Visit to a gallery on a motorised scooter

Karina kindly allowed me to ride her motorised scooter into town.  It is a vehicle for people with a handicap and it allows her to go where cars can't.  The scooter is able to reach a maximum speed of 25 kph.  She still drives a car but the scooter allows her to get about on days that she is not up to driving a heavy vehicle like a car.

Andrew walked beside me as I drove the scooter. I drove between 7-12 kph.  It was a great deal of fun while I was on the road into town and there were few people and other vehicles coming in the opposite direction.  Once we were in town the number of people and vehicles increased.  I then got very nervous and Andrew walked behind me shouting "slow down", "keep right", "left hand down", "don't stop" and "don't put your feet on the ground".  My blood pressure, and his, kept rising.  By the end of the morning I just wanted to go back home.  But I survived and it was tremendous fun overall.

The view along the riverbank.  There are many stately houses to look at.  The small town of Karlstad is very attractive.  We don't know how typical it is of Swedish towns but we are pleased to be able to spend a fortnight here.

We visited the Lars Lerin Gallery. Born in 1954, Lars Lerin is a local son and he has been a painter for over 30 years.  He is a multi-talented man who, as well as a painter, is a well published writer of over 50 books.  In 2014 he won the August Prize for the Best Swedish non-fiction book Naturlara (Lessons of Nature).

For the past 30 years Lerin has sought to capture the Nordic landscape, mainly in his later years as a water-colourist but also pursuing other techniques. These water-colour painted boxes depict various aspects of the environment.

We had to sample the excellent coffee and Swedish cinnamon buns which were being freshly baked in the oven at the gallery cafe with the aroma wafting through the exhibition rooms.

The eclectic collection of antique teacups at the cafe are the result of the collection mania of Lars' partner.  Eat your heart our Arthur (our NZ friend who is an avid collector of espresso coffee cups). When you order coffee here, you can choose in which cup you would like to have it served.

This is a lovely bucolic scene, viewed from Karina's house across the common where some neighbours are having an afternoon party.

Nikki having a relaxing spa bath in the same afternoon.