THE MIDKNIGHT GARDEN: Home to The Serpent Priesthood & Knights of the Red Order.

“Our Swedish ‘hideaway”

“It was so enjoyably relaxing staying in our little forest ‘hideaway’ at Gustavsfors in Sweden, well off the beaten track, a little sanctuary, a community apart from the hustle and bustle of the world. Miles from anywhere and such a peaceful base to return home to each night. Gazing out of my window in the early morning, i could see sheep, dear and foxes, all feeding together in the mornings and shall be so sad to leave this lovely place, with it’s lake and forest. We have so enjoyed it here and truly settled in“.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavsfors

WEEK THREE: DAY FIFTEEN:

TUESDAY 30TH MAY: AKERSHUS BADPLATS: SAFFLE: It was lovely, after our long journey to be able to settle down in Sweden for a couple of weeks, knowing we had a base to come home to, in which to relax each evening. Having said that, the pace of life was much slower in Sweden and folks seemed to have a different outlook on life, which did grow on one. Akershus is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as it’s main city and traditional capital. it is named after the Akershus fortress in Oslo.

Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akershus

Today was a visit to some natural outdoor baths set in the area of a very interesting ‘rock’ formation. Once a very busy place pertaining to an ‘off world’ settlement, not generally known of. It was peaceful and beautiful, yet a very profound and meaningful purpose hung in the air, when times were different and humanity had a different purpose. Times change and many truths become lost or buried in time and ancient rock formations, that never were just rocks, become just that… Everything changes over time and what was once known becomes the unknown in the modern world. It is almost as if time is running backwards….

ESKILSATERS KYRKA: SAFFLE, SWEDEN: Built in 1189 AD with an altarpiece from 1683, leaving one’s imagination to wonder what secrets are hidden within it. Since 1952 a small museum has been housed in the tower room. But today sadly all was closed. A peaceful and pleasant area with the church and grounds being well cared for. I managed to get a few shots through the windows to see the nicely preserved wooden pews – always a joy to see…

DAY SIXTEEN:

WEDNESDAY 31ST MAY: IMMANUELS KIRKE: HALDEN. NORWAY: The church has an equally dramatic past as the town itself. This current structure is the fourth church to be erected on the site. The original structure was built in 1683 AD, but burnt down in 1716 AD by two brothers attempting to get the Swedes out. Re-built in 1792 AD, another fire breaks out in 1826, leaving us with today’s structure that was completed in 1833 AD, to mark the 10 year anniversary of that which ‘lies below’. The church is on a very busy road junction, with many roads connecting here. Sadly closed today and a bit sad looking, the construction works right outside the church did not help the ambience. Some rather nice artworks in the grounds though.

NOTE: Interestingly all pyramid lines collect at this sacred point…..

DAY SEVENTEEN:

THURSDAY 1ST JUNE: REST DAY: Yes a rest day for unwinding and relaxing, for visiting a swimming area and enjoying the crystal clear waters and sunshine. All just a few short miles from where we were staying… Karl bravely went in but i just paddled my toes and admired the view!

DAY EIGHTEEN:

FRIDAY 2ND JUNE: GOTHENBURG CATHEDRAL: SWEDEN: Gothenburg is a huge sprawling bustling city that combines both the old and the new. Although we were there to visit the cathedral, a big end of year schools event was taking place, so we could not get into the cathedral, due to it being used by all the schools for their term-end presentations. However we were there long enough to soak up the atmosphere. The city was quite noisy because of all the celebrations going on, but in a fun way with a good atmosphere. The whole city was alive with these annual end of term gatherings and partying! There was also a ton of redevelopment happening too, with building sites and road closures everywhere.  Before the first cathedral was inaugurated in 1633, a temporary church known as the Gothenburg stave church (Swedish: Braderkyrkan) stood on the site for approximately 12 years. This was one of the city’s first buildings and the first church in the current city.

Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothenburg_Cathedral

After the hustle and bustle of Gothenburg, we escaped to the tranquil streets of the old town with it’s artisan shops, cobble streets and little cafes, that provided a complete contrast

HAGA: GOTHENBURG: SWEDEN: What a charming and pretty area, with cobbled streets and amazing, mostly wooden architecture. Certainly worth a visit for a relaxed time and some retail therapy in the quaint and unusual shops. There were a mixture of craft type shops, artisan and retro shops, lots of charming cafes and food shops and of course the inevitable tourists shops where one can often pick up some surprising and quality items. Shop items were often spilling out over the steps onto the pavements giving the area a very unique vibe.

