee, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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Jay lives in a small village called Balsam Lake, about 1 ½ hours NorthEast of Mineapolis together with his wife Joyce. This is also the area that my great great grandfather Johan Månsson emigrated to in 1872.

I stayed with Jay and his wife Joyce for five days. During this time I got to meet a lot of relatives and other people with Swedish connections.

The picture above is of Jay and his niece Joyce, whom my parents had met on a trip to Wisconsin in the 1960’s.

Above is Jay’s brother Fred (second from left) with his wife, Jay’s nephew Chuck (middle), Jay’s wife Joyce and Jay.

This is me and Jay with Jay’s niece Tammy who is the manager of a local restaurant.

One day we drove into Minnesota and visited the villages of Lindstrom and Scandia - places with a very strong Swedish history. Scandia is the place where Johan Månsson lived his last years and lies buried.

This is Wynness Holmberg (middle) and her family who also live in Scandia.

Lindstrom had some bizarre signs in Swedish, a giant coffeepot hanging from an old water tower, and a selection of Swedish souvenirs in the shops. The town also boasted a statue of the famous Swedish writer Vilhelm Moberg, who had stayed in Lindstrom in the 40’s to do research for his famous book about Swedish immigrants.

During a meeting with the local Swedish club at Jay’s house, I met a man called Larry Lee Philipson. He is an old rockabilly artist who has played with people like Johnny Cash. His list of merits even includes a place in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

One day Jay took me to the St. Croix river - a site featuring some unusual ‘potholes’. These were formed during the last ice age when melted ice from the glaciers would whirl around and drill deep holes into the rock. Some of these were more than ten metres deep.

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 16, 2009 from Balsam Lake, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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Since then I have always wanted to return and catch up on what I missed. However, there has always been one thing or another that has made me postpone my plans. Either it has been lack of money, lack of time, or lack of initiative.

Last year I was stuck in a dead-end job and living in a noisy, bug-infested house in Brixton, South London. It was then that I received an e-mail from my American relative Jay Bergstrand, asking when I would ever make that US trip I had been thinking about for so long. I wasn’t happy with my situation and felt I had little to leave behind. So I made the decision to quit my job, leave the house and go travelling.

After I returned I decided to write up a chronological account of my travels, which you can read on these pages. There is also a map at the top of each page which shows the whereabouts of each location. Many thanks to all the people who let me stay at their places, showed me round, and provided good company on my trip:

Ken
Brianne
Marianne and Roland Kuchel
George and Connie Beasley
Joe
Jay and Joyce Bergstrand
Wynness Holmberg and family
Soozie
Carla, Martha, Leila and Dustin
Jim Bergstrand
Kristina Bergstrand
Kristina and her parents
Brittany
Janee and Jerry Ahnert
Julian
Anne
Emma
Barbara and Rich Stockwell
Jim Stockwell
Ben and Heather
Jim and Vicki Gorter
Glen Allen
Michelle
Krista

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 10, 2009 from Boston, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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