Haga: the lovely retro area of Gothenburg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haga,_Gothenburg

DAY NINETEEN:

SATURDAY 3RD JUNE: GUNNARSNAS KYRKA: SWEDEN: Closed but a beautiful and peaceful setting surrounded by stunning countryside, which we had grown to accept in Sweden. This stone church has a separate bell tower and was probably built at the beginning of the 13th century and is said to have been the farm church of the nearby Ekholmen Manor. In the first half of the 17th century, the church was extended to the east and got a three-sided chancel. During the 19th century, larger, round-arched window openings were used in 1882. Today we were accompanied by two surprising visitors, whom came and went in the blink of an eye, yet keeping a ‘watchful’ eye on us…

JARNS KYRKA: SWEDEN: The original grey stone church was built in the 13th century. The current three-sided chancel was added in 1726 during an extension to the east and at the same time the windows were added to the north. In 1745, an armory was built in front of the south-west portal and in 1862 the church was extended to the west.. Very beautiful but closed yet we did have an extra little treat or experience in the way of a ‘watcher’ making an appearance and chatting to Karl for quiet some time – keeping ‘tabs’ as it were…

Beautiful views all around and some rather lovely old Celtic crosses

DAY TWENTY:

SUNDAY 4TH JUNE: VIKING CENTRE: SAFFLE: The Viking Ship museum in Oslo was closed which was where we had planned to go, but what a revelation the Viking Centre, near Saffle proved to be! The Viking Centre is set in beautiful unspoilt countryside with a very alive ‘energy’ there, of course relating and connecting to Craft. It was just a short drive from where we were staying, and was a fascinating place to visit. Including an interesting exhibition with exhibits lent direct from Yorvik in York, England. There were very with good quality items for sale and very (Craft) relevant gifts in the little gift shop. There is a living viking village, a short walk away where local folks, students and academic people actually live a lot of the time, and make good use of their ‘Viking’ skills. They have built their own individual wooden huts, which are very cozy inside. Built so that visitors can get a good idea of how Vikings would have lived. Everyone was so friendly and accommodating and very interesting to chat too. It’s a brilliant place to visit with lots of interactive pursuits and displays for the youngsters. I took some interesting photos, the whole site and people were very photogenic.  Some of the photos are of an historic nature which i loved and there was plenty of historical items and information there, interesting to many folks.

Above are items from the Viking Centre exhibition.

Below is the historical Viking village and educational site.

A  stroll around the Viking Centre with Janis

The Viking Centre

DAY TWENTY ONE:

MONDAY FIFTH JUNE:  LEAVE GUSTAVSFORS: So at this point in time we were at the point of realization that we  were about to depart from this stunning place; a place we truly settled into and came to know of as home. Sweden has been stunning, a place full of lovely energies, lovely people and the most beautiful scenery with views across vast expanses of crystal clear water. Sweden has also been a place of great revelations too, especially for me with learning and understandings i never dreamt possible, on a Craft level especially and i for one am an a much more evolved person because of it.

In a few hours we shall make our way towards Germany via road and ferry, so new experiences await. Traveling back through Sweden  and Norway, to stay one night in the Kristiansand distict of Norway, staying in a house with it’s own resident cats!

DAY TWENTY TWO:

TUESDAY SIXTH JUNE:  We boarded the ferry in the morning for an 88 mile crossing and a day’s travel into Germany….

I loved the fact that we were hoping on and off ferries so often, sometimes only knowing this fact when arriving at the waters edge as below!

This area is certainly known for all its water, and ferry crossings cut huge chunks out of what would have been very long journeys around the vast areas of water by road!

I can’t really remember which ferry journeys these shots above are from as i did get a bit ‘out of sinc’ with it all. But hope you get the idea!

Karl and myself both have our own channels on youtube. Please take a look for more Quest info!

My youtube channel with Quest videos!

Karls Quest videos! Lots to learn here!

“Not all who wander are lost” Tolkien

“Memories are akin to my photographs and often feel like one and the same, recalling them when required, remembering as required, the ‘lady’ on the bench at the white-washed church, watching me taking photos of the gravestones. She sat on the bench and looked on. I smiled and gave her a wave. Yet she was gone before we were…. I remember both the cars turning up at the other church, then driving away as quickly as they had arrived, and of course the mysterious cyclists at the ‘skull and cross-bones’ church…”

“I remember the standing stone at the water’s edge and being drawn to it. I remember what it felt like as i touched it and can remember almost sinking into it and the exchange of energies that occurred there. I remember it’s ‘tree’; the Lord and Lady i said, energy lines? I knew nothing at that point of the stone or it’s story, of how there was a connection to ‘The Stones of Time’. I simply knew how i felt about it and that it was special.”

“I remember that aroma of bleach (or was it…?), i remember all the water and the ferry rides, the ‘fallen star’ in Karlstad and hidden away in the Viking Museum and all those lovely Vikings” I remember the ‘skull and crossbones’ church and of how special that was, and the ‘energies’ there, the blue folaige and the mysterious man and young girl turning up and pretending to take photos of random gravestones, yet in the background i surely lingered.”

“I remember all those mirages, every day, shinning and reflecting all over the roads. I remember being told that not everyone is able to see them, for i always assumed that everyone could, like it was a natural thing to see them. ‘A beautiful illusion’, a phrase to remember…..